#Holy shit im gonna regret this but oh well.

[a-mushroom-wizard]

5k notes and I'll stop putting off cleaning my room.

[foreingersgod]

If you can could you do a Caitlin Clark x reader with angst? Thank youuu

votes are in! we’re going with angst to fluff for this one!

Regrets . CC

pairing: caitlin clark x reader

synopsis: caitlin says something to you during an argument that she immediately regrets

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

caitlin was a phenomenal athlete. she was good at what she did, blowing everyone away and breaking records, all while doing well in school and balancing the other parts of her life. you absolutely admired her for it, amazed by how perfect a person could be. she was so good to you, as her girlfriend, giving you equal support and love.

you on the other hand, were never an athlete, your dream was to pursue writing or journalism. you loved to write more than anything in the world and you knew from a very young age that that was what you wanted to do for the rest of your life. you often wrote small stories in your free time or touched up on trending articles, trying to write as much as you could. throughout your college years, you’ve been interning and taking classes to get you into a good position for your career.

you’ll admit, it was a very competitive career to go into, but you were determined to succeed. caitlin was always at your side, too, rooting for you every step of the way.

˗ˏˋ ´ˎ˗

it was a tuesday night, you were at home cleaning and fixing up dinner. caitlin was still out, something about a meeting with a few scouts. she didn’t say much about and said that she’d tell you all about it when she got home.

so you waited patiently, finishing up dinner and waiting for cait to get home. you pulled out your laptop while you awaited her arrival, beginning to work on an important paper you were writing for your journalism course. as you typed away at the keyboard, you felt your phone vibrate. you pulled out your phone, curious to see who was texting you.

cait <3: really big news when i get home, can’t wait to tell you

your heart started to beat a little faster, eager to hear what it was. you knew how hard she had been working to get the attention of some of these scouts so you hoped it was finally paying off for her.

as you were finishing up a paragraph for your article, you heard the lock of the front door jostling, hinges creaking as it opened. your eyes darted to the door right away, watching as caitlin walked in, positively glowing. she hung up her jacket and took off her shoes all with a huge smile on her face. you found yourself smiling too, her happiness contagious.

“hey, babe” you swooned “how was the meeting? big news?”

she came over to you, standing behind the counter opposite of you chair. “YN, it was life changing! you’re never gonna believe it, it’s like a dream come true”

her eyes were wide with excitement, still shaking from receiving the news. she had you anxious as you waited for her to spill. you closed your laptop half way to give her full attention, pushing it aside.

“what?” you questioned “the anticipation is killing me!”

“well,” she took a breathy pause for dramatic effect “a few of the scouts that i was talking to approached me after the meeting. they were telling me about how they’re recruiting for the women’s olympic basketball team…and long story short, they want me on the team! baby im playing in the olympics!”

“holy shit, you’re kidding!” you leaped out of your seat, rushing around the counter to congratulate her “that’s amazing, oh my god, i’m so proud of you!”

you hugged her tightly, smoothing your hands across her back.

“thank you, i’m freaking out still, it’s so surreal” she felt like crying “we’re going paris, YN!”

she was still on cloud nine, starting to text friends and family to share the good news, but you had stepped back thinking you heard her wrong. you? the both of you? paris? while you were aware that the events would be an international occasion, you hadn’t realized it would be that far away. you had just assumed you would do a bit of long distance for the time being, caitlin going to play and you staying here to take care of things and focus on journalism. noticing you had pulled away, caitlin sent her last text and turned back to you.

“hey are you ok?” she asked “went all quiet on me”

“hm? oh yea i just,” you started picking at your nails, nervous to bring up the conversation “it’s just that you said ‘we’?”

her infectious laugh rang through your living room “of course, you’re my girl, i want you there with me”

“cait, you know i’d love to be there for you in person and come with but…but i can’t just go babe” you said, apologetically.

your entire soul shattered seeing the look on her face as you broke the news. she looked defeated, trying to laugh it off as a weird joke “what do you mean you can’t go?”

“don’t get upset” you said, sensing the tension growing “but a trip like that is expensive, and there’s things that i need to take care of, especially if you’re going to be gone…and i’m just in the middle of a really important part of my path in writing…i need to be able to focus on that right now. but we can do it, you know? we’d only be doing the long distance thing for a little bit!”

“are you serious?” she tried to keep her voice calm, instead raising it slightly “this is a huge deal for me and you don’t even want to be there with me?”

“that’s not true! i would do anything to go, but like i said, that’s an insanely expensive trip and i’m in the middle of trying to pursue this journalism thing so i-”

“you’re not going so you can write your silly papers?” she ridiculed “fine, it’s expensive, we can work around that, but you’re seriously telling me you’re not doing this so you can write?”

you were dumbfounded, her calling your passion just some ‘silly papers’ made you sick. you’ve been pushing yourself to every possible limit to work towards this, and you thought she was supportive of that, i guess this was bringing out her true colors.

“silly papers? caitlin, pursuing journalism is my dream, you know that” your nose scrunching in frustration “i’ve always been supportive of your dream, i’m constantly putting my own things aside so you can continue to do this”

“yea well that’s because i’m actually good at what i do” she snapped. her voice was laced with spite, gaze shooting daggers into yours. “i’ve got a real job, with real responsibilities, YN”

your body was frozen, feet glued to the ground, limbs unable to move. the way she was talking to you hurt, any support that you thought she had for you was gone out the window. you wanted to scream, storm out of the house and slam the door.

“that’s really what you think, hm?” you sneered “that i don’t have a real job? that i’m not good at the one thing i’m passionate about? jesus fucking christ caitlin.”

somewhere in your body, you found the courage to move. without letting her get another word in, you grabbed your laptop and stormed up the stairs into your shared bedroom. she could sleep on the couch tonight.

the second you made it up the stairs, you slammed the door and collapsed onto your bed. you were seething with rage. for her to stand in front of you, after you’ve put your heart and soul into helping caitlin succeed, was like a punch to the gut. she knew how hard you had been working to make this happen, how many classes and workshops, how many late nights and meetings with publishers. she knew about it all and she still had the audacity to say such a nasty thing.

you pulled the comforter up over your shoulders, hiding below it, and sobbed in your pillow. you didn’t even bother trying to finish your article tonight, your headache too painful from the tears. about an hour went by, you had assumed, the sun going down outside your bedroom window. not once did you hear anything from caitlin so you thought she had left to blow off steam or made herself comfortable on the couch.

then there was a knock at your bedroom door. she didn’t have to knock, in reality, it was her room too. you didn’t answer at the raps at the door, nor when she called out your name. you didn’t have anything to say.

“YN, can we talk?” her voice muffled from behind the wooden barrier “i shouldn’t have said those things, i didn’t mean it”

you stood up, opening the door for her and resuming your position on the bed, pulling up the covers once more. she followed suit and sat down at the foot of the bed next to you. still silent, you waited for her to continue.

“what i said was uncalled for” her voice cutting through deafening silence “none of it was true”

“so why’d you say it?” she could tell you had been crying right away, hearing the stuffiness in your nose. it made her stomach turn knowing she was the reason why.

“i was mad. the second i got the news, all i could think about was taking you with me. i had the whole thing planned out. but i didn’t even consider what it would mean for you, to drop everything and go to paris with me. and that was incredibly unfair of me to assume.”

you remained silent, listening to her confession.

“baby, i don’t think your papers are silly and i don’t think it’s not a real job” her hands found the way to your legs under the blanket, rubbing at them tenderly to try and comfort you “i’m so amazed by how talented you are. you’ve put in so much effort into making a name for yourself and i admire you for that, i know you’re going to do amazing things. what i said was cruel and purely out of spite and it won’t ever happen again, i’m so sorry”

you sniffled, wiping the rest of your tears as you sat up against the headboard. she had looked horrible when you looked at her. hair messy from running her hands through it, face pale and flushed, it didn’t take much to realize how bad she felt for lashing out at you.

“i know you’re mad, and i’m upset that i can’t go either,” you spoke up “but if you’re going to make a habit out of saying things like that to me, i don’t know if-”

“i swear to god i’m not! that was a shitty slip up, but please, i’m being honest when i say that i’ll never do that again. i have never once believed that what i said was true, im so so sorry” she pleaded, grabbing your hand and kissing the back of your palm.

“i forgive you, but it’s going to take a lot for you to make it up to me”

“anything, i’ll do anything” she said “i can’t live with myself knowing that i made you upset. whatever it takes to gain your trust back, i’ll fucking do it”

you let out a small chuckle, knowing the real cait was already shining through. the caitlin that would go to the ends of the earth for you. her hand was still gripping yours, drawing small shapes around your knuckles and kissing them reassuringly. you tugged her towards you making her fall into the sheets beside you. you reached out, caressing her long strands of hair, silently admiring her.

the two of you remained there in bed without saying anything. the sun lingered in its final hour in the sky as you both soaked in each other’s presence.

you couldn’t stay mad at her for long.

[19180901]

OSHSJSHSJSHSJSHJSNSSH I’M SO HAPPY THERES A NEW NINJAGO BLOGGFGGFFEHEHDHSHSHBD

OKAY OKAY OKAY WHAT IF LLOYD AND KAI (Seperate) GIRLFRIEND IS AN ELEMENTAL MASTER OF LAVA YES I KNOW ITS ALMOST LIKE KAI BUT THIS IS FANFICTION!

LIKE JANAI FROM THE DRAGON PRINCE WHENEVER SHE GETS LIKE REALLY ANGRY AND MY HOMEGIRL GOT SOME ANGER ISSUES HER ENTIRE BODY TURNS INTO LIKE LAVA TYPE OF SKIN AND THEY TRY TO CALM HER DOWN! IF YOU DONT WATCH THE DRAGON PRINCE I RECOMMEND WATCHING THIS

https://youtu.be/mIwidDvNins

JANAI STARTS TO TRANSFORM IN 01:04

OKAY SORRY FOR THE CAPS IM JUST SO EXCITED IM GONNA SHUT UP NOW

- 🌙

OMGAGAHSHAH IM KICKING MY FEET AND SCREAMING INTO MY PILLOW RN IM SO HAPPY I NEVER THOUGHT ID ACTUALLY GET REQUESTS AND LIKES AND SHIT LIKE THAT FROM THESE?? AAAAaaa a

IDK IF I SHOULD DO HCS OR A DRABBLE SO IM JUST GONNA DO HCS!! (SEND ME ANOTHER ASK IF YOU WANTED A DRABBLE, ILL MAKE ANOTHER VERSION !!)

✃ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

⤵ YOU'RE SO UPSET WITH ME...

. . 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐕 - 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 .ᐟ

✃ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

✣ . Kai and Lloyd (separate) x Master of Lava!fem!reader with anger issues !

➟ Lowercase intended.

➟ CW: Mild swearing, use of "princess" once. But overall it's just crack and fluff, and completely safe!

The timeline is up to you.

I didn't know if you were saying Janai had anger issues or the reader did, so I just gave the anger issues to the reader ahhajahahabba

I LOVE THE CONCEPT OF THIS SM

- <3

✣ . . 𝐊𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐇 .

oh boy, you were angry as fuck. and normally, he'd think he could handle your anger.

haha WRONG

girlie so mad she became lava. literally.

and he was scared. so, very, extremely scared.

you looked like you were about to wreck the whole monastery down😭

BUT kai being kai like the (adorable) dumbass he is, he thought that, as the elemental master of fire, naturally he'd be lava-proof.

lol wrong again woopsies💔

he tried to hold your hand to calm you down a bit but instantly regretted.

but once he saw you slightly calming down and lightly giggling at his absolute suffering, he had an idea.

he walked towards you to excute his stupid idea (which was doing tomfool-fucking-ries and other dumb stuff in your face to cheer you up;; which would have made you angrier), he tripped on the electro chicken thing and fell face-first on the floor.

he turned around onto his back, pain written all over his face, and groaned.

okay. well that was a fail.

but maybe not?!?@?@🤯🤯

still on the floor, he saw you, also on the floor, laughing your fucking ass off. he was about to pull out some sassy remark out of his ass when he saw that you were becoming like the usual again!

you were brushing your tears off, about to throw him some mocking comment when your breath was fucking squeezed out of your body because the mf you call your boyfriend jumped on you like some kid who met their dad again after 6 years.

"OH thank the first spinjitzu master you're not lava and angry anymore. pls don't do that again i'm sorry😞."

you couldn't do anything but just pat his head and accept his apology.

conclusion, angry y/n: -12/10 would not recommend.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ✣

✣ . . 𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐃 𝐌. 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐍 .

holy shit?? you were lava??@?

this dude had no fucking clue on what to do, or what was going on.

he is the definition of the standing emoji (🧍)

it's not that he doesn't wanna help you or anything, my boy just has no experience on the "how to calm down angry girlfriend that turns into lava without dooming yourself" field ykyk 😞

at first he thought about pouring a bucket of water on you.

but he got scared you'd turn into stone or obsidian or smth and he'd lose you forever💀

so no pouring water on lava s/o.

so instead, he did what he thought was the most reasonable and logical thing to do.

he (very carefully) sat you down on the couch (or bed, idk) and let you rant/vent about whatever or whoever made you so furious you pretty much changed the composition of your skin cells and unlocked some kind of new power or something.

you ranted and ranted, and he did nothing but listen to you ever so attentively.

once you were done, he comforted you the best he could.

"it'll be alright, you are so much better than them anyway."

"their opinion on you does not matter if it's negative "

"you're so beautiful, no one can rivalize with your beauty, princess."

"i love you so so much. <3"

"do you, by complete hazard and coincidence, have their address? i'm just gonna... pay them a nice little visit. 😇"

you love him so ofc you give it to him ha😊😊

anyway he goes to get your favorite food and once he comes back with it, you're happy again👍

he's so proud of himself for that it's so cute

and after that you both live together happily ever after and have as many kids as you want whenever you want.

the end😋

✃ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

⤴ ...BUT I'M SO OBSESSED WITH YOU!

hihi hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to hit that follow and reblog button !!👍

© legoffection. Please do not repost my work on any platforms, plagiarize and heavily edit my work under any condition!

[wildshadowtamer]

so. undertale yellow, huh? hell of a game

i dont wanna spoil it, anyone who hasnt played it yet please go do that you won't regret it, but im gonna put some non-spoiler thoughts in this post.

Overall, it was fantastic. Easily the best fangame ive ever played, possibly the best fangame ever, in any fandom. Usually fangames with their own original areas and cast can feel a little parody-ish, but i was fully immersed in this one. I was in tears by the end, which i've only ever done with undertales ending. So, congrats, undertale yellow, you met the bar and even surpassed it.

I loved the inclusion of the accessability settings, they were so helpful. this game isn't a fighting game, its a story game, so having an easy mode where you take little damage but still get to enjoy the fights and story was so useful, and the rhythmn & shooting settings were a massive help too. Hopefully we'll see more developers put that in their games.

