#I haven’t talked to my new boss at all yet so I have no clue what I’m doing

[yellobb]

I’m literally going to puke

[utytimeline]

Thoughts on UTY (Pacifist Version)

Reactions from when I first played Pacifist, and observations I made as the game progressed.  A lot of these will be outdated by the time I get this list compiled, but it’s a faithful list of my reactions.  No spoilers, plz.  I haven’t done Geno, betrayal kills, or boss kills yet.  (I kinda don’t want to, these are my babies.)

Long post ahead.

Ruins

Questions

Clover is the narrator, aren't they? I don’t think Chara’s even in this game.

What happens if we don't leave a tip at the lemonade stand?

Is there a way to wake Decibat after he goes to sleep? (I know that's cruel, I'm just curious.)

Dalv keeps talking about a friend, talking like he thinks he will meet them again- Kanako?

Dalv is mistaking us for the human that attacked him, isn't he? The one that made Chujin decide to kill the next human?

Who was leaving Dalv corn? My best guess is Ceroba- that she's felt sorry for him this whole time.

How to look in Dalv's locked doors/drawers? (Probably have to kill him. That... is gonna hurt. I like Dalv, he's a sweetheart.)

Observations

Decibat's music volume decreases the more you stay silent. (Which makes me think all battle music is being generated by Clover, not the monster.)

"Penilla draws near." (Italics added for emphasis.) *facepalm*

"Rorrim" is "mirror" spelled backwards.

Also, "Dalv" is "Vlad" spelled backwards, so might Rorrim be Dalv's personal mirror? Seems to fit, Dalv is extremely tidy.

Dalv's furniture's "fine craftsmanship" is probably Chujin's work.

Other Thoughts

I feel like a sponge cake with 2x absorption should have an effect where it absorbs damage for at least 2 turns.

Snowdin

Questions

Does the Snowdin ice block ever move? The guy that comes here from the Dunes just stands there and does nothing. Perhaps I need to check very late in the game, return from the last SAVE in New Home or something.

What kind of creature is Mo? I looked it up, and all I can find is "he looks like a raccoon." Yeah, I can see that, but he's kinda reddish-brown, so maybe a red panda? I also considered the possibility that Mo could be a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon-dog (and yes, it looks like a raccoon) that supposedly tricks people, especially tricking them into buying drinks- and Mo is a drink salesman.

What are we to make of the human on the wanted poster that Marty describes?  She said they wore a hat like ours, but they came from space.  I can’t think of a single equippable UT item that seems outer spacey.  And since she’s describing a wanted poster, I don’t think she’s talking about Red (the monster she thought was a human).  My first guess is that some monsters may equate the Surface with outer space, since they’ve never seen either (and many monsters are obsessed with the stars- Starlo and all the monsters making wishes in Waterfall, for instance).

Observations

Flowey: "We won't be anywhere near your fancy surface air for a while." (Italics added for emphasis.) He sounds... jealous? This was when I first realized that Flowey's only playing nice, but I still have no clue what he’s really planning.

"Snowy" is just barely recognizable in "Snowfall."

Mo's theme is easy to recognize because not only does it use the Sega Genesis soundfont, it even includes the Michael Jackson whoop from Sonic 3&K.

Ice Wolf was when I started to realize that Yellow isn't that long before UT. (Yeah, I know, Flowey should've been my first clue, but I simply assumed he couldn’t be Asriel, that he was someone else that somehow turned into a flower.  Anything can happen in these games, after all.)

The Shufflers are all named after things you do with a drink: Toast, Swig, and my favorite, their leader Rephil (Refill).

The Shufflers scold Clover for starting a fight, but later Axis is the one trying to drag us into a fight.  I guess battles can go either way.

Shopkeepers have full animations, it's not just facial expressions.

Yellow finally gives us real puzzles. Some of them even take a bit to solve.

Flowey makes a comment about mailing ourselves to Asgore.  He clearly already knows about resets, so I think it’s likely that he’s seen the moment (at the end of The Dunes) that the whales start shipping people by mail.

Other Thoughts

Frostermit is so adorable. I need a Frostermit plushie.

Mo makes me think of what Spamton must have been like before Gaster (no, I'm not suggesting a connection, just that's what he made me think of- but given the other, more obvious DR inspirations throughout the game, I think it’s possible they were going for that kind of character).

