#whys this series got so many spoiler tags...

[smilepebble]

various octopath doodles i never posted

[pitter-patt-art]

Ace Attorney AU August (halfway progress update!)

Okay technically it's the 16th (lol, 17th by the time this is done) so a little over halfway actually, but still I thought since I haven't had anything finished to post the past few days this would be a fun alternative!

I've been going a little nuts (affectionate) over @augustwritingchallenge's AU-gust prompts list this year so August has been a wild ride (about 40k words of one, in fact. so far.) but seeing as I will get attached to even the jokiest of AU ideas instantly, I've completed* a whopping 5 whole fics of 16, lol. Considering the shortest of those is over 3k and the longest is over 12k, I think the problem with not finishing these in a timely manner is entirely on my verbose foolish thick skull, haha, but I'm still having a blast with it.

Here is my ao3 series where I'm posting!

And a rundown / progress report / quick teaser of all the AUs including those I've yet to finish, if anyone's interested:

(*by "completed" I should note two of the already posted fics are basically assuredly going to be continued past the challenge, but let's say "completed enough to post and be on theme")

1. Canon Divergence - complete - 4.5k words ("For the Murder of Mr. Wrong" link)

Mia POV, gen. What if Dahlia succeeded in poisoning Phoenix and framed Doug Swallow instead (and then Mia defended him in court)? Basically a 3-1 rewrite. Fun Fact: I only came up with this AU because before I even remembered AU-gust existed at all, I'd come up with like 4 totally separate AUs in which I poison Phoenix in various ways With Real Consequences because it amuses me, lol, but he survives all those other ones and I eventually realized I hadn't even considered straight up killing him off yet so I figured I should try it at least once, haha.

2. Colorless - complete 1st chapter - 3.2k words ("Grey Matters" link)

Phoenix POV (for 1st ch --prob alternating after), wrightworth. "You can't see color until the first time you touch your soulmate"-soulmate AU. 1st chapter is their first meeting as kids (skipping the class trial itself). Fun Fact(s): I really love a color soulmate AU! Big fan of the "only see the color of their eyes" type of one too but uhhh on top of that working better for things that have wild anime eye colors, you could not pay me enough to try to figure out what the HELL is going on with Ace Attorney eye colors at any given time lmfao. (Also--spoilers for what i haven't written yet but hey if you're here you earned it--this IS one of my very many "teehee what if i poison Phoenix just a smidge as a treat for me" fics. NOT my fault the man ATE GLASS. That's on him.)

3. Dark Academia - complete "1st chapter" - 4.4k words ("The Spirit of the Laws of Magic" link)

Mia POV, lanamia. Magical boarding school setting featuring corruption and missing-student conspiracies and a most likely overthought system of magic with hierarchies and prejudices in societal views of academic/formulaic vs folk/innate magic. Fun Fact: I really thought for SURE i was going to skip this day entirely, lol. (foolish.) I don't think i've actually ever personally read anything "dark academia", technically--so if this doesn't read EXACTLY that way, there you go, but i did my best. I also then thought I could live with keeping this vague but I accidentally thought about it too long so... plus at least two people on top of myself at this point have expressed interest in more of this and so I have some semi-concrete Plans™ now.

4. Zombie Apocalypse - conceptualized (but not started)

Concept: probably gen and Phoenix POV, but also because I'm me and they're them, at least a little bit wrightworth even if it isn't necessarily explicit in any meaningful way bc they are Not Normal about each other lol. A little sketchy on how much of an "AU" this counts for, since it could probably be argued to be canon compliant somehow, but basically just: Universe where they make a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-type Steel Samurai reboot movie thing (featuring, you guessed it, zombies), and Miles comes over and forces Phoenix to watch it with him just to have someone to bitch about it at, and then during that time Maya blows her way into Phoenix's apartment as well with the exact same intentions except her "day job" isn't quite as time-sensitive-strict so she's already finished watching it earlier and knows all the spoilers. Honestly a good chance Phoenix and Pearl (who came with Maya) end up hiding out in the kitchen together to let Maya and Miles rile each other up in front of the TV, but I'm never exactly sure where they'll take me once I wind them up and set them loose on the page, so who knows. I also hadn't necessarily determined the exact time frame yet but for it to make sense as a reboot-type movie/special episode/whatever it probably should be 7yg-or-later so Trucy may or may not be there as well. (That said, in my struggles to complete an actually short one-shot, I probably shouldn't even include Pearl let alone Trucy, lol.) Fun Fact: I also thought I'd skip this day bc I'm not the biggest zombie guy in the world, and to be fair, I managed to do Way Less with it than the dark academia prompt so, yippie?

5. Chess Players - incomplete (currently 3k word WIP)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Miles is a chess grandmaster and back in Japanifornia for the upcoming world cup tournament, but his greatest challenge is actually to FINALLY best Franziska in their annual who-can-get-the-best-Christmas-gift competition. Luckily, he just so happened to hear of an artist who makes bespoke chess sets, so the plan is to get a custom board made for Franziska without her finding out. The plan is not to get trapped in a weird art collective labyrinth with some model-photographer named Cindy who keeps hitting on him but also happens to be protective of the artist he's there to see because "she and her boyfriend kinda-sorta owe him big time", but this is what he gets for coming here without doing any extra research into the artist besides seeing his work and hearing only "his name is White, or, eh, something like that, you know how those artist types are" from Mr. Amano. (AU where we replace law with chess and no I don't think Phoenix could necessarily hack it in the top-world-grandmasters-level of chess tournaments HOWEVER have you considered he DID go to art school so what if he just tries selling custom chess sets until somehow that reconnects him with Miles. Is that somehow a more insane plan than studying law? Maybe. Did Manfred still shoot Gregory but now it was over fucking chess? Maybe. Idk. But I did let Greg live this time at least!) Fun Fact: we can all DEFINITIVELY blame my lovely, terrible, very wonderful friend Ben (shameless friend plug! she's an outstanding writer and has some AA fics of her own too!! @kindlystrawberry on tumblr!!) for making a total joke about "well what about au where they make chess pieces instead" while i lamented not knowing enough about chess to write an actual match and spawning this ENTIRE concept. It is her fault. 100%. She is the guilty party. (I want to finish this one VERY BADLY. Save me.)

EVIDENCE!!!!! Guilty.

6. Reality Show - incomplete (currently 700 word WIP)

Phoenix (& Franziska) POV(s), background wrightworth wedding planning going on as set up but it's also definitely just one of my many excuses to set Phoenix and Franziska up as bitchy worsties who can't admit they enjoy each other's company and will cut you down if you suggest it as such. So far I've only written the quote "set-up" section which is in Phoenix's POV, but that was SUPPOSED to be like 5 paragraphs and cut away and then lead into my actual plan for the main body, which was to be in Franz's instead, so. This is very similar to the zombie one in that it's them watching reality tv instead of being contestants on a show (I don't personally like or watch a lot of reality tv so my creative well was somewhat dry on how to make that work) and then I accidentally thought about Phoenix and Franziska watching something just to judge and tear apart the decisions of every person on it and that was too fun to not consider further, haha. Basically the plan is just they get left alone together and don't know what to do with that and end up wine-drunk and making fun of some reality dating show of some kind and Miles and Trucy come back to them losing it together over something stupid and are like "......uh. what's happening." Fun Facts: I really love the thought experiment of Franziska somehow discovering how often Phoenix's internal dialogue/reads on situations and especially people can be So Bitchy And Judgey despite his affable complexion, and her unfortunately finding his opinions to SOMETIMES be somehow slightly okay. Moderately correct, even--occasionally. I know the section she follows you-as-Phoenix around in T&T is really not long at ALL, but I adore it. There's something about it that so badly makes me want to force them into proximity more (to both their chagrin, I'm sure).

7. Farm/Ranch - complete - 12k words ("Two Little Dickey Byrdes" link)

Gumshoe POV, gumbyrde (tho i still think dickeybyrde is a funnier ship name). 5+1 things--except more like maybe 7-or-8+1 to be honest--so it's more: over 5 times Dick and Maggey sit on a wall together and 1 time they find someone else there instead. AKA: Dick runs his family's small farm (think fantasy farm like in a farming sim or maybe horse girl novel type of thing that has nothing to do with what a real farm is like lol don't worry about it) and Maggey starts working at the next farm over as the latest of her many odd jobs. Fun Fact: oh god this one got so far away from me. it was not supposed to be this long lmao. it's literally the elaborate set-up to a very silly Nursery-Rhyme-I-Didn't-Even-Know-About-Prior-To-This -based punchline!?! still, i was pleasantly surprised by how happy i was with this once it was done... two sittings and about 16 total hours later. haha).

8. Nomad - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Apollo (or possibly Klavier) POV, klapollo. Sort of Jove-Thalassa swap adjacent, but basically: AU where Jove survives the Khura'in fire but loses his memories for [contrived convince sake reasons]. (And also possibly loses some or all of his eyesight just to really go for the parallels?) Therefore: Jove and Apollo stay with Dhurke and Nahyuta and the Defiant Dragons for a time, while Jove recovers, but eventually they leave and head out on their own, just the two of them, and do the traveling musician thing, both because it's dangerous in Khura'in and Dhurke already canonically didn't want Apollo to get caught up in it and potentially get hurt to begin with and because with a functioning actual parent Apollo doesn't need to be taken in by him--and also Jove from what little we know seems like he prefers to be on the move and was already a world traveler anyhow, so even amnesiac maybe he gets a little antsy stuck in one place too long. And so like amnesiac Thalassa, Jove thusly becoming a renowned mysterious musician--and then Apollo, sweet tone deaf Apollo, becoming the sonager of all time (like a momager but...you get it) because he's not that into music but he IS into arguing for better conditions/making deals (contracts!! international legalese!! woohoo!!) with venues and promoters and stuff. And then--oops dang Lamioir still exists and now they have a meet-cute (2 electric bugaloo) (but by then it's later enough Trucy still exists because it will be a cold day in hell when I don't find a way to make her work) and they do music collabs or join up to form a group or whatever and OOPS this means now that Apollo and Jove are with Lamioir when The Gavinners / Klavier specifically meet her and get her to come to do the Guitar's Serenade concert eventually. And Apollo and Klavier ofc thusly also have a meet-cute and then talk and bond etc etc. AND THEN the au STOPS THERE and I DON'T think about how without Apollo Phoenix is totally getting convicted of Zak's murder because there's no way that trial works out as well for him with some other attorney and I also don't think about how reasonable it would then be that maybe Trucy ends up helping Valant with his work setting up the trick for the concert afterward on account of the one father in prison and the other being dead and having left behind a notarized confession clearing Valant's name of suspicion, etc. AND I DEFINITELY do not think about how i could then still so easily get everyone in one place at the concert for Turnabout Serenade and/or any possible funny Sibling (And Thalassa) Reveal that could happen i dont i dont i do not--

9. Accidental Baby Acquisition - conceptualized (not started)

Gen, possibly my weakest / least defined idea on this list, but basically: Phoenix kind of already lives this in canon, lol (insomuch as an 8yo counts as a baby) so I thought, well, how to take it a different direction, then? And I thought, I don't usually go for a Phoenix Fey kind of au because I personally really love the relationships he has with all the Feys as-is in canon and so it's not quite as funny to me as, say, a Miles Fey AU where like Misty and Gregory are married, or any of the ones in that bent, because I'm sorry but that's just SO funny (and sad, but mostly funny) any way you slice it--plus his NAME is RIGHT THERE mia-miles-maya he FITS--anyhow, that completely aside, there are just a lot of reasons I really love the platonic relationships the Feys already have with Phoenix and I don't think it NEEDS to be made specifically familial to still be so very important, y'know? BUT. That said. AU where Phoenix is idk abandoned as a baby or maybe his parents die young or something and it's like a Thing to leave babies at temples or churches or whatever, right? So like--Phoenix adopted by the Feys AU but only because the more i considered it the more i thought it would be WILD for him to literally know Maya her entire life, and it's fascinating to me to consider a Maya who ISN'T basically left all alone to her own devices (and Morgan's) and who has someone absolutely in her corner in the village the entire time even after Mia leaves (who isn't a baby when Mia leaves, love you tho Pearls), AND also and perhaps more importantly, the ships-passing-in-the-night-ness of a scene where, like: Morgan does something sketchy or whatever and Phoenix wants to keep Mia updated but for whatever reason decides to go down to the city and actually tell her in person and so he's waiting outside the courthouse or something (possibly part of or perhaps Most Of the reason he goes in person is because he knows her first courtroom trial is that day and he wants to see her + hear how it went) and when he gets there she's in a heated argument with some asshole in a fancy over-embellished jacket and once that guy leaves Phoenix is like "Sheesh, what's his problem?" You know???? And maybe he really would never even know!!!! Bc he grew up in Kurain!!!! And has no reason to care!!! About some random prosecutor who was mean to Mia!! Aaaah!!! So that, and on top of that, Diego would be there too ofc at that point, and I feel like he would ALSO be quite a funny interaction in this scenario. ("Wow, someone's popular, kitten, you have all sorts of guys waiting on a chance to talk to you, heh?" "Uh.--I'm sorry, WHAT did you just call her")

10. Enemies-to-Allies - incomplete (currently 370 word WIP)

Ema POV, faraskye. Cyberpunk AU where Lana is still under Gant's thumb and Ema, with no other way to stay close to her and getting rejected from any of the sorts of jobs she really wants to do, decides to just join the security force (or cyber police or w/e I decide to call it) and is tasked with hunting down the Yatagarasu, guerilla hacker supreme who is threatening the sanctity of the capitalist overlords. Except Ema's squad gets ambushed and she's captured and tied to a pole, and with her useless fop partner seemingly not coming to rescue her (if he even noticed her absence), she does some quick cost-benefit analysis and decides she didn't really like that job anyway and maybe there's another way she can get her sister back in her life. So she breaks free of her own handcuffs (which she definitely didn't modify into incidental ineffectiveness she's still testing for bugs) and helps fix the "Little Thief" device her captor seems to have broken despite how obviously valuable and impressive the tech is, and they eventually come to something of an agreement. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and all that. Either Ema as the hardware-engineer one and Kay as the software-programming one as the two sides of the tech coin, or else Kay can just be like doing the physical sneaking kind of spy stuff only--or maybe she knows a little about software but not so much she's a pro the way she is with infiltration and such. Possibly toying with the idea Kay herself is just completely an android, but if not, I think she has some cybernetic cyborg things going on regardless. Possibly from or inspired by her father? I also like the idea that Gant did something maybe more drastic with regards to having dirt on Ema to get Lana to do his bidding--like maybe Ema has a whole cybernetic hand because instead of just her handprint on a leather jacket, Gant has some sicko jar with her entire hand in it in his office safe, or something. I don't know why this would be useful to him but it is certainly an image. I also find it funny if Miss Fingerprint Powder Enthusiast doesn't actually have any fingerprints of her own anymore somehow in this AU, lol.

11. Retail Worker - complete - 6.7k words ("The Bake Anything Boulangerie" link)

Apollo POV, gen. Phoenix gets a job at a bakery instead of the Borscht Bowl Club during the 7 year gap, and Apollo happens to stumble across it and ends up meeting the Wrights while he's still in high school. He becomes a regular at the bakery and is already close to them by the time "Shadi Smith's" murder comes around. And also, yes, sibling reveal right away--at least as soon as Phoenix realizes and can reveal it. As a treat. (Other reveals, though, I might put poor Apollo through on a delayed basis. Also as a treat, lmao, just not one for him.) Fun Fact: I'm being redundant bc this is also in my a/n, but, Baker Phoenix lives rent-free in my brain because Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright was in fact the very first Ace Attorney game I ever played, technically, and Maya and Phoenix semi-brainwashed in that bakery was literally one of my first impressions of them. ........followed immediately by starting a let's play of Justice for All (which i watched through the first case, after which I was like oKAY fine maybe i DO need more context here, i should probably figure out what the actual first game is, and went back to start the series properly at the beginning hahaha). What do you MEAN i have a disproportionate fascination with amnesiac Phoenix, even if I have yet to finish and publish one of my myriad AUs that utilize stupid, unrealistic, plot convenient re-temporary amnesia?? Hm???? Idk what you're talking about. Also everyone who complains about 2-1 is wrong lmao it's objectively (okay subjectively is what i'm saying yes BUT objectively) such a funny place to start without knowing broad plot strokes, it's great. I both knew so much and absolutely shit-all nothing about Maya after PLvPW and 2-1, LMAO. god.

12. Animagus Wings (Joker) - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Angel/Demon AU, except I'm playing super fast and loose with the rules on that because all my knowledge of Christian-mythos comes from firstly and unknowingly the Chronicles of Narnia and more recently and cognizantly Lucifer (Netflix) and Good Omens. I know that's probably more or less what we're all doing with this kind of AU but still, I'm not even sure I want to refer to Heaven and Hell here, I'm kinda on the fence about maybe just keeping it all very vague? I also accidentally semi-worldbuilt more than i intended incidentally on account of "But Then How-Why Names If Angelic Creatures?" Format-wise it would semi-follow gomens s1 where it's hopping through some meetings between long stretches but also a kind of pre- and post- Fall type of thing? And potentially à la Lucifer becoming, like, these are My Mortal Humans and i will be Spending Time With Them, screw you celestial duties, I'm making my own Free Will, etc. And i mean i guess Lucifer is also a crime procedural lmao maybe they still solve crimes in the end too. Fun Fact: I didn't want to do the original prompt for several reasons, and sure fuck jkr is one of them but even before I knew about her I still wasn't really the biggest hp person in the first place? So i wouldn't know/don't remember at all the way it works without having to do the specific research and i...don't want to haha. Hence. And I know the prompt seems to be using it loosely / might just be borrowing the word and not actually referencing hp specifically but tbh either way human-animal shifter things just in general I can be somewhat picky about haha. (Okay okay plus full disclosure the ONLY idea I have for this sort of thing actually ties into my day-3-dark-academia-extended-au-verse and i COULD make my life simpler by just connecting the two days but Heh who would I be if I simplified things for myself... *sigh*) All that to say: I saw "wings" on the wild card list and I thought, ooh, well that's still sort of a related concept! Let's tag that one in! So it's still kind of day 12 prompt-adjacent, if you squint.

