im-no-mechanic-but

[im-no-mechanic-but]

it’s a poorly done screen recording but I had to save it—

I had to

Not me just barely unlocking ep. 18 half an hour after 19’s release lol—

[im-no-mechanic-but]

No idea if this post will literally go anywhere but, hi! Sorry we've been gone for a while, I (Ash) have been super busy the past month between family visiting, work and other life things but, the Tokyo Debunker hyperfixation has not let me free (I tried to leave and start working on my dnd characters again only to be immediately sucked back in like a bug vs the world's biggest vacuum LMAO) so let's talk!

Technically this is a theory and granted, I don't have much evidence for this but hey what the hell. Spoiler warning ahead btw

I don't think Jiro is originally a Mortkranken student. I think he might have originally placed in one of the defunct houses.

Or that something is generally odd about his house placement.

I've been looking at the special artifacts of the ghouls while working on my own tkdb oc and there is generally a pattern written into the ghouls artifacts that are both befitting of their character, and the house they belong to. Frosthiem as our introduction house tends to give us the most information as well as Vagastrom because of the relationship between the two houses. Frosthiem is about order, and we see this through their house being represented with chess pieces and all the ghouls being assigned a piece in one set of warding cards (The Morning Routine collection that pairs with the masquerade SSR cards) on top of that we also see this right away with how the chapter titles refer to Jin and Tohma, and the original SSR cards for Frosthiem. When we look at the special artifacts of Frosthiem, we have very "traditional" weapons we see in fantasy tropes, swords, a halberd, and a bow and arrow. All of these weapons are befitting when we keep the hierarchy system in mind for Frosthiem on top of the actual building having a very castle-like feel to it.

Vagastrom on the other hand, which is the house of delinquents, all of their special artifacts fall into the stereotypes of what was considered disrespectful. Leo's bubblegum is the easiest example to me since I grew up hearing not to chew bubblegum in class all the time even if whoever was doing it was quiet. But regardless, Vagastrom's special artifacts are a perfect contrast to Frosthiem. And we see this pattern continue across all the houses even in cases of transfers like Haku and Haru. Hakus flute is both befitting of him playing the role of a priest in Clementia and the arts of Hotarubi, Haru's push broom works for both Jabberwock and his role as a circus performer in Dionysia. (I desperately need more info about the defunct houses I am CHEWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE)

With that in mind though, Mortkranken seems a bit, odd. Granted, they've always stuck out to me for the fact that there're only two ghouls in that house while most houses have three (and honestly I could yap for hours about the dynamics of the houses). Mortkranken holds the reputation of being the medical house, and the only house that has students actively researching anomalous medicine on top of it being the house that generally takes care of autopsies for missions unless absolutely necessary for Darkwick General to take it. And the special artifacts of Mortkranken are a syringe, and a chainsaw. Something doesn't quite add up to me about that. Yes a sharp object makes sense, but if Mortkranken is a medical centered house with huge emphasis on the ghoul duo being Victor Frankenstein and his monster, why a chainsaw?? A scalpel, a bone saw, or safety sheers would make more sense if we're keeping in touch with the medicine/mortuary theme. Something to me doesn't add up especially when we see all the other ghouls with special artifacts that add up or stay on theme with their house even if it's a little ridiculous.

On top of that, as much as I love and adore Jiro, he's an unreliable narrator. Not because he's the kind of character who lies to the audience to make himself look better, but because his memories aren't there and the only sources of information we get about Jiro pre-clash, is from other characters, particularly Yuri and Zenji. Jiro has stated that he doesn't remember anything from before the clash happened since that's about when he woke up from his coma, we also don't know just how long Jiro was unconscious for, and I see no reason as to why Jiro being from another house would be disclosed to us readers by Zenji or Yuri. Yuri is too practical, he probably won't tell us unless he has to or the Mc corners him and asks, and Zenji I don't think will tell us simply because it hasn't been a relevant conversation.

