glamorousspoon

[glamorousspoon]

"I'm about to receive my medication. It should take approximately one hour. Are you going to wait for me?"

[glamorousspoon]

Refractions🪞

𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛 - 𝙿𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚗

Taiga Hoshibami x mc Ao3 Ao3 versione italiana Warning! possessiveness [Masterlist] Welcome to my new series! Prologue Chapters: One - Two - Three

“And fundamentally, this is the situation.”

I had just finished recounting in detail everything that happened after we left the table. Ritsu had already escorted the woman out of the establishment, right after erasing her memory. Now that only three of us remain, four if we count Taiga, we can speak freely.

“Do you have any idea what kind of anomaly this could be?”

I anxiously watch the two ghouls, desperately hoping they have an answer to this question, but their expressions promise nothing good. Romeo paces back and forth, scratching his chin, his sharp eyes fixed on Taiga’s sleeping image inside the mirror. Ritsu, on the other hand, is busy searching for something on his phone. The vice-captain suddenly stops, as if he’s had a realization, but when he turns to me, his malicious gaze isn’t quite what I expected to see.

Romeo: “You know what, BB, let’s just leave him in there. His problem.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

Ritsu’s eyes widen as he looks up from his phone, staring at Romeo in disbelief.

Ritsu: “Vice-captain, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Romeo: “How many times have I told you to call me Fico?!”

He clears his throat and continues:

Romeo: “Besides… From what she told us, he’s trapped because of his own fault; sometimes it’s only fair that he faces the consequences of his actions. Plus, with him in there, my problems would decrease exponentially.”

Ritsu: “From a logical point of view, you’re not entirely wrong, but as my client, I can’t abandon him in this situation.”

Romeo: “And since when are you his official lawyer?!”

“Guys, please, let’s drop this discussion for now. Ritsu, I saw you looking for something earlier; do you have any idea how to get him out?”

Romeo: “Don’t igno…”

Ritsu: “I see you caught on, partner.”

The ghoul says with a brilliant smile, completely ignoring Romeo’s complaints.

Ritsu: “I did a little research and I think I understand what it is. It’s a Class C anomaly, so practically harmless, that manifests through an inanimate object but can also separate from it, a bit like a hermit crab leaving its shell. Its official name is Speculum Memoriae, which literally means Mirror of Memory.”

As soon as I hear that the mirror is harmless, I feel ten times lighter and let out a sigh of relief.

Ritsu: “People who pass through it can relive their memories and, without harming them, the anomaly absorbs their energy. From the testimonies that have been collected, those who enter should be able to exit autonomously.”

But Taiga has been inside for over an hour now…

Romeo: “So you’re telling me that idiot is staying in there of his own free will?”

Ritsu: “Exactly.”

“Is there nothing we can do to get him out?”

Ritsu: “No, only one person can enter at a time. We just have to wait.”

Romeo: “That’s if he ever gets out… With the shitty memory he has, I imagine he’s having a great time in there.”

“Do you think we can move the mirror?”

Inside me, all the moments I spent with Taiga, and which he immediately forgot the next day, begin to flood back… The thought that right now there’s a possibility he’s reliving the memories we shared ignites hope within me.

So when he comes out, will he remember everything? Even if only for a few hours, I’d like to talk to that version of him.

I approach the mirror and, careful not to touch the reflective surface, trace the outlines of the golden frame’s decorations.

Ritsu: “Theoretically, we should be able to do it.”

“Good, for now, let’s keep it hidden from the academy.”

I turn to them with a serious look.

“Could you help me take it to my dorm?”

This time I find myself in a place not entirely unfamiliar to me: infinite green fields stretch around me, rising occasionally into small hills. Countless animal-like anomalies walk in groups or alone towards who knows where; others rest in the shade of some trees.

Ahh, I know this place, it’s Harry’s new dorm

The good weather and boundless nature give Jabberwock its usual cheerful and carefree atmosphere, completely opposite to Sinostra, where greed and despair reign supreme. With the memory of the kitty-cat scolding me for eating yet another anomaly still fresh in my mind, I try not to get too distracted by the surrounding creatures and, hands in my pockets, head towards the dormitory. There’s literally no one around, but if I remember correctly, there are no ordinary students in this place, so it’s normal.

?: “Very good, keep it up.”

As I get closer to the strange mushroom-shaped building, I start to hear a familiar voice.

Haru: “Maybe do it a little slower… Exactly, just like that.”

Inside a modest circular enclosure, Harry and the kitty-cat are sitting on the ground with small monster-like creatures similar to marmots, but with the limbs and tail of a chameleon.

How disgusting.

Both are intent on brushing the coarse fur of these creatures. Haru guides the girl’s movements, getting unnecessarily close to her.

“Am I doing it well?”

Haru: “Yes, that’s great, I don’t know what I’d do without you, I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“You don’t have to repay me, I do it with pleasure, plus I have a lot of fun when I spend time here in Jabberwock.”

Sitting that close, their bodies brush against each other with every small movement.

Haru: “Unfortunately, these little ones have very sensitive skin; if they’re not brushed properly, all the things on the ground get into their fur and they risk getting a bad irritation!”

Who gives a shit

The irritation, however, starts coming to me; seeing him so close to the kitten makes me feel a burning sensation that begins to spread from within, burning the walls of my stomach, then rising through my esophagus, and consuming all the tissues along its path. Then this fire reaches my head and burns away all the thoughts that try to deny what I’m feeling, instead fueling the rawest and most selfish ones.

He shouldn't touch her; he needs to stay away from her. She’s mine, and I don’t want to share her with anyone else.

Everything I had decided to leave behind comes back to me: the feelings, the desires, and my repressed resolve tear at my chest, opening a raw wound that brings me to my knees, making me prostrate helplessly before them, without leaving me the possibility to deny them.

As I approach furiously, the two have already finished brushing those things, and Harry leaps to his feet, throwing his arms in the air.

Haru: “Ahh, finished, thank you so much for today!”

And when the kitty also stands up, he wraps her in an friendly hug. She immediately returns the embrace, but at that moment our gazes meet, and she stiffens suddenly.

Haru: “Huh, everything alright? Why did you…”

Now I’ll kill him.

I pull out my special artifact, and when the machine gun returns to its normal size, I point it at Harry.

Haru: “Taiga?! Why are you here?! And why are you pointing that thing at me?!”

He screams in a panic, and meanwhile, raising his hands in the air, he distances himself from the girl; even the furball he always keeps in his sash makes shrill noises out of fear.

Good.

“Taiga, what are you doing, put that away immediately!”

The kitten says angrily, stepping in front of Harry as if to protect him.

Gyahahah, she’s really cute when she’s pissed off.

“Let’s go, come on.”

With one hand, she grabs the barrel of the weapon and moves it aside; with the other, she takes my forearm and pulls me away, trying to make me lose interest in the other ghoul. As we move away from Harry, I manage to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye making a gesture as if to tell him to leave quickly, and he disappears in an instant. As soon as she sees he’s gone, she releases my arm and stands with her arms crossed in front of me.

“So?”

Taiga: “So what?”

“What do you mean, ‘so what’? Why did you suddenly show up and point that damn weapon at Haru? We weren’t doing anything.”

I toss it in the air, shrinking it back to keychain size, and put it away.

Taiga: “None of your business.”

I cross my arms over my chest too and look at her defiantly, which she accepts without thinking twice. With the smile of someone who already understands everything, she approaches me and narrows her eyes, raising her chin.

“I didn’t take you for someone who makes jealous scenes.”

She raises the corners of her mouth even further, turning her smile into an almost unsettling smirk. Then I further reduce our distance, stopping only when our eyes are just a few centimeters apart.

Taiga: “I just made it clear to that idiot that he shouldn’t touch what belongs to me.”

I place a hand under her chin and vigorously rub her lower lip with my thumb.

Taiga: “And let it be clear, no one else can.”

I feel as if I'm possessed; my feelings have completely taken control of my language. The line between jealousy and the desire to possess her wavers along with my judgment. But in the end, what's the difference?

She’s mine. Her happiness, her anger, her sadness, and all her feelings belong to me, as does every beat of her heart, every glance…

Just as the dangerous train of my thoughts is about to derail, it’s abruptly stopped by the kitty-cat placing her hand in the center of my chest.

“Taiga… No.”

Without further explanation, she sighs bitterly, and I remain paralyzed by her clear refusal. She takes a step back and her face slips from my hand. Despite the scorching sun, I’m overwhelmed by an enveloping chill that paralyzes my fingers and makes my heartbeat slow down alarmingly.

“Come with me.”

This time she doesn’t take my hand or my arm, but keeps her distance. She approaches a tree with numerous clusters of drooping yellow flowers.

“Do you know these flowers?”

What kind of question is this?

Taiga: “Do I look like a fucking botanist?”

She looks at me condescendingly and continues to speak as if she hadn’t heard my scornful comment.

“It’s a Laburnum; it’s very beautiful, isn’t it?”

I don’t answer and continue to watch her from afar.

“It’s a shame that every part of it is extremely poisonous.”

She carefully caresses the plant's lethal petals.

“This plant reminds me of you. Its flowers are the same color as your eyes, but it’s not just that. I can stay as close to it as I want, but if I were to accidentally ingest even a small petal detached by a breath of air, I would risk being poisoned.”

When she releases the yellow cluster, it sways widely as if it were a swing.

“In italian it’s called Maggiociondolo, which literally means May-pendant, precisely for this reason: it blooms in spring and when the wind blows, the flowers dangle like this. Isn't it fascinating?”

I’ve never felt so little interest in something in my life, and this complete disinterest must be easily identifiable from my expression; in fact, as soon as she looks at my face, she pouts, offended.

“Ahh, never mind.”

She breaks off a thin twig with a cluster of flowers attached and dangles it in front of my face.

“In a second I’ve sentenced them to death. Right now they’re still beautiful, but then as the hours pass, the petals will get darker and darker, they’ll wilt, and finally fall. Because of my selfishness and desire to keep this beauty only for myself, I’ve ruined them forever, and the only thing left in my hand will be the dehydrated skeleton of this twig.”

She lets the twig fall to the ground, which, when it completely rots, will become one with the underlying soil.

“Taiga, I am like this flower. I am not yours, and you cannot prevent others from seeing or touching me. If you take me away, I will wither, and your actions will no longer have meaning, because I will become something completely different from what you wanted to have at the beginning.”

“You desire me as I am now, right? Everything has a compromise; you can’t monopolize me like this.”

She puts her arms behind her back, holding one wrist with the other hand, and with a proud stride, she approaches me again.

“It’s too easy to let fury overwhelm you and act like a hooligan without even thinking about the consequences.”

Her words, spoken with extreme serenity, fall into my ears like velvet, and manage to calm my all-consuming thoughts until they vanish. Now my mind is like a flat sea, without waves or ripples.

How long has she been so good at controlling me? Or have I become too malleable?

She takes my hand and brings it to her heart; through the fabric of her clothes, I can feel her light heartbeat against my palm.

“This, and all that follows, can be dedicated only to you.”

She places her hand over mine, which is now enveloped by her warmth from both sides.

“But you have to earn it, and threats or violence won’t work.”

She lets go, and my arm falls lifelessly back to my side. In her magenta irises, a sweetness lingers that seems almost unnatural, considering their vessel is myself.

What does a good person like her find in me? What nourishes that immense patience hidden within her pretty little head?

Up until now, I’ve always acted for myself; the goal has always been just me and my entertainment. What happened to everyone else was merely collateral. The end justifies the means, right? This is the first time my will has extended beyond the threshold of my egocentrism. This kitten, so fragile in her humanity and her curse, has, for the first time in my life, made me desire something beyond money or personal pleasure.

Perhaps what I feel for her is like what a master feels for their pet; yes, maybe for now it’s better to think of it that way. For this time, I’ll do as she says, only because she’s such a cute kitten, Gyahahahaha.

I raise my eyebrows playfully and twirl a lock of her hair around my finger.

Taiga: “Ugh, what a pain, I’ll behave, but you yourself said there’s a compromise to everything, so what will you give me in return, kitty-cat?”

A bright red color decorates her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears, and she looks away, embarrassed.

“Well, I… I don’t know.”

I lean close to her ear and whisper:

Taiga: “I have an idea.”

I move to her cheek, careful never to let my lips touch her skin. When I reach her mouth, we’re so close that it gives me the illusion our lips are touching. Our warm breaths mingle in the space between us, and when I open my mouth to speak, I feel a tremor coming from her sensitive lips.

Taiga: “Do you remember when I told you I was going to live with you?”

Still blushing, she looks up at the sky to try and remember, and when that memory comes back to her, she narrows her eyes as if urging me to continue.

Taiga: “I will respect what you just told me, and in return, you’ll give me the keys to your room. That way, whenever I get tired of being in Sinostra with Lulù and that other idiot, I can take refuge in your dorm. Not even the principal will have anything to say, given that you’re his beloved inspector.”

I move away from her lips and stand up so that my gaze is at the same level as hers. To be more “persuasive,” I grasp her hips and pull her against me.

Taiga: “So, what do you say? It seems like a perfectly legitimate compromise to me”

Her face turns completely red.

She must have understood the implications.

We remain for a few seconds staring into each other's eyes, until the kitty decides to break the silence.

“Alright, that can be done.”

She moves away from me and extends her hand, which I promptly shake. As soon as my hand slips away from hers, my vision blurs, and I am catapulted out of this memory.

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

(≧∇≦)ﾉ @pebblesforall

Hello guys, from now on the updates, may or may not, be a bit slow, I'm in full study mode for the summer exam session, so my brain is basically mashed potatoes when I write in the evening and I'm not very productive.