13. Found Footage - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Video Transcript POV? Is that a thing? Possibly capped by a little Phoenix POV (but i don't want that to get too long), wrightworth. Larry's new girlfriend of the month bakes weed brownies and Larry does not realize this and swings by the Wrights' apartment to beg some kind of help off Phoenix and forgets the whole tray there somehow (because it's Larry) and they leave to deal with Larry's thing and by the time they figure the brownies out, in some twist of fate Miles and Trucy have been hanging out (last minute babysitter/adult supervision? but she's at the very very least 14 or 15 here and most likely older, and Nick clearly isn't the most strict about like uhhh supervision in general lol sooo idk. he's helping her with a project or smth. it doesn't really actually matter; he's THERE, that's the important thing.) The point I'm very clearly getting at is they accidentally get incredibly high (not dangerously so because I'm not going that far haha but also, neither of them has actually been high before, so they are Affected) before Phoenix finds out what was in the brownies and tries to warn Trucy and hurry home to like, dispose of them or at least put a warning label on them or whatever, but he is too late lol. By a lot. Definitely an underage drugs tag on this bad boy because it's definitely sometime 18-or-earlier for Trucy, let alone 21. (idk about other places but as a Californian I can tell you Japanifornia "LA" could theoretically have it legalized at 21 for anyone (like alcohol) and 18 with Dr's permission--which Trucy definitely does not have in this AU lol.) Basically, Phoenix grabs Trucy's phone to get photo evidence so he can let them never live this down (after making sure they're okay lmao), but he ofc doesn't get technology so he doesn't realize he leaves the phone still recording when Trucy asks him for something / needs his help, so the recording just keeps going and captures a lot of tomfoolery and eventually some inebriated-to-Extremely-sober Feelings-Adjacent confessions (or maybe more like allusions). Idk, this was actually a fic I thought of before August and wanted to use as an excuse to try a Weird Format for fun, but then i saw this was a prompt on the list and...well. Fun Fact: Cannabis was legalized in California on November 8, 2016 (the first election I could vote in!!! ......uh, rip. lol. but yeah babey I helped legalize weed at least!! gotta remember the positives), which means it was legal right in time for Miles' case(s) / Turnabout Goodbyes!!! Yay!! I mean, I suppose that's genuinely seriously one way to try to mitigate nightmares and manage insomnia--not that I think Miles Edgeworth would ever deign stoop so low as to use an aid to manage his severe PTSD and trauma symptoms, psshaw, who do you take him for? (Get these people some help lol. They all need so much therapy.)

14. Princes & Princesses - conceptualized (not started)

So I've been reading a lot (a LOT) of isekai and/or revenge reincarnation romance fantasy manhwas lately (like, oh, too many, hahaha. they're quite good and they're VERY popular in webcomics at the moment.) Soooo. Soft pitch: Apollo already gets slapped into so many wild backstories he's constantly trying to dodge in an effort to be just a Normal Guy, he's honestly, like, the PERFECT protagonist for one of these lmao. And tell me Kristoph doesn't make a perfect "Upstanding Duke" kind of persona, and Klavier couldn't be the "wild rake" younger brother no one expects much from, and all I'm saying is it wouldn't be that hard to contrive a reason Apollo tries to get Klavier to agree to a contract marriage the way all these stories go, lol. And also, something something, Apollo from the "real world" is an orphan/has an absent family (also like so many of these manhwa protagonists, lol) but then he gets to actually have one in his second life!! I'm such a sucker for that shit. Slightly harder pitch, and the reason I did not let myself actually start writing anything (...yet): so what if the actual plot of the "original romance novel" Apollo is familiar with from the "real world (Earth)" is actually about the slightly older generation and something something instead of admiring Phoenix as a defense attorney, it's just that he instead was Apollo's favorite "love interest" character (not, like, for himself, just the one he most liked to read about) in every way except what a blithering idiot he became when the author had him fall for the female lead--but BEFORE that, he's a cool information guild leader guy who seems like he's trying to work toward some way to improve conditions for commoners in the kingdom (but abruptly there are no more mentions of this after he gets involved with the lead, which is annoying). Aaaand... I guess what I'm saying is, Dahlia is the original female lead because she REALLY fits the whole White Lotus trope, and I'm thinking Klavier is the original male lead because A) hilarious, B) fits in with the idea there's more going on in the ACTUAL world Apollo ends up in that is written in such a way as to make things seem different in the novel (like, that Dahlia and Klavier are actually as nice as they seem and that the terrible things that happen around them are just the trials and tribulations of being main characters and not anything they're directly involved in). And Apollo, the character in the novel Apollo, is an adopted prince of Khura'in, but he's the sickly younger prince and of course not actually of the royal bloodline (and also a man, considering Khura'in is matrilineal), so Rayfa and Nahyuta are the ones the public and other nobles actually know and care about and deal with. But wait! As it so turns out, The Wright Anything Information Guild (I feel like the actual guild name CAN'T have their freaking name on it front and center lol but you get the idea) happens to know some other things that aren't really expanded on in the original novel, and might be key to preventing Apollo's death so he doesn't follow the path of the original story, and also idk maybe Apollo and Trucy are half-fae or something like that and instead of like Aw Yay Bracelet in this AU it's more of a secret Iron Shackle Tool That Will Hurt I Mean Totally-Definitely-Help Us Later (still, in a way, passed down to him by Thalassa, but more as, like... she's kind of a secret hostage and does not manage to hide pregnancy number one so Apollo's now also a secret hostage, but she manages to escape so they don't know about Trucy, only she didn't tell Apollo basically anything to "keep him as safe as possible" or w/e, and......) Well, anyway. It got away from me before I even really wrote anything, that's all.

15. Secretly Alien - unfinished (currently 2.6k WIP)

Trucy POV, gen. Apollo gets sick of very consistently always losing the card games they play at the Wright Anything Agency (usually and in the specific instance the fic starts, Bullshit/BS) and in a stroke of inspiration somehow ropes everyone into playing Among Us instead. ("What! It's still a game of trying to lie/trick everyone else--like you like!--but I actually stand a freaking chance, so we're playing this or I'm going home.") Yes. This is my Among Us AU. Hi. They play Among Us. I'm justifying this one as prime AU territory however because A) Among Us has to exist in this universe, and even more pressingly, B) I found a way to force Phoenix to have--for at least a period of time if not moving forward in perpetuity--an actual smartphone instead of a Nokia-type brick cellphone. Which even under the wild but somehow plausible considering Ace Attorney circumstances I contrived, is just automatically a complete AU lmao. Fun Fact: I am so mad this one wasn't just totally finished day-of, lol. Why I ever thought I could give myself run of an entire WAA 4-person conversation and NOT get instantly derailed is beyond me. (And I want to get the prosecutors there, too?? Someone take the characters away from me.) Anyway. No, I have not written ANY of the actual Among Us part yet. Sigh. Also I haven't personally played amogus since like, 2021? maybe? And I know (now) that it's been pretty updated since then, but, ehhh, I'm just gonna run off like, lockdown-era amogus rules and vibes, lol. If I can get to the game part.

16 - Hobby Drama - conceptualized

I'm going to go out of order this time to say: Fun Fact: I have ALWAYS wanted to write a Reddit-style fic!!! I absolutely love them and I've read some REALLY, really good ones, so I've always wanted to try my hand at it. So theoretically this is the perfect time to make that a reality and write a r/HobbyDrama subreddit fic, buuut I got stuck before starting because I'm torn on two possible routes to take it (I can easily foresee myself caving and just doing both lol). - Option 1: Steel Samurai fandom discourse, always a fun/funny thing to think about, definitely would enjoy having Maya and Miles post some stuff for that. - Option 2: courtroom law fandom discourse, because come ON, how are those galleries ALWAYS SO FULL. The little wiggling rabba-rabba onlookers have GOT to have investment in this shit. And why WOULDN'T they, honestly. I've seen those trials and I have, in fact, spent a Lot of time thinking about them, not that any posts I've made lately would reflect that in any way or anything. Like I know it's hard to tell, but if I can be invested in the Lawyers Fandom, who's to say the people in the courtrooms aren't????? And I LOVE an outsider POV fic actually, I think they're so fun. So anyway. Reddit fic. You will be mine. Just as soon as I can hone my energy

And, what the hell, since it's so late now by the time I complete this "Heh This'll Be So Quick To Throw Together" post, I'll include today's, too:

17 - Flower Shop - conceptualized (at work earlier today. lol)

AU where Daddy Hawthorne is like, 97% less shitty. And the Hawthornes have a flower shop instead of like a gemstone industry or whatever. And he takes both Dahlia and Iris with him instead of dumping one of his daughters at a fucking secluded mountain temple and seemingly forgetting about her forever. On second thought, maybe what I actually mean is he's like 999% less shitty, lmfao. Anyway, Iris POV, but Dahlia (while not a "nice" person by any stretch) is not pushed to such extremes or nearly as desperate as canon, so Valerie lives, Terry Fawles lives, Doug Swallow lives, and Dahlia gets to live a good life overall--because as much fun as I love using her as a villain, she's really such a product of the absolute worst circumstances and I really do find her interesting so I've been kind of wanting to explore her in a less cartoonishly evil light, haha. (Don't get me wrong, I do love the cartoonishly evil light too, but I like spicing things up sometimes.) Like, she does (more) normal teen rebellion things ("Look at my inappropriately older boyfriend, Dad" "I'm going to talk my way out of speeding tickets and petty shoplifting as a bid for attention" etc.) and she still totally orders Iris around and Iris still totally does whatever she asks very much to her own detriment and has to learn to break away and be her own person. Fun Fact: I have a very passionate love for Iris/Adrian Andrews. Is that. Um. Is that a ship anyone else has ever considered before? Is that just me? I'm not sure but very possibly I'll just make this a rarepair fic as a treat, for me alone, teehee. (Like... it's about the becoming the master of your own destiny it's about breaking out of codependent cycles it's about how I genuinely honestly think they'd be each other's type and have chemistry even though they've obviously never interacted lmao... idk what to tell you.)

AND THATS MY AU-GUST UPDATE POST!!!

If you made it this far, take a sprinkle of my undying affection, and may you be blessed with AU inspiration if you so desire it!! (If you do not desire it, hopefully you are not cursed with it. I do not take refunds if you are. Sorry.)

Wish me luck with completing some more fics soon!!! Unfortunately weekends are actually my least free time because I work the most and the earliest hours so I have less time and am more tired, but also on Wednesday I'm leaving for a family vacation, which will either be the BEST thing to happen in regards to AU-gust or the WORST thing lmfao. If nothing else I have 2 flights, and I actually Love writing on an airplane, so fingers crossed for it being Good. <3

EDIT: Now with part 2 for the rest of the month here!

[skydoesthings]

for the life series/secret life ask game, 1,2 and 7 perhaps if you would be so kind :)

ofc star :D

Double life, idk the soulmate drama got me

2. I'm actually watching as many povs as I can, won't we watching any from tomorrow to the 2nd or 3rd tho :(, main povs are timmy, grian, gem, impulse, pearl and mumbo

7. Probably gem, she's slaying that competition, she punched grian in the face when he used her enchanter and skizz had to break it up while tango yelled "fight", just over all really fun <3

this is the ask game used

[laugtherhyena]

Sometimes i remember how long it took for Dra to get a full translation and think, wow, if it had a more speedy english translation back in the day (sorta like the one Sdra2 had) and i had my first experience with the game be as intended i don't think i would be writing -2+2 today

[poorsallystitches]

A newbie's guide to The Lost Tomb franchise/Dao Mu Bi Ji/The Graverobber's Chronicles

I have seen people all over the internet asking questions on posts about DMBJ such as, where to start, what it is, and who are those cutie pies? You may have seen images similar to this

I, as someone who has watched a lot of the franchise and read at least half of the books (which if you knew how many there were, that would be impressive), I want to take a moment, or many, to explain to anyone who wants the answer to these questions. This will take a while, I cannot shut up, especially about them.

Spoiler free!

Now, first things first, what is Lost Tomb/DMBJ/Graverobber's Chronicles?

Lost Tomb is a Chinese Franchise comprised of a multitude of dramas and movies over the course of a decade that were all made by different people and actors to tell the story written in the novel series, The Graverobber's Chronicles, or its original Chinese title Dao Mu Bi Ji, written by Nan Pai San Shu.

This means that popular characters people will refer to will have many different faces. Such as all of these being Wu Xie

You may recognize any of those actors if you watch popular Cdramas, 1st Zhu Yilong who plays Shen Wei in Guardian, 2nd Zeng Shunxi who plays Xiao Bao in Mysterious Lotus Casebook, and 3rd Hou Minghao who was recently in Fangs of Fortune as Zhu Yan.

But, what is it about?

Lost Tomb as a franchise is loosely about a man named Wu Xie who is the last in a family line of graverobbers, but he himself has been kept out of the loop by the family. He has had his grandfather's journal since he passed away, which makes him take an interest in the family business. This leads him to force his uncle to let him tag along with him on tomb raiding adventures.

I feel it is important to tell people what they may encounter just in case they have sensitivities, so this franchise as a whole contains supernatural themes of ghosts, zombies, gods, etc. There will be blood, BUGS, and some body horror in a lighter portion, if you have any questions about specifics feel free to ask.

Now, let's skip to who those cutie pies are before telling you about the options for where to start.

The characters you may have seen around that got you interested may be

Wu Xie, the main character who is played a little differently in every iteration of the story but mainly think of a man with a high level of intelligence, but the worst luck in the world and some bitchy attitude (said with love) and you'll have him. You saw some of the most popular actors to play him up top.

Zhang Qiling/Xiao Ge (young master)/Menyouping (Poker-face), one of the main characters who is the strong, emo, silent, tatted sweety of the story. He is mysterious on purpose; you're not meant to know much about him at any given time. Him and Wu Xie are very close and with the next character, they form what is widely known in book, show, and fandom as the Iron Triangle. Just meaning the three are a package deal and won't be separated.

Wang Pangzi, the chubby, stylish, tough, bitchier than Wu Xie, lovable bastard. His name actually translates to Fatty, so that is what you will see everyone call him. It's not mean, just accurate. Pretty much everyone has real names and nicknames they go by. Remember, they are doing something illegal.

It's less likely, but you may have seen my personal favorite boys Hei Xiazi or Hei Yanjing (black glasses or black blind, you'll see why) and Xie Yuchen or Xiao Hua (little flower). They are the black/pink dynamic of the century for me. Hei Xiazi is a merc for hire and Xiao Hua is Wu Xie's cousin who has become the patriarch of his family at a young age.

Now, last question that people ask the most, where do I start?

There is no right or wrong answer, you can start chronologically with Mystic Nine, release order with Lost Tomb 2015, a mixture of both, leave out the ones you aren't interested in (*cough* Time Raiders movie), or just jump in in the middle. Each adaptation is aware of the fact that people will not have seen the others, and they will try to speed run the story to you, which can confuse people, but if you just want to experience the story with familiar faces, it won't be too bad.

To share my experience. I started with the Lost Tomb 2015, continued with Lost Tomb 2 2019, skipped Explore with the Note 2021 because I didn't vibe with it, Ultimate Note, started the prequels with Mystic Nine, which is a prequel with our character's ancestors, watched The Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen movie, started Reunion, watched a prequel movie and just started reading the books. I was never super confused because I had the set-up of the first 2 to build upon.

If you are a completionist like me and want to read the novels go to Merebear's blog. She is phenomenal and she has translated pretty much everything for your reading pleasure and laid it all out in an easy-to-follow way. I cannot give her enough gratitude. I absolutely adore her and all of her efforts as well as all her helpers along the way.

Now just a little gay propaganda about Lost Tomb franchise. The novels and shows are not canonically gay, but I mean... they are giving something.

[simplyyspring]

Tending To Your Wounds

Brennan Sorrengail x Aetos!Reader

Summary: You find your childhood best friend, Brennan, after being attacked by a group of older riders, afraid of your father's reaction if he were to find out. He mends you in the best way possible.

Warnings/tags: Fluff, slight angst (i guess? but nothing regarding Brennan himself, mainly just reader having daddy issues), brief descriptions of physical assault, definitely suggestive but I'd still rate sfw. No established relationship (yet) but Brennan and reader are both down bad. I don't know what papa Aetos' rank would be at this point in time so I kept it fairly vague. Set pre-Fourth Wing so no spoilers, but there is a hint at a little slice of info that we learn in Onyx Storm if you squint real hard. Brennan is in his second year at Basgiath, reader is in their first before threshing.

Word count: 2.2k

A/N: I've been wanting to write for Brennan for SO LONG. This will likely be turned into a mini series because I have so many ideas. I've been in love with this man since we met him, I don't CARE how suspicious he might be.

fourth wing masterlist

✰✰✰✰✰

You stumble down the hallway of the second-year dorms, clutching your wounded arm. You can’t show weakness. You have to prove to him you can survive. He’ll never accept you if he finds out you could hardly even defend yourself. 

You raise your good arm to knock on the door, praying that the older boy is awake. He tends to stay up, buried in his books. You tell him he’d be less exhausted if he didn’t, but does he listen? Absolutely not. 

The knob turns as he opens the door, his brows drawn together before he takes in the sight of you. His eyes widen as he gently grabs your hand and tugs you through his bedroom door. 

“What the fuck happened?” Concern laces Brennan’s voice as his eyes catch on the cuts and bruises scattered along your face. They widen even more as he sees the gash in your arm. 

His red curls are tousled as if he’d just been lying down. Maybe he was asleep for once, and you’re only contributing to his poor sleep schedule. His brows raise, reminding you that you’ve yet to answer him.

“Darl-”

“I got attacked in the sparring gym.” You interrupt with a nod, and color floods from Brennan's face as you continue, “I was practicing, and a group of second-years came up behind me.” 

You can’t continue from there. You can’t tell him how they’d gripped your hair and tugged you down to the ground. You can’t tell him how their fists connected with your cheek, your mouth, your jaw. You can’t tell him how they’d continued kicking you once you were on the ground. Brennan isn’t quick to anger, but when it comes to the people he cares about being in harm’s way, he becomes angry and irrational.

“Did you see who they were?” His hands find your waist as if out of instinct. You keep your focus on his face, refusing to think too much about the gesture.

“It’s all a blur.” You shake your head. It’s the truth; you have no idea who committed the attack—you could probably guess why, though. “I just… I can’t go to the healers. My dad will find out, and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Your relation to your father is the most likely answer. Although many in leadership have children in the riders’ quadrant—and your father isn’t nearly the highest in the ranks—it doesn’t promise safety. In fact, it only puts a target on your back. No one likes a nepo baby. 

