#well...technically i do but the last time i used it my eyes. disagreed with that decision.

[arinmoss]

Tried to do my makeup but realized I dont have any black eyeshadow or eyeliner -___- (he/him)

[mariaofdoranelle]

The Courtship Deception - Part 4: Wanderlust

Fic masterlist

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics

I faded the smut to black, sorry! I’m just a gemini who talks too much, I’m doing miracles with this word count already LOL

Warnings: closed-door sexytimes

Words: 863

“You really are a prince, aren’t you?” Aelin whispered to Rowan while ushering him out of the party.

“Technically, yes, but not really.”

“How does that work?”

“It works really well after some family drama with a tabloid-obsessed aunt.”

Dodging her father’s acquaintances was easier than avoiding his men’s questioning looks. Well, that’s what happens when her father told a bunch of big guys that they’re entitled to every detail of her life: they believed it. But they wouldn’t cause a scene if she didn’t either, and that’s how she was able to move through the crowd effortlessly with a man that wasn’t one of her suitors.

“Where’re you going?” Lorcan hissed, one of her Rhoe’s most trusted and least subtle men.

“Out!” Aelin barked while dragging Rowan out the main doors. But the man’s eyes weren’t on her, and something dawned on her. He was the one who came with Fenrys from Doranelle, wasn’t he? Was he friends with Rowan too, or just acquaintances?

Out of the main venue, Aelin found a storage closet of sorts and shoved Rowan in it, locking herself inside with him.

He sighed, taking in the tiny room. “I didn’t know you liked it tawdry.”

She crossed her arms. “You were talking about family drama and tabloids.”

“When we texted last night, I thought you’d want my mouth for entirely different reasons.”

“Well, I—“

Aelin was silenced by his hand holding onto the back of her neck, tilting her head toward his.

He raised a brow in question. *What do you want?* he seemed to ask.

Well, fuck. This was such a cheap trick, but she could Google her answers later to figure it out. Neck-grabbing with those rough hands? Not so easy to do on her own.

Aelin closed the distance between them, and their hands found each other’s bodies like magnets. Rowan’s kisses were rough and hungry; when he backed her against a shelving unit and sneaked a hand up her thigh, Aelin grasped how thoroughly ravished she was about to be.

She lost sight of her initial goal completely.

˜˜

Rowan had one hand on her waist and another using the shelf to hold himself upright. They were both panting, breaths mingling in that near claustrophobic closet.

He grabbed a few napkins behind her to dispose of the condom, and that was her cut to fix her hair and smooth down her dress.

“Can you—“ Aelin was brutally interrupted by a kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

She peeked out the door. The only person close by was Lorcan, looking grumpier than ever.

“Psst!” she called him. “Yes, c’mere.”

“You missed dinner.”

“Your friend didn’t.” Aelin smirked with the memory. Him kneeling before her, face between her thighs, was definitely something. “What time is it?”

Aelin had no way of knowing—she didn’t have her phone with her, and Rowan would do anything to avoid their conversation.

“Late.”

“But is it too late?”

The man gave her a hard look, and it was all she needed to know—no, it wasn’t too late, but she should get back to the party before her dad notices it and incites chaos. Still, she got back to the storage closet and locked the door again.

“Round two so soon?”

Aelin crossed her arms. “Family drama and tabloids. Spill.”

“You’re not unlocking that door until I tell you, I take it?”

“Absolutely not.”

Rowan sighed, but conceded. Then, he went on about how much he disagreed with Queen Maeve’s contrarian policies, and the rupture it created between him and his family. About how he left Doranelle without looking back, and only remained as a prince in name, since the royal family wouldn’t rescind his title for the media havoc it’d cause—even if he wasn’t so much in the public eye.

Prompted by Aelin, he told her about how he found a remote job with his engineering degree and traveled the world with no royal privileges and no money—for a prince’s standards, at least—, met people who weren’t royals or billionaires. How he lived his life with no constraints.

She liked it. She wanted it. To live freely, to travel without a team of bodyguards who reported everything to her father, to be able to drive on her own.

Just like that, Aelin saw a new plan unfold right before her eyes.

Moving from her father’s highly-guarded mansion to Dorian’s or Chaol’s castle with a different set of guards was just trading one pair of shackles for another.

But Rowan… she could live like him. She could live with him—anywhere and everywhere, like he’s been living so far. Rhoe could be so blinded by her having a royal title he’d forget that her groom was penniless. Rowan didn’t sound like the type to hold her down, he sounded like the type who would let her live her own life, or even give her a divorce if she truly desired it, no politics involved.

She’d keep her money and her relationship with her father, but also have freedom. It was perfect. It was her best plan so far.

“Rowan…” she trailed, uncertain of his reaction to her next words. “Will you marry me?”

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[rorywritesjunk]

There's no race, no ending in sight

r rating. title comes from "two of us on the run" by lucius

(the end. a summary if you will. talk of body insecurity, there's reference to intimacy, mention of pregnancy, all kinds of things to wrap this story up. cliche ending? hell yes! thank you for reading my spontaneous au of these two, it has been so much fun to write and discuss! 🧡)

Taglist: @hey-august @thoraeth

pt 1 + pt 2 + p3 + p4 + pt 5 + p6 + pt 7 +Pt 8 + Pt 9 + Pt 10 + Pt 11 + Pt 12 + Pt 13 + Pt 14 + Pt 15 + pt 16 + Pt 17 (End)

Pt 17 (End)

Months later

Sunny woke up with her mouth full of hair, arms full of a shirtless clown, and a wish that she could sleep longer. Buggy was a heavy sleeper, always starting off beside her but ending up half on top of her halfway through the night. She wasn't complaining. She enjoyed snuggling with him.

She managed to get his hair out of her mouth, making a face once she was done. He was still asleep, huffing out a content little sigh as he nuzzled her, tightening his hold on her as he snored. Sunny rolled her eyes before kissing him on top of his head. She needed to start breakfast but he would fuss if she got out of bed before he was awake.

The last few months took a lot out of her, from Crocodile allowing her to leave to moving in with Buggy immediately, not only that getting used to someone who let her do what she wanted as an adjustment. If she didn't brush her hair, he offered to do it for her. If the bed wasn't made, Buggy didn't notice. If she wore overalls all week he was fine with that. He liked tugging on the straps to drag her along with him.

Buggy didn't seem to be getting too much shit from Crocodile, he was only met with one threat that he better treat Sunny well or else a few days after the marriage ended. Mihawk just seemed amused by it all.

They had hiccups in this budding relationship, any would, but Sunny felt relaxed and comfortable now, felt safe telling him no or that she disagreed with him. He was a little over the top sometimes with his reactions to things (Alvida gave Sunny a haircut, trimming off a few inches of her hair, and Buggy was shocked and demanded to know what happened while he may have cried a little over the sudden change) but Sunny wasn't bothered by it, more amused than anything.

Her biggest thing was asking him about doing every little thing, from bringing him a drink to asking if she could take Richie out for a walk. Buggy had the hardest time with that, wanting her to be independent and finally having to tell her she didn't need to ask to do every damn little thing, that he wanted her to do what she wanted because she could do whatever she wanted now.

That... Seemed to flip a switch.

Since then she would find him just to kiss him on the cheek or get a hug. When he'd come back from a meeting she would have a snack and drink ready for him, he wouldn't even think of asking for it but she always did, giving him a kiss before handing it to him.

Buggy knew he was in love before but now he was absolutely head over heels for this woman. And he could tell her that all the time without fear of injury.

Now he got to wake up with her every morning, which he was reluctantly doing now, thought he would have preferred to keep sleeping. She was playing with his hair, kissing his forehead softly, already wide awake. He sighed and finally lifted his head up to look at her.

"Can I keep sleeping?"

"No, Buggy, we have to get up. There's things to do." She told him, kissing him on the nose as he let his head drop back down with a whine. He hated getting out of bed. He just wanted to stay and hold her for a while longer. "Look on the bright side, no meetings today, right? You get to spend the day here with me!"

"Which means we can stay in bed, right?" He grinned. "I am technically in charge of this place."

"Yes, but not in charge of me." She teased him as she pushed him off her and onto his back. Before he could protest she moved on top of him, straddling his lap as she grinned down at him. "So I guess that means I'm also in charge, right?"

"Um-"

"Ohhohoho, Buggy, Chairman of the Cross Guild, is speechless?" She hummed as she rested her hand on his stomach, stroking the blue hair covering his skin before her hand moved up to his chest. "How would your men deal with the fact that your sweet girlfriend could get to you like this?"

"Don't tease, babe." He whined as she leaned down to kiss him, slowly rocking her hips, getting him flustered, hard, and his hands went to her ass but she suddenly climbed off him, giving his stomach a pat as he laid there, flushed and breathing heavily as she went to get some clothes to wear.

"Now you're awake, so let's get the day started." She told him, a big grin on her face as she started to change right in front of him. It wasn't fair.

~

She kept him well fed. He never went hungry with Sunny because she was always ready with food for him and he never hesitated in showing his thanks with a kiss. The first time they actually kissed, days after she showed up at his tent asking for a date, was definitely something Buggy wouldn't forget.

She had made him a sandwich, figuring he had to be hungry after a four hour long meeting with Mihawk and Crocodile about the investors from the party. When she brought it to his office where he was slumped over his desk, he thought he couldn't get any luckier when he saw the food she made.

He didn't even take a bite of the sandwich before he threw himself at her and kissed her. Though caught off guard, she kissed him back, blushing and smiling brightly at him.

~

When Sunny started to notice her clothes fitting snug in places, she realized she could use some of the skills she learned to help out her clothes. Though she wasn't able to complete her apprenticeship, she had practiced when she could, so now she got to try, letting out a pair of pants, adding extra colorful fabric to the sides of her shirts.

Buggy walked in on her in her underwear in their room as she finished sewing pretty blue fabric pieces to the sides of her pants to give her more room. She saw him staring at her and felt the excitement slip away. Was he going to be okay with this? What if he wanted her to lose the weight, or what if he got mad for wrecking her clothes, even though she made sure they fit and held up to her movements.

"Buggy, um-"

He kicked the door shut, startling her, before marching over to her to kiss her. That wasn't the reaction she expected.

"Look at you, so beautiful, wonderful, you're all mine." He grinned as he shed his own clothes before kissing her again, pushing her onto the bed as she let out gasps and moans as his hands went everywhere, touching her, grabbing at her stomach, hips, rolls, everything. He left marks along her body, more gentle than Crocodile had ever been, but he wanted her to know how much he loved her body as she whined and moaned for him.

When they were finished, she had her head against his chest, blushing as she looked at some of the marks along her arms.

"So... what do you think of the alterations to my clothes, Buggy?" She asked as his hand moved to her ass, giving it a squeeze.

"Oh, fine, I guess, didn't get a chance to see them on you, babe." He said smugly as she rolled her eyes. "I prefer them on the floor, though."

"Of course you do." Sunny stuck her tongue out at him before swatting his hand away from her backside. "But um, you're... okay with this?"

"With what?" His hand returned, moving to her thigh now. "Your clothes? I don't care what you wear, babe."

"No, are you okay that I... have to let my clothes out?" She asked. "My body's been changing."

Buggy stared down at her as he tried to think before he spoke, not wanting to say anything too stupid that would get him in hot water with her. He scratched his head and shrugged.

"I love it that you're feeling safe and relaxed, babe." He assured her, watching her face for a reaction as he hoped those were the right words. "I'd be worried if you didn't gain some weight, okay, so don't worry. I love you and your body, no matter how it looks, so don't stress."

"Really?" Tears welled up in her eyes. Buggy felt himself starting to panic a little bit.

"Y-Yes! I do, I love it!" He said as she started to cry. "What's wrong, why are you crying?!"

"Because I love you and you're so sweet!"

"That's making you cry?!"

"Yes!"

~

A few more months passed. The Cross Guild was doing well, Sunny was adjusting more to her new life, and she fell more in love with Buggy each day. It was getting harder to believe a life without him at this point, despite being together for such a short time, but twenty years of misery made her appreciate everything he did for her.

It wasn't perfect, they had two different personalities, but it didn't stop Buggy from constantly flirting with her, telling her how much he loved her, everything while Sunny would hold his hand and kiss him in front of his men, ignoring the cheers of Chairman Buggy gets the girl! which had Buggy turning red as Sunny laughed.

The biggest issue was one that Sunny just found out about. It was a surprise, she thought maybe she'd be too old as she hit 40, but a visit with a doctor confirmed why her body was feeling weird, she felt more tired than usual, except she was missing out on the morning sickness by a miracle.

How the hell was Buggy going to take this? They never even came close to talking about this, still in the early days of their relationship as they got to know one another.

If she wasn't feeling as safe as she did with him, she would have found some other way around it. Instead, at dinner after she made him a small feast and put her hand on his as he took a bite of food as she told him.

"Buggy, I'm pregnant."

He choked. She helped him out, making sure he was okay, and once he was done gasping for air, he stared at her with an expression she didn't quite understand.

"Really?"

"Y-Yea..."

His eyes lit up. "I'm going to teach that little shit how to fire a cannon, juggle, everything. That kid will be the flashiest little brat ever because they're going to be a child of Buggy the Clown!"

"You're happy about this?" She asked, surprised. This wasn't the reaction she anticipated, but at the same time, she wasn't sure how he was going to react. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" Buggy told her as he pounded his fist on the table in excitement. "I got the love of my life, most beautiful woman in the world, telling me she's carrying my kid? I'm going to have a kid I can raise to be one of the best pirates in the world! And when I'm King of the Pirates, everyone will respect us and fear us!"

"Yea?"

Buggy stood up suddenly and pulled her to her feet, catching her in his arms before spinning her around. He even dipped her, which startled her, but he pulled her back up to kiss her. She was a little flustered from the sudden movements, her head spinning, but she felt safe in his arms as he held her, kissing her face all over as he began swaying with her, slow movements, forgetting the food as he hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Sunny." He told her. "I'm lucky to have you."

She smiled and put her hands on his face, patting his cheeks gently, feeling the stubble under her fingers before she leaned in for a kiss.