Also the weather does NOT help 💀 I hate summer with my whole being (┬┬﹏┬┬)

[glamorousspoon]

Refractions🪞

𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 - 𝙻𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚢

Taiga Hoshibami x mc Ao3 Ao3 versione italiana Warning! main story plot speculations [Masterlist] Welcome to my new series! Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two

Shhh.

Don't say anything.

Don't cry.

Because if you do, everything will fall apart.

There's a house of cards in here.

Its balance is so fragile that even a sigh could compromise it.

Protect it, don't let anyone in.

Keep it locked and throw away the key.

And so I did.

Only, he didn't need a key to enter.

He broke down the door and sent all the cards tumbling to the ground.

Then he picked them up one by one and took them away.

The biting wind scratches my exposed face; the night sky is hidden by blocks of clouds from which copious snowflakes fall. The empty streets of this artificial island are covered by a white sheet. The only footprints on it are mine; it's the dead of night, and all the other students are asleep in their dorms. Covered by my heavy black overcoat, I wander among the academy buildings. At this hour, it has such a peaceful air, it could almost deceive me, of course, if I didn't know about the rot hidden within its walls.

After the great ideological conflict, everything changed. Parts of me vanished into thin air. I have little left, and one of those things is the vision of the grand finale of this crappy place. The future isn't a one-way street; there are thousands upon thousands of branching paths, each with its own story and its own ending. But in those where I am the protagonist, few have a "happily ever after." All the others still dance like puppets in this little theater, carefree and happy in their illusion. I envy them. I've seen more than I should have, and this is the result.

The only sounds around me are the crunch of snow under my feet and the trees swaying in the wind. I walk, and walk, and walk some more. Until I come across another trail of fresh footprints.

Who could be out at this hour?

Suspicious, I follow this person's steps, passing through the cones of light from several streetlights before finding myself in front of one of the campus shops. In front of the vending machines just outside the entrance, there's a small figure covered by a hooded coat, a bulky red scarf held in place by one hand wrapped around their neck. The faint light from the vending machines isn't enough to distinguish their face. With hands trembling from the cold, they try to select something, insert a coin into the slot, but it's not accepted and immediately drops into the hole below. With nervous movements, they try to reinsert it several times in vain. After the fifth attempt, they throw the coin at the glass.

"Fuck!"

Who the hell is that? Gyahahahaha.

My laughter reveals my presence; indeed, the stranger immediately turns in my direction.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

That voice... Oh, it's the kitty-cat. Can't she see me from there?

"Instead of making fun of me, come help me while you're here."

I can’t wait

I approach her with quick steps, and when I'm close enough to be recognizable, she looks at me in surprise. Covered by that oversized jacket, she looks even frailer than usual. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold, and the skin under her eyes has a slight purplish tint.

"What are you doing out so late? I never see you around here during the day; you're always cooped up in that damn casino. Do you only come out at night?"

She says, pronouncing the words with slight amusement.

Taiga: "I was just getting some fresh air. After a while in that place, the atmosphere gets quite suffocating."

She observes me uncertainly, as if she's not entirely convinced by my justification.

She always looks at me like that, as if what comes out of my mouth is never true.

Meanwhile, I pick up the coin from the ground and insert it into the vending machine slot. This time it's accepted, and a cardboard box drops into the collection drawer.

"What...?!"

Taiga: "It's just luck."

I pull out the product she just bought and take a good look at what it is before handing it to her.

Taiga: "You came out just for some damn chamomile?"

She snatches the box from my hand and replies with annoyance.

"Yeah, I can't sleep and I don't have any left. Tomorrow I have another mission with the ghoul from Frostheim. I want to get at least a few hours of rest."

Her eyes narrow melancholically, and she presses her lips together as if she wants to say something. Her eyelids contract and relax repeatedly. Whatever she's thinking about right now is troubling her a lot; I can read the indecision in every small movement of her facial muscles.

"Would you like to have a cup of this with me?"

She says, shaking the package slightly.

Oh, here we go.

Taiga: "How can I refuse?"

The kitchen in the old Clementia dorm is definitely too big for one person, and the small pot on the stove is too small for the hob it's resting on.

Once our jackets are off, we are both in our pajamas—the kitty-cat in her striped academy set, me in my luxurious black silk ones. When the chamomile is ready, she takes two identical mugs and pours the tisane into them.

"Come on, let's go to my room. There's nowhere to sit here."

With steaming mugs in hand, she heads towards her room, passing through a dimly lit corridor. When she stops in front of a door, I open it for her.

Once inside, she places the mugs on a small table and then settles comfortably into one of the two adjacent armchairs.

"Make yourself at home."

Without needing to be told twice, I throw myself onto the other seat and make myself comfortable, leaning fully back against the rest.

Taiga: "Do you have a bottle of whiskey?"

"But I just made you chamomile."

Taiga: "Exactly. I wanted to put it in there. Haven't you ever tried chamomile with whiskey?"

She looks at me with an astonished expression.

"I'm sorry, but tonight you'll have to settle for a plain tisane. I don't have any alcohol in here."

Sighing, I take the ceramic mug in my hands and bring it to my lips. I take a sip, and the hot liquid immediately warms my limbs.

Well, it looked like piss, but it's not bad.

Taiga: "So? Didn't you want to talk to me?"

She also takes her chamomile, holding the mug tightly in her hands.

"Yes, but it's nothing much, really."

I watch her in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"It's been months now that they've locked me up in this place, and I'm pretty sure no one besides some ghouls cares about my curse... Taiga, there's something wrong with this academy."

She looks at me with a serious expression and then continues.

"They make me participate in mission after mission with the excuse of making me investigate to find a cure, and if I try to refuse, they threaten me. In the end, they're just using me as a pawn, aren't they?"

As she continues, her speech becomes more and more frantic; a repressed desperation seems to take possession of her tongue.

"They severed every connection I had with the outside world, with my family and my friends. Who knows what they told them? Maybe they sent the police to their house saying they found my corpse somewhere and have already organized my funeral with an empty coffin."

...

Taiga: "GYAHAHAHAH, you've got quite the imagination, kitty-cat."

I tease her to try and burst her bubble of paranoia, but in reality, she might even be right, and she's not the only pawn in their grand scheme. With a bittersweet smile, she brings the mug to her lips.

"You know, Taiga, maybe it would have been better if you had really thrown me off the train..."

...Ah, right, our first meeting...

I look away, not even trying to find any justification, not that there are any.

"Don't worry, I don't blame you anymore. I've moved past it."

Anymore? ... So she was angry. Well, obviously.

Taiga: "Kitty-cat, we'll find a solution, and this time you'll get a future."

Even if I might not be there.

Every timeline has its access keys, but it's hard to figure out which ones are needed to achieve a certain type of future. Sometimes you can accidentally change the path even with things so trivial they seem stupid, but the result can be catastrophic.

"What do you mean 'this time'?"

I'm not sure if this memory belongs to the cycle I'm currently living, for all I know the girl in front of me could already be dead, but right now I have no intention of telling her the truth. I want to enjoy this moment for what it is.

Taiga: "Oh? Did I say 'this time'? Sorry, I must have gotten confused, Gyahaha."

The soft light from the candelabras on the walls and the crackling fire in the fireplace lend warmth and intimacy to this cramped room. I get even more comfortable in the armchair and finish my chamomile, which is almost cold now.

Taiga: "Ahh, it's really nice in here. It's so warm, I might just move in with you."

I rest my elbow on the armrest and, cupping my cheek with one hand, I look at the kitty-cat languidly, flashing a wide smile.

Taiga: "Wouldn't you like to sleep in each other's arms every night, sharing body he..."

"Oh my god, stop, I don't even want to imagine it"

She says, laughing.

Finally, her smile is back; it suits her better than a pout

"What time is it? I'm finally sleepy."

A yawn escapes her wide lips, and shortly after, I'm infected too. I rest my eyes for a few seconds, and when I open them again, the kitty-cat is sleeping soundly on her side. Her breathing is regular, and her expression is relaxed; she really needed to talk to someone. Trying not to wake her, I take her limp body in my arms and head towards the bed.

Falling asleep like that in my presence... she really trusts me now, or she's just extremely naive.

I put her under the duvet and pull it up to her neck, then I sit on the edge of the bed and watch her.

The human being is a curious creature by nature; many would pay a fortune just to catch a glimpse of their future, unaware that it's not always all sunshine and rainbows. My gaze lingers on her pronounced dark circles.

I wonder how long she hasn't been able to sleep well?

She's the most striking example; she knows that if she doesn't do something, she'll become an anomaly in a year, and the weight of this truth is gnawing at her soul. Every day that passes brings her possible death closer, and now she realizes that the chances of this happening are very high. Who would ever want to live out what remains of their life with this awareness?

For a moment, her breath catches, and consequently, mine stops too. Then she starts breathing normally again, and unconsciously, my breath synchronizes with hers. With my fingertips, I trace the perimeter of her face.

Sleep, kitty-cat. Forget the world, this shitty place, everyone else, and me. Take refuge in your dreams and imagine a future where you've left everything behind.

My heart is squeezed by barbed wire; the knowledge that in most futures where she lives, I'm not there, begins to insinuate itself under my skin, scratching it from within.

I accepted my death long ago, so why do I feel so shitty now?

I stifle a laugh to try not to wake her, and when I swallow it, it feels like ingesting acid that begins to corrode me from within.

I know well what's happening to me, but it's useless; Hope is not a privilege for everyone.

So I move away from her, leaving behind the burgeoning feelings that I can do nothing but uproot at their inception

I leave the room without ever looking back.

Perhaps it was better not to remember.

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

@pebblesforall 🌹

[glamorousspoon]

Refractions🪞

𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚃𝚠𝚘 - 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛

Taiga Hoshibami x mc Ao3 Ao3 versione italiana Warnings! blood, anomaly eating [Masterlist] Welcome to my new series! Prologue Chapter One

As if I'd never been on that beach, I find myself standing in front of the mirror, the sand that clung to me vanished into thin air, my clothes dry, and most importantly, they're the same ones I had before entering the memory. The only thing left is the slight warmth of the afternoon sun on my skin.

It takes me a little longer than necessary to recompose myself, meanwhile, the scene in the mirror has returned to its starting point.

At least I didn't get trapped inside, now I understand why people don't want to leave here anymore.

Not everyone is strong; many have fragile souls, and when they suffer a big enough trauma, their spirit shatters into a thousand pieces, it's as if their soul dies before their body. They become empty shells that can break at the slightest impact, yet without the courage to truly end it, they continue to live a vacant existence. They are nothing but corporeal spirits, victims of their own suffering and unaware of the life that is still around them; so, in the end, they decided to reject reality and hide in the past.

I can't blame them, in the end, I myself fell into temptation

I look one last time at the exit created by the anomaly; on the other side, the kitten is still talking on the phone, probably always with Romeo, worry and anxiety contorting her face. I know what I'm doing is very selfish, but I can't help but take advantage of this situation.

See you later, kitty-cat

Without thinking too much, I head towards another mirror and pass through it.

Romeo: "WHAT?!"

As expected, as soon as he answers the call, Romeo starts screaming like a madman; I can only imagine the situation in the night club's hall…

"Can you just come, please? I've already told you the way"

I say in a calm and composed tone, hoping these two characteristics will also influence the guy on the other end of the call.

Romeo: "We're coming."

And with a resolute tone, he hangs up.

I put away my phone and approach the woman on the ground. Now that I see her better, she must be about forty years old; the signs of age mark her delicate face but don't detract from her beauty. She is still curled up on the ground with her legs pressed against her chest, a bitter expression obscuring her face.

"Are you okay?"

…

Okay…

"Can you at least tell me your name?"

…

I sit on the ground beside her and look at Taiga, trapped in the mirror. I hope we can get him out.

Just the thought of not being able to save him makes my heart ache; fear wraps around my throat like a boa slowly tightening its grip, causing a slight burning in my eyes, but not strong enough to make me tear up.

I bring my hands to my face, and in silence, I wait for Ritsu and Romeo.

The iron taste of blood invades my taste buds, and its pungent odor penetrates my nostrils.

When I open my eyes, I'm sitting on the ground in my room in Sinostra, between my hands are malformed bones of some kind of sheep-like anomaly; some pieces of meat are still attached to the skeleton, and blood is everywhere. It drips between my hands and from my chin, spilling into the fresh puddle on the marble floor, and I dread to imagine what my face looks like.

Some clumps of fur are stuck between my teeth, but when I try to remove them, I hear a knock at the door.

"Taiga, are you in?"

Damn it.

I don't answer, and the kitty-cat keeps knocking.

"It's me, you just need to sign some documents; I won't take up too much of your time."

At the second unanswered inquiry, she lowers the handle and slightly opens the door; she probably expects me to stick my golden revolver out of the crack, because a few seconds pass before she peeks in.

When she realizes there's no danger, she fully opens the door, and her eyes fall on me. It's not the first time this has happened; in fact, this scene is one of the few things that have remained clear in my mind. Now, as usual, she'll drop the papers to the ground, step back a few paces, and with a shocked look, she'll flee the room with her hands over her mouth, probably to suppress the urge to vomit caused by the intense smell of blood; not everyone can bear the sight I'm showing her now.

I must be disgusting, in my pitiful puddle of blood and entrails, driven by hunger like a filthy wild animal; I don't even look human anymore. When this hunger takes over, everything else takes a back seat; the only thing I can think about is filling this void. Then, when I regain clarity, I always find myself in these conditions.

A few seconds pass.

And this time, she doesn't leave.

Inside me, hope resurfaces, a weak flame that can be extinguished at any moment, and along with it, I hear a voice that barely seems like my own.

Don't go.