Brennan’s jaw clenches. He’s never liked your father. He’s aware of the expectations he’s put on you, and he despises them. Brennan is often vocal about it—willing to come to your defense, even—but you always shut him down before it can get him in trouble. He’s in a similar boat, after all.

His father has always been a more prominent figure in your life anyway. Asher Sorrengail will do anything for the people he loves—no matter what it is. Your father will only do what benefits him. 

“Do you want me to mend you?” He asks softly, his thumbs rubbing circles against your hips. Don’t think too much about it, don’t think too much about it, don’t think too much about it. 

You nod slowly before speaking softly, “Nolon will only tell my father… I can’t go to him.” 

Brennan’s lips press into a thin line before he gives a small nod, leading you over to the foot of his bed. He sits down, gently tugging you into his lap. You place your legs on either side of him. Don’t think too much about it. 

You’ve kissed before, in the heat of the moment, but you hardly ever talk about it & you’ve never done any more than that. The kisses were always soft and loving, like you’re something special to him. Perhaps you are, to an extent. 

Brennan gently takes your hand, cautiously raising your arm. Your wince doesn’t go unnoticed as he pauses his actions, allowing you to adjust. You take in a slow breath before nodding as he places a hand underneath your arm, propping it up. 

His opposite hand hovers over the wound, and you hiss as it begins knitting back together, a sting blossoming from the tender skin.

“I know, darling. It’ll be over soon.” You close your eyes, breathing through the reassurance. You hardly even notice the nickname that he’d used. 

Moments later, he’s finished, and the sting subsides. You glance down at your arm, no trace of the wound in sight. A sigh of relief escapes your lips, thankful that Brennan’s mending skills were enough to heal the wound. 

“Despite it looking fine, it may still be a little tender, so be careful.” Brennan’s voice is soft with warning, both of his hands back on your hips now. You relax at his touch, giving a small nod in response. 

Moments like these have been happening more often. Instead of pulling you into his side, he’ll tug you into his lap when you need comfort. Instead of keeping his hands at his side, more often than not, they find their way to your waist. You aren’t complaining—quite the opposite, actually. You know if you ask, he’ll stop in a heartbeat. And he'll never cross any boundaries without permission.  

The older boy’s hand lifts to cradle your jaw, his thumb brushing against the tender bruises on your cheek. The touch is so gentle that no pain even registers. 

“Would you like me to take care of the bruises as well?” The question is hesitant, as if he isn’t sure if it’s too intimate. “I could kiss them away,” Brennan suggests with a small grin. Your cheeks heat, a shade of pink spreading from your cheeks all the way to your ears.

The flirtatious suggestions are nothing new—he makes them frequently, especially when attempting to lighten the mood—but you can’t help but blush every time one falls from his lips. His grin only widens as he notices the effect it has.

“They have been a bit of a bother.” Your tongue darts out to wet your lips. His eyebrows raise, surprised that you’ve taken the bait. You typically give him one of your playful shoves and shut him down—now you’re feeding into it, and he’s not sure exactly what to do. The thought of him following through has anticipation coursing through your veins, your confidence beginning to rise again.

His amber eyes scan over you, likely searching for all of the bruises. You push away the urge to shrink under the intensity of his gaze as it sends a rush of heat down your spine. It happens often—even the little things have you feeling some type of way. But you never voice it out of fear of ruining your years-long friendship.

The two of you had met when you were in your early teens, thanks to your parents moving from post to post, often together. Your younger siblings are close as well, but there has always been something between the two of you: something unspoken, something… dangerous. Brennan’s parents have made bets about your brother Dain and his sister Violet ending up together—Asher likely already has their wedding planned out. His mother has always kept her eye on the two of you, giving silent support but never voicing it. Your father, on the other hand, despises anything that could be labeled a distraction. 

Brennan leans in to press a gentle kiss on your cheek—right where a purpling bruise is forming—and your skin tingles, a sign of his signet at work. A soft hum escapes your lips, and he moves to another bruise, his lips soft against your skin. You can feel the scruff along his jaw gently brushing your cheek, telling you that it’s been a couple of days since he’s last shaved.

He eventually pulls back, his gaze falling on your face once again. You’re more relaxed, thanks to his efforts to distract you. You can hardly even remember why you’ve come to him in the first place. He has a habit of making you feel that way, which ultimately makes him one of your favorite people. Though, you’d never tell him that—his ego’s big enough as is.

Finally, his eyes land on the cut on your lip. His gaze comes back up to meet yours, a silent question dancing between the two of you. You give him a slight tilt of your head, agreeing almost too quickly for your liking. 

Brennan leans in, his lips brushing against yours in a teasing manner before he locks them together. You begin to lose yourself in the feeling—the rush, the adrenaline. Those feelings always accompany his kisses; you could never get enough. You could get high off this feeling, churam pales in comparison to it. 

That familiar tingling sensation takes root in your lip, where the cut had been placed by the second-years. A small hum escapes your lips, and Brennan’s hands begin to move up along your sides as your lips move in tandem. 

The older boy tilts his head, kissing you deeper as his tongue teases along your bottom lip. You waste no time, sliding your tongue between his lips and meeting his. A small chuckle falls from his mouth and into yours, almost as if he’s surprised by your bold actions.

You don’t know how long the two of you sit there, fighting for dominance as soft, breathless moans fill the room. Brennan eventually retreats, resting his forehead against yours while the two of you attempt to calm your breathing. You take in the sight of him—his kiss-bitten lips, his flushed cheeks, his (even more) tousled hair—you’d beg at Malek’s feet to see this man absolutely ruined before leaving this world. 

“Do you want to stay?” Brennan’s voice is soft as it breaks the charged silence. You freeze for a moment. You weren’t expecting him to offer, though it’s not the first time he has—and it’s not the first time you’ve accepted.

“I’d love to.” You give a small nod, grins forming on both of your faces. You can’t explain it, but this kiss has changed things that the others hadn’t. Everything feels lighter—calmer. 

The older boy nods before gently lifting you off him with ease, his effortless strength taking you by surprise. You’ve yet to notice just how much muscle being in this quadrant has given him until now. He sets you down on the bed before standing, striding over to his armoire. 

Brennan fetches one of his t-shirts, as well as a pair of training shorts that you’d previously left in his room. A small smile creeps onto your lips as you take them. Your expression quickly turns sheepish when you realize there’s nowhere to comfortably change without being seen.

He snickers at your expression, raising his hands with palms facing out before turning his back to you. A laugh escapes your lips as you stand.

“Such a gentleman,” You tease as you begin stripping from your training leathers. You wince, refraining from hissing at the pain that radiates from the bruises along your ribs. They aren’t broken, they can heal on their own. You don’t need Brennan to fix everything for you.

Brennan gives a soft hum in response. “Would you prefer I ogle you shamelessly?” He raises a brow, his head tilting slightly in your direction. If he tilts much further, he’d see you bare before him. Your skin heats at the thought, but you quickly tug on the shirt and shorts that he’d given you. 

You lie down on his bed, a dramatic sigh falling from your lips. The older boy turns, his gaze raking over you before he climbs into bed next to you. 

“What are you gonna do about those second years?” The question is soft on his lips as he stares up at the ceiling. 

“Train harder?” You suggest with a shrug. “I’ll figure it out. No need to worry about me.” You shake your head, turning onto your side to face him.

A soft hum escapes his lips as he turns to face you as well, both of your heads propped on an elbow. “I always worry about you. Even when we were younger.”

The admission struck you to the core, causing an ache to blossom in your chest. It’s rare that he lets his vulnerability slip—you’re typically his safe place to do so, though. 

“Why don’t we get some sleep?” You sit up and move closer to the headboard, lifting the covers to climb beneath them.

Brennan lets out a scoff—a playful one—at your attempt to change the subject. He moves up further onto the bed before climbing under the covers as well. You feel his hands gently tug you back into his chest, leaving you flush against him. Heat creeps up your neck, but you manage to ignore it; instead, a smile forms on your lips. 

He nuzzles his face into your neck, his hand splayed across your clothed stomach as the other rests on your hip. His gentle touch doesn’t anger the bruises along your skin.

“Goodnight, darling.” The nickname leaves his lips with a teasing tone.

“Goodnight, Bren,” You reply, voice soft against the comfortable silence of the room. 

Everything truly has changed tonight. But you can’t complain, not when it feels so right, pressed up against him in your most vulnerable state. 

You both drift off into sleep quicker than usual, and neither of you struggles to stay asleep throughout the night, even as the threats of those second years linger in the back of your mind. Because you know Brennan will always be there, protecting you—mending you. Maybe this is how it was always supposed to be.

[promise-of-soup]

'*•.¸♡ I Choose Jiro~! ¸.•*'

REMINDER: all parts of this series include major spoilers for episode 17!

♡Synopsis: You chose Jiro, but it seems like confessing to him is a bit harder than you assumed.

♡Tags: Reader x Jiro Kirisaki, confession, Jiro is really Jiroing it up here, kissing, MC with no descriptor but she/her pronouns used throughout, medical malpractice, slight grinding mentioned, mentions of other characters in episode 17, this is not a good indication for how long fics in this series will be, I went overboard because Jiro :)

♡Notes: of course I would start with Jiro, sdahdadksada he was so cute in this episode :( also like, my favourite characters are always the ones who wear regular clothes during the beach episode and they always make me blush while the half-naked ones do not lmao

For prolouge and other character choices, click here

Jiro was stood to the side, quietly talking on the phone with Yuri, confirming "Yes, I'm alive, she's fine too."

You overheard him and cracked a smile at Yuri's concern. Everyone else was similarly conversing with their respective concerned friends, and your phone was blowing up with notifications that you struggled to answer at a fast enough pace before more came.

Once the bus arrived and the conversations all died down, you let everyone else get on first, ensuring they were all there and all fine, and doing one final head-count. Then, you got on the bus with a deep sigh, and walked across the many empty seats and the familiar faces of your friends, you walked until you reached Jiro, who was sitting by the window near the back of the bus, resting his chin on his hand and looking out onto the ocean.

Truthfully, when you are as tired as you were, or whenever thoughts of your curse began to creep up your spine, there was only one place you could take comfort in, and it was by his side. So this was it, you were going to tell him, well, not verbally, anyways.

Without saying a word, you confidently sat down beside him and leaned over to the side so that your head dropped onto his shoulder and your hand rested beside his. Jiro did not jolt, or react with surprise, instead, he moved away from you and turned his head, commenting that you would need to wear a seatbelt to ensure your safety.

When you blinked at him in shock without moving, he pulled the seatbelt over you with a blank expression and put it into place, nearly hugging you through the movement, but returning to sit upright in mere seconds. There, he coughed, and when you once again didn't react, he put his arm over your shoulders and pushed your head down to once again rest on his shoulder, this time, intertwining your fingers together with his.

Suddenly, Rui jumped up, turned in his seat to face the two of you with a dramatic flair "Hey! why does he get to have you lean on him?"

You didn't move, but your eyes flicked over to Jiro's, who said in a monotone voice, "Soothing behaviours may prove to be helpful in easing symptoms of tension and stress, and as her attending doctor I am well equipped to provide it as treatment."

"Well," Haru joined in from across the bus as it started driving towards Darkwick, "So is everyone else here!"

Jiro looked down at your head for a second, and held your hand more tightly, "She can do what she wants."

You nodded, reminded of how he said a similar thing two days ago when Ed made a comment about sharing you, it made you smile, and pay no attention as everyone returned to their seats and the atmosphere became quiet.

Sitting in complete silence, you realized that Jiro has to know, right? He held you back, he acknowleged you can choose where you go and that you choose to go to him, then he has to know. You did it! You confessed!

Until the bus came to a stop, and at the very last minute of everyone saying their goodbyes and the topic of the mission report came up, to which Jiro proclaimed "It appears that attempting to find someone a companion in seventy-two hours is rather inefficient."

So, it did not work.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

That night, you yelled into your pillow in frustration, and the following day you kept recounting the ways in which you are a complete and utter mess from having a crush on Jiro. Most embarrassingly, when you think back to the beach portion of your mission, you still feel warm from the image of Jiro wearing his beach get-up, and how, despite standing in front of your half-naked friends for however long, your face only became that warm once you felt him stand behind you and turned around to see him literally fully clothed. That just goes to show how deep of a crush you have on him, and to think he has not noticed it at any point during those three days or at any point before it.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Two days have passed since you returned from the mission, and now, you are lazily taking in the morning and getting ready for the day.

A knock on the door echoes through the room, and before you manage to ask who it is, it creaks open to reveal Jiro.

He is wearing his uniform in a slightly unkempt manner, mirroring his hair, which messily covers the top half of his glasses, a black medical mask hangs off his ears, a matching pair of latex gloves on his long hands, and his oversized medical bag held against his leg.

You did not have a scheduled medical exam today, but he greets you with a "Good morning." and locks the door behind him.

"Hey," you say, but your voice creaks, "Did we schedule a check up for today?"

Jiro lays his medical bag beside your desk in the corner of the room and nonchalantly says "No."

"Then-"

"You spent a lot of time in the sun and experienced stressful stimuli, so I decided to come in to check you just in case."

"Thank you, Jiro, that's really thoughtful of you." Your heart beats fast and you feel your face become flashed as you approach him.

"Of course, it is my responsbility." he nods, standing up and pointing to the desk, "Would you mind sitting here today?"

"On the desk?" you cock your head to the side, but begin to shuffle whatever you left on it to the side.

"Yes," he nods, not moving back as you nearly brush against him while moving around, "I am a bit weak today and would struggle bending down if you sat on the chair like usual."

"Are you alright?" you ask him as you approach.

"Yeah, just some side effects of the new medication, I haven't had a chance to rest over the past two days."

"I hope you manage to get some rest today."

"Thank you," he nods, "Before you sit down," he stops you with a hand on your back, "May I check the mark on your back?"

Your throat goes dry at remembering it even exists, and you mumble out a "yes." grabbing the sides of your shirt and pulling it up to expose your back to him.

His cold, gloved hand ghosts your back, "Can I touch it?"

"Yes."

And so, he drags his fingers over the mark, making observations that you are already familiar with, "It has spread lower than before." his finger drags along your spine and stops in the center, causing you to shiver. Jiro presses a finger to a spot in your back, "does this hurt?"

"No,"

He presses his finger in a different spot, "Here?"

You shake your head, "No." him touching your back feels nice.

He hums, and you hear a pen scratch over paper.

Jiro tells you to pull your shirt down again, and you turn to face him without thinking, finding yourself ridiculously close to him. Your face burns and you feel yourself shake slightly as he just stands there, unmoving. With a swift motion you rise onto the desk by leaning on your palms and pulling yourself up, to get away slightly, but he takes a step forward anyways and the distance is just as small as it was moments ago.

You cannot bring yourself to look him in the eyes, thankfully you don't need to do so right now, as he bends down to grab things out of his bag. You watch his broad back tense as he drapes the cord of a stethoscope over his shoulders, and when he stands back up you are suddenly made aware of how tall he is, as even though you are sat on the desk, he still towers over you.

"Alright, I am going to check your heart."

You nod, trying to take a deep breath as fast as you can to help reduce the speed at which your heart is racing, but it does not seem to work given how as soon as he touches the cold metal to your clothed chest, he also leans forward and places two fingers under your jaw.

It seems like forever before he rises back up to tell you, "Your heart rate is abnormally high for your typical range."

Of course, you do know why that is the case.

Jiro steps back and observes the clipboard in his hand, "This could be a sign of strain, did you find the last mission particularly stressful?"

Recalling said 'last mission' causes your heart to only beat harder than before, and you decide to use this as a chance to test the waters a bit, "No- hm not really, especially since you were there, was it stressful for you?"

"Me?" he asks, "I did find it a bit stressful," he adjusts his glasses, "when we were setting up for the party on the last day, the producers informed me that Mizuki-san only asked me to gather music equipment to 'shoo me away'," he marks quotation marks with his fingers, "so that he could spend more time with you alone."

Your eyes widen at his sudden statement, and you question him further, "Why was that stressful?"

"Well," he says, "While seventy-two hours do not appear to be enough for someone to choose a companion... if it were, he does seem to be a rather good option, so leaving you alone with him would only give him more time to prove so."

You can't help but chuckle, "Rui's a great friend, I appreciate him deeply, but I don't have romantic feelings for him."

"Oh." his expression tenses and relaxes at once, and he steps forward towards you, "Regardless, if you did have to choose between the six of us, I would be the only correct option considering that I am well equipped to care for you, long term that is, as I told you before," he nods, "But of course, you are an indepedent person and forcing you to choose from a selection of six potential partners in a scripted enviorment is reducing you down to a mere object to be won over, and even then it is highly doubtful you would be receptive to any said person's romantic interest, even if you're familiar with them in advance, and if-"

Is he spiraling? is this Jiro's version of rumbling out of awkwardness? You giggle, kicking your feet back and forth with a playful expression and an ever growing smile, as you decide to stop him, "I did choose you, though."

Jiro stops at once, cocking his head to the side as both his hands limply drop to his side, "That is a smart choice given the behavioural data I exhibited during those three days, I did prove to be the potential partner for you."

"No," you laugh, putting your hands over his neck and pulling him towards you, "I have liked you long before the mission, Jiro."

"Oh." he exclaims, looking down at your lips and then back up to your eyes with a strangely hungry expression, "Is that why your heart rate is abnormally high?"

"I guess so."

"Good, then it means you are not sick." he keeps looking up and down.

So you finally give him premission, "You can kiss me."

And it takes less than a second for him to part your legs, stand between them and kiss you with a hunger that is hard to describe. One of his hands wraps around your torso, and his other hand wraps itself in your hair, pulling you closer and tilting your head to the side to allow him more access.

You tense at first, not expecting the intensity, but then you melt into his hold, placing a hand on his cheek and kissing him back with all of your unspoken emotions at the forefront. At once he pushes your torso forward and pushes you back so that you are half laying on the desk, and so he so he can step further in, breaking the kiss for a second to roll his hips into your core, causing you to arch your back as he goes back to kissing you with an even higher intensity than before.