Then, the characters. Fantastic. I was distraught at some of the twists, and at a certain point audibly said out loud "oh no oh god i was wrong". Heartbreaking storylines, fantastically written, i refuse to believe clover actually stays dead they get revived somehow and live out their days with their new found family i swear it

It'd be an insult not to mention the music, holy shit it was good. and the art, of course, was spectacular, especially in the neutral ending holy shit.

also red from undertale red showed up and i did a double take when i saw them

10/10, best game of 2023, banger after banger scene, great humor, well done devs.

[therosebunpost]

Summer Vacation Regrets

—————

Steve Harrington x Disabled! Disfigured!Fem!Reader

The Summer where you finally get that major surgery, but for some reason you don’t want to hang out with Steve before it happens. (A prequel/drabble to my Regret Series)

TW: Underaged drinking, heavily discussion of surgery, self esteem issues, hospitals, mentions of a near death incident, Reader is as neutral as possible but this story is heavily influenced by my life and experiences, so there may be some incidental coding. (Please feel free to give me feed back on anyway I can make this better!)

(Not beta’d, so I apologize for grammar)

—————

Steve was looking forward to summer. He already had it mapped out. Taking a job at the pool as a lifeguard, he was determined to save up for a car by the time he was 16 years old. His parents were proud, he was proud, and you were proud. Proud enough to promise him that you’d make the trek to hang out with him at the pool as many times as your parents let you, or you could sneak away on your big, clunky three wheeled bike.

It’s why getting that call was so confusing.

“I…I can’t hang out with you at the pool anymore. At least not for a few months.”

“Months? How many??”

There was some muttering on the line that Steve couldn’t quite make out. Not that he was really focusing on it too much. Months? You wouldn’t hang out with him for months?

“Two, two months.”

He says your name, exasperated. “That’s almost the entire summer! We’ll only have a month left!”

More muttering, now he can hear the sudden pain in your voice. “Wait, it…it might be…the whole Summer, Stevie.”

“What?!”

“I just came back from my doctor. They say it’s finally time, that I’m so close to getting my prosthetic. I just need to um, do something else first. That I need to recover from. So, no pool or anything.”

That gets him to calm down, just a bit. Right, your appointment. Your surgery. “Well, alright. Then we’ll just hang out another way! You know there’s that movie coming out, maybe you can ask your mom-“

“I can’t.”

Steve blinks, once again confused. “O…kay. I’ll bring stuff over then! Or you can come over! Oh, we could hang out in my pool. Does your mom know I’m a lifeguard? I promise we’ll be super safe, and she can even stay over with you, we have the room-!”

“I don’t want you to see me!”

There was that pain in your voice again.

"Oh god Steve it's, it's so awful. They have to put this implant inside of me, and it's gonna end up looking like this growth on my face. I hate it, I hate this so fucking much." You finally break down on the phone and Steve takes a moment to gather what your saying.

Sometimes the things you went through confused him. He's known you for years at this point but your condition still didn't make a lot of sense to him. From what you've told him, it didn't make sense to your doctor's either.

"...So I can't see you at all? You really are gonna spend all summer alone?"

"We can still call." You rush to tell him, and Steve can imagine the way you strangle the phone cord in your hands. "I dont…i just don't want to be seen. But I'll call you. i'll call you everyday."

"...When is it? The..implant?"

"Next week. Im going to home school for the last weeks of school."

"Holy shit, your serious?"

"Yeah. It's…Its bad, Steve. I…I cried after they told me the plan. Right in the room with mom."

"...Will you at least come over one more time this week? At least come hang out at the pool once?"

"..I'll ask mom."

-.-.-

Your mom does say yes, and hanging out at the pool was just as fun as Steve thought it would be. Sure, you couldn't swim but you hung out with him in the guard chairs. You spent the night, and you both sneak out to hang by his pool, alone.

Steve, ever the bad influence at times, passes you the bottle of beer. "...Are you really not going to do anything? Or see anybody?"

"...I just…I think I was finally starting to accept my appearance and now this? For months? I just…I hate it so much. Its like the universe hates me."

"It's probably won't be as bad as you think, I mean-"

"It's gonna be pretty damn bad. like, it's gonna be the size of my cheek. Maybe even bigger! I'll look gross." You lean back against the warm ground.

"The doctor said they could do a skin graph but they wanted to use the skin on my face first so it matches better. But like come on, it's all my skin, the difference can't be that much! It's not like they had that issue trying to use a part of my rib as a prosthetic!"

"....Didn't you say that your body…like…sucked it back in and that's why it didn't work?"

".....Okay, fair but still! A balloon?? On my face? It's like they don't even fucking care how awful that's going to be.The stares I'll get, the grossed out faces. It's like, how do they expect me to live with that?"

Steve laid down with you, and while he didn't know a lot about what you were going on about, he knows your frustrated.

"Remember when you got that bar on your face? The metal one?"

You gave him a look. "..Yeah?"

"You lived after that. You survived."

"I was like, five."

"So? You gonna let a five year old be braver than you?"

"Oh that is not the same-"

"Okay, what about when you got that thing out of your stomach? The feeding thing-"

"My G-tube?"

"Yeah. You literally bragged about having your stomach stuff coming out of you and just living with it. We were like, ten?"

"Im still not over the fact that the doctors didn't believe me about it not closing all the way, those jackasses."

Steve says your name and you sigh. "Okay fine, but that was then and this is now. I'm older, I care more about myself."

Steve snickers and you reach over and shove at him. He makes a show of nearly falling into the pool which you scoff at.

"Last summer, you and I went out on a canoe together without a person with us. Mind you, you could have died if we tipped over. We gave the counselors a heart attack."

You laugh at the memory, the rebellion rushing through your veins. "I had you with me!"

For a moment Steve is taken aback, but he's quick to shake his head with a smile. "Obviously. But anyway, are you gonna let this get you? Are you just not gonna hang out with me because of a bunch of assholes? Do you think I'm an asshole?"

That makes you whip around to face him, aghast. "No, Steve what-"

He levels you with a long stare. "Then why do you think I'd care about it? You're my friend. I wanna spend the summer with you. Not just over the phone, which is bullshit because you hate phone calls anyway."

It's a moment like this where you ponder the real reason you don't want him to see you. The real reason that you refuse to acknowledge because it will never happen.

Only in fairy tales, or movies, or books. Things that happened to Pretty Girls, like the ones Steve talks about sometimes.

"...I'm scared." You whisper, softly. "...I'm really scared, Steve. This…this is going to change my life. I dunno if I'm ready for that." You look out at the water, which glows from the pool lights. "I've been told my whole life how this will fix things. Fix me. Getting this prosthetic, getting my trach taken out. There's gonna be a lot of benefits, yeah, but…I'm angry that I have to do this shit. I'm angry that it's something I just have to grin, and bare because there's no other fucking alternative."

Steve watches you as you talk. His eyes trained on the shape of your lips, the way the sounds are altered, the light of the pool on your face. You look…tired. More tired than anyone your age should be.

"....You know uh…worms?" He snickers a little when you furrow your eyes at him. "They go through that thing, that change thing."

"Metamorphosis."

"Yeah, metamor-whatever."

"Okay, end? Also those are caterpillars."

"Your a worm!"

"Caterpillar."

"Oh my god, shut up-"

You laugh, silent but obvious with the way your shoulders shake and you lean your head back.

"But like yeah, this is you going through your meta-thing. You're gonna be a pretty butterfly or Oh! A Swan. Yeah."

Pausing at his words, you can feel the heat creep up your cheeks. "...Pretty?" You echo, shy and just a little uncertain.

"Well duh. Really pretty." Steve insists, beaming at you. It's a brash, kinda backwards compliment but he's trying. He's really trying, and you aren't sure if you can keep shoving those fluttering feelings away.

-—————-

Those last three weeks of school pass. Steve doesn't get to see you until the first week of Summer, where he bikes all the way to your house. He had called to tell you he was coming, so he doesn't knock when he gets there.

"So, how did it go- Whoa-"

Well, you were not kidding. The implant was obvious. Very obvious, and Steve forced himself not to stare at it. Not that it mattered, since you were already crumbling away from him.

"It's awful, I know-" You gush, devastated. "Feels weird too." Your eyes are red rimmed from crying and Steve stands there awkwardly. Fuck, he was not good with crying.

"No! It's…Its not that bad. I just had a hard time picturing what it looked like when you told me." He explains, the words spilling from him. It was the truth, he really didn't know what to expect. "It's not bad, I swear on my collection of baseball cards, it's not!"

You narrow your eyes at him. "...Even the signed ones?"

"Yeah."

Your shoulders slowly relax and you rub at your eyes. You were always good at coming back from crying. Steve, well, he wishes he could bounce back that fast.

"..Wanna watch a movie?" He suggests, already heading into the living room. "Any one you want!"

-----

After that, the weeks passed and you slowly grew bored of keeping yourself locked away like some princess, or troll. You slowly started joining your mother on her errands. The implant grew and grew, but after a while you got used to it. Steve barely glanced at it anymore, instead focused on spending the summer with you, whenever you had the chance.

You do end up hanging out with him during lifeguard duties. He jokes about having you as his assistant whenever you bring him water or snacks, but you always retaliate with squirting at his hair with a water gun.

It's not all perfect. You do get stares. People sometimes avoid you, and kids your age are cruel, but Steve is there. He's getting popular, and with whatever grade school cred he has, he makes sure to use some of it to protect you.

It all shifts when the surgery finally arrives. You and Steve are sitting out by his pool again, now a month and a half older. "...I'm gonna miss you, at camp." He states, taking a sip of another beer.

"...Your still going??" You raise an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"Because I like it? Besides, I'm thinking about being a counselor. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Well, I…I mean I'm not gonna be there." You state, and the words sound ridiculous as soon as you let them out. Steve laughs and you shove at him. "I'm gonna miss you, sure, but I still wanna go! I need to defend my swimming record, and I already have what I'm gonna wear for theme night! Wouldn't you still go if I couldn't?"

The way he says it, it sounds like the answer should be obvious. The camp was for people like you, after all.

He says your name after a moment, confused. "...Wouldn't you?"

"...I dunno." You admit after a moment, breathing in slowly. "....It's kinda fun, but sometimes I hate the atmosphere. I hate the way the counselors talk to me at times, like I'm stupid. I don't feel like…I'm disabled enough to warrant even being there. Hanging out with you, it actually makes me enjoy it. It feels like an actual camp."

Steve doesn't say anything for a while. You watch the way his brows furrow, and the contemplative frown on his lips. "...Does that mean…last year was your last year?"

You ponder it before shaking your head. "...I want to go with you." You shrug, picking at a loose thread on your swim suit. "If you become a counselor, then I will too! Like hell am I gonna let you boss me around even more."

He laughs, loud and clear. You're jealous, and awed all at the same time. "But I will probably stop one day, I think."

Steve nods, and you wonder if the sadness in his eyes is just a trick of the light.

----

The next morning, you go in for early surgery. Steve is antsy the whole day, though he isn't sure why. You were a pro at this! He's heard countless stories about your various surgeries, so why does this one feel so…great? Monumental?

He doesn't get to come see you until the next day. He walks in, holding a bouquet of flowers and a plush of your favorite animal. He hopes he doesn't look as tired as he feels. He woke up early at 6 AM, zoning out to Twilight Zone reruns until 8, where he stumbled around to get ready to see you again. It hadn't been that long ago, but it felt like maybe you had gone three months without seeing each other.

As he makes his way over to your room, he's reminded of an episode he watched. A hospital themed one. It kind of confused him, really. The woman got surgery to be beautiful, but it failed.

Steve turns a corner, and passes a plastic surgery office where he can hear the distant sounds of a meeting.

He remembers watching the bandages being removed, and thinking he heard them wrong. The woman was beautiful. The surgery was a success and yet…the hospital staff had recoiled. He had been blown away by the revelation of what the doctors and nurses looked like, and something in the back of his mind wished you could have seen it with him.

He steps into the hospital room, his eyes landing on you. Your face isn't fully bandaged up, but there's a strip of cloth that keeps your mouth shut. You look as exhausted as he feels. Your eyes slowly open to see him, only to become slightly panicked.

"Hey." He greets, slowly walking closer and settling down in the plastic chair beside your bed. You don't say anything, you can't, but Steve does. "Y'know, I'm kinda confused." He admits, gently placing the tiny stuffed toy on your bed. “I don’t think the doctors did much.” You make a noise of confusion, gesturing at the bandage on your face. Obviously they did, what was he even getting at here?

"No, really. Like sure, the balloon thing is gone, but you look the same to me, Miss Butterfly." He admits, leaning on his arms and gazing up at you. Watching as the words slowly register. You slowly smile, eyes shining with tears before you wince and grab at your notepad.

'Stop making me smile, my face hurts like a bitch. >:('

He laughs, shaking his head and reaching over to grab the remote for the TV. "I'll ask the nurse for more drugs, maybe you'll be a little nicer to me." He grins, and flips through the channels. "But hey, there's this episode I want you to see.."

Midway through the re-runs, you fall asleep. The drugs and the pain dragging you under. Steve sits there, his hand in yours. He eyes the IV, his thumb brushing against the bandage keeping it inside. His gaze travels up your arm, and lands on your face. Your expression wasn’t exactly peaceful, but he was glad you were resting.

“I was scared this morning.” He admits, emboldened by the silence. “I know you’re like, super good at all of this, but…yeah.” He trails off, letting his eyes slowly drift closed. “You do look really pretty. In your hospital bed, or..anywhere really. You always have.”

[eliothedud9000]

my silly little episode notes

this was very fun i want to start doing this for every episode

i really liked how family bases this episode was with the closes and stamplers/marlowes

i cant wait until we see the oaks!!

!! SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 45 OF SEASON TWO !!

Episode 45

Oooooo intro

Anthony the penne patriot

Pasta ew the eating sounds wtf

YES THE HEAVEN CRITICISM LOL

WELCOMETODUNGEONSANDDADDIESNOTABDSMPODCAST-

The theme song went on longer than usual..? Not complaining but huh 

Will is having a stroke ig

Taylors fact: Taylor may no longer be a ranger but he misses being able to disguise himself as a trash can and being pushed on a stage

2 1/2 months of the senses???

Mr boss kicks fact: linc’s bathroom regimen revealed!? he puts all his clothes in the laundry and puts on a new pair of clothes every time he goes to the bathroom. ALSO HE DOESNT DO HIS OWN LAUNDRY??