This weak desire, which is usually trampled by all the others, easier to admit and to slip from the tongue, takes over and makes its way through the chaos in my head.

I drop the remnants of the carcass I was still holding in my hands. She places the documents on my room's desk and then rolls up her sleeves. Her expression, which I can usually decipher easily, this time shows no emotion; she's not angry, she's not scared, she doesn't even seem disgusted. She approaches me and extends her hand.

"Get up, I'll help you clean this mess."

What? I don't understand.

Seeing me not move an inch, she takes my hand forcefully and pulls me up, getting blood on herself too.

"...You're acting strange today; are you still hungry? Not that I can help you, no way I'm letting you eat one of Haru's animals."

…

"Besides, I told you not to eat anomalies while they're still alive; it's disgusting. At least have the patience to have them cooked somehow; look at the mess you've made!"

…

Has she always talked so much?

"Blood is really annoying to get off; go take a shower while it's fresh and change your clothes. I'll call someone to clean the room."

She drags me into the bathroom and then closes me inside.

Is this really the same girl who was terrified of me on the dock?

I have no idea what period this memory belongs to, but for her to be so calm, we must have spent a lot of time together.

It's a shame I don't remember anything.

I throw my clothes on the floor and go take a shower to wash this filth off. I stand under the showerhead, and thanks to its boiling rain, the blood slides away quickly. The hot water almost burns my skin, but the pain helps me come back to my senses. The weight of lacking these memories begins to weigh on my shoulders; just the thought pierces my heart like a dagger.

I look at some meat residue stuck in the drain filter, and it almost makes me nauseous.

I look away and try to clear my mind.

Half an hour has already passed when I come out of the bathroom, dry and clean. The room's floor has been polished, and if I hadn't been the cause of the macabre scene earlier, I would have never said it happened right here.

The kitty-cat is sitting on my bed with her legs crossed, the documents stacked beside her, and she's giggling with her phone in her hand.

Is she texting someone?

As soon as she notices my presence, she puts away her phone, and I dismiss that useless thought from my head.

Taiga: "I see you've made yourself comfortable."

I lie down beside her, crossing my arms behind my head. I can't even smell the blood in the air anymore; instead, I smell a light vanilla fragrance.

She clears her throat and picks up the stack of papers again.

"These are just permits for Sinostra’s general students missions"

She pulls a pen from her jacket pocket and sticks it directly between my fingers.

I sigh loudly and sit up, taking the papers in my hand. When I look for a solid surface to sign, the kitty-cat places a rigid folder on my lap.

Taiga: "You're well-equipped now."

"Of course, I'm used to it"

She says, smiling at me expectantly. So, I quickly sign all the documents, but before giving them to her, an idea comes to mind.

I raise an arm and slowly bring my hand to her face; I receive no adverse reaction from her side; she only furrows her eyebrows questioningly. Even when I brush her soft skin with my fingertips, she shows not the slightest sign of fear; on the contrary. She tries to look away, embarrassed, and the tips of her ears begin to turn a cherry-like color.

"D-do I have something on my face?"

My heart seems to want to escape its cage; it strongly beats against the prison bars, asking to be released and reach the girl's heart in front of me.

It wants her.

Taiga: "You have a bloodstain on your cheek."

I remove the nonexistent stain with my thumb and lie back down on the sheets.

"Ah, thanks, Taiga."

Taiga: "Do you need anything else? If not, scram"

"No, no, sorry, I'm going now, bye."

And so she runs off, closing the door behind her.

This is ridiculous

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

Here it is <3: @pebblesforall

[glamorousspoon]

an: my husband and i just got back from a pride event (Happy Pride everyone! i'm queer/genderfluid, my husband is genderfluid/pan, this is a safe place for everyone) and it was fun but i am exhausted lol. so it is wind down and write time!

tw: i just love the idea of a cute study date w jiro💛

-------------------------------------------

the day was warm, sun shining brilliantly. leaves rustled from the gentle breeze, tree shielding you and jiro in the shade.

you had laid out a blanket, weighed down by the textbooks you were frowning over. you two had decided to study together, you having difficulty in your anomalous maladies class. it had been nervewracking to ask him for help, scared he'd deny you because of yuri, or think less of you.

he'd accepted immediately, offering a small smile at your request.

jiro found smiles easy with you.

now, you were outside, you finding the distracting cold of the lab too distracting.

"why are you glaring at the book?" jiro's voice caused you to jerk, snapping out of your irritated reverie. he was leaned back on the tree, holding his own book in his lap.

his violet hair fell across his eyes, the ruby of his irises holding a warmth that seemed reserved for you.

"i'm cursing whoever decided to print these pictures in black and white," you declared, a deep sigh exiting your chest, "these two rashes look damn near identical without color, i'm never gonna remember which is which."

jiro watched, expressionless as you dramatically leaned back with an exaggerated groan.

"one of them has a more triangular shape to the splotches." he held up the book, his voice was edged with amusement. it wasn't that he found your confusion funny (though he certainly did). it was the theatrics that he found entertaining.

you leaned up on your elbows, looking at the photos.

he was right.

"you're right. my hero." you quickly sat up, planting a kiss on his cheek.

you smiled as you watched his cheeks tinge pink- and in this moment you were a normal college couple. just regular people taking advantage of a perfect summers day. a life you were fighting tooth and nail to have.

"you're ridiculous," he muttered, shaking his head.

"seemed to win you over easily enough," your voice came out in a singsong note. you were smiling when he looked at you, your face shining with the adoration that he felt.

he smiled, soft, true. it turned slightly teasing.

"just a chemical reaction that happens when i'm around someone cute."

your cheeks flared red, and he smiled wider.

he didn't tell you he'd turned his phone off to ignore yuri, or that he had suggested a place yuri was unlikely to check because he was supposed to be helping him with something.

he wanted to be here, with you, enjoying the warm day, at peace beside you.

[glamorousspoon]

Drunk Ghouls (Frostheim Part 1; Jin Kamurai and Tohma Ishibashi)

starting this off by saying THIS WAS SUPPOSED 2 BE LOW-EFFORT! A FEW PARAGRAPHS PER CHARACTER AT MOST! why do i do this 2 myself. note that these will probably vary in length per character bc i want 2 try. 2 keep it short. (update: i failed.)

woke up at 4:48am with a dry mouth thinking about haku nibbling my ear. anyways. that snowballed in2 this. enjoy.

a/n: also. side note that’s completely irrelevant but. im. so sick. of there not being enough words within language 2 express feelings i want 2 convey in my writing. does anyone else have that issue or am i just insane?? i complained about it 2 my therapist and she said “well. you know. you can make up words. shakespeare did and he really was ‘just some guy’.” and you know what. i might start fucking doing that. if some english white boy with black teeth and homosexual urges can make up words then so can i. i spent hours looking 4 a word that meant “to reluctantly pity someone/thing” but apparently that is a word that does not exist and im frustrated because saying “you felt reluctant pity towards [subject]” does NOT hit the same as “you felt [epic awesome word meaning ‘to reluctantly pity someone/thing’ here] towards [subject]”.

ok. im done. sorry.

summary: the ghouls are drunk. you are tasked with taking them back to their dorms.

cw: the ghouls are drunk!!!! some angst (?) in jin’s part, improper use of medication in tohma’s part, drunk ghouls, some fluff. never proofread, as usual. might be slightly ooc bc im never confident writing these ghouls and these are. unusual situations for them.

JIN:

Quite frankly, you don’t know what he was doing at Rui’s bar. And you don't care. You might be a little bitter that your initially relaxing evening got turned into yet another errand for the King of Frostheim. But, whatever. There was nothing you could do about it. If you didn’t bring the King back to his castle, who would?

He can hardly manage to support his own weight, so he's mostly leaning on you. You would've suggested he use his sword, but no chance were you going to let him swing that thing when he couldn’t even stand upright. He's quiet for most of the walk back. He'd occasionally groan in response to a killer headache, or gasp if he felt like he was going to vomit, but otherwise, he hardly made a sound. He kept his breathing even and his expression seemed quite flat. You wouldn't know he was drunk if he wasn’t tripping over the stone path and leaning his weight over you. 

When you finally make it to Frostheim and into his bedroom, you haphazardly shove his limp body off your shoulder and onto his bed, on which he collapses without much complaint. You'd wanted to purposely ignore the state of his room so you wouldn't feel any semblance of pity towards him and reluctantly end up cleaning. You figure you could at least close his curtains so he isn't rudely awakened by the sun when it rises. But if you're being honest, you might want to leave them open so he gets his morning interrupted to rectify your interrupted evening. 

Just as you’re about to head over to his curtains, you feel a hand close around your wrist. With an iron grip, Jin yanks you onto his bed. In moments, you find yourself wrapped up in his embrace, your cheek awkwardly pressed against his chest and your arms stiff at your sides, held there by his grip. You struggle, already aware that you don’t stand much of a chance, but protesting anyway. “Can you let me go?” Your words are unfortunately muffled with half of your face pressed into his chest. You don’t want to sound combative in the event he gets annoyed and you have to deal with annoyed drunk Jin instead of just drunk Jin, but you’re tired, it’s late, and you can hear the call of your bed in the chapel. It has never been more alluring. 

Jin hugs you tighter to his chest in response, curling himself around you. You still, realizing that this may be a case where struggling will only make the “knot” tighter. “...No.” You feel his lips move against your hairline, making you shiver slightly. “Stay here.”

An order from the King is an order that you have the rare privilege of ignoring. You suppress your urge to struggle against his grip and use your words instead. “...I have classes in the morning.” The most basic excuse ever, but maybe he’d care about your education. “I’m still not well-versed in anomalies yet, and I only have so much time to learn—” Jin growls at the implication of the curse eventually ending your life, “—and I don’t want to fall behind.”

Jin is silent for a moment, and his grip loosens just slightly. It’s not enough to escape, but it allows you some wiggle room. You try not to move, remaining still. He appears deep in thought. If you play your cards right, maybe you’d get back to the chapel sooner than expected. 

Unfortunately, luck is not on your side. Jin ends up pulling you closer, and you’re right back to square two, his body curled around you and you pressed against his front. “You will have time.” He speaks against your hairline again, his warm breath puffing against your forehead. You muse that you’re lucky you can’t smell the booze on his breath. You helplessly sigh, yielding to his grip and loosening your tight shoulders. You weren’t going to be free anytime soon. You’re submitting yourself to your fate when he adds “...I’ll hire you a tutor. Stay here.”

For a moment, his offer strikes you as thoughtful. But then you’re reminded that the reason you’re here is because he refuses to let you go, which isn’t very thoughtful. Regardless, with his arms cinched this tight around you, you couldn’t complain much for fear of him squeezing the life out of you a bit too early. 

You grumble, but ultimately relent, unable to fight against his superhuman strength and his ability to solve all his (and your) problems with money. You lay there, not reciprocating his affection but not resisting it either, becoming less and less sure of how much time has passed. You wish you had access to your phone or something to keep you busy. You were too awake, pressed flush against the King of Frostheim, whose body temperature was quite warm from an entire evening drinking and whose light cologne was beginning to tickle your nose. You were overly warm, wiggling your nose to keep from sneezing, and craving your bed. This was becoming miserable. 

Jin’s breathing slowly becomes even. You know it would be rash to assume he’s fallen asleep, but if he’s distracted enough, maybe you could slip away. As you start to move a little bit, trying to very gently shimmy yourself out of his grip, you hear him murmur something.

“Please…”

You freeze. Was he still awake? You can’t look up, still pressed to his chest and your head directly underneath his, but you can listen. You stay still, hoping by some miracle he falls back asleep. His breathing sounds uneven again and you can hear his heart loudly thumping against his ribcage.

“Just stay here with me… Just a little while longer…”

Something in you lurches suddenly. That’s right. The great Frostheim King has experienced a deep loss before. You weren’t there to witness his reaction when the news got out, but you had heard about it. The loss of a parent was something one tended to carry for the rest of their life, especially if they were close. 

Idly, you wondered if he feared the rumors the news attempted to spread. His mother had succumbed to a hereditary illness. Did he fear that one day, he, too, would have to watch his world crumble around him, unable to make sense of anything anymore? Did he fear that his cognitive function would rot along with his ability to express emotion properly? Did he fear the loss of himself as much as he hated the loss of his mother? Did he see himself in that grave instead of his mother? 

A begruding empathy fills you. You didn’t like how Jin called you “servant”. You didn’t like how Jin found it perfectly acceptable to order you around. You didn’t like how he would interrupt your routine simply because he believed his needs mattered more. And yet. Your thinking reminds you that he’s still human. You aren’t sure if it’s this fear that drives him, or if it’s what keeps him awake at night and makes him sleep through the day, but it’s still a fear, isn’t it? A real, reasonable fear. He’s still a human. A human who made a deal with a demon and proceeded to devour said demon, permanently changing him, but a human nonetheless. The fear was real and it was reflected in his heartbeat, still thumping loudly against his chest. 

You sigh, relaxing into his grip again. Slowly, you lift one of your arms as best you can under his iron grip and place it on his side, minimally reciprocating his grip. Maybe some comfort would do him some good, even if lackluster. 

He seems to relax into your touch almost immediately. You still aren’t sure if he’s awake or not, but his grip gets more comfortable, though not any less tight. You sigh again, considering this a half-victory at best.

As you relax into his chest, you note his heartbeat slowing down. His breathing slowly becomes even again. You don’t really want to smile at having successfully calmed down Jin himself, but you allow yourself a small curve to the corner of your lips. 

Eventually, his steadily beating heart and even breathing lull you into a peaceful doze. At least with his head above yours, maybe he’d be the first to suffer the morning rays. 