We can theoretically rule out Jiro being originally from Dionysia if we follow the special artifacts must match the contents/theme of the house notion, and Jiro is too practical now for him to have been in Clementia, plus I think Haku or Rui would've hinted at it at least. This leaves, of the defunct houses we know the least about, Ultio. To be fair, Jiro could be from any of the other houses that are still currently active too, but if we follow the same idea as stated before we can safely rule out Hotarubi, Obscurary, Sinostra, and Jabberwock. There could be potential for Jiro being in any of the houses, but at least in my mind, Ultio and Vagastrom would be the biggest contenders. I'll give Frosthiem some wiggle room for this idea, I don't see why he couldn't have been in Frosthiem but I feel like that would've been mentioned to, or hinted at by another character like Tohma or even the gossiping gen ed students

And as a counter argument to the idea of Jiro always being in Mortkranken, why isn't he the captain then? We haven't heard of Darkwick demoting Captains for their actions before or for any other reason (cough cough Taiga and Edward) and we know for a fact that Yuri was originally in Frosthiem, meaning he became Mortkranken's captain in his second year when the Mc had already arrived. Also mild edit: being in a coma is a fair reason to not be a captain, but if Jiro was Mortkrankens captain pre clash, that means he would've been captain as a first year which we haven't seen before (minus Edward but Obscurary was established because of him so), and also I don't see why his status of captain would be revoked and given to Yuri while Jiro was out cold.

As I've said before I do lack evidence unfortunately other than some pattern recognition and the fact that Jiro is an unreliable narrator and we are missing SO much information about literally everything ever but regardless, I think Jiro being in Mortkranken is both fitting of his nature and his story as a character but also, there's something about it that doesn't quite add up all the way to me.

Anyways thank you for letting me ramble about this, and thank you for reading, If there's evidence that suggests that I'm right or wrong please let me know because I missed it. And sorry for any shit formatting, tumblr mobile go brrrr.

-Ash

[im-no-mechanic-but]

Hellooooo! I saw that ur still receiving art requests so can I request Tkdb art where Jin and Romeo wear maid outfits while MC and Taiga have vest suits? (⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

Long story short, it's like the one where MC somehow successfully convincing Jin and the other two to play dress up with her after she got an idea and also the random courage to do it (with twists of the clothes are all in the blind box obviously, and you can't undo the move and are obligated to put the clothes on), and the outfit Jin and Romeo randomly picked up out of boredom are maid outfits. Any types of maid outfits and vest suits are fine (⁠´⁠；⁠ω⁠；⁠｀⁠)

This was fun to make (i love drawing male characters in dresses and vice versa)

[im-no-mechanic-but]

Speaking my language here, my friend

alan driving his car in the next episode 🙏 alan beating the shit out out of another student/anomaly 🙏 alan covered in blood 🙏 alan struggling with modern technology 🙏 alan not understanding a word/reference 🙏 leo riling up alan for absolutely no reason 🙏"🗣️ b a n d a n a" 🙏 random lore crumb from alan's past 🙏 alan's mom mention?cameo 🙏 rare alan smile 🙏 alan getting lost inside the school building 10x a day 🙏 beautiful classmate npc girlies 🙏 ALAN'S DAD!!!

[im-no-mechanic-but]

G is for Gumusservi

Turkish • noun • “moonlight shining over the water” Rui Mizuki

⚙️: 802 ct. (unedited) | ⚠️: slight angst 😅 | 🕯️: Rui Mizuki

Rui didn’t like letting himself think. If he could get away with it, he’d rather never have to think again.

At least…when it came to himself.

There was one thing, though, that his endless energy seemed to be good for (despite the million and one things it wasn’t.) He could dream up endless amounts of distractions to keep him from thinking.

Laundry needed washing, drying, folding? Sure. Dusting, scrubbing, sweeping? He can do that. Checking to make sure Ed wasn’t working so diligently to allow his room to smell like a festering waste heap? He’s on it. Cooking breakfast for Lyca and himself every morning? Easy. Dishes? No problem.

Sure, Ed may call him a housewife any time the name may fit, but he didn’t have to listen to him. Nor does he have to think about what that makes Ed. Lyca complaining about his nagging? Oh, well. At least he gets up on his own, these days.

Rui takes it all in stride, no matter how much he may complain. Truth be told, he’s grateful for the busy work. It meant he didn’t have to think. Not about himself, nor his curse, nor the loss of what made him human. Nope! No thoughts here.

He tends to the garden, he tends to the plants he keeps in the cellar under the bar, he tends to the house. All part of a routine. Manning the bar, itself, came naturally. It gave him another outlet to think not of himself, but of the people who chose to come in and lay their proverbial cards out on the counter for him. He enjoyed chatting with Haru and Romeo, and even Professor Nicholas and Benkei. Familiar faces he knew well. He could think about them.