Normal fact abt normal: normal is the FOUNDER of the school yearbook club. A book club about the yearbooks at San Demis high. They had an alumni guest last month. Normal was the only one there. His audience is usually just kids who think its the real yearbook club

Scarys fact: she has a favorite planet which is mercury because mercury has the longest day which means it also has the longest night. The longest time to write poetry and focus on regrets and be sad. (Even tho Venus has the longest day)

HERMIE FACT OMFG: hermie didn’t have a childhood and he was conjured as a freshman with memories of being alive as a child. Not real memories tho. Scam thought it was the funniest part of someone’s life

scam tf??

poor hermie he doesn't even know :(

recap: They need to fill the magic jar with daddy magic to send the doodler back to his own dimension

AND THEY FOUND TERRY FIGHTING WITH GLENN

I MISSED YOU TERRYYYYYYY

Terry is the one who shot nicks arm off and glenn is mad (for a good reason tho-)

Scary is freaked out poor scary

But Terry you messed up buddy

Oh shit is Terry going to die forever

AND HES COUNTING ON IT???? 

Oh shit Terry don’t cry you don’t deserve this- 

AHHHHHH RON AND TERRY REUNION THIS IS SO CUTE SHIT MAN THE HUG OMG

Damn these imps are wild-

Normal you have been exposed…….. release your emotions!!!

Well normal since you’re crying you should put it in the jar-

Scary and Terry omg. Reunion. Reunion. Asdfghgfdgfs

She’s saying it was just a phase oh shit??!?!!!!!!!

Damn

Terry

Terry

Buddy

You don’t deserve this

You dumb suicidal idiot

SCARY AND TERRY OMG ADSFDGFHJGHFGDFHFJG SHES HAPPY TO SEE HIM AND HES HAPPY TO SEE HER AASFDGFHDGFSGFDH

Terry takes the jar omg

No he’s crying :(

Ron?

In a field?

nick has been avoiding them, and they’re trying to be friends again ok

Nick walked out of the brush and into the cleaning

And Ron is…. Talking about his hair…..

Ron you’re going to beef it.

They want to take the people here into hell… thats why he’s upset

Ron wow you are very wise.

I fucking love the stamplers adsfergrtbrgjmt4igjn

“You become the person you choose to be around”

Lark and sparrow and Terry don’t attack him!!!!

:(

Oh shit

TERRY

NO

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

NICK WAS GOING TO TALK TO YOU

FUCK FUCK BADASS SAD FIGHT :(

Unrelated why did I just get a message from someone asking for a picture of myself????

NICKS ARM

OMG

NICCKKKKYYYY

TERRY

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

RUN NICKY RUN

Honestly Terry that’s what you get

Don’t cut someones fucking arm off

“You lied to me kiddo”

Oh no

Ron

“I don’t think you’ve been someone you’d choose to hang around with lately”

TERRY DONT CRY 

AW I FEEL BAD

TERRY ANDF SCARY HUGGING AND SHR HUGS BACK OMG OMG OMGASGDHJTHJFDG

SHE SAW HIM AT HER SOCCER GAME

OMG

IM GONNA CRY

HER BIO DAD WAS NEVER THERE

BUT TERRY WAS

AND HES CRYING LOUDER

OMIGOSH THE STAMPLERS

SORRY STAMPLER/MARLOWES 

HALFWAY JAR

The remaining families are the close and oak

ASDCFVGHBJNKMLJNHY TERRY AND SCARY HOLY SHIT

SCARYYYYYYYYY YOUU SAID I LOVE YOU OMGOMGOGTJHRGJRUJHJVDU HOLY FUCK OFGJGFIDGHJD

IM GONNA CRY ISTG

Glenn stop fighting 

Terrys fine

Chill

“I don’t forgive you for what you did but I get it. I understand” good for you nick

Yes Taylor glenn is the coolest motherfucker

Yikes

Glenn wasn’t there for Taylors birth…

Damn nick is passive aggressive (its deserved tho)

Glenn are you fucking kidding me-

TAYLOR IS BORNED

“You want to cut the umbilical chord dawg?”

Its a chill doctor

Uh oh here comes glenn

And he’s passed out and high as fuck

Great

#1 dad award

“Youre a granddad now-“ “whaaaaaaaatttt”

Aw nick 

That’s so sweet he doesn’t want Taylors first sight of his granddad to be bad

What book is glenn reading?

Jodis been there a bunch of times and glenn hasn’t. What an ass ngl

“Hell yeah bro what a cool kid…” 

The first time glenn has seen himself in the third person

And he sees the reality

OMG CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?????

MY HEART-

Taylor

Omg

You just destroyed nick

Then again obviously he wanted his dad in his life

Too little too late Nicky my man

:(

I just want to hug them all

Fuck

The closes are fucked up

Yikessssss

Taylor did 23 and me and just saw fire and the cops showed up

Nice

Uh oh 

Nick

NICK ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOT BEING THERE FOR YOUR KID

DONT BLAME IT ON THE OTHER DADS

YESSSS THEY MESSED UP 

BUT

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY WHERE ITS NEEDED

Taylor wanted his dad for when he was getting his yellow belt at mall karate

And the parents applauded 

And taylor looked to the crowd

His mom is there

But

His dad isn’t there

And another kid got a dad hug and got to get ice cream and poor Taylor got to skip a belt but WHAT ABOUT HIS DAD.

And he gets kicked out from karate 

;-;

YOU SHOULD BE SORRY NICK

“I think you fucked up in the same way too”

GLENN 

SERIOUSLY.

“Where were you nick >:( “ bitch-

Glenn thought that if he kept his distance in hell then he wouldn’t be a bad influence on nick 

Aww

:(

“What if we started over?”

THEY ALL GO TO DISNEYLAND AW

I WOULD LOVE THAT

Taylor doesn’t know what Disneyland is lol

Omg

There is no fixing it

Shit

This is the best its going to get

All these families are so fucked

“Dw thats just the gunfire level…”

“NOPE NOPE THATS NOT THE GUNFIRE LEVEL”

Ew the government :|

OHEMGEE SCHMEGANNN

Wait full control of hell-

OH NO

HOLY SHIT

The background music slaps tho-

Jodi says in morse code: get nick and Taylor out

I like Jodi

Hes a good guy

Oh no

Don’t fire at glenn

“Is glenn immune to bullets?”

NEW KING OF HELL 

LINC 

WHAT

NEW KING??????

NORMAL?????!?!?!?!?!

TAYLOR??!???!?!?

WHO IS IT GOING TO BE???!?!?!??!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?

Hell is locked down and no one is leaving until they have a new leader

And now they are going to fight 

HOLY SHIT

SCHMEGAN

“Only one gets to leave alive”

So overall thoughts…. Good episode. Kinda went by quick tho but could’ve been because I split it up instead just listening to it all in one sitting

After this fight and hell leader thing I feel like will is just gonna drop a bombshell of family angst and problems on us when its time for the oaks to give their daddy magic. 

But Terry and scarys reunion omg 

I was about to cry it was so cute

[sabraeal]

If the Mind Is Willing, Chapter 3

[Read on AO3]

Part three of 500 Follower prizes @bubblesthemonsterartist​ earned herself years ago! Only two more and I will have fulfilled all those fics...probably just in time to have a 1K follower raffle

Blue light washes her pink sheets pale, until it’s impossible to tell when cotton ends and her skin begins. The shadows pull longer in its glow, turning her own nearly skeletal as she reaches out a finger, hovering over the link.

“U-J-Kyo?” Chizuru’s mouth wraps around each letter, the sound of them tumbling softly into the muted glow. “But that’s just...?”

The university’s homepage. And her laptop’s, technically, now that Yamazaki helped her set it. Not something she’d normally associate with Souji’s interests, not unless he’s started some new hostilities with the provost’s office again. Their last open letter hung on the fridge until just before Thanksgiving, the second paragraph asking for “certain individuals in the student body“ to “show more conduct becoming of an undergraduate of a prestigious institution” highlighted proudly in lime green.

Dean Kondo dropped by the house only a few days later-- for a friendly visit, he’d said, smile as warm as she remembered. He’d stayed for dinner, complimenting the soup she’d made from their leftovers, and then talked with Souji out on the porch until the swing’s chains started to creak. The letter disappeared the next morning, unremarked, though Souji kept glowering at the bare metal every time he passed through the kitchen.

Chizuru swipes tentatively at the screen, messaging app blooming beneath her finger. The link’s innocuous, known, but Souji has a gift for slipping a sting into any handshake. And if he’s calling it a gift, well--

[ToudouDomination] omg holy shit dude nice knowing u hijikatas gonna kill u 4 sure 💀💀

Professor Hijikata’s taught her enough about Trojans to take that kind of present at face value.

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] *skullfuck u mean skullfuck ull b the most beautiful corpse at ur funeral bro

Her lips press tight, clinging to each other as close as the rubber case to her phone. If everyone’s acting like this about it, it’s better that she doesn’t look.

[ToudouDomination] MY funeral???!! what’s this got to do with me??!!

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] nah man im not talking ab YOU im talking ab dead man walking over here

She’d regret it if she did, probably.

[Dr 💖💋🤭] jfc I’ll say somethign nice at you’re disciplinery hearing

[ToudouDomination] Me??

[Dr 💖💋🤭] No one’s talking about you Heisuke

It’s an accident, really. Her thumb skims up the side of the screen-- scrolling past the sudden influx of skull and fire emojis the boys heave into the chat-- and the pad of it just barely brushes the link. It flashes under the pressure, blue then purple, selected, and well...

There’s no harm in just letting it happen, is there? It’s only the university homepage, nothing--

Ah. That’s what it should be at least. But instead of the azure and white, there’s text curling across the screen, a half dozen different hand-written poems in blue bic and college rule, tiled across every inch of the background. There’s coffee stains on them too, some in the corner, and some in rings, like they were more used to being coasters than literature. And in the center of it all--

“Oh.” She blinks, tilting her screen to get a better view. “A video?”

Hogyoku Open Mic, it reads at one corner, reflection on water. A strange choice for Souji; he’s never mentioned an interest in poetry, let alone live readings. Frowning, Chizuru tilts her phone, letting the video fill the screen.

It plays, and oh, several things become clear, all at once.

“My heart is pure,” the man on screen promises, words raking over the gravel of his voice-- how little of it there is marks his age more than the lack of lines on his face-- but Chizuru’s isn’t, not when she can’t do much more than stare, fingers numb around the rubber case. “I use my palm as an inkstone.”

The camera pans closer, and yes, above that black dress shirt-- open to its third button, oh goodness gracious-- is Hijikata. Not the one she knows now, the grizzled professor who kicks his feet up on the desk and uses profanity as punctuation, but--

But a much younger man, not much older than her, considering the last little bastions of baby fat clinging to his cheekbones.

[Dr 💖💋🤭] This muts be a hundred pakcs of cigs ago

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] 💯

[ToudouDomination] do moths feel desire or is that like a poetic thing he talks about rain a lot too whats that all ab

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] its a sex thing

[Dr 💖💋🤭] Shin don’t tell the baby taht

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] hes a growing boy he has to learn sometime better he hears it from us hijikata fucks 🍑🍆🍑

[Saito.Hajime] Can I please be removed from this group? Also, congratulations, Souji, on finding a new, creative way to die

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] no way if we all have to think think about hijikata fucking u have to suffer too

[Saito.Hajime] I am not certain I care for that logic

[Dr 💖💋🤭] Too bad, bud. Your stukc with us

[✨💯GAINS💪💪✨] yeah bro u signed the housing contract ur here til death comes for u or like u move out or smthn

Chizuru means to stop the video, really she does. It’s not something Hijikata would want them to see-- at least, she assumes so, considering the way he flushes every time Souji brings up his graduate school slam jams, threatening to expel him if he doesn’t ‘shut his damn mouth.’

But the one on the screen smiles as he finishes his set, smouldering out past the stage lights, and she-- she expects snapping, some cool cats with shades and berets nodding their heads to his truth or whatever mood this is supposed to give. A respectful silence, one that gives space to the idea he’s introduced to the space, but instead--

Instead there’s screams. A full audience of women-- and a few particularly enthusiastic men-- loudly voicing their appreciation for what she’s hoping is the poetry.

Ah, maybe Shinpachi is right. It is a sex thing. And she’s watched a full ten minutes of it.

Hijikata can never know. Or worse--

[Susumu Yamazaki] Take this down. Now.

[( ⓛ ω ⓛ *)] eat my ass

Her heart ricochets around her rib cage, panicked, before it lodges itself in her throat. It flutters there, queasily, and-- and there’s no way he could possibly know, but still, guilt seizes her. She shouldn’t have looked, not once she knew. She should have been the first to say it was wrong. Helpers can only help when they know there is a problem, that’s what Father would have said. If you cannot perceive it then you are part of it.

She could say something now. Her hand squeezes tight around the case. No, she should say something now. She has to, because father will ask. She’ll tell him about this frantic midnight showdown, and he’ll say, and what did you say?

And if it is nothing...

[Susumu Yamazaki] Take it down now. Or I will get university IT involved.

[( ⓛ ω ⓛ *)] you don’t have the fucking balls

[Susumu Yamazaki] Try me.

Even with her eyes closed, her failure is inescapable. The words flash behind her eyelids, no longer composed of ones and zeros but scrawled in neon lights instead, reminding her that if she were better she could have fixed this. That if she were good enough, she could have found the magic phrase to get them all to get along. But instead...

Silence, that’s what he’ll give her. A long pause where all his expectations weigh on her, piling on her chest like boulders on a criminal. A cluck of his tongue, and a soft, I thought I raised you better. Any moment now, her phone will ring, and Father will know what a disappointment she is because--

It’s Christmas. Just about everywhere but Hawaii. A couple other islands in the Pacific too, if she’s being fair. It’s Christmas, and he’s supposed to call because that’s the way it’s always been: her staying up late not to catch Santa and his Reindeer but Father emerging from his office. It’s her that would tromp down the hall with all the grace of an elephant, to fling her arms around him and yelp, Merry Christmas!

And it was him who had to be stern, who must put her back down on the carpet and scold her for being out of bed. Who has to wait until she’s nearly shut her door to stop her, to call out, Merry Christmas, Chizuru.

It’s supposed to be her first. The one given moments after midnight, the most real, and-- and--

And she’s spent the whole day waiting for an empty office.

There’s a part of her, one that’s still too short to reach the microwave and can’t bear the kindness next door, that thinks she missed it. That there’s some dead zone in the house that she unwittingly lingered in, or a notification that her phone somehow swallowed whole. That it’s her fault she never presented herself to be loved.

But there’s another part, one that’s growing every day, and that one--

That one’s just tired. 

It’s tired that wins out, in the end.

There’s a weight that drags at her, urging her to stay within the cocoon of her covers, to let the night unfurl across her screen, each blow reported in black and white right before her eyes. A passive observer, an active disappointment, but most importantly: unmoving.