TOHMA:

Seeing Tohma drunk is like learning vampires were real. You’d never completely written off the possibility, but learning it’s a concept with genuine merit instead of a mere myth is more jarring than you’d expect. And lugging Tohma across campus back to Frostheim proves to be quite challenging. His days in Vagastrom were well-reflected in his crushing weight, and his particularly long legs made it hard to maneuver yourself and him simultaneously in a way that prevented either of you from toppling over. Next time, if this ever happens again, you’re getting a wagon. Lugging a long-legged beefcake across campus wasn’t doing wonders for your back.

He hardly makes any noise, and seems more uncomfortable than anything. He doesn’t resist your help, but squirms uncomfortably when you try to support him at his waist, and winces at any loud noise on campus. You wonder if something’s wrong with him, but can’t be bothered to pay too much attention when you’re already breaking your back trying to get him back to his dorm. 

When you finally tumble inside his room at Frostheim, he shrugs himself off of you, cradling his head. You’re offended for a few moments at his lack of thanks, but you notice his stumbling beeline towards a pill bottle on his dresser. Time seems to slow as you recognize the medication. Alprazolam. The same medication Leo exposed Tohma for taking regularly. It takes a moment for the dots to connect, but once they do, a small surge of panic shoots down your spine. He probably shouldn’t be taking those, not after drinking alcohol. 

“Tohma—”

Too late. He gulps a few down—dry, at that—and promptly shuffles over to his bed. He crumples onto it and eases himself onto his side, pressing his fingers into his temples, his face twisted into a pained expression. You groan inwardly. 

You have half a mind to drag him off to Mortkranken to see Yuri—or Professor Nicolas, at worst—but your back hurts at the mere idea of that and you were sure Yuri would be less than happy to see another Frostheim student in need of treatment at his dorm. You watch him carefully, peering at his unmoving form. If you were lucky, maybe you wouldn’t need to. Ghouls heal quicker, and hopefully the effects of the alcohol would wear off faster. Regardless, you couldn’t leave him alone, lest he spontaneously stopped breathing due to the combined effects of the alcohol and the medication. So it looks like you’re stuck here for a while.

Tohma hardly seems to notice that you’re in the same room, and barely responds when you hesitantly seat yourself next to him. The smallest flicker of acknowledgement in his expression, and that’s it. His eyes are screwed shut, and his usual sardonic smile is long gone, replaced with a pained frown. Witnessing Tohma’s emotions clear on his face was an unusual sight, but you’re aware he can probably feel your gaze, so you turn away. You make sure to glance at him on occasion, ensuring his body still rises and falls with his breathing. 

You aren’t sure how much time passes as you sit there, watching Tohma out of the corner of your eye. But after some time, he slowly relaxes, the tension melting from his expression and lifting from his shoulders. He gradually takes on a more relaxed position, moving his hands from his temples and blinking his eyes partially open, his lips slightly parted with light exhales. He doesn’t move much apart from that, still in a fetal-like position. 

Trying not to disturb him too much, you lean over him just slightly, checking his complexion. His gaze slides over to you, though he makes no other move to acknowledge you. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem any paler than he usually is. His breathing has remained steady. You assume the Alprazolam kicked in at last, but it appears some of the alcohol is still in his system, what with the slight pink flush on his cheeks, and his bangs sticking to his forehead. You find yourself reaching out before you know it, but quickly retract your hand. Surely he’d be fine. Maybe you were overthinking it.

You turn away and breathe a sigh of relief. You’re readjusting your position, wondering if you should leave or not, when a gloved hand takes hold of yours. You turn to Tohma questioningly, but you don’t resist as he pulls your hand towards him. You freeze up when he places a chaste kiss to your knuckles, before the ghost of his usual, haunting smile reappears on his face. You pray internally that him kissing your knuckles wasn’t a sign of impaired judgement and rather an honest reaction. You’d prefer that over really having to drag him to Mortkranken. “Thank you for taking the time to look after me, Miss Inspector. I apologize that you have to see me in such a state.” Well, at least he doesn’t sound out of breath. That must be a good sign. And, finally, you’d got your thanks.

You simply shake your head, signaling to him not to worry about it. You stretch your hand in his grasp and press your thumb into the center of his forehead. As if on cue, the flimsy smile he put on melts away, replaced by a more neutral, calm expression. You think you might prefer him like this. 

You can’t very well leave with his hand still around yours, but you aren’t actively complaining. You had already accepted you would be here a while. You yawn, feeling your own exhaustion catch up with you. You stretch, or at least, do the best you can with one of your hands held hostage. 

Tohma speaks up again. “May I make a selfish request, Miss Inspector?”

You turn back towards him curiously. The look in his eyes is surprisingly earnest despite the lack of any active emotion twisting his face. You would think he was about to confess something serious, with the way his blue eyes seemed to zero in on you. “Yeah?”

He doesn’t respond immediately, instead pulling your hand closer to him again. For a moment, you think he’s going to kiss your knuckles again, and you stiffen, preparing yourself. However, Tohma flips your hand so your palm is facing up, and gently places his cheek within your palm. You look at him questioningly, not pulling away. You wonder if this is better or worse than simply receiving another kiss to your knuckles, because you’re honestly not sure. Any more signs of this and you might actually haul him to Mortkranken. 

“I’m terribly sorry to be requesting so much of you. But if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could stay with me tonight.” You’re partially caught off-guard by his bold question and partially wondering how he manages to maintain such eloquence when drunk and under the influence. You try not to let too much of a blush color your face, turning away from him slowly to make it look like you’re mulling the question over. The warmth of his cheek in your palm was surprisingly soothing. The weight of him was already becoming familiar. It was strange. 

Well, not much point in resisting this, anyway. You’d already accepted you’d be here a while.

You sigh, tilting your head towards the ceiling before slowly leaning back and easing yourself onto his bed next to him, letting that be your answer. You think you feel the gentle press of lips against the corner of your palm, but you pretend to ignore it, even as your cheeks color. 

If you both fell asleep like this, hopefully he’d still be breathing by morning.

if i made up new words using my limited knowledge of latin, french, and creole and put their definitions in my masterlist and used them in my writing would that be too much. am i crazy.

ok real quick: in case it wasn't like. glaringly obvious. tohma's written to have anxiety here. i know he claims to take those pills for headaches BUT i wouldn't be surprised if he has some level of anxiety.

OK ANYWAY i wrote these two fics bc i felt inspired. drunk ghouls. what might they do? kaito and luca will come out but i have no idea when. and then ill move on 2 vagastrom.

shameless note as per usual that i love likes, but especially comments, tagged reblogs, and asks detailing how much you liked my work! let me know if you enjoyed it!

songs i listened 2 while writing this:

here (in your arms) - hellogoodbye (cute song about falling in love and enjoying the time you spend with said person in their arms. felt fitting 2 the theme.)

taglist: @cupcakesmoothie @aayakashii @sunskosh @despairingy-obsessed @glamorousspoon @mmy-meow @dailyvahine @diluxama @obscuarysghoulnextdoor @disassociationdive @andy-solo1 @luna-v-roiya

want 2 join or be removed from the tkdb taglist? let me know!

[glamorousspoon]

How They Comfort You

This day has just been the worst. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Honestly, you just want to lie down and cry and forget about the world for a little while. You send a text to your boyfriend asking if it's okay to come over. Next thing you know, you're standing in front of him with tears in your eyes.

Sinostra | Frostheim | Jabberwock | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkraken | Vagastrom

Ritsu Shinjo - Ritsu looked up when you walked into the room, concern instantly covering his features as he took in your teary eyed state.

"MC? What's wrong? Do you need me to pursue legal action against someone?" He asked, rising from his seat to start coming over to check on you. You shook your head, and a sob left you before you rushed over and threw your arms around him, hiding your face against his chest.

"I just h-had a h-horrible day, and I-I needed you." You sobbed, feeling his arms slowly circle around you to hold you close.

"What do you need me to do to help you?" He asked gently.

"Just hold me." You choked.

So he did. He held you for as long as you needed, and afterward, he offered to go get you anything you wanted. He does whatever he can just to see you smile again and make sure that you're okay.

Taiga Hoshibami- Even though you had texted him first to let him know that you'd be there, when you knock the door opens to a gun in your face and a grouchy "The fuck do you want" being grumbled at you.

That was the final straw and you started loudly sobbing, tears streaming down your face. Taiga watched you in confusion for a moment before suddenly pulling you into his room and slamming the door.

He leads you to a couch and sits down, making you sit as well before making you lay down with your head on his lap. He'll sit quietly with you like that, running his hands through your hair, unusually gentle, until your tears stop.

"Feeling better Kitty Cat?" He asked, grinning when he saw your tears had dried up.

"Yeah, better." You whispered. "Can we just stay like this?"

"Whatever you want Kitty Cat, so long as you tell me who made you cry so I can kill 'em."

Romeo Lucci - Romeo sent all of his lackeys out the moment he looked up from his work to see you standing there, tears in your eyes.

"What happened?" He asked as he got you to sit in one of his chairs before going to make you a drink that he knows you like.

"I just had a horrible day and it was too much." You sniffled, wiping away some stray tears. Romeo is silent as he places down your drink in front of you.

If you want to talk through what happened, he'll listen, and even if not, then he'll offer you two options. Option one, he just sits with you in silence or listening to you while he finishes his work, or option two, spa day while you talk or not.

If you pick option two, he'll go all out, face masks for you both and all his best skin care stuff, afterall he only has the best. It's his love language and the easiest way he knows to show you he cares.

No matter which option you pick, he'll make sure you leave feeling far better than you had when you came to him.

[glamorousspoon]

Refractions🪞

𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝙾𝚗𝚎 - 𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

Taiga Hoshibami x mc Ao3 Ao3 versione italiana [Masterlist] Welcome to my new series! Read the Prologue first <3

When I open my eyes, I'm blinded by the sunlight; the warmth of its rays heats my skin, and the warm, worn wood of the dock tickles the soles of my feet.

The kitty-cat is a little ahead, sitting on the uniform jacket with her legs dangling over the edge of the dock. She's humming a cheerful melody I don’t recognize.

She doesn’t seem to have noticed me.

She takes a strawberry from the basket and eats it in small bites while watching the descending sun. With the arrival of sunset, the silhouette of the moon and stars can already be seen high in the sky.

I slowly approach, and with each step, the wood beneath us creaks like it's groaning. Only then does the kitty-cat turn toward me.

“Oh, hey Taiga.”

Her eyes are wide like the ones of a deer caught in headlights, and there's a smear of strawberry juice on one side of her half-open mouth.

I approach with a mischievous smile and, without even asking for permission, I intrude on her little moment of peace and quiet, then sit next to her with my legs wide open.

She watches my every move cautiously, like I’m an unlit firecracker that might explode at any second.

Taiga: “Careful, if you don’t close your mouth, flies will get in.”

At that, she shuts her lips into a straight line and furrows her brow.

I bring my hand to her face, and she stiffens in terror, her pupils shrinking to the size of fleas drowning in pink puddles.

With my thumb, I wipe the juice from her mouth, then bring it to my own and lick it off while looking her in the eyes.

A light blush spreads across her cheeks. To hide her embarrassment, she turns to the basket and grabs a handful of cherries.

Without even looking at me, she offers me her slender hand full of small red fruits.

“Do you want some too?”

She asks while gazing at the horizon.

My heart skips a beat, then continues beating at its usual rhythm, as if nothing happened.

I take two cherries from her hand and bring them to my lips, pulling them off the green stems. As I bite down, a wave of sweetness crashes over my taste buds.

Mmh, not bad.

When I finish removing the pulp, I spit the pits into the water.

The kitty-cat, however, places hers into a napkin.

“What are you doing here?”

Good question. I have no idea. What was I doing barefoot on the dock?

Taiga: “Dunno, I don’t remember.”

As if expecting that answer, she doesn’t press further. She knows about my memory issues, so she’s not surprised by my cluelessness.

The sea is a deep cobalt blue. Because of its depth, the seabed is invisible, hidden in darkness. Occasionally, some bubbles rise to the surface—probably caused by some kind of marine creature.

The kitty-cat swings her legs, her toes skimming the surface. Mine are submerged up to the ankles.

How cute...

A chill runs down my spine.

What the hell am I thinking?

After a few minutes of silent eating, the kitten finally turns toward me. She was about to say something, but as soon as her eyes land on me, she changes her mind, a playful expression lighting up her sweet face.

“Want a napkin? Not even a two-year-old would get this messy.”

She says, laughing like crazy.

I don’t think she realized what she just said. First, she’s scared of my presence, and now she says something that bold...

A flash of realization freezes her on the spot, her skin losing color. Shocked by her own words, she covers her mouth with one hand, hiding the shadow of a smile that, unfortunately, disappears in an instant.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Trying to change the subject, she pulls out a napkin and quickly wipes my mouth.

“There. Now you're clean.”

She forces an encouraging smile and tosses the napkin into a nearby bag.

I’m not great at figuring out what people are thinking, mostly because I often don’t know what I’m thinking myself. But she’s so transparent that even I can tell what’s going on in her head right now.

I have only two options now—let it go… or have a little fun.

Taiga: “You think you’ll get away with that so easily?”

Obviously, I pick the second.

With a serious expression, I move dangerously close to her. Sensing the threat, she’s clearly unsure whether to try to flee or surrender right away.

But I act fast, grabbing her cheeks with one hand and bringing our noses close together. I whisper threateningly:

Taiga: “Do you know what happens to those who talk to me like that?”

…

Taiga: “Usually, they end up with a bullet between the eyes.”

I poke her forehead exactly where I mean.

Taiga: “But since I’m in a good mood today, I have something else in mind for you…”

I drag out the words just to increase her anxiety and make her feel even more trapped. Sometimes it takes very little to make someone feel like there’s no way out.