Jiro's glasses misalign, his hair ruffles, your lungs make do with whatever air they can get, both your clothes loosen and scrunch from contact, your lips get sore, and you have no idea what is going on, but it feels really really good. He keeps grinding into you every so often, and pauses kissing you on the lips to instead kiss your jawline and neck, you manage to kiss his cheek once, but you can barely move in his hold as he does what he wills to you.

Then, after another deep kiss which lasts however long and takes your breath away, he steps back at once as if nothing happens and looks down at his watch, "I need to go back now, can I kiss you again sometime?"

"Yo- You- huh?" You probably look so dishevelled leaning back on your desk, judging by how Jiro looks completly upside down with his hair sticking in any direction but down, his lips puffy, and one of his glasses lenses aligning with his forehead.

"Actually, can I kiss you whenever I want?"

"Y-yes? of course? I-"

"Good, I will see you later, then."

"Wha-"

And so he leaves... but at least you know he likes you back...?

[pinkthrone445]

Do you have ao3? Also can you continue my wife? 🥺 I almost cried but i dont know in which part. If it's because of the story or because it's unfinished or i got left hanging. But Great work though 👏

Hiii! I don't have ao3, my girlfriend explained to me what it was because I had no idea honestly, I was even researching a little of it, but I prefer more tumblr because I feel it more personal.

Thank you for the comment, I really love this kind of interaction 🥺✨

-My wife- Part 2

Part 1

Pairing: Agatha Harkness x Reader-Agatha Harkness x Rio

Gender:soft, hurt

Warnings: insults and mention of death. Spoilers from the series.

Summary: after loosing your wife, you beg the witch to take you to the road to find her. But with no hope of finding her, you want to come back home.

You sighed looking at the notebook in your hands, since you had been sent to do a report on the hex when it started expanding and you got trapped inside, that was going to be your great opportunity to do your great report and go famous on the news side, but since Wanda retired from the city and released everyone from her control, you no longer had your main source or your main character and it was more difficult to make the story happen.

Frustrated by not knowing how to follow your report, you put your notebook in your bag and continued with your grocery shopping

-"Hello... Did you find everything you needed?" - a kind lady asked you from the cash register while you put your items on the band. You looked up and she smiled, she had a delicate but mischievous smile and her light eyes sparked with the stores lights. You squinted your eyes to read her name tag since you were not using your glasses. "Agnnes" a sweet name

-"Y-yes" - for some reason your voice trembled-"Thank you... Can you add some gum please?" - You didn't knew why but you made your voice sweeter than how you usually talked and she nodded.

When you finished paying, you went to where you were staying to eat the junk food and the chips you bought and try to keep writing your notes, but not matter how many times you checked your purse or the bags, you couldn't find your notebook with all your important notes.

Before the tears of desesperation could fill your eyes, you started to retake your previous steps hoping to find it somewhere, but when you got to the store, the doors were already closed.

Defeated, you came back home, praying to God that your notebook would be there tomorrow.

The next day you went back to the store before they could open the doors to the people, your heart racing with nerves, yesterday's frustration still lingering on your body. Wanda was gone and if you lost that book all your first handed Intel would be gone too.

Your leg bounced on the concrete looking at the doors and your reflection on it. Agnes, the cashier from the day before stood beside you looking at the close doors

-"What are we looking for?" - she asked leaning closer to you and you turned to look at her

-"Agnes..."-her name sounded so sweet on your lips-"I lost something yesterday and I think is here... I hope is here" - Your voice sounded like a plea to the gods

-"What did you loose?" - she asked with worry on her eyes

-"A black notebook with some silly drawings on the cover... It has my notes for work and I had some important Intel on it and I need it"-You really sounded desperate

-"Intel on what?" - she asked curious

-"On some local news... You know, the kidnapping of the whole town and all... You don't remember if yesterday someone brought you a lost notebook?" - You looked into her eyes and she held her bag tighter

-"I shouldn't let people from the outside come in before we open, but follow me, let's check the lost and found" - she took your hand and pulled you to the side of the store. Her fingers where holding you tight and that made you smile a little, her hands were soft and they had the perfect size to hold yours.

She opened the side door and pulled you inside with her, looking for the office without letting you go.

When you finally got there, she pulled a box from the closet and put it on top of a desk, letting you search for the notebook without any luck.

She stared at your face, looking how your eyes got watery when you searched the box for the second time hoping that it would appear

-"Hey..."-she took your hand again stopping your search-"Let's check the store together..."-she whispered and you nodded. Even at the risk of losing her job if someone looked at the cameras and saw that she had let someone from outside the company in before they even opened, she helped you look for the notebook all over the store.

-"I think I got it!!"-she yelled and you ran towards her, when you saw her holding your notebook proudly on her hands, you let out a loud yelling of happiness and hugged her tightly

-"Oh my god! You are a life saver Agnes!" - You couldn't stop holding her and she laughed

-"How do you know my name? I've never told you... And I don't know yours either now that I think about it..."-she whispered and you let her go laughing a little embarrassed when she handle you the notebook

-"I saw it yesterday on your name tag... I'm (Y/N) by the way... Thank you so much for this..."-you looked at the book in your hand and she smiled

-"Lovely name..." - she whispered looking at your smile and you blushed a little under her intense gaze

-"Do you want want to go for a coffee? It's on me..."-you boldly offered and she smiled sadly

-"I have to work..."-she answered and you felt a little disappointed without knowing why

-"Rigth, of course, I'm sorry" - You tried to quickly excuse yourself

-"But my shift finish at 6... Maybe we can go for dinner?" - she asked and your smile grew

-"I would love that" - You wrote your number on a piece of paper from your notebook and gave it to her-"See you soon, thank you again!" - You smiled and let her go on with her day.

That first dinner was surprisingly good, the conversation seemed to have no end and she picked an excellent spot that you haven't seen before in that small town. She was sarcastic and funny, she knew how to flirt and she was charming and gorgeous and you couldn't get enough of her.

So after that nigth, after a couple days, you came back to her store to buy something only to have an excuse to see her again and talk to her. And then you repeatedly did the same until you started dating.

After a year together you got married and moved to Agnes' house, and a year after that, you started the process to have a baby together.

At some point along the way, you didn't know exactly when, you realized that she was a witch. If you connected the dots that she lived almost next door to where the scarlet witch was but still didn't remember her, or that some of her books at home were in Latin and talked about spells, or that she herself did a "joke" spell before you got pregnant and it worked... It seemed very obvious what she was...But she seemed like a nice witch.

You as a reporter got interested in her and started to study all the books that she had and all the story behind her, you found out that she was Agatha Harkness a powerful old witch, but for you she was your sweet and perfect Aggy.

When she started to get lost in her own mind, you used all the things you had learned to break her spell, and when your Aggy was lost behind the powerful Agatha Harkness, you used the song of the road that she used to sing to your belly, to try to bring her back again.

But now you were stuck on the stupid road with no hopes of bringing her back and no idea how to get back home.

You took your notebook with spells out of your pocket and you saw how it was filled with memories, notes, phrases and information all involving Agatha... All the things you investigated for her and now she couldn't even remember you or cared about you being pregnant or about what you have done for her. Rage and sadness filled your body and you throw the book away, seeing how it fell outside of the road and the dirt consumed it. You signed and sat on the dirt, desperate tears filled your eyes and and you hug your legs

-"I want to get out..."-you whispered between sobs

-On the other side of the road-

-"Hughhh, stop it!" - Agatha yelled grabbing her head, she didn't knew how, but every time you thought about something or remembered anything, she could feel it on her head too and that was really anoying to her, her mind was usually so calm and yours was so loud.

-"Agatha... Let's go bact to her, I think we need her, we've been walking for hours and we have no test ahead, clearly the road wants her with us..."-Lilia said worried about you being alone

-"The road is bullshit..."-she murmured between her teeth-"Let's sleep a little, we can keep going in a few hours" - she said firmly and nobody dared to say anything else about it because they were scared of making her more angry.

While everyone slept, Agatha thouth about you, specially about the baby, she didn't knew if you were telling the truth but she was intrigued about it, if she started a family with you, you must be really important to her, important enough to move on after all this time.

A glimpse of something shiny on the middle of the road cough her eyes, she stood up and grabbed a dusty notebook, your notebook. She recognized it immediately because you had it all the time in your hands. When she open it, the first thing she saw was a lyrics of a song, her original song that she used to sing with Nicky. The only other person that knew that song was her and Rio, but apparently she sang that song to you at some point and you save it on your notes.

She also saw full paragraphs about her, a drawing of her pin, notes about enchantments, a list of songs and baby names... Baby names, she remembered picking baby names with you a few days ago when the pregnancy test came out positive, she remembered you on the bathroom of the house, crying and hugging her.

She kept reading the book, it was like a diary about your and her life together, every important thing was inside it, even a few pictures, including ones of the wedding you had. You seemed so happy with her, nobody has never smiled so much because of her, and in all the pictures she was smiling even bigger looking at you. Her heart started clenching more each time she read a new page, she could feel your love in your notes, until she reached one in particular

"Even if you don't recognize me anymore and you don't remember the love you had for me, the love I have will cover for the both of us..."

She remember when you told her that when she tried to kick you out of the house and that made a clic on her head, Agatha remembered, finally she remembered everything.

How you met, that spark, your first time together, when you got married, when you decided to have the baby and how you took care of her when she started to loose it...

She remember how you stayed by her side always. Even when she no longer recognized you, and unless you followed the silly illusion her head was living in, she wasn't able to see or hear you either, you stayed. Even though she no longer knew who you were, you made a vow with her and wanted to take care of her while she was "sick", so you found a way to help her eat or shower. You pretended to be a waitress and tell her she was on a restaurant so she would eat her food and pretend to be a masseur on a spa so she would shower. Agatha remember that, remembered your care and your worry even when she treated you badly, she remembered your love for her...she remembered all that and fell for you again, she finally remembered her love for you.

-"Fuck!" - she closed the book feeling like an asshole

-"They are coming!" - Lilia woke up scared, telling the others that the Salem seven where close. Agatha grabbed her coat

-"Let's go, we need to find her before they can hurt her" - she ordered and the others followed her.

-On your side of the road-

After a few minutes of crying you also fell asleep and when you woke up, you were no longer on the road, you were on your confy bed, hugged by the covers. You sighed in relief and snuggled more into the comfort of the mattress thinking that all that had hapend was just a bad dream

-"Are you planning on staying on that bed all day?" - a deep voice took you out of your peaceful place and you sat on the bed scared to see Rio sitting at the edge of it. If you were still on a dream, she was a completely nightmare following you everywhere

-"How did I got here? What are you doing here? What do you want? If you want Agatha go ahead, I don't care anymore"-saying those words made your heart hurt, but you were tired of trying to get love from the witch with no results at all

-"She hates me, she doesn't want to be with me or see me... Remember that conversation around the fire? she is my scar... I don't know if you know this but we had a son together many many years ago... But he was sick and it was my fault, I tried to give them more time together and she tried to keep him away from me, but eventually I had to do my job and he had to come with me... Agatha never forgave me for it and I didn't forgave myself either..."-she talked with her serious face as always and you couldn't avoid the feeling that you were in danger with her close

-"If you want me to feel sorry for you, telling me that you had to kill your son, it's not helping..."-you whispered

-"I took you out of the road..."-she confessed and surprised you-"You wanted to get out and the Salem seven where very close to you while you slept so I took you out... Because Agatha wouldn't forget me ever if I had to take another one of her children away... Or her wife..."-the word wife was painful to her, you were having the life that they could never had, but she would do anything to see Agatha happy

-"That's... Thank you..."-you didn't knew what to said, you figured that she was death itself when she told you that she was "THE" green witch, but she was bending the rules of life for Agatha

-"Don't... Just take care of her okay?... And close that fucking door to the "road", like now"-she order and you stood from the bed

-"How do you want me to do that? I have no powers..."-you asked confused

-"You created it, you can close it... Or he can, you just have to let his powers control you again" - she told you pointing to your almost invisible belly. The baby was made from Agatha's spell, it made sense that you had power while he was inside you. When you turned to look at her, she was gone already.

Still confused, you ran to the basement and grabbed a piece of chalk and a few candles, remembering the spells that you had studied, you started to repeat the Latin words over and over until you saw the door desapear. Tired and a little confused of what you were capable of, you sat at the floor trying to catch your breath, hoping that Agatha and the others would find a way out.

Meanwhile inside the road, Agatha and the others were running looking for you and screaming your name when she noticed how the sky of the road started to shrink and how the trees beside them began to desapear, little by little everything started to fade around them

-"Fuck! Off the road! Let's go to the mud people, let it swallow you" - Lilia yelled, she saw this happening before and she knew what they had to do even if she didn't knew why. Although they were not quite sure if Lilia was in her right mind on that moment, they decided to listen as it seemed to be the only possible option. They all waded into the mud and fell under the road right next to an exit, using it to escape safely just in time before the place collapsed behind them

-"Well... That happened..."-the protection witch said breathing heavily

-"Its this another test?" - The potion witch asked

-"I think we are truly out..."-Lilia said.

Apparently they had come out in some underground construction and Agatha didn't waste a second in running out looking for a way out to see if she could find you

-"What about the end of the road?!" - they asked running behind her

-"I don't care about that, I need to find my wife!" - The purple witch screamed and when she finally got outside and saw that they weren't so far away from her house, she breathe out in relief. Immediately she went to the house, and when she was about to open the backyard door, the color left her skin when the door opened alone and she saw death itself leaving the house, Agatha couldn't avoid imagining the worse, that she was there to claim your body because you couldn't get out of the road in time

-"Please no..."-The witch begged her ex lover, but the green witch just walked away without saying anything else. Agatha opened the door with shaky hands and the others followed her closely

-"Aggy! Lilia! You are all okay!" - Your voice pierced their ears as your body crushed against them hugging them all taking them by surprise

-"I thought I lost you" - Agatha's voice was broken, vulnerable as she hugged you alone, closer to her-"I thought I had lost you after being an asshole to you, I... I'm sorry... I remember you, all you did for me, I remember how much we love each other, how much I love you" - she whispered pressing her forehead against yours and letting one of her hands rest against your belly. You smiled feeling safe and happy again. But your happiness ended quickly when you saw how the sky turned gray

-"Oh no... They got out too" - Lilia said watching how the Salem seven where walking down the street

-"Look guys, this is my fight, you don't need to be here... " - Agatha said but got interrupted

-"This is not the time to be good Agatha after being a bitch all this time..."-Jennifer said

-"We will protect you... After all that's what convens are for" - Alice said looking at you and then at Agatha- "I will blast you... Just don't take it all..."-she said and the purple witch nodded...

-9 months later-

-"He is gorgeous..."-Lilia said holding your baby on her arms for the first time. The little baby held her fingers in his little hand watching all the women around hin

-"He is, but now it's time for Aunty Aliceee to hold himmm" - The protection witch said excited in a pitchy voice while you watched them from your hospital bed

-"No! I was the second one to hold David, come on!" - Jennifer started fighting with the other witches making you laugh. You named your baby in honor of your neighbor that you lost on the road.

-"Love come here..."-you whispered to Agatha who was looking outside from the window. She gave a last look and closed the blinds smiling at you-"Are you okay?" - You asked and she nodded, happy to see that death was nowhere to be seen meaning that you and the baby where healthy and safe

-"Never better, I got everything that I need rigth here" - she kissed your forehead and hugged you protectively whispering sweet things on your hear.

[doyoulikethis-videogame-song]

Ask Masterpost 1/25/2025

I will be answering the BLOG RELATED asks that I have received since opening my inbox. Lucky number three this finally becomes consistent :).

I would like to state here that even though I don't respond to them (I'm persnickety about keeping ask spam low) I very much appreciate everyone's well wishes and compliments and gratefulness for this blog. I screenshot all of them and keep them in a folder. Thank you so much and I hope you keep having fun :).

@forrest-knight asked: Hello! I am here to ask for some clarification regarding the rules: “Songs from multimedia series that are primarily NOT video games (such as the Homestuck minigames, for example) will not be accepted.” I’m a bit confused with this rule, does this mean we’re not allowed to submit songs from licensed video games (aka games made for non video game media), even if the song is originally made for the game (ex. To The Moon from the DuckTales NES game). Or does this rule is intended for something completely different? *please note that I’ve never read homestuck, so this might relate to my confusion Anyways, thank you so much for doing this! And I hope you have a great whatever time you are reading this!

SO Homestuck was the only example I could think of at the time as a series that actually did this. I was specifically thinking about franchises/series/works that 100% did not start off intending to be a video game but, in the nature of being a multimedia series, added video game minigames or mobile games as it developed.

This is referring to things like homestuck (a webcomic that featured small browser/flash games within the comic), many idol gacha games** (hypnosis mic, love live), etc. This does not include series that were 'completed' (loosely used since I know many of these frequently get universe-expanding sequels and threequels and whathaveyou) and then had video game spinoffs, such as Star Wars, Marvel, etc.

** exceptions being tracks that are exclusively used in the video game itself, such as BGM.

I know this rule is probably the most complicated one and I'm still trying to figure out how to word it clearly and precisely LMAO. Fundamentally it comes down to intent, which is why I'm still on the fence some things like tracks used exclusively in promotional materials and things like that.

That being said: if the song is originally from a video game as in literally you can hear it while you are playing the video game you are totally in the clear

And according to your second ask (I won't name the songs in case you want to submit them): The one made for and coming from the NES game is fine (of course), AND the one that is the 8-bit version of the NON-VGM one is ALSO FINE, because it was REMIXED for the NES game :).

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**NUMEROUS QUESTIONS ABOUT PUTTING DISCLAIMERS ASKING PEOPLE NOT TO SPOIL THE SONGS**

The blind listening and polling period is just for fun! If someone really likes a song and wants to know what it is/where it's from, PLEASE feel free to tell them!!! And PLEASE always enter the notes with the expectation that there may be song spoilers!!

I will ask that you keep it in the TAGS rather than the comments or reblogs (you're more than welcome to DM people the title if they ask), just for the sake of people who might want to discuss the song without spoilers. I'll put that in the pinned and the (eventual...) formal rules.

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What's up! New here so sorry if this has been asked before but has the exact same song been submitted more than once before? Like it's clearly different people but the same song keeps getting submitted over and over again?

Ever since Mod Rae cleared duplicates I have no idea anymore, BUT I know there have been a lot of different submissions for a few select Disco Elysium songs. That doesn't shock me because I know it's got a cult following here :).