Even still, she gets up, throwing the cloud of her comforter back so that she can slide out from underneath it. Her heels hit the floor with a force that chatters her teeth; or maybe that’s just the chill of the air now that her body heat is no longer trapped up against her skin.

Her phone settles on the nightstand, cozening up to the lamp, and for a long moment, she thinks about turning it on. Every muscle complains as she peels her day clothes off and exchanges them for pajamas, her eyes straining to make out what’s a hole and what’s just dead air, and yet--

Yet it’s easier than facing herself.

The same weight drops her back onto the mattress, an anchor sinking into the endless depths of open water. She isn’t sure when she’ll hit bottom, but staring at the blank screen beside her feels entirely too close to it.

It’s with a trembling finger that she guides the volume from full to vibrate. Even that makes her heart race, makes her wonder if she’s just punishing Father for having priorities besides a fully adult daughter, the same one who had so happily told him she would support his sabbatical wherever it took him. What if he needs to get a hold of her? If there’s an emergency on Borneo or San Cistobal or whatever island his research took him? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just keep it on a little, just in case--

Her fingers flex. She deserves to sleep tonight, what little of it there is left. And if this is on...

Vibrate changes to mute. The phone flips over, screen pressed against the wood.

“Good night, Daddy.” She gives the case one last, small tap. “Merry Christmas.”

“Hey, jailbait.” Something warm nudges her shoulder, not gently. Chizuru has the space of exactly one breath to wonder what, before the same something grips both and shakes. “Get up!”

“Haah?” Her hands flail out, but whatever’s gotten hold of her slithers out of her grip, retreating past her arm’s reach. “What...?”

It’s bright when her eyes peel open, the sun already seeping through the curtain even though it can’t be more than--

“Class!” Her limbs fly out, wild as she tries to turn over, tangled up in the tight embrace of her covers. “I’m late for--”

“Hold up a slice, shortcake.” Souji looms over her, tall enough that his knees barely brush the bed to do it. “No classes today.”

“No...?” It’s not as if she has anything to say, brain moving at a snail’s pace that it is, but her mouth keeps moving anyway, as if just working her jaw might help get the gears moving. Which it does, oddly enough, reminding her it’s not a weekend but a holiday, and not just any holiday but Christmas, and--

And Father never called. Unless it came in the night, after she’d put herself to bed. After she’d not only turned off the ringtone but vibrate too, leaving him no chance to hear her voice, forcing any attempts for him to contact her straight to voicemail, like she didn’t even care--

“Hey.” Souji knees the mattress, jolting her outstretched elbow right into the corner of the nightstand. “Get up already.”

Painful tingles race up her arm, bouncing from elbow to shoulder and back and, oh, why is it called the funny bone when it’s not funny at all? “Souji, why are you--?”

A bleary blink turns the blurred numbers on her clock to something like sense.

“Oh!” She bolts upright on the mattress, sending Souji skittering back a step. No wonder he’s deigned to scratch at her door; Harada might be the oldest, but of the three of them, Chizuru’s the only one that can be trusted with the stove. “It’s late! Are you hungry?”

“No.” This close, it’s easy to see that furrow flash between his brows, the quick reassessment of his opinion. “Well, yeah. But that’s not what I want right now.”

This early, her brain’s as bleary as her vision, but it won’t clear no matter how much she blinks. “Then what...?”

He heaves a sigh; her only warning before long fingers clamp around her wrist, cold as iron. “Just come with me already.”

It’s a feat to get untangled from her blankets; there’s a knit one sandwiched between the top sheet and the comforter, plus another for more weight-- and heat, since she shares her thermostat with Shinpachi and Harada, whose bodies both run at a temperature verging on medically alarming if they think sixty-five degrees is comfortable. It’s harder still with Souji yanking at her the whole time; she’s not certain whether he does it because he’s impatient or because her struggling amuses him. Possibly both, knowing Souji.

Impatience, however, wins out. One foot wins free, planting itself on the bedside braided rug, and he snaps, “Hurry up. We don’t have all day.”

She’d love to, if only the comforter hadn’t swallowed her up to the ankle, cinching tight when she tries to pry it apart. “Ah, I know! Just give me one--”

Unless she’d meant to say second-- which she hadn’t, not at all-- Souji doesn’t give it to her. Instead he tugs, and she stumbles off the mattress, dragging half the blankets with her. “Good,” he huffs, barely glancing back. “Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Souji has a terrible habit of making things worse the longer he’s made to wait, but she digs in her heels anyway. Or, well, the one that isn’t still trapped in Poly-Fil. “Can I at least put on my robe?”

“Why? It’s not like there’s anyone to see your cute little Christmas--” he squints “--raccoons?”

“Tanuki.” She smooths her hand over the fabric, one of their round faces peeking playfully out from between her fingers. “They’re just so fluffy.”

Souji stares at her, stone-faced and silent, and-- and it’s longer than that his teasing typically takes. “Right,” he says, stilted. “Whatever. Just hurry it up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Chizuru is keenly conscious of every second Souji suffers her, all-too aware of how impossible it is to win a race against the limits of his patience, but she’s determined to make the most of what she’s given. It’s hopeless to aspire to Hajime’s cool efficiency, but she tries, keeping her movements sharp and purposeful, as if putting on her robe required the same sweeping grace as his kata, and yet--

Yet she barely cinches the knot tight before he’s grabbed her again. “C’mon, princess. We’ve got things to do.”

It’s a struggle just to keep her feet beneath her, but she manages a very eloquent. “Huh?”

His mouth quirks, too pleased, as he tugs and she stumbles, bare feet barely braced against the jamb. “People to piss off.”

Ah, well that’s hardly promising.

When all is said and done, he doesn’t drag her far. A cold comfort, considering.

“This is Hajime’s room,” she informs him. His grin assures her he already knows. “And, Ya-- ah, I mean, Su-- uh, um. S-susu...?”

The name’s foreign in her mouth, tongue stumbling and stuttering around it, and it’s-- it’s just odd not to use it, when she’s so used to Souji and Hajime and Heisuke and Shinpachi and even Sano, if it feels safe to say, instead of intimate. As if she’s letting all the rest of them close while keeping him at arm’s length.

Which isn’t true. But still, she can’t bring herself to say Yamazaki’s first name so casually, not when even Heisuke, who barely lasted three hours before asking if she was cool with nicknames, hasn’t managed it. With the syllables rolling around in her mouth, it’s almost...

Illicit. That’s it. “Is there a reason you need me here?”

Souji’s mouth curls, so satisfied she’s surprised she can’t see feathers between his teeth. “Yes, definitely.”

“But they went home for the holidays.” She frowns. “Did you need something in there? I’m pretty sure it’s--”

His leg kicks back, and with one smooth swing, he completely bypasses the need for a doorknob, the open door shivering from the force.

“-- locked,” she finishes faintly. “Oh my.”

One hand catches the door, long fingers splayed across the grain. “After you, jailbait.”

She nearly balks-- it’s not as if it’s his room; he hardly has the right to invite her-- but the door swings open, and she--

She’s never seen this before. Yamazaki’s room. Or Hajime’s, of course. A tour down the hallway would be enough to get a glimpse into any of the other rooms; Heisuke hadn’t even waited a day to drag her into his, pointing out all his favorite posters. Harada and Shinpachi took a few weeks longer, though she’d spent most of that visit with her hands clapped over her eyes. Even Souji tolerated her shuffling a step over the threshold, even if it was only to ask for him to help her reach one of the taller cabinets. But Yamazaki and Hajime...

Their door has always been carefully shut, not even the slightest gap for a peek. An easy habit to explain away; the both of them value privacy over accessibility, choosing to socialize in the common areas of the house rather than in their room, but still--

It’s almost surprising how normal it is. Not that Chizuru expected it to be wallpapered floor to ceiling with centerfolds, like Harada and Shinpachi’s room, or crowded with collectibles like Heisuke’s, but maybe white walls and stark sheets, monochrome and neat as a pin. The sort of room that would seem unoccupied, if it wasn’t for the monitors on the desks. Sterile.

Instead there’s posters. Not crowding the walls, so close that the corners overlap, but there’s personality, if not chaos. Enough to know that the boy who sleeps under the navy comforter likes movies with kimonos and swords or computers from the 80s, and that charcoal comforter likes wuxia and vintage medical diagrams. And books too, if the stack teetering on his bedside table is any indication.

Chizuru shuffles a step further into the room. It would be rude to rummage, but surely-- surely it wouldn’t hurt if she just read the titles. If she just stooped down the tiniest bit and--

And tripped over Souji, shoulder-deep beneath Yamazaki’s mattress. “W-what are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he grunts, annoyed. “A guy that uptight’s got to be hiding something. And not just the normal stuff. The kind of something that’s gotta be top shelf fucked up.”

She blinks. “Huh?”

“Oh come on, you know what I mean. Whips and chains.” He drags his arm out with a huff. “Autoerotic asphyxiation. Snuff tapes.” Souji reaches up, flipping over his pillows. “Yiffing. Who could say what a small-dicked little turd like him is into?”

Half those words are unrecognizable, and so it’s not until he’s on his feet, poking through desk drawers that Chizuru realizes, “You mean you’re looking for...for...” Her mouth works, cheeks painfully hot as she manages, “Girlie magazines?”

His fingers still, pressed into a sheaf of glossy page edges. “I’m trying to find porn, Chizuru. That’s what we call it this century.”

The book shuts with a snap, joining its friends on the shelf, and when he reaches for another, she blurts out, “Don’t people just watch that online now?”

Souji laughs, not kind, but abandons the bookshelf. “And everyone thinks you’re so innocent, huh, princess?”

Her hands clap to her cheeks. Ah, she hadn’t realized it could be painful to blush. “I, um...only, ah--” Souji flings open the closet “--I don’t think you should really be--!”

“Jackpot.” The hangers rattle as he slips something off the rack; with only the sunlight eking in around the blinds to light the room, it’s hard to see just what. “What do you think? Would it look good on me?”

The fabric’s black, limp and shapeless on its hanger, utterly unrecognizable. “I don’t...?”

“Nah, no way I could fit into that shrimp’s costumes.” The light might be dim, but Souji’s teeth practically glow when he says, “But you could, half pint. C’mon, get over here.”

She doesn’t have much of a choice, not when he grabs her wrist and yanks. “I don’t understand,” she murmurs, watching him separate a smaller piece from the whole, more uncomfortable by the second. “Why did you need me when you were only going to..um...?”

Steal seems a little strong for the moment. Scrounge falls a little short.

“Ahhh, see, kid, last night I left a little gift for the whole student body. Right on the main page, where everyone could appreciate it.” He steps entirely too close, the warmth of his body filling the space between them. “And our favorite little ass-kisser didn’t appreciate it.”

The scrap slips over her head, cool and smooth where it settles around her neck. “So he took it down. Or got some of his nerd friends to do it. Either way...” Souji shrugs. “It’s rude to give back a gift, isn’t it?”

His wrist twists, the cloth pulling tight against her skin. Tight enough that only a twitch guides her into a nod. “See? That’s what I thought too. Kid needs to learn a thing or two about manners. So that’s what I’m doing.” Souji grins, the fabric loosening as he lets it slip from his fingers. “Teaching him a lesson.”

“B-but...” Her focus stumbles as he steps closer, threading his hand beneath the few inches of her hair that don’t clear the fabric and pulling them free. “I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“It’s cute that you don’t know.” His smile could cut when he slips the cloth right up over her nose. “This is a hostage situation, jailbait, and you’re going to read from the script. Now look over here.”

She does, blinking right up into the blinding light of flash photography as his arm squeezes her close. “What...?”

“Perfect.” Souji’s lips slant to a smirk, phone pinched delicately between his fingers. “Now I just need to post this in--”

The lights flick on. Neither of them are near the switch.

But Hajime is.

“Just what,” he says, brows drawn down like a storm, “do you think you’re doing in here?”

There have only been three house meetings since Chizuru showed up on their doorstep, hair shorn and all her earthly possessions split between a backpack and a trash bag: the first, called by the professor, to announce that that there would be a new roommate; the second, to decide how exactly to handle the fact that Chizuru wasn’t a boy’s name, nor was she; and the third, well...

I’m not complaining that you invite girls back, Sano, Shinpachi had said, with all the gravitas of a judge, but you can’t let them wander around. She went through our trash, dude!

But this-- it’s different. Not just because of the Christmas lights, festively twinkling through their cycle, or Shinpachi’s sweater blinking through its own.

It’s that they’re all here, Christmas afternoon-- evening really, with how early the sun sets these days-- holidays cut short. Chizuru might not have anyone to spent Christmas with, but Shinpachi did, and Heisuke, and Yamazaki--

And instead they’re all here. Because of her. Not a single one of them is smiling.

It’s too much.

“I’m so sorry!” The words burst out of her, rushed, but it’s important to get them out before anyone else can speak, before they think she’s only sorry because she got caught. “I really didn’t mean to go in! I just...Souji said...”

“Narc.” It’s muffled in his shoulder, just loud enough for her to hear. And maybe others, the way Yamazaki’s brow twitches across the table.

“Chizu, Chizu. Come on.” Shinpachi holds up his hands, as if a half-hearted sweep like that could clear the slate of her worries.. “No one here thinks this is your fault.”

It’s kind of him to say, but that’s...impossible. Not when she’s so clearly transgressed. “I went into Y-Yamazaki and Hajime’s room without permission. That’s against the--”

“No, Yukimura, that’s not--” Yamazaki’s teeth clack down, hard.  “I don’t mind if it’s you. Ah, I mean--” his ears flush the same angry pink that licks up the column of his neck “--it’s, er, different.”

“You are respectful of other people’s personal belongings,” Hajime clarifies. “There is no issue with you in our private space. Souji, however...”

“Oh, come on.” Souji kicks his feet up on the coffee table, baring every hole in the bottom of them. “It’s not like I broke anything.”

Yamazaki’s eyes hone onto him-- or rather, the parts of him only inches from Harada’s iced mocha, so close a flex of a toe could touch the coaster. “Right, you only stole something. Not like that’s a big deal.”

“Stole? Like I want--” with a sweep of his palm, Yamazaki clears the surface of appendages, so precise it doesn’t even disrupt the condensation on the cup “--hey!”

He doesn’t smile, but when Yamazaki glances up at the couch, his satisfaction shines just as bright as one.

“Souji.”

Hajime is not like Shinpachi, using his outdoor voice in every room no matter how small, or Heisuke, unable to control his volume once a conversation gets interesting. He’s soft spoken, serious; the sort of person other people lean in to hear, rather than ask him to speak up.

But today, he pitches his voice to be heard. “You cannot enter someone’s assigned private room without express permission.” With even graver inflection, he adds “It is against the rules put forth in the Signed Housing Agreement.”