"I love you, Buggy, thank you for having me."

He grinned and spun her around once more. He couldn't wait to tell his men the news.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

In my opinion, there were plot holes in the season that are really off-putting. But I also think the writers were just really unwise about their narrative time. With 2 episodes less than the first season, they did not balance their characters and storylines well.

I’m flabbergasted about the amount of time that was spent on the love triangle (I refuse to waste anymore brain power complaining about.. all of that). We could have had less of that in favor of:

- Giving Mouse a real storyline > making Ash more prominent, giving her grandmother an actual purpose or just cutting the character all together.

- Showing us the character development that they only tell us Greg has gone through.

- Follow through with Imogen’s mental health, hallucinations scares, and concerns for her child’s safety that were only relevant in the first half of the season.

- Make redemption house even more sinister and/or show characters like Kelly, Henry, or Greg noticing everyone around them becoming obsessed with Spooky Spaghetti. It would’ve been so easy to permanently write out Henry by making him one of Wes’/BR’s followers but of course they didn’t do that.

- Show at least a little bit of conflict between Mrs Langsberry and Tabby’s mom - opposing mothers defending the reputation of their children. Although I will say, this might have made it too obvious.

- Maybe even including more conflict by not waiting until the last episode to finally accuse each others partners.

Just some thoughts :P

I agree! I think the biggest issue with this season was the reduced runtime (I don't know if that was at all due to the writer's strike, but I hope they get an absolute minimum of 10 episodes if they do a third season), and the mismanagement of the time that they did have.

To address some of your points specifically- I also felt Mouse was super sidelined this season (yes, she is technically the person most intent on solving the mystery, but she's basically just around to info-dump at everyone else, not have any personal growth), and Ash was barely present. I was particularly disappointed by this, because I knew the actor's billing had been upgraded, so I thought we'd get noticeably more Ash.

Greg's redemption arc, if you can really call it that, since it seemed to skip the crucial "oh, he's questioning his ways and changing" part felt super rushed (as did Kelly's turn from 2x06-2x08). I think they did film more of it (since we know of some cut stuff), but since it didn't make it to the screen, it felt very strange that Faran suddenly liked Greg (I'm not saying they played it like she's in love with him or anything, but I feel like they skipped the middle bit between "he annoys the hell out of her and she really dislikes him" to "he's apologized and now they're hooking up,"). It was just too fast.

I definitely expected Imogen's mental health to ultimately play a bigger role than it did, considering how much time they spent on it.

It is hard to believe Mrs. Beasley, Pastor Malachi, Kelly, Greg, (and presumably Henry, since they never reveal him as an antagonist) didn't notice that there was an entire additional cult in their cult.

The scene where all the girls started bickering about their SOs was one of my favorites from the finale. It felt so realistic that they wouldn't all just be on board with these new people they don't know at all (and most of them didn't interact with the new love interests that weren't their own almost at all) and assume they're all great. It was refreshing to see the girls disagree and take a few jabs at each other, because while I love them supporting each other, those moments of coming together feel like they mean less when they're all just always on the same page.

As a writer and creator myself, I understand that it is much easier to criticize than it is to create, but one of the big advantages of collaboration is that theoretically you have a lot of people looking at your work with a critical and constructive eye and shaping the story into the best version of itself. This season felt like it really could have used some editing and refining (in the writing process, before you even get to the film editing) to streamline the storylines and not get too bogged down in areas that don't pay off.

To leave things on a high note- I really did have fun watching the show this season & trying to puzzle things out. I just feel there were some pretty glaring flaws, as well.

[cardinaldante]

Greetings siblings of the church. I want to kill myself. Papa Copia needed my help on something, and Jacob awnsered the door completely by accident. Papa Copia was very suprised about this, and I wanted to jump out of my room's window. I got dressed after that and quickly walked Jacob to the door.

When I got back to Papa Copia, Papa Terzo and Aether had joined him. Papa Terzo congratulated me for getting Jacob in my bed, but Papa Copia said something in Italian, and they started yelling back and forth at each other. I left them there and slipped away to my office with Aether. Aether congratulated me as well, and I embarrassingly told him that we just slept in bed together, nothing else happened. He only just grinned at me, and I got started on my work. There would be a feildtrip for the children tommorow that I'd be going on. I asked Aether if he would come with us and he told me as my personal ghoul, he'd have to- if only to make sure I didn't do anything as stupid as this morning. I punched him gently, and he told me he'd eat me the next time I punched him. I called his bluff and he just laughed at me.

Papa Copia came to my office an hour later, and told me that while he was proud of me for corrupting a priest, please tell him whenever I decided to bring a friend over. I glanced between him and Aether, and he blushed and told me he could just ground me. I quickly disagreed, and asked what brought him here. He told me that Father DeFroque was wanting to associate with us- which was suprising, as the last father of the church hated us, and it was Jacob and his father who smoothed over relationships with us.

To hear that he wanted to associate with us... It was a little unnerving. It was nice! We'd been waiting forever, but DeFroque wanted to come along with us to the field trip tommorow, which meant Papa Terzo was coming with us. I asked why he couldn't- after all, we didn't want Papa Terzo flirting with anyone from the church- and he told me Omega would be sent to keep an eye on Terzo. He also told me that since Father DeFroque was okay with speaking with me, he'd be making me the liaison for now- as long as I was okay with it, and as him as second.

Papa Copia tells me he doesn't trust Father DeFroque enough to have me alone in the room with him, and since I had a horrible reaction last time both I and Aether were on church grounds together- something he had noticed and told me that he would look deeper into it with Phil- he'd be going with me the next few times I had to go to the church to talk to DeFroque.

I asked him if he had any clues to what happened- and he just frowned and shrugged, not awnsering my question. He asked if I was going to be okay with some extra work, and I told him I would be fine with it as long as it wasn't too much. He agreed it wouldn't be, heard someone call his name, and excused himself. I worked and texted Jacob all day before finally getting bored and heading to the ghouls wing to see Phantom. I ran into a couple of siblings my age, and although they were awkward around me, and I was around them( I was technically their superior), they invited me to a party Friday. One of them mentioned there would be drinks, and while Aether did huff, I agreed to come. If only to sample some drinks and make sure everyone was drinking responsibly. I asked if I could invite my boyfriend, and they were very suprised that I had a boyfriend.

We talked for a long while about relationships(I had to explain gently that no, Papa Terzo wasn't lying when he said the clitorus was a real thing, if was a real thing that girls had), and about how they could become Cardinals like me. They asked if I was going to tell the Papa's about the Party, and I told them that I wouldnt tell a soul. I left after that and ran to Phantoms room, and Aether told me that I shouldn't go to the party, as I was underage, and I shouldn't drink and-

I kinda gave up listening and crossed my arms. I told him that while, yes, I was underage, this was the Satanic church, and wasn't we supposed to do stupid things? Besides, I wasn't going to really drink. All I was going to do was make sure the others didn't. Phantom said that it was a great idea, and that he'd get drunk for me. Aether hit him on the head hard, and they started arguing about the party. Siblings, I'm still going to the party. Aether can't stop me at this point. Besides, him and the Papa's always complain I don't act like a teenager much. Isn't this how teens act?

Let me break up this fight between Phantom and Aether before blood begins to be spilled or Omega's called. I don't need to get yelled at by him too. He's more scarier than Aether.

[maspers]

So I decided to try my hand at creative writing

Don always wakes up at 5:30 each morning. Enough time to go for a jog, shower, and eat breakfast, before heading to work at 7. Working in the management team for a stationary company is occasionally scary (Don does not deal well with bright colors) but is still rather fulfilling. A quiet life, a change of pace from his youth. Don is well liked in the workplace, often taking his coworkers out to lunch. He's able to do this because of the nest egg he's got saved up. Technically, Don would be pretty close to retiring, but he doesn't want to. Sure, he's getting on in years, but he needs something to do. A slow, quiet life. Just enough activity to keep things exciting for an old timer like him. 

Work ends at 3. Don likes his shift. Gives him most of the afternoon to go fishing. He's planning on having steak and stout pie for dinner. A newer recipe, one that Don found online. It'll take a while to prep, but Don has the time. Taking things slow is exhilarating in its own way. Don has learned that it's not necessarily about the destination, but rather it is about the journey. You never know what could happen. Maybe the Steak will need more spices. Maybe he'll need to make a substitution because he forgot one of the vegetables. The possibilities are endless. Then, at around 7:30, Don plans on going to bed. Sure, it's a bit early. But his health has been holding out well despite his age, and Don hopes to keep it that way. Oh yes, Don thinks as he drives home from work in his '04 Corolla. This is going to be another relaxing day. 

But his hopes are dashed when he sees the pickup truck out front, on the driveway. The driver has a reputation, but thankfully Don's recently-trimmed rhododendrons are still intact. The driver stands outside, accompanied by two others. His belt has expanded a size, and his beard has grown out and turned pepper gray, but the gallon hat on his head still looks brand new. He looks up and gives Don a sympathetic smile. 

The young woman next to him has a much more sour look on her face. Don didn't think the girl could grow up, but here she stands, clad in a sweater and capri pants. Her red hair is a darker, browner shade, but it's clear she takes care of it. Her scowl of disapproval has always seemed a permanent fixture. 

Jack, of course, looks the same as he always has.

"No," Don groans. "I'm not doing this again."

"Aw, come on pardner," the Driver says. "You know we wouldn't have come if we didn't need ya." 

"I still say we *don't* need him, for the record." says the girl. 

"Don't be so frosty," Jack corrects her, kindly. He turns to Don. "We really are sorry, Don. We wish it didn't have to be this way. We've all got lives too, you know."

"Then go back to them," Don refutes. "We're not friends anymore, Jack. None of us were to begin. We were rivals, all of us bickering and fighting. You three only started acting all friendly when I said I was done."

"Hmph. Believe me, if I could turn around and go back home to Jimmy instead of hanging out with you old fogies I would," the young woman complains.

"Honestly, I don' disagree." The driver looks solemnly at his truck. "I mostly use this ol thing for hauling turnips these days. But see, there's a problem a-brewin, and the four of us are the only ones around to deal with it."

"And what would that be?" Don asked. 

Jack's unmoving eyes pierce through him. "The King is back."

Don groans again. "How?"

The girl rolls her eyes. "Does it matter? He's back, and we need to take him down. For good this time."

"Last time, we were all fighting amongst ourselves. When he finally went down, we were all too distracted by each other to make sure that we'd actually finished the job. This time, if we all work together, we could take him down easy. A simple job. In and out."

"Don't say those words," the girl mutters under her breath, "You'll jinx us."

"And there's really nobody else?" Don asks

"Who else is there?" the driver asks in return. "Bunch of naive young'uns and withered corpses that make the lot of us look young. And more importantly, is there anyone besides you that we can be confident in? Everyone else is variable. You, pardner, were always guaranteed to do what needed to be done."

Don walked over to the truck. He looked in the back. Burgers. Sodas. Fries. An assortment of sandwiches and breakfast goods. Ice cream in cups. It wasn't much. 

"It was all we could scrounge together on a short notice," Jack explains. "None of us really went out of our way to stockpile. We all thought we were done, like you. But it should be enough."

"It won't be enough," Don says. "Not how it is. You need sauce. Mac sauce, and lots of it. Get a heat lamp set up, keep the food warm. You need at least twice that amount of nuggets. And for heaven's sake, put some salt on those fries."

"So does that mean yer in?" the driver asks. 

Don turns, and looks over at his house. A quiet life. Grays and browns. He hadn't even gotten to put his steak and stout pie in the oven. He'd have to cash in some vacation days too. Don didn't want to leave it behind. 

But the house wasn't going anywhere. And as much as Don hated to admit it, his former peers were right. He was needed. He couldn't trust this job in the hands of anyone else. 

He turns back. "Fine. But we better make this quick."

Jack's unmoving smile seems a tad more genuine. The driver whoops a yeehaw. "Let's get yer stuff loaded up!" he proclaims. 

The young woman quickly hides her own small grin. "Hurry it up, then," she says angrily "I know you keep your food frozen, you heathen. Get it thawing."

Don smiles, and rolls his eyes as he goes to get his old work clothes. He'd never admit it, but he's missed this. He puts on his old suit. The yellow is a bit faded, but it'll do. He finishes packing up, then they all pile into the truck. 

Then Arby, Wendy, Jack, and Ronald McDonald went out to save the world. One last time.

[akashiayakashi]

Idk if it's too soon to write down all my thoughts because I don't know how much I've processed about this game but I prefer going right at it anyway hahahaha

Okay. so.

I think expectations worked well in favor of the sequel than when I played the first game.

When I went into aitsf, I think I was expecting more than one mystery, not that kinda crass humour, more gameplay. basically smth like ace attorney or danganronpa. i guess i was initially disappointed bc i didnt like 999 or just the zero escape trilogy in general. I honestly thought it was gonna be an L for me until I finally actually got my first ending and went through the other routes.

The strength of ai is in its mystery and how it fools the player and the detective through the limited point of view. Not pun intended since you know, they only see through one eye technically, but there were a lot of hints pointing to obvious truths that are so easy to dismiss until the truth is revealed.

My mind was like WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING a lot of the time but in a good way.

I think a big reason I didn't like 999 was that I just felt so unconvinced by the conclusion and that the development didn't feel enough whereas in ai it does a good job of linking everything together in a way that doesn't feel like a cop-out. I mean 999 gave foreshadowing but the sci-fi elements didn't feel very REAL until the end, it was more of ok fun theory i guess and then suddenly SCI FI HEAVY ENDING. Ai is more like hi we're technologically advanced and we're very silly so there's a lot of space for your suspension of disbelief.

well i'm sure that's a personal thing a lot of others would disagree with but for me that's a core reason why i did like ai.

i also thought that the dynamics in ai in general were just a lot stronger and better formed (but this is not a 999 hate post i swear so i will get on with it).