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do you get a lot of the same people in ur notes or is it like. a few of the same and then it branches out to fandoms where people know the song? or do u not pay attn to your notes at all (also fair)

I do read the notes (when I remember)! I really like hearing people's opinions, and I always look through the tags on songs I know (I find it really hilarious seeing 'is this dark souls?' 'is this nier?' on any orchestral ever). There are a lot of familiar faces but I'd say the majority for any given poll are new or sparsely in the notes :).

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Would you ever consider adding two more "i dont feel strongly/have an opinion" options to the polls? Specifically, "it sounds familiar and i dont have an opinion" and "ive def heard it before and dont feel strongly/have an opinion"? Of course, if theres a specific reason why you dont add those two as options, feel free to ignore this, ty <3

I've considered this -- but honestly, that button has always existed as more of a 'I just want to click a button' option than an actual datapoint I'm looking for (I think I might have answered an ask similar to this before but I don't remember so I'm answering it again LOL). When that option dominates, I always read the notes and tags for discussion and I'd encourage anyone who is genuinely interested to do the same. Actual complex opinions, of course, cannot be captured with the limitations of preset poll options anyways LMFAO.

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@mkcannothelpyou asked: I'm beginning to wonder if spacing series severely further apart and prioritising picks further down the queue that aren't as represented would make for a more interesting order - as it is, it feels like you can more or less still track what people submitted and when, with waves of series (and closely related works within those series, at that) coming in conspicuously densely. Hearing the same style only days apart might impact poll results for the negative as time goes on.

This was mostly the fault of me allowing people to submit multiple songs at once, leading to songs with similar qualities (as they are all liked by one person with a particular taste) being grouped together, even if they're from different series. I limit submissions to one per period now so this will not be a problem in the future :').

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@the-mayor-of-space asked: how long do submissions typically stay open once they are open?

I originally wanted to have them permanently opened (thinking people wouldn't mind waiting for their submissions) until I got an insane amount of submissions, severely underestimating the popularity of this blog. I then tried to do a 24 hr submission period, and then a 12 hr submission period, but both of these still ended up with a fuck ton of submissions so the current answer is 'They're closed until I can figure out something proper'...

I don't want purging the existing submissions to be on the table, but if I get to the 1 year anniversary of this blog without a better option I might have to go that route -- in which case I'd probably publish all the unposted options so people know if theirs was cut so they know to resubmit it if they're still interested.

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**NUMEROUS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW FAR BACK THE SUBMISSIONS ARE**

WE'RE FINALLY IN AUGUST!!!!!!!!

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are fan/non official/non licensed versions of songs allowed? because i am 100% certain #293 is a fan made remaster and medley arrangement (im not the submitter but i know the song well - i found the youtube video the audio is from and the comments from OP confirm it is a fan remix). if they are, that's totally cool, but i couldn't find anything in the submission rules about it. i dont intend this ask to be rude or hostile at all, and either way im grateful you've created such an active community with this blog!

They're not really allowed unless they're from a mod or fangame. Since it's a fanmade remaster it's kind of towing the line, so I'm not inherently against it, but it might end up just being a highly situational thing.

Note: I'm not familiar with Fire Emblem at ALL but I knew this particular song was from an older game, which is why I wasn't opposed to posting the remastered version. In any future submissions I'd appreciate if this sort of thing were indicated just in case! I will add that to the submission guidelines :). And of course if there's a better way to go about this (i.e if the game is like, 30+ years old fanmade remasters/upscales are permitted or something like that) I will make sure that's made clear as well :).

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sorry if you've answered this before but I was just wondering, are people allowed to submit spoiler songs for the polls? like final boss songs and songs from endings and secret endings

Absolutely! But I think for all future submissions (this doesn't apply now since there's a huge backlog) I might put a hold on the submissions of OSTS from new games for like 1-2 months (i.e No Mario Kart 9 OSTs until two months after the game drops!) so people who are playing/going to play the game have time to play it before hearing the OSTs unprompted.

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@its-daisukenojobito asked: Just out of curiosity, do you prefer the more obscure submissions, or more well known? I feel like for the sake of reach, the more well known the better, but as a participant, i love being able to hear something I wasn't expecting, and knowing it!

I have no preference, but it's always fun hearing good stuff from games and series I've literally never heard of!

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@venonomnomicon asked: am i allowed to DM to check the status of a submission? it was a couple of months ago though i do respect it's probably just deep in the queue as you get hundreds of submissions a month lol

Absolutely, but you'll have to DM my main blog (@himejoshi) because apparently tumblr doesn't let you have DMs when you have more than one blog admin.

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@royvalentine asked: is the form supposed to be only submittable once?

Yes, so people would only submit one song per submission period. I intended to make a new form for every submission period... There just hasn't been one since.

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hi question, do pinball tables count as video games?

I don't think I have enough experience to answer this question... What do y'all think????

[deadhands69]

In The Stacks Part 5: The Elevator

Tomura Shigaraki x Reader

A mysterious library patron catches your eye, seeking information about his past life. You help him, stirring up your own past in the process. Contains: gn/afab reader, SMUT, cussing, mentions of injuries/violence, obsessive/yandere behavior (mentions and/or includes: stalking, drugging, kidnapping, probably more if you squint), spoilers.

[previous] this is part 5 [next] [series masterlist]

"I desire violently– and I wait."

– Anaïs Nin

— — more tags added for this chapter, please read them before proceeding + as usual, minors do not interact with this series — —

You sit slouched over the back of a chair, staring at the twenty something texts you’ve sent since yesterday with no response from Tenko. The further the day goes on without seeing him, the more you wish the ground would split open and swallow you whole. It's the least the world could do to put you out of your misery. 

To make matters worse, it's May 9th. The one year anniversary of the final war ending. There's a celebration planned and everything so people have flooded in from all over Japan, packing themselves into the three block memorial park and surrounding businesses. This leaves the library fairly dead, which is unfortunate because you could use the distraction.

Most distractions. As long as it’s not that festival.

For obvious reasons, you have complicated feelings about the celebration and have been planning on staying home tonight. You think Tenko would go though, it seems like the kind of thing he would find funny. Maybe if he doesn't respond by then, you should go there to look for him. 

“Ahem,” a dry voice calls out behind you. You spin around to find an older woman in a teal sweater looking very annoyed by having to wait a few extra seconds to check her books out. You take her library card and the books, scanning each of them.

“They’ll be due in two weeks,” your voice autopilots itself, “have a nice day.”

Walking away, she grumbles something you can’t quite hear. You don't really care, she's in here all the time and she's made so many complaints about everyone working that no one will take it seriously if she reports you anyways. 

“Is this mood thing you have going on because your boyfriend’s not here today?” Ao teases as he returns from shelving books. 

“He's not my boyfriend,” you hear the blank tone of your voice and it almost makes you shutter. “He's…we just got coffee once. Er, twice.”

You’re not really sure why you’re hiding your relationship with Tenko, especially from Ao. He tells you all of his boy issues. Besides, even if Tenko (or is it Tomura now that you've accidentally reminded him?) used to be a super villain, he has a pretty good alibi with a paper trail of articles on his origins now, thanks to you. On top of that, Tomura Shigaraki has a death record and he doesn’t publicly go by that name anymore. You don't think he does, at least. Therefore, as far as anyone else is concerned he doesn't even exist. 

But, on the other hand, at no point in your hooking up around the building has he ever referred to himself as your boyfriend or implied it would be okay for others to know. Maybe he’s just looking out for your job, but you’re not about to out everything without talking to him first. You've waited for so long, you have to get this right. 

So, for now, not publicly your boyfriend. But, he is your soulmate. The person you built this entire life around with nothing but a mere hint of their continued existence. He means so much more to you than any of the ways you could ever explain it to anyone else and any words you could possibly come up with would only cheapen it. 

Sure, he doesn't seem to be talking to you at the moment, but you'll win him back quickly enough. You have to. 

“Uh huh, sure,” Ao jokes, “I’ve seen how you look at each other. You’ve been staring at him for a month. The first time he walked in, I thought I'd need a mop to wipe up all the drool. If he’s not your boyfriend yet, you need to fix that.”

“Trying,” you groan, checking your notification-less phone once more.

“Oh,” he catches on, “oh no. What happened?”

“I,” you try to think of how to phrase this without incriminating anyone, “I said something I shouldn’t have. I’ve been helping him find information on some things and I had more information to give but didn’t share all of it because it needed to be the right time. Then I let it slip accidentally at a very wrong time. And I need to make it right, but he’s not responding right now.”

That’s mostly true. You did let it slip that you had more information at the wrong time, but you also weren’t telling him because what former villain would want to be with a hero? You needed him to get to know you better and see how much the two of you are meant for each other before he realized who he used to be. Now, you’ll have to find another way to make him see that. That’s not something you can ask advice for though.

“How long has it been?” Ao asks, snapping you back to reality.

“Since yesterday, but he usually gets here two hours ago and he’s not replying so he’s obviously avoiding me.”

“That’s not very long. And this information you shared, it sounds sensitive. The kind of sensitive that someone could need a day or two to process? This might not be about you at all.”

“Maybe,” you grumble, “or maybe he’ll forever associate me with it and hate me for it. Shooting the messenger and all that.” 

“Hmm, I see.” Ao considers, “how about this: let’s wait a day or two before assuming anything. Things come up, how do you know he’s not at home with food poisoning or something and can't charge his phone?”

You roll your eyes, hiding the closest thing to a smile you’ve had all day. “Well, now I’m going to be worried about that.” 

“Always here to help,” Ao says, pushing away an empty cart, “but alas, my shift is ending and I need to get home to change for the celebration tonight. You going to be okay for the rest of the evening?”

“Yeah,” you say, not even convincing yourself, “it’ll be fine.”

He leaves to clock out, watching you out of the corner of his eye.

“Really,” he says on his way out the door, “call me if you need anything.”

In some ways, talking to Ao about Tenko made you feel a bit better. As much as you hate to admit it, part of you was starting to think you’d been hallucinating him and it’s nice to have another human verify his existence. You still have no clue how he’s still here though. There are so many questions you have for him.

First, you need to get through this.

He wasn’t upset with you yesterday, at least it didn’t seem like it. Tomura came immediately after you said his name. That’s not the response someone would have if they’re unhappy about it, right?

You keep replaying that moment over and over again in your head. Committing every detail to memory, trying to find any hint of a clue you missed like reliving it could give you some missing key to crack the code of why he's not responding.  

At first, it seemed okay. He pulled you in closer. His hand gripped yours while wrapping his arms around you. He stayed like this for a while just holding you. When he pulled away to zip up his pants, his face shifted like he'd just realized something. He didn't look sad, more concerned. Almost like he was afraid of you. 

“Uhm, I have to go,” is all he mumbled before grabbing his backpack and rushing down the stairs. At the time, you were confused but figured he’d explain later. Now, it’s been over twenty four hours and you still don’t have an explanation.

The evening continues to pass, slowly.

The memory replays and you find yourself caught on the nicer parts. It’s a good enough alternative to dwelling on how much you miss him. 

His flawless hands. How perfectly they wrapped over yours as he pressed you into the bookshelf. You can’t imagine the quirk he used to have would work well for that, part of you is glad for whatever happened. In some small ways, at least. You obviously would have taken him either way, but you think some aspects of the life you're building together now are easier for you both. You'd imagine it wouldn't be easy to go through the world needing to constantly keep track of each of your fingers.

As much as you try to distract yourself with anything else, the replay continues. How he touched you. The way every part of his body fits with yours, like you were made for each other.

You feel so depraved having thoughts like this when he’s not even talking to you but you can’t help it. And, you tell yourself, you really shouldn’t be worried because he’ll be back soon enough. 

You’ll make sure of it. 

Part of you wonders if there’s a way you can force Tenko to talk to you. Not anything bad, just keeping him somewhere he has to stay until he hears you out. You could just tell him you're sorry you didn't say anything earlier, you were going to then he started hitting on you and you liked it so you waited. Saying that you found some article and connected the dots and you hope he's not upset with you for ruining the moment. He did say he wants you to know all of him, after all. Maybe he won’t remember that you were a hero and leave.

Now there's the next issue of how to get him somewhere alone and keep him there. He's stronger than you which might cause some difficulty. Your quirk? You could alw–

Wait, no. You can't believe this is where your mind is going. What the fuck are you thinking? There's no way you can actually hold him hostage. That's what it would be, right? You try to clear your head of it, but the idea lingers. Its mere existence in your brain left such an imprint of ‘but what if’ that you find yourself slipping back into planning it when you're not careful. 

Instead, you go back to the nicer thoughts again. Suddenly, they seem like a very reasonable distraction.

You keep thinking back to the way he held your hand like you'd pull away at any moment. Fingers wrapped tightly over yours. 

His hands. 

That's another inconsistency you haven't figured out yet. Tenko has all of his fingers. According to everything you've read on the internet, Tomura Shigaraki did not. Yet you're absolutely certain they're the same person. You've never had this much chemistry with anyone else in your life. It has to be him. 

Humans don't tend to grow back missing body parts on their own though. Is he a clone? A ghost? He feels warm, so you want to rule out the last one. Also, you think ghosts would have the same body they did at the time they died so that doesn't quite work. On that same note, clones are a blank slate so he wouldn't have the same scars either. Neither of these ideas hold water. 

You've always been partial to the theory that the video was fake, but once more, this leaves you with more questions that can only be answered by the person who doesn't remember.

You wonder what he does remember. Clearly his name or he would have just been confused.

His life before you feels so nebulous. You know he was a super villain. Then something happened. After that, he stayed here because of someone and it didn't work out. That part always hurt, knowing he had feelings for someone else after what happened between the two of you on the rooftop. He doesn't seem like the type to switch between people that quickly. If it did mean as much to him as it did to you, he obviously doesn't remember it.

You hear the patter of rain before seeing the streaks running down the windows. Rough day for an outdoor celebration. It reminds you of how Tenko associates rain with you. You wonder if he’s thinking about you right now. You hope so. 

As if you’d summoned him, Tenko walks in precisely one hour before closing. 

He looks like he’s fairing as well as you in all of this. The lack of sleep is apparent on his face with the dark puffy circles under his eyes. Still, he’s breathtaking. You've never seen anyone so beautiful, even when he hasn't slept.

Nervously, he approaches the circulation desk, leaving a cup of coffee in front of you. His eyes catch yours for a moment before he looks away. Turning, he walks out before you can say anything. 

You want to chase him. Your body stays glued in place though, glancing down at the cup.

The order is scratched out with the words “we need to talk” scrawled on the side of the cardboard sleeve. You guess he wanted to make sure you noticed what he wrote?

You couldn’t agree more though. 

The next hour goes agonizingly slow, dragging out without a single patron, everyone is at the festival. You forgot how tiring that can be. Ten minutes in advance, your manager decides to close early to “let you go to the celebration.”

That’s…nice of her.

"Thanks," you yawn, dragging yourself to pull your backpack and jacket out of your cubby.

By the time you’re packed up to leave, you’re absolutely exhausted. As you walk out the door, you keep feeling like you’re missing something but not awake enough to place what it is. 

It’s probably just from missing Tomura. Tenko. Whoever.

At first you thought the coffee he left would help, but you chugged it and even that couldn’t put a dent in not sleeping for two nights straight.

You can rest tonight though. First you have to make sure everything is okay with him. He wants to talk. It'll be okay.

As you walk out of the library doors, he steps from behind a pillar. His hair is lightly misted by the rain earlier. Was he waiting for you this whole time?

“Where were you today, you didn't respond to any of my messages,” you ask, trying to keep the despair from seeping into your voice. 

“I was busy,” he says blankly. 

“Oh. I see.” You might as well jump right into it before you overthink. “Uh, and I'm sorry. I found some information in an article connected to who you were, are, and I should have told you earlier,” your voice wavers and comes out way too fast, but you get through what you need to. 

Tenko has no reaction, simply replying with, “right. You don’t have to pretend anything right now, we’ll talk about it. And you don’t have to be afraid of me, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.” 

He takes your shaking hand, steadying you as you walk. “I’m not–”

“Come on,” he replies, cutting you off. “Really. You don’t have to say any of this, I obviously see how nervous you are.”

You want to respond. To find the perfect thing to say in the moment, but you’re just too drained from work. The words never come. 

The two of you pass through the crowd of people lingering outside, the bout of rain earlier did nothing to deter them. Everyone seems so happy, going about their lives that they don’t notice either of you. Before you know it, you’re passing through the big glass doors of your apartment building.

Stepping into the elevator, you start to pull your backpack off to reach the keys and keycard hooked to it out of habit, but Tenko stops you. 

“I’ve got it,” he mumbles, “don’t worry about anything– you look tired. Like cute tired. It's good,” he adds cursing under his breath while trying to correct himself. He pulls your keys out, pressing a button that looks vaguely correct. You’re not sure, your eyes are getting bleary so it’s hard to focus.

Leaning back into a corner, you allow yourself to rest for a moment. He steps in front of you, surrounding you.

It feels nice to have him back like this.

You love this; it's where you belong.

“You know,” Tenko says, hand reaching for the railing behind you, “I tried so many times to see if you remembered me. Saying I died, how we met. You never reacted once. Now, I know you know who I am. How long were you going to wait to say something?”

“I would have told you eventually,” you yawn. “I just needed you to find out the right way. It never felt right. You deserve to know things in the," you yawn, "in the right way, I don't want you to be hurt by anything.” 

Your head is spinning with exhaustion.

“You were...protecting me?” he asks, shocked at the idea anyone would ever think to do that. “Why?”

It takes everything in you to get your words out coherently. 

“Because I love you.”

Tomura’s face shifts to confusion. “Really?”

“Yeah, of course I do,” you mumble.

“Fuck,” he half laughs, looking away. 

The last thing you remember before the drowsiness overtakes you is the railing at your back crumbling to dust.

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[miss-cholo4]

Ninjago Season 3 Part 2 SPOILERS/THEORY

Read at your own peril. I couldn’t help myself, so taking all precautions to shield people from my thoughts. Lmk if any tags are missing!

So Ras killed that random person by dragging them into the casket of bones. At least that’s what’s inferred by the trail of belongings leading to the casket itself. We know that the person must have been alive to be sacrificed. So it couldn’t be one of the skeletons in the underworld.