Souji snorts, sinking further into the couch cushions. “No one pays attention to that crap.”

Air hisses between Yamazaki’s teeth. “That’s--”

“If I am not allowed to leave the group chat unless a member of the house boots me for a pre-agreed upon duration,” Hajime says, mouth pulling thin, “then you are also not allowed in my room.”

His glare is hardly aimed at her, but it comes close enough that she flinches. Souji doesn’t, refusing to acknowledge it that same way a cat declined to be caught on a curtain, as if reality was simply an opinion he did or did not hold. “I didn’t even touch your stuff. I don’t know why you’re trying to--”

“You did touch Yamazaki’s stuff, though.” Harada shifts in his chair, the vee of his sweater dipping deep enough to bare cleavage. It might be distracting, if it wasn’t already a relief that he was wearing all his clothes. “Which is against the rules.”

“Yeah, that’s fucked up, right?” Shinpachi cracks open a tall boy, cold enough that the beer fizzes out, threatening to drip right across the festive moose on his chest; HORNY AND WELL HUNG according to the words knit into his sweater. “There’s no locks on the doors, man. We’ve all got to trust each other.”

Chizuru blinks. “But I have a lock.”

He pauses, mid-sip. “Well, I guess that makes sense. You’re a girl, after all. Can’t have a girl be alone with a bunch of guys if there no--”

“My room also has a lock.” Hajime frowns, considering the socks Souji’s just returned to the table. “Hardly a good one, if Souji was able to bypass it with just his foot, but...”

“Me too,” Heisuke chimes in. “I just don’t really use it.”

“Wait, what?” Shinpachi swivels between them, lost. “Are me and Sano the only ones who don’t--?”

“I think the best course of action is to inform Professor Hijikata about the infraction.” Kneeling on the carpet next to Shinpachi’s luggage, Yamazaki’s hardly an authority figure, but when he raises his voice the room fritters to silence. “I’m sure he can take it from there.”

Harada hums, unconvinced. “I don’t know about that. Souji’s already got two strikes against him. If we report another one, I’m pretty sure Hijikata’s going to toss him out.”

They might be more suggestions than eyebrows, but still, it makes an impression when Yamazaki furrows them.  “I don’t see why that’s any of my concern.”

“Aw, c’mon, Yamazaki.” They all might tease her about her pleading eyes, but it’s Heisuke that uses them now, as compelling as any puppy in a pet store window. “You know Souji doesn’t have anywhere else to go. You wouldn’t throw him out in the cold just like that, would you?”

His mouth pinches, bracing the way the rest of him is, squared off and utterly implacable. “Souji is a grown man who can make his own decisions. If those decisions lead to him getting tossed out, that hardly has anything to do with me.”

Souji snorts. “None of the people who complained are even here anymore.”

Yamazaki whips around, eyes so cold they could turn any other man to ice. Souji just smirks. “Yes, because of you.”

“Well, I don’t know...” Heisuke hums, thoughtful. “Ryu left because of that art program. You know, the one that had the scholarship.”

“Only after Okita shoved him off--!”

“Oh, c’mon.” Souji’s shoulder twitch, barely summoning up the energy for a full shrug. “That’s all water under the bridge.”

Yamazaki surges to his feet; only Harada’s hand, keeping him from jumping the table too. “You broke his wrist in three places! The only reason he didn’t press charges was because his foster father is somehow an even bigger asshole than you!”

Souji picks his grins the same way a chef picks his knives from the block: with the intention to cut. “No hard feelings.”

“Hard feelings?” Yamazaki chokes out. “You think this is about hard feelings? When Itou left, he--”

“Itou was a prick.”

Hajime doesn’t so much sigh as hum, raspy and dubious. “That doesn’t mean that what you did was right, Souji.”

His eyes narrow, annoyed. “Don’t pretend you miss him running around the place, acting better than everyone.”

“No, no. He’s got a point.” The easy chair grunts as Shinpachi shifts his weight back, crossing his legs ankle to knee. “They both do. You know I don’t want to kick you out, man, but you’ve got a bad habit of taking stuff way past funny right into, well...”

“An actionable offense?” Harada offers, wry.

A blunt nail taps at his can, uncomfortable. “Yeah, that. It’s not good, bro.”

Something happens with Souji’s mouth. A lot of somethings, actually; subtle ones, hidden in the corners and tucked into the cheeks, the sort that happen between one blink and the next. Missable, save for the fact that Chizuru never looks away.

There’s a jut of his lip first, not a pout but its more serious cousin, the kind that’s like a levee to a deluge: one tremble away from a flood. A scowl next, never quite reaching his eyes; good practice for the smile that follows, curving into a smirk the way steel takes an edge: like it’s meant for it.

“All right, all right.” His hands raise up, too lax for a peace offering. It might stand in for a concession, if she tilted her head and squinted, but only a little. “So you’re all mad at me or whatever.”

“For good reason.” It’s a strong stance for Harada; he’s usually the one who’s quick to compromise, so long as it keeps everyone civil.

“Sure, right.” Souji shrugs, unconcerned. “I get it. But consider--” fabric whips out from behind a pillow, matte and black-- “this.”

Chizuru blinks. “Wasn’t that in...?”

Yamazaki’s closet, she doesn’t say. Not when he shakes it out, turning it from cloth to clothing, a whole jumpsuit with fussy embroidery picked out in an even darker black.

“What’s that?” Shinpachi scoots to the edge of his chair, squinting. He must not have his contacts in. “Some sort of ninja costume?”

She knows better than to turn, to draw attention to the statue suddenly sitting across the table, but Chizuru can’t help it, not when Souji is so quick to say, “It is.” There’s enough relish in his tone that she can taste it. “And it’s Yamazaki’s.”

There’s a pause-- for effect, she’s sure, considering the way Souji grins. Like he’s pulled off some magic trick, making his troubles disappear in one hand and then plucking them out from behind Yamazaki’s ear.

“So?” Harada snorts, unimpressed. “Are you surprised? He’s been a ninja for Halloween like, what? Three years running? Since I’ve been here at least. What next? Gonna pull a sexy firefighter out of Shin’s closet?”

“Hey!” A hand presses right over WELL, leaving HORNY and HUNG peeking out from underneath it. “I’ve branched out! This year I was a sexy soldier.”

“How can you tell?” Heisuke mutters, hunched shoulders making his chest even narrower, more concave. “You’re only wearing like half a costume.”

“We’re not talking about Nagakura.” With all the subtlety of a bomb, Souji drops, “We’re talking about Mr Kiss-Ass and how he has like, five of these tucked away for a rainy day.”

It’s been three months since Chizuru managed to insinuate herself into the house, but not once has it been quiet. Even in the night there’s something: Shinpachi snoring, Harada’s flings trying to find the front door, Heisuke up entirely too late typing up papers or-- more likely-- playing video games. Something. But now--

Now it’s a ringing silence that’s left in Souji’s wake, an awkward air that has every shoulder stiff, every eye finding somewhere else to look besides the place where Yamazaki sits, still as a stone.

Or at least, until Hajime slides forward, dexterous fingers smoothing over the raised stitches of the sleeve. “Oh,” he hums, impressed. “Your skills have really improved since your last attempt. I take it this is for next weekend?”

“Ah...” He swallows, loud enough that even Chizuru can hear. “Y-yeah. The new kunai were too heavy for the belt, so I thought if I remade that, I might as well add a few more quality of life adjustments, and, er...”

“Oh my god,” Heisuke breathes, quivering like a corgi at the end of his leash. “Are you a real ninja?”

A broad hand cuffs him on the back of his head. “C’mon,” Harada mutters. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

If Yamazaki’s ears were painted pink before, they’re crimson now, hot enough to burn from touch alone. The square of his shoulders deflates, rounding with the slow leak of his confidence, but--

But Hajime simply nods, stroking his chin. “Perhaps I should look at my own as well. It hardly feels adequate next to all the work you’ve done.”

“Is this like...a sex thing?” Shinpachi’s eyes dart between the two of them. “It’s a sex thing, right?”

“No,” Yamazaki says, stern, immediately undermined by Hajime’s, “A little.”

It’s with a hefty heaping of betrayal that Yamazaki turns to him, glaring as he grounds out, “Absolutely not.”

Hajime’s mouth gives a dubious twist, and he opens it, perhaps to gainsay him, but--

But there’s no time, not when Heisuke practically explodes. “Are you a ninja too, Hajime?”

He blinks. “No.”

“Oh.” Heisuke deflates. “Okay, I guess...”

“I’m a samurai.”

“What--” Harada’s voice strains beneath the words “--is going on?”

“So let me get this straight.” Harada’s fingers pinch at the bridge of his nose, but by the wrinkle above them, Chizuru doubts it helps. “You two...dress up as samurai...?”

“I’m the samurai,” Hajime explains, so helpful. “Yamazaki is currently playing as a ninja. As he typically does.”

“You don’t have to tell them that,” he mutters. “That’s not really the point--”

“Right, of course, but...” Harada grimaces. “This is what you do on the weekends? For fun?”

A narrow shoulder lifts under Hajime’s tee, the closest he comes to a shrug. “An afternoon a month, to be more specific.”

“Once a month?” Heisuke asks, wide-eyed. “That doesn’t seem like a lot.”

“It takes a large amount of effort and dedication to keep up a long-form Live Action Roleplaying campaign,” he explains gravely. “That the organizers are able to run so often is a testament to their skill. And to run a weekend event--”

“So you mean you go there the whole weekend?” Heisuke blinks. “Like just forty-eight hours of samurai stuff?”

Hajime’s correction comes the same way as all his interactions: swiftly and without any judgment. “Seventy-two hours.”

Shinpachi goggles. “That’s a lot of fucking hours.”

“It is to aid with immersion.” Hajime isn’t a man of many words, but now he does not so much pause as he does breathe. “Unlike other games of its kind, Legend of the Five Rings does not focus so much on combat as it does internal conflict, and the robust worldbuilding--”

“This isn’t what they’re asking.” Yamazaki’s gaze darts wide-eyed around the table, never daring to stay longer than a blink. “You don’t have to--”

“--Is based on Sengoku Era Japan,” he continues, heedless. “As gratifying as it is to play on a regular basis, it really isn’t until a few hours into any session that people truly come to embody their roles. The court politics alone--”

“Saito.” Yamazaki may be seated at the opposite end of the living room, but his stare is enough to make even Hajime hesitate. “I think they get the idea.”

Harada looks between them, pained. “So are there...scripts or something?”

“No. Yes.” Hajime frowns. “It’s complicated. Each scene is improvised in character, but the organizers are present to facilitate the flow of the story. It is a collaborative effort.”

“But that’s it?” Heisuke asks. “You’re just like...samurai for a day? Or, er, three of them?”

“Yes.”

“And you do this--” Harada’s eyebrows furrow, pained “--for fun?”

Hajime doesn’t answer so much as cock his head, hands outspread as if to say, what else?

“That’s so...so cool!” Heisuke leaps to his feet, practically tripping over the table in his excitement. “Can I go? You guys gotta bring me!”

“What?” Harada blinks at him. “You want to go to this?”

“Uh, yeah?” His hands clench, too excited. “You get to be a samurai, Sano! Who wouldn’t want to?”

“Hey, so.” Shinpachi leans in, face pinched in curiosity. “Is this like...D&D or whatever?”

“In spirit,” Yamazaki creaks out, looking like death warmed over.

He nods. “Right, right. So like...a total sausage fest, or...?”

“The numbers on many tabletop games typically skews toward male,” Hajime explains, “but Live Action Roleplaying draws a higher percentage of female participants. Possibly due to the cosplay aspect.”

Shinpachi grins. “Oh, then count me in too, sensei.”

Harada stares at him. “Who are you?”

“What?” Shinpachi shrugs. “It’s math with babes. What’s not to love?”

“Ah...” Yamazaki waving hands don’t do much to hide his grimace. “I don’t really think this will be as interesting to you as you think...”

“He’s right,” Harada presses. “You may think it’s a good place to pick up women who aren’t afraid of, er, theoretical numbers--”

“They’re not theoretical,” Shinpachi huffs. “They’re real, it’s just the equations used to describe them are--“

“See? Already my eyes have glazed over.”

“I don’t know,” Chizuru hums, pitched just loud enough to be heard. “I think it sounds...fun?”

Yamazaki’s stare fixes on her. “Really?”

Even as a girl, Chizuru had never been one to play dress up, never been one to play pretend-- father didn’t approve, for one. Not when there were more direct benefits to be had from drilling flashcards or reading books. A second, her daydreams were vivid enough she hardly needed to act them out, not when Father was so apt to remind her, princesses don’t have to pass their medical exams.

But Yamazaki is as serious as they come, a TA for the dean of the pre-med department even before graduating. His acceptance to the medical school almost assured, and he finds this worth his time. Enough to have made a costume-- with his own hands!-- and sign up for a whole weekend away from his studies...

“Y-yeah.” She ducks her head, hoping to hide the heat that pricks at her cheeks. “I mean, as long as it wouldn’t be a bother for me to, um...”

“Ah, no! I mean, yes. Never.” Yamazaki shakes himself, pink staining the high arch of his cheekbones. “It’s not a problem.”

“Yeah, Chizu!” An arm clamps around her shoulders, dragging her against Shinpachi’s personal light display. “That’s right! Let’s all go. House field trip!”

Yamazaki’s jaw drops. “I don’t, er, know about that--!”

“Fine.” Harada sighs, getting to his feet. “If Chizuru wants to go. Count me in.”

“That’s the spirit!” Shinpachi claps him on the back, hard enough that even Harada has to cough. “Now, that just leaves...?”

“Uh-uh.” Souji’s arms fold over his chest, forbidding. “No way I’m going to your nerd party.”

“Aw, c’mon.” Shinpachi drops between them on the couch, arm pulling tight. “Think of it as a group bonding experience.”

Souji scowls. “What makes you think I care about bonding with any of you--”

“Well, if you’re going to be that way about it.” He squeezes tight enough to eke a squeak out of him. “Think about it as, ‘if you go we won’t tell Hijikata about you stealing shit.”

Souji glowers. “Fine,” he grumbles, shoving him off. “But I won’t like it!”

Shinpachi’s smile is all knives when he replies, “Wouldn’t expect you to.”

It’s dark when Chizuru stumbles out into the hall; there’d been daylight still when they’d piled into the parlor, but now night clings to the the edges of dusk, only enough light to gild the snow in golden shadow. It might bother her more if it wasn’t such a relief, a respite from having to scrape at the last reserve of her smiles. And so she takes it; one big breath and the muscles around her mouth slump, aching from use.

Any other night, she might worry about one of the boys following out behind her, but she can hear the ruckus shift from the parlor toward the kitchen, wheeled baggage and Shinpachi’s booming voice all tromping toward the back stair. Her day may have happened in fits and starts, but everyone else has been on the move, going from Christmas to short notice travel to fraught house meeting all within the space of hours. There’s no one who’s going to be worried about her.