I smile maliciously, showing my sharp teeth. She squeezes her eyes shut in fear, her eyelids trembling from the tension.

Then pull away, letting my fingers slide off her cheeks.

Sensing my retreat, the kitten opens her eyes cautiously, trying to assess the situation. But before she can fully open them, I push her into the water without warning.

But I underestimate her reflexes.

In fact, just as her butt leaves the dock, she grabs my arm tightly and pulls me in with her.

So, we both end up submerged in the salty water. My vision is blurry, and I can only make out the kitty-cat’s body surrounded by a million white bubbles as she tries to resurface.

I follow her, and when we both come up, we compose a coughing symphony. Neither of us expected to fall into the sea, so the salty water has burned our throats.

Taiga: “Gyahahahah, you really look like a wet kitten now!”

Her bangs stick messily to her forehead. Seawater gathers on her long lashes in little droplets, trickling down her cheeks when she blinks. After coughing, she licks her pink lips and glares at me, furious. Her irises, usually cherry blossom-colored, now seem a darker shade, framed by a web of tiny red veins.

She looks like she wants to kill me, and that only excites me more. The angrier she gets, the more I want to provoke her.

I’ve always believed people show their true selves only when pushed to their emotional limits.

So get mad, kitty-cat. Show me who you really are.

Finally, I see a glint of mischief in her eyes, and I wait expectantly for her next move.

She splashes water in my face, blinding me for a moment—which she immediately takes advantage of. As I raise a hand to shield my eyes, she places hers on my shoulders and uses all her weight to shove me back underwater.

I sink a few meters below the surface, and she swims off like a rocket.

A rush of adrenaline spreads through every part of me. Driven by a predator’s instinct, I start chasing my prey.

When I emerge, she’s already on the shore, bent over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath.

But as soon as she sees me getting closer, she runs off, laughing.

She finally gets that I’m not going to really hurt her.

I climb out of the water, the soaked clothes weighing me down like ballast. Stripping naked in public is too much even for me, so, bearing the discomfort, I start running after her.

A few strides are enough to catch up. When I’m just behind her, I leap like a tiger, tackling her to the ground and trapping her in my arms.

Dry sand gets everywhere, sticking to us like we are magnets.

“Taiga, let me go! The sand’s getting in my mouth!”

She starts squirming like a worm on the pavement. I flip her onto her back, straddle her, and pin her arms to the ground.

Her sand-covered body is now fully exposed. She looks nothing like her usual self—more like a little rebel, with messy hair and wet clothes that highlight her figure.

She looks like a wild creature—attractive and dangerous at the same time.

As I look at her, something ignites inside me, something that wraps around my heart and squeezes it tight, something that quickens my breath...

But before I can name what it is, I’m swallowed by darkness.

And I find myself once again in the hallway of mirrors.

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

[glamorousspoon]

Refractions🪞

𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 - 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚒𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛

You go on a mission with Sinostra's Ghouls, but as usual something goes wrong. Taiga gets trapped in his own psyche, where past, present and future are nothing more than words written in pencil. Thanks to the anomaly's power he can relive some memories that he had completely erased - Will he be able to uncover even more, especially about his kitty-cat?

Taiga Hoshibami x mc Ao3 Ao3 versione italiana Warnings! stigma speculations [Masterlist] Welcome to my new series!

The velvety notes of a jazz song sweeten the evening in this discreet nightclub. Violet lights caress the rosy cheeks of people speaking in hushed tones among the scattered tables. Sparkling glasses of the most diverse shapes are languidly brought to the lips by fingers adorned with priceless rings. These people, with scarlet-stained lips and immaculately trimmed beards, exude wealth from every pore.

From a table in the corner of the room, I’m closely observing everything unfolding in front of me. It feels like watching a Manet painting—people chatting with honey-drenched words pouring from their lips, while pure poison drips from their eyes.

An olive, skewered by a toothpick, floats alone in my Martini. From time to time, I bring it to my lips to avoid drawing attention, without drinking a single drop. I can’t afford to lose clarity.

“Romeo, have you noticed anything strange?”

I say in a bored tone.

Romeo: “No! What a waste of time…”

Taiga: “Lulù’s right, let’s go look for this anomaly ourselves.”

Ritsu: “Absolutely not, we can’t draw attention. Do you want to cause chaos like last time? If we stir up trouble, we lose four times as much time.”

At my table there are also the three ghouls from Sinostra, elegantly dressed in tuxedos—as usual chosen according to Romeo’s impeccable taste. Even my midnight blue evening gown isn’t bad. The only thing that worries me are my high heels, which could be a problem if we have to run.

We’re here on a mission assigned by the headmaster, and as usual, I’m the inspector. In this venue, at least one person vanishes every night. After some investigation, the Darkwick agents discovered rumors about an individual who lures people by promising to let them relive memories from their past, asking for nothing in return. Those who agree vanish without a trace. With the possibility of a serial killer ruled out, we’re left with the assumption that it’s an anomaly.

And so here we are, pretending to drink while trying to understand what’s going on—everyone except Taiga, who’s already on his third whiskey and seems completely uninterested in the mission.

So nothing out of the ordinary...

It’s already a miracle he hasn’t vanished to do his own thing. So it’s fine...

While I absentmindedly watch a couple whisper sweet words to each other, I finally notice something strange: a woman, sitting at the table behind them, looks distraught and is speaking with a man in his thirties.

They’re too far away for me to hear the conversation, but I can do a bit of lip-reading.

…Come with me…memories…offer…

Excited, I elbow Romeo.

“Romeo, look! I think we found him.”

Annoyed by the sudden blow, Romeo glares at me, but still leans in to align his gaze with mine.

Romeo: “You’re right, BB. So you are useful sometimes.”

Not impressed by the vulgar nickname he’s been using for months, I don’t even bother to respond.

Ritsu: “So, what do we do? Follow them?”

“Yes, but not all together.”

Taiga: “I’ll go. I’m sick of sitting around doing nothing.”

Romeo: “No way, BTH! I’m not letting you destroy or devour another anomaly. This time, we need to capture it.”

With a theatrical sigh, Taiga throws his head back and downs the rest of his whiskey.

Ritsu: “We better decide quickly, or we’ll lose them.”

I watch the movements of the potential victim and think for a moment.

Yes, this is probably the best idea

“Taiga and I will go.”

I set my drink down decisively and stand up.

“It’s better to keep him close and give him something to do than let him cause trouble out of boredom. Don’t you agree?”

Ritsu and Romeo stay seated, thoughtful. They don’t argue, but they’re not fully convinced either. Not that it matters—Taiga doesn’t give them time to disagree. He stands right after me, taking my arm.

Taiga: “Gyahahaha, let’s go, kitty-cat, before we lose them.”

Romeo: “Keep your phone handy. Call us if anything happens.”

“Of course. Talk soon.”

No one pays us much attention as we leave our table. Without raising suspicion, we begin following the woman and the suspicious man from a safe distance.

We walk down a long, winding corridor. When the couple turns a corner, we follow, leaving the previous one behind.

The dim lighting, black carpet, and mahogany-red walls create an eerie atmosphere. The melancholic music fades into the distance. The sound of my heels is muffled by the soft floor, and an unsettling silence surrounds our steady breathing.

The eyes of the crowd have long since left us. Yet, my hand is still wrapped around Taiga’s arm. He doesn’t show any sign of wanting to let go either. If I didn’t know him, I might think he was helping me walk in these heels.

Let me dream...

After four turns, they stop in front of a door. The man opens it and, with a half-bow, invites the woman in, the he enters after her, closing the door behind.

We wait a few seconds—no sound of a key turning.

Perfect, he left it unlocked.

Taiga: “So, what’s the plan, kitty-cat?”

“We approach the door and try to listen. Then we call the others and decide what to do. It’s better not to act alone without informing them.”

I look into Taiga’s eyes, but they show no emotion. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Even if he did show something, he remains highly unpredictable—calm one moment, unhinged the next. His mustard-colored irises are fixed on me, silently. I start to feel uneasy. Sometimes his empty stare is even more piercing than his crazed one. It’s like he’s rummaging through your soul while also looking straight through you.

Unable to bear the pressure any longer, I turn toward the door.

“Let’s hurry.”

We approach the room quietly. I lean my ear against the door, making as little noise as possible. Through a few centimeters of wood, I can hear faint voices. The room must be small, otherwise I wouldn’t hear them this clearly.

“…I just have to go through this mirror, right?…”

“…Exactly, miss. Once inside, you’ll finally reunite with your son…”

“…And you want nothing in return? Nobody does things for free in this world. Who are you?…”

“…I’m just a gentleman trying to bring peace to lost souls. You should feel lucky to have found me. After all, what do you have left in this life? Would you rather suffer in solitude until death?…”

A long pause follows that statement. I turn to Taiga, who is also listening, and see that his brows are furrowed.

A terrible premonition gives me the chills…

Whispering so that the two behind the door don’t hear, I lean into Taiga’s ear.

“Taiga, is anything wr—”

I don’t even finish before he flings open the door I’m leaning on, causing me to fall flat inside.

My heart races—from both the shock and the fear of what’s about to happen.

The two inside turn toward us, startled.

Taiga pulls out his special artifact and points his submachine gun at the man.

Taiga: “Step away from the mirror, bastard.”

The man smirks defiantly and disappears into the mirror in a violet cloud.

Taiga groans in frustration, lowers his weapon, and turns to me.

Taiga: “Tsk, take care of the woman. I’m going after that bastard.”

I leap to my feet and step closer, keeping a two-meter distance.

Just in case...

“Don’t even think about it. Stay put. We’re calling the others. You have to stop acting before thinking. One day it’ll get you killed.”

Frustrated, I open my shoulder bag to grab my phone and call the others. As I raise my head— Taiga is gone.

Only I remain in the room now, along with the woman still in shock on the floor, and a large mirror with an ornate golden frame on the wall across from the door.

It’s my fault. What the hell was I thinking bringing Taiga? I’m an idiot. Yes, a complete idiot!

I approach the mirror. As soon as I look into it, I stumble back, shocked.

“What the hell?...”

Instead of my reflection, I see Taiga—standing, head lowered, eyes closed.

I try calling out to him, but there’s no response.

Better not touch anything—or I’ll get pulled in too.

Frustrated, I press my hands to my face and rub my eyes in circles. I inhale, exhale deeply, then call Romeo—bracing for the ear-splitting scream I know is coming.

Shit.

Once I cross the mirror, I’m greeted by absolute nothingness—I'm suspended in a place without boundaries, no way to tell up from down, no shapes, no corners. Everything is black. The only thing I can see clearly is my own body.

Which doesn’t make a damn bit of sense, considering there’s nothing illuminating it.

With no other options, I try walking. There’s no solid ground under my feet, I feel like I’m floating in midair, yet somehow I can move forward.

The kitty-cat is probably pissed off as hell, but following the anomaly isn’t the only reason I threw myself in here.

Because of my stigma, I feel like I’m living in the eye of a hurricane—my memories are swept away by its violent currents. Sometimes they flash before my eyes, only to be sucked away again by its centripetal force.

Maybe here, I can trick this curse. If not, I’ll just destroy everything and get out.

Simple.

I’ve been walking for almost an hour when I finally see a white glow in the distance. I pick up the pace, and soon I find myself at the center of a strange art gallery. Instead of paintings, there are enormous rectangular mirrors suspended in the void, arranged in two parallel rows that seem to stretch into infinity—or at least, so far they blur into the surrounding darkness.

With hesitant steps, I approach the first mirror on my left. At first, I see only my reflection. Then the image distorts, and a kind of video begins to play.

Romeo, the kitty-cat, and a familiar guy with ash-gray hair and blue eyes are arguing with each other, but they move their lips without producing a sound. Every now and then, they look in my direction—as if they really are speaking to me.

So these are my memories…?

In the other mirrors, countless different scenes are reflected. Some familiar, others completely wiped from my brain.

I continue forward, staying in the middle of the two rows. In most of the scenes, Romeo is there in various stages of fury, yelling at the screen—or rather, at me.

Then the scenes shift: bloodbaths, remnants of anomalies I was devouring on the floor, poker tables, and memories of a past I don’t want to remember.

Further ahead, the kitty-cat starts to appear more and more often. A mischievous grin spreads across my face—her terrified expression always cheers me up.

In many memories she stays in the background, hidden in Romeo’s shadow. Then little by little, she starts to gain courage, stepping into the foreground, talking to me, even getting mad.

But at a certain point, something changes. The bloodstained and violent memories are gradually replaced by the kitty-cat’s innocent face, caught in various activities.

Her sitting on the grass, sipping a drink.

Her laughing carefree in front of a Sinostra slot machine.

Her napping on the Galaxy Express, and my hand brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Something’s off.

I stop in front of one mirror. In this "memory," the kitten seems a few years older, her hair longer. Wrapped in sheets, she’s lying in bed reading a book. Then she looks up—subtle expression lines frame her face. She gazes in my direction with an expression I’ve never seen before, reaches out a hand toward me, gets closer—and then everything goes black.

…

These aren’t memories of the past—or the present. This must be the future I saw… and then forgot.

?: “I’ve never seen a corridor so vast and chaotic.”

I spin around and see the man I’d been chasing earlier just a few meters away. This time, a white mask covers his entire face. I reach for my artifact, but it’s gone—just like everything else I brought with me.

?: “Welcome to the realm of your consciousness. Here, you can’t bring anything but your soul.”

I glare at him without saying a word. I’m not in the mood to argue with an anomaly.

?: “Oh, come on, don’t act tough. I know you’re curious.”

The man steps closer to the mirror where the kitty-cat is still immersed in whatever story she's reading.

