#i eated your skills mb

[flaneile]

MARRY ME!!!! 💍💍 (respectfully)

First of I have many things to say. First of I think I might have met you in rl... BUT I JUST THINK ITS A OPINION!!! SORRY SORRY AHH!!!

Real first thing. I first came upon your channel from a friend, who posted your channel. that 'bug' animatic thingy. i was in awe. like. staring at the screen over an over. Like A GODDESS MADE THIS!! THIS WAS playing on my mind for the rest of the day!!! I need your skills. (Respectfully).

Second. YOUR IN THE SAME FANDOMS OF ME!!! ☆ LIKE I NEED YOU TO BE MY FRIEND! LIKE RIGHT NOW! ☆... Plus your music taste, finally god has answered my prayers and more. 🫠

Third. YOUR CHANNEL IS SO ATTRACTIVE IN A GOOD WAY! LIKE HOW DO YOU DO YOUR ANIMATIONS SO GOOD! teach me. I'll pay you! ♡ plus your a minor.... I'M A MINOR!! HUH?!?! WHERE HAVE MY SKILLS GONE?!?

Lastly. Can you friend me... (*^o^)人(^o^*). I wanna be your bestie. I'll let you break my heart.

(I'M NOT INTERESTED IN YOU ROMANTICALLY!!! Just platonically. ☆♡☆♡☆)

allows you to place the ring on me finger,,,,,, :3

if you’re /gen abt the meeting me irl thing,,,, i live in canada!! very west!!! if you’re around that area then maaayybeeee,,,

AAWWW TYTY ‼️ the bug video is like,,, my second most popular thing? first popular if we’re excluding shorts,,, so many people know me from that 😭

mweheheh,,,, i know MANY fandoms!! but i’m only actively in a select few (danganronpa ofc, but also bfb/tpot, dandy’s world, etc) and music………. i lovelovoe LOVE vocaloid!!! deco*27 and maretu you have my heart

uuhhh,, it’s honestly just skill 😭 i’ve been editing since i was 6 or 7 years old which is probably why i have my current skill level,,

about the friend thing!!! i am VERY socially awkward and it’s hard for me to talk to new people,,, but! you can slowly become my friend!!! my discord server is in progress and when that’s done, i will post the link here on tumblr for people to join ^^

[yunwangja]

touch - tobio kageyama oneshot

kageyama feels jealous as he notices that the other karasuno members can be physically affectionate with you while he struggles to do the same, thanks to your hesitation whenever he tries to get close.

genre: slight drama? romantic angst? its kageyama being frustrated so ig yeah, also eventual fluff

tags: kageyama x fem!reader, high school friends to lovers

warnings/notes: swearing, honestly that's it lol. also THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SORRY IF ITS LACKING /,,,,: i tried my best for them to be in character too so if not mb >< also approx. 1.2k words

kageyama’s thoughts had been swirling lately, a tumult of confusion and frustration. and it was all because of you.

he found himself watching you more often than he cared to admit, noticing every smile exchanged, every casual touch with other members of the volleyball team that seemed effortless. midterms and practices passed in a blur, overshadowed by his own internal questioning.

why did he feel like you were avoiding him so subtly? why did simple interactions feel like navigating a minefield? happenings from days ago has been haunting him, your subtle movements away from him echoing in his mind.

he wanted to be closer to you, and understand why you seemed so distant whenever he tries to. only thing was: he’s bad at this. he’s bad at expressing his feelings and making a mess of himself, especially in front of you. how could he do this so naturally when you keep on backing away?

"y/n-chan! you’re here!" hinata exclaimed joyfully, bounding over to greet you. oh right, i’m in practice. kageyama thought and snapped back to reality, mainly because of hinata’s loud announcement of your arrival, and well, because, it’s you.

his head snapped towards the gym entrance, catching your smile as you exchanged greetings with hinata.

"how was midterms?" sugawara approached you and asked kindly, prompting a hesitant response from you, "uh, they were fine, i think. hehe." the third year patted your head comfortingly, "i'm sure you did great."

kageyama's chest tightened slightly at the gesture, his irritation simmering beneath his composed exterior as he focused on his serves.

"wow, tobio, you're as consistent as ever," daichi commented seeing his performance, with asahi nodding in agreement. you managed to wave to kageyama from beside yachi, and he nodded in acknowledgment before returning to his practice.

practice officially began with a three-on-three match: tanaka, sugawara, and asahi against hinata, kageyama, and tsukishima. you stood near tanaka's team and cheered enthusiastically as he spiked, "nice kill, tanaka-senpai!"

tanaka grinned proudly and threw an arm around your shoulders, basking in your praise. “it’s nothing, y/n!”

kageyama's frustration flared again. why can't i do that too? kageyama wondered silently.

he decides to lash it out on tsukishima, pushing him to block their spikes better - to which the tall teammate responded with an exasperated roll of his eyes.

it all started a few days ago - you were having lunch on the rooftop with hinata and kageyama. hinata was engrossed in his own thoughts, while kageyama had this plan to subtly get closer to you, unsure and hesitant about being too forward. he wasn't particularly skilled at these things.

as kageyama inched closer, you immediately noticed and instinctively pulled back a bit, nervously remarking, "oh, is the sun shining on your side?" even though the weather was perfect and there was no sunlight. kageyama glanced down and replied, "uh, no... yeah, thanks. you didn't have to move unless it's cramped for you."

"no, as long as you have enough space," you awkwardly chuckled, trying to ease the panic you felt and continued eating.

kageyama sighed inwardly, contemplating another approach. he just wanted to be more gentle and affectionate towards you, just like the others do. hell, maybe, more than they do.

while you were sipping your beverage, you happened to try blueberry-flavored milk for the first time. "this is an interesting flavor," you remarked.

"really? what brand is it?" kageyama asked, attempting to hold your hand with the milk carton while leaning closer to you, making his face close to yours.

once again, you panic and quickly hand him the carton instead, "i-i don't know. you can check it yourself." you stood up to gather your things, suggesting, "let's go now," with hinata obediently following. he urged kageyama to hurry up as he remained on the floor with the now-empty blueberry milk carton.

from that moment, thoughts began to swirl in kageyama's mind—why did you keep avoiding him? was he making you uncomfortable? did you not like being close to him? was he being too much?

walking back to your classrooms, kageyama was stopped in his thoughts when he noticed hinata subtly linking his arm with yours. "y/n-chan! look!" hinata excitedly pointed out a stall being set up outside the window for the upcoming school festival.

you squealed with excitement and both of you jumped up and down, holding hands. kageyama couldn't help but notice the contrast—why was it okay for hinata to touch you like this, but not him? was he doing something wrong? did you dislike him?

"aren't you excited, kageyama?" hinata's question pulled him back from his thoughts. he quickly masked his inner turmoil and casually walked past both of you, muttering, "i don't care", making hinata complain about his lack of school spirit, while you just giggled in response.

back in the present, you continued cheering for tanaka's team after your interaction with him, prompting hinata to playfully pout, "y/n-chan, cheer for us too!"

you laughed and nodded, encouraging everyone with a big smile. “do your best too, hinata! tsukishima, kageyama!” kageyama would normally be melting inside, but today his mind was all over the place, frustrated. this drove him to be set on winning.

i don’t need to be close to you. i don’t even need your cheers. he resolved silently (and pettily), i'll prove it. and he did.

as practice ended with his team's victory, everyone dispersed, leaving you and kageyama, since you were walking in the same direction. "thanks for your hard work," you greeted him cheerfully, but he merely nodded, avoiding eye contact.

trying to engage him in conversation, you remarked on his performance, but kageyama's responses remained curt. "you were really cool as always, but you seemed even more fired up today after seeing tanaka-senpai’s spike," you commented lightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"you're so petty," you teased with a giggle, but kageyama stayed silent, lost in his thoughts.

as you walked and chatted animatedly about a recent volleyball match, a bicycle approached unnoticed.

just in time, kageyama noticed and instinctively pulled you closer, holding your hand to prevent you from getting hurt. flustered by his sudden action—and the fact that he was holding your hand—you looked at him in surprise.

"watch where you're going," kageyama said gruffly, his hands holding yours intensely. you awkwardly laughed off the situation, "i'm sorry. thanks though!"

glancing at your hands still together, you attempted to pull away. “you can let go now,” you try to smile.

there you go again, he thinks. he’s been experiencing this from you for days and it’s been pissing him off. he’s had enough.

kageyama held on to his grip on yours. "no," he said firmly and looked ahead. confused, "what? it’s fine, really, you don’t have to hold my hand,” you try to assure him and continued to let go of his hand.

his expression softened slightly as he slowly looked at you, revealing a hint of vulnerability beneath his usual tough exterior. "why, can't i hold your hand?" he questioned, his voice quieter but determined.

you were taken aback by his question. where is this coming from? you never really noticed anything unusual about his behavior—at least, not that you were aware of.

you try to stay calm for now. "what do you mean? of course you can, but there's no need to anymo—"

"that's a lie. you don't even let me touch you." he maintains eye contact with you. you can't quite grasp what he means yet, but despite the firmness in his voice, his eyes seem to be pleading, as if he's waiting for something.

"do i make you uncomfortable, y/n?" he asks while you're still processing the situation. you shake your head. "no, not at all."

"then why can't i hold your hand?" he continues. "you let the other members do it all the time, especially hinata. why do you treat me so differently?"

shit.

technically, you know why you were acting this way. you just never thought that this was something kageyama would even think or care about, so you just behaved this way naturally.

"i…" nothing else comes out. at this point, you and kageyama are having a staring contest. you want to go home—you’re nervous as hell—but he’s looking at you like he won’t leave until you answer him. "where is this coming from, kageyama?"

"hinata links arms with you, holds hands with you. sugawara-senpai pats your head all the time. tanaka-senpai has a habit of putting his arm around you whenever you compliment him—all of them get to touch you like that, and you don’t even care. but i just come and sit closer to you, and you back away already?"

honestly, you are amazed at how he remembers your interactions with the other members. to you, what they did was nothing to think about, but kageyama noticed every detail.

you knew kageyama—well, at least this trait of his; the fact that he is actually opening up about this means it has bothered him for quite some time. it dumbfounds you that these "small" things to you actually mattered to him—a lot, maybe even more than you realize.

you look down at the ground, breaking eye contact. "y/n—"

"you are right, kageyama, it is different."

"because i don't care if the others do it to me," you say, lifting your gaze back to him, a sense of vulnerability in your eyes this time. "but i care when you do."

you see the surprise on his face. "too much that it could kill me, honestly." he looks bewildered. "w-what? i don't understand."

"unlike the others, i…" your cheeks flush, and your eyes linger somewhere else again as you brace yourself for what you're about to say. "i want you to touch me."

this shocks kageyama, but leaves him wanting more answers.

"i want you to be close to me like that so badly, but it’s too much—it feels selfish. i mean, it’s not like you’re going to benefit much from that. it's all just for myself. i bet you don't want to do that, so i purposely avoided physical contact with you."

there was a few seconds of silence before he could even respond to that. "idiot," he whispers while keeping his head down, but loud enough for you to hear. you look at him, quite embarrassed that you just lowkey confessed to him, and now he's calling you an idiot. he takes a breath and closes his eyes. "why? i just answered you—"

"i want to!" he shouts, his voice rising sharply.

now, you both keep surprising each other.

"i'm not complaining here just because i think you treat me differently from them! hell, i couldn't care any less if it was anyone else. but it's you, y/n."

"i'm frustrated because i want to touch you like that too!"

he looks away, feeling shy. "i want to hold your hand and pat your head when i want to. i want to stand and sit close to you so i can feel you beside me. i want to be able to hug you when i score a point during a match," he pauses, "although i don't think you're allowed on the bench during a match—but that's not the point!"

he looks so cute, but this is also all new to you. you don't know how to feel about his confession. you don't know if this literally means he likes you (which you do too), but one thing is for sure.

you weren't being selfish after all.

"so, please, y/n…"

"let me. and don't avoid me," he says. "it hurts when you do, you know."

your eyes fill with concern. you take a few seconds before speaking again, "kageyama."

he looks at you shyly. "what?"

you respond by grabbing his hand, intertwining it with yours. "okay."

he looks down to see your hands together, and his face turns bright red. "you can hold my hand." he looks up to see your smiling face.

"i'm sorry for avoiding you like that. i thought you really didn't mind. and cared. thank you for telling me what you felt," you apologize.

he shakes his head. "no, you did nothing wrong. and i'm not actually mad, you know…"

"i was just frustrated. i'm sorry i kind of shouted just now."

you shake your head and start to walk again, letting your linked hands guide him as well. "no, no. i know. i'm even glad you let it all out. that's a big step, in my opinion, after knowing you these past months," you say.

he looks at you, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. it's as if he didn't expect you to notice. you didn't show any trace of anger or hurt after how he acted just now—you even cared about what he felt. his expression softens, a mix of amazement and shy delight flickering across his face and looks away again. "well, that's what i'm trying to learn these days."

"that's good," you give him what he thinks is the sweetest smile.

you both continue walking hand-in-hand towards the street corner where you usually part ways—kageyama takes the bus while you head in the other direction to the train station. after your intense and revealing conversation, the rest of the walk is quiet.