Which suits her just fine. A few minutes lying face down on her comforter and she’ll be right as rain. Just a breath or two to herself, and--

Someone huffs behind her. Right behind her.

She whips around so fast, she nearly tumbles Yamazaki into the wall with her. Or at least his arm, half outstretched, now just hanging there in the air between them.

“Oh!” There’s no reason for her to shy back, but she does, guiltier with every inch. “Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

“No, no. It’s my fault.” His hands aren’t large, not like Harada or Shinpachi, but the fingers are long and tapered, digging runnels through the shaggy bristle of his hair. “I should have-- ah, I mean, I just saw you, and er, wanted to make sure that you were all right. After, ah...all that.”

Her first instinct urges her to laugh, to let her nerves giggle out, there’s no need to worry about me--

But Yamazaki stares at her with the same careful intensity as he had in the kitchen-- you’re worth a good meal-- and Chizuru tries deflection instead. “I’m the one who should be asking you that! I went into your room without any permission and all, and Souji--” Yamazaki grimaces at the name “---I just...you have every right to be mad at me!”

“You?” he echoes, incredulous. “It’s not your fault, Yukimura. Okita’s the one who dragged you in there.”

She shakes her head. “I could have chosen to leave any time. I just was too curious to think to question him.”

“Curious?” There’s no inflection to the word, and with the shadows making a muddle of his expressions, there’s only the tilt of his head to tell here there’s a question. “Why would you be curious?”

“Ah, I’d just...never been inside before?” Her palms clap to her cheeks, and oh, she must glow from how hot her cheeks burn. “It’s silly.”

“It’s not! It’s just, ah...unexpected. I...” His mouth opens, as if he might say more, but with a lick of his lips, it closes instead. Or rather, his chin dips down and it follows, gaze dropping from her eyes to somewhere at her neck. As if...

“Oh, did I spill...?” She can’t actually remember what she’s eaten today, whether it could be something that she could walk around wearing, but Yamazaki’s already shaking his head.

“Ah, no, it’s just...you still have...” His fingers curl hesitantly in the air between them. “If you would let me...?”

Every twitching nerve of her stills as he steps close, fingers skimming past her shoulders. Only days ago she’d knotted his scarf, but it feels different now that he’s the one reaching, so close his hand meet behind her neck. He’s not bundled up now, no three layers of wool and thermal and parka to keep her from realizing that he smells nice, like...like something clean with a hint of eucalyptus, and it’s...

It’s a lot.

His fingers knit into the fabric at her nape, too slippery for him to find the end of it by touch. At least, the first time; he gathers it up, hiking it higher and higher until he can slide under it, the flat of his nails smooth and warm against her neck. Her pulse pounds so hard he must feel it, but Yamazaki doesn’t flinch, instead lifting it with surgical precision. The stretchy fabric threads right off her ponytail with no more than that initial brush of fingers, and she--

She stare. It’s the mask. The one Souji put on her. All this time, and she’s-- she’s just been wearing it, like some sort of...scarf. Right over her tanuki pajamas. In front of everyone.

In front of Yamazaki.

If she could melt into the woodwork, it would be a miracle. But as always, reality refuses to oblige her. “Oh, I hadn’t even...ah...”

“Please, don’t worry about it.” His fingers smooth over the fabric, mouth curving into a rueful smile. “It looked better on you than it does on me.”

“Ah!” Her gasp catches in her throat. “That’s not...um...” She hakes her head, hoping that might clear enough room for a sentence or two to compose itself. “I don’t think that’s true.”

Yamazaki glances up at her, amused, and oh-- she hadn’t meant to say that. Not like that.

“You know, I meant to...” He stops himself. Not abruptly, like she does, but a slow, thoughtful halt. Like a train pulling into a station rather than a car braking for a yellow light. “I mean, I don’t think I ever got around to saying it last night, and today, with everything...well”

He hesitates again, a breath hissing between his teeth. But this time his shoulders square, and even though his gaze is lost in the shadow of his brows, she knows he’s looking at her. “Merry Christmas, Yukimura.”

[yoinkschief]

im worried were blinded by the waiting 9 years for this movie of it all and were gonna rewatch it sometime for [REDACTED] and itll be not as good as it was today

Not at all I swear this movie was genuinely super good

Teeny tiny spoiler warning:

I see a lot of people shitting on the scene with Abby and the animatronics building a fort together but I think it's super fucking crucial to have that in there

Not only does it serve at a scene to get Mike to eventually take the offer, showing him them that "oh we're not so bad ! Look at us ! We're friendly and we'll take good care of Abby because we're kids like her :3" which I think does give him a reason to say yes at first before instantly regretting it, realizing that in fact he's the only one who should protect her, because he's finally realizing you can't have it both ways and not wanting to fuck up the only chance he has of any sort of "redemption", but also because THEY'RE KIDS

In the games it's not really explored all that much that there are CHILDREN in those suits because, well, it wasn't important in the game until I'd say FNaF 3 (that's when I think Scott actually started caring about the lore) so he kinda blocked himself off from being able to actually explore that, hence the books

But even then I don't think it was fully explored that they never really grew up, that they're still just kids even after the twenty years they were stuck in those suits, which we never get to see explored as much as it is in the movie, explaining that they ARE STILL KIDS, still wanting to have fun

Also I hear criticism about the drawings aspect

NO

GENIUS

MAKES SENSE CAUSE AS A KID WHO WAS VERY DRAWN TO DRAWING THEY'RE SO REAL FOR THAT

Creative outlets such as drawing, writing, painting, etc. Any sort of artistic medium is an outlet of ones self, as that's what makes it art

And it's a running theme throughout the entire franchise of fan art, I mean it never was a really big thing until the movie, but it still sells because it was always there:

The paper plate puppets, the crude drawings, it's all apart of the fact it's a KID'S ENTERTAINMENT PLACE

Think of Chuck E. Cheese's, they get tons of fanart from kids because they love Chuck E. Cheese, they love the little rat guy so they draw to show their appreciation, they write kind letters, etc.

The biggest criticism is about how the drawing change at the end was stupid and while I can say it seems cheesy, think of it this way:

This truly is the only way that they know how to communicate

They can't talk, at least no one but that fucking blonde kid but I'm not getting into him right now

And they were kids when they were murdered, for all they knew, Spring Bonnie just wanted to get a picture with them that they could show their parents, or was just trying to help them find their parents now that they were lost, they couldn't possibly understand what was happening

Until Abby drew that picture and showed them that he was holding a bloody knife - they say what happened to Vanessa and I'm sure they're aware of what murder is after what they did to protect themselves when they felt threatened, they just never thought that Spring Bonnie, their beloved hero, would ever do that to them

Again, until Abby brought that to life

Also Matthew Lillard's performance trumps all criticism holy SHIT

[mssturniolo]

Goodbye my good friend

TW - suicide

If you ever felt like hurting yourself I can tell you from Experience it doesn't help it may make you feel good but it isn't good if you have someone to talk to then talk to them because they do. It can be any one it can be a family member or a friend or a teacher a coworker a boss you're boyfriend/girlfriend someone online you trust anyone. Try to get help because you aren't getting rid of you're pain you're passing it on to someone else. Suicide isn't the answer to getting rid of you're pain.

Y/n sat in a conner in her room hugging her knees and crying her eyes out, she felt numb she hated her self so much, y/n sighed and took out her phone she went to call the one person she knew who would make her smile....Jj, she opened her phone and went to call jj but he didn't answer nobody did "God damn did" she Screamed and trow her phone across the room watching it hit the wall and fall to the ground it made a loud bam sound lucky for y/n her mother and father was at work, y/n had up and picked her phone up hoping it wasn't broken thankfully it wasn't she put it back in her pocket and went to sit on the edge of her bed 'Ding' y/n phone went off she took it out of her pocket and went to she who was texting her hoping it was jj but it was her mother "y/n I won't be home till 7pm you're will be home at 8pm" y/n put her phone her on her night stand,.

y/n got up and went to go see jj she needed to get out of her head, she locked up and went to Jj's, when she got there jj had a beat up face "Holy shit you ok" y/n asked "What do you want" jj asked annoyed "oh um I needed to get out so I decided to come see you" y/n said "Well can you go I'm not in the mood for company right Especially you're company" jj said "what is that supposed mean" y/n asked "UGH CAN YOU GO LOOK IM NOT IN THE FUCKING MOOD CAN YOU STOP TALKING ABOUTKILLINGYOU'RESELF AND DO IT ALREADY" Jj yelled y/n took a step back "y/n I'm sorry I didn't mean that um what did you need" jj said "nothing um I think im gonna go and give you're space" y/n said and left, on the way back to her house y/n was thinking about what Jj said maybe he was right she should stop talking about killing herself and do it.

she got to her door and unlocked, she walked into her house she got paper and started to write "dear pogues thank you for the time of my life over the past 8-10 years but this life is coming to a end. Jj thank for being there when I needed you the most this is not you're fault don't blame you're self stay strong I'm gonna miss you so much you can have some of my stuff love Y/n/n. Kie/Kiara I'm gonna miss you so much I'm sorry please stay strong love you I'm gonna miss girls night with you and Sarah so much love y/n. Pope im sorry pope you can have all you're books back I love you pope and I'm gonna miss you please stay strong and don't stop looking for the gold you can have some of my stuff love y/n. John b I'm sorry I couldn't do it anymore I love you, please stay strong you can have all you're stuff in my room back if you want p.s please keep jj out of trouble thank you and no there wasn't anything you could've done love y/n. Sarah I'm sorry please stay strong you and kie can have some of my stuff I'm gonna miss you I couldn't do it any more and there was nothing anyone could do for me I love you Sarah so much goodbye I'm watching over you love y/n. A tear sliped y/n eye was she really doing this yes she was she got up and grabbed a knife in her kitchen and went to the couch she sat down and started to cut her arms then her legs then her belly she was losing a lot of blood but she didn't care her vision got blurry then everything went black the last thing she heard was Her phone say jj was calling her she smile and then starting Regretting cutting her self

Jj felt bad for what he said to y/n he was with the Pogues "guys I'm gonna go check up on y/n she isn't answering her phone" jj said getting worried "we all can go John b said putting turning the car jj nodded, when they got there jj jumped out and ran to the door he knock but no answer the windows where coverd by curtains "Y/N!" jj yelled He went to open the door realizing the door was unlocked he took a breath then opened the door to see y/n on the couch "NO no come on wake up HELP HELP" jj was shaking everyone ran inside jj turned around and yelled "CALL FOR HELP NOW please" pope ran and called for help john b walked in and saw the note "I'm sorry y/n I'm really am" jj said pope can in "help is on its way and her parents are too" pope said jj walked outside "this is all my fault" jj groaned "how" John b asked "I told her to go kill herself" jj Whispered "are you fucking serious Jj she may be dead!" John b yelled but then dropped it (the part where jj go's outside is the gif)

Not even 1 minute later y/n parents ran in and help come jj help sad numb this was all his fault 2 hours later they were in the hospital waiting for news about y/n "ms and Mr L/n I'm sorry to tell you this but she didn't make it" the doctor said jj heart stopped for a second This was all his fault

THE END

[random-bi-writer]

My Reaction to Watching and Dreaming

Laughing at my past self for how naive the predictions I made for this episode.

So the link I got gave me the thank you message and I started bawling.

I knew the found family reunion would happen after the angst.

So, there’s a demon guy calling out to Luz. Who knows her name.

I don’t like the Luz being in Belos’ shoes, but that is a cool image.

I hate the situation but Luz is really rocking that outfit.

Well, they’re both gonna have nightmares for months.

I know that isn’t real and this is a very serious moment, but the animation is just *chef’s kiss*

OH, The gang are aware that they’re puppets and they’re crying that they can’t control their actions.

Thank Titan, Hunter wasn’t stabbed like the trailer was implying.

Holy shit, that was a badass line: “What’s the first thing you do when you wake up from a bad dream?”

All my homies hate Belos.

So, that’s Pacman, Marbles, Jenga.

This episode is just a Watch the Show fic in a nutshell.

They’re using the lesson to the worst person possible.

Lmao, the instant regret on Luz’s face.

WHAT THE FUCK

I swear if this show pulls an Amphibia-

She knows. Camila knows, goddamint this episode really is crying and screaming

Cryign voice: Anyone gonna make the Centaurworld animatic?

He even has the dad look.

While Luz may have a god powerup, toh did it better since they fought with family.

They did not have to go hard with the animation.

I forgot that Boiling Rain exist and laughed when it burned Belos because my head said “Karma”

Love the petiness.

Was that Lilith’s voice? Future Luz is gonna sound like Lilith?

WOOO WE GOT A LUMITY KISS

I did not need to see Hooty waking up anime style.

Aww, Luz and Vee graduation picture.

Now I wanna see how their grom went with Vee in it.

The Boiling Ilses has college? Also Luz is rocking that look.

Aww, adult Vee.

Holy shit, Eda’s principal. I should have expected that.

...IT’S ONLY BEEN A YEAR?! I’M HAPPY FOR SEEING LUZ’S QUINCENERA IM SORRY THAT I CAN’T SPELL IT BUT I THOUGHT THEY WERE ADULTS

Nevermind.

Welp, my eyes are dry.

[nightowlspawn]

"You come up here often?" I hear his voice followed by the door closing.

"Ehhh, depends." I swig the bottle between my fingers careful not to let it drop because fuck, this shit is good. I fell in love with it tonight. Id probably fall in love with any motherfucker that handed me some cherry wine, but the person who gave me cherry wine was him and im already in love sooo. Dont count. "It's really pretty tonight soo." He nods beside me and rests his arms on the edge. Him? Why he do that?

I steal a look and take another sip. Why he look so focused? With his- damn, his eyes. How the hell he get them pretty bitches? Gyatdamn his face his beautiful. And those lips? Mannn. Don’t even get me started. Holy shit look at his arms. Hes buff. how'd he get that kind of muscle anyway? Bro your hands! I bet they'd look better wrapped around my waist you know what 'm sayin? What? That did not come out of my mouth. Mmm yeah it did. Yeah you flex them muscles. Why is that so hot when you mess with your hair? The urge to put my hands through it. Stop looking like that or im going to kiss you. Then im gonna regret it.

I dont realize I'm still staring until he exhales and steps back. I continue staring at the sunset as he reads the label on the bottle i had next to me. "You really like this?" It's more of an observation than a question, but I respond anyway.

"It's only perfection in a bottle. Would you like a taste sir?" I smile and motion to the wine in my hand.

"I've had a few already." "Sips?" I scoff. I wouldn't take him as someone who drinks at parties. At least not like i do.