From the belongings it looks like an explorer to me? Perhaps some rando traveller? Orrrrr maybe it’s a character we’ve seen before? Considering if this is important to the plot somehow-which it might very well not be… we have to ask… who’s known for disappearing to travel? Clutch powers? Misako?!

Now just imagine if it is Misako… a terrible death really but the impact of this would be HUGE!

She is probably the most of note parent to one of the ninja apart from Garmadon, making many appearances throughout the long lived series. She is known for showing up at random times such as in season 8 (SOG) and her extensive travelling. It very well could be her that happened to be in the underworld exploring.

We know Misako can fight and use spinjitzu. Making sense that she would fight Ras if necessary. However she has been shown to be bested at times, such as in the oni trilogy, especially season 9. And her being taken for Harumi’s ritual in season 8, in which she showed up imprisoned by the Sons of Garmadon. Like in season 8 she was searching for something, that something being Wu, perhaps this is a similar situation in Dragons Rising…

We see from Arin and Sora’s reaction to the prospect of someone dying for the icon to be forged. Fear, but inevitably, understating that it wasn’t worth it. With Arin realising that no life is worth sacrificing for his parent’s revival despite his sadness of ‘never seeing them again.’ A great character moment for him.

If it is Misako, and Ras drops that bombshell at Lloyd, we could not only see him at yet another low point but maybe even in oni form again. It would be an easy way to reinforce the oni whilst making Ras even more villainous to the audience. Leading well into the next season which is speculated to be oni based?

It would also give Lloyd an opportunity to break free from the group, as the only ninja I believe to not have had a solo adventure since the Merge (if you don’t count his time isolated in the monastery). Maybe this would give him space, time to mourn, find himself ect. Would also be a great way to bring Garmadon back.

This act of killing Misako would seal Ras’ downward spiral into villainy. There would be very little possibility of redemption after this. Even if there is. Which I doubt. We call into question Lloyd’s morals. How much is he willing to forgive to be this caring and all loving figure of hope that is the green ninja. That he has always been since the very beginning of Ninjago. The one who followed his father into his madness without loosing hope. Could he forgive that? We know Lloyd doesn’t like Ras but this could seal the deal. Forgiveness is also a huge theme in Dragons Rising, Arin forgiving Sora, Lloyd and Arin forgiving each other, and maybe even the ninja forgiving Wu in the future…

Not to mention the idea that Arin got both his parents back only for Lloyd to loose one would be INSANE. The whole oni form idea comes in secondary to the angst this would cause. However oni form for Lloyd was only achieved through the supposed death of Garmadon, a moment of pure rage and sadness, so why not Misako as well? It would be dark and heartbreaking but also show the power and fear of the oni. Already established in season 3 part 1 with Frak and their group’s time in the Dragonian’s lands. It might even backfire on Lloyd having witnesses to his oni form for once. Maybe his students see his transformation?

Now there’s also things that prove this wrong. The items we see shown leading to the casket we never seen Misako with in canon. We also don’t know if their identity is important at all to the plot. But I just thought this would be a CRAZY and DRASTIC writing decision if it turned out to be correct. Anyway the rambling is insane sorry. Lmk if anyone has any other theories.

Edit: @mxystarry who commented about the hat being present in a crystallised comic ‘Bad Boys Night Out’

[slimybeth69]

Touch: Part 5

Rating: explicit (smut, language)

Summary: So... it's after you and Din talk...

tags: Angst, slight dub-con (I never know bc I would always fuck Din?), being mad as fuck at Din, how could he?, Din/Mando being a dumb stupid idiot, reader also being a dumb stupid idiot. Idiots in LOVE, mutual pining, then normal smut things (without spoilers to the chapter, sorry) SPOILERS TO The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian.

a/n: I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you read this on ao3, no you fucking didn't. It's still unbeta'd, but proofread!! I did that this time!! I also am re-working the story slightly because I CAN.

a/n pt2: I don't know shit about Star Wars/ The Mandalorian. I did however spend an un-Makerly amount of time learning for all of us. If you're not well versed in the lore or the history of Star Wars/ The Mandalorian-- that's okay! This is Star Wars/ Mando for Beginners. (Also stating this as a warning for anyone well versed in the universe and the lore-- shhhhhhhhhhhhhh. DON'T COME FOR ME)

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The Jedi Code was taught to you. Engraved in your mind.

Harmony, serenity, peace and knowledge. The force. The lightside.

All the bad things; chaos, emotion, passion, ignorance, death.

The darkside. You learned to not fear the darkside, but instead to embrace the force.

Even though you didn’t have the maker forsaken force inside of you! Not even a litte bit! None of 'the force' had found its way into you!

Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano trained you as if you did!

Why!?

They spent so much time building you from the ground up! They made sure you had muscles and could run for long distances. The pair trained you how to fight with your hands!

Your hands know how to use a lightsaber! That's not an easy feat, and it takes a long time to learn that skill.

Oh, how long? A really long time!

Two years!

Two long years without any sign of that man in the tin can outfit! He's never called, he's never come to visit!

Two. Fucking. Years.

Sometimes you hated Din for leaving you here but you very quickly remember that you asked for this. 

Wanted this more than anything.

Foolish!

You wanted so badly to make sure the child was cared for; the child was older than you are!

Much, much older! Not even a baby at all, but a toddler where he comes from. A very special toddler. A force sensitive toddler.

Coming here was a mistake! The only thing you do here is clean up the messes Grogu- that's the child's Maker forsaken name. He has a name!

Grogu makes messes, so you clean them, and get hit with sticks as some sick and twisted form of 'training'! It feels like a joke when they told you to 'block your face and important organs' and then started to pummel you with the hardest, most fast moving sticks you've ever seen!

Not having any amount of the force inside of you really makes training with Jedi's incredibly difficult! Grogu seemed to be having a blast training with Skywalker.

They trained differently, so unfortunately the two of you didn't see each other much, and when you did, your time with him was cut short.

The two of you grew up here a little, together while separated.

Luke and Ahsoka claimed that you babied him and it would impeed his training, so they kept you apart as much as they seemed humane. You became so very depressed without the child and Din.

All alone even though you were surrounded by so many people.

The nights that you got to spend with Grogu were usually spent laying under the stars outside the Jedi temple, speaking fondly of Din.

Mostly for the child's sake, because you only wonder if he had completely forgotten about you.

The answer to that question came when Luke came to Grogu with a gift. 

“A gift?” You say with a curled lip.

Have you not just spent all of your time here; learning the way of the Jedi? That was an attachment and you– in your two years becoming a mock Jedi– were weary. The darkside. The emotion. The attachments.

This was scary.

Luke held the gift in his hands while he spoke. You're subtlety looking for your gift but... you don't see one. Only one parcel.

Oh.

“This gift would be the end of both of your Jedi training, should he keep it. Attachments may not be had, by anyone.” Luke looks between the both of you as you stand before him.

Why is he looking at you!? You might stay at this temple and learn all the ways of the Jedi and become the most powerful non-force sensitive Jedi the galaxy has ever seen!

“You both have come so far, you have so much potential. Both of you.” Luke’s eyes fall on you. “I’ve been surprised before, but this was a pleasant one. Watching you both learn so much. I hope he both makes the choice that’s best for you.” Luke looks to Grogu and hands him the package wrapped in brown paper.

“Why couldn’t I stay if he wanted to leave?” You ask Luke. 

“You come with the child. You leave with the child.” Luke explains simply. 

Maker-- alright. You can’t argue with that. You don't have much to offer besides cleaning up the kid's messes. They're probably tired of watching you perfect the lightsaber.

You're actually pretty good.

Grogu glances up at you just as you look down at him. You kneel on one knee so you can be closer to him, and watch as his six little clawed fingers struggle with the twine wrapped around it, but he uses the Force.

“Cheater.” You whisper to him.

The gift is beskar. A piece of... Mandlaorian armor for Grogu. 

“ Mando said he can’t put it on until he sees you–” 

“M-Mando’s here?” You interrupt accidentally. Your heart begins to pound in your chest at the thought that you might actually be able to see him right now.

Luke gives you a knowing look, as if you should know better, and shakes his head from side to side.

“Ahsoka sent him away. It would interfere with your training. If you wish to stay here and train, continue to learn the Jedi way. You both have come far, but it’s nowhere near close to done. Accepting this would end that training.”

It’s a warning.

The energy in the room is so intense. You can feel electricity in the air almost. Grogu is still standing beside you, looking down at his own piece of beskar.

What’s he going to do?

Luke reaches into his robe.

Everyone here has all these hidden pockets for things in their clothes. You have a couple hidden pockets now too . For things you may need to hide and pull out in moments just like this one day. You hope. It’s so cool when they do that.

Luke hands Grogu a lightsaber. Grogu’s own lightsaber. 

“You have a choice, young padawan.” His gravelly voice rakes across your brain. 

It's so quiet for so long. 

Grogu touches the lightsaber softly. Admiring it. He did the same thing with the armor. 

So long you waited. Understandably, this was a hard choice.

Grogo picks the armor.

Grogu and yourself are on a ship to a hangar where Din is waiting for a response. Your knees are complete mudslides right now. They are not supporting you and they have two years of Jedi training behind them. They’re strong. 

The nerves got to them, though--ate away all the tendons you ever had and dissolved the muscle down to nothing.

Din had been on your mind every single day for two years, and he didn't even ask if YOU wanted to come back. Only Grogu! You feel like a fool sitting next to the tiny green toddler.

Where are you supposed to go when Din tells you that he doesn't need your services anymore!?

The ramp of the ship drops down and there is a cloud of dust. And then there he is. Standing at the base of the ramp, like he had been waiting for you two. Or apparently just Grogu. Since he’s the one who got the gift.

It’s fine. You’re fine. No attachments. Perfect. You’re basically a Jedi. 

Grogu, who is so much faster, so, so much faster than you ever remember him being, flings himself at Din, and attaches himself around his neck.

You watch in amusement, wishing you could do the same thing but you’re partially a Jedi now, so you keep your composure and walk down the ramp slowly. Your mouth is so dry, you don't even attempt to swallow because you know it'll just end in you choking.

Din hugs the child tightly. Their embrace is so sweet. So kind. It makes you smile so hard your cheeks hurt.

It makes your heart pang as well.

They hug for a long time before Grogu looks back at you, pulling away from Din’s neck. Grogu extends a curved hand to you. You suddenly feel a gentle pressure around your waist, and are being dragged forward, against your will, feet stumbling beneath you. 

You point your finger at Grogu. “Hey!” You shout. The pressure around your waist stops and you’re set back down on your feet carefully. “I told you to knock that off!"

This is Grogu’s new, fun game. Picking you up and putting you where he wants you. He hasn’t stopped doing it since he learned how.

Dropped you a couple times in the beginning. 

Din chuckles from under the helmet. “I see your relationship has changed quite a bit.” His flat rasp is the same as you remember it.  "He's the one carrying you around now,"

“It’s basically still the same. I have to yell at him for doing things he shouldn’t.” You scowl at Grogu, who hides himself behind Din's helmet.

“It’s nice to see you," Din's modulated voice is even and quiet. As if he doesn't want to say it at all.

That’s it. No hug. Nothing. Not even a handshake.

You could hit him. For several seconds you think about doing it.

Now your fist– with two years of Jedi training– and it might actually hurt him. It might hurt him a lot, and you’d feel good about it. So good.

"It's nice to see you, too."

The anger is pumping in your veins as he leads you through the hanger behind him. You look at all the ships, and look for the Crest but you don’t see it anywhere. Eventually Din stops in front of a ship much larger than the Crest. Bigger guns on it too. 

Din just stands there and looks at you with his stupid helmet shining in the bright light of the hangar. You don’t know what to do. He dropped you off on Ossus where the Jedi temple was, and didn't give you a hug. Not a pat on the shoulders. Literally nothing.

"Keep the kid out of trouble. You'll hear from me soon."

That's all Din had said before he and Grogu went to say their goodbyes!

"It's a new ship." Din points to the giant hunk of metal he’s standing in front of. His beskar looks exactly the same. Maybe a new scrape or two. A ding here or there but you’re not even looking. Not even paying attention to him. Trying not to. 

“Okay...” You resort to using your favorite word.

Why, Maker? Why can’t the man in the helmet speak? Is his helmet on mute? Always so fucking quiet. Until you don’t want him to be, then he won’t shut up.

Din leads you inside. Shows you the sleeping quarters. There are two beds. One for each of you.

There is a separate room for the child.

The dining room is nice and everything else is so nice. So much nicer than the Razor Crest. Even the cockpit you have no idea how to use. 

You look all around the hull like it's very interesting. This is so awkward. Not what you expected when you were on your way here. It's not like you expected a welcome back party. Maybe a hug. Something. 

"What happened to the Crest?" You ask, trying to avoid looking at him.

"It was destroyed."

The sleeping quarters are different from the Razor Crest. The beds are close together, but separated and welded to the floor so there is no way to move them closer together.

The mats that are nestled into the metal frames are thicker and much more plush than the one you had slept on for so long before you were banished away to the Jedi temple.

It’s fine. You’re fine. No emotion. No attachments. It’s all fine. 

The small bag that holds your very few belongings stays packed in case he doesn't plan on you staying very long. He could very well be headed right back to Cantonica to drop you back off at the Canto Bight Casino!

The three of you eat dinner in silence.

Din says not one word to you and you don't try and strike up the conversations like you used to. Things feel so different now, like the two of you are complete strangers all over again.

Grogu has changed in ways that are hard to describe. He's still a baby in your eyes even though he's older than you and Din.

The two of you play together on the floor while Din or maybe you should call him Mando again, since you barely know this man after two whole years, does something in the cockpit.

Grogu warbles and you watch all the new, fun things he can do with the Force that aren’t moving you unwillingly. It's the first real fun the two of you are able to have since being dropped off at the temple. You missed being able to play with him. You still snuggle him at the protests of Luke and Ahsoka-- how could you not when he climbs into your lap and cuddles into your arms.

Like he knew you couldn’t resist. 

Grogu can put himself to sleep now which is incredible, and that means you have time to do whatever you want.

So you’re in your bed with your nice new sheets. They’re soft. Like the ones on the Crest.

It’s dark here, too.

Maker, what in the stars?

The sun shields in this ship are no joke! There's no light at all. If you have to go to the bathroom, it’s just blind wishing that you don’t break you toes, or bump into a wall and potentially crack your skull. 

It feels like you were completely forgotten about in those two years and now, in the dark silence of your shared sleeping quarters you just want to cry...

An emotion!? After two years of strict Jedi code training---

There is a ten thousand degree warmth on your upper arm in the void, and it scares you half out of the bed. Your tops of your feet and knees are on the cool metal of the ships floor, and you're leaning against the side of the bed-frame like you are praying to Maker.

“I was going to see if you were sleeping," Din's rasping sounds-- happy to talk to you?

You're unsure. Nothing else about the way he's spoken to you, or treated you at all makes you think he wants to talk to you.

"That's not how you find out if someone's asleep!" You bark at him angrily.

"You're awake though.” A flat, unimpressed response to your outburst.

Maker, if you had your own helmet with night vision, you’d use all your new fun Jedi fighting tricks on him. You sure would, because who is he!? Who does he think he is!?

After two years he can come back and just throttle you awake in the dark like before? Nope. Not this time. 

“You’re lucky I can’t see you right now.” You say over the pounding heart in your chest. “So lucky-- What do you care if I'm awake in the night?! Let me sleep!” You’re so cold with him, mirroring him perfectly minus the emotion. “I’m tired.” You lie to him. 

In the usual Din fashion, he remains quiet. He still had his hand on your arm, and it's not like you really made an attempt to pull it away because it’s hot like you remember.. Burning you, he's so warm.

Din is also so fucking quiet! Maker! Is he okay?

“Tired?” Din’s voice rasps in the dark. "Then why aren't you sleeping?"

You realize the metal man has no grip on you whatsoever. He was just touching you very, very gently, and you easily could have pulled away at any moment.

So you you tug your arm away and you climb back into bed and face the opposite direction from him. "I was trying to sleep when you come over here-- shaking me in the darkness!"

“You…” Din trails off in the dark. “Still don't know the meaning of shake?” He questions you like a dumb idiot. 

"Get away from me!" You almost shout it. "Just leave me alone!" You humph, and pull the sheets over your shoulder.

"Are you... mad at me?"

“Are you kidding me!?” You whisper at him. “I don’t know how you could leave me out there for two years, and I get nothing!?” You sit up in your bed now and talk blindly in the dark. “Nothing. No visit. No calls. Nothing.” You cross your arms over your chest. "No gift!"

Din stays silent- which was predicted- so you carry on.

“But you get Grogu a gift, which was very sweet. Very cute armor, he is going to look very cute it in.” You think of the child dressed in the armor and it's kind of amusing and slightly distracting.

“Are you done?” Din’s stupid modulated voice rings out in the dark after a minute of you imagining an armored Grogu.

It's so dark and you still don't really know where he is, so with your accusing index finger pointing in the direction he could be in, you almost shout, “No! I’m not done!”

You are in fact, not done.

“They treated me like I had the Force in me. Do you know how hard that is when you don’t have the fucking force in you!?” You exclaim in exasperation, still pointing at him.

You start to speak again into the blinding darkness when a warm hand very gingerly moves your accusatory pointing finger eight inches to your right. 

“I figured I should at least be getting pointed at, if you’re going scold me,” Din rasps.

You die inside and wonder how dumb you look in the dark. “Why did you even bring me back? Hm? Why not just send me right back to the casino? Or is that where we’re going next? Gonna just drop me off? You even gonna land first or just let me duck and roll?” You huff, officially done with your rant. 

“Are you don-” Din starts, but you cut him off. 

“Yes!" You snap at him, and then you huff one more time for good measure. You're so angry with him.

So much for all your Jedi no emotion training. 

“I have a gift for you.” Din says flatly through the modulator. 

Oh.

“Well it’s so dark in here, so how would I know that?” You snip at him, not sure you’re fully ready to forgive him. You roll your eyes now. 

“Would you still like it? Or are you too upset with me?” Din’s modulated rasp asks you, sounding annoyed.

Why does he have a right to be annoyed? He could have given you that gift the minute you step foot of that return ship that brought you back to him.

Why wait until the darkness!? Why!?

“Yes, I would.” You hold your cupped hand out into the dark and feel something cold and hard fall into it. “It would be nice if I could –” 

The brightest beam of light you’ve ever encountered shines directly into your eyes. It’s blinding.