"y/n," he breaks the silence, and you look at him, urging him to say what he wants.

"uh, you know," he looks shy again, scratching the back of his head.

"what is it?" you ask.

"i'm just saying this to put it out there, but…" he squirms, "you can call me by my first name if you want to."

you are taken aback first by what he says. after absorbing his words, you laugh, and he continues to blush.

"all right, tobio."

[uneatenclient]

murderbot tv show ep 7 reactions/spoilers under cut. tragic lack of sanctuary moon but a couple lines i was hoping for got said so i've made peace w it

oh my god they're drinking

BHARADWAJ! BHARADWAJ! BHARADWAJ!!

fucking gurathin in the middle

snapping off beat

oh no

GURATHIN! GURATHIN! GURATHIN!!

LMFAO

he's trying so hard

holy shit gurathin

i'm so fucking proud of you what the fuck

jesus fucking christ

holy shit no wonder he's in love with her

i still don't like it but jesus

man. man. what a way to start an ep

it's like that one quote in the van gogh doctor who ep

why tf does no one listen to him when they know his experience w this shit (oh right everyone's naive)

CUZ HE WANTS TO TRY TO HELP KEEP YOU ALIVE

i think she did lmfao gsdfjkghnazfajkl

WHAT?? I COVERED IT

risk assessment skyrocketing. ruh roh

gurathin's the most okay cuz he's definitely experienced shit like this before. he's still not doing great but holy shit does that opening give some perspective

'its listening' 'has it always been able to do that' guys how many times do you have to realize this b4 you just accept that it can always hear you

time for a softer approach. '...unless you feel like DYING' mb i'm begging

ratthi shaking his fucking head help meeee

am i gonna get the 'cuz that's how i think of you' this ep or the next?? feels like i might. i believe in you mensah give me the line

GURATHIN YOUR FACE

annoying. sure. thats what its getting

oh dear fucking jesus ratthi

at least he didn't say seccy again

MB IM B E G G I N G

LMFAOOOOO

THE SLOW RETREAT

any regret. oh arada.

peak distraction mb bharadwaj is IMMEDIATELY on that

ungrateful

pin-lee you ass

YEAH GO MENSAH

arada pleassssseeee

ratthi. i appreciate you trying but you're not doing great on the seriousness

JESUS

wait. arada? oh right she wants to be friends with everyone that tracks

GURATHIN. you might be right but can you be less scawy about it

yeah go pin-lee DO IT BABE

OHHH THESE LINES

how dare you make those lines even more emotional i'm gonna

LMAO

yeah. big same mb

HES FUCKING JEALOUS OF THE SEX AND ROMANCE REPULSED CONSTRUCT

man. gurathin is going thru it in so many different ways rn

HE??? ohhh dear gurathin. so much jealousy you start assigning it the same gender as you bc its your rival

mb that's not a stupid question i'm gonna get you and your complete disregard for your own wellbeing

ratthiiiiiiiii

pin-lee stop being meaaaannnnnn

YESSSS THAT LINE I LOVE IT

circle.

nope.

asdufbadsfhnjlgvadsn

i think they might wanna talk about it mb. just a hunch

YES

YES I CALLED IT

THE SOFT MUSIC

OH SHE GOT IT

SHE GOT IT GOOD

ratthi holy shit

you sure are a maelstrom of emotion

JUST DO IT JFC

we can talk about it

NO YOU CAN'T CUZ YOU'LL ALL BE DEAD

'oh. look at that' the biologists have noticed something interesting during a near death experience again

EXCUSE ME

POSSIBLE HOSTILE???

man mb that module

BIOLOGISTS FTW

RATTHIIIIIIII I LOVE YOUUUU

once more the similarities between gura and mb. just bros worrying about structural integrity

ratthi and pin-lee say yes to electrocution

IT'S SO INTENSE

dear. lord.

ewwwwwww

i'm glad aradas happy

holy fuck okay hello there

PLZ REMAIN CALM (SHOTS FIRED)

what are you doooooooingggg

the spear or whatever was cool tho i love that skill that they've given ratthi

oh my fucking god

the KICKING jdfjkahdkaidk

'they were trying to help. which didn't help'

bharadwaj and the ROCK ujasdfhndsjfgkn

'but as much as it pissed me off... i kind of appreciated it' OH YEAH YOU LIKE EM. YOU LIKE EM DON'T YOU

man. good thing they listened to arada for the moment huh. thats what you get for fucking up their eggs you top line sec unit bitch

the fact that it just tore the head off and left it. not even worth eating.

arada's fucking amazed delight at it taking its eggs away

FSJGBDLKNF YEAH

fortunately fate intervened (gurathin collapses)

i mean obviously it's going either now or following after

but i do get its point. and their point. and mb did get beat up real bad protecting ya'll dumbasses so if it comes maybe stay out of the fight next time

also. i'm making an executive decision and calling that "helping" from presaux mb getting shot on accident bc bharadwaj beaned it and i don't think it's gonna happen w an actual gun (i'm delighted to be proven wrong but for now....)

almost considered using the station bar scene as a preservation scene but i'm still hopeful for that one. just one little snippet....... let me see space communism in action plz.........

[ineedlelittlespace]

please tell me about I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, if you feel so inclined? i don't know much about it but your posts about it have been making me very curious! (direct references to Murderbot you say?)

Oh, I would LOVE to ramble about I Was A Teenage Colonist! 🥰 I'm on lunch at work, but otherwise I would break out PowerPoint and do a proper propaganda post because IWATXC fully deserves one. (*Correction: I was on lunch at work when I started writing this. I wrote way too much and had to finish when I got home, which should probably tell you what you're getting into. My deepest apologies.)

So, it's like 50% visual novel and 50% video game. The story is what really matters, but how that story goes is entirely dependent on your choices. There are 29 (I think) different endings you can uncover (I've only gotten 4 so far), multiple different characters you can romance if you're into that, and tons of different areas (e.g. skill levels, friendship points, etc.) that you can focus your energy on to unlock new pieces of story content about various characters.

As far as the video game component goes, it's a deck builder where the memories your player character collects become your deck of cards to use in challenges. However, if you don't want to bother with that, there's a setting that will let you turn off card challenges altogether.

BUT here's the actual juicy stuff:

So, the story opens with you as a 10 year-old kid on a colony ship that's landing on your new home planet. The ship has been traveling for 20 years, so you were born in space.

The colonists left Earth to escape the capitalist hellscape it's become, and they're all a bunch of hippies, so the Preservation vibes are very strong! It feels a little like how the founding of Preservation was described in the MB books.

Once you've landed, however, you run into some big problems. 1) All of the ship's hydroponics were destroyed because it was a rough entry. 2) Some of the planet's wildlife is NOT friendly (as Murderbot would say, something's always trying to eat the humans). 3) Some of the planet's seasons are hazardous in a variety of unpleasant ways. 4) There are signs that this planet had intelligent life once. And that it might still...👀

Once you're there, it's all hands on deck to survive! You're a kid, so you do need to finish your education, but you balance that with working in various parts of the colony and deciding what role you want to take on as your main career. You can become a farmer like the player character's parents, you can become a scientist and hang out with the colony's AI (who has some things in common with ART), you can join the survey teams (like PresAux my beloved!) and go out to explore and document the planet...the options are endless!

Now, the problem with landing on a semi-hostile planet is that the odds are high that the colony is going to lose people. And you do. A lot of people, if you aren't careful. Some of the deaths are pretty heart-wrenching.

BUT

There's something special about your player character. Ever since landing on the planet, they've had...dreams. Strange gut feelings. Knowledge that they shouldn't have. Premonitions about things that are going to happen, about people they're going to meet... Sometimes, it isn't enough to matter, but the more playthroughs you do, the more your character knows because they do gradually become aware that they're in a time loop of sorts. This gives them more options and better odds for saving the people they love, whether that's in the form of having clues about how to stop the colony's famine or knowing where you need to be to save the governor from being killed by hostile fauna! The game runs from age 10 until age 20, so you have ten years to save your colony and sort out your life.

My personal favorite things:

So many things are extremely customizable, especially in terms of preferred pronouns, gender presentation, dating (or not dating at all---choosing not to won't deprive you of anything in-game) preferences, etc.

The little in-jokes (including the direct Murderbot reference!)

The art style is GORGEOUS! It's so warm and inviting and beautiful. And for big moments, you get these extra detailed full-screen scene cards that show up to point out that you're reached a milestone.

There are no real-time time limits/constraints, so it's easy to play without getting stressed.

The characters! There's such a broad variety, but they're so lovable (except for Vace---I can't STAND Vace). I'm especially fond of Cal and of the player character's dad (who reminds me of Ratthi in some ways).

The time-loop elements are handled so, so well. They add such a fascinating twist to the story while also fixing the replayability issue that so many games have. It gives you an incentive to start playthrough after playthrough just to get more information about that element of the PC's story!

All in all, it's my favorite game of the ones I've played this year, and a solid second-favorite of all time, right after Stardew Valley. Especially since I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of the game's content, even after four playthroughs! For anyone who enjoys gaming at all and happens to be a fan of Murderbot, of solarpunk as a concept, or of sci-fi in general, this game is a joy to play!

If you do end up giving it a shot, you know my inbox/DMs are always open if you want to come yell about it with me! Thank you for asking and for giving me a reason to infodump about it! ❤

[ethankyou]

Last year I had a chance to play Mörk Borg, which is the bleakest fantasy RPG I've ever played and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

So how'd it go?

Mörk Borg was probably one of the easiest games to learn. I made the joke at the table, if you've ever played D&D you are overqualified to play MB. It uses the D&D OGL, loosely, and is technically compatible with it, but this is not that kind of game. That's just all so you can roll your little d20.

The rules are free in the "bare bones" edition but trust me, you'll want to own the full art edition, get a physical copy and put it on your shelf. It is a gorgeous book and has a style that a lot of games lack. If I could distill about 10% of the style into my own games I would be extremely satisfied with my work.

Seriously like. Go to their website. Experience this. Do it now (or don't, I'm not your mom. But you should though).

This game feels in line with the perceived brutality of first edition d&d and its ilk. You may name your character if you like but don't get attached. You can have as little as 1 hit point and nothing pulls its punches here. Deaths are common, and expected and add to the feel of the world. You're not trying to save the world, not really. You're on the precipice of doom and you're just scavengers picking over the bones of the preeminent corpse of the world.

But you can also generate a new character very quickly with SCVMBIRTHER. Don't like your new one? Kill them and make a new one. As many as you like. It's a riot just generating these wretches and seeing what could be in store for you.

But while it is fun and also sometimes necessary to generate characters quickly like this, doing so misses out on one of my favorite parts of any RPG. The Character Sheet!

To me a good character sheet is like a window into the soul of the game.

The game has this whole, doodled in the margins of your math homework, zine you found in a dirty puddle, graphited in a bathroom stall at a crust punk show ass aesthetic and the whole book is just like this. And I am eating this shit up! Here's the alternate character sheet provided:

This soul appears to be a little scrunkled, can I get a new one?

Now I haven't talked about how the game plays yet or anything but just drink this in for a minute. If looking at this character sheet does not make you want to try this game then I don't know what else would!

I mean I guess knowing how the game plays would but like... Okay.

The game itself uses d20 rules, but much lighter. You have small stats, and add them to a d20 roll. No skills no proficiency bonus. You'll eat your 1's and you'll like it. The target numbers are usually pretty low, floating around 10-ish, unless you're dealing with something nasty.

You may have powers, but they seem to be pretty limited in their availability and uses. The game itself plays like D&D-lite, in that you are probably doing a dungeon crawl, or other dirty work you do as an adventurer. But you are not an adventurer, you are lowly scum just trying to make a quick buck. There's no heroics going on here. If your d&d group already plays like a bunch of murder hobos then you're basically already playing mork borg in spirit but just cosplaying as a bunch of heroes. This is the game you should be playing if you want to be a cutthroat little bastard.

The game uses Omens, a limited resource that you can use to improve what you're doing; deal max damage, lower damage taken, reroll a die (or someone else's) that kind of thing. You only get them back after a rest though so if you blow through them quickly you're at the mercy of fate (and fate is not merciful here).

Our group played Rotblack Sludge which is the introductory game from the main book. We did it in a single session pretty easily, even between doing food and a fair bit of goofing off. I imagine your group could do it in 1 as well, but 2 sessions tops for sure. There are a bunch of free adventures available on their website too if you wanted to get a little deeper! That link is to their "content" part of their site which is just an endless slew of free stuff. They really just want you to play their game. And quality enough that they know enough folks will buy it.

My main criticism of the game is that I'm not sure how this plays out in the long term. I think that narratively and thematically, the game is crushing it. But mechanically, the game is light. This is by design but I can see this turning away people looking for a long term replacement for d&d. I mean some committed groups will enjoy this forever regardless, but I feel like this has the legs for a few decent adventures before you'd wrap up and move on.

But a big part of long term games is character advancement. My understanding was that the levelling system in the game is pretty light to non-existent. It didn't come up in a one shot for obvious reasons. I'll admit I only own the free rules at this time, I'm still waiting for my copy of the actual book itself. So I had to go to my friend who ran the game to understand how the leveling system works. There's no experience points, so the group levels together. You check to see if you gain some hit points, you check to see if your stats increase, and you get a random piece of gear.