Rui preferred it when his mind was busy. When his body was able to push, push, push, and never grow weary. Sure, he just loved it. Never getting tired, never needing to sleep, he…totally loved it. …Yeah.

A long sigh leaves his lips as he kneels at the base of one of his anomalous plants, somewhat hidden by other shrubbery along the span of the gate. Something his once-human mind could probably compare to the physical appearance of a stalk of corn, but…blue. Its magenta-coloured fruit almost reminding Rui of Romeo’s eyes. He thinks he grins up at the plant, before he carefully begins weeding around the dirt at its base. 

Even with the elbow-length gloves he always dons when he’s working out here, he can’t help but find himself overly conscious of every little breeze that dances through the garden. Just one touch of a poor and unsuspecting little plant, be it the tip of a leaf or an affectionate vine…

Rui sighs again, and his hands still at the base of a weed. His shoulders slump, and he sits back on his heels.

He shouldn’t be stopping. Really, he has no reason to. He’s not hurt, and his body can’t get tired. Why’s he stopped?

He looks up at the eternally dark sky above his head, above the trees and the Obscuary manor, above Darkwick and the mortal earth. It’s a sobering feeling, he thinks, looking up at the stars and the crescent moon, and the dusting of wispy-looking clouds that move with the wind. He wonders what time it must be, considering Lyca had yet to return from his daily classes. He had no interest just yet in finding out what Ed must be doing up in his room. He didn’t feel those crimson voids watching him from the window, so perhaps he was still in bed.

He has to shake his head to bring himself back to present. Looking down at the weed he had managed to pull, its roots thick and tangled into clumps of dirt. Gloved fingers smooth the soil back over, before tossing the offending plant into a nearby bag.

Rui hates thinking about himself, so he doesn’t. Can’t afford to, really. He’s got too much to do, first.

He sets aside the bag full of the weeds and plant debris he’s collected, and twists to retrieve the watering can he thought he’d set much closer. For a brief moment, the sparkling reflection catches the ambient lunar glow from above, and Rui makes himself pause again. He sees his reflection in the small window into the can—his hair outlined by the moonlight far above.

He sees his eyes. Their colour dulled in the reflection, but he knew of their pomegranate-stained colour. He misses when they used to be softer. A summer field in his eyes, with the innocence of the child he once was. His curse…took so much from him, he thinks. His eyes. His hands. His body.

Rui drops the watering can, and closes his eyes.

Rui didn’t like letting himself think.

Dividers by @/ cafekitsune

Do not repost, steal, copy, or feed my works into any generative ai bots or resources. Likes, comments, reblogs, always and forever welcome and appreciated.

-

abc’s Masterlist • tag list application

Taglist: @lunaristyping

[im-no-mechanic-but]

I’d crash out too if I were Ritsu! 🤣🤣

two very different personalities when it comes to work here

Taiga is not happy working with some happy stranger at his side lol

[im-no-mechanic-but]

two very different personalities when it comes to work here

Taiga is not happy working with some happy stranger at his side lol

[im-no-mechanic-but]

F is for Fudgel

verb • pretending to work, whilst really doing nothing Ritsu Shinjo

⚙️: 647 ct. (unedited) | ⚠️: I’m pretty sure I might have given him a bit of anxiety 😅 | 💌: pining!Ritsu Shinjo x reader

There wasn’t always such a presence to his business partner, he doesn’t think. The model in which he had developed for himself on your schedules and behaviours, aligned with the annotative marks he’s added over time, never gave him any clues as to why he found himself more…aware of it. The…presence.

He shouldn’t have been up so late the night before, really. Flipping through the folder he had of all the notes which pertained to you, despite it being well after business hours in which it should have been appropriate to dwell on a…business partner. He had convinced himself that it was merely to update himself on your schedule for the coming week, as to best utilise what times you were likely to be available.

…Yes, that was it. Absolutely it.

Ritsu can’t help but sigh quietly as he waits for you at the Mystery Diner, seated in his usual spot, fingers laced together under his chin in a rare moment of pause. Your behavioural model stipulates that your average tardiness rate by minutes is anywhere from 2.5 minutes, to 6.3 minutes. Already, by 1 minute, he finds himself bouncing his leg. No, he’s not anxious, he had to chide himself, before laying a gloved hand flat over his knee.