ANYWAY.

since i could curb those expectations with aini and sorta knew what i was getting into going in, i could enjoy it a lot more from beginning to end. i could just get lost in the BIG mystery and not worry about the what ifs and just think of all the alt routes as ultimately serving the true ending.

also omg i didnt love the ui in ai because i didnt know you had to keep interacting until you had to stop interacting, which just didnt seem obvious to me because huh the convo is done right why are we not moving on but no the convo was not done. i knew that going in now so i didnt feel as annoyed hahaha

aini is a lot more structured and well it's by design by the time you find out how fucked the timelines are. to be honest it's still hard to wrap my mind around it.

needless to say i was losing it when we were in that one bibi part where im like WE ARE MIZUKI BUT THIS IS CLEARLY 6 YEARS AGO WTF IS HAPPENING LOOK DATE IS RIGHT THERE ALSO WHY ARE THE SPRITES LIKE THAT

The last somnium with Amame was sooooo good like it uses her previous lightning round quiz show questions where it just seemed like kinda random questions to actually show all the choices Amame had to make in the end. It's even more impressive once you realize OH SHIT THIS WAS JUST A FEW DAYS AGO NOT 6 YEARS AGO like what you initially thought.

Though her story is so tragic...

Tbh it is pretty funny how it became a shounen final boss battle in the last part. It's very silly but I think it's fitting for protags like Mizuki and Mizuki...idk how to explain but they have the protag energy. Date was more low-key so him having that kinda ending where he had to let go of Aiba instead was a lot more fitting.

IDK THE POINT OF MAKING US THINK RYUKI DIED WHY DID THEY DO THAT. I was like: ok this was a good end but ryuki died so maybe i will opt for the alternate route thing i've been hearing about bc ryuki is alive. well i know the point of it, it's just a suspense thing they wanted to do but it wasn't really as dramatic as aiba's self-destruction which was the climax of that end scene.

I wanna hate that they claim that Date is just wearing a mask the whole time. I mean I GET IT IT'S FOR NO SPOILERS and like the story is not about Date but like we went through so much in the first game and we get this very convenient explanation....it's not a focal point but I thought it would be a big deal and it wasn't jxfvbjd

The secret not so secret ending was so meta hahaha. It sorta proves the ideology naix and shigure had but this was also only possible because it's a game. So it makes you think these people obviously don't think of themselves as game characters so how about you? Are you living in the real world or the simulation? I don't believe in those sorta conspiracy theories but I like how it just tied it all together.

I didn't do the joke end of atami(?) but the mere existence of it is funny lmao.

oh right the cast

i love ryuki but i think the boy has gone through some shit and needs a hug... i dont really ship him with tama but i guess the main difference between him and the aiba partnerships is that tama seems to not take ryuki seriously and to be doing her own thing at first glance but she is actually very indulgent of him and lets him do what he wants. she is also fiercely protective which is why ryuki couldnt share any of his burdens during the past 6 years.

i understand bibi hating him but im sorry i'm a ryuki apologist bibi

omg i was so excited to see adult shoma and then i went WHY DOES HE LOOK THE SAME but wow that was actually a plot point dfvdfvd i like his lil crush on mizuki but i dont see mizuki reciprocating any time soon...she just seems uninterested in romance HAHAHA

i feel like gen existed just for amame so he feels more like an extension of amame that existed to help her than his own character which is partly why im just kinda hmmm on him. sad he died in that one ending...which kinda sucks because everyone else had happy stuff in their endings in contrast. i guess it didn't pull my heart strings enough bc we dunno how amame and gen even became friends and everything so it feels like we're seeing this strong love but without the background of how it came to be.

in contrast we saw from the start how the lien and kizuna thing developed. i dont really ship them but i think how they turned out was sweet. i was initially very meh with the idea that lien just doesnt know how to take a no but well ig the story at least showed us he wasnt creepy like uh ota or moma so he gets an upgrade in my book as 'you're ok'

the shoma & komeji ending was the first i got and it was really sweet and it makes the reality of the true timeline sadder because the last thing komeji hears either of his children say to him before he gets sliced is that they're disappointed in him

but they actually loved him very much

which is to say the secret ending...ryuki gets the burden of knowledge even though everything is 'happier' but idk how it would do him good to just live in this perfect world we chose for him instead. we saved him going thru the bad 6 years but he has the knowledge that they existed in the first place. anyway some real fun meta shit they did.

the ryuki obsession with date wasn't enough methinks. i just dont feel convinced, it just seems like he feels guilty because he knows what he did which fair enough sure but everybody gave me the impression he was obsessed since the start so i felt disappointed in that regard

not enough date tbh or rather not enough date in the way i would have prefered hahahaha. like i wanted a more dramatic reunion with mizuki and/or aiba

i mean they were finally happy then 6 years of date just gone...wtf mizuki keeps getting Ls in her life

also ig bc as an aiba/date shipper i just felt deprived but im ok. i really am. i reallly am

oh right one thing i do want to commend on aini is how its somniums are just so much more logically driven so they're more fun to solve. it doesnt feel like the strange randomness of the first game where you just have to somehow hope you're doing the right thing. there is still randomness but it feels hmmm like there is more sense in the overall somnium than the past game

i probs have more thoughts but i kinda just kept playing and playing for like 20 hours and im sure if i had any thoughts during i forgot to write them down dxfvbdfcvj but i'll probs remember if im asked very specific things

if there will be another game, i will for sure buy and play but can we no longer have separation of date and mizuki + aiba? tnx.

[colorseeingchick]

Caught in the Lights (Ichigo Kurosaki x Fem!Reader)

Part of the 12 days of Christmas Event!

Summary: Ichigo is resistant when it comes to putting up the Christmas tree. His father brings in reinforcements - that is, he brings you. But no one said you were gonna make the process easier...

If you want to get a better idea of the dynamic btwn Ichigo and this Y/N, feel free to read this as well.

WC: 2.2k of pure FLUFF (it's only this long because I'm obsessed with Ichigo)

Warnings: okay there are also innuendos in the fluff but fluff mostly. language.

With the temperature dropping, the levels of snow rising, and Christmas getting closer, the bickering in the Kurosaki household is getting louder.

“Ichigo, I thought I told you to put up the tree three days ago!” Ichigo’s father yells.

“I haven’t had time! And put it up yourself!” He screams as he climbs up the stairs, gunning for his room. He’d just gotten back from Urahara’s shop and he’s exhausted.

“How dare you suggest such a thing! It’s about the holiday spirit, Ichigo! It’s about doing it with others!”

It wasn’t like he disagreed. Ichigo actually agreed completely. But he’d never been one to lean into the Christmas spirit since after his mom passed. He doesn’t even understand why his dad has been trying so hard these last few years to make it a thing.

“That tree is going up one way or another, Ichigo!” And then the doorbell rings.

“Hello, Dr. Kurosaki. Thank you for inviting me over.” Ichigo freezes on the steps at the sound of your voice.

“No, Y/N, thank you soo much for coming to help us out!” His father gushes, and Ichigo hears you yelp and his father pulls you into a tight hug (this was a standard greeting, given that Ichigo’s father basically considered you family). Ichigo hears a thud, presumably something being thrown at his father’s head. “Ouch! Karin, why are you so mean to me!”

“Put Y/N down, dad, and stop being a weirdo!”

Ichigo feels the irritation pulse in his forehead. The old man is really forcing my hand, huh. Running up and tossing his backpack into his room, he comes back down to see you with Karin and Yuzu in the clinic, setting up the artificial tree. You’re wearing a deep green sweater so large that it eclipses your hands. The way you’re smiling at his sisters is a sight to behold.

“Hey,” he says, stuffing his hands into his pockets while approaching you three.

You smile back at him. “Hey.”

“Great, now that Ichigo is here, you two can take care of this,” Karin chirps, and Yuzu stands at her cue.

“Hey, where are you two going?” Ichigo asks.

“We have to clean up and make dinner,” Karin responds.

“Y/N, you’ll eat with us, right?” Yuzu asks, eyes wide.

“Of course the lovely Y/N is going to stay for dinner! It’s the least we can do for you helping us out,” Ichigo’s dad pops into the doorway to add.

“I’d love to stay for dinner, thank you,” you politely reply.

“I’m excited to see how the tree turns out,” Yuzu says as they both walk to the kitchen, Karin grabbing their dad’s jacket and dragging him along with them.

Now that you two are alone, Ichigo turns to you, watching as you unpack the boxes of Christmas decorations that haven’t been touched in like, 10 years.

“I heard you were at Urahara’s earlier,” you say to him, examining an ornament.

He crouches down next to you, tugging the other ornaments out, dusting them off. “Yeah, the Hollow frequency has been low recently., so I figured it’d be a good training time.”

You’d learned about Ichigo’s little secret early on. As a secondary aid to the Kurosaki family clinic and his best friend, you were the first to find Ichigo’s unconscious body one day, and the first to ask any questions he ultimately had no way of dodging. It was an added benefit that you, too, could see spirits and eventually encountered Hallows, and the notion of Soul Reapers didn’t faze you nearly as much as he worried they would.

“Just training? What about a break?” you ask him, handing him a long chain of tinsel to wrap around the tree. “Aren’t you technically a substitute?”

He eyes the tinsel with disgust. Ugh, how flashy. “Someone has to be doing it, Y/N. So substitute or not, it doesn’t really matter to me.” He places the tinsel on the wood floor. “But, Hat and Clogs basically forbid me from doing any soul reaping stuff for the next 10 days, so, today was my last day. I’m on a break, I guess.”

He doesn’t miss the way your eyes eagerly turn to him, a small smile crawling onto your face. “Breaks are healthy for you. I’m sure there’s stuff you’ve been meaning to do that you haven’t had time for.”

Like spending time with you. You were right. He had been pushing a lot of stuff off. And with his new lifestyle as a Soul Reaper, where he’s constantly reminded of his mortality, he’s been contemplating you a lot more. He couldn’t really tell why, but all he knew is that when he worried about dying in the period right after life-threatening battles, he thought of all his family and friends. You were a part of that, but something was different. The way his heart twinged and ached for you in those moments was different, but he really couldn’t put it to words. He figured that maybe spending some time with you would inspire an answer, but for now, it was lost on him.

“Ichigo? You okay?” You ask.

“Ahh, yeah, sorry- I just…spaced out for a second.” He distractedly tugs the string of lights that you’ve pulled out from the box out of your hands. Your eyes are only on him, barely even noticing the absence of the lights from your own hold.

“Okay,” you respond after a moment, now relaxed. “If you’re done spacing out~” you tease, “could you go get some scissors from the kitchen?”

“Yeah, yeah, if you lose the attitude then I can definitely do that for you,” he teases back.

You smirk deviously, well aware of how to get under his skin. “Oh, please~ Ichigo-kun, get the scissors for me. I’ll do anything-” he cuts you off as his face blasts red.

“You’re the worst. I'm getting the damn scissors right now.”

As he grabs the scissors, he ignores his sisters’ questioning glances and goes back into the clinic. But he’s not expecting the scene he returns to.

You are standing, all wrapped up in lights, looking like you’re about to fall over.

“What the hell,” he runs over to you.

“HEY no running with scissors,” you call out, trying to plant your socked feet onto the slippery wood floor.

“I run around with a sword that's almost as big as me on the daily, I’m not gonna die with scissors,” he says. He puts the scissors down on a table anyways, and grabs your arms momentarily to keep you upright. “What the hell did you do? I was gone for less than a minute.”

“That’s what I wanna know, too. I didn’t realize a second string of lights was plugged into the first one, and it was super knotted, so I tried to unknot it, yanno? Then I like, stood up- next thing I know the knotted lights are caught around my arms and in my sweater and the first set of lights were tangled around my foot.”

“How the hell did your other foot get caught?”

“I tried to kick off the lights with my free foot, and I kinda…”

“You got it stuck too, didn’t you.”

“Yeah.”

“Dumbass.” He shakes his head, looking down at you with exasperation and amusement. It’s funny if nothing else. And he didn’t mind the comedic relief.

“You can insult me all you want, but are you gonna help me get out of this or what?” you ask while almost tipping over, losing the little bit of balance you managed to gain.

Ichigo gently steps on both your feet with one of his own, stopping your feet from sliding around. He holds your waist to keep you upright before huffing out and dropping down on a knee to undo the lights that were caught on your legs. You reach out your bound arms and manage to grip onto his shoulder as he separates the lights that have wrapped around both your ankles. With your left foot free, you let go of his shoulder as you’re finally able to plant your feet on the ground properly.

“Lift your leg a bit,” he mindlessly taps your right thigh with the back of his hand. Following instructions, he un-does the winding of the lights around your leg. “That’s half of it.” He says, standing upright in front of you.

“What the, Ichigo! What are you doing to poor Y/N?” Karin comes into the room, shocked at the sight of her brother towering over you with your arms bound.

“Wha, wait.... wait it’s not like that I swear-” he immediately defends himself, suddenly aware of how the situation appears.

“Ichigo is helping me with a mess I created for myself, don’t worry,” you cut in decisively, and Karin’s expression relaxes. “Which, speaking of, if you could help me unbind my arms, I would really appreciate it.”

“I gotchu,” he says, slowly trying to pull the lights off of you. Karin approaches to watch closer. “Dammit, did you really have to wear a green sweater today of all days?” It’s no use. The wires on the lights were all the same deep shade of green, and the clear light bulb heads were of little aid at guiding Ichigo at wear to pull.

“I have an idea,” Karin chimes, grabbing the end of the lights that’re laying on the floor and approaching the outlet. “Plug it in,” she says, plugging in the Christmas lights and running to the end of the clinic, turning off the ceiling lights.

Her idea definitely helped. With all the bulbs on, he could see the reflection of the green rubber on the wire as opposed to your reflection-less sweater.

“You’re a genius, Karin.” As you speak, Ichigo lifts his gaze to your face.

“No problem, good luck,” she says before leaving to the kitchen once again.

Ichigo’s been looking at the lights on you that he forgot to look at you. But, wow.

With the lights all wrapped around your arms and your hands held up, the Christmas lights illuminate you. The soft, warm off-white light bounces off your skin at different angles, highlighting the contours and angles of your face. Your smile and eyes are bright, and everything about you looks so magical, so angelic in that moment, it takes Ichigo’s breath away.