And when I say check I mean you roll some dice and compare to current. For hit points you roll 6d10. If the result is higher than your current max HP then you gain 1d6 max HP. Roll under and you lose 1 max HP. This choice frustrates me. I actually like that there's a chance to lose HP, but is this really the best way we could do this?

Okay that's not fair that's a knee jerk response. Let's talk about why it might work this way. This is a bleak world so it doesn't make sense for your characters to be able to heroically weather any storm. They're just people who got lucky and survived. So we want the ceiling for how many hit points a character can have to be on the low side. The system does do that, but it takes a weird path to get there, which feels out of place considering this is otherwise a very light game. I'm gonna talk about dice math for a bit so feel free to skip ahead to the next orange part if you feel sleepy.

The average of 6d10 is 33 (5.5x6), which means that characters who managed to level up multiple times are at much higher risk of losing a hit point. Average result of +1d6HP means about 3 hit points a level on average (accounting for the fact that you still could lose some along the way instead of gaining them). Assuming you start with 5 hit points (you might have 1-10 depending on your class), you're looking at 9 level ups before the odds are against you to gain HP. You might think damn. That's a long time. And assuming a character even lives to see level 10. And I agree.

So why does it need to be so convoluted along the way?

To replicate this system without the cumbersome dice roll comparisons you could have players roll 1d8-2: there's always a chance you'll get -1 HP, even 0 HP. After a character has 20+ HP it could change to 1d8-3, then 1d8-4 at 30 and so on. If you don't like the idea of players losing multiple HP then just have it be that any resulting negative is only -1 hp. But this way you're making 1 roll and decreasing the gain over time, while still gaining. You could also just roll a flat die every level, but I think in Mork Borg it is very thematic to have something like leveling up, which is normally comforting, be cause for fear.

Anyway this is easy enough to home brew out and it seems like a lot of folks do that. But I'm judging the game based on how it is not how I could change it.

The hit point math is done... FOR NOW.

The way stats level up is simpler. Roll a d6 for each stat. If the die is equal to or higher, gain +1 in that stat (max 6). If it's less, subtract 1 (max -3), a 1 is always a -1. I like the idea that your stats could fluctuate and that high stats are not safe bets. A few levels and weird rolls later and your worst stat could end up being your best. I think this part could be controversial but I like it and I like how they do it!

But there's not really much more to advancement than that. This is fine if you're just playing a short game. But you hear stories about people running campaigns for years on end and I guess... I just don't see that happening with Mork Borg. I might say it's not that kind of game but it actually kinda is though? They have rules for long term games.

The Calender of Nerthrubel fortells the end of the world. When 7 miseries have been accumulated, the world ends. At the start of the game you choose a die to roll for Miseries; as little as 1d2, as high as 1d100. The game master rolls the die and on a 1, the world gains a misery. So the size of the die does determine the upper limit of the game, but it is possible for the game to be over in as little as 7 in-game days regardless of the die type chosen. This is a very interesting mechanic! In fact I think it's one of the most interesting parts of the game! Most games struggle with a sense of urgency. Short of "you have 48 hours to save this prince" or "if you don't return with 25 wolf noses tomorrow you don't get paid", it can be hard to wrastle the players together to try and save the world in a timely manner. Meanwhile in Mork Borg your days are literally numbered. I can't imagine the tension that would come from being on your 6th misery knowing that every single day could be the last. That is truly bleak.

The role-playing opportunities in this setting for someone trying to grasp at the last ray of hope in the darkness, to fight against fate, or to battle the darkness within is truly incredible. The Dark Souls series has already probably come to mind by now for you and it's hard not to see that as an influence or at least a spiritual contender. There is something to be said about overcoming the odds and surviving in a bleak world. The Dark Souls franchise and periphery games have thrived on that for years. But when you die in that game, you come back you just lost some progress.

You don't come back when you die in Mork Borg, you just die.

So with no significant character advancement in the game, how do you meaningfully advance a character in a game like this? The game literally urges you not to get attached to your character. It's a bit tongue in cheek about it but it's not wrong.

At our table I was the only one who survived start to finish with the same character. And that wasn't from skill on my part i got a lot of dumb luck! We had 6 players and I think we had about 10 deaths? One player was on their like 4th wretch by the end of it! This seems excessive and I don't know if this is a standard experience, but we understood that's kind how it would go beforehand so our expectations were pretty set.

While I am sort of criticising this aspect, there is something pretty thrilling about going into a game without being too committed to your character. It makes those moments where you do realize them as a character in the narrative all the more meaningful, and more tragic when they die a terrible meaningless death. Nothing is precious in Mork Borg not even your life. So make the best of what you've got while you still have it.

Mork Borg is definitely not a perfect game.

But I cannot stop thinking about it and would drop any game to play it again, or even run it.

(and that's not even to speak of all the Borg spin offs like Pirate Borg, Orc Borg or CY_BORG!!!).

If you already play D&D or Pathfinder, Mork Borg is definitely worth your time to try, because you already know how to play it. It might not be for you, but if you go with the free rules and play a free adventure the only thing you're out is your time.

If you play other RPGs and enjoy dungeon crawls or hack and slash game play, this is still a great choice and will be easy to pick up and try.

If you're new to RPGs, Mork Borg is maybe a pretty weird one to start with, but is a really polished experience to try and a really easy game to cut your teeth on, so still not bad!

If you're more interested in character role playing, then Mork Borg might not be what you're looking for, but there are so many interesting narratives that can be explored here that I think would be really interesting and hard to replicate in other games!

If you're a power fantasy gamer, then I think Mork Borg might be a skip for you. Unless your power fantasy is to be a lobotomized mouse in Alley Cat Alley. No judgment, you do you.

If you took one look at the characters sheets up top and said "oh hell yeah I'm gonna play that!" and didn't read the rest of this lengthy text then we are already best friends but alas you'll never know it because you didn't read to the end... Oh well.

Now excuse me, I'm gonna dream about being ripped apart by a skeletal ooze and dying a painful death tonight (affectionate)!

[popponn]

hehe popon !!! i'm like trying my best to keep my eyes open bc i am v tired 😞 so i am apologising in advance if there are any grammatical mistakes in this chunk of text 🤞🏻😸 but hi lovely:

WISHING U A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POPON !!!! i not sure whether it's like ur birth date where u live yet, but it is for me, so i hope this mssg is on time ! but happy birthday to one of the cutest, cleverest and sweetest yoichi kissers in the world 🫶🏻😽 isagi loves u sm and giggles and kicks his legs when u post him on ur blog (real. bro told me and i was "damn yoichi 🤨")

on my friends' birthdays, i usually write a letter and give them my thanks for a number of things. and i think the number one thing i wanna say "thank u" to u for is definitely our interactions <3 u have always been friendly to everyone who interacts w u, including me, and i reckon i'm rly lucky to met u this year !!! u're a kind soul w a lot of love to give, and i think that's why we all love u sm !!! and i'm super thankful for all the times u've visited my inbox/mssges 🫶🏻🫶🏻 it makes me happy hehe

i must also mention that i am so thankful that i was able to find "coincidences and flickers" one fateful day,, like that series has the potential to forever change me as a person and even make me become a temporary isagi kisser (never forgetting who i am 😤) <33 it was that series that helped me find ur blog and realise the insane amount of talent u have for writing !! my favourite writers on this platform often changes (sometimes it's a, or sometimes it's b), but i think u have a fixed position up there <3 i truly adore u and the way u write, so thank u for all the works u post 🫂 it's such an honour to be mutuals w a v skilled writer

i also wanna thank u for all the reblogs u make on everyone's works <3 when u reblog my fics w a bunch of tags, it truly makes me feel like that the effort i have put in didn't go to waste bc there was someone who appreciated what i wrote. also like,, the quality of my writing often fluctuates (😞💔), but u reblog them anyways, and i will ALWAYS thank u for that !! i love uuu (⁠づ⁠￣⁠ ⁠³⁠￣⁠)⁠づ🫂💞

oh, and, thank u for constantly feeding my reo delusions 😸😸 not sure if i'd love him the same without u telling me that reo loves me too lol 😽🧎🏻‍♀️

i do hope that everything will treat u nicely today !!! and every other day bc u deserve it <33 eat cake, laugh w friends and mb be silly for a little while—u're not a grandma yet, so have fun being in ur twenties, popon !!!!

love u always 🫶🏻☹️

(i hope u like words bc this was a bit of a read lmao)

SAKI IM SOBBINGGG???????? WHATT????? D: JESUS I WILL BE WORDY TOO!! HOW DARE U MAKE ME ALL SOFTTTT thank u so much for typing all this despite being very tired omg ;;;; im gonna bawl mom im so glad i meet saki the sweetest adgudk (also...my grammar is also a mess i hope this shall be forgiven as i am sincere ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡))

it already is!! :">> thank u for remembering it bae :""" and omg yoichi did all that? i get even more in love :(( pls tell yoichi i also kick and giggle when he breathes :(( AND HEY YOU ARE OVERPRAISING ME WHAT IF MY HEAD GET BIG [ahjussi voice]

saki :(((( im also very thankful i get to meet you this year ue ue ue ;;; i never thought i will ever talk to you (or anyone here at all tbh sksk) like i was very shy and hesitate a lot, but then you are there?? being so sweet friendly and welcoming ;;; like you are one of the reasons i'm here and i mean it??? like you are one of the person who gave me courage to be more friendly here too hehe <3 im so glad i meet someone as kind you saki <3

im gonna start blushing and bawling fr now. IM SO GLAD I MAKE THAT SERIESS ;;;;; (CHAPTER WILL COME SOON TRUST!!) hdfkdj idk what to say here before sounding like a madman so uh ;;;; pls know that i was so happy too when u commented and reblogged so positively ;;;;;;; ghjk saki your praises i think i read them over and over girly u r too sweet for me sometimes ;;;;;; ♡( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

okay channeling my coolness energy a bit, saki 🫵i like your writing GENUINELY!!! okay! so im glad you like the madman ramblings in the tags :>> and come on buddy fic writer to fic writer, it would be impossible to like everything we write SKSKSK remember that one time i immediately lose it after posting that rin studying fic. sigh. stupid ass me. BUT YOU AND EVERYONE WERE THERE AND IT SERVED ITS PURPOSE HOHOHO SO I TOO FEEL IT WASNT A WASTE HEHEHEHE

and i will keep feeding ur delusion get ready (❀❛ ֊ ❛„)♡ also quick mention real quick your cats are cool sunglasses or not

THANK YOU FOR THE WISHES SAKIII!!! omg :((( thank you so much for?? writing all these gosh uhuhuu i will reread this over and over again a lot of times today hehe (no matter how busy and hard it is to open tumblr today!!!) this make my day so much ;;;;;; uhuhuhu and aw <3 i will!!! i wanna make a grandma joke again but for today i will spare saki uwu

i love you always too!!!! 🫶🏻😤

[eclown4hire]

hi please rant about your enstars sports au 👉👈

Hi anon, you've unleashed my Autism Powers. Behold: My Rant.

Popping this under a read me because it’s a little long!

Some general setting notes:

- All characters are a little aged up in this AU! Each unit is apart of their own university team/general sports team (unrelated to uni). Every character is roughly around 2 years older than canon! :)

- Anzu is the manager of the UNDEAD team!

UNDEAD STUFF:

- Rei is the setter and the captain! He's incredibly strategic, but he cannot actually play on court for long due to his condition. However, when he gets swapped out -- he still observes from the sidelines and helps his team formulate strategies. If you've watched HQ!!, I would say his situation is similar to that of Kenma? Brilliant mind but gets tired easily: as well tending to get targeted much heavier by enemy teams due to this! But UNDEAD has developed a defensive strategy when it comes to situations like that! The rest of UNDEAD are very in tune with Rei's needs and know how to help him as much as they can. They're good buddies!!!

- Kaoru is the libero! He originally joined for credit and nothing more. He wasn't taking it very seriously in the beginning; but he slowly learned that he really enjoyed the sport (as well as his buddies.) He tends to make comments asking to go easy on him: (i.e 'Don't hit the ball too hard at me, okay?) but he puts his all into his games. I think he realised how much he really loved it and was valuable to the team when Koga ranted at him in that Special Anime Sports Show Way (you know the way) one time and kicked his ass in gear. I love Koga and Kaoru friendship so I'm shoving it in -- sorry not sorry.

- Adonis is a middle blocker! I thought this would be cute because he's always mentioning being the 'protector of the weak' and stuff like that -- So I put him as a MB! He's an incredibly competent middle blocker, who originally focussed mainly on blocks that were more to assist his team! Stuff like soft blocking. However he's been developing a killer stuff block lately (That's when you angle your hands in such a way that the intent is to kill the ball and slam it back into the hitters court rather than rebounce it) under the guiding hands of Rei! He's still more of a defensive blocker than aggressive, but he's slowly building up this skills :] Him and Koga are very close friends here, as well!