You jump again, out of bed because what the fuck is that!?

Is this an attack!?

What even is that light? Where is it coming from?

Thankfully, you wrapped your hand around the thing Din dropped into your hand so you didn't fling it into the abyss to never be seen again before you ever even got to look at it!

“Why are you on the floor?” Din asks, as you hold your free hand to your chest. You blink up at him, having to shield your eyes. 

“Are you the light right now!?” You question him squinting your eyes in its brightness. "Are you the one blinding me!?"

“Yes." Din dims the light tremendously somehow from within his helmet and now, it’s easier on the eyes. Like a candle flame. "Was it to bright?"

“It was too bright! I don’t think I’ll ever see again.” You snip softly, resting on the floor and putting your elbows on the bed. 

You inspect the small pink crystal in your hand. It takes you a couple seconds to realize what it is.

“Is this a kyber crystal?” You look up at Din who is knelt down on the other side of your bed.

He nods in the now pale light that's much easier on the eyes. “I got it on my travels. I thought that if you knew how to use a lightsaber, I’d get one for you. Put this crystal in it.” 

Maker. What is happening? 

“You thought of me?” You didn’t mean to say it. Part of you is still mad. 

“Everyday .” Din’s awe and amazement voice is back. “Di- Did you not think about me?” Just as quickly as that sweet familiar tone had shown up, it's gone just as fast. Din can' believe that you didn't think of him during your time apart.

“I did.” You say quietly. “I thought you had forgotten me. Without the visits or calls or gift.” You do feel silly now because this really is a sweet gift.

The sweetest gift. More sweet than the notebook and the credits and anything else he's ever given you. The small pink crystal in your hand means so much to you. The fact that he got it for you, was thinking about you while you were gone. The fact that the meaning behind the gift is so big. You own lightsaber if you wanted one. Din would get one for you. Said it himself. Your heart is racing in your chest.

“Never . I’ve been waiting to see you. Been thinking of you. Looking at your doodles every night.” He turns the light off and takes the crystal from your still outstretched hand. 

“Hey! That’s mine.” You reach for it but he leaves you kneeling next to your bed like you are praying to Maker in the dark again.

“I’m going to give it back.” Din raps . “Do you want to get back in bed or are you content on the floor?” 

You’re blinking into the dark. Wondering how dumb you look now on the floor blinking into the void. You scramble up without assistance and crawl into bed, facing the same direction as before. Away from Din. 

Secretly, you’re hoping he’s sans beskar and crawls into bed beside you and lets you hold him like he did the nights before you left. With your arm around his waist, stealing his radiating heat from him while he sleeps. You’d mill kisses softly across his shoulders and you’d listen to him sigh and make sleep sounds in the darkness.

But that doesn’t happen. It’s so quiet. It’s so still for so long. You wonder if he’s crawled in his own bed and is fast asleep. What could this all mean? The gift? The cold welcome back after two years? Everything you did before you left? What did it mean and did you accidentally fall for a potential half man- half droid that’s never going to show you his face? 

The dark is still, so quiet and unmoving. You feel like you’re alone in the room. 

“C-can I touch? Or are you still too upset with me?” Din asks quietly, the rasp of his modulator is gone. His sweet deep voice is right in your ear. It doesn’t startle you because you’ve been waiting to hear him speak for so long. 

“No.” You snap. “You couldn’t come touch me for two years! I would have let you then, any time you came to visit, I would have but you-”

His lips on yours stop you. You almost try and push him off, but Maker. I

t feels so good. His warm, soft lips on yours after all this time. You both open your mouths slightly, and as tentatively as Din touched you for the first time two years ago, his tongue slips past your lips and into your mouth just as slowly.

It’s gone as soon as it appeared. 

“I tried.” He whispers against your open mouth. “I got turned away every time. So many times I tried to see you.” He’s speaking fast, like he’s trying to explain himself to you before you beat him off of you with something hard you’ve found in the dark. “ So many times, little one." 

The words melt over your tongue as he speaks them, almost as if they were your words.

Ahsoka and Luke never told you he came to visit. Not one time. 

“I tried. I never forgot about you. Too perfect. Too beautiful to forget..." ” His bare hands cup your face as you speak. “Never forget you. Everyday I look at your doodles. I look at you, and miss you."

You're breathing in the words he's speaking into your parted lip. He kisses you again softly. You feel the bed shift next to you and he’s crawling beside you.

“Do you dislike me again?”

Maker, Din somehow got warmer. He’s running a fever all the time and his body feels like the embers in the fire pit at the end of the night. 

“Again?” You whisper as he pulls your face down to the pillows with his. 

“You didn’t care for me much before the doodles.” Din kisses your lips again, gently as his hand slips from your cheek. “I didn’t think you’d let me.” You can feel his warm breath on your chin as he speaks. 

“Let you what?” 

“Touch. Watch. The first time.” His real unmodulated voice whispers to you. “I've missed touching. Watching."

A warmth hovers over your middle, you reach for it. Tt’s Din’s hand, hovering above your stomach, under the blankets, but over your clothes. 

“Touch me.” It almost doesn’t come out of your mouth because it’s so dry. But you croak it out and swallow hard as the word leaves your lips because you hope he does. You hope this isn't like the first night all over again where he makes you do it alone.

Din obliges and lets his hand drop, you feel the heat spreading out along your nightgown starting from where his hand rests on your lower stomach. It makes you inhale sharply. It’s such a familiar touch and you missed it so much. 

Din sighs and drags his hands gently and slowly up your stomach, the fabric bunching at his wrist as he does it.

He's lifting your nightgown. 

“Din,” You whisper as his palm cups one of your fleshy tits over the nightgown.

His rough, calloused hands were so gently, touching you so sweetly until your hand rests on his, you make him squeeze you. You make him because you need to know this is real and these soft gentle touches feel like a dream.

Din grips you now. He can feel your desperation in your hand on his. Squeezing and pulling and tugging at your flesh. 

“Fuck.” He moans softly into your shoulder where his head was resting. The fiery goodness from his forehead felt like it was melting you. “Perfect. Beautiful.” He says the word like he doesn’t want to. Like he’s been forcing them back but they’re breaking free from his vocal chords.

You can almost feel his heartbeat. Or maybe it’s yours.

You don’t know. 

It’s just obvious that this is what you want and you need him. Badly. However he’s willing to give himself to you or however he wants to take you, you don’t care. You’ve been waiting and thinking about this for two years. Your body reacts to his touch like you were built for him. Your pussy is leaking and throbbing already and he’s only touched you once. 

There's a new warmth, a wetness to these sensations now. Din’s wrapped his mouth around your clothed nipple and is sucking. Biting gently over the nightgown you have on. It sends shivers down your spine.

Words come flowing out of your mouth before you can even stop them. “I've waited so long for this.” You whimper quietly.

Your hips are rolling against the bed below you because everything just feel so good, everything is just so overwhelmingly pleasurable. Din’s hands and mouth on you, the heat he's passing along through his touch. 

“Touch. I wanna hear you moan.” He murmurs against your breast. He’s still biting and sucking it through the fabric like he’s too impatient to take off the nightgown. He just can’t wait any longer. 

“I need you to touch me.” You whine quietly. “Please.” You’re begging him. “Please, Din, I need to fee-” But he doesn’t make you beg long, his free hand slides between your legs and he sighs loudly against you. 

“”Fuck. Fuck. You're s-so wet. So fucking perfect.” Din bites your nipple a little harder now, but then he pulls way. “Let me lick. P-Please. I just wanted to watch but now I need to taste you.” He’s moving down between your legs as he talks to you. Then he stops.

“Okay. Okay. Please. Do it, please.” You’re already spreading your legs but he’s getting off the bed again. “Nononononono.” You whine, reaching blindly for him in the dark. You’re on the verge of tears. “Please don’t leave me again.” 

It’s so quiet. It’s like time stopped. 

“Din?” You whisper. “Did you leave?” 

“Where would I go?” He answers but he’s further away from you now. "It's my ship."

“Well you’re obviously not here– where you were!” You exclaim quietly. You hear him chuckle in the dark. 

“Come to my bed. I want to do something. New.” 

Oh Maker what could that mean? A new stun gun? Some weird thing he found in his travels?

Does he want to make you the lightsaber and put the focus crystal inside you? That’s where you draw the line.

“What does that mean?” You ask nervously, clutching the sheets to your chest as you stare into the void. “New?” 

“Come here. You said I could lick, yes? Let me.” Din’s voice in the dark makes you drop the blankets your clutching and swing your legs over the edge of the bed. “Come, little one. Let me lick you. Let me taste you.” His voice guides you to him and you start to crawl into his bed but he stops you. “Leg.” He says into the dark.

“Leg?” You ask, confused. Din reaches for you in the dark and taps your upper thigh. 

“Leg.” He says like he’s teaching you body parts. “Swing it up here over my head.” 

“What!?” You exclaim. “You want me to do what?!” 

“I want you to sit on my face.” Din’s smiling in the dark and you can hear it in his voice. 

“And you’re going to taste me like that?” You’re exasperated. You’ve never even heard of this. What does that mean, sit on his face. “I’m going to smother you!” 

“Then I’ll die a happy man. Get up here.” Now he’s impatient. Din’s been waiting for this just as long as you have.

You swing one leg over his head and straddle him, pressing both hands to the wall in front of you. The ship's metal is so cold on your clammy hands. You can feel him breathing against your inner thighs as you sit on your knees above him.

“ This is perfect.” Din whispers. You can only whimper quietly because you’re so nervous, you feel so exposed up here. “You want me to lick…” He leans up and gives the very top of your slit a quick teasing lick. “Here? Yes?” 

Your knees buckle because Din’s tongue is just as soft and just as warm as you remember and you do want him to lick there. You can’t find words for how badly you want him. All you can do is let out a breathy sound of consent. 

“Beautiful.” Din wraps his hands under your thighs and pulls you down onto his mouth, his tongue is ready. Eager. Waiting for you to be on him, for him to be inside your folds. “Just as I remember.” He whispers into your pussy, tasting that flavor he memorized before you left and thought of it often. “I touched myself, thinking of you. To your doodles. To your flavor.” Din takes the flat of his tongue and licks you from your opening all the way to your clit, slowly, he presses up against you so you feel him. 

He wants you to know he missed you. 

“ Maker, yes. ” It’s moaned softly as Din presses the flat of his tongue against your slit and lets you ride his mouth. It’s the hottest thing you’ve ever experienced. Why were you so scared? Being on top of him, this way, you were in control up here. “ Oh Din, yes.” You’re not holding back tonight. 

You’ve been waiting to do this. Dreaming about it at night and waking up in the morning having to give yourself some sort of pleasure. You slide one hand down into his thick, coarse hair, just enjoying the feeling of it between your fingers again. You hear Din moan from between your legs and his tongue moves against you faster. 

Your fingers tighten in Din’s hair as he holds you around the legs, you’re pinned down onto him. His tongue is lapping and exploring your folds. Licking at all the spots he remembers make you squirm. He memorized every inch of you before he left and he’s been thinking about you, keeping it fresh in his head for this moment so he can make you whimper and quiver like he used to.

Din is panting underneath you, he’s working for what you’re about to give him. His tongue was drifting between those big lazy circles that had you whimpering and begging him for more and tight fast spinning around your clit. That’s when his hands found your hips and started to move you on his face, his tongue flat, stroking your clit with each movement of your hips. 

“Please don’t stop.” Pushing yourself off the wall you’ve been leaning against, you hover over him now, rocking your hips on your own. You found a rhythm with Din’s help. He holds your hips tighter now–not messing with the rocking of your hips–feeling you roll yourself along his mouth. As he does that he pulls you down harder on his tongue. Your free hand finds his hair and you grip it tightly now in both fists and grind down against his flat, strong muscle. “ Oh fuck yes . Din, I’m so close.” You’re whimpering for him.

Din moans loudly from underneath you, his hands now moving to your ass. He gropes and spreads your cheeks. 

“M-moan again.” You stutter, your hips grinding harder and faster. The vibrations from Din’s moans will be enough. 

Din obliges happily and moans loudly again, over and over as your head falls back, hips never stopping their rocking motion on his tongue. 

“Oh, fuck–ing yes. Din, oh Maker!” You cry out. You don’t care if The Razor Crest is gone, you have those memories inside your head forever. You don’t have to hold back nearly as much here. You can let him know how fucking good he makes you feel. Your body is quivering as you grind against him. You can feel the prickles of his facial hair on your inner thighs and lips as you ride him.

Being on Din’s face like this was heaven. You can hear him noisily licking and sucking at the new wave of juices that are dripping from your entrance. As the warm ball of fiery goodness spreads through you, you start to shudder and tremble on top of him, his tongue never stops moving against your clit and then dipping inside of your hole to taste you as you leak out. Din laps at you until there’s nothing left. Sucking your lips into his mouth at the end to make sure he didn’t miss anything. He leaves you trembling above him for so long he has to tap your thigh again for you to swing It over his head. 

"Sorry." You pant. "That was good. I'd do that again." You go to stand off his bed and you feel him wrap his arms around your waist. 

"Don't go. Share the bed." He whispers up to you. "I waited for so long." 

"I waited too!" You exclaim as all of your anger and fear of being forgotten about returns. "I waited for just as long as you did! You sure didn't act like you missed me or waited for me. Not until the lights went off at least." You're storming to your own bed now. You move quickly, not wanting him to hear or see the tears in your eyes.

You've been keeping this in for a long time. Letting it bottle up until you can't keep it in anymore. And the fact that he confessed all those nice things just to be able to touch you.

Din doesn't say anything in the dark, letting you try and find you way back in the void. It makes you sadder that he isn't trying to comfort you. The tears come, quietly, thank Maker, as you get into your own bed and wrap yourself in the covers. It isn't until you let out a little weeping sound that you hear him shuffle and then your bed shifts under his weight. Din's pressing himself into you gently, wrapping his arm around your waist. 

"If you had reached for me, you could have felt my heart from under my beskar." He whispers in your ear. "I did miss you. I did wait for you." A small kiss along your jaw, "You didn't seem like you were happy to see me today." He sounds disappointed. "I thought you had forgotten about me. Maybe someone with a face and who didn't leave made you forget about me." Another small kiss in the same place. "I sat in the dark for so long, wondering if you were thinking of me. I had to come find out. I did't mean to scare you. Don't cry, little one. Please?" He's kissing your face gently. 

"I don't think anyone could ever make me forget about you." You whisper into the void.

tag list: @thereaperisabitch @pedrospookie @furiousmushroom @creepycorbeaux

I'm still so uncomfortable tagging people in my stories, so like I said, please tell me to fuck off if you want me to stop. My feelings won't be hurt (yes they will), and it's completely fine (I'm a big girl and can handle it).

[14-opossums-in-a-trenchcoat]

Edited intro post time !

OKAY SO IMPORTANT NEWS : my phone got confiscated, so I'll be posting way less from now on (normally I get it back in september). You can still tag me in tag games and stuff, I'm not completely gone ^^ but there's greater chances I miss stuff...

I have a sideblog ! (@4-more-opossums) It's just reblogs, this blog here is where I have things to say, in the reblogs or in posts

I am a minor so no donation asks !

Consider : eating moss

Opossum status report : opossum 14 : gifted by @/seven-oh-four. Opossum 15 : smol. Opossum 3 : succumbed to the horrors. Topmost opossum : flipped. All opossums : kissed on the head by @/silly-boi-adventures.

About me ↓

Name : Saf (it's short for Safran, if yk how to pronounce it in french). I like other nicknames too !

Pronouns : xe/xem, they/them and she/her, but any others are fine

Orientation and gender : Lesbian ; nonbinary ; acespec ; queerplatonic ; and Schrödinger's aromantic (aroflux I guess)

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[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter 67

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

Today's drink of choice is hot water. I am going to the farmers market this morning and I need to be on my A game LOL.

Charlie update things for anyone interested (totally feel free to skip);

So we got a call from the vet quite late last night and totally expected the worst. BUT some good news- it is not lymphoma! We were really worried (and out vet as well) that it might have been lymphoma.

Instead they found that he has Neutrophilia (elevated white blood cells) and that paired with other tests left him with the diagnosis of a bacterial infection in his liver (or hepatitis) BUT the treatment is the same.

Our little guy has a slew of meds but we are hopeful he is on the mend. We were even told his blood work from yesterday showed his liver markers decreasing with the liver support medication he has been on as a precaution the last two weeks (he is no longer in liver failure!) though he is still yellow as hell.

This is much better news than we though <3 it'll be a lot of care work but the vet is hopeful he will get better.

okay now that I have shared the good good news; let's go chapter 67!

Wait, all the ghosts are affected? p273

I feel bad for Guzi going through it this entire time. This kid is going to be so traumatized and confused. p274

WAIT WAIT WAIT I HAVE SEEN THIS ART (points to cover dramatically). AH p276

Yeah, sure, it's the spiritual power, "Maybe it was because Hua Cheng's spiritual power was too potent, but Xie Lian felt filled to bursting by the warmth flowing down his throat, through his chest, and all the way in to his stomach" p277

I would argue that the altar is still a place to worship the divine- [points to cover art] exhibit A. No take backs, I am not wrong. ^-^ p278

My heart! One page Xie Lian is admitting his feelings for Hua Cheng to himself, the next page he is not truthful to Hua Cheng about what happened :( pp278-279

Oh damn. That's what that mountain means. p280

Feng Xin and Mu Qing fighting again. I have grown to love these two so much. The speed in which I will be reading their enemies to lovers/miscommunications fics when I am done reading this series will break the sound barrier. p281

I'm so damn annoyed. How did everyone Xie Lian apprehend (all the very dangerous ghosts) escape. When did this happen? Why is Jun Wu just telling them all now. Seems like a security issue. SO suspicious! pp282-283

I have my eye on Jun Wu

This guys seems suspicious as fuck. He's supposed to be the one in charge but he's done absolutely nothing and doesn't even seem to care about this security threat. VERY suspicious that 1. he didn't tell anyone these people escaped when they did or 2. that they all escaped under his watch at ONCE and he was so casual about it.