“You good, Ichigo?” You look up at him with a questioning look, and somehow it makes the situation worse. The way your eyes widen, eyebrows lift, and head tilts, though it’d usually look like teasing judgement, it makes you look ...so fucking pretty.

“I’m just great,” he shakes his head and drops his gaze, hoping that the low lights around your arms don’t show off the pink glow on his face.

“If you’re great then…help?” You ask, once again.

He wordlessly unwraps your arms, tugging the lights that stuck into your sweater out, stepping closer to you so he can get the lights on your upper arms off. As he goes, he winds the lights around his thumb and elbow neatly. Picking off the last length of lights, he sighs. “All don-ne,” he looks up at you only to have the words ripped from his mouth. You’re staring up at him with a gentle smile on your lips and the fondest look in your eyes, the light still reflecting off of your face.

“Sorry for staring,” you say unabashedly, not removing your gaze. “You just look so pretty with the lights on you like that, Ichigo.”

It was when he heard someone call Captain Kuchiki ‘pretty’ that Ichigo decided he’d hate if anyone ever used the word to describe him, and would probably punch someone for saying it. But this was the first time you had ever commented on his appearance, and to hear the way you called him pretty just made him absolutely melt.

But what the hell is he even supposed to say?! Does he act normal, pretend like he hates it? Does he shrug it off, ignore it, what? What should he do?

All the while he’s not broken eye contact. He can’t, he’s absolutely entranced by you at this moment. Just say something. Try and be normal.

“You look prettier than usual, too, but you didn’t see me staring at you with a dopey grin on my face.”

Ok so nothing about that was normal. Shit, wait a minute-

You just smile wide, “then what was all that blushing about earlier~”

Dammit! You did see that, huh.

“Whatever,” his face burns. “I should’ve left you tangled.”

“Hey hey hey, you helping me has nothing to do with the way you were looking at me, now does it?” He pulls away from you, placing the lights on the table (and off the floor). You grab his arm as he tries to walk into the kitchen. Tugging him into turning around, you rest your hands on his arms and come close to his body, looking up at him. “Fine, I’ll stop teasing you about it, for now, in exchange for your help. But at least help me finish the tree, okay?”

He could never refuse you. He knows that much for sure.

“Fine. But I'm putting the lights on this time. You're not touching it.”

You grin back. "Just know if you get tangled, I have no intensions of setting you free."

A/N: The new trailer almost made me cry and reminded me just how much I adore this man. I really should put up my Christmas lights.

If you have questions about the logistics of how Y/N got caught in the lights, congrats, because I do too lmao (ignore the inconsistency/lack of in depth explanation there).

Bleach fandom if you're out there I hope this finds you, and lemme know if you want more. If you want something spicier as well (with in mind that I only write SFW) lemme know.

[gigglz]

Brother, NO.

Hii! I’m finally writing a fic cuz I somehow got the motivation to write one.

Also idk when I’ll get to writing any requests, but someday I will.

lee!Loki, ler!thor

Warnings: Swearing.

Summary: Loki being mischievous, that’s all.

Word count: 1,800+

Everyone wanted to watch a movie together, except Bucky and Sam because they were working out.

“I pick!” Thor said while reaching for the remote.

Tony snatched it, “No, you picked last time. I pick. Plus you have no taste in movies.” Thor rolled his eyes but smiled.

“What about.. this?” Tony picked a thriller movie.

They all agreed.

Tony pressed play.

Halfway tru the movie Bucky and Sam walked into the living room.

“Hey! Wanna watch a movie with us?” Steve turned to the two men.

“Sure! What are you watching?” Bucky asked as he and Sam hopped on the couch next to everyone else.

“Just some movie Tony found, it’s pretty boring,” Thor said, he was extra sassy today.

“Hey! Don’t do that, that’s my thing!” Tony joked.

Everyone chuckled.

When the movie ended Sam suggested watching another one, cuz why not!

“Ok, then what are we watching?” Nat asked Sam.

“Hmm.. oh I know!” Sam clicked on Toy story 3.

Everyone looked at Sam.

“You’re joking, right?” Wanda looked at Sam.

“Oh come on! You’re a kid, plus when was the last time any of you watched this?” Sam looked at Wanda.

“Fine I guess. Could be worse.” Wanda laughed and looked back at the TV.

“I have never watched this!” Thor and Clint said at once.

“What?? Oh well, you’re in for a treat! This is the best part.” Sam looked surprised.

“Yeah, I strongly disagree. The first movie is the best.” Said Tony.

“Uhhh, no? This is the best one! You have no taste.” Sam shot back.

Thor let out a laugh and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Hey! Why don’t you call your brother? Maybe he wants to watch? He’s technically still a kid!” Bucky turned to Thor.

“Ha! Maybe on Asgard, but he’s still older than all of you combined!” Thor laughed.

“Even older than these two combined?” Sam pointed to Steve and Bucky.

Everyone laughed.

“Were not that old.” Steve rolled his eyes at Sam.

“I guess you’re right.. you’re just from the fucking ice age!” Sam couldn’t keep it together after he said that.

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Steve and Bucky.

“Hah! Ehh, I bet your brother would’ve laughed at that, no Cap,” Sam said to Thor.

Thor laughed at the stupid pun, “Loki? HAH! No, there’s no way. Think about it! Have you ever seen him laugh? I think not! Even I haven’t! I mean not really..”

“Oh just go get him! There’s no need to burst his little pride bubble.” Tony laughed.

“Hey! That was a good joke!” Sam looked at Tony.

“Nope,” Nat said while sipping her tea.

“Ouch!” Sam put his hand on his heart and fell backward into the couch, what a drama Queen.

“Fine, I’ll go get him!” Thor scoffed and stood up.

After what seemed like an eternity there was still no sign of Thor or Loki.

“What’s taking them so long?” Bucky whined.

“Be patient, it’s Loki after all,” Bruce said from the kitchen, that he was getting some snacks cuz they have eaten them all while waiting for the brothers.

“Can’t they be faster? These guys are gonna die soon!” Sam pointed to Steve and Bucky.

Nat chuckled.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Steve playfully punched Sam in the shoulder.

Bruce came back with two giant bowls filled with popcorn, drinks, and other snacks.

Suddenly there could be heard fast footsteps running down the stairs.

It was Loki.

“FINALLY! Oh, wait you actually ca-” Sam got cut off by Loki shushing him.

“SHHH!” Loki looked around, went to the corner of the room, and made himself invisible with his magic.

“LOKIII!!” Thor’s voice rang thru the entire Avengers compound.

Then Thor stormed down the stairs, but he wasn’t angry. Instead, he had a smirk on his face.

“Oh boy, what did he do?” Tony turned to look at Thor.

“Oh, he wouldn’t come down to watch the movie with us!” Thor looked around.

“So... why are you chasing him exactly?” Steve asked confused.

“.. No reason.” Thor was still looking around and walking around the room trying to find him.

“Ya know he’s right th- mm.. MMM!” Sam got cut off by something.

“Ah, right.. he’s using his magic.” Thor looked at Sam and chuckled while finally understanding.

There was a sound of footsteps behind Thor, he turned around and saw Loki trying to sneak up the stairs.

“There you are.” Thor ran after Loki.

Everyone looked confused, cuz they had just seen Loki turn invisible in the opposite corner of the room.

“So...” Bruce started but got cut off.

*huff* Everyone looked at the real Loki.

“Exactly why were you hiding?” Nat asked with obvious confusion.

“As he said.. I didn’t want to watch a movie.” Loki said as he started to walk away.

“Yeah, it’s much better to read a boring book!” Sam mocked Loki.

“HEY! Books are way better than.. whatever that.. is.” He pointed at the TV.

Loki didn’t even hear anyone coming down the stairs behind him.

“Mhm, and?” Tony asked with an amused grin as everyone saw Thor coming down the stairs.

“And? And what? You obviously have never read a bOOK-” Thor tackled Loki from behind.

“Hello there brother.” Thor smiled down at his brother.

“Wrong.” The fake disappeared under Thor.

Loki smiled sheepishly from the other side of the room.

No one even bothered to ask anything.

“Also, brother. I think your cape and armor look much better in pink.” Loki smirked.

“Oh no, you did not.” Thor stood up.

“I’m pretty sure he did.” Nat had snuck away to grab Thor’s “armor”.

“HA! It’s really pink!” Sam looked at the suit and laughed.

“Oh, you mischievous motherfucker.” Thor started speed walking to Loki.

Loki’s face turned from smug to *oh shit*.

“Wait! Wait! What are you doing?” Loki asked in panic as he circled the couch.

“Getting you back, bitch.” Thor now had a smirk on his face and gave him THAT look.

“Brother NO.” Loki now was panicking.

“What are they doing?” Steve asked confused as the brothers continued to circle the couch.

“I’m about to kill him.” Thor said in a teasy voice.

Loki let out a small panic giggle.

“OH! OH! Did you guys hear that??” Sam looked at everyone else with sparkles in his eyes.

Loki looked at him confused, “.. what?”

“Loki, did you just laugh?!” Even Wanda looked shocked.

“It appears so.” Vision said entering the room.

Loki was still circling the couch and looked at everyone REALLY confused, “..And?”

“AND?? You have never-” Clint got cut off by Thor.

“And you’re about to hear some more.”

Loki hadn’t noticed that Thor had stopped circling the couch and bumped into him.

“Brother don’t you dare.” Loki gave him a death glare, but Thor didn’t care.

“Oh, I think I do.” With that Thor pounced on Loki tackling him.

“Ok what is happening..?” Bucky was confused.

“BROTHER. BROTHER NO. NO.” Loki was screaming at Thor.

“Loki seems to be panicking.” Vision said.

“Yeah, we can see and hear that.” Steve looked down at them.

For Tony, it finally clicked, and he smirked.

Sam noticed that, “What?”.

“You guys are really dumb,” Tony said as he started laughing.

“AHAH!” Everyone was snapped back to reality when they heard a scream.

“Ah, there we go.” Thor looked amused.

Everyone looked at Thor and then Loki and back to Thor.

“You guys are really shit, he tickling him!” Tony said and everyone’s face turned from confusion to *oooh* to a smirk.

“AAAAGH! BROTHEHER!” Loki tried to fight back.

“Don’t fight it, just let it all out.” Thor chuckled.

Vision looked confused.

Wanda noticed.

“You don’t know what tickling is, Vision?” Wanda looked at vision and laughed.

Everyone turned to look at Vision’s confused face.

Vision shook his head.

“..no?” Vision tried to recreate what Thor was doing in the air.

Sam laughed at Vision.

“AAAAAUUH!” Vision jumped at the sound of the scream.

“Why is he hurting him??” Vision looked concerned.

“He’s not hurting him, Vision don’t worry!” Clint said.

“OK OK OK OK! IHIM SORYHIHI AHAH!” Loki shook his head.

“Anyone else wondering how the fuck we didn’t know about this?” Bucky laughed.

“Well you never really tried it, did you?” Thor looked up at him.

Thor drilled his fingers into Loki’s hips.

Loki bucked like crazy. “AGHAHA! THOHOR I SWEAR TO-  AHAHAAA!”

“Okay, okay fine... joking,” Thor said with a big smirk.

“NO. BROTHER. YOU CAN NOT DO THIS!” Loki pushed at his chest to try to get him off.

“Yes, yes I can,” Thor said as he lifted up his shirt.

“NO NO! SOMEONE STOP HIM PLEHEASE!” Loki shut his eyes and threw his head back.

“Since when does he say please?” Steve laughed.

“I’M NOT JOKING! JUST GET HIM OHOHOF!” Loki yelled.

“Ehhh?” Sam looked at everyone and wondered if he should help.

“FUHUCK!” 

“Uhh.. yeah. I don’t think I’ll help him. I mean how many times have you seen him laugh? That’s right 0.. also he messed up one of my suits.” Said Tony.

“Friday come to record this!” Tony’s suit arrived and started recording.

“AAAHAHA! YOU BETTER FUCKHING DELETE THAHAT!” Loki threatened, but it wasn’t really threatening ya know... since he was laughing so hard.

“Ok NOW last thing,” Thor said as he bent down and blew a big raspberry on his belly.

When I tell you that Loki SCREAMED.

“Ok, I’m done here. Have you learned your lesson?” Thor still had a smug smirk on his face.

Loki turned on his stomach and curled in on himself. “yehes..”

Thor laughed “I know that still means no but I got my revenge.”

“Uhuh.. you’re awful.”

“Watch it!” He poked Loki’s side.

“okahayokayokayokay!” Loki put his hand up in defense.

Loki flopped on his back and just stared at the ceiling.

Vision hurried over to Loki and started checking for injuries.

“Ohoh! Fuhuck ohohoff!” Loki pushed Vision’s hands away.

Thor laughed at his brother.

“I’m sorry! I think he’s injured!” Vision said in a worried voice.

“I swear if you touch me one more time I’m going to rip that stone out of your fucking head!” Loki threatened and Vision backed away.

“Hey!” Wanda yelled at Loki.

“Don’t worry Vision, he’s not injured. I just tickled him that’s it!” Thor put his hands up.

Sam started laughing. “HAH! Oh my fucking god! That was hilarious!”

Loki looked at him with a death glare.

“O-or not.” Sam stopped laughing.

“Did you get that, Friday?” Tony asked the robot.

“Yes sir.” The suit replied.

“You better delete that.” Loki stood up and brushed himself off.

“uhhh, I don’t think I will.” Tony smiled and turned back to the Robot.

“Okay then..” Loki walked behind Tony.

Loki pointed at Tony and looked at Thor.

Thor shrugged.

“Ok since when do the two of you have telapat- AGH!” Tony flinched away and turned around to see Loki.

“Delete. it.” Said Loki.

“Fine. Friday delete it.” Tony gave the command.

“You humans have no durability.” Loki scoffed as he walked away.

[pagesfromthevoid]

False God | m.m. | Epilogue

Matt Murdock x Avenger!reader

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Fluff. Religious mentions and undertones

Author’s Note: Holy fucking shit. We did it. It’s here. We’ve done it. Thank you all for your love and support and I am just. I am so excited.