- Koga is a wing spiker and the ace of the team. He easily has the most stamina out of the whole team. He hits hard and he hits fast. He tends to get worked up however; and easily falls for taunts. He's the one who probably practises the most! Always dragging one of the other three into practice; he's always striving to improve. He and Rei have known each other for a long time and are the only ones out of the group to have known each other prior to the club. I see them more as silly brothers in this AU, because that's the dynamic that's most fun for me personally between them. He's very good friends with Ritsu as well! Their matches versus Knights is always one to watch because of that. He tends to feel insecure because he feels as though he is getting left behind his other teammates -- and that's why he practises so much.

If you're after more detail -- I'd be happy to provide! But I figured I would focus on UNDEAD for now considering I haven't um. Drawn the others yet. but they do Exist in My Mind.

I can say the positions of some units I know for sure tho!

Crazy B: Rinne (Setter + Captain), Niki (Libero), HiMERU (MB), Kohaku (Wing Spiker)

(Note about crazy:B : They always make sure to have plenty of bananas for Niki to eat when he needs them!!)

Alkaloid: Hiiro (Wing Spiker + Captain), Tatsumi (Middle Blocker, very good at defense), Aira (Setter) (?? unsure about this though.) and Mayoi (Libero)

Ra*bits: Nazuna (Libero), Tomoya (Wing spiker + Pinch Server perhaps), Hajime (Setter) and Mitsuru (Middle blocker) (Imaging him similar to Hinata Shoyou!)

Others are still in the Oven -- But if you had any specific Units you wished to know about, feel free to ask!!!

[sophieswundergarten]

Does anyone want to hear about an MBS TTRPG Oneshot I made?

So, you start by making a character and picking what skills they're good at, basic TTRPG stuff, and then get placed in Stonetown. The goal of the game is to escort a child to their Very Important Test.

Players can pick one of four locations: Library, Rail-yard, Docks, or Town Center. As you might expect, each location corresponds to a kid:

Library brings you to a little girl hiding behind the shelves, peeking out at you

Rail-yard shows you a girl sneakily climbing off a train car, looking around suspiciously

Docks will bring you to a nervous looking boy who is disembarking a river barge

Town Center is where you will find a boy sitting contentedly and eating a sandwich

Now, once you have met a child (Or more, depending on how many people are playing and where you all decided to go), your job is to help them find their way to the Monk Building.

HOWEVER

While some of the children may know where to go, that does not mean the game is over! There are Other Things!!

The boys will generally have an idea of where they're going, but the girls have no idea where the Monk Building is, so you'll have to talk to NPCs and explore a bit in order to get directions.

And, while you're exploring and looking around for information, you might notice a few well-dressed business men sneaking about...

[a-z0-9-i-n-gram-completionist]

1:    0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f g h i k l m n o p r s t u v w x y z    33/36    (24/26)    (9/10)

2:    09 15 19 26 58 62 93 95 97 98 99 aa ad ag ai ak al an ap ar as at av az be bl bu ca ce ch ck cl co cr ct da de dy ea ed ee eh ei em en eo er es et ev ex ey fi fr fy ga gc ge gi go gs gt gu ha he hi ho hr ic id ie if ik il im in io ir is it ke ki la le li ll lo lp lr ls ly ma mb me mi mm mo mp mu na nd ne ng no ns nt nu oe of og ok om on oo or os ot ou ov pe ph po pr ra rc re ri rn ro rs rt ry se si sk so ss st sy ta tc te tg th ti tl to tr ts tt tu uc ue um un ur us ut uy ve vi vo we wh wi xi ye yi yl yo zd    171/1296    (160/676)    (11/100)

3:    198 199 626 993 997 aag ady age ain all alr and ant ape are ars ass atc ate ave azd ber bey blo blr bly but car cat cen chr clo com cou cre cta ctg den dev ead eak eat ehe eir emb ene eno ens ent eog era erc ere ero ery est eti ett evo exi eyo fie fre fyi gal gen gim got gue guy has hat hei hen her hey his hro ick ide ied ifi ify ike ill ime imm imp ing ins ion ist kil lai ler let lik lla lle lls log loo los lph lre mat maz mbe mbl mes met mic mmi mor mos mpo mpr muc nap nes nom nsi nta nti ntl num oes oge ogs ogu ome omo omp ond ook ore ort ose oso ost ote oun our out ove peo per phi por pos pre rag rce rea reh rin rns roe rog rom rta sed see sem ses sio ski som sse str sts syl tag tan tat tch ter tes tha the tif tim tin tly tri tte tum tur uch umb unt urn use ver vil vot who wil xis yes yin ylp yon you zda    205/46656    (200/17576)    (5/1000)

4:    1993 1997 ains alle alre antl apeo asse atch aver azda beyo blog cars cent chro clos comp coun crea ctag dent devo eady eate ehen embl enes enom ensi enta enti eoge erag erce eroe etim ette evot exis eyon fied frea fyin gall gene geno gimm heir hens here hero hrom iden ifie ifyi illa ills imes immi impo kill lain lery lett like llai ller logs look lose lphi lrea matc mazd mber mblr mbly meti mick mmic more moso mpor mpre much nape nome nsio ntag ntif ntin ntly numb ogen ogue omet omos ompr orta oses osom osts otes ount over peog perc phis port post preh rage rcen read reak reat rehe ring roes rogu romo rtan semb sest sion skil some ssem stri sylp tage tant that thei they tifi tify time ting trin tter tumb turn umbe umbl unti urns used vera vill vote will xist ying ylph yond your    158/1679616    (156/456976)    (2/10000)

5:    aller alrea antly apeog assem avera beyon blogs centa chrom close compr count creat denti devot ehens embly enome ensio entag entif eogen erage ercen eroes etime etter evote exist eyond freak fying galle genes genom gimmi hensi heroe hromo ident ified ifyin illai immic impor kills lains lette llain llery loses lphis lread match mazda metim mmick mosom mport mpreh napeo nsion ntage ntifi ntify nting numbe ogene ometi omoso ompre ortan osest osome ounti peoge perce porta posts prehe rcent ready reate rehen rogue romos rtant sembl skill somet ssemb strin sylph tantl their tifie tifyi times tring tumbl turns umber umblr untin verag villa votes ylphi    109/60466176    (109/11881376)

6:    allery alread apeoge assemb averag beyond centag chromo closes compre counti create dentif devote ehensi ension entage entifi entify eogene ercent etimes evotes galler genome gimmic hensio heroes hromos identi ifying illain immick import letter llains losest lready metime mosome mporta mprehe napeog ntifie ntifyi number ogenes ometim omosom ompreh ortant ountin peogen percen portan prehen rcenta rehens romoso rtantl sembly skills someti ssembl string sylphi tantly tified tifyin tumblr unting verage villai ylphis    74/2176782336    (74/308915776)

7:    already apeogen assembl average centage chromos closest compreh countin dentifi dentify devotes ehensio entifie entifyi eogenes ercenta gallery gimmick hension hromoso identif illains importa metimes mportan mprehen napeoge ntified ntifyin ometime omosome omprehe ortantl ounting peogene percent portant prehens rcentag rehensi romosom rtantly sometim ssembly sylphis tifying villain    48/78364164096    (48/8031810176)

8:    apeogene assembly chromoso comprehe counting dentifie dentifyi ehension entified entifyin ercentag hromosom identifi identify importan mportant mprehens napeogen ntifying ometimes omprehen ortantly peogenes percenta portantl prehensi rcentage rehensio romosome sometime villains    31/2821109907456    (31/208827064576)

9:    apeogenes chromosom comprehen dentified dentifyin entifying ercentage hromosome identifie identifyi important mportantl mprehensi napeogene omprehens percentag portantly prehensio rehension sometimes    20/101559956668416    (20/5429503678976)

10:    chromosome comprehens dentifying identified identifyin importantl mportantly mprehensio napeogenes omprehensi percentage prehension    12/3656158440062976    (12/141167095653376)

11:    comprehensi identifying importantly mprehension omprehensio    5/131621703842267136    (5/3670344486987776)

12:    comprehensio omprehension    2/4738381338321616896    (2/95428956661682176)

13:    comprehension    1/170581728179578208256    (1/2481152873203736576)

the gimmick blogs are like tumblr’s rogue gallery. yes we’ve got some heroes, yes we’ve got some villains, but more importantly if you look over here you will see some freak who devotes all their time to counting the number of “t’s” in a post

[wiypt-writes]

Rawhide

Ch7. Heart And Soul

Episode Summary: The team are playing a waiting game as they prepare for Hydra to show their hand. Meanwhile, something is bugging Bucky…

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Episode Pairings:  Alpha Steve Rogers x Omega Reader.

W/C: 6k

A/N: One of the pics in the MB (the Bucky one) is an edit done by NixAkimbo which I asked permission to use before she left Tumblr. She’s still on Insta, so please check her out. And if anyone is able to message her for me (I can’t, as she doesn’t follow me, please tell her I thank her for letting me use it!)

Rawhide Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

Despite the troubling news, you slept well that night, wrapped in the security of Steve’s arms. You woke the next morning with an uncontrollable hunger, so you gently untangled yourself from the koala bear that was draped around you and you headed downstairs.

Twenty minutes or so later, a huge stack of pancakes was on the side of the counter and you smiled as you felt Steve’s presence.

“Hungry, ‘Mega?” his low timbre hit your ears as his strong arms circled your waist.

“Yeah, like, really hungry.” You shrugged, twisting your head round to press your lips to his.

Steve chuckled, “well, it smells good. Almost as good as you.”

At his comment you felt your cheeks heat and you scoffed, “down, boy!”

Steve laughed and stepped away, moving to the coffee pot. All of a sudden, you felt his jovial nature slip into a more brooding one and you took a deep breath.

“Steve?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking about everything we found out last night.” He leaned against the counter, running his head over his beard. “I need to speak to Fury, but there’s also a lot that needs doing on the farm.”

“So delegate,” you looked at him, “I’m sure a few of us can manage the chores around here whilst you do what you gotta do.”

Steve looked at you before he chuckled, “I keep forgetting you’ve worked a ranch before.”

You popped a shoulder, “I used to run it, actually. I was the one with the organisation skills. Colin, well, he was more of a do-er.”

Steve pondered for a moment as he took a sip of his coffee. With a nod, he stepped forward and set the mug down at one of the places you’d set at the large breakfast counter. “Okay, then in that case I’ll leave it in your capable hands and tell Bucky, Clint, Sam and Pete they’re at your disposal. The rest of us can speak to Fury.”

“Sure.” You nodded, “but first, you need to eat as well.”

Steve merely cocked a brow at you and sat down as you took your seat, Commando tucking into his bowl of kibble as the pair of you attacked the pancakes. Steve watched with a little curiosity at just how much you wolfed down, you ate more than him and that was saying something.

Your appetite finally subsided, you pushed your plate away and gave a contented sigh. Just as the pair of you had finished, the door opened and Bucky walked in, followed by Sam.

“Mornin’” Sam tipped his hat to you both and you smiled.

“Hey, coffee's on if you guys want some.”

“Don’t mind if I do…” Bucky grinned, heading to the pot. “So, Steve, what’s the play?”

“I want you two and Pete to stay here, help Y/N on the ranch. We did nothing yesterday so there’s a bit to catch up on.” Steve ran his hand over his beard, “I’ll get the others to meet me at Starks and we can call Fury, tell him what we figured out and see what he wants to do.”

Bucky looked at Sam, who gave a shrug, “what you lookin’ at me for? I just do what he says, only slower.”

Steve rolled his eyes as Bucky simply raised a brow, sipping from his mug. After a little pause he inclined his head slightly, but you could sense he wasn’t entirely happy with the plan. That said, to his credit, he didn’t argue.

Less than an hour later, you kissed Steve goodbye as he climbed in his truck, Commando once more remaining with you, although this time by choice much to Steve’s disgruntlement. Sam merely sniggered at the fact the large dog seemed so attached to you, but out of the corner of your eye you saw Bucky merely looking at you, with a blank stare that made you a little nervous.

However, you pushed it to the back of your mind and the four of you spent the morning sorting out the barn and giving care to a few of the longhorns who needed their feet looking at. Bucky and Sam, being the two who had the most physical strength wrestled the large animals to the ground whilst Peter helped you apply the topical treatment and spray that Banner had left. Once that was done, you herded them on foot to a paddock a little further away and made your way back to the barn.

“You feeling okay?” Peter looked at you and you wiped your brow, nodding.

“Yeah, just a little hot. And I’m hungry, again.” You mused.

“Well, it is lunchtime.” The Beta grinned, “my favourite part of the day.”

“You mean other than breakfast and dinner time?” Bucky raised a brow and Peter shrugged.

“You missed out snack time and supper,” Sam folded his arms across his chest, “and when he gets a juice box!”

“Oh, leave him alone.” You reached up and ruffled Peter’s hair, “c’mon, I’ll rustle us something up.”

“There’s no need,” Bucky shook his head, “we can all sort ourselves.”

You frowned, “I don’t mind.”

“I said it’s fine, Y/N.” Bucky’s tone was firm and it made you recoil a little.

“What’s got into you?” Sam looked at him, and Bucky shook his head, but you could feel a myriad of confusing emotions barrelling off him.

“It’s okay, Sam, I’ve probably overstepped. I’m just gonna go up to the house, I’ll see you in a while.”