That was always a rather bad habit. …He was absolutely not anxious, though. He was sure of it.

2 minutes pass, and he finds his gaze locked on the entrance doors. Surely, you would be here soon. He had much to discuss with you, after all, which he’s made clear in a timely text before your classes were to begin. Waiting an absolutely appropriate amount of time before sending a follow-up text to ensure you received the first.

No, that wasn’t a sigh of relief he let out when you responded. He only needed to be sure that his business partner was adequately informed of a necessary meeting.

Hmm…3 minutes have passed, now, it seems. That was alright, he predicted this. He would just need to remind you of the definition of punctuality when you came in, any minute now, and of the importance of being on time for important meetings.

He busies himself by neatly arranging the files he has in front of him. He would have liked to find himself in a better mindset to be able to work on something…but he could only find it in himself to manage a convincing shuffle of the pages, giving off an impression of concentration.

Why was it that a minute seemed so absurdly long when in wait? Speaking of wait…

4 minutes. Ritsu must quickly put his phone down to avoid seeming distracted by it, sensing a bored pair of eyes somewhat watching him from behind the counter. He cannot chance the moment it would take to look up, though he had no doubt that the Jabberwock first year was probably off with his nose buried in hisphone.

He finds that his grip tightens just enough to dimple the pages in his hands.

No, he was not restraining himself to prevent the lure of your contact looking up at him from behind the wall of his Lock Screen. He would wait patiently for you to arrive. Even if minute 5 was quickly approaching. Unlike his business partner…

Ritsu closes his eyes, only for a moment, before he hears the bell above the entrance doors. The tightness he hadn’t even registered in his chest, evaporating into a warmth which he also failed to register, many times before.

He glances down at his phone, once more, as you finally slide into place across from him. He’s sure you’re apologising for your tardiness, as you always do…but he doesn’t hear it. He can just listen to the recording later.

6.7 minutes.

Hm. Seems it will be another night spent ‘adjusting’ your behavioural models, tonight.

He doesn’t think he minds.

Dividers by @/ cafekitsune

Do not repost, steal, copy, or feed my works into any generative ai bots or resources. Likes, comments, reblogs, always and forever welcome and appreciated.

-

abc’s Masterlist • tag list application

Taglist: @lunaristyping

[im-no-mechanic-but]

Jailed Conversation

Taiga Hoshibami x Reader and.... Some other ghoul(?) x Reader

Taiga is in a prison cell and has some conversations about time and cycles and love for (Y/N)...with another ghoul

.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. Content warnings:

Going with some more Taiga-stuck-in-a-time-loop ideas Gender neutral reader will use They/Them pronouns or (Y/N) Some little bitty fourth wall breaking Taiga swears a bit :D

Basically I have had The Sunset Limited (2011 film) stuck on my mind for a bit, and I wanted to try something similar, with my main plot being a dialogue.

Who is the other ghoul Taiga is talking to? You decide! I like being intentionally vague.

.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.

Article 77: If a ghoul is found to have taken actions outside the scope of the mission, the Institute and its associated facilities reserve the right to detain that ghoul indefinitely. 

  Article 78: If any anomaly captured is deemed a threat to humanity, the Institute or its associated facilities reserve the right to detain that anomaly indefinitely. 

  The clanging of the neighboring cell awakens Taiga, and the redhead would have sat up to see who it was if it wasn’t the millionth time this had happened. It didn’t matter anymore who it was. 

  “Taiga?” the other ghoul asks, and the named ghoul just shifts in his reclined position. “What are you… they’re keeping us here?” 

  Sinostra’s captain recognizes the voice. He always does. He uncrosses his legs, switching one over the other. “Yeah. For ‘assisting the enemy.’”  Golden-yellow eyes flash to the closed doors. “We’ll get out eventually.” No matter telling him that “out” was just going to be another pass of the timelines. It wouldn’t make any difference. 

  The next part always follows a few different scripts. The other ghoul might go rattling the cage bars, or trying to find some other way to escape. He might try to think of ways to use his stigma, though of course any artifacts had been confiscated. He might yell. He might sit quietly. He might even crack a joke. It was interesting (the first hundred or so times) that the particular ghoul and the chosen response were not always the same. 