Series Masterlist | Talk to Me! | Buy me a coffee?

“What are the odds you’ll help a friend of mine out?”

The first several months of everyone returning were rough; homes were rented out and sold. Jobs were taken over and lost. Foggy, Karen and Matt had a whole new set of clients, all needing help recovering what was lost five years ago. The offices of Nelson, Murdock and Page were constantly busy. Though Matt did his best to make time to spend with her. She’d taken up her receptionist position full time now, though only because she felt bad that they were so bombarded. Today, they were closing up early though.

Matt looked up from the case he was feeling over, brow raised. “Depends. Who is it?”

She hummed a little in response, looking over the newspaper in her hand. The front page showed Steve shaking Sam’s hand, holding the shield as he passed it down to the hero. Well deserved, truly. Though she was certain Sam would disagree with the sentiment. The bottom of the article had a blurry photo of Bucky, with a short blurb about his upcoming court appearance to determine if he would be pardoned.

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes?”

Foggy looked up from his computer, frowning now. “You want us to represent the Winter Soldier?”

“You represented me —“

“You didn’t murder people for seventy years!” Foggy argued, falling back in his chair.

Matt stopped going over his paperwork, cleaning back for a moment as he considered it. “We can meet with him. But it’ll have to wait until next week.”

She beamed, sitting up straight at her desk. “Really? Thank god.”

“You might want to hold onto that gratitude until after tonight,” Matt grinned, looking over at her.

Both she and Foggy rolled their eyes. Karen walked out of her office, grabbing her jacket. “Let’s go, you. We have things to do before tonight.”

She groaned, throwing herself back in her chair dramatically. “I don’t need to do all that, Karen —“

“Yes you do. Now get your coat; we’re gonna be late for your nail appointment.”

She stood up as Natasha sauntered in, jiggling her car keys. “You’re both too slow.”

“Do you ever knock?” Foggy asked, looking at Natasha with a teasing grin.

“Don’t like my surprise visits, Nelson?”

“I don’t mind, but I’m pretty sure my girlfriend hates them.”

“Poor Marci,” Natasha teased, rolling her eyes. “Let’s go, ladies. We got shit to do.”

Grabbing her jacket, she slipped around the desk. As she tried to walk over to Matt to say goodbye, though, Natasha grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door.

“Nuh uh. It’s bad enough luck to see the bride before the wedding. You’re not kissing him before it either.”

“I haven’t technically seen her today —,” Matt tried to argue, but they were out the door already.

*****

“You can always back out —,”

“Nat, no —,”

“I’m just saying. I know places we can hide. As your maid of honor, it’s my job to protect you.”

She rolled her eyes, running her hands down the front of her dress. It was nothing fancy; a tea length white dress with embroidered leaves along the skirt. It was pretty, and simple, and that’s all she needed. She skipped the veil, insisting that it didn’t really matter since he couldn’t see her anyway, though Natasha insisted on a dainty tiara in its place. The boldest part of her ensemble were her shoes —a darker shade of red, resembling a rather familiar suit.

Karen was finishing the last touches of her make up before finally stepping back and smiling proudly. “And we are…done.”

“Just in time, I think that’s May coming to get to get you two,” she pointed out just as May opened the door. Peter trailed behind his aunt with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Alright, you two, get up there and take your places,” May ordered, shooing Karen and Natasha out the door.

“Thanks for letting us use the shelter,” she said, taking Peter’s arm as he held it out to her.

“Matt kept up the rent while we were gone,” May reminded her with a tender smile. “It’s the least I can do, really. We’ll get it reopened soon, but for now, it’s set up just for you.”

May hugged her tight, rattling on about how beautiful she was and how happy she was going to be. Offering marriage advice and all. Peter had to shoo his aunt out as the processional music started up. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath.

“You ready?” Peter asked, waiting to open the doors.

“As I’ll ever be,” she whispered, smiling as he opened the doors for her.

It was a small ceremony, with only the most important people in both their lives there. Karen and Natasha stood at the altar, where Foggy and Matt stood as well. Peter would join Matt up there soon. Steve, Bucky and Sam sat on her side, with May conveniently between Steve and Bucky. Pepper and Morgan were there as well, with Clint, Thor and Dr. Banner. Jimmy and Scott sat in the back, waving excitedly at her. Even Fury and Hill made an appearance, sitting in the back. Foggy’s family, along with Marci, sat on Matt’s side. The kids were whispering amongst each other, pointing at all the heroes in the room.

With the doors opened, everyone stood and faced her. Matt turned as Foggy leaned in, no doubt trying to describe what she looked like. But he didn’t need to —because Matt’s vision of her appeared before him. His breath hitched as Peter walked her down the aisle, and Matt covered his mouth as she slowly approached him at the altar.

There were no words to describe the feelings Matt had. Nothing could compare to what she looked like, walking to him. Preparing to be his for the rest of their lives. He took off his glasses, wiping his eyes as he felt himself start to tear up. She couldn’t help the smile that spread over her face as she stopped in front of the altar. Peter wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. When he let go, he stepped beside Foggy, who clapped him on the shoulder gently.

Maggie approached the couple, standing under the arch holding the Bible in her hands. She was smiling at Matt, tears in her own eyes.

“Please, be seated,” Maggie announced, holding the Bible close to her chest. “We have come together today for a wonderful occasion.” Maggie looked between her and Matt, wiping her own eyes. “You’ll need to forgive me; I may cry myself here. Because we are here to see the holy union of my son, and his beautiful fiancée.”

There was a short pause, and after a moment, Maggie spoke up once more. “The question is asked, ‘is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and a girl clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love? And the answer is given.’” She looked down at her Bible, opening it slowly as she leafed through her own written notes. “And yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is an old man and an old woman finishing their life’s journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are wrinkled but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.

“You two will find that, even when the road gets hard and people tell you that you cannot be led by blind faith, love will guide you. You both have faced your fair share of heartbreak and pain, but you have found yourselves drawn to each other. And that is a love worth worshipping.”

Maggie motioned to Foggy, who pulled the wedding bands out of his pocket. He had handed one to Matt, and the other to her.

“Do you have vows prepared?” Maggie asked, closing her Bible and clutching it to her chest once more.

She nodded once, handing her bouquet to Natasha, who swapped it out for a piece of paper. “I…I wrote these when we first talked about getting married,” she admitted, unfolding the page. “Matt, I love you. I have loved you since the moment you laid on the floor of my apartment with me, and you saw me for the first time. Even after everything we have gone through…you still do it for me, Matt. And even if things go wrong, or life decides to take another swing at us…I think we might just get away with being happy. As long as I have you.” She folded the page again, taking a deep breath as Natasha took it back.

Matt smiled at her, wiping his eyes again as Maggie motioned for him to begin. “I know that I haven’t made it easy to love me. I have done so much, making it feel like we were crazy for making this work. But we did; however I said something when we first started this and I…I have to take it back.” Matt paused, running a hand across his jaw as he took a breath. “Do you remember how I said I’d die for you?” She nodded once, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to die for you; I want to live for you. And that is more than I ever thought I could want.”

Maggie covered her mouth, trying to keep herself from crying. A deep breath from her and she fanned herself for a moment before she looked between the two. “If there are no objections to this union —though, even if there is, I will choose to ignore you —please, Matthew, present the ring.” Matt took her hand gently, sliding it on her finger as Maggie spoke. “With this ring, do you promise to love her through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, so long as you shall live?”

Matt nodded frantically, looking to her. “I do.”

Maggie turned to her next, smiling brightly. “Please, present the ring.” She took Matt’s hand, lifting it with trembling hands as she slipped the ring onto his finger. “With this ring, do you promise to love him through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, so long as you shall live?”

“I do. I really do,” she promised, holding Matt’s hand tight in hers.

“Then, by the power vested in me by the state of New York as well as the eyes of God, I now pronounce you man and wife. Please, you may kiss your bride.”

There was no hesitation as Matt pulled her into his arms, kissing her with every ounce of love he had in his body. Everything they had gone through, everything they had dealt with and lost —it had led to this moment. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him close as she poured all of herself into the kiss, basking in the warmth that was their forever.

When they pulled away, they grinned at each other like fools, noses brushing against each other. The members of the ceremony stood, throwing applause and cheers at them. Whistling and shouting surrounded them as they stood there, lost in each other for a moment.

“I love you, Mrs. Murdock.”

“And I love you, Mr. Murdock.”

———

Taglist (CLOSED): @thebisexual-disaster @chims-kookies @ferxaniti @heybabyshae @notalxx @gothicxbarbie @dark-night-sky-99 @blacxk-moony @celestialissues @pinkybee926 @bex-tk1 @jasontoddthezombie @killthebutt4fly @softieekayy @tremendoushearttaco @cbloodmarch @ammiddlechild @venusriver @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @yikes-buddy @buckyspetal @baconlover001 @flimsysquid @reh-llik @messagesinthesky @dreamypanda @happyfern2 @svft-cas @andiforgetaboutyoulongenoughh @deafeningnightcollection-things @milf-murdock

[milaswriting]

hey Mila!! it's Welle here. i missed you and your writing and while i'm not entirely back yet, i saw the prompts you shared and i think i am once again in my P brainrot so could i get the "i've formed the habit of liking you." for them? <3 btw i hope you are doing good!!

❛ i’ve formed the habit of liking you. ❜

Habits develop subconsciously, some with the intent for them to happen, others that are formed because of the important people in your life. It's a never-ending cycle that you usually come to enjoy. It's all present when P's opening the door to their apartment and letting you in, moving towards the kitchen and taking 'your' mug off the cupboard shelf.

Technically, it isn't 'yours' as such. Your name isn't on it, you didn't buy it either, but it's a piece of you that's in P's apartment, something you both silently agree on because it's the mug you use every time you go there.

It's routine. P makes your favourite drink, may add the special touch of magic into the atmosphere, and then pours the drink into the mug whilst the two of you chat about what comes to mind.

"So, are you going?" P asks, taking the spot across from you as they slide your drink over the counter, it expertly glides into your hands.

"I don't know."

"Terrible answer," P chuckles whilst taking a sip of their own drink. "Missing your own graduation is criminal."

You refrain from rolling your eyes. You know graduation is just around the corner, you've known the date for weeks, you've just put it to the back of your mind but now it's at the forefront... considering there are only two days until you're supposed to be throwing a cap in the air. Though, you have a feeling that the supernatural world has other ideas... it definitely does.

"Then it's a perfectly good crime to commit," you counter back as you bring the mug to your lips.

P shakes their head, freshly dyed-blonde wisps of hair fall into their face before they push them away. "I disagree, I bought a ticket to go."

"I'll reimburse you."

"I picked out a nice outfit," P shoots back.

Your eyes lock with theirs. This is a debate you have to win and backing down isn't an option. "Save it for a special occasion." Then you blink. "Or a special someone."

The quick-fire comments stop for a moment; you watch as P's heart-shaped lips part, as though they're readying themselves to say something but are reconsidering how to word it.

P clears their throat. "You're really not up for going?"

Your head shakes a little as you gulp down half of your drink. "I just don't think it's the time for a celebration when the supernatural world is in a whole load of disarray. I just keep thinking what's going to happen next."

"I don't think any amount of worry could prepare us for what happens next." They drop their empty cup in the sink, reach over to take your own and do the same before turning back to you. "Instead of a grand celebration, then, how about something smaller?"

You arch a brow. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

P chuckles. "That's completely up to you considering I'm about to ask you out on a date." The last of their words fall from their mouth with a slight falter, as though they're scared of putting themselves out there, scared of the answer you're going to give.

This isn't totally unexpected. The others have teased you two about it for ages now, it's just that neither of you have acted on it... until now.

You feel a smile curl over your mouth. "I suppose I wouldn't want a nice outfit of yours going to waste." You've completely disregarded how close the two of you are until now. You're no longer behind the kitchen island, but standing at the edge of it with P less than a metre away.

"How generous of you," they chuckle lightly, eyes darting over facial features, then their gaze rests on your lips for a lingering moment... one that's all too long before they speak again. "Any preference on where you'd like to go?"

You shrug your shoulders playfully. "I'll leave it up to you. I expect to be surprised."

"Looks like I have my work cut out."

You laugh. "I think whatever you pick will be perfect."

It started with a habit. Then a special occasion cropped up with the opportunity to take a special person. It ended with a habit too. The habit of P liking you.

[yourlocalnicknackkinnie]

Character Bingo: Nick Nack (HP:MS)

@dolly-royal @omggypsyesmeraldathings-blog (I know you asked for Riley too but I'm making it a separate post since its the same character :3 )

Alrighty lets begin (It's gonna be very long because I've got a lot of things to say about him)

They are so cool looking

I gotta admit, he looks very cool. Even tho some prople say he looks like James Charles (Which I STRONGLY disagree) I love his design. I personally like his clothes, the man has drip. Heck, I literally painted a white blazer for a cosplay but now I just wear it when I'm not in cosplay anymore. I also like his facial structure since it gave me a challenge to draw him before but now I've gone used too it. (I can go on and on)

Everyone but me is wrong about them

Ok, so this is just a little joke (I do believe in other people's headcanons about him) but I would make this joke of "As a Nick Nack Kinnie, he would defiantly do that" if there's something that I think he would do.

Wasted Potential

Ik hes in the prequel but he could have more potential in the first game too (Since his model was already made). I think that Nick could've been in the tea party with Mortimer and Riley at the end instead of Kathy. (IDK but stillll)

If they were real I would be afraid of them

Ok, maybe a little startled but still- I mean, he's a puppet that wants a human as his host. But I headcanon that when you say that he's your favorite, he'll stop, cry and just be nicer to you. (Since he doesn't want to harm a fan)

They are deeper then they seem

for some reason I feel like there's something more about Nick that we don't know. The fact that he might have the urge not hunt for Owen and his urge to do it is strange but maybe there's more context in the game when its realesed.