You hastily made your retreat, blinking back the tears in your eyes. Up until now you’d always gotten on with Bucky. Yes, he could be a little withdrawn at times, moody even, but he’d never shown you any animosity.  Commando followed you up the steps and through to the kitchen and you held the fridge open, trying to figure out what you wanted.

Half an hour later, after a huge tuna sandwich followed by a bag of chips and four cookies, you settled yourself in your new found favourite spot in Steve’s cabin, the little window seat and suddenly felt a pang in your heart that your Alpha wasn’t there. You felt a strange urge to surround yourself by his smell, so you grabbed one of the throws off the sofa and tucked it around you as you snuggled down surrounded by the cushions. As soon as you’d done that, Commando hopped up, laying his head on your lap.

“I know, I’m being ridiculous.” You stroked his soft fur, “Bucky’s probably just tired, huh?”

Commando replied my giving a large yawn and you chuckled, before you erupted into one of your own. “Us too, huh. Well, guess a little nap can’t hurt anyone.”

**** “So you think they’re gonna supercharge the Alphas they have?” Fury repeated, his face stony as he sat at a table in HQ, flanked by Coulson and Hill.

Steve nodded. “Y/N made a good point, Rumlow is egotistical. We know that newly presented Alphas are unpredictable and very strong and he wouldn’t want to risk anyone else in that army challenging him for his status. Plus, they left the Omega Genome behind and we know they need both parts to make the conversion work.”

“The obvious question is do we think Erskine told Hydra what they wanted to know before they killed him?” Bruce asked and Steve took a deep breath.

“The fact he turned up dead doesn’t leave me with much hope.”

“Cap’s right,” Fury nodded, “Hydra wouldn’t have killed him otherwise, because they needed him.”

On the screen, Fury glanced at Hill, then Coulson before he gave a shrug. “Okay, Cap, so how you wanna play this?”

“Well, we think Shield should take what we have learned to the WSC.” Steve spoke, having agreed this with the rest of the team earlier, “I know that Hydra have Hawley in their pocket, but the rest of the WSC so far have given us no reason to doubt them. We need to try the diplomatic route first, see if we can avoid an out and out war.”

“Agreed,” Fury nodded, “I doubt it will do much good…”

“But at least we tried.” Steve shrugged.

“What about your insider?” Natasha asked, “anything from them?”

“Word has it that Hydra’s troops have been stood down.” Fury shrugged. “Which leads me to conclude that they’re using diversion tactics, trying to confuse us so we don’t have a clue what they’re up to.”

“Good plan, it’s working.” Tony sniffed and Fury took a deep breath.

“Hill is due to make contact with them later. At the moment it’s just ears to the ground.

Steve took a deep breath as the room fell silent. “Okay, I think we’re done for the day. Keep us up to speed anything you find. The rest of us, stay alert but until further notice, it’s business as usual.”

Fury nodded, “I’ll be in touch.”

 “Long John Silver, pleasure as always.” Tony sniffed, saluting Fury as he leaning back in his chair, his boots resting on the table. Fury shot him a look, before the screen went blank.

“Well for now it’s a waiting game.” Steve broke the silence, “Natasha and Clint, stay close to Fury, make sure we’re in the know, so to speak. Tony, keep Happy up to speed and have him monitor the usual channels.”

With a final round of mumbled acknowledgements to their Captain’s orders, the team all rose and filed out of the room.

**** You felt Steve’s presence before you saw him. The unease you’d been feeling all day evaporated almost instantly as his scent invaded your senses. Immediately, you looked up from where you were sat in the office, filing and sorting out a few invoices and receipts. Seconds later, he strode into the barn and through to the office, where he paused, his broad form filling the doorway as Commando jumped up at him, his large bushy tail wagging.

“Hey,” Steve leaned against the frame as he scratched the dog behind the ears, a soft smile on his face.

“Hi,” you smiled back, “so, how did it go?”

“As well as can be expected. Have you been in here all day?”

“No, we dealt with the longhorns this morning and then, well, I had lunch and took a nap then came out to make a start on all this whilst they went out on a ride.”

“You missed a trail ride for paperwork?”

“Well someone has to do it, Steve!” you snapped, before letting out a sigh as you rubbed at your temple.

“Doll?” Steve questioned, his brow furrowing a little. “You’re uneasy. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, just you know, all this stuff with Hydra.”

“Y/N.” Steve’s voice was stern and you took a deep breath, before you looked at him.

“It’s probably nothing, but Bucky’s been…well, a little moody. He was just quiet all morning and then when I offered to make lunch he was snappy. I think I’ve done something to upset him, so I just tried to stay out of his way.”

Steve took a deep breath as he pushed himself off the door frame and walked towards you.

“Moody how?” He perched on the edge of the desk and looked down at you.

“Just snappy,” you shrugged, “and I can sense he’s brooding about something, but what…I don’t know.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“No, don’t, like I say, it’s probably nothing.”

“Maybe, but he shouldn’t be making you feel uncomfortable.”

You shrugged, “I’m likely just being overly sensitive. It’s an Omega weakness…”

“No, it’s not a weakness, at all.” Steve shook his head. “It makes you you.”

You gave him a small smile and wrinkled your nose, “but anyway, it’s not important. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

“He gets a little broody from time to time,” Steve nodded, “probably pissed I left him here. I’ll talk to him.”

“Please don’t make a fuss,” you blinked, “It’s really not that big of an issue.”

“No, but it’s made you feel uncomfortable, and I don’t want that. This is your home, as much as it is his.” Steve replied, calmly but firmly. “Now, how about you finish for the day and we head back up to the house. I’m going to brief everyone on what happened and you should be there. You’re part of the team now.”

“Yeah, okay.” You nodded. “Erm, can I make dinner for everyone? I’d like to.”

“Whatever you want, ‘Mega. And if Bucky doesn’t want it, then you have my full backing to launch the plate at his head.”

“And waste food?” you looked at him, and Steve chuckled at the affronted expression on your face, “no way, I’ll eat it myself.”

“Huh, you still hungry?”

“Starved, mind you, I’ve been eating all day,” you shrugged, before you grinned, “must be the additional exercise I’m doing.”

Steve laughed and shook his head as he stood up straight. “Maybe I should ease off you, give you a night’s rest.”

“Well, I can stay in my cabin tonight, I mean…”

“Hey, that was a joke,” Steve shook his head, “besides, even if we’re not…well, whatever, you can still stay with me. In fact, I’d kinda like you to do that all the time.”

You frowned, looking up at him as you felt his wave of nervousness. “You want me to move into the Ranch House?”

“Well, only if you’d like to. I mean, if you…”

You bit your lip. You’d lived in your own space for a good few years now, and had enjoyed the solitude. But everything inside you was screaming now to surrender that, to make your home with your Alpha.

Yet, he wasn’t your Alpha. Not fully. You weren’t bonded. And right there and then, for some reason, that suddenly bothered you.

“What is it?” Steve asked a little, and you shook your head.

“It’s nothing, errr, can I think about it? I mean, it’s not a no, I just…”

“No, of course, there’s no pressure, at all.” Steve shook his head. “If you don’t want to…”

“No, I do, I just…”

“Words, Omega.”

“We’re not bonded,” you blurted out. “Colin and I bonded before we lived together and-“

“You want me to bond you?” Steve replied, his voice even, despite the sudden spike you could feel to his hormones.

“I don’t know,” you whispered, “I like the idea of it.”

“Well, until you more than ‘like’ the idea, it’s not happening. I want you to be sure.” Steve gently shook his head.

“How will I know if I’m sure?” you whispered.

“How did you feel with Colin?”

“It just kinda happened,” You shrugged. “I don’t remember it being this conscious decision that either of us made, but it didn’t feel wrong. God, sorry, I’m not explaining this very well.”

“Somethings you can’t explain, Sweetheart.” Steve shrugged, “like the tie we seem to already share without the bond.”

You looked at him for a moment, “What do you mean?”

“I spoke to Thor yesterday, about what happened when we…” Steve paused, “he thinks that we might, errr, we might be Soul Mates…Jesus that sounds so corny out loud.”

“What do you mean, Soul Mates? Like suited for one another?”

“It’s a little more than that. A bond shared between two Soul Mates is everlasting, it can’t be broken, not even by death. It’s a Soul Bond. Again, this is all conjecture. He can’t remember ever having seen it before.”

You blinked, your mind processing what Steve had just told you. There was no denying that whatever there was between you was special. It had to be to be so strong after such a short period of time, and before you had both bonded.

But the idea of the whole Soul Mate thing, being an actual, physical and tangible thing…well, you weren’t quite sure if you actually believed that or not.

“Sweetheart?”

“Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking.” You shook your head before you closed the laptop and stood up. “Shall we head back?”

“C’mere.” Steve spoke gently, reaching out for you. You obliged and stepped into the space between his legs, your hands falling to his shoulders, “don’t think about any of that, please. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s probably a load of crap.”

“It’s fine, honestly.” You shook your head. “And I’m glad you did tell me. Full disclosure, remember?”

Steve gave a chuckle as he raised his eyebrows, “touche.”

You smiled as you dropped a kiss to his lips. You meant for it to simply be a quick peck, but as you made to pull away, Steve’s arms circled you possessively, his lips seeking yours out. His tongue was soft and warm as it flicked against your bottom lip, before tangling effortlessly with yours. You could sense the desire rolling off him, and it heated you from your very core outwards, radiating through every cell in your body.

“Alpha…” you mumbled against his lips as his hands slid down to your ass, “you really wanna do this here?”

“Yup.” he grinned, and in a flash he stood, hauling you upwards. You squealed as he pivoted, depositing you on the desk. You fell back on your elbows as Steve leaned over you, his arms either side of your body, caging you in.

As you held yourself up, his lips locked on yours, his tongue diving into your throat. His hands went from caging you in to the flies of your jeans whilst you wrapped your booted feet around his narrow hips, attempting to toe one off at a time. Working one free, it fell to the wooden floor with a clunk and Steve grinned against his mouth as his fingers hooked into the waist band of your faded denims and panties.

Quickly with a bit of force, and with a gasp from your lips, the heavy material was down your hips and off your legs. Taking your remaining boot with them, Steve tossed them aside and you sat up slightly, your fingers working at buckle on his belt.

The clink and clank of its weight hung at the leather loop as you worked his flies, your fingers quickly making work of the button and zip, your right hand dipping inside his own waistband to grasp him.

“You eager, ‘Mega?” His voice was a soft, sultry growl against your lips, his nose brushing yours and you smirked a little.

“I believe you started this, Alpha.” A short grunt left his lips as you pulled him free, his cock heavy and thick, fully erect in your hand. One hand fisted in your hair, the other slipped down between your legs and you gasped as his fingers felt between your folds and found your nub. He pressed and you let out a groan of an "oh" at the feeling. His nose rubbed along your neck before he nipped at your jaw, sending a fluttering jolt to your inner walls. Your head tilted to the side and his teeth grazed over your neck, lingering a little on your mating gland and a shiver descended over your entire body. Your hand that held him dropped to between your legs as you pumped him once, twice and a third time. Your free hand wrapped around the back of his neck fingers scratching at the base of his hairline. You pressed the tip of his cock to your hole, wetting his head as his lips again slotted over yours, tongues and teeth clashing all the while his fingers and thumb still played you like a silver string guitar.

“Please, Alpha.” Your voice is was a needy whine.

His reply came in the thrust of his hips, his fingers sliding between your hood and his shaft. You were stretched and it was glorious. Then his fingers fell away and he gave a final press of his thumb while filling you to the hilt.

“Fuck,” your head fell back in satisfaction as his hips moved back and forth, slowly but deeply.

"Yeah, 'Mega," Steve replied as you squeezed him. "You feel so good," he ground out as his weight settled in his thrusts, his hands grasping your hips. His eyes bore into yours and you felt your body tingle as he began picking up his speed. You wanted what he was giving but you hadn't asked for it. He just knew.

It had never been like this with Colin. And the realisation of that should have filled you with guilt, but it didn’t. Instead, you felt nothing but a sense of completeness, like Steve was the missing piece to your very being. You had power over this Alpha, and the mere thought of that was enough to send you into overdrive, knowing that you could reduce him to his knees after being together for such a short period of time, it was a rush. A heady rush.

"Harder, Steve," the sound of his name breathily leaving your lips in the middle of a pant sent shivers over his skin and you felt the bumps across his neck, his whole body no doubt covered in them.

His eyes were dark, near black and you shivered. He pulled out of your warmth and you turned, quickly slipping off the edge of the desk your belly flat against the wooden grain. Your arm stretched over the desk in front of you. Papers, pens, whatever the hell else was in the way went scattering all over. Your hands were led flat against its surface and you were able to just barely wrap your fingers around the opposite edge. You were soaked and Steve slid right back in, his balls tapping your clit as he thrust into you. His hands grabbed at the rounded flesh of your ass as he pressed his chest down towards you. It was a near black out in a way, your mind numb to nothing but Steve and his scent, the felt of him inside you. Again, like nothing you'd ever experienced before. You could do nothing but conform to him and you found him conforming to you, once again bending to your needs without an utterance. “I love you,” his teeth nipped at your ear and you gave a groan as his beard scratched at your skin, his hips snapping back and forth. "I love you," you replied near breathless. “Mine…” his lips latched onto your neck, and you gave a loud keen of delight as he sucked at your skin. You managed to reach up and run your hand through his beard, over his ear and to the back of his head, holding him there. "Yes," you moaned.