  This time he decides he’s going to try to strike up a conversation. 

  “Is… Do you know if (Y/N) is okay?” 

  This draws a laugh from Taiga, and he finally sits up to face the other man. Taiga grins. “Oh, definitely not.” The other man frowns back, and Taiga waves a hand dismissively. “Eh, what happens, happens. There’s no point in getting all broken up about it.” 

  The other man grows indignant, crossing his arms. “I… the way I feel…” 

  “Tch. You love the little Kitty-cat, of course.” This makes the other ghoul blush, but Taiga’s customary smirk remains. “You fell for them despite everything going on, and now you want to run to the rescue and stop all of this, stop the curse, stop the destruction of everything, and move into a little house and live happily ever after.” He sighs and stretches, a satisfying pop felt in his shoulders. “You always do.” 

  The other ghoul pauses at this, eyes studying the redhead carefully. “Always?” Taiga raises an eyebrow, but his gaze is unflinching. “Taiga… what exactly do you know?” 

  Another sigh from the Gambler, this one more drawn out and annoyed. “Aaaand that question happens more often than not, too.” Taiga moves closer to the bars of the cell, leaning his back against it and letting peridot eyes close. He’s so tired. So fucking tired. “Let’s just say I’ve been around the block a few times, gyahaha!” He tries to laugh, but it comes out humorlessly. “And each cycle around the block, one of you is in here, lamenting your “lost love” or whatever, how you couldn’t save them, blah blah blah.” 

  There’s a longer silence this time. Hm. He’s thoughtful this time. 

  “You said ‘one of you.’ So it’s not… me? Each time is someone else?” 

  Interesting. Taiga sits up, opening his eyes to look back at the other. That’s the first time I remember him asking that. “Aw, you jealous?. It’s not like (Y/N) cheated on ya or anything. They’re not the same person each go around. So it only makes sense they’d fall for someone different.” 

  The other ghoul shifts uncomfortably. “If what you’re saying…” He bites his own bottom lip a moment in thought. “...So that means nobody else could save them either.” 

  Taiga’s grin returns. “You’re getting it.” 

  “How many–”

  “--Lost count.” The grin quickly fades into a straight line. “Nothing matters, we’re just gonna all get royally fucked again, and again, and again, and then it’ll be another one of you in here next to me, occasionally yappin’ my ear off about how you might be different, how you’ve still got a little bit of hope or some bullshit like that.” He twists his body to lie on his stomach, leaning his forearms against the bars of the cell and resting the side of his face against the cool metal, watching his co-captive with cat-like eyes. 

  The other ghoul struggles a moment, face drawn thoughtfully. “And you’re saying that’s pointless. Because it’s just gonna loop around again.” 

  “Yep.” The final “pah” of Taiga’s response pops loudly in the damp air. The Gambler gestures faintly towards the other’s cell door. “Somebody’ll come through there in a bit. Take you out. You’re not gonna be in here long.” 

  “And then what?” 

  Another sharp-toothed grin. “Then I get to play ring-around-the-fucking-rosie all over again.” Taiga sighs deeply, then folds his arms under his chin and closes his eyes again. “Until the next cycle, and the next lovesick ghoul… but don’t worry. You won’t remember any of this for the next cycle. It’s almost never the same guy twice in a row.” He shrugs. “Maybe you’ll be better off. Maybe next cycle you win a ticket outta here.” 

  It’s quiet for another moment, but Taiga’s eyes startle open when a small pebble hits the top of his head. The other ghoul is glaring daggers at him. 

  “And you know this is going to keep happening, and you don’t do anything to help?” 

  Taiga sits up angrily. “If I had my gun right now–” 

  “But you don’t. And it sounds like when you did, you didn’t even do anything helpful with it, over and over again.” 

  There’s a tightness in Taiga’s chest, and he returns the glare. “You don’t think I fucking tried?” His words are icy, but there’s no bite to them anymore. He’s so fucking tired. “With the way my head…” Emphasizing this, he rubs the ball of his wrist at his temple. He’s getting a headache this time. “...The paths change and the people and the variables. And it’s all a fucking mess.” He grins again, this one with almost the slightest touch of sadness. “Everybody already thinks I’m crazy.” The other ghoul’s face drops, and this makes Taiga chuckle. “Yeah. You included.” 