They got done DIRTY by fans

So one time I tried to look how far the fandom has got. So every fandom has R34 art so I decided to type it in on google and OH I REGRET MY DECISION. I found a Nick Nack one- (IDK if that counts tho but still)

Didn't get enough screen time

This applies for the first game. like- we only see him in the shadows and that's it.

I want to carry them in a handbag like a tiny dog

Well kinda, I don't own any handbags but I wanna put him in a back pack instead with him poking out of it. If i had a Nick Nack puppet i would put him in there, let him poke out of it and go out with him like that for aesthetic purposes (And probably comfort reasons as well).

Nothing I like about them is technically canon

Another joke one. I do like things that are canon but I like to come up with headcanons to make me like him more than usual.

Why do they look like that

I don't mean his Midnight show ver. I meant his model that was supposed to be in the first game. What happened to his eyes? Where his is little beard thingy? (I headcanon that the eyes are supposed to be a mechanism that was added in later. like Puppet contact lenses I guess. it was later added because it wasn't in the blue prints so it was just a last minute idea Owen came up with)

Im mentally ill about them

Help, my mind is all about him now- send help (JK)

Wow... they are LITERALLY me!

Yep, that's me (As my username says it) I relate to him a lot. from my interests to maybe personality. heck I made a list of it and there's a lot of things I kin him that its scary. Ex. liking arts, having mood swings, being a tea person, likes to sing (the difference is that I think my voice sounds horrible) and more things-

They've never done anything wrong in their life <33

Ok, Ok maybe he has done some thing wrong in his life but at least he has the urge to not kill us-

So that's all for now. I could make a headcanon post about him on here (Pls reblog or comment down if you want something like this cause I have a lot of headcanons for Nick and plus I love making this kinds of posts)

[shadamyheadcanons]

Headcanon #240

Omega got the hang of socializing by emulating those around him, mostly Shadow and Rouge, and he quotes movies and TV shows whenever he feels they suit the situation to supplement his attempts. It kind of works. His manner of speaking usually says more about his friends, though.

Omega was lending Rouge a hand with the dishes one day. “YOU ARE SCRUBBING TOO HARD. IS YOUR ARM MALFUNCTIONING?”

Rouge snorted. “Nah, I’m just a little irritated today. The new recruit called me ‘vain’ because I tweaked my lip gloss during some downtime on the mission.” She held her head high. “Just because someone doesn’t take pride in her appearance doesn’t mean I won’t.”

“VANITY AND PRIDE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS, THOUGH THE WORDS ARE OFTEN USED SYNONYMOUSLY. A PERSON MAY BE PROUD WITHOUT BEING VAIN.”

Rouge paused, then side-eyed him. “Uh...okay...? I guess so...”

“PRIDE RELATES MORE TO OUR OPINION OF OURSELVES, VANITY TO WHAT WE WOULD HAVE OTHERS THINK OF US.”

Rouge finished washing the last dish and turned fully toward him. “What?!” He faced her, unreadable as usual. She cocked her head suspiciously. “Have you been spending too much time in front of that damn TV again?”

He inclined his head in confirmation. “IT IS VERY ENJOYABLE. I FIGURE LIFE IS A GIFT, AND I I DO NOT INTEND ON WASTING IT.”

Rouge just stopped and stared, baffled. She took out her phone to google the phrase. I know I’ve heard that somewhere before...

--

Rouge leaned against the doorframe of the living room and crossed her arms. “Hey, Shadow?”

Shadow grunted in acknowledgement but didn’t look up from his motorcycle magazine.

Rouge glanced back down at her phone. “Why is Omega quoting Pride and Prejudice and The Notebook?”

Shadow flinched almost imperceptibly. “Weird,” he commented, still not looking up. “He picks up the strangest stuff, doesn’t he?” She tapped her foot. When she stayed silent, he added, “He’s been watching too much TV. Do parental controls work on a robot?”

“Maybe.” She waited for a few more seconds, but he didn’t say anything else. She frowned and left.

Just because you’re not technically lying to me doesn’t mean I don’t know you’re up to something.

--

Rouge invited Amy over on a hunch that weekend. Over dinner, she posed the same question to Amy, who instantly perked up.

“Oh, yeah! Shadow and I watch tons of romance movies!���

Shadow choked on his grilled cheese.

Rouge’s eyes brightened. “Oh, really? I had no idea!”

Amy missed the mischief in Rouge’s tone. “Yup! Every week! It’s great having someone who loves them as much as I do.”

Rouge smirked teasingly at Shadow. “Wow! I didn’t know that!”

Shadow was still trying to choke down his food. “Well...it’s not like I...”

“You don’t have to be shy, Shadow. There’s nothing like a good romance!” Amy enthused, clasping her hands under her chin. “Shadow told me he likes the nice, sweet endings and how the characters always end up happy. Can’t say I disagree!”

Shadow was staring wide-eyed and terrified down at his plate, and he was gripping his glass so hard Rouge was afraid it would break. She tried to hide giggles behind her hand.

Oblivious to the mood, Amy hopped to her feet. “I’m going to get more water. Do you three need anything?”

Shadow shook his head stiffly. Rouge got herself under control enough to say, “I’m all set, hun. It’s sweet of you to ask!”

“INDEED. IT IS THE GENERAL CONSENSUS OF THIS HOUSE THAT AMY ROSE IS A SWEET, KIND INDIVIDUAL WHO IS FUN TO SPEND TIME WITH,” Omega added. Rouge’s gaze snapped over to Shadow. He avoided her eyes.

Amy beamed brightly. “Thank you, Omega! I love being here, too!”

“WONDERFUL. ROSE IS GREAT TO WATCH MOVIES WITH AND TALK TO. ROSE IS GENUINE AND RELAXING TO BE AROUND.”

Rouge blinked. Just ‘Rose’...?

Shadow was glaring daggers at him. “Omega...” he hissed.

Omega kept going. “IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE SAY ROSE IS CUTE AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO CUDDLE WITH HER INSTEAD OF JUST WATCHING MOVIES.”

At that, Amy and Rouge couldn’t hold in their laughter. Shadow held his head in his hands and groaned.

Much later, Omega admitted he knew exactly what he was doing.

[makeste]

but I just feel too tired to be fighting

this is a follow-up post to what I said in my recap the other day about this arc being the Deku Angst arc, as opposed to the Villain Hunt arc or the Deku SIXQUIRKS Exhibition arc. I feel like the fandom discussion tends to focus on the flashier parts of the chapters -- the sexy villains and the new quirk reveals and the Shindous -- each week, and so the quieter emotional beats sometimes get overlooked, especially since the character arc here is playing out in little bits and pieces over time rather than all at once.

this has always been a very reactionary fandom, and there’s a tendency to judge the chapters week to week without ever going back to look at how they all fit into the big picture. so I figured I would try to attempt that, and basically go chapter by chapter here to look at what exactly Horikoshi is setting up and how it all fits together.

so let’s start with the end of chapter 306, which is when the arc officially kicks off. specifically with the very last page:

this is imo one of the best pages Horikoshi has ever drawn. I got the sense that this was a scene he’d had in his mind’s eye for quite a long time, and that he was excited to finally get to this part of the story. it’s extremely effective as both a chapter-ender, and an arc-opener. like, look at this:

it establishes the initial premise of the new arc -- the world is in chaos, and Deku is now seemingly on his own

it leaves the readers with a number of questions. why did Deku leave U.A.?? is he really on his own now?? why does he look so beat-up and exhausted?? what is he up to?? what is the world like now that all these villains have been unleashed and the heroes have been decimated?? and most importantly of all, what the fuck is going to happen next??

it pays homage to some of Horikoshi’s comic book influences -- Batman in particular

it dramatically hits us with that “THE FINAL ACT BEGINS” and lets us know that shit is getting real now

that’s some good shit. so much so that I think people tended to overlook the other notable thing about this page amidst all of the initial excitement and discussion and speculation about where the series was headed. and that is the fact that the final panel in this chapter is NOT the panel of Deku standing above the city. the very last panel, the one that this chapter actually ends on, is instead the close-up of Deku’s face. his face, which is covered in shadow; and his eyes, which have dark circles under them and are prominently missing the usual flecks of light that give him his signature “sunny optimistic shounen protagonist” look.

not to mention this last line here, which is a call back to the very first time we saw the 14-year-old Deku way back in chapter one.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Horikoshi chose to throw this reference in. nor is it a coincidence that THIS is the scene he actually chose to end the chapter on. what this does is show us the drastic shift in Deku’s emotional state of mind, and his attitude towards being a hero. he’s gone from being thrilled and excited to being jaded and exhausted. he’s matured, but at a great cost. it’s always been his dream to be a hero, but “be careful what you wish for” is a popular adage for a reason. and right now he looks the furthest thing from happy.

and this is the emotional beat that Horikoshi chooses to end the chapter on. this is the panel that closes out the War arc, and begins the final act. to me the message could not be clearer -- this arc will be about the exploration of Deku’s character, and his struggle as he tries to live up to the expectations that have been placed on him as the Last Holder of OFA and quite possibly the World’s Only Hope.

it’s a character arc that builds on a lot of the things we’ve already learned about Deku over the course of the series, such as the fact that he is reckless, and that he focuses on others often at the expense of himself. but more importantly, it’s an arc that finally expands on the dark side of what has up until now been a net positive for Deku -- the power of OFA. up until this point, despite its ups and downs, it’s been a boon for Deku overall and has allowed him to pursue his dream. but now we’re finally reaching the point where the monkey’s paw part of the OFA blessing/curse finally starts to come into play. OFA gives Deku more power than he could have ever dreamed of, but it also comes with a built-in destiny that he can’t opt out of whether he likes it or not. AFO is on the loose and out there trying to destroy the world. and now everyone has pinned their hopes on this sixteen-year-old kid, and the question of whether or not the sixteen-year-old kid is ready is apparently not one that anyone feels inclined to ask (possibly because they’re afraid that the answer might be “no”).

he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. he has to do it, because there’s no one else who can. that’s the kind of pressure that is on Deku now.

and on that note, we begin the Deku Angst arc.

chapter 307

this in hindsight was mostly just a set-up chapter to better establish the current state of the BnHA world at large (spoilers: it’s not good), while also providing an answer for one of the big initial questions of the arc -- namely, “what happened to all of those villains that AFO released from Tartarus?” these are important things to touch on, but the pacing could definitely have been better, and the bulk of the chapter was dedicated to providing fanservice to all of the Shindou fans who spammed the most recent popularity poll (which, whatever lol). anyway, so this was the sole chapter thus far with absolutely no Deku development. thankfully the arc picks up from there.

chapter 308

on to the next one! this was the one and only chapter thus far which I think actually qualifies as an “exhibition fight.” this was definitely all about showing off Deku’s current powerset, as well as introducing us to another of the SIXQUIRKS. however, there was Deku development here as well, most notably in this scene:

this is the scene that got a lot of people speculating that this arc was going to focus on Deku hunting down all of the old villains. but I think people got so caught up in that speculation that they overlooked what this scene tells us about Deku’s mindset. and yes, there is new information being revealed here, and it’s not just a rehash of the stuff we already knew. like yes, we know that Deku was shaken up by the recent encounters with Dabi and Tomura, and we know that made him start questioning why villains become villains in the first place, and all that good stuff, and that’s great. however, there are two additional important things that this scene helps establish for us.

the upcoming battle with TomurAFO is weighing heavily on Deku’s mind. this is something that will become a recurring theme in this arc. Deku is thinking about this constantly. the question of what to do when he finally encounters TomurAFO again is knocking incessantly at the back of his mind, and this won’t be the last time it comes up.

Deku is using these villain encounters as test runs. can Tomura be redeemed?? is he just being stupid and naïve?? or is this really something worth attempting?? the interesting thing about this is that Deku’s resolve to save people is usually so strong and unwavering that it’s more than enough to overcome any doubts that he might have. but this time it seems like the repeated objections posed by the Vestiges and Gran Torino have really gotten to him. it’s possible I’m just reading way too much into things, but to me it really feels like Deku’s recent attempts at Talk no Jutsu were meant to do more than just show his growing awareness that the line between heroes and villains is thinner than he once imagined. they’re also serving as trial runs for the real test, when it finally comes. if he can “save” even a villain like Muscular, there’s hope for him being able to save Tomura as well. and so that moment when Muscular rejects him out of hand is all the more disappointing to him, even if it wasn’t really unexpected. basically it wasn’t the answer that he had been hoping for.

aside from those little notes though, like I said, this was unquestionably an exhibition fight first and foremost. which is fine; we needed to establish where Deku is currently in terms of strength, and it was also just fun to see him kick some ass, ngl. in terms of story purpose this chapter was similar to 219, which showed us how Shouto and Katsuki had powered up after getting their provisional licenses. people who don’t care about those characters might argue that these fights weren’t necessary, but as someone who stans all three characters hard, I would disagree! but anyways, moving on.

chapter 309

in contrast to the previous chapter, this chapter focuses more on establishing Deku’s current mental state, as opposed to his physical state. and this is what we learn:

(1) Deku is ~technically~ being shadowed/accompanied by All Might and the Hawksquad (but in practice he’s avoiding them).