You could feel yourself climbing higher and higher, the fog completely clouding your mind as he continued, his thrusts now fast, just deep enough to hit that spot inside you over and over. "Alpha...." you started to cry out as that dam was ready to break. “Come for me, ‘Mega.” His breath was hot on your neck and you felt your stomach starting to tighten. You gave him what he asked for, your walls squeezing around him as you fluttered with orgasm.

His hips sped up, as he ferociously chased his own end. His hands gripped your waist tightly whilst he slammed harder into you, stilling with as a loud groan, almost a howl, ripped from his chest. And then he nipped your neck, right over your now faded bonding mark from Colin.

It wasn’t deep enough to seal the deal, but it was enough to break the skin. No sooner had the sharp pain registered with your senses you felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and shock emanate from Steve as he pulled back. And then, that guilt and shock gave way to a wave of pain which washed over him "Fuck, I’m so sorry," he panted as he slipped away from you, quickly tucking himself back inside his jeans. "Oh Doll, sweetheart, I'm so sorry."

You pushed yourself up and turned round. Half naked and now facing him, your hand went to your neck as you felt the small trickle of blood against your hot skin. Your shirt felt to your hips as you stood, the dots of blood on your palm already dry. You took a step to him on shaky legs and he stepped back. “Alpha…” you carried on towards him and stumbled a tad, your head a little light from the excretion and Steve quickly wrapped on arm around you as you steadied yourself. “It’s okay,” your chest heaved as you looked into his eyes. He stared back at you with those sad and pained eyes, their blue shade now purely visible where black lust had consumed him. "I...." His nose sorrowfully dipped to your check as he nudged you. “Stop, please.” You whispered, your hand creeping into his soft hair at the back of his head, as you repeated your earlier assurances, “it’s okay.” He hadn't a word to say, rather he just softly kissed your wound and backed away, gathering your pants and boots. With a soft, silent movement he handed them to you and you dressed yourself as Steve quickly gathered the scattered stationery items from the floor, piling them back on the desk. You flopped onto the chair to pull on your boots and watched him, as he gave a sigh, his large hands resting on the desk. His shoulders slumped and he hung his head. He was ashamed, and it was killing you to see and feel. "Alpha....." you called out to him. "Steve...." His eyes slowly rose to look at you. "Please." “I almost lost control, I mean, so did lose control!” He exclaimed, shaking his head, “fuck, I…”

“Stop!” Your voice was loud, “stop it!” He obeyed and glanced at you, and you shook your head. "I love you," you whispered as you reached across the desk and cupped his bearded cheek, "I truly do." "I didn't mean to, I.. if you only knew how hard that was."

“I do,” you assured him, “I felt you, I felt your pain and struggle.” Your hand remained against his cheek, his beard soft in your palm. "I feel it every time you touch me. When you kiss me. When we...." "It gets harder and harder every time." He admitted. "Its been hard since I first saw you. I don’t understand why, I’ve never lost control, I just-“

"I don’t understand it either, but we're in it together and to be honest, to me, that's all that matters in my mind."

A silence fell over you both and you rose to your feet, walking round the desk towards him. He turned to face you and you reached for his hand.

"Hey, you guys in here?" Sam's voice sounded, interrupting your conversation. "Oh, there you are," he smirked as he came around the corner of the wall.

Steve looked at you quickly and then back at Sam. "We were," he cleared his throat, “just finishing up some of the paperwork.” “Yeah, sorry we were finishing up the paper work.” “Ah-huh, that what they call it nowadays?” Sam smirked and you felt your cheeks heat. “What’s up?” Steve asked and Sam simply chuckled. "Horses are sorted for the evening and we got some chow on. Pete made chili," he nodded towards the main house. “Oh, I was gonna make that.” You couldn’t help the little whine of petulance and both Steve and Sam looked at you.

“Yeah well Buck was hungry,” Sam scoffed, “and we all know what a nark he gets when his stomach ain’t full. Mind you, he’s had one on him all day.” “I noticed.” You sighed and Sam shot you an apologetic gaze. “Don’t take it personally.” “We’ll be right with you.” Steve nodded, and recognising it for the dismissal it was, Sam gave you both one last smug smirk before he left. “Let’s go eat, huh?” You looked at Steve. He gave you a soft smile, before he pressed a kiss to your lips and you were pleased you could feel him calming somewhat.

Together you made your way back to the house, hand in hand, and when you crossed the threshold you felt Steve fully relax as the energy from your friends surrounded you both. You each took your seats, Peter scuttling about as he set the bowls of chili out with the topping fixings scattered in little side dishes around the table. Sam stuck a beer in front of you both before taking his own seat next to Bucky. His mate seemingly still cranky just looked at him before settling into his meal.

As you ate, the members of the team who had met with Fury told the rest of you what had happened. It didn't settle with you, but what else were you to do. Steve had to have sensed your slight discomfort as his hand found yours in your lap. “Don’t worry,” he looked at you, “we’ve got everyone alert. If Hydra make another move we’ll know about it.”

You took a deep breath, and for some reason, something more pressing hit you in that moment; hunger. Your appetite still wasn’t sated. “Pete, is there anymore?” You asked a little hopefully, and he nodded eagerly. “Good?” “Yeah it’s great, and I’m still hungry. I’ve been eating all day.” From across the table, you heard Bucky scoff. His discomfort rolled off of him in a heady scent that smell sour to you. You recoiled a little and Steve looked at you, then his head slowly turned to Bucky and you heard a snarl roll in his throat. The table fell silent as the two Alphas locked gaze. You had no idea what was going on but you didn't like the looks the two best friends were throwing at one another. Steve stood, his chair scuffing the floor, "Don't Pal." “I think that’s our cue to leave,” you heard Banner mutter and seemingly everyone else agreed.

The kitchen diner was filled with the sounds of chair scraping as everyone stood to make a quick exit, and Sam hesitated.

“Steve, don't hurt him," he sighed. “Don’t worry,” Steve turned to look at the mild mannered Beta. “I just want to find out why he has a stick up his ass about my Omega all of a sudden.” With a final look at Bucky, who was still glaring at Steve, Sam followed the rest of the team out, leaving the three of you alone. “Steve…” you laid a hand on his arm. “Go upstairs, Y/N.” “But…”

“Now, Omega. That’s not a request.” You couldn't help the whiny whimper that came from you as you obeyed your Alpha. It was a pull to comply and one you couldn't resist despite the training you'd been getting. Steve’s eyes tracked you as you headed up the stairs and then he turned to Bucky. “Out with it.” "You've lost your God damned mind." “Why do you think that?” Steve’s tone remained calm, his hands resting on the buckle of his belt. “Can’t you see? Jesus, Steve! You’re… you know what, forget it.” Bucky went to walk off and out the door but Steve wasn't going to let him get away that easily. As he passed, Steve’s hand pulled on his shoulder. Only Bucky was quick too and he rounded on his friend. With a snarl, he shoved Steve hard in the chest. “Buck, what the hell has gotten into you?” Steve exclaimed as he pushed back, causing Bucky to stumble off the porch, his ass hitting the dirt. From across the yard, the team turned, and immediately they started back. The fall seemed to jolt Bucky out of whatever it was and he stood, his shaking his head as he held his hand up. “I’m sorry, I just… shit, Steve, can’t you sense it?” "No! Whatever it is, clearly I don't."

Both Alphas stared at each other as the team gathered round, none of them quite sure what to do. Steve could sense their confusion, they’d never seen him and Bucky argue like this before.

“Your Omega…”

“What about her?”

“She’s in a pre-heat, Steve.”

“No, she’s…I’d know.” Steve shook his head, “that’s…”

“Look, it’s making me feel funny and I’m bonded, so…” Bucky stepped off the porch and turned to him, “my guess is you got a couple of days, tops.”

Steve frowned, as he considered what Bucky had just said. And, as he stood there, things slowly slid into place. Things had certainly heated up between the pair of you, and your hunger had been off the scale. You’d also become far more interested in the little space he had in his living room by the widow seat, your favoured spot filled with cushions and blankets you liked to snuggle in to nap or read…

“Shit.” He sighed.

“Yeah, shit!” Bucky shook his head, “we don’t need this, not now! You’re gonna leave us short handed if Hydra decide to-“

“We don’t know they will…”

“Yeah, well, I do know that you’re gonna end up in rut, and be no use to any of us. So I’d start making contingency plans for when you’re unavailable.”

Bucky turned to go and Steve watched him for a moment, before he headed back inside. He’d barely closed the door behind him when you appeared at the top of the stairs, peering down at him cautiously.

“You’re anxious.” You whispered, “I can sense it.”

Steve took a deep breath, knowing it was pointless even trying to lie. Nor did he want to. “Yeah, I err…”

“What is it?” You blinked, watching as he took the stairs two at a time to meet you, “is it Bucky? Did I do something?”

“No, it’s…he thinks you’re in a pre-heat, and know I’ve thought about it, I agree with him,” Steve watched as your eyes grew wide and he sensed and overwhelming flutter of anxiousness and fear emanating from you.

“Heat, I can’t…” You shook your head, swallowing, “I’m on suppressants.”

“I know, but they work to an extent. If you’re persistently exposed to a strong Alpha, then they can stop having an effect. And lord knows, our Bond, it’s…”

“They can fail?” You whispered.

Steve frowned, “well, yeah. Didn’t anyone explain to you about their limitations?”

“No.” You mumbled, “they’re illegal in Hydra states. I only started taking them when I fled, I just assumed….”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Steve sighed, his head dropping a little. “I’m sorry, if I’d have known…”

“How long have I got?”

“Couple of days, I don’t know for sure.”

 “And you’ll, you’ll go into rut?”

“Most likely. Unless I leave and stay away until you’re done.”

“Leave me?” Your eyes grew wide.

“It’s an option.” Steve nodded. “I could stay with Stark if you want me to, well away.”

“I err, I don’t know,” you whispered, “Steve, I…I’m scared, and…”

“It’s okay.” Steve placated you, reaching out to gently pull you to him. “Just, let’s go to bed and we can talk about this properly in the morning.”

He felt you nod against his chest as he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head. You untangled yourself from him and he watched you head to the bedroom. Once you were gone, Steve let down the mental blocker he’d thrown up in the last minute or so and took a deep breath.

Whilst Bucky had been an asshole, he was right. A heat and a rut was the last thing either of you needed. He knew a breakthrough one was going to be painful for you, especially if you instructed him to stay away and had to ride it out yourself. That said, he understood your fear and trepidation. It was a well-known fact that Alphas could be feral during an Omega’s heat, often bonding the one they were with in the throes of a rut induced lust.

And given what had happened today in the barn, Steve wasn’t sure willpower alone would be enough to enable him to fight the natural predisposition, which had been ingrained in every single Alpha since the start of time.

With his hands on his hips, he glanced down at Commando who lazily looked at him, his tail thumping lazily against the rug. Steve arched his brow and suddenly found himself wishing he was a dog, lie would be a hell of a lot more simple.

**** Chapter 8

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

caryl first date headcanon

i wrote a stream of consciousness caryl headcanon i was thinking about when i couldn’t sleep last night. no i did not proofread it. yes it is rambling nonsense. yes you can read it if you want: 

so i genuinely don’t know what the timeline for canon is gonna be now that we got bottle episodes, s11, and the spin-off, but just for a moment let us pretend that it happens during the bottle episodes and then we have all of s11 to watch caryl trying to figure out how to navigate a relationship with each other

cuz like, they gon fuck right away, bc things are gonna get heated, and tensions are gonna be high, and they’re gonna snap like a trip wire and fucking ravish each other, that’s without question

so the first little while of their relationship will be mostly getting intimately familiar with each other’s bodies down to every last freckle

but once they’ve simmered down some they’re gonna need to address the “oh shit, wait, how does a relationship work?” problem

cue: caryl’s first date

it’ll take place in commonwealth, and i’ve never read the comics and i know jack all about it outside of what i’ve skimmed, but we’re gonna ignore that for the sake of my fun post

i know enough about it to know that there are definitely places to have a date

daryl knows this too, tho he doesn’t rly think about it right away. at first he’s more confused and sort of standoffish about the whole place, bc he was always a forest-dweller even before the apocalypse, so seeing this new metropolis-like place after years of living like a gd pioneer is gonna throw him way off kilter

right up until he’s chillin’ with judith and she’s talking about how she’s excited to see her first concert, and they have restaurants, and things she’s only ever read about, and then out of nowhere she’ll pull out, “are you gonna take aunt carol on a date?” 

and daryl will stare at her

and she’ll be like “rosita was telling me about how father gabriel took her on a real date and how nice it was. you should do that for aunt carol” 

and daryl will stare at her

and then will hastily change the subject (she’ll see right through him, ofc, but she’ll let it slide)

but the thought will stick with him, and suddenly he’s looking at the schedule of upcoming concerts and plays and wondering if carol would care about any of it. does she like shakespeare? the most experience he would have had with shakespeare was ripping out a couple pages of his school copy of romeo and juliet to use to light some firewood

but maybe she’s into it???

eventually he’ll reach the inevitable conclusion that the only way this is going to work is if he actually asks her to go on a date with him, which should be easy, right? like, he was ball’s deep inside her last night and told her good morning by putting his face between his legs, so surely asking someone on a date is simple

it will not be simple

bc yeah, they fuck all the time, and obviously they’re head-over-heels in love with each other, they’re each other’s soulmates, yada yada, but also daryl’s extremely emotionally repressed and has the romance skills of a fifteen year old having his mom drive him and his date to his first homecoming dance, only worse bc he never even went to any school dances

but after Dwelling On It for ages he’ll finally get fed up with himself and will vow to stop being a pussy. he’ll ask her before the day’s over or he’ll shoot a bolt into his own foot, ok, no more excuses

so the whole day he’s jittery af

you’d think he’s trying to pop the question, but all he wants to do is go eat dinner with carol and then watch some people recite lines from a play written hundreds of years ago, like, what is his Deal(tm)??? 