BUT ALSO I have lost track and need to know how many times in the past 48 hours these tow have made out but still believe it's unrequited.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - May

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 14.05.2025

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙 If you have any ideas or special wishes, just let me know and I will look if I can prepare a set or already did one and tag you 😊

gif-requests are open, but you'll need to have some patience🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in May with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. Boys in Love 🇹🇭 (4/12)

They are allso sweet. This is the kind of sweetness I want on my lazy sundays! I know they are going to hurt me a little bit, but for now they are the cutest! The progress of the story is kinda fast and I am a little bit anxious what pain there is to come. But I am all here fr it, because it looks really good. I like the characters and the writing so far.

2. My Golden Blood 🇹🇭 (10/12)

I KNEW IT!!!! Thara you bitch! I knew he was evil. And Nakan is still kinda evil, but he redemed himself a little bit. And with that the story finally got interesting! Now I want to know more! I want to know what the preview means... I want to know if Mark is going to drink Tong's blood. Will Tong become immortal or Mark human? Who is going to die in the end?

2. Perfect 10 Liners 🇹🇭 (8/24)

Yes, I started this one. The first storyline, sorry, but this was really not that good. I am not the biggest ForceBook fan, but they did a decent job with the plot they got. This making out on the other hand. Hello? Might be the best making out of them ever. I am not dissapointed with it. But the story of this grumpy senior who is really shitty and bossy around his nong and makes the latter with this to fall in love with him was not that special. But watchable.

3. Sweet Tooth Good Dentist 🇹🇭 (7/12)

Finally! But why didn't you let them kiss? Yes, they are together now. And if they wouldn't have made up their minds at this point, I would have dropped this series. Because it was just stupid. And the whole reason why they didn't begin dating weeks ago was just stupid. I just don't know what the story of this story is. What is it, that the author wants to tell us?

4. Sweetheart Service 🇰🇷 (1/12)

Strongberry is back! I missed them! And I alrready know, I am gonna love this one (at least I hope I will). But the premise sounds good. Fake dating? Yes please! I love this trope. Especially when we have a cool guy who doesn't know why dating and marriage is a goal in life for many people and a workaholic sunshine.

5. The Next Prince 🇹🇭 (2/14)

We have ZeeNunew back at our screens and I just want to give them a chance. I had my problems with Cutie Pie, but I guess that was more because of the story itself and rather because of ZeeNunew. I really like Zee as an actor and he would have chemistry with a stone if the script says so. Right now I like the hidden identity and loyal servant who can kick ass. Fourteen episodes is a lot, and I hope they have the material to fill those hours and won't give us filler episodes.

5. Top Form 🇹🇭 (10/11)

I said, don't hurt the grandma... These boys can't take a break. But because of these break-ups and make-ups I don't connect with this series this much. Yes, they have great chemistry, but there is no real danger. They break up and they make up again. It is repeating itself. And I think it is not good writing, when this is your choice of creating some drama and tension. The story is really weak.

Finished in May

Series

Business As Usual 🇰🇷

Are we getting a special episode and their wedding? That would be nice! I have some mixed feelings about this series. I liked it. I enjoyed it. And I was looking forward to the next episodes. But on the other hand, I think it was a little bit redundant. I am not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope and while I think this series did not do a bad job with the trope, I am still no fan of it. We get two people who can't talk to each other properly and just assume everything about anything. I really wished they have talked openly with each other. But than the series would have been finished within three episodes. But the structure of the show was really good. With every new information, we got a different point of view, which is really nice to get the whole picture. So overall this is not a bad series. And the kissing is really nice. I give it 7 out of 10 points.

Something Is Not Right 🇰🇷

What was that? At the end of this series I wished it would have ended with this shot and Jeehoon ending up alone without Bawoo. Bawoo is one of the worst characters I shpuld have liked. I don't need to like a villain. I can enjoy them as they are. But a main character with a love interest and a possible happy ending? I should like them. But I hated him and his stupid agenda to cut ties with his best friend because he has feelings for him. Come on! You are not worthy to call yourself his best friend when you want to give up this friendship because of this. You at least try to find a solution with that friend. At least this is my opinion. And don't get me started on the stalker and his sudden romantic interest in Bawoo. Why? How is this person likable? This is hust a bad series. The points I am giving this series is because of Jeehoon and only Jeehoon! I give Jeehoon 3 of 10 points.

Movies

Short Films

Dropped in May

Looking forward to in May

The Agreement of Cherry Blossom Rainy Season (May 1st)

Pit Babe Season 2 - Trailer (May 2nd)

The Next Prince - Trailer (May 3rd)

Sweetheart Service - Trailer (May 8th)

Eye Contact - Trailer (May 14th)

My Sweetheart Jom - Teaser 1 - Teaser 2 (May 16th)

Loy Kaew First Love - Pilot (May 16th)

Knock Out - Trailer (May 16th)

I Promise I Will Come Back - Trailer (May 19th)

The Ex-Morning - Trailer (May 22nd)

Season of Love in Shimane

[anundyingfidelity]

I'M A RUIN — Soldier Boy/Ben (Part IV)

Series summary: After the events of the Seven Tower, you present Grace Mallory a new secret project you're working on already to develop a cure to Compound V. The only problem? You need Soldier Boy for that.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x female reader.

Word count: 2.8k.

Warnings for series: set after S3 (spoilers), some OOC!Ben, some depressed!Ben, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, slow-burn, language, PTSD, reader has Compound V (she's no Vought supe tho), Soldier Boy being an usual asshole, reader is a fucking liar.

Warnings on this chapter: Reader's parents are fucking irresponsible and disgusting people, mentions of a dead parent, Homelander!!!! (he's a fucking warning), sexual assault (touching, kissing, etc.) and some after thoughts, you know the usual questionable stuff on TB universe, Ben's point of view and presence=red flag.

Notes: more about reader's past in here! And just want to add that this is how i imagine her suit on this chapter. I'm also using a lot of inspo from Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four because I love her, so yeah. And thanks so much for reading it means a lot to me! ^^

this fic tags: @k-slla @syrma-sensei @mostlymarvelgirl @cheynovak @drasticemotions @blacknoirr @deans-spinster-witch

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

get yourself in the taglist!

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | | Part VIII

GEN MASTERLIST! — SERIES MASTERLIST!

Part IV: Countdown

2009

"Spectrum, turn around, please," the lady on the other side of the camera ordered.

You did as she told, turning slowly and showing a complete view of your suit. Made of unstable molecules, the suit was your best creation at the time. It was all white with black details, and finally you had something covering your whole body that'd turn invisible when you commanded. Your boots were the same, specially built to disappear and blend with your powers when needed.

"Great, show us what you can do," the woman said.

You nodded, your heart beating so hard on your chest. You didn't want to fuck it up. Not for your mother. She was the main reason why you were there in the first place. You took a deep breath, with eyes closed you raised your palms at your chest level and created a force field around your figure. The force fields you learnt to make over the years of self training were like gigantic bubbles that allowed you to float around if you said so, and they protected you or anyone or anything they were covering.

The camera, the couch, the table, and any single thing you found in the room were now surrounded by the fields, lifting them up a couple of feet from the surface. And once you thought it was enough, they landed slowly on their place, the fields vanished just like the one around yourself. Though the lady on the other side didn't seem amused or surprised.

"I also turn invisible," you said for the first time after your personal presentation was over.

"Go on," she plainly answered.

And within seconds, you slowly disappeared from her sight. The fabric of the suit faded away.

"I created this special costume to turn invisible without, you know, being naked," you commented.

Still, there was no clear answer on the face of the woman. She was just busy taking notes and filming your audition with the steady camera on the table. She said nothing, her eyes glued to her writing. Disappointed, you made yourself visible again.

"That's impressive!"

You gasped. It was that voice you heard so many times on TV. His steps came closer and he stopped by your side with a smile on his face.

"Homelander," the woman called with a wide, fake grin. "You weren't supposed to be in here."

"Just passing by, wanted to say hi. I'm really amazed by you, darling."

You tried to smile the best you could. But you were so tense and flustered now that he was in front of you. Your childhood hero, coming to see you at your audition. Even before you got a clear response from Vought. It felt like a dream. Any child had dreamt of it at some point.

You grew up with him and the Seven. He was one of the reasons you forgot every single problem and responsibility your dysfunctional, selfish family put you through from a young age. To them, you were just a doll to play with and show off. The perfect daughter. But seeing the Seven was totally different. You wanted to be like them. Too sad this part was also linked to your mother and her self-centered shit. If only...

"Thank you," you barely answered with a soft voice, looking down on your boots.

"I've been out there, hesitating if I should come in, since you created those force fields. Wow!" he praised, making you chuckle. "You left the door open on purpose, didn't you two?"

All you could do was chuckle again, you felt your cheeks burning at his banter. He smiled along with you before turning his eyes to the lady.

"Hey, Greta. Can you leave us alone for a moment?"

"But I have to-"

Homelander chuckled, cutting her words. "Absolutely no, I can continue for you. Remember?"

Greta, as he called her, swallowed thickly and her eyes switched between you and the supe. "Sure, sir."

She lifted herself up from the chair, took her things and went out. You noticed the camera was still in place, that meant it was still rolling.

Once the door closed. "So..." he began, walking a circle around you. "How'd you create this... costume of yours?"

"Well, I like science," you nervously smiled, playing with your glove-covered hands. He passed by your face this time and paced around one more time. "It took me a while to figure out how but I did something with the molecules, created my own patent of the matter and did this complete costume."

Homelander stopped at your back. He hummed. "Smart. Tell me..."

His pause made you answer what he was looking for. "Spectrum."

"Spectrum, why do you want to be part of the Seven so bad?"

Homelander dragged your alias with a dark voice, one that replaced the long warm and welcoming tone he had with you at first. You licked your lips, anxious and out of words. Once behind your figure, he angled himself so close to one of your ears that you felt his hot breath on your skin.

"So? I know you have something to say, dear."

"I- I just want to help others... Do what you guys do..."

The next thing you felt was the supe's strong body pressing on your ass. You gasped loudly as his hands grabbed the sides of your hips forcing you to fall back against his chest.

"Go on," Homelander whispered.

One of his hands roamed over your stomach slowly, right under your breasts, and you were absolutely caged on his grip. You took deep breaths, closing your eyes as he touched you over the suit.

"I- I know science, I told you. Also I can help the team w-with new inventions of my own... Create technology t-to fight very bad threats," you stuttered.

"Mmmh, yeah, I like the sound of that," Homelander chuckled against your neck, his lips tracing soft and unwanted kisses on your skin.

"Please- ah!"

He harshly pushed you against his groin. Your breath caught in your throat at the feel of his crotch. This wasn't what you thought it was. This was not what your mother signed you up for.

"Tell me, did your father know how much of a fucking slut you are?" Homelander hissed, his hand cupping your covered breast.

Something inside you emerged at his question. His touch was disgusting and it was making you sick and the mention of your father, your dead father, made it even worse.

"What do you know about him?" you asked in a dark whisper, still planning your next move.

Deep inside, you were scared of Homelander, it was a new face he had yet to show to the world.

"Just the basics, honey," he said plainly, forcing you to walk with a grip on your arm. The supe sat on the couch and pushed you to his lap. "He was quite the rich man, Edgar knew you'd be a great deal to the company, well, your money of course."

You let out a gasp. "What?"

"Honey, he was one of our most valuable shareholders," he playfully answered, his hands cupping your cheeks.

And it clicked. Your mother supported your dream just because she'd still be getting profits from Vought. The firm was now under her name, and she needed something more to strengthen the relationship between Vought and your father's inheritance. The fucking witch. And then, your father. He was the one financing this piece of shit sitting between your legs. Were all supes like this behind their masks? If so, fucking crap. Everything you believed in was bullshit. A circus. And they clowned you so well. And above all, the sickening man that had been touching you without your permission the past endless minutes...

"Oh, poor thing, you didn't know," Homelander's intense blue eyes widened when he immediately noticed your confused, blank face.

Your eyes filled with tears and still, you refused to cry in front of the asshole you once admired.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you here with us," he smirked. His fingers on your neck, feeling your pulse. You closed your eyes so hard, your nose wrinkled and you held back a sob when his hand added pressure around your collar. He leaned closer, his lips finding yours in a sloppy kiss as you tried to resist his touch. "So fucking useful," Homelander whispered against your lips. He gave you that mischievous grin of his. You shivered. "I can't wait to ruin you. Every single inch of you."

The same past memory of Homelander haunted you the next day. The way you found out about your father's business with Vought and how the supes showed their real faces was the main reason you were here now.

You remembered you had to hit Homelander as hard as you could to escape from him and use your force field to protect yourself before running away and leaving the tower, fully invisible. Not that it was a great help since Homelander had a lot of abilities with his vision, and he could hear the beating of your heart miles away, but for you, it was worth the try. It was a surprise he didn't follow you that day. Instead, Vought got a new deal with your mother for the budget and you hated that. You cut all communication with what was left of your family after that day, knowing it could've been so much worse.

Homelander and Vought, however, were after you now. And he was a difficult face to forget. Not only because he was faking everything from the public but because Vought was after your father's money. And deciding to step away from all the illegal stuff they did, you left for college. Science was always a part of you and it's what got you here, under Grace Mallory and the CIA, doing different jobs you were not so proud of, but now, you were looking for a cure. It was all that mattered those days, until you found out that your mother had been experimented on during her pregnancy. A fucking lie. That's what your life was. That's why she cheered you to go to that stupid audition and fell into the hands of that monster at twenty-three years old.

The thought of your father supporting the horrid things Vought and the Seven did for decades was unbearable, and since Homelander's visit the night before caused those memories and nightmares to be back. It took a great effort to get out of bed and come to work that day. You'd make sure to compensate yourself for it later. But now, you were in a hurry to your daily session with Soldier Boy. You saved your phone in the pocket of your trousers after checking the time as you walked down the aisle, grabbing tightly the report of your patient with your other hand. Well, thirty minutes late wasn't nothing.

"Doctor!" you heard a female voice running towards you in the halls that made you turn on your heels. It was your young assistant.

"Hey, Bianca. What's wrong?" you asked as you noticed she was a little out of breath.

"We ran another test. The supe survived," she blurted, handing you a tablet that you didn't take. Sometimes the change in the results was minimal.

"That's great. Any significant improvements?"

"Well, just minimal effects. Right now some fever, fatigue, dehydration, and uhm, low pulse."

You sighed after another illusion. "Right. I don't think those are minimal effects, Bianca. Please check our patient and see how the powers are working. Run blood tests, all tests you can and then you can provide me the results. I'm a little busy right now."

She nodded with a shy smile, looking around subtly. "Sure."

You smiled back as best as you could. "Anything else?"

"No, it's just- I see you go this way a lot," Bianca pointed to the direction you were heading with her gaze. "That's Soldier Boy, isn't he?"

Your brows furrowed. "Why you ask?"

"Nothing, well, my grandpa used to talk about him all the time," she giggled. "I was just curious, sorry."

"No problem. I get it. But I really have to go, please make sure those results are on my desk by the end of the day," you ordered kindly.

"I will."

"Thanks, Bianca."

With that, you gave a last smile and began your walk again away from her, slower than before. For some reason something was off since you entered the building. It felt different. Totally weird. For the record, since Homelander threatened to have your head off, you paid twice the attention to your surroundings and the people around. You didn't know if there was something big planning right now in front of your nose. You just walked a couple of feet when you felt someone following behind, that was probably watching over you. In a swift movement, you turned on your heels but no one was there. The aisle was empty.

Bianca was already gone and almost no one would wander on this wing of the building, for obvious reasons. With caution you resumed your steps, telling yourself that you were not going insane.

"Robert Singer and I have been hard at work bridging the divide between the human and Superhuman communities. I've seen that divide firsthand in my three years running the FBSA—"

Ben scoffed, taking the TV controller to turn the screen off. "Bullshit."

He stood in the middle of the room with nothing but a towel hanging down his hips after taking a shower, taking the last smoke of his blunt. He grew tired of waiting for you, so he just took a shower and now, everything on the fucking channels was the stupid campaign by Victoria Neuman being supported by Vought and the fucking brat he was supposed to call his son.

With a deep breath, he finished the weed and threw the remains on the ashtray over the new coffee table. His mind started to wander away, realizing he had been a little calm the last couple of days after he almost blew up the fucking place to the ground. Inside, Ben knew your words and actions were a lot of help for the small sense of serenity that started to grow within his chest after that moment. Absolutely that was something he wouldn't admit, ever. But if he was to say, he was actually relieved.

Taking a look around, his place was not that big of a mess. You were certainly used to his clothes around the floor and the sofas, so it wasn't really important. What he found annoying though was you pushing him to read the stupid books and write down his feelings. He wasn't going to do that. If you were there to medicate him, so be it. He wondered why you took so long to do it. Probably he should be stoned enough to not feel anything. That was fucking better.

Just as he started to go over his mental plan to get the hell out of your prison, the door opened. He smirked at your sight. As always, an useless armed man standing behind your figure. You dispatched the guard and stepped inside Soldier Boy's place, the door closing with a loud sound.

You stopped your tracks just a few steps away from him. He noticed your eyes tracing his half bare body in a quick motion, before turning to his face with an arrogant smirk on your lips.

"See something you like, sweetheart?" Ben teased.

With a light chuckle, you held your head high. "Don't be delusional, it's just basic instinct."

"Believe me, I fucking know that," he snarked, taking over your figure with his green eyes the same way you did before. "Basic instinct."

You rolled your eyes. "So," you sat down in your usual place to start the session, making a pile of three of his shirts in the empty space. "Make yourself decent and then we can continue."

Ben took some sweatpants and a shirt from the floor and started to dress himself in front of you, without much care. He smirked as you turned away your gaze to focus on the report lying on your lap.

"You're late," he remarked, taking his own seat once he was done with his clothes.

"Yeah, I had some things to do," you mumbled going through the pages. "But I see we can start now."

He took a deep breath, staring into the distance. "Don't make it boring."

You grimaced, looking back at him. "Can't promise that."

Ben sensed a playfulness coming from you. Could it be that, after recieving your comforting words, he was seeing another side of you? Like the side that would actually trust him, because you still arrived. You were sitting in front of him. You were with him, in the same fucking room where the sun was far from getting. Yeah, you were there but he was too full of ego to bring his walls down again. He wanted to convince himself he wasn't vulnerable. He knew he was more than that. He was Soldier Boy, the man who had to stop Homelander and his fucking kid.

He smirked. "Well, sugar, I can ask you to try."