  “I don’t want to think that’s all there is to it,” he mutters. “We just keep repeating and repeating and… why? What’s the point?” 

  “Yeah, yeah. My thoughts, too. What is the point?” Taiga groans in frustration, scratching polished nails absentmindedly on the stony floor. “I think the first couple times, I tried more. But it’s just not worth the effort.” 

  “So that’s why…” Hm. He really is talkative this time, isn’t he? “...you’re always at the tables. Or just wrecking havoc in general.” 

  “Gals and ghouls, we have a winner!” Taiga responds with mock enthusiasm. “If I can’t get off this fucking ride, I might as well just try to enjoy it. Fuck the consequences.” 

  “Because there aren’t really any consequences. At least, none you haven’t already seen.” 

  Taiga pushes himself to his feet and walks over to the opposite end of the cell, for no real reason except to stretch his legs. “Yeah. I’ve seen a lot. Too much.” 

  “That would also seem to explain your fondness for naps.” 

  “Heh. Yeah, that, too. It’s tiresome.” 

  The air is too still, and Taiga can feel his stomach grumble at the distant “Breeee! Breeeee!” of another caged anomaly. Just when Sinostra’s captain thinks the unexpected conversation is over, the other ghoul continues. 

  “Is it ever you in this cell?” 

Now that’s new. 

  Taiga turns to look at the other ghoul, who continues: “Is it ever you that… cares about them?” The empty stare Taiga gives him seems to answer the question. “It isn’t, is it? Well, wouldn’t that be the difference then?” 

  The redhead slowly folds his legs beneath himself, sitting and staring back at the other. 

  The other ghoul shrugs. “If every time it’s a different ghoul, and every time we fail, but it’s never been you–” 

  “It’s always been me.” 

  The look the other ghoul gives Taiga is complex: confusion, incredulity…maybe pity? Taiga doesn’t like that part of it at all. .

  “It’s always been me,” he repeats, not without a dash of anger in his voice. “I’m always in this cell because I always fucking cared.” His admission is flat and dead serious. “Do you know how messed up it is to see someone you care about–no matter how hard you try not to–die not once, not twice, but a hundred thousand times? And then to top it all off, they don’t even remember you from one cycle to the next, but give their heart to somebody else over and over?” Taiga grits his teeth and slams his head back against the bars; if he weren’t a ghoul, the blow might’ve given him a concussion. “No. You don’t. You only have to deal with this shit once.” 

  That was the root of it, wasn’t it? Taiga, somewhere along the line, had been stupid enough to fall for someone, to care about someone other than himself, and where had that gotten him? Stuck in this never ending loop, doomed to see that same person falling hard for someone else, and even worse, as far as he could tell, it was usually something pure, too. Taiga’s little Kitten wasn’t trying to play games with someone’s heart; the ghoul that caught their attention wasn’t doing so out of malice, just genuine, true… love. And it was so. Fucking. Unfair.  He couldn’t even blame the guy. 

  He had fallen, too. 

  “Look. It’s nothing personal,” Taiga concedes with another sigh. “It’s not your fault that shit’s fucked.” 

  “Not that I think you actually care about my state of mind, but that was as close to an apology as I think I’ve ever heard from you.” 

  “You’re right. I don’t.” 

  “Charming.” 

  Taiga grins in spite of himself then meanders to the section of the cell he had determined best to stretch out in. He does so, putting one arm over his eyes. “You know me, I aim to please~” he teases halfheartedly. 

  The blessed quiet couldn’t last long, that wasn’t within Taiga’s luck, it would seem: “What if,” the other man begins, “you tried to… be here.” Taiga takes his arm off his eyes and leans his head up to make eye contact. “Tried to be… the person in this cell. If you haven’t tried it yet, maybe it’s the difference to–” 

  “To stop the cycle.” The Gambler sits upright again. “I dunno. Maybe.” 

  The other ghoul offers a small smile in return. “Maybe you should try it next cycle, then.” 

  Taiga’s eyes narrow. “End up taking your love interest, huh?” 

  The small smile remains. “If it saves them, yes.” 

  “Think you’re a hero?” 

  “No,” the other ghoul answers, expression honest. “But you could be. And (Y/N) deserves it.” 