?: “I know perfectly well you and your friends came here to eliminate or contain me, but I’ve never hurt anyone. In the end, the people I bring here choose to stay of their own free will.”

He turns his back to me and walks toward the beginning of my memories.

?: “Come with me.”

I shouldn’t be listening to a fucking anomaly, but something urges me forward—a sharp temptation prodding me from behind. So I shove my hands in my pockets and follow him.

He stops in front of a memory where the kitty-cat is sitting at the end of a worn wooden pier, still wearing her Darkwick uniform—must be a recurring memory.

Next to her, a pair of shoes and a wicker basket full of fruit.

?: “To relive this moment, all you have to do is step through the mirror. You’ll exit when the memory itself ends.”

Taiga: “Do I look like a fucking idiot to you?”

A laugh echoes from under the anomaly’s mask. He draws a vertical line in the air with his index finger, opening a kind of portal. On the other side, the kitty-cat is on the phone, and the older woman from before is sitting on the ground with her back against the wall.

?: “The exit is this way. The choice is yours.”

And with that, he vanishes into nothingness again.

…

I turn my back to the exit and tentatively touch the mirror’s surface. As soon as I brush it with my fingers, they pass through—rippling the image with tiny waves that expand outward in circles.

Slowly, I push my whole arm through, but as soon as I reach the elbow, some unknown force pulls me entirely inside.

And once again, I’m swallowed by darkness.

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

[glamorousspoon]

SUMMARY: you've been sent of a mission where the anomaly transforms into your ideal partner to disarm you.

COMMENTS: some pre relationship mutual pining ... i had this idea a while ago and finally wrote it T0T I CANT FIND THE POST WHATEVER

TAGLIST: @as1iiiwhaa @astralsocfactory

Jin blinks, looking mildly surprised for the first time in his life. Your ideal partner...looks and acts exactly like him? It throws him off his game for a second, enough for the anomaly to close the gap. Jin strikes faster, sending the anomaly flying. He’s going to have to talk to you about this.

Tohma raises a brow, looking rather smug as you avoid his gaze. He can tell you’re embarrassed, shrinking in on yourself as you try to throw the anomaly off your trail. It coos sweet words to you, trying to coax you closer—and Tohma can’t have that, now can he?

Luca gets flustered almost immediately when he finds himself staring at a carbon copy of himself. Now is hardly the time to ask if you like him, but...do you? He springs into action, fighting against himself in order to protect you. There’s no way he’s going to let anything hurt you. Especially something that looks like him.

Kaito shrieks when he sees himself, and honestly doesn't register what it means at first. It takes him staring at the ceiling during the night HOURS later for it to click. He starts rapid fire texting you about it, absolutely blowing up the phone asking for clarification. Good luck Kaito!

Alan gets a little flustered but ultimately thinks that there’s been some kind of mistake. He rushes for the anomaly and takes it down. There’s no way he’d let anyone or anything put their hands on you. He won’t ask you what that was about, but he will think about it occasionally...you’re going to have to bring it up yourself.

Sho raises a brow at the anomaly before looking straight at you. You’re babbling nonsense that sounds like excuses but he just goes in for the kill, neutralizing the anomaly so it returns to its former form. Will ask you, “So hey, why did that anomaly turn into me?” and get way too amused when you try to explain.

Leo doesn’t say shit. He takes down the anomaly and then turns to you, raising a brow as if he expects you to say something. once you’re back at Darkwick and haven’t said a word, he’ll text you to come over and look through the case report with him, only to ask you if you have a crush on him “or something.”

Haru looks shocked for a split second. The transformation genuinely catches him off guard. Knowing that the anomaly considers him your dream guy after digging around in your subconscious is flattering, if that even is true! Sometimes anomalies will try to confuse people! He’s hopeful, but a little oblivious...please help him.

Towa is elated! If the anomaly turned into him, that must mean you love him too, right? There's no need for delay anymore. He takes down the anomaly swiftly, and scoops you into his arms not a second later. There's no debating it now, you are most definitely his soulmate and he's going to cherish you for the rest of your days! (Till death do you part...)

Ren tries really hard to mask his blush with disgust. He's acting like a preteen when he goes “um, what the fuck. do you like me or something?” PLEASE don't let him fool you. If he does end up hurting your feelings he's gonna apologize (nonverbally) because hey, he does really like you. He just...wanted to be the one to say it, and not because of  some stupid anomaly.

Taiga gets a shit eating grin on his face the second the anomaly shifts. He has figured out exactly what it is and what it does—but don’t get distracted by his fake, kitty cat. He’ll be offended if a shitty fake is enough to sway your heart from the real thing. Chances are, Taiga opens fire and destroys the anomaly single handedly.

Romeo doesn’t mention it at all. He’ll take down the anomaly with a fiery explosion and check in on you to make sure you’re doing okay (mentally AND physically.) He’s silent the rest of the way back to Darkwick, which is not normal for him at all. If you feel brave, you can bring it up—he knows the two of you have things to talk about.

Ritsu doesn’t quite know how to react. On one hand, he’s so happy that you see him the same way he sees you, but on the other hand...how can he be sure that the anomaly isn’t attempting to cause confusion and discord within the group? It could be targeting his desire for you and framing you, in a way... Rest assured, once the mission is over, he is asking you for clarification on your feelings for him, and confessing his own.

Subaru jumps into action, taking down the anomaly before it can ever properly transform. Don’t be misled, he absolutely knew what it was going to turn into—or rather, who. He will overthink how to bring it up after the mission or if he even should, until he relays the tale of your mission to Zenji and Haku and the former blurts out “so the anomaly shifted into Subaru!? Goodness!” before he can say it himself.

Haku wants to tease you about it so bad, and rest assured, he will. The number one priority right now is making sure that you’re safe, however. Teasing can wait! Once the anomaly has been taken down, Haku slides up next to you and wraps an arm around your waist. Don’t hide from him now, princess. You’ve got some explaining to do.

Zenji notices, in the back of his mind, that the anomaly’s interpretation of your perfect partner looks a lot like him. You’d be a fool to think that that is going to throw him off when your life's on the line though! Him and his brother-doll and in front of you in a flash, defending you from the anomaly. Once the mission is over, he may ask you about it, a spring in his step(?) as he floats through the air.

Edward already knew you liked him—whether you wanted him to or not. The anomaly transforming into him in order to sway you is more flattering than he thought it would be, though. Ed had no idea he had this much influence on you! After the mission is over, you two should talk about this in private...just the two of you...

Rui will laugh it off initially, making jokes about how he didn’t know he was your dream man. On the inside, he’s freaking the fuck out—but he’s not going to let you know that. You’re his precious Inspector, so he will defend you till the very end...but is it so selfish to want you to feel the same as him?

Lyca doesn’t exactly understand the implications of the anomaly turning into him at first. When it tries to smooth talk you, he gets even more confused, shouting about how this anomaly can’t even act like him! Rest assured, he takes it down for you, snarling and grumpy the whole way back to Darkwick. For some reason, he doesn’t like the idea of someone getting that close to you...

Yuri starts screaming for Jiro to do something the second it starts to transform, but his voice gets caught in his throat when the anomaly transforms into him. His eyes are wild, looking from it to you, and you have half a mind to bury a hole and climb inside. Neither of you say anything after the anomaly has been neutralized—it's up to Jiro to break the silence with a “so your ideal partner is Yuri?”

Jiro blinks, his face unreadable as the anomaly shifts. He looks at you, sees how horrified you are—and immediately takes out his chainsaw. Rest assured, you won’t have to worry about that anomaly anymore, just the fact that Jiro was able to gut himself with no hesitation. He won’t even ask you about it on the way back to Darkwick, figuring that the anomaly wasn’t being truthful and only trying to sow discord...until studies prove otherwise.

[glamorousspoon]

Jiro taking care of MC while they are sick 👉👈

Home Remedy

Really, you should've expected him to make a fuss.

pairing/s: jiro kirisaki x mc/reader

content: fem!reader (can be read as gender-neutral) | sickfic, comfort, fluff, light angst, mutual pining.

wordcount: 1150

a/n: my first fic on this blog, yay! i wasn't aiming to include some angst in there, but i couldn't help it. i think given his history with his own illness (and losing a certain someone), jiro would have a lot of anxiety about the worst happening and get very overprotective. especially if its someone he cares about, like mc.

thank you for the request!

Like my fics? Consider tipping me on ko-fi!

Fifteen minutes into what should be your first period of the day, Jiro sends you a text asking where you are. There's some more messages from the others, too, but you can only bring yourself to reply to him with a one word response: sick.

His reply comes almost instantly. Be there soon.

When he comes through the door, you're cocooned in five different layers of blankets hiding beneath a pile of your dirty laundry, shivering next to an empty bucket you'd found in the closet. There's a chill in the air that you haven't be able to escape no matter how many layers you pile on top of yourself, yet your nose feels like it's burning. You can't even bring yourself to raise your head fully to look at him as he walks in with his supplies; even the slightest movement sends a throbbing jolt down one side of your temple, and the bright lights just worsens the pain.

He kneels down by your bedside and sets the briefcase on the floor, clicking it open as he studies you. His gaze lingers on your lips.

“What are your symptoms?” he asks.

You groan. “Too many...”

He fights the urge to smile at that and turns to his equipment. “I need to know for our records.” He snaps on his latex gloves and picks up a thermometer. “And it can help the recovery process if I know exactly what I'm dealing with. Mouth.”

It's an effort, but you manage to do as he asks. He takes your temperature and his reaction to it is a slight crease in his brow that you know, by now, means nothing good. But then again, you also know that you're ill, so it doesn't come as a surprise.

“Symptoms?” he asks again.

“Cold... chills... headache... throat sore... nausea.”

“When did they start?”

“Hm... last night...”

A low sigh passes his lips – it's subdued, though; he's not the type to show get frustrated so easily. Not like Yuri. You can feel his stare boring into the side of your head as you duck your head under the covers, both to feel some semblance of warmth and to hide away from the light.

He shifts and you hear the clacking of his laptop keyboard. It's so loud with the throbbing pain in your head.

“You should've contacted us then.” Jiro's voice is quieter than usual. “Your health is our responsibility. It's my job to keep you safe.”

You feel something in your chest tighten. It's too stuffy beneath the covers to breath, so you poke your head out just enough to give yourself some air and to whisper, “I thought you were busy.”

“I would've made time for you.”

Before you can say another word, Jiro stands up and pulls all five layers of covers off from your bed, revealing you dressed in your winter pyjamas. You can't yelp, so instead you groan and curl up into a tight ball, squeezing your eyes shut. With the blankets off, everything now feels too light – not to mention, cold. Freezing, even.

“'M cold...”

“I know.” Jiro throws the bundle of blankets up over his shoulder and makes his way to the door. “You have a temperature. You could've gotten heatstroke if you stayed like that. It's better to warm yourself up from the inside. I'll brew some tea.”

He returns minutes later holding a steaming mug, the potent aroma of citrus and ginger wafting through the air. Already you feel as if its soothing your sore throat. He sets it down on your bedside table and hands you another pillow so you can sit comfortably upright. Your eyes meet his and linger for a second too long. Even when you lower your gaze to your lap (it's too bright, you lie to yourself) he's still watching you vigilantly, as if preparing himself for the possibility of your symptoms suddenly worsening before him.

You tentatively pick up the mug, feeling the heat against your hands, and bring it to your lips. The tea is still scalding hot. You only take a small sip, barely more than a drop, but it's enough to feel the burn on the tip of your tongue.

Jiro notices your wince, and he gently takes the mug from your hands to blow on it “Sorry,” he says. “I should've cooled it down more.”

His glasses are completely fogged up when he hands it back to you. You hide your smile behind the mug while he rubs them clean on his shirt.

“Thank you,” you murmur softly. It doesn't hurt to have your eyes open now (alright, maybe it does, but you're not even thinking about the pain anymore).

You don't think he hears you, because he picks up his laptop, sits down at the end of your bed and begins typing (with the brightness turned all the way down, thankfully) without saying another word. Neither of you speak. He works and you sip on your tea, watching his back with longing in your gaze. There's a few moments when you consider calling out to him and starting conversation, but you can't talk much as is. That's at least the excuse you give yourself when your heart leaps into your throat every time you're about to speak up.

Minutes pass. You've finished the tea he brewed for you, and he's still tapping away on his keyboard. You're mesmerised by the subtle movements of his shoulders as he types, the way his hair bounces when he tilts his head to the side, the gentle, rhythmic breathe that passes through his lips.

Finally, he closes his laptop and turns around to face you with an excited sparkle in his eyes that you've noticed has become increasingly more common around you, though the rest of his expression remains as stoic as usual.

“I'm staying here until you're cured,” he declares. “Yuri gave the okay.”

Your breath hitches. “Here...?”

He nods. “It's best if I'm nearby in case something happens. I can prevent the worst that way.” His hands slowly move towards yours, stopping just short before they can touch, and his fingers twitch. “You don't have to worry.”

You don't think you're the one who's worrying right now.

You don't say it out loud, though, in fear that it might trigger an unhappy memory of his. Instead, you focus on the glowing warmth in your chest and the pure joy that manages to cut through your cold and tug the corners of your lips into a smile. Your hand inches closer to his, until your fingers brush against each other. If you weren't so sick in that moment, you would've pulled him into your bed and held him close. As it is, touching his hand is a pretty good compromise.

“Okay,” you say. “I won't worry.”

[glamorousspoon]

hiiii Auburn!! I saw you opened up some requests and I immediately thought that it would be so nice to see jealous/angsty Ritsu after you return from the mission in ep. 17! Or maybe just how you think he would react to this specific inter-house mission. I am thinking likely not established relationship, maybe heavy pining? (Could also turn into a confession moment???)