"Glasses. The champagne is really good." I nod hum in shock. Classy man he his, and still, dumb as fuck.

"You take the alcohol well."

"Not my first round." He smiles. "You'd be surprised. What about you?" He gestures at the bottle in my hand and the one dangerously close to the edge.

"Oh this?" I scoff amused. "I had a glass and i hate drinking off people, and this shit is divine. i wanted to enjoy it peacefully, without anyone gettin me to try other shit. That one is for later." I point to it with my almost empty bottle.

"Shit." He laughs. "You're don't seem as drunk."

"Ain't my first rodeo either." I chug the last sip and set the bottle down. "Shouldn't you be downstairs? This is a party for you, after all."

"As a joke. I can't stand them." He shakes his head, which makes his hair fall in his face and he moves to fix it. If this motherfucker does that one more time-  "And its tiring being this likeable. I can't move two steps without someone eyeing me or flirting." Aint that the mother fucking truth.

"Damn, you make it sound terrible."

"It's not always. There's just someone that has more of my," I push off the ledge and look him in his eyes. He follows my movement and gives me a once over. "Attention."

"Is there now?" I mock question. I already know the answer as i walk closer to him. Now im looking down at his eyes, which still make my heart stop its normal rhythm to make sure it only beats when he blinks.

"Yeah." He stands up. "And she's fucking gorgeous."

"Why don't you just kiss me already?"

"Because god, you're fucking confusing."

"I'm confusing?"

"Yes, you confuse me!"

"Alright whatever."

"Well whats that supposed to mean?"

"Doesn't matter." I wrap my arms around his neck and smile like an idiot. "You sure we can do this? They're not gonna come around in a helicopter and broadcast it to the world are they?" He smiled back into her lips.

"Let em look."

[the-supernatural-rewatch-project]

s1ep1 "Pilot"

welp here we go again! the first episode of my two year long supernatural rewatch project! im pressing play, let to fuckery begin.

bullet points are thoughts as i watch, paragraphs are my closing comments!

Why do I pay money for amazon prime if they are gonna show me ads before what im trying to watch???

happy John Winchester feels incorrect, like where’s the assholery.

And poor Mary, dying for no good reason except to forward the plot.

AND FUCK AZELZEL or however you spell his name. They were so happy, they were a family!!! And yeah so what Mary was from a line of hunters or whatever BUT THATS RETCON!!!

god its been six?? years since I first saw supernatural but still the image of Mary of the dealing face screaming out in pain as the flames engulf the room is so chilling.

DAMN??? Sam got a 174 on the LSAT??? Good for him, i assume all I know about the lsat is from legally blonde.

justice for Jessica honestly, such a great girlfriend and Sam was a little shit.

Okay sam being all home defence over dean creeping around in the dark is kinda cute.

Sam and Jess were just a happy couple, Jess didn’t deserve all that.

“Dad hasn’t been home in a few days” “dads on a hunting trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days” two sentences that make me regret starting this rewatch project.

“not normal, Safe” YEAH YOU TELL HIM SAM!!

I try and deny it but i am a sam girl.

DEAN TWENTY SIX??? oh my god, and still that attached to daddy.

Sam and Deans upbringing was basically a cult.

“you know there’s evp on that” yeah sam, its called static.

Sam should have become a lawyer. He wouldn’t be good, but it wouldn’t be hunting.

I LOVE YOU JESS, DATE ME NOT SAM!!! I would NEVER get you killed.

Oh yeah, this episode is a woman in white.

tits out, dead a fuck, “take me home” yeah I would 100% let her kill me.

Now that I remember this is a woman in white episode, i remember the plot of it. I actually really liked this episode’s monster of the week aspect. the woman in white was a compelling victim and perpetrator, and i really felt for her.

“it’s the greatest hits of mullet rock”

“driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole”

god I hate hate HATE the fbi badges, you two are babys, infants, CHILDREN!! Yall are NOT FBI agents!!!

“Why do you have to talk to police like that??” Damon Sammy? What kinda lawyer were you tryna become??

Oh yeah they are talking about dad again, this episode feels like it rapidly swings from feeling like any monster of the week episode of supernatural OR any plot driven episode.

um holy shit…. Dean shoving Sam against the pilled. Perhaps i know why wincest was the big ship until cas was introduced. (I mean like i dont ship it, but i can see why)

Okay the car driving itself was fun.

lmao dean at the edge of the river looking like a drowned fish is hilarious.

“you smell like a toilet” I’ve been reminded that supernatural wasn’t written for teen/young adult queer women and was actually written for white dudes.

“No chick flick moments” see my previous point.

“Jerk” “bitch” I hate this.

women in white are just so good, i love them.

ahhh the introduction of dads journal. The biggest problem solver in the entire fucking series.

this poor husband, kids gone, wife gone.

Jesus fucking christ, that jump scare jumped me scarred.

this poor girl, she just wants to go home.

kill him!!! I don’t want to watch another fifteen seasons of this horseshit

“Im taking you home” cringe alert 🚨

awww he’s not dead :(

Awww the kid ghosts :,(

wow that 2005 cgi does not hold up.

“If you screwed up my car, I’ll kill you” okay isnt the car the car that John brought Sam and Dean up in? How did the car become deans? John doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to buy himself a new car when the old one will do, and he certainly isn’t the kind to give his kid his car.

JESS MY BELOVED DONT DIE

How did Sam and Jess afford this huge fucking apartment?

NOOOO SHES DEAD!!!

Well first episode done, i am not 0.00305810397% of the way done supernatural! Why have I cursed myself with this burden.

Overall I did really like this episode! I think that it does create intrigue into the storyline, while also introducing the monster of the week format. However I wish they did a better job a meshing the two together, it did feel like I was watching two separated shows that happens to smashed together. One monster of the week and one plot driven.

As for the monster of the week, I like women in white, i think they are a cool narrative function and aren’t region specific, they also aren’t indigenous folklore or spirituality significant / revered figures something that supernatural has a tendency to uh…. Lets say butcher, something that i can’t wait to deal with next episode.

For the arc’s plot I do think it does what it set out to do… introduce the plot of the show. Two brothers trying to find their father, who has gone missing. That’s really all I can say because honestly this arc was my least favorite the first time I watched supernatural I cant see that changing this time.

[wooahaes]

Oh holy shit thank you for ur thoughts I love talking ab my boys as well sksnsksm and All the best for ur final I hope it goes great!!!

Also ab the stanning groups w at least 8 members? FUCKIN MOOD BRO

I’m into nct and svt and now treasure 💀

At this point I I’ve stopped trying to control my brain lol but like I remember being hesitant to Stan skz coz they had 9 members back then and look at me now 💀 also treasure itself has a lot of members who are younger than me which was also why it was kinda unexpected for me because I remember thinking when like the new wave of 4th gen groups started after like TXT I was like ahh yeah no they’re all p much babies I think I’m gonna chill for a lil bit and stick w my grandmas and grandpas (according to twitter which I quit because I swear that place is the ass of all fandoms) but here I am🤡

-baby teume

henlo im taking a break from final because im frustrated with this professor and her "cite at least one" preface only to get followed with like "cite more than one thing in this question" for all questions except one lmao

sdkfjsdf YEA i love getting to talk abt literally any of my groups... the day someone asks me abt SHINee will be met w immediate regret bc i love them sm. they might be the smallest group i stan with 5 members but i still

omg nct... literally im not huge into nct yet bc the number of members scare me lmao but i would live for both mark + haechan and potentially renjun too since hes a cutie and he has a pretty voice... my only exposure to nct was glitch mode + the song uhh "life is still going on" tbh. v solid stuff and im interested.

also mark's "NCTzens this is for YOU" only to miss. i saw the clip forever ago and didnt know it was him until like a week ago lmao what a cutie

ngl i wasnt into skz at first but then i think coming back to oddinary was enough to get me interested? they have a lot of rly good stuff even if im not a fan of all of it. mr chris bang... i love u...... and also innie... i wuv him...

yeah felt that abt treasure lmao im older than most of the group? which like. in junkyu's case is purely by a few months, but the rest are younger than me!! every time i find out im older than an idol im like wot. especially if they're taller than me. trsr has some babies who are fuckin TALL

i know little abt TXT except that i was given some recs by an acquaintance who i occasionally talk kpop with lol but i did see them perform at weversecon22 (via stream)!! im... literally older than almost all of them (i'm older than soobin by several months since we're both 00 liners but STILL!! hes 6'1"... fear... but also dude can u reach the shit on the top shelf thx)

also god... twitter.... my beloathed... i have a twitter i rarely use but honestly ppl over there are... cringe most of the time. the only good ones are the ones who were calling out that bee tee ess journalist for a shoddily written article that reduced jjong down to his death + had misinformation :/ i deeply appreciate that since ppl who do that piss me off

also pls feel free to send asks whenever u want <3 like i said i love talking abt my boys (and talking in general dkfhdsf)!! and ur absolutely welcome to tell me abt nct if u want since ive been meaning to get into them more <3

[kshira]

tokrev boys leaving cute little voicemails 🥺🥺🥺

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐋

+ mikey, baji, kazutora, ran, rindou, sanzu

tw: fem!reader, slight cursing, slightly suggestive? drinking mentioned(for baji) straight up fluff and super sweet boys <3

# 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐘

“hey angel, you’re probably asleep right now or binging one of your shows, heh. i know i always complain when you make me watch them with you but i’d be lying if i didn’t enjoy how happy it makes you. speaking of happiness, you make me happy, i’d love nothing more right now than to crawl in the bed behind you, wrap my arms around your waist and hold you so close to me while i kiss those pretty warm cheeks until you wake up and kick me out of the bed. i’m not sure when i’ll be home but i had some spare time and you deserve more than this voicemail but it’ll do for now, my spoiled girl. but anyways, i love you—don’t ever forget that.”

# 𝐁𝐀𝐉𝐈

“hey pretty, i’m really drunk right now and the walls feel like they’re melting but holy fucking shit i love you. me and chifuyu went out drinking but all i could think about was you and how much i miss my pretty girl. and your lips, oh god—they’re so pretty when they’re wrapped around my—wait, i’m supposed to be sweet right now, haha. i’m on a smoke break and i know how much you keep telling me to stop, i promise i’m trying cause i wanna be with you until we’re old and have a bunch of babies that look exactly like you but act just like me. shit—i’m gettin’ teary eyed thinkin’ about it—anyways princess, my love, the reason i wake up everyday—i love you, gonna come straight home and kiss you so much; have i told you i really miss your lips?”

# 𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐀

“do you believe in love at first sight? or is that kinda cliche to ask you—well actually i’m telling you because you’re asleep right now or just ignoring my phone call. i remember when we had our first date and you couldn’t stop staring at my eyes instead of the big fucking tattoo on my neck, or when people would glare at me you just held my hand a little bit tighter. whatever the fuck im trying to say is im in love with you, been like this ever since i met you and shit—i wouldn’t have it any other way. i regret so much in my life and what i have to suffer through is nobody’s problem but my own yet with you—i feel so safe, so fucking loved and is it too cliche now to ask you to be mine over the phone?”

# 𝐑𝐀𝐍

“now don’t get your hopes up, this isn’t my normal voicemails where you know—heh. i’ll leave that for when i get home pretty, you’ll really be begging to know all about it. we’ve been together a long time—what? almost five years? i remember you were the first one to see me with my hair cut short and embarrassingly enough the one to also hold me as i cried my eyes out about it. people say that you get tired of one another but that’s honestly the exact opposite with you. i always want to learn more about you even though i know everything including how much you hate listening to my alarm in the morning or the extra eight kisses you need before i can even leave. i am so madly in love with you that the mere thought of losing you makes my chest hurt, you got me angel, the ran haitani is at your beckon call until you get tired of me—which i hope is never because i know those other voicemails i do send you are pretty fucking nice.”

# 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔

“ignore that i’ve called you like five times already, i forgot you go to sleep early when i’m not there, i sure keep you up, don’t i baby? haha i’m sure that’s gonna make you all flustered and cute when you listen to this. but i called to tell you how much you mean to me, how much i love you—what you do to make me feel so alive when all i’m ever doing is dealing with death. i’ve never loved anyone before and shit—i’m scared you’ll be gone one day. can you imagine? me? being able to wake up all by myself without you there? as soon as i get to work i’m so fucking exicted to get off because i’ll be coming home and know you’ll be there—my pretty girl and all mine. i lied earlier actually, i’ve called you way more than five, and i’ll keep calling you leaving voicemails telling you in each one why i love you. got me being all cheesy and shit but you deserve it baby, deserve all of me.”

# 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐙𝐔

“this bed is so cold without you—sorry for the morning voice, i just woke up and forgot you had work early so i whined into the void for thirty minutes till i realized my princess wasn’t here. when are you gonna be back? mm, you know i get so needy and restless without you here. i’ve got so used to having you in my arms when i get up that i finally came to the realization i can’t live without you. and i just so happen to be hopelessly in love with you and i demand for you to get home as soon as possible. people wouldn’t know what to do finding out i’m so weak for you. i'm probably gonna go back to sleep soon—maybe dream about what other things we do when i wake you up for your attention. mh, i love you pretty girl—you’ll never know how much you mean to me.”

[oh-for-fic-sake-library]

Everything works...

Masterlist

Summary: wingman kal finds the strangest of ways to get you and his dad dating. And he doesnt regret a second of it.

Warnings: fluff, arguments,,mom glares, swearing

Unbeta'd let the typos run free because today i cant be arsed

"Oh my god! Oh my god?! KAL! KAL CAVIL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING? YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE! GET DOWN RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!!" You ran out into the garden yelling at the akita from next door who wasnt bothered in the slightest by your screaming of his name and continued his quest. Miko didnt seem to fussed by the shouting either.

"Holy fucking shit- what do i do?! Fuck; HENRY!? HENRY A LITTLE FUCKING HELP HERE" you shoutedd out to your neighbour praying he heard and would come and help you with this situation.

"Y/N? KAL?! WHATS WRONG-" Henry called trying to figure what was going on. And then looked from the raised patio into your garden instantly seeing the issue. He rys stomach dropped. Fuck.

Kal. his son, his boy, his little pig had not only jumped the fence but had managed to climb on top of your own akita Miko.... Your very female akita. And it didn't look like you were going to pull his randy pup from your own dog.

"OH NO! OH FUCK, FUCK FUCK FUCK NO! KAL DONT YOU DO IT! KAL GET DOWN!" He yelled and sprinted across the garden to the four foot fence that kal usually paid heed to. He managed to climb the fence and began making his way to you.

"Hold on im comming!" He called out, at any other point in time he'd have made a crude joke about kal already being there. But now didnt seem like a good time. You held kal and mikos collars trying to seperate the two huge powerful pups that semed determined to have their fun.