  Maybe not every part of Taiga had been razed of sympathy; he lets his own expression relax. “You know. I don’t know what happens after…” He nods his head towards the cell door. “After they come get you. I go back into the loop, but who’s to say you do? Maybe this timeline continues after you get to leave and… I dunno…” He shrugs as the sound of footsteps begin to approach. “Maybe you get your happy ending after all.” 

  The other man nods, in the way of a thank you. “Hope so.” 

  There’s commotion as the jailkeepers arrive, but Taiga sits still even as his mind goes a mile a minute. Is that it? Has that been the answer all along? He thought the best way was to stay distant, but he had never tried instead to further implicate himself. 

  Had this one-in-a-million conversation been the clue he needed? 

  The other ghoul is led away, but Taiga gains enough control of his thoughts to snap out of the reverie. “Hey!” he calls out. The jailkeepers pause, likely surprised that Taiga has shown any interest in… well, anything. “Good luck,” he grins, sharing a rare moment of solidarity. The other ghoul just smiles back as he’s led away. 

  Taiga steps back into his cell, sighing as the familiar tingling sensation starts, the sensation that he has learned signifies the start of another loop. 

  Okay, Kitty-cat. Let’s try something new. 

₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

[im-no-mechanic-but]

E is for Enigma

noun • something, or someone, who is puzzling, mysterious, or difficult to understand Edward Hart

⚙️: 238 ct. (unedited) | ⚠️: n/a | 💌: implied x reader insert, or about as close as the idea of pining can apply to Edward 🙄😅

He shouldn’t be this excited.

Really, he shouldn’t be.

Rui had only just left his room, grumbling about this or that, the faint shape of a laundry basket in his arms as he made his exit. Edward is sure the Reaper probably scolded him about something, but he’d been too engrossed in whatever was droning away on his tablet to pay any additional attention to his presence. 

It must have been some time already, if Rui was coming in to clean since the last time. The timing could not have been more convenient.

He couldn’t understand why—or perhaps he could, and simply couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it—but the presence of a certain face in his mind seemed to take root rather unexpectedly. Edward wasn’t one to pine, as such human desires now lodged somewhere deep in his past...but, however. He could admit to a sense of intrigue in one particular little specimen.

He grins to himself as he senses a familiar shape, a familiar presence, a familiar weight, approaching from the thicket of plants which Rui cared for just outside. He can hear a voice so familiar to him as he slides from the false warmth he can believe is blanketed under the covers, slowly dressing himself before padding his way casually down the stairs.

No, he shouldn’t be so excited to see his favourite little specimen.

However. 

Perhaps one little indulgence wouldn’t hurt. On occasion. 

Dividers by @/ cafekitsune

Do not repost, steal, copy, or feed my works into any generative ai bots or resources. Likes, comments, reblogs, always and forever welcome and appreciated.

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abc’s Masterlist • tag list application

Taglist: @lunaristyping

[im-no-mechanic-but]

uh…. Yuri?

You, uh. Might wanna do something about that…

Just a thought.

[im-no-mechanic-but]

oh. My. God.

I’m not sure which of these would be funnier 🤣🤣🤣

a) sho and leo summoned demons together one time leo was bored at a sleepover

b) they both summoned demons completely independently and without telling the other anything at all (till the next time they met and just instantly clocked the other Did Something™)

[im-no-mechanic-but]

What do you think Haku first time in Hotarubi is like

I think this is funny

[im-no-mechanic-but]

…don’t hate me but like…

…am I the only one who actually loses their mind over any of Taiga’s voice lines where he rolls his r…? Anytime he says ciao too…

I am so doomed

[im-no-mechanic-but]

I’m definitely thinking I can write for Edward better now lmao

Chapter 17 was…very insightful 😅😂😂

[im-no-mechanic-but]

Matcha + taro swirl ice cream (via Instagram)

[im-no-mechanic-but]

Who did you choose at the end?? I am taking haru home he is my fiance now no take backs

-inspiredmanofthequill

I chose nobody, actually! Once my poor heart calms down I am gonna re-pick all the optional stuff throughout the episode, even if it’s just for a sliver of a new chat result lol

But OUGH the options.

We’ve got single dad Haru, mysterious bachelor Jin, emo slut Edward, chaotic neutral Jiro, autism-be-damned-my-boy-can-work-a-grill Ren, and sweetheart Rui!

I’m definitely a Haru or Jiro girlie lol~