I'm kinda thinking out loud in your inbox haha, but this is something I would be interested in seeing and I am hoping it's something you would be excited to write:)

SUMMARY: ritsu is not very happy with the mission they sent you on (without him.)

COMMENTS: THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING RITSUUUU TT0TT I WAS SCREECHING WHEN I SAW THIS AAA

its also kinda funny because i literally . sent a request of this kind of concept to a friend of mine ... we are all hiveminding right now ASGDJAHSGD i wrote this so quick holy shit

The bombardment of texts and missed calls that popped up on your phone after you had regained cell service should have clued you into your business partner’s mood. Usually very effective at communicating, only keeping his thoughts in a single message, he had messaged you multiple times over the course of your mission, inquiring about your current state and sending information he found about recent anomaly cases on islands.

It was helpful and sweet—you simply never received any of it. Ritsu always took such good care of you, even if he wasn’t there to do it physically.

You read through each message with a smile and liked each one with the hearts he usually claimed were unprofessional. Seconds after your first heart appeared, Ritsu was typing a new message.

Come see me at the diner at 7pm tonight. I have much to discuss with you.

Oh no. Your smile falters. Is he truly angry with you? It’s not like you had control over the situation. Texting him back, you explain that the anomaly affected your cell service, and that you would have contacted him sooner if you could.

He leaves you to read.

You would have called him every night if they’d let you. What part of that does he not understand?

You part ways with everyone and make your way to the diner, arriving approximately twelve minutes early. Ritsu sits in his usual booth, empty coffee mug at his side, pouring over his textbook with a furrowed brow.

“Ritsu? I’m back,” you pipe up, clutching the straps of your bag nervously.

“Please, have a seat,” he says, all business and no friendliness.

You sit down, pressing your lips together. He doesn’t look up at you, opting to focus all of his attention on the book instead of acknowledging you.

“If you want to talk to me, then talk to me. I didn’t come here just to sit with all this tension,” you say softly, coaxing him to give you something, anything.

Ritsu clears his throat, finally looking up at you. His face is impassive, but something is wrong—you can’t tell if he’s frustrated or angry. Embarrassed, maybe? Whatever the case, he would no doubt tell you if you kept up the pressure.

“Is it about the mission?” you ask, leaning a bit closer, “Come on, you can tell me. I won’t laugh or anything. Promise.”

“It was brought to my attention,” he blurts, adjusting his tie with a steady hand, “That you went on a reality dating show with our fellow ghouls as contestants to win your heart.”

You nod slowly, unsure as to what about that would make him so upset. When you don’t speak, Ritsu continues, busying his hands with the pages of his textbook, flipping through each one at random.

“Have you become distracted while you were there? It would do you well to not forget our goal of reinstating the Gala, and Sinostra obtaining the Laurel Crown.” he reminds you, almost scolding you amidst the soft humming of the refrigerators in the kitchen.

You hear the question that remains unspoken.

Did any of them successfully win your heart?

You lean back in your seat, sighing deeply in relief. He wasn’t angry with you—Ritsu was just worried that you actually fell for one of them.

What a silly thing to stress about!

“Ritsu,” you smile, reaching across the table.

You grab his hand and he stills his meaningless flipping of pages. You watch his throat bob as he swallows, eyes trained on your hand.

“I don’t like any of them like that. You don’t need to worry about any of the ghouls distracting me from you,” you chastise him gently, squeezing his hand, “You’re my favorite.”

At those words, you have a great pleasure of seeing fire blossom across his cheeks, his hand shaking ever so slightly underneath yours. His chest is heaving and this time you know it’s embarrassment—he’s practically shaking at the praise, even if he's hiding it well.

“Are you positive?” he asks, voice firm as ever but inexplicably soft at the same time.

“Well, I’m with you right now, aren't I? I think I’m pretty sure,” you point out.

His shoulders relax a bit with relief. You open your mouth, then close it, hesitating.

“I would have called you,” you murmur, “If I had cell service. I tried to, actually. So...since I can tell you everything now, thank you for taking care of me. I read through some of the files and articles you sent. You’re quite kind to me, Ritsu. You’re irreplaceable.”

“Then—Well, we should meet tomorrow then, too.” he huffs, fumbling for his recorder (which was undoubtedly recorded the whole thing, and you hope it is so that he can listen to it over and over and know how much you love him.)

Even if you have yet to say it.

“I would love that,” you smile, giving his hand one more squeeze before you pull away, “Don’t forget what I told you. I’ll always remind you, though. If you need me to.”

Ritsu nods far too robotically—it’s as though he didn’t expect communicating with you to be so easy. You just gave in, explaining the feelings he could not reach, peeling over your very rib cage so he could catch a glimpse of your heart.

You hope he noticed how much of it was occupied by him and him alone.

[glamorousspoon]

making smth here for my homeslice since lycas her fav and i’ve been slacking on the game (saw a format like this thought it was cool borrowing it)

(lyca x reader insert mc maybe pt 1)

inside the looking glass

What did it mean to be cursed?

For you, the answer was simple: Officialized Errand boy. You slipped your textbooks back into your bag as you cycled through familiarly unfamiliar woods. Paperwork for the captain, which you suspected you’d be told to shove it somewhere blonde and smirky, constantly trying to either kill or kiss you under the moonlight.

For Lyca Colt, it meant monsterhood. Where your curse wrote death, his wrote his life. You saw it by Subaru’s side, you saw it in the halls from afar the way students would scatter when he stomped into a room like the plague.

It was sad, of course. Many things about him were. It simmered softly in the back of your head, and the hollowed din of the woods only probed deeper into the confines of your memories.

You remembered how fast he broke away at the ten second mark on his head. Don’t touch me, his mind had changed fairly quick. Rejection stung, but you knew it was all he knew how to do. You knew he was still learning how to accept a world that had previously never accepted him.

But, evidently, things had gotten a little awkward last night.

—-

Your sigh filtered up towards the ceiling after a long day of easy work. Rui had you freshened up with a cocktail to ease the mundanity, and with it the mild horror of how used to this life you had gotten.

It’s so stuffy in here, you groaned to yourself as you picked haphazardly at the buttons on your uniform.

You were grateful for the reprieve of outsiders Obscuary had always welcomed you in, both of the captain’s goofy antics always settling your mind with a simple distraction. With the new distraction came new problems as one boy’s absence was always lingering in the back of your head.

Lyca hardly came out of his room anymore ever since the Karuiza Resort incident. Still picturing the ice pick he tried to offer turned on his neck.

Knocks gave you groans. Goadings for snacks, a curt ‘thanks. Not hungry.’ More lingering. Never getting anywhere.

‘Please talk to me’, those were the words stuck thick in the back of your throat. You knew it wasn’t fair. Lyca was going through a lot. The least you could do was properly reach out. Even in the darkest corners of his room, he was sinking his teeth into books instead of meals. Always studying. Always striving for better.

‘How to not be a monster’, you guessed, was the book he was truly looking for.

You frowned, finally shucking yourself out of your blouse with that familiar simmering frustration. It was on the verge of bursting at your fingertips. You angrily rifled for your pajamas, the plan forming in your head. You needed to talk to him. You had to. In the morning, you’d get him breakfast from Sho’s truck. Maybe he’d be more open to the scent. You’d keep knocking until he opened the door. You couldn’t just leave him like this.

(Why?)

The question didn’t even have time to be ignored as the door sleepily swung open.

“...gigolo got candles…?”

“Lyca!?”

His face jerked up, alertness slapping him across the eyes along with several other images. You could barely process the neon hue in his face as he sputtered out the doorway for the handle, noises you had never heard before out his mouth.

“Lock the door, idiot! Crap, I’m so sorry—”

You blinked, wires slowly blowing a fuse as the door slammed shut with the force of a battlefield.

—-

You slapped your hands into your face. You seriously needed to stop dredging that memory.

“Such loud thoughts you have tonight, little one.”

The voice was silken and familiar. Your head jerked up onto the tree branch where a small bat hung, the closest most disturbing imitation of a smile you had ever seen on its face.

“Ed? What’re you doing out here?”

“It’s a nice night tonight. Nothing wrong in experiencing it, don’t you think?” You were pretty sure the night air here never changed.

“You can read thoughts?”

“I can do many things, as a vampire, of course,” The voice echoed amusedly in your head.

“Um,” Heat flushed down to the bones of your cheeks, defensively shaking your head. “Please don’t?”

“Ah, but it’s such a beautifully loud jumble in there. Why not give them life? I believe our pup would be quite flattered to hear of your—”

“I have paperwork I need you to sign.”

“Oh, dear. Ouch. My spinal cord. I must’ve snapped my neck.”

Without another word, the bat fluttered its wings and quickly sprung off into the night, and your task blew up in your face in cold silence. You stared apprehensively into the House just up ahead. You should probably just find a new task to occupy yourself with.

“Knew I smelled somethin’ slimy out here,”

Came a gruffed up voice behind you that sent you needling on all sorts of forcibly unexplored feelings. You swiftly turned around to meet Lyca’s face. He stepped closer with a hard glare in his eyes, sniffing around you.

“Oi. Mothead didn’t touch you, did he?”

You sheepishly rubbed at your arm with a quiet, “no?”

You were pretty sure the flashback was settling into both of your brains with the awkward way he suddenly nodded, stepped back, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He quickly turned around.

“…Good. Gonna go take a nap, then.”

“Wait—” you reached for the underside of his arm, fingers quickly flinched off with wide eyes. “I need to talk to you.” You scrambled.

He stared over your face, ears slowly twitching out of his head as he breathed.

“...I get if it’s more comfortable. Can I at least come with you to your room—”

“No.”

You winced, biting into your cheek. Well, there go a lot of your options. You floundered.

“But—”

“No.”

“I—”

“No.”

“P… Please?” You couldn’t fight him for much longer.

He grimaced as his eyes tracked panickedly over your face. He buried his temple into a tense palm, a harsh breath through his teeth.

“...Make it quick.”

You nodded vehemently, a bright grin tilting up your face. His scrunched like a guilty lemon.

“I understand.” You tried to nod assuringly. He gave a weak, noncommittal grunt, shamed ears deflating to the side of his scarlet face.

You quickly moved to sputter, words and longstanding thoughts all coming out in a nonsensical rush. “I know things have been, uhm, really difficult—and—and you’ve been working really hard, so I promise I won’t add anything, because you’re just really amazing, and no one really tells you that enough, and—And—Yeah. There’s a lot I want to tell you.’

He blinked, taking in your barrage of words one stuttered click in his brain at a time. “...huh? Hah? The hell?!” His tail popped out in a bristle, a full growl out his flushed throat as a tree branch smacked him in the face. Your hand worriedly reached for his forehead, and the forward motion had him dropped to the dirt in a defensive crouch.

“You can’t touch me,” The growl rang harsh and ragged in warning through his teeth.

“Right! Right. I’m sorry.”

His face dropped a little, straightening up at your tone.

“Look, I just…” He suddenly grabbed your sleeve, pulling you into a brisk, wound up walk. His eyes darted around like something might leap out and kill you any second, careful eyes and wound sinew ready to maul the next thing you both encountered on the way. “M’not good with words. You don’t have to force yourself to be around me.”

“I’m not. I think you’re pretty great.”

His ears buried into his face, head tilted to the side.

“...yeah, yeah.” He mumbled, fingers squeezing against your sleeve. “Let’s just get this over with.”

[glamorousspoon]

everything you lose is a step you take

⭢ taiga + mc, 1k

b is for b-t-h. ˖⁺‧₊⟡ alphabet series | ao3

When the door to Taiga’s room cracks open to reveal the golden barrel of a gun you don’t even blink. 

“What the fuck d’ya want,” comes a flat demand. 

You sigh, and flap a folder of documents against Taiga’s gun. “Your forms for the week.” 

The door creaks open further to reveal a frowning Taiga. “No.” 

He lets you into his room all the same, though, so you follow when he turns tail to sprawl back onto the red plush of his bed. 

You shuffle the forms out of their folder as you enter. “Three forms this week. Two from Romeo and one for a mission report.” 

(You’d learnt not to mention Hyde by name long ago, after he tossed you out one too many times for asking.) 

Taiga groans, taking the pen you hand him. He signs his name with a disgruntled flourish, then waves you away. You think you see a hint of a pout on his lips, but you daren’t quite believe it. “Go bother Lulu, I wanna nap.” 

“Wait,” you say. You take a deep breath, steeling yourself. “I have a… a gift for you.” 

Taiga stares at you for a moment before shrugging. At the curious raise of his eyebrows you pull out a bracelet from the inside of your blazer. Its white beads are laced with tiny glinting plastic beads that catch the low candlelight and reflect blood-red sparks around the dying sunlight of the room. It is light in your palm, a barely there reminder of the culmination of an afternoon’s work, and as you slip it into Taiga’s waiting palm the cheap acrylic look almost like rubies. 

Taiga squints at the white beads that have landed in his hand. “B-T-H?” 

You shift. “That’s what Romeo calls you, isn’t it? Whenever you look at it you’ll remember to reply his texts.” 

Taiga’s laugh startles a smile out of you. He holds it up to the light. “He didn’t put ya up to this, did he. Doesn’t look like his kinda beads.” 

You rub your neck. You doubt you could afford Romeo’s ‘kinda beads’. “No, I made it myself. Made one for all of us so you’d remember who we were.” 

(You did make one for Romeo so as not to leave him out, after all; you just don’t know if he’d accept something so cheap.) 

Taiga hums. The ease at which he accepts your gift is mildly discomfiting; as he slips the elastic over his fist the beads look like a crown of blood. 