"Oh god what do we do?!" You asked trying desperately to get kal off. But it was a fools errand, the pig was stubborn.

"I dont know i err hold on let me just; oh shit" henry huffed realizing it was too late. The deed was done.

"Err why has he stopped moving?" You asked frowning not understanding a single thing apart from the fact your neighbours dog had litterly just fucked yours.

"I err think hes done..." henry said trying to avoid the whole knotting conversation. He didnt exactly want to explain dog mateing to you. He did have a slight crush on you since you moved in a few months ago.

"Done?" You quized still not getting it. If they were done why wasnt kal letting go.

"Yeah like. You know? finished..." henry blushed red trying not to elaborate further then 'finished'

You frowned not understanding for a moment and then it hit you. With a yelp you dived for the panting smiling dogs.

"He fucking better not be- Henry get him off i swear to god!" You ordered now realising what was happening to your poor pup. Henry sniggered out of the side of his mouth unable to ho.d back, it was a little funny to him. I mean he ahas a crush on you? Kal has a thing for miko? I mean you couldnt write this type of r drama.

"I; oh god... Its too late to seperate them" he chuckled biting his lip trying not to burst out laughing as you tugged on kals collar who in turn grunted and blinked at you stubbornly, before grinning as wide as he could panting happily tongue lolling out. The pig wasnt moving an inch, and he was smug about it.

"Too late? What do you meant too late!? Hes finished right!?" You growled releasing kals collar and waved your arms around frantically.

"Yeah but hes gonna be err... stuck? For a better word. You know they knot... if well try to pry them apart it could really hurt them" henry said with a shru unsure what more he could say or do about it. Kal had won.

"Stuck?... as in stuck he is stuck in there?! Oh jesus! My poor baby!" You gasped and knelt down on the ground petting Miko's head. Trying to sooth her despite her not being bothered in the slightest by what was going on. She was just as happyy as kal.

"She looks pretty pleased if you ask me- no? No your right im sorry my bad." Henry scoffed with a kaugh only to pause and take a large step back tpwhen you turned and snarled at him wordlessly. You didnt appreciate his blazé attitude.

It was when you clamed down trying to think thing through that a though hit you. You paled and stood facing henry with a stern face.

"Is he done?" You uttered pointing to kal. Henry jolted all mirth left his face. Oh shit. Ooohhh shit. And decided to play dumb for a second wanting to put off the inevitable.

"Well sort of but he cant really pull away-" he began avoiding your gaze not wanting to face to heated stare.

"No! No. Not like that! Is he done, you know had the snip? Shooting blanks?" You snapped at henry growing irritated.

"Ooohh" henry dragged out the word and bit his lip scratchingnhis head trying to come up with a way to tell you gentky.

"Henry? Henry answer me- i swear to god if you make me look for testicles im going to fucking scream" you huffed covering your face with your hand trying to take deep breaths. You didnt want to panic. But you were panicking as it became clear kal probably wasnt 'snipped'

"Well the thing is? I err i felt bad and just couldnt do that to him... so no. Hes not neutered, everything works..." henry uttered growing more and more quiet as he spoke. He couldnt help it, he just didnt have it in him to cut kals nuts off.

"Jesus fucking christ!" You swore throwingmyou hands 7p in the air ready to explode on him but bit your tongue. You took some deep breathes and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Sooo i take that as a sign miko isnt... Done either then?" Henry uttered sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck completely out of his comfort zone.

"No shes not i was going to after this season!"

"Ohh Fuck."

"Exatcly. Dont you smile at me you fluffy little sod! Very fucking pleased with yourself huh?!"you snipped at kal who choose that moment to yip at you playfully and then panted a smile.

"Well can you blame him? Little scamp just lost his v card-Oops nope sorry... but you gotta admit its kind of funny" henry tried to laugh it off and difuse the situation. But when you glowered at him he stuttered only to nervously babble on as you curled a lip at him in fury.

"Nooo? Okay so this is one of those one day we will look back and laugh things" he trailed off one hand now petting kal slowly trying to calm himself down and not feel like a choded school boy.

"Im going inside, i need a drink. Please take kal home when he's detached" you huffed whilst stepping back and weaved your way around the stuck pups heading for your back door.

Henry winced when the heavy door slammed shut and took a few seconds to breath before sighing and locking kal in his gaze.

"Kal what the hell? Shes so mad at me right now, i thought you were meant to be my wing dog? We are a team! A team kal! Not every man for themselves" he huffed motioning to kal and Miko's predicament. Kal huffed up at him and stopped smilejng closing his mouth completely watching henry closely.

"Dont you even think of pouting at me boy! You are this close to haveing your nuts gone i swear, i cant ask her out now can i? What am i gonna say? Sorry my dog jumped the fence and knocked up yours. Do you want to go for dinner?" Kals ears dropped as henry scolded him feeling completely lost, what the hell was he meant to do now?

"Exactly, you are in big touble, your grounded as of today" henry ended with a grunt.

Five weeks later

"Huh? Whats this?" henry frowned staring at the blank envelope that had just hit the doormat. He eyed it curiously before turning the envelope around and broke the seal. He got more confusedmseeing a shop bought card. pulling out a small card with the words congratulations gandpa. He froze for a moment thinking he'd opened someone elses mail but flipped it open and his heart stopped. There was an ultrasound, not a human ultrasound but a dog. It took him a moment to piece eveything together and suddenly he yelped and began calling kal.

"Oh god? Oh god! Kal! Kal come here! Kal-pig quick!" He ducked down and held the ultrasound to kal. The dog,looked on confused but wagged his tail, his human was excited over something so thats good.

"Look boy! Look see these are yours! You a dad bud! Your a dad!" Henry babbled unsure what to really say, he was excited for the arrivals.

"Would you look at that? Hmm puppies, actual puppies! You made me a granddad" henry continued to preen before flipping the little black and white image around and grinned at it. He counted and recounted trying to get a number but lost count each time. And then saw the small paragraph written in the card and paused gulping.

"Fuck. She must be so mad" he muttered feeling an icey ball in his stomach. For the past few weeks he had avoided you, he was so embarrassed and upset. You were fuming when you had walked into your house slamming the back door even pulling the blind down over the doors windo so you wouldnt have to look at him.

Dear henry

Surprise your a granddad, Miko had a vet visit today and revealed she is expecting eleven. I was mad at first but now? Not so much. I might have over reacted but Miko is my baby and i was worried. Accidents happen and kal just couldnt help himself its natural. This is just to let you know that there are pups incoming and im not mad so you can stop avoiding me. Please? I miss our chats over the fence and popping round every now and then. I also wanted to ask if you you want one of the pups? Normally studs get first pick of the litter or whatever so let me know.

Henry looked over the card again and again and felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. You werent mad. And there were pups on the way. And you wasnt mad. And he could have a pup but most of all. You wasnt mad at him.

"Hey stranger" you said opening the door to a nervous looking henry who held a big bag of puppy mix dog food, twisting the top of the bag in his hand anxiously.

"Hi, I got this... I wasnt sure if you needed anything but its kinda kals fault and... yeah" he uttered quietly, eve though you said you wasnt mad, he couldnt help feel out of sorts.

"Thats very sweet of you henry. Kal did a good job i for a fist timer" you giggled takjng the bag from him and set it behinde the open door.

"Yeah you bet. He probably knew he got one chance and made it count" he chuckled feeling slightly better that you hadn't bitten his head off yet.

"Little shit" you uttered shaking your head laughing under your breath.

"So err do you? I mean? Do you need help with Miko... or anything?" Henry asked wanti g to help out, like he said it was kals fault and pups cost alot nowadays, food, toys, puppy pads and now having to vaccinate and chip them as the breeder.

"I think ive got it covered."

"Is she big?" Henry asked blinking at you cutely he really wanted to come and see Miko and rub her belly.

"A beached whale, the pups kick too" you scoffed at the new nick name miko had earned since ballooning out. And then informed him of the puppies progession.

"Really?! Youve felt them?!" His entire face lit up like a kid on Christmas and he was suddenly buzzing, the awkward guilty atmosphere disappearing in seconds.

"Yeah. Do you want to come in? You can feel for yourself and we can have a coffee?" Youoffwred grinning at him and steppjng aside.

"R-really?" He asked quickly as if he didnt believe you werent angry at him and wanted to return to your prior friendship.

"Yeah sure, she will loves the extra bely rubs now and its pretty cool" you said shuffling aside leddjng him in before making your way to the kitchen to make drinks.

"I really am sorry. Kals never jumped the fence befor, i will look at getjng a taller one put in;" he said closing the front door and following you into the kitchen.

"Nope. Its fine henry, im getting her done so there wont be anymore unexpected litters. In all honesty I was just worried. Ive never seen dogs... you know. And now pups? I havent got a fucking clue" you finally explained, you ahd felt bad afterwards. You didnt mean to react so badly and get so angry, but you were concerned.

"Youve never had a dog have pups before? Even as a kid?" The question caught you off gaurd. Henry said it as if it was something everyone had experienced.

"No. Never."

"Do you? I mean we had a dog have a few litters as a kid, i could help you know? I mean it is my fault too, i should take some responsibility" he added perking up as he toom a seat at the breakfast bar wai5ingnfor the kettle.

"You dont have too;"

"Id love to help, they are my grand pups to you know" he uttered with a proud grin, sitting up a little straighter puffing his chest out proud as punch. It made you giggle, he realy was taking the grandad thing seriously.

"If your sure henry, id appreciate it. There so many thigs online i dont onow what to belive" you replied with a smile, relief washingmover you. The vys had tried to scare you into doing all these tests and buying expensive food everything, whoch you couldnt afford. You were sneered at when you said no and felt so belittled.

"Well let's get to work, first things first we need a whelping box and blankets;soft ones that are really warm. We could pop into town and get some wood? Im pretty handy with a drill so can make one" he began making plans listing things he'd need. You nodded placing his cup infront of him. He paused and flushed lightly before giving a sho4t nod and trapped you in his gaze for a serious second. You frowned at him thinking something was wrong but he spo,e up ebfore you could ask

"And we could have a lunch date?" He asked quickly before the little bit of self courage disappeared.

"That sounds perfect" you agreed with a light blush making his jaw drop for a second befpre he got all flustered again, the muttered 'good' under his breath before takjng a drink from his cup before he made a complete fool of himself. You smiled siping your own coffee, who would have thought kals date would land you your very own? Now you thats for sure

[clout-babe]

Hello! I hope your having an amazing day also can I request something? AFAB coming up to them and hugging then behind while streaming? (Dreamteam, wilbur and maybr eret please?)

hello ! i’m having a fantastic day and i hope urs is great as well <33 your wish is my command ! very big brain u have there

i did this bullet style so i hope ur okay w that

also im not currently writing for eret bc i don’t know their current content well enough, if that makes sense. i will be in the future though hopefully :)

Hugging them from behind on Stream

includes : cc!dreamwastaken, cc!georgenotfound, cc!sapnap, and cc!wilbur soot

genre: fluff 100%

warnings: afab, language

[sfw]

see pinned b4 requesting!

dream

you were probably just feeling needy

that happens in a relationship where both of you have physical intimacy as a love language

you knew he was streaming

as quietly as possibly you opened the door to his office

being so quiet, he didn’t even notice you came in

good thing he doesn’t use facecam

you would walk up behind his chair and run your fingers lightly across his shoulders, causing him to jump

“AH- shit! y’ scared me babe.”

you’d finally wrap your arms around the chair to hug him

would probably mute his mic for a minute

“did you need something?”

“nah i just wanted to love on you”

“aweee my baby wants attention”

“did you want me to end?”

“no, i know you need to work.”

“you sure? i swear i was finishing soon anyways-“

eventually you’d be able to convince him to continue streaming

for the rest of the stream you sat sideways in his lap, just laying your head on his shoulder

he made sure not to yell anymore just so you would feel comfy.

george

george doesn’t always stream

but when he does it takes forever

at least in your opinion

laying in bed as your stupidly cute boyfriend took forever on his work became boring

So you devised a simple plan

go in the room, give george a quick hug, then head out.

george does use a facecam however, so as you shuffle down the hall to his streaming room, you mess around with your hair a little bit.

once you enter the room, george immediately looks over.

his face twists into shock as he mutes his mic

“love, i’m streaming”

“…i know”

“you never come in when i’m streaming”

you could tell he was worried because you haven’t been introduced to the internet yet.

“… i know”

you walk over behind him slowly. you can tell his breath gets caught in his throat as he watched you come into view of the camera on his monitor.

you put your arms around him from behind, resting your head on his shoulder.

“hello chat,” you smile.

a small smile makes its way onto george’s face as the chat speeds up

“gogy in his relationship arc?” he says reading chat

“i suppose you could say that,” he looks up at you grinning

(he’s so ahhh i love him)

sapnap

sapnap was DISTRACTED by stream

like don’t get me wrong it was high energy and super entertaining to watch

but sitting on the bed out of frame wasn’t gonna cut it anymore like it had been the last 2 1/2 hours.

you stood up, and before he even had a chance to think, you were gathering him in your arms from behind, stuffing your face into his shoulder

“you smell nice” it was muffled

he would be a nervous wreck with you on camera

“i uh- yeah um- haha”

eventually he’d get more comfy

“chat y/n will literally say she’s fine with me streaming then demand my attention”

chat is quick to defend you

“what do you guys mean?”

“they mean you should end stream and gimme attention”

“alright, mods run a poll”

chat works in your favor and he ends stream to cuddle with you

“fine angel, i guess you always win.” he mumbles into ur shoulder before falling asleep in your arms

wilbur

100% planned on not streaming then he did

will’s viewers knew you two were together, but they knew both of you by your internet personas

you two typically do streams together, but today you felt really sleepy

will figured you two could just hang, but then spontaneously decided he wanted to go live

you let him, not wanting to mess up his work flow

however, your oh-so-holiness on the situation morphed into regret and you realized all you wanted to was give him a hug

have that stupid lanky boy in your arms

you knocked on the door to the room where he was streaming, not wanting to catch him off guard

“come in!” followed shortly after

you shuffled into the room

his face lights up just at the sight of you, and it’s easy for chat to see.

“hi darling!”

he’s very chipper but quickly becomes confused when you don’t respond

“everything alright, love?”

you simply lurk behind him, throwing your arms lazily around his shoulders and rest your head sideways on your arm.

“ah” he catches on quickly.

you just kinda hang around the stream after that, and it doesn’t really distract him too much.

he continues blabbering on about any minuscule thing he can bring to mind.

EVENTUALLY, you pull another chair up next to him but mainly stay quiet, pulling one of his hands to your lap and fiddling with his fingers.

every now and then he’ll ask for your opinion, and you have to ask him to repeat bc you were too focused on his bone structure

(AHHHHHH)