(2) it was Deku’s own decision to leave U.A., and he did it because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in order to protect him.

and finally, (3) Deku’s game plan is to stop Tomura and All for One before they reach full power.

this last part is very important, because it means there’s a countdown in effect. as far as Deku is concerned, there’s only a finite amount of time before TomurAFO becomes unstoppable. which means that he’s not only under “gotta get stronger” pressure, but time pressure as well. he doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time and training in safety. he’s being rushed now; this is do-or-die.

this chapter is also the first in this arc in which we get to see Deku’s expressions without the hood covering up his face, and what we see is very telling. as previously stated, the light is gone from Deku’s eyes. he keeps his expressions very neutral, and the only time we even see a hint of a smile is when he hugs his mom in the flashback, and it’s clear from the dialogue (“it’s okay, I’ll come home to you”) that he’s doing it for her sake in order to comfort her.

but aside from that, this is very much not the Deku we’ve grown accustomed to. this is the chapter that really establishes his current mental state imo. above all else, he’s afraid that more people will get hurt because of him, and so he’s distancing himself from everyone around him. and he’s also morbidly preoccupied with the inevitability of having to face TomurAFO again, and soon. the chapter ends on the flashback of Gran giving him his cape, and telling Deku that “killing can be another way to save someone.” there’s a lot on this kid’s mind, to say the least.

chapter 310

this chapter opens with a gang of civilians who are trying to open fire on a nice fox lady whose only crime was walking around in the rain at night. Deku intervenes to save her, and it’s the first time in this arc that we see anything close to the “old” Deku, who just wanted to save people with a smile.

but it’s bittersweet, because all the lady can talk about is how scared she was, and how horrible everything is right now. and so Deku, who feels responsible in a lot of ways for everything that’s happened, just feels that much more pressure to somehow make things right again.

there’s also this extra throwaway line which is especially heartbreaking:

“I can’t afford to be around anyone.” fucking ouch. just reinforcing once more how incredibly isolated Deku is right now -- not by choice, but because he feels like it’s not safe to let anyone else get close to him. and so he’s out here running around this dystopian cityscape in the middle of the night in the pouring rain all on his own, and neglecting himself to the point where All Might practically has to force a bento on him.

but does he complain? of course not. because his focus is never on himself. instead, when he settles down to eat, his thoughts immediately drift back to, guess who...

it’s that time pressure once again. “unless I draw out One for All’s full power, I can’t stop any of this.” it’s just nonstop, I have to get stronger, I’m running out of time, I have to do better, and constantly thinking about that inevitable confrontation.

Deku is a thinker, you guys. and when left to his own devices he will overthink, every time. his mind will run in endless loops while he mentally works his way through all of the possibilities. and that’s one of his greatest strengths, don’t get me wrong, but at a time like this it’s also one of his greatest weaknesses. it’s just so fucking easy for him to get stuck in his own head, in his endless rambling thoughts and analyses. and without anyone else there to help distract him, or help him focus, he’s become fixated on his mission, and it’s slowly consuming him.

this, incidentally, is also the chapter in which we finally see Two and Three’s faces, and learn why Two in particular is so reluctant to lend his power to Deku. he appears to be the lone holdout at this point, so stay tuned on that, because I don’t doubt this will wind up being crucial to Deku’s future development, however it winds up playing out.

chapter 311

this chapter flips back to the Hawksquad for the first half, so we get a brief respite from the ongoing Dekuangst. right before we switch back though, we do get confirmation of something we had pretty much already guessed:

like, that much was already apparent based on what we’d seen (the bags under his eyes; the fact that he refused to sit still in any one place for very long even at night), but it’s always nice to get the official confirmation so that people can’t dispute it lol. so yeah, Deku isn’t sleeping much. and not eating much either, if all he’s getting is the occasional bento from Dadmight. so basically not taking care of himself at all, huge shocker there. but this is something that’s important enough to the story that Horikoshi took the time to point it out in the dialogue, in addition to all of the visual clues we’d already gotten.

and just in case we needed to drive that point in any further, this chapter ends with the appearance of Lady Nagant! like yeah, no shit Deku isn’t getting much sleep, what with him having to fend off racist civilians and hired assassins every five fucking minutes. smdh. can he live??

chapter 312

so this is the chapter that properly introduces Lady Nagant, who maaaay or may not be one of the primary antagonists of this arc?? like, it’s really unclear right now tbh, but she gets hyped up by Hawks and AFO, and has a flashback and a mysterious past and a weird trump card (where did you go, Overhaul) and all that good shit, so yeah? one can hope at any rate.

but anyway. so to his credit, Deku’s first thought is to retreat, but he quickly abandons that plan once he figures out Nagant’s location. this is played off like a logical strategic decision at first, but the subsequent chapter quickly makes it clear that Deku’s decision to take the fight to Nagant is less rational than he might have you think.

chapter 313

so yeah. last but not least, the most recent chapter, in which Deku’s real reason for targeting Lady soon becomes apparent:

what’s more, it quickly becomes clear that he miscalculated and probably would have been better off following Hawks’s advice, seeing as he promptly gets himself shot, and subsequently realizes that AFO gave Nagant an extra quirk, something he hadn’t taken into account. but instead of cutting his losses and running at this point, he doubles down instead and not only breaks out Smokescreen, but also the Third’s quirk which he has never even used before.

it’s worth noting that both En and the Third start telling him to chill at this point, and warn him that what he’s attempting is too dangerous. but tbh if they were expecting him to listen, they haven’t been reading the same arc I’ve been reading. once again, Horikoshi makes it clear that Deku has one thing and one thing only on his mind right now.

of course. once again it all comes back to this. hunt down AFO. it doesn’t matter that he’s exhausted. it doesn’t matter that he’s just been shot twice. it doesn’t matter that Hawks, despite knowing what Deku was capable of with his OFA abilities, specifically warned him away from this one person only. it doesn’t matter that even the Vestiges are trying to tell him you’re going too fast and you’re trying to do too much and it’s too dangerous.

he just doesn’t care. long story short, the only thing that matters to Deku right now is tracking down and defeating TomurAFO. and as the person who knows him best once so aptly put it, “he doesn’t take himself into account.” and therein lies the major challenge of this arc.

and so this is where we’re currently at now. and this has been a very long post, but if nothing else, I hope I was able to get this one point across: there is absolutely no way that Deku will be able to defeat TomurAFO as he is now. not a chance in hell. somehow he’s managed the uncommon feat of waging a war of attrition against himself, which is really quite an accomplishment. he’s not taking care of himself, and he’s refusing to listen to sound advice from the people surrounding him, and is trying to skip ahead to the final boss battle before he’s ready, because the guilt and pressure from feeling responsible for the current situation are eating him up. the only way that the world can go back to normal is if he can defeat AFO; therefore he has to do it as soon as possible, because time is running out and everyone is counting on him. this is who Deku is. and this is what inevitably happens when his saving mentality is taken to extremes, and left unchecked.

anyway so to wrap up this post now, I do think this arc is a lot more cohesive than it’s gotten credit for thus far, and Deku is the glue holding it all together. I for one am loving the exploration of his character and all the subtle little angsty touches as we build up to the big moment, whenever it finally comes. just keep in mind though that if his decisions right now seem reckless and short-sighted, it’s because they’re supposed to seem that way, because Deku is not in a good mental state right now. the cracks are finally showing in our perfect protagonist, just like everyone has been wanting this whole time. he is just a kid. he is doing his best. he is trying far too hard to do his best, and it is hurting him so badly, but he doesn’t even realize. this arc is not an endorsement of the Angsty Nomad Hero lifestyle, lol. it’s the exact fucking opposite, and I think it’s being wildly misinterpreted with all of the emphasis on “oh look at that, he mastered another quirk with no effort”, as opposed to “oh look at that, he is shutting down emotionally and is a few more missed nights of sleep away from a complete and total breakdown.”

tl;dr the overarching storyline of this arc is all about Deku slowly falling apart due to his trauma from Jakku, and the subsequent pressure that was put on him by the Vestiges with their whole “GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE THE LAST USER OF OFA, THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ALL ON YOU BUDDY” pep talk. and mark my words, things are not going to go according to plan. something is going to go terribly wrong here. whether it’s something happening to All Might, or AFO setting up a trap for him, either way Deku is being set up to fail in a major way. unless of course, someone (or a group of someones) manages to intervene first, and possibly stage an intervention or something. it’s what he needs right now, but idk if Horikoshi is going to make it that easy.

anyway, but in other words, the point of this arc is not to show how much stronger Deku has gotten and how he doesn’t even need his friends anymore. it’s the exact opposite -- the point of this arc is to show that Deku needs his friends now more than ever. that in spite of OFA and all of its mystical trappings and fancy SIXQUIRKS, Deku can’t do this alone. he needs his friends. that’s the core message. and right now, we are at the “I can get by on my own” part of the story. and the part we are all waiting for, but which is coming -- I guarantee it is coming, you guys -- is “the thing is, you don’t have to.”

and that shit is going to slap hard you guys. and I for one can’t wait. but until then, enjoy the angst.

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE SIX || AFTER RAIN

↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + zenin maki + inumaki toge + panda from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of death + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 25 february

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 2.6k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : curse womb must die II

↳ next episode : assault 

↳ barista’s notes : hey hey hey~ let me admit, i have no idea how to write the next episode since you don’t see anyone in them except for gojo and itadori (domain expansion episode) ʕ ᵒ ᴥ ᵒʔ so i might have to improvise something now...BUT there’s nothing much happening in this episode, so i hope you still enjoy it even when there is no action or anything interesting going on ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique 

no cursed spells used this episode...

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing

“We’re in!” Fushiguro and Kugisaki simultaneously answered with determined looks on their faces before turning back to look at you, waiting for your answer.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, you knew that you had no way out of this since they looked so motivated for you to join, even if you disagreed with them.

“This is such a drag, but fine, I’ll join in too,” you replied with a small smile on your face leading them to nod at you before turning back to your seniors.

“But if I decided this training and exchange event is pointless, I’m quitting instantly,” Kugisaki mentioned.

“Same here,” Fushiguro commented, causing you to kick both of them on the back much to their surprise.

“So you drags make me do this event, only for you to dip when it’s pointless for you, besides I heard there are some interesting sorcerers in the Kyoto side, so prepare yourselves,” you stated before stepping down the few steps you were in front of before standing between them.

“Well, people this cocky are all more worthwhile to train,” Panda mentioned with his arms folded with a determined look on his face.

“Bonito flakes,” Inumaki said in a softer tone.

Looking up to the sky, you couldn’t help but brisk in the sunlight that was shining lightly down upon you, leading you to raise your hand over your face in order to not be blinded.

‘I wonder how I’m going to hide from this one now?’

                                                   ꕥ

“You’re late, Megumi,” Zenin obviously mentioned, as her head was turned with what seemed like to be a wooden combat pole in her hand as it casually leaned against her shoulder.

“Kelp,” Inumaki stated, as he was sitting on the ground, also having his head turned to look at the Shikigami user, ignoring what seemed to be a race between Kugisaki and Panda going on behind him.

“What were you doing?” Maki asked curiously, as Fushiguro made his way down the stone steps towards his upperclassman while zipping up his blue track top.

“What does it matter?” Fushiguro then questioned, not giving the weapon-wielder sorcerer a clear answer since he thought there was no need sharing the fact that he went to visit the mother of the man (that Itadori want to save) that had been killed by the special-grade curse back at Eushi Detention Centre to pay his condolences.

“Zenin-senpai...what kinds of people do you want to save as a jujutsu sorcerer?” Fushiguro queried, as he processed to stare down upon the ground trying to hide his emotions to compose his stoic nature, causing the mentioned sorcerer to turn her head once again to look at the other student.

“Huh? It’s not like I care if my actions save anyone,” Zenin answered in a matter-of-fact tone, causing Fushiguro to look to the side with an ‘I’m done’ expression.

“I shouldn’t have asked,” Fushiguro muttered in a lowered tone, leading Zenin to instantly become annoyed as she eyed at the erratic-haired boy with instant irritations in her eyes as well as expression.

Suddenly…

“FUSHIGURO! Quit asking interview prep questions! Switch with me! I’m sick of these school uniforms! Let me go buy some cute tracksuits!” Kugisaki shouted in a fit of rage, as she was strangely spun around in a dizzy circle like she was at a funfair circus as a clueless gymnast before being thrown in the air by Panda.

“What are those two doing?” Fushiguro confusingly asked as he watched the amusing sight process while his classmate landed on the floor.

“Falling practice!” Panda announced as he pointed his finger in the air like what he was doing was obviously.

“Mustard leaf,” Inumaki stated as if to confirm Panda’s answer, as he too looked at the ridiculous scene.

“You’re both weak in close quarters, after all,” Panda stated, as he informed his younger classmen on why what he was doing, made sense to the training that he had planned.

“By the way, where is Y/N? She was with you when you both left to do whatever you were doing,” Zenin questioned, as she looked around the area behind her to see if you were there since she did miss your presence the last time you both met.

“She said she needed to go somewhere important, but will be back as quick as possible,” Fushiguro recalled, as he remembers after you both met with Tadashi’s mother, you informed him that you had to go somewhere for the time being, but didn’t tell him where you were exactly heading off to.

“That’s fine, I guess,” Maki replied back as she processed to swing around the wooden pole she had in her hand with such grace and accuracy before continuing with, “if what that idiot Gojo said to us about her is true, she could beat all of us in an instant, she’ll probably be perfect in the individual’s battle,”.

“Okay, land a blow on us,” Zenin stated, with her palm out, as if inviting Fushiguro to attack her.

                                                ꕥ

“I’m here, mother”

As of right now, you were holding a small bouquet of a beautiful arrangement of blue hydrangeas paired with white roses with some incense sticks in one hand, while the other was holding a wooden tub filled with water with a wooden ladle as well as a plastic white bag with items you quickly brought from the corner store causing you to quickly place your items down before leaving the delicate bouquet in a safe area.

Digging through the white plastic bag, you pulled out a cloth before removing the stubborn tags that refused to be taken off as you processed to soak the material before beginning to wipe down the marble gravestone that towered you as your crouched down before cleaning the vase that you had also brought from the corner store - yet you were surprised at the fact there were no weeds to be pulled.

After you had quickly clean the gravestone, you picked up the incense sticks in their rightful holder before lighting them up with a match (that you also brought from the store) before carefully removing the paper that held the flowers to gently place the floral plants in the same neat arrangement in the now cleaned vase.

Making sure the china vase was placed in the middle, you grabbed the wooden ladle that was in the wooden bucket, making sure it had enough water before standing back up on your feet to pour the clear liquid over the grave as you then placed the ladle back into the bucket.

Placing your hands together in prayer, before internally thanking your mother for protecting you as well as expressing your gratitude for her.

“They’re your favourite flowers right?” you gently asked, as you stared down at the flowers that were beautifully sitting in the vase. “Those were really expensive you know, I wonder how you were able to buy them so often without any regrets,” you muttered with a small smile before crouching back down as if you were going to look eye to eye with the gravestone like your mother was going to be sitting in front of you.