His eyes flicker over to yours, zeroing in on where your arms are crossed over your chest. He smiles, something sharp and mischievous that burns an inferno up the sparks of your skin. “Ya made one for yourself, kitty-cat?” 

You shift your weight to your other foot. “Yeah.” 

“What does yours say?” 

You fidget with the beads wrapped around your wrist. It’s a little embarrassing to read it out loud, now that you’re confronted with Taiga himself, but Taiga raises his eyebrows and opens his mouth, and you find yourself blurting, “Dumbass #1.” 

Taiga pauses. His mouth snaps shut before a slow grin unfurls across his face. “And who the fuck is Dumbass #2?” 

You frown. “Ritsu.”

“Who?” 

“What– he’s–“ you catch sight of the glee in Taiga’s eyes– “Oh, never mind.” 

Taiga throws his head back and laughs, a loud cackle that paints the whole room yellow. He runs a hand through the fire of his hair. “I’ll remember.” 

You doubt it, but that’s what you made the bracelets for anyway. 

Taiga stands, one fluid motion that brings him off the sofa and straight to your face. You nearly jerk back from the sudden proximity, but his fingers trail down your arm, lacing itself into the back of your hand before bringing it up to his lips. 

Time stops, then, in the sun of the room. 

What is it like to hold a predator, his ruthless and reckless turned soft in the heart of your palm? To have him wrap your hand around his cheek, cradling him, like he knows you are not afraid of a star so bright and lightless and burning? 

His eyelashes brush your fingers. He sighs, the quiet huff warm against your fingertips. The thump of your heart echoes loud in your ears as he melts into your hold, pliant and trusting, like you are the only thing keeping him from floating away on strains of blood and hunger, and when he opens his eyes to look down at you it feels all too much like a surrender. 

“Thank you,” Taiga hums. His voice is uncharacteristically quiet, not coloured with its usual tone of frustration or boredom but a raw honesty that melts right from the whiskey of his lips onto where he is bruising a kiss onto the tilt of your thumb– 

-before his teeth catch on the elastic cord of Dumbass #1 and yank it clean off your wrist. 

The beads scatter around the floor of the room, pearly white pieces bouncing off the black marble. Each rattle of fallen bead rings in your ears – just like that, an afternoon’s work disperses itself and slides under pieces of furniture, never to be seen again. 

“Taiga,” you breathe, brows furrowing, but before you can begin to process the sting of rejection from Taiga’s actions, soft lips press themselves against the inside of your wrist. 

His hand, warm on the outside of yours, curls your fingers around the smooth of his cheek. “Kitty-cat.” 

Your eyes meet. His luminous green eyes swallow all the light in the room, threaten to swallow you, whole. 

You daren’t move. 

Your thumb stays on his cheek, even as his hand leaves yours to curl around your bare wrist. 

But then Taiga’s eyes narrow, and he grins, all shark and glow, hair falling like blood into the sharp of his gaze. “Make another one,” he says, and kisses your wrist again, for good measure. His teeth graze your pulse. 

“Make sure it says kitty-cat this time.” 

[glamorousspoon]

Making Them Jealous By Accident - Sinostra

You didn't realize you weren't giving your loving boyfriend enough attention but when he starts to complain about you spending time with someone else it dawns on you. You better make sure to assure him he's the only one for you.

Very very vague references to spice in Taiga's part

Sinostra | Frostheim | Jabberwock | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkraken | Vagastrom

Ritsu Shinjo

You end up spending a lot of your time lately with Ren

You hadn't meant to not spend as much time around Ritsu but between doing a mission with Jabberwock that was just finished and Ren trying to get you to participate in the latest guild event for the game he made you join, your time was pretty well taken up

You were in the mystery diner with Ren, him hovering over you shoulder to coach you on how to place your teams when Ritsu came him

Ritsu knew you were friends with Ren, he did have the recording of you refering to him as such afterall, but he still couldn't help the pang he felt when he came into the diner and saw how close Ren was to you

"Ah Mr. Shiranami, do you mind if I take my buisness partner for a moment to discuss something?"

"Just make sure you place them properly before the event ends." Ren mutters as he leaves you and Ritsu to talk

You greet Ritsu with a hug and a kiss on the cheek once Ren has left and ask after how he's doing and what he needs

He hesitates, for once unsure how to word what he's feeling

"I think we need to revise our relationship contract"

"How so? You still want to be with me right?" You asked quickly, suddenly very worried

"Of course i still want to be with you. I merely want to advise it to allocate for spending more time with each other and less time around others."

By now you're an expert in speaking Ritsu

"Ritsu..are you, jealous of how much time I've spent around Ren lately?" You tease, earlier fear all but forgotten

Ritsu frowns but doesn't deny it, afterall, he can't lie to his partner! That's just bad practice and being a bad boyfriend

"Ritsu I'm sorry." You genuinely apologize "I'll make it up to you, but you know you're the only one for me"

Ritsu does know that. But that won't stop him from listening to the recording he now has of you saying he's the only one for you when he's lying in bed alone at night and missing you, even though you only just left to go shower or something else before coming back to him, because you'd always come back to him

Romeo Lucci

Of course Romeo notices how you trail around after that first year, assisting him when you should have been assisting Romeo instead! Know your place BB!

He finally has enough when after several of his messages were left unread he sees you on his security cameras once more trailing behind that first year lawyer

This time he calls you and watches the cameras to see if you'd even bother to answer him, lucky for you that you do

"GET TO MY LOUNGE RIGHT NOW IYKWGFY"

"Iykwgf?"

"IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU BB"

Waits out the minute it takes you to get to his lounge in a fit, going between upset that you dare ignore him, and upset that maybe, just maybe, you like that first year more than him

When you finally enter the room the sight you're greeted with is Romeo sitting stiffly in one of his seats with an anxious look on his face.

Do not bring it up to him, he can't think about getting wrinkles right now!

"What did you need help with Romeo?"

"You ignored my messages!"

"Sorry, Jin was spamming me with demands too and Ritsu wanted me to memorize a lot of the laws as well as collect information for potential clients." You sigh

"So you're not just avoiding me for that first year?!"

You process what he just asked you as you plunk down onto one of the seats. Romeo automatically orders one of goons to bring you a drink

"Romeo, were you jealous of me spending time with Ritsu?" You tease, grinning at him

He scoffs "NO! Me?! Jealous of that wanna bs lawyer?! He holds nothing to my beauty!" He rants

You cut him off before this rant can go any longer "Good, because you have nothing to be jealous of. You're the only one for me, the best looking ghoul around"

"Well, good, at least you have some taste"

Late at night, as you're half asleep, he'll whisper his own praises of you and how you're the only one for him too

Taiga Hoshibami

If you've gotten close enough to Taiga that he consistently remembers you to date you, then good luck

This man would range from getting jealous of you even breathing near someone else to laughing at failed attempts to pull your attention away from him

If it's one of his super jealous days then you're in for it

It happens to be one of the rare times he wanders into the VIP room and sees you there with Romeo and he decides he does not want to share you with Lulu today

"Lulu, you should know better than to steal what's mine."

He will casually wander over and just toss you over his over

"TAIGA?! What are you doing?!"

"Kitty cat you're spending all your time with Lulu when you should be spending it with me"

"That doesn't mean you can just toss me over your shoulder and carry me off when you're jealous"

There's no real malice behind your words, you're dating Taiga, you've learned this is just how he behaves

When he tosses you down onto his bed he grins down at you, proud of himself

"Nothing to be jealous of when you end up here Kitty cat" he purrs

He's got you there, and he makes sure to remind you that you're his

[glamorousspoon]

SUMMARY: the ghouls have turned tiny!

COMMENTS: sequel to my last post!

TAGLIST: @as1iiiwhaa @astralsocfactory

Jin is frustrated with his current state, since he can’t do much of anything at all (read: he's mad that he's helpless.) Even so, it’s not like he leaves his room, so maybe he could work with this. Enlists your help so he can drink and eat, and will also sleep on top of you if you let him. Spoiled.

Tohma is a special case...I don’t think he would reach out to you at all, he’s content to just sit back and let things play out. He can sneak around better in this form anyway. If you catch him, do him a favor and help out, alright?

Luca isn’t upset, but he isn’t happy about it either. He’ll stay with you the whole day, most likely curled up in your pocket (unless he senses danger.) Please stay safe during this time, Luca will blame himself if something happens to you while he’s tiny.

Kaito is freaking out about never turning back ever again (sound familiar?) It’s up to you to calm him down! Maybe say that he’s cute when he’s small...that’ll get him to quiet down. Put him in your pocket and pay no attention to his mumbles about how you smell good...

Alan is somehow still worried about hurting you, even though he’s so small...would rather stay away from you entirely, but accepts the fact that you want to look after him. Just put him in your pocket, he’ll do his best to help you out throughout the day.

Sho is just annoyed that he can’t open his food truck. It’s a huge inconvenience, but he’s glad he’s with you instead of Leo. If there’s one thing Sho can be certain of in this state, it’s that you will do your best to protect him and help him out with whatever he needs!

Leo is still an asshole, just...a smaller one. He bitches and moans and whines, annoyed as all hell that he can’t check his phone and be on it all the time. His already sensitive hearing is more sensitive, too. Will get into your pocket some way or another and just lounge in there. There is no getting rid of him, he won’t let you.

Haru has been there, done that. He’s going to do his best to work, for better and for worse, and it’s up to you to stop him if you think it’s getting too out of hand. He’s stubborn as hell and likely won’t listen, but if you put your foot down hard enough he’ll relent. Let him rest on your stomach or chest while you watch a movie or something!

Towa doesn’t like being small at all. Dandelions are supposed to be small and cute, not giant. You don’t even look like a dandelion anymore...and Haru isn’t Haru! Genuinely so upset about this, either let him be or hold him. Ultimately, it depends on how close you and Towa are, if he’s going to be receptive to how you treat him.

Ren is so upset. Today was supposed to be a normal day for him (as normal as it can be anyway) and yet here he is, shrunk down to the size of an ant. It’s up to you to keep Haru at bay and make sure Ren is calm, lest he actually lose his mind. Make him a little bowl of ramen and he’ll be grateful, even if it is awkward to eat.

Taiga thinks it's funny at first. Hopefully he stays in a good mood and thinks it’s cool the whole day—if not, he’ll do fuck all and get into really dangerous situations. If in a good mood, he wouldn’t mind swinging from your fingertips and scaling you like a jungle gym. In a bad mood, however, you’re not going to see him at all until he’s big again.

Romeo is so distressed about this change of events. How is he supposed to care for his face like this!? He can’t bark orders either! (Luckily for him, Sinostra students fear him just enough to listen to his tiny form yelling with no questions.) Stays with you the whole day and insists that you cater to his every need—it’s a love language, I fear.

Ritsu is rather annoyed at this change of events. How is he supposed to collect evidence like this? He will immediately reach out to you (somehow) and have you get his extra recorder (congrats on seeing his room LMAO) before derailing your entire day by dragging you around place to place in search of evidence he needs to collect. This is a double edged sword because he will praise you for helping him while calling you slow if you don’t move fast enough for his standards. “We could miss something important!” It is literally a Saturday chill out my guy.

Subaru wishes you didn’t have to touch him to transport him anywhere. He feels awful for imposing on you like this, and will sulk the whole time he’s resting in your pocket. Please keep touching him to an absolute minimum, he feels like he’s taking advantage of your kindness already...

Haku doesn’t seem to be overly concerned about his current state. If you ask, he’ll laugh and clarify that he isn’t happy about it. It’s bearable because you’re here, though. FLIRT! Just spend time with him all day, feeding him crumbs of your meals. He will insist on returning the favor when he’s big again. FLIRT! X2

Zenji will simply rest on your shoulder and yap your ear off throughout the day. Honestly, nothing but changes with him! He’s still as cheerful as ever, singing your praises and making comments about the beauty of the outside world. Floats around your head like a guardian angel (because that is exactly what he is, thank you very much.)

Edward has never been in this sort of predicament before. It’s even more of a reason why you should take care of a poor old man like him. Honestly, he’ll spend most of his time sleeping and watching YouTube on “the big screen” (aka his tablet.) You’re pretty much stuck with him for the remainder of the day now!

Rui is itching to do something, anything! He doesn’t get tired and he’s so used to having chores all throughout the day. Now that he’s so tiny he can’t do any of that, he’s bouncing around like a little overexcited hamster (which may remind you of a certain someone...) If you promise to take him out he’ll mope that he’s not in the proper form, but won’t refuse you anything. Just don't touch him!

Lyca is annoyed. He had plans to spend time with you and Suba today, and now all of that is out the window because of some stupid anomaly! (Psst, this is when you tell him that just because he’s small, you and Subaru would love to hang out with him still!) It’s up to you to take him everywhere, keeping him tucked in your pocket. He insists on keeping his head out so he can see where you’re going, like a puppy striking its head out the window.

Yuri is PISSED. He has work to do, patients to cure, research to experiment with! He cannot be lugged around in your pocket all day, thank you very much! Don’t listen to most of his blabbing, he’s just embarrassed. If you talk him down and praise him, his eyes will go wide and he’ll shut up really fast. Still nervous but climbing onto your hand and being close to your body though.

Jiro is inconvenienced by this, sure. But is he going to let this ruin his day? Absolutely not. Somehow, someway, Jiro is going to find things to do around Mortkranken despite his size. It’s really up to you to chide him for working so hard if you want him to stop. He’ll listen to you, after all!

[glamorousspoon]

'*•.¸♡ I Choose Jiro~! ¸.•*'

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

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

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

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

For prolouge and other character choices, click here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, it did not work.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

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

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Then-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes."

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

"No,"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I guess so."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Y-yes? of course? I-"

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

"Wha-"

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