(his deal is, ofc, that he waited so long to have her, and now every new thing feels tenuous, bc he’d rather die than lose her, and sure she knows him better than anyone, but never in this context, and plus her last dude basically bled passion and romance no matter how obnoxious, and what if she realizes just how fucking clueless he is and decides she doesn’t really want to be with a middle-aged man who still gets tongue-tied around a pretty girl?)

(but also she deserves a gd date, alright? she deserves it, and so he’s going to give it to her, even if going face-to-face with a walker horde is less intimidating)

carol notices something’s off with him right away, but she waits until after dinner, when the kids have gone to their rooms and the two of them are alone washing dishes to ask, “hey, so what the fuck?” 

and daryl will be like, k, it’s now or never

and he will 100% make a fool of himself by stumbling alllll over his words, like, “nothin’s wrong, i’m fine, everythin’s real fine, i was just wonderin’ if mb you’d wanna, y’know, i dunno, they got all these shows and shit that we ain’t had in forever and i didn’t know if mb you’d wanna go see one? and mb get some food? with me, i mean. like, together. like i’d take you there and we could do those things, like a, you know, a date. but it’s cool if not, no worries, i get it if it’s not your thing, but i just thought i’d ask, but no, you’re right, it’s stupid, forget i said anythin’, hey look at the time, well i’m beat, gonna go to sleep now, goodbye”

and carol will go, “hold up”

and she’ll take daryl by the wrist before he can flee the room (bc he definitely intends to), and pulls him close and kisses him all sweet, and she’s gotta stand on her tiptoes to do it bc she’s in a pair of knit socks and he’s got his boots on so there’s more of a height difference than usual, and after she’s successfully managed to keep daryl from falling straight into a panic spiral, she’ll whisper, “i’d love to, let’s go this weekend”

and then she’ll just turn back to doing dishes without another word on the matter 

(bc, as previously stated, she knows daryl better than anyone, and she knows exactly what all his insecurities are and how much it must have taken him to ask her that, and so she’s not gonna harp on it or tease him)

(daryl recognizes this and loves her desperately for it)

the actual date is way easier than daryl expected

bc he spent all this time hyping it up, but when it comes right down to it, he just gets to spend a night with carol where they don’t have the kids to worry about, or any council business, and they just get to enjoy each other’s company

she even dressed up a little for him, which was unnecessary, but he most certainly appreciates it and can’t wait to tear the outfit off of her later

(it does make him regret the fact that he’s only had one pair of pants for the past ten years, but she doesn’t seem to mind)

they end up seeing a shakespeare play

daryl understands like 2% at best, but carol holds his hand and rests her head on his shoulder the whole time, and apparently it’s a comedy bc she laughs a lot, and that alone makes it worth it

they fuck like crazy when they get home, obviously

but it’s different than it had been previously, bc now their “togetherness” seems more solidified

like, they’re officially a “couple” now

like the type of couple that gets a babysitter for the night so they can go to the apocalyptic version of dinner and a movie together and then have sex and then fall asleep right afterwards bc they’re domestic af

and like, deep down both of them knows that this isn’t the life that they’re meant to live in forever, a la commonwealth/domestic bliss, and he wasn’t kidding when he told her new mexico was still out there, and he can feel a shift coming sooner rather than later

but he also knows they’ll be together when it happens, and they’ll figure out their own version of “date night” when they’re out exploring

but for now he’s content to do it the old fashioned way, though

when she falls asleep on his chest that night he rubs her back and kisses the top of her head, and he’s already planning their next night out

he might pick a show with modern english, though

but it’s not required

just so long as they’re together

the end 

[fane-oh]

Welcome to Friinysa SEOIRSE O’FANNAIN. Huh, you sure look a lot like RICHARD MADDEN. It’s been a while, wait HE has been in Fiinysa for FIVE YEARS, right? Impressive, especially since your TWENTY-NINE. Well I’m sure everything will be fine especially since you’re a MUSIC EDUCATION TEACHER. I’m sure you’ll get around the city state fine since you’re LOYAL, and CREATIVE. But, you’re also CLUELESS, and an EXTREME-ALTURIST, ouch, hope that doesn’t bite you in the ass later. Only time will tell in  Friinysa! (Brittany, Twenty-Eight, EST, She/They)

THE BASICS

Full Name.  Seoirse Rían O'Fannaín the Third Aka.  Fane Birthdate.  September 1, 1992 Age.  Twenty-Nine Gender.  Cis Male Pronouns.  He/Him Orientation.  Panromantic Demisexual Occupation.  Music Teacher Residence.  Friinysa

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Hair.  Curly Dark Auburn Eyes.  Blue Height.  6′0″ (180 cm) Weight.  162 lbs. Distinguishing Features.  White Forelock on Left Side of His Hair, Freckles and Moles Across His Face Build.  Ectomorph Dominant Hand.  Left Blood Type.  O- Scars.  Various Scars from Childhood Injuries Tattoos.  Ampersand on His Left Wrist Piercings.  None Face Claim.  Richard Madden

PERSONALITY

Zodiac.  Virgo (Sun), Scorpio (Moon), Virgo (Rising) Alignment.  Neutral Good Positive Traits.  Creative, Loyal, Kind-Hearted, Calm, Adaptable Negative Traits.  Clueless, Extreme-Alturist, Naive, Impulsive, Obsessive MB Type.  ENFP-T Personality Role.  The Artisan Enneagram Type.  The Helper, The Generalist, The Peacemaker

BACKGROUND

Birth Place.  Brooklyn, New York Ethnicity.  Celtic Parents.  Seoirse O'Fannaín the Second, Darina O'Fannaín Siblings.  Siobhan  O'Fannaín (Younger) Pets.  None Education.  Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, Master’s Degree in Education Notable Skills.  Ability to Play Instruments, Vocal Talents Languages.  English, Irish Gaelic, Spanish, French Abilities.  Skilled Lyricist, Adaptable to Most Situations

TRIVIA

➼  Fane speaks several languages fluently (English, Gaelic, French, Spanish). The ear for them comes easy to him. ➼  He keeps a collection of notebooks and various sticky notes to keep things that he thinks he ought to remember safe. ➼  Fane absolutely loves food in any form. He’s not terribly picky and eats just about everything. ➼  Despite loving food, Fane cannot cook. He’s an absolute disaster in the kitchen and should not be trusted alone in one. ➼  More facts to come as I think of them!

HISTORY

TW: Death of Parents Fane grew up in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. Growing up near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, he spent his time as a kid and young teenager exploring the area in Bay Ridge and Staten Island. Fane experienced various cultures, and it ignited a lifelong love of a variety of food. He’s always loved food, and he’s always eaten a ton of it. When he was sixteen, he was diagnosed with a hypermetabolism, which explained why he ate so much food but never seemed to gain weight. Fane’s love of music also began at an early age. He received piano lessons as soon as he was old enough to sit at the piano and actually play. Piano lessons eventually moved into guitar lessons, which moved into bass lessons, which branched off into both violin and cello. Fane has taught himself to play several wind instruments, including trumpet, saxophone and clarinet. When he was eighteen, both of his parents were killed in a car accident, leaving Fane alone as the legal guardian of his sister. Being eighteen, Fane wasn’t required to go into any kind of foster system, and since the rest of their family is in Ireland, he was left to raise the nine-year-old child alone. Officially, he still owns his parents’ townhouse but currently resides in Friinysa. Fane has always been intelligent, earning two degrees simultaneously, one in music and the other in education, then going on to pursue his master’s in education as well. He planned to stay in Brooklyn for the rest of his life, but when his sister got into trouble at fifteen that couldn’t be dealt with easily, Fane did the only thing he could. Snuck them out of the country and into a haven to keep them safe.

[fane-oh3]

( richard madden, twenty-eight, cis male, he/him )  SEOIRSE O'FANNAÍN the THIRD! we’re so happy you’re here. you’ve been here for ONE YEAR, working as a MUSIC TEACHER, right? yeah, everyone’s already told us all about you. they said your very LOYAL, CREATIVE, and CLUELESS. which we think is just awesome. of course they told us that you remind them of ACOUSTIC GUITARS, PENCIL STAINED FINGERS, STACKS OF LOOSE SHEET MUSIC and BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO CHORUS by THE STROKES. so we feel like we already know you so well. we can’t wait to get to know you better. ( Brittany, EST, 27, she/her )

THE BASICS

Full Name.  Seoirse Rían O'Fannaín the Third Aka.  Fane Birthdate.  September 1, 1993 Age.  Twenty-Eight Gender.  Cis Male Pronouns.  He/Him Orientation.  Panromantic Demisexual Occupation.  Music Teacher Residence.  Seattle, WA

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Hair.  Curly Dark Auburn Eyes.  Blue Height.  6′0″ Weight.  172 lbs. Distinguishing Features.  White Forelock on Left Side of His Hair, Freckles and Moles Across His Face Build.  Ectomorph Dominant Hand.  Left Blood Type.  O- Scars.  Various Scars from Childhood Injuries Tattoos.  Ampersand on His Left Wrist Piercings.  None Face Claim.  Richard Madden

PERSONALITY

Zodiac.  Virgo (Sun), Virgo (Moon), Virgo (Rising) Alignment.  Neutral Good Positive Traits.  Creative, Loyal, Kind-Hearted, Calm, Adaptable Negative Traits.  Clueless, Extreme-Alturist, Naive, Impulsive, Obsessive MB Type.  ENFP-T Personality Role.  The Artisan Enneagram Type.  The Helper, The Generalist, The Peacemaker

BACKGROUND

Birth Place.  Brooklyn, New York Ethnicity.  Celtic Parents.  Seoirse O'Fannaín the Second, Darina O'Fannaín Siblings.  Siofra “Sutton” O’Fannain (Younger Sister) Pets.  None Education.  Master’s Degree in Music, Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Teaching Notable Skills.  Ability to Play Instruments, Vocal Talents Languages.  English, Irish Gaelic, Spanish, French Abilities.  Skilled Lyricist, Adaptable to Most Situations

TRIVIA

➼  Fane speaks several languages fluently (English, Gaelic, French, Spanish). The ear for them comes easy to him. ➼  He keeps a collection of notebooks and various sticky notes to keep things that he thinks he ought to remember safe. ➼  Fane absolutely loves food in any form. He’s not terribly picky and eats just about everything. ➼  Despite loving food, Fane cannot cook. He’s an absolute disaster in the kitchen and should not be trusted alone in one. ➼  Fane holds dual-citizenship between the United States and Ireland from birth. ➼  More facts to come as I think of them!

HISTORY

TW: Death of Parents

Fane grew up in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. Growing up near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, he spent his time as a kid and young teenager exploring the area in Bay Ridge and Staten Island.

Fane experienced various cultures, and it ignited a lifelong love of a variety of food. He’s always loved food, and he’s always eaten a ton of it. When he was sixteen, he was diagnosed with a hypermetabolism, which explained why he ate so much food but never seemed to gain weight.

Fane’s love of music also began at an early age. He received piano lessons as soon as he was old enough to sit at the piano and actually play. Piano lessons eventually moved into guitar lessons, which moved into bass lessons, which branched off into both violin and cello. Fane has taught himself to play several wind instruments, including trumpet, saxophone and clarinet.

When he was eighteen, both of his parents were killed in a car accident, leaving Fane alone as the legal guardian of his sister. Being eighteen, Fane wasn’t required to go into any kind of foster system, and since the rest of their family is in Ireland, he was left to raise the ten-year-old child alone. Officially, he still owns his parents’ townhouse but currently resides in Seattle for work.

Fane has always been intelligent, earning two degrees simultaneously, one in music and the other in teaching. He planned to stay in Brooklyn for the rest of his life, but when his sister told him that they wanted to go to school in Seattle, Fane packed up and went along with them. He got a job teaching music to children, which he loves.