“I've been found…but...I wasn’t as bad as I suspected, the people at Jujutsu Tech are such drags but they’re really nice people,” you expressed, as you continued with, “I’m sorry I took so long to visit, you know Sendai to Tyoko is a really long journey, technically that’s both our faults since we agreed that we wanted to rest in Tokyo if we did pass,”.

Looking at the marble stone in front of you, you could see the thin smoke of incense that was slowly swirling into the air, as if it was trying to hypnotise you with its graceful movements. However, even though you knew you had to get back to Jujutsu Tech as quick as you could, you couldn’t help but utter a few more words to your late mother.

“I miss you mum”

                                                ꕥ

“Ah- am I late?”

At this current moment in time, it seemed like training had taken a pause since everyone was seated somewhere close to the stone stairs that lead the way down to the track field.

“Where were you? I needed you to train Megumi more,” Zenin asked, as you carefully made your way down the stairs with another white plastic bag in hand before making your way to your upperclassmen with one hand holding each handle, leaving an opening that was large enough to let her have a view on the contents inside.

“Sorry, I was visiting someone, but I got you guys some refreshments since I know you all were going to be tired by the time I came. Oh! The orange juice is mine by the way,” you mentioned, as you swiftly grabbed the orange carton from the bag as if someone was going to steal it if you didn’t.

Smiling at you, Zenin leaned away from the tree bark to see what she could choose from the bag, before reaching in, to grab that bottle of water as her choice before you processed to hold the bag around for everyone to get a pick on what beverage they wanted before you took a seat on the steps between Fushiguro and Inuamki.

“Where’s Kugisaki?” you asked in curiosity, as you looked around the fielded area only to not find your classmate leading Fushiguro to explain to you that she went out to buy a tracksuit since she didn’t have one, causing you to realise that you probably needed to change later but for now, you didn’t find being in your school uniform since the slit on the side of your long skirt, made it easier to move as well as deal with the warm environment that was coming in for the season at the moment.

“Gojo, your katana is a cursed weapon right?” Fushiguro asked, causing you to look at him weirdly after stabbing the straw into the carton before giving him a nod as a way to reply to his question.

“I agreed with the others that supplementing my close combat with weapons is the best choice right now, but with my cursed technique, I want to be able to free both hands at any time, with katanas, you lose time sheathing them,” Fushiguro explained, as he placed the pads of his fingers together while looking down at them.

“How do you carry your weapon when your cursed technique is used by your hands as well, also how did you manage to hide the chain attached at the end?” Fushiguro asked as he looked up at you, only to be surprised when he saw you looking at him with an annoyed expression.

‘That’s one way to somewhat expose me, I guess’

“I can utilise my technique by using only one hand, although there are times when I have to use both hands like you. However, I rarely unsheathe my katana, so it usually hangs on my back,” you described, causing Fushiguro’s to concentrate on you, trying to understand your technique since it seemed more complicated then you made it look at your battle with Sukuna.

“About the chain, the red charm cancels the chain being constructed since it will use my cursed energy, not a lot for me, but it’s a drag since I need the extra bit. When the charm is off, I use my curse energy to conceal before clicking my fingers to reveal it, if I want to, and when I use two hands, I can use the chain to pull it back,” you explained, causing the second-years to be surprised at the amount of cursed energy you have to use to employ such a simple weapon - maybe it wasn’t as simple as they intentionally thought.

“How much cursed energy do you possess, Y/N?” Panda asked as he placed his paw on his chin in a thinking posture, only for Fushiguro to answer the question.

“She has a lot more than she is showing right now, I don’t know how but she can hide it,” Fushiguro stated, causing you to smack the back of his head before placing the neglected straw back to your lips since you were desperately craving the citrus content that was in the carton.

“Zenin-senpai, you often carry more than two around with you, right? How do you do that?” Fushiguro queried as he rubbed the back of his head to soothe the pain you had given him.

“I made Panda carry them,” Zenin answered, as she pointed at the classmate leading to the animal sorcerer to proudly show off his muscles as if to inform you and Fushiguro on how strong he was.

“I shouldn’t have asked, part two,” Fushiguro muttered under his breath, causing you to giggle internally at the statement as you wondered what he must have asked the first time since ‘part two’ was in the sentence.

“Some sorcerers keep cursed spirits that can store and retrieve objects,” Panda presented a well-thought idea, even though there was a disadvantage to that.

“He can’t do that. It’s a rare thing and it takes time to tame them, as well. But if you find any, let me know,” Zenin countered, before Panda replied for the payment he wanted if he ever finds a curse for her, causing you to zone out from the conversation as you processed to stare down at the step before you, that was slightly darkened by the shade of your shadow.

In curiosity, you took a side glance at your classmate only to notice that he was in deep thought, leaving you to figure something out for him while he thought of his own solution.

‘His shikigami uses shadows for a medium, then if that is the case…’

Using your hand that was occupied with your orange juice, you leaned forwards slightly, letting the tips of your fingers touch the stone step below you while making them land in the middle of your shadow.

“I think you can do that,” you stated in a quiet tone, causing Fushiguro to look in your direction only to see you staying still in the position that you had set yourself in before slowly pulling yourself back up to sit in a normal position, leading Fushiguro to go back to what he was in deep thought about.

‘I don’t get it, though. Why...did you run back then? What a waste of talent, but the girl back at that place, she knows how to use her technique extremely well’

“You possess such intellect, such skill, such power and such talent and yet you refuse to go against me with your full potential, are you mocking me?”

‘I have the potential to beat special grades? Is that what he meant by that?’ Fushiguro thought, before turning to look at you to discover you were looking into the distance while continuously sipping on your orange juice like the addict you were. 

‘What was she trying to tell me? It seemed like L/N knows something...intellect?’

Slowly but curiously, Fushiguro began to reciprocate your previous movements by letting his hand touch the step between his legs before waiting for a second to see what you were trying to inform him, only for his hand to steadily go deeper into his shadow leading him to widen his eyes at this discovery.

“Tuna, tuna,” Inumaki mentioned, as he pointed at Fushiguro since he noticed what he was doing, leading Zenin and Panda to look at their classmate wanting to know what he was trying to bring their attention to.

“Huh? What?” Zenin asked in confusion, before turning her head in the shikigami user’s direction to realise what he was doing.

“Senpai, I think I can do it,” Fushiguro stated with a rare smile, before looking in your direction once again to see you were still staring at the field in front of you.

‘Such intellect…’

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[wonlouvre]

hello! i see your requests are open again 😌 can i request jeonghan x reader, enemies to lovers kinda thing maybe where they have the same friends but jeonghan & reader always clash etc etc fluff at the end idk

i know you’ll come up with something amazing as always, do what you want with it 😘🥰💗

balance | y. jh. 

pairing: jeonghan x reader genre: enemies to lovers (kind of), fluff warnings: heights, ski mountain mechanical malfunctions (you know, dangling in the air kind of thing)  word count: 1.5k (i got carried away, im sorry)

💌: thank you so much for requesting!!! this was honestly fun to write although there was little to none banter, i’m so sorry :’( thank you for trusting me! i hope you like it <3 i will try to post at least two drabbles/requests per week :)

To you, Yoon Jeonghan was the type of person that looked like he would trample all over your principles in life. It’s a little dramatic of you but he can’t blame you for thinking so. He’s cocky, annoying and full of shit. The two of you stepped off on the wrong foot when he thought it was funny to pour sparkling water on your instant noodles as a prank during one of the traditional ski trips your group of friends always hold.

Soonyoung introduced him on what was supposed to be the best trip of your life only to get ruined when he made fun of you. Although technically speaking, your cup wasn’t the only victim of his shenanigan because the rest of your friends complained and threw it at the perpetrator before they could even finish eating. But you were hungry and stubborn, so you didn’t let it go. 

Ever since then, despite not confronting him, Jeonghan’s energy and wholebeing never clicked with yours. You barely speak a word to him and you rarely hang out with him, unlike with every single one of your friends. He hasn’t noticed and even if he did, you’re sure he could care less. Which is fine by you. The instant noodle prank is history and now that this year’s ski trip will be your third with him, you have just gotten used to ignoring his existence. 

“Jeonghan’s staring at you,” Seungcheol says, startling you. 

Your eyes throw daggers at him, not because he startled you, but because of what he said. 

The tall man nudges your shoulder with his. “I’m not lying. Give him a glance and then you’ll see.”

To set the record straight, you don’t have a grudge on Jeonghan for who he is. It’s more of what he does that gives a bad impression on you. Aside from the noodle incident, you noticed how much he takes pride in teasing and playing with the gullible younger ones and you hate him for that. It’s a good laugh every once in a while but it can hurt feelings at times and you don’t want that. He also likes to disagree and debate with everyone (you’re just glad you haven’t been a victim yet). When everyone else says yes, he’ll boldly say no. That’s how moronic he is to be friends with. 

Of course you acknowledge his good deeds. Whether you like to admit it or not, Jeonghan is a great friend. He is a beacon of strength among you knowing that he’s one of the oldest in the group. He knows where and when to have fun. He knows when to be there for anyone who needs him. He’s supportive. He’s loving. He’s more than okay. 

You’re just turning a blind eye because you’re still petty. 

It has come to your attention that apparently, Jeonghan has been harboring a crush on you. It’s a stupid rumor and you choose to ignore it because why. Why would he have a crush on you? You try confirming if it’s true by looking at him and observing his actions whenever he’s not paying attention. But to no avail, nothing special stood out.

In fact, it seems like all the staring and observation made you develop a crush on him. Now that’s even more annoying. 

You roll your eyes at Seungcheol’s nonsense and walk away from him to go to Jeongyeon who’s currently checking in everyone to the hotel. You might as well help her register everyone to all the activities you will be participating in. 

“Collect their IDs,” she orders without looking up from the form she’s writing on. “And tell them to fall in line so they can sign the consent form.”

“Told you we should have filled out the online form before getting here,” your complaint doesn’t go unheard by your friend who only glares at you, scaring you to immediately obey her instructions.

“IDs please,” you ask with your hand out and your friends happily complied as they chatted through the waiting time. You walk around to make sure you have everyone’s and as you double check, one last ID was missing. 

“You didn’t forget about me, did you?”

The devil himself, Yoon Jeonghan.

You take a deep deep breath before turning around and face the handsome face you’ve been sick of. Wait, did you just call him handsome?! 

Jeonghan flashes his signature smirk while pulling his wallet out from his pocket, picking one of the many cards inside it to hand to you. His gloveless fingers grazes yours and it concerns you why it made your heart skip a beat. You avoid his gaze and everything else about him and run back to Jeongyeon who’s the one asking for these in the first place. 

You heard his low chuckle and you wish you could wipe off his annoying grin with your fist. 

Moving on from what happened in the early afternoon, the rest of the day was pleasant enough for you and your friends to continue. Everyone had lunch at the local restaurant first before doing the group activities. It’s a good thing none of you are afraid of heights (except for Dokyeom, but he manages). Soonyoung leading everyone to hike the safe side of the snow covered mountain wasn’t a problem for him. 

After the quick mountain hike, you all scattered to have fun and decided to meet up for dinner in the evening. You, Jeongyeon, Dokyeom and much to your dismay, Jeonghan all went up to snowboard. 

The lift was supposed to carry the four of you up to the starting point before your adrenaline descend, but Dokyeom suddenly felt a wave of fear of heights and needed to calm down for a few minutes. He tells you to go on ahead and you did. You just didn’t expect Jeonghan to be accompanying you instead of Jeongyeon. 

You hide your disappointment and bewilderment as you make yourself comfortable. It’s awkward but it doesn’t matter. You’re just going to keep quiet and avoid looking Jeonghan’s way. This ride will probably not be a good ten minutes, right?

Jeonghan holds onto his snowboard while you place yours on the floor. A barrier of some sort to distance yourself from him. Your eyes are glued to your feet, watching them move from side to side. You also distract yourself from admiring the view outside the window, but it’s hard when you can feel his eyes burning holes on the back of your head. 

“Y/N.”

You hate it. You hate it. You hate it. 

Why does your name sound so melodic coming from his mouth?

You turn your head and raise your eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. 

But the lift doesn’t let him because it suddenly stops mid-air, echoes of metals clanking and brakes screeching following suit. The abrupt stop causes the lift to shake a little, making you hold onto the metal bars out of fear. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a mechanical malfunction of the lifts and our engineers are repairing it now at this moment. We apologize for the inconvenience and fear that this has caused. We request everyone to remain calm and seated…”

The announcement falls deaf to your ears because all you hear is ringing. You’re not afraid of heights at all. But you have never experienced an incident like this before. You’ve heard and read about it and not all of them ended well. 

“Hey,” Jeonghan’s voice snaps you out of your dilemma. 

You blink away your tears and clutch your chest to calm your heart that’s beating faster and faster. 

“Y/N?” Jeonghan calls for you again, but this time he’s reaching his hand out. “You’ll be fine. Here, take my hand.”

Jeonghan probably noticed the panic in your eyes. So, after throwing away your doubts outside the window, you carefully move a little closer to him but not beside him as you don’t want to ruin the balance of the lift. You unclench your fist and finally take hold of his waiting hand. 

Jeonghan’s warm palm and genuine smile calms you down. Your heartbeat slows down and your breathing goes back to normal. Your eyebrows furrow in both fear and embarrassment. You question the universe how and why did this have to happen. 

“Hey, don’t cry.”

“I’m not!” 

Jeonghan giggles at your outburst and you don’t know if that’s music to your ears or if it just makes you want to punch his handsome face more. 

“I like you Y/N,” he suddenly confesses and you grimace. 

“I like you too,” you confess back, tightly gripping his hand. “But now is not the time, Yoon Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan bites back a smile that says he’s in love and just gently caresses your hand. It’s unbelievable how the opportunity arose itself right at this moment, but it was now or never for him. He’d explain how much he likes you in detail later. For now, he’s okay with this. 

“But, later though?”

“Yes, now shut up before I throw you out first.”