[lonicompound]

obey me sinblings as volleyball players

i saw this and ive been sitting on the idea for like a while now so might as well get my thoughts out now. check out all of @obaby-obeyme‘s comics theyre so good snsnsfks

Lucifer (S)

perma stressed in practice, not only does he have to juggle his regular work, he has to wrangle all his brothers and keep the order to make sure that it goes smoothly. without everyone goofing off.

i mean,,, coordinating the attacks is a setter’s job. and they get to touch the ball a lot. do u think lucifer would take sets from anyone else? no i think not.

also a really strong server. loud, high velocity, and a nasty spin that makes it go straight to the ground. 

ull never see this man dive after the ball hes the setter yknow so he trusts his team to bring the ball to him with a smooth pass.

ok wait maybe he might trust satan to handle attacks but not always.

there was a game where the opponents had super analyzed lucifer’s strategy and would keep shutting down his sets, while beel was doin p good he didn’t want to overexert him and he started rushing his sets

satan wasn’t having any of it and called lucifer out on it. said that they needed to switch it up.

and boy was the opponent in for a new kind of hell. when you put this boy on the offense-

he’s daring you to try and block him. but face it, you Can’t. this boy is a Monster.

Mammon (L)

uhhh was abt to put him as mb, and go on some spiel where lucifer sets to him a lot bcs mammon has the speed to keep up w his tosses

but thinking abt it more,,, having him as libero makes sense. bcs hes the shortest–*mcshot*

got the best fuggin control. those receives *chefs kiss* perfection. the arc, the parabola HGNNN.

has the speed and agility to go after really far out balls and save them with his leg/foot. has definitely jumped into the crowd/over a barrier for a receive multiple timess.

hes the guy who gets ragged on the most during practices (bcs lucifer wants perfect a-receives like wth lucifer you’ve got like 5 other receivers--) but he also hypes up everyone when team spirit’s are down during a game.

Leviathan (MB)

super analytical of his opponents, can quickly pinpoint weak spots in their defense.

doesn’t get fooled by time delay attacks or pipes.

hes more quiet and sometimes forgets to communicate when hes focusing really hard on the match.

he’s that kind of blocker who makes you feel like you can only spike a certain way in order to not get caught by the block

imagine you’re avoiding his block so you go for a cross court spike but you just spiked it right to mammon. oof.

but he does get p tilted when hes not performing at his best or when he gets tooled (his biggest pet peeve as a blocker because that’s not fair the blockers are there to stop the ball from crossing the net but no apparently you can also use the blockers as a way to score points thats plain unfair.) and can sometimes beat himself up p badly. his bros are there to snap him out of it and focus on the game.

Satan (MB)

during practice (and even during some games) he likes to experiment with different lineups and switch up player positions. as a result hes got p rounded out skills.

i mean,,, it just kinda makes sense. he seems like the kind of player who could easily deduce where the ball’s going to go. the one who times the three-man blocks.

bro he does not hold back at all when he spikes. even if he’ll be blocked. he will try to spike through. and the scary thing is,,, the more worked up he is, the harder his spikes get.

for the most part tho p solid all around, sometimes even sets (when lucifer’s in a bad spot see above) 

that cheeky mb who’d make scathing remarks to the other team if they make rudimentary mistakes. things like calling their blocks a sieve stuff like that.

if u somehow manage to piss him off during a game good luck his spikes are now 10x harder rip to your arms.

Asmodeus (WS)

during practices hes the type of player who would do a spin and a twirl right before serving the ball. does it during practices, has done it during actual matches. 

has a fanclub and they show up during practices and theyre so fuggin noisy--- but he revels in the attention

theres a certain flair and grace in his movements that you just cant help but get drawn in. but oop- dont get distracted bcs oop he was just a decoy and you just look like a fool now.

he doesn’t hit as hard when he spikes. but,,,BUT,,,he tools the blockers. he aims for the sides of their arms to get the ball sucked in or the edges of their fingers to get a wipe and it’s literally so fucking annoying ngghghrh

sometimes, when he’s doing two-man or three-man blocks, he knows he gets targeted as the shorter blocker, so he makes sure to switch with someone taller right at the last second.

also joins satan in playing mind games with the opposing blockers. he’ll act all charming and friendly at first, and then he’ll start roasting their form. but then other times he chats up the opposing players and tries to get their number. 

Beelzebub (WS)

sometimes, when they go on runs, he breaks away from the group w belphie to go stop by somewhere to eat. now lucifer makes them run in the front of the group to keep an eye on them.

strong side hitter. that’s it. he’s their ace.

no block can stop him. lucifer’s strong, but beel has raw brute force thats just a bit stronger

good luck trying to. but you’re just gonna get your arm ripped off.

also a really strong server but doesn’t have as much control as lucifer does.

even in the back, his backrow spikes are still super fucking strong good luck to the opponents.

whenever hes up to serve, he reminds everyone to watch their heads. (mammon didn’t listen and went down one time during a practice game now he makes sure to steer clear of the ball’s path when beel’s up to serve.)

Belphegor (WS)

during practice, you’re hardly ever going to get him to do more than the bare minimum. 

so you know kunimi from haikyuu? that’s exactly his playstyle.

minimal movement, no wasted energy. until the latter half of the game.

oh man, again? he’s going for a third spike a-fucking-gain?

lowkey makes you wanna drop the ball just so this dam rally ends quickly

also does a lot of cheeky dinks over blocks before slamming the ball down and catching the receiver offguard.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers BLOODY BOUQUET Vol. 2 Mukami Ruki [Track 1]

Original title: 穏やかな日常

Source: Diabolik Lovers Bloody Bouquet Vol. 2 Ruki Mukami [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here (00:00 ~ 10:55)

Seiyuu: Takahiro Sakurai

Translator’s note: I have only ever listened to one Bloody Bouquet CD, being Subaru’s, and I absolutely loved it. It was very cheesy, I will say that much. However, I am a sucker for the romantic fluff at times, so I won’t complain. xD Some might say these CDs aren’t very fitting for a franchise that works around the concept of sadism and the boys definitely act completely different from the HDB and MB saga, but if this is the route Rejet decided to take, who am I to blame them? 

This track was requested by If you would like to request a translation, please contact me through IMs or drop an ask!

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5

Track 1: A Peaceful Everyday 

*Flip*

“...Just like roses bloom amidst the thorns, love shall arise amidst the anger and burn passionately...Huh?”

Ruki closes his book.

“No, I suppose ‘no wonder’ is more fitting here.”

You ask him about his words.

“I just recited a verse from ‘Amidst anger and love’ by the German poet Ernst Arndt.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“What meaning it holds...? Good question. This is simply my own interpretation of the words, but I think he means to imply that the feeling of love can flourish feeding off a completely different emotion, and bloom beautifully just like the roses.

In other words, I suppose you could say that for love to grow stronger, it needs other emotions such as anger and jealousy. Even the most beautiful of roses has dangerous thorns. However, those thorns might be actually what makes roses so charming.”

You frown.

“Was that too difficult?”

Ruki gets up from his chair.

“Well then. It’s almost lunch time. Will you help me?”

You nod, getting up as well.

“I see. Let us get started then.”

*TIMESKIP*

“...Well then, let’s leave the clean-up for later and move onto our after-lunch tea time. I got my hands on some exquisite tea leaves.”

Ruki gets the tea set ready before sitting down and pouring you a cup.

“It smells great, doesn’t it?”

He gives it a taste.

“...Hm? Oh, you’re talking about the sandwich from earlier? I tried using a new sauce recipe, but I’m glad it was to your liking.”

You compliment him.

“You give me too much credit. My cooking isn’t worthy of such praise. For starters, sandwiches are very easy to make. Don’t you think you could say it would be difficult to make them taste bad?”

You tell him you look forward to dinner.

“Haha...You only just ate, but you’re already thinking about dinner? By the way, tonight I am making aglio olio. The pasta of despair. (1)”

You try and guess the meaning behind it.

“Exactly. It seems like they came up with its humorous nickname because you can make the dish even during desperate times when ingredients are running low.”

You ask if he’ll include Yuma’s cabbage.

“Yes. I figured we should use the cabbage Yuma sent us while it is still fresh. It seems like he is vigorously continuing his field work per usual. ...Hah, however, it seems like he finds the actual cooking part to be a hassle, so after growing as many crops as he can, most of them get sent our way.

If only Azusa or Kou were a little more skilled in the kitchen. If I leave it up to Azusa, most dishes would be based around mustard or pepper, while leaving Kou in charge means eating Vongole Bianco for nearly every meal.

...Haha. Good grief. They’re such an eccentric bunch.”

You ask if it’s okay to leave them by themselves.

“Hm? I’m not worried in particular. We are Vampires. We won’t suffer from hunger like we did as humans. It’s just...”

You frown.

“Haah...No, it’s nothing. Heh...I thought I was doing a good job distancing myself from my brothers (2), but once again...Although those guys seem barely even worried about us.”

Well, knowing them, I’m sure they are making it work in their own way. If anything, they might feel relieved now that the person nagging them is gone.”

You ask him if he feels lonely.

“Hm? Heh. I’m not lonely.  I’m living with you like this right now.”

Ruki shuffles closer.

*Smooch*

“Since you’re saying that, could it be that you’re the lonely one instead?”

You shake your head.

“If not, why would you bring that up?”

You shrug.

“Good grief...On a whim, huh? Hmー Seems like you are still having your doubts. ...Do you have trouble believing my words? Or are you simply lacking confidence? No...I guess you are looking for confirmation. Confirmation that I am satisfied with just you.

...Lately I haven’t been calling you ‘livestock’ after all, huh? Could that be the reason?”

You get a little flustered.

“No need to be modest. If that’s what you wish, I shall cooperate at any time.You feel my love towards you much stronger when I call you that...Am I right?”

You remain quiet.

“I figured it would be better to treat you as an equal, but it seems like that was a mistake on my part. In the end, a livestock never changes. If I don’t treat you that way, you grow suspicious.”

*Rustle*

“Look my way. ...Look me right into the eyes.”

*Smooch*

“Don’t close your eyes without permission. ...Well then, I’ll take my time to thoroughly teach you that you are my livestock. ...Like this, okay?”

Ruki bites you.

“Nn...Mmh...Haah...Your blood really is more delicious than anything else.”

*Gulp gulp*

“Haah...”

You tell him the tea will become cold.

I can just brew some new tea as many times as you’d like later. More importantly...”

He continues drinking your blood.

“Mmh...Nn...Haah...How many times do I have to tell you that livestock isn’t allowed to think about anything else but their master?”

You writhe around.

“Seems like I’ll need to punish you...Mmh...Nn...Slowly losing myself while getting drunk on the taste of your blood is quite the treat...Nn...”

*Rustle*

“Seems like you’ve started feeling good as well. I’ll give you even more...Oh.”

The tea cup gets knocked over.

*CRASH*

“Haah...Good grief...Perhaps I got a little ahead of myself. ...Heh, I suppose we should leave play time at this. When you make a troubled expression, I just can’t help but want to tease you.”

He starts cleaning up the mess.

“Haah...I really made a fool of myself this time. These were our matching tea cups as well...”

You seem a little upset.

“Hm? What’s the matter? Did you perhaps take my words seriously earlier? I no longer think of you as mere livestock. Right now you’d be...my beloved pet, I guess you could say.”

You puff out your cheeks.

“Don’t make such an expression. Unlike livestock, you no longer need to fear being eaten.”

You get even more upset.

“I’m joking. You are dear to me.”

You lightly punch his chest.

“...Don’t be so upset. My bad.”

He embraces you.

*Smooch*

“Mmh...Come on, cheer up. After tonight’s pasta dish, I’ll make you some blancmange (3) for dessert as well. How does that sound?”

You stubbornly shake your head.

“Still not enough, huh? Then once I’ve finished cleaning up, let’s head out together. The weather’s nice today as well. Let’s do some shopping and then...I’ll take you to wherever you’d like to go.”

You smile, nodding.

“Seems like we’ve got a deal.”

*Smooch*

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) Pasta Aglio Olio is a very simple Italian pasta dish which features garlic and olive oil as its two core ingredients. I was a little surprised when Ruki called it 絶望のパスタ or ‘pasta of despair’ at first, but as he explains later, it got that name because it has such simple ingredients which are available even during difficult times.

(2) Ruki says 兄弟離れ or ‘kyoudai-banare’, which is a combination of the word for siblings (kyoudai) and the suffix ‘banare’. The suffix itself actually comes from the verb ‘hanareru’, which means ‘to separate yourself (from someone)’ Since he is now living alone with the MC, he probably needed some time to adjust to not being surrounded by his brothers the whole time.

(3) Blancmange is a French pudding-like dessert made from milk, sugar and gelatin. From what I could find, it actually has been around for as long as the Middle Ages!

[bisluthq]

Also, shut up about the Kaylor Crest. If you were actually real fans and paid attention to Taylor's clues in her music videos, you would see that Taylor literally has a family crest in the Lover music video with an S for Swift on one side, and a K for Karlie on the other. It's not our fault you have no analysis skills at all and that you're all d*mb as rocks. The K for Karlie is even represented by Karlie's VS butterfly wings. She's screaming for you to hear her and y'all are just being idiots. Is the idea of Taylor being in love with a woman instead of pasty ugly Toe really that sickening to you?? I can't wait until the baby is born and you all eat your words when Karlie tosses Jerk to the kerb like the trash he is. But of course you'll probably feel sorry for him because you all baby him so much 🤪