Headcanon: Insomintot is related to Knight-Knight. They both inherited a genetic tendency to fall asleep when a human sings.

I love the UGPS jingle, it's so cute.

"(The remnants of a snowman. Once full of life. Now full of potential for new life.)" This line is a little creepy, to me. Clover may not realize it, they're probably just joking, but WE know that some snowmen in the Underground are alive, and I'm wondering what happened to this one.

I don't know if it's the same soundfont, but the Honeydew Resort theme reminds me of Final Fantasy: Mysticquest.

I actually picked "minor scales" when talking to the cellist at the resort, because I actually do like minor scales.

Being a Shadow the Hedgehog fan (the character, not just the game), I got a chuckle out of the description of coffee bean ammo. What do you mean, you can't eat the beans???

I haven't actually noticed any 4th wall moments, but Martlet's message on the second ball puzzle, the message that apologizes for making it too high to see and says the human must be very good at guessing, makes me think it's a very obscure allusion to the fact that Clover is being possessed by the player. There aren't enough moments like that in this game for me to go all crazy with lore and theories, but it's a nice touch to see such an allusion.

In all fairness, Marty has some craftsmanship abilities. Unfinished, shoddy workmanship notwithstanding, it still takes some knowledge of mechanics to make a water-powered door lock.

I just love Marty, she’s so sweet, I want her to be my little sister.

Waterfall

Questions

Why does the Royal Guard bother to survey their prisoners on “auditory ambiance�� and things like that when they’re just gonna deliver the SOUL to Asgore???  I mean, isn’t the victim (except Red, apparently) usually dead before they get this far???

Observations

Not sure, but I’m guessing this is a different river than the one we travel with River Person.  Not only do we never meet River Person, but the colors of the ground and plants behind Ava look like the marshy sections of Waterfall that we never get to walk in.

Other Thoughts

I love how we never actually visit Waterfall (unless you count the post-credits scene), we just float past it.  Acknowledgement of the source material without actually copying it.  And gave them that much more time and room to include an entirely new area (2, if you count the Wild East as separate from the Dunes).

The mention of a Royal Scientist threw me off.  I totally did not expect Alphys, I thought this game took place many years before UT, and I’ve seen no Gaster references in this game at all.

The Dunes

Questions

More of a complaint than an actual question, but… if they wanted to make a Zelda reference, WHY OH WHY did they have to do the Death Mountain rockfall???

Since the Dunes are so near Hotland, could the gigantic Swelterstone be responsible for Hotland’s heat, too?

Since El Bailador calls us a “Sentinel of Silence,” how will killing Decibat affect the fight with Bailey?

If you do well in the Bailey fight, does he stop saying you don’t love dancing as much as him?

How to move the sunbathing (wait, what sun?) cactus that blocks that one road?

Observations

The Dunes is where I noticed that the battle theme changes depending on the location.

Sea Tea still increases SOUL speed.  Loved that they kept this in.

Same black slime that we met in MTT Resort Hotel.  And still outraged because of an elevator.  Feels like he’ll never find a working one.

Bowll being a china bowl shaped like a bull is probably a play on the phrase “a bull in a china shop.”

Clover got the green healing flowers (the ones in the Omega Flowey fight) from Violetta.

I sucked at Mew Mew Love Blaster, but I watched a walkthrough, and DID THEY SERIOUSLY GIVE MEW MEW A “BIG SHOT”?!?  (Coming back to this after finishing the game, I went, “yup, they did.”)

Other Thoughts

“Vigorous Terrain” is my favorite location theme, but I still haven’t figured out whether there’s any significance in it being a remix of “Your Best Friend.”

That first tumbleweed, the one that comes rolling out of the hole in the cliff, had me like “wut?”  I did love how they replaced Undyne’s rocks with tumbleweeds.

I also love the mines music.  The first few notes remind me of Zelda’s Lullaby (from LOZ).

I actually missed getting a free pickaxe because the monster’s trivia question about the Royal Scientist threw me off.  I still didn’t realize this took place after Asgore hired Alphys, I thought it came WAAAAY before that.  (This also finally confirmed for me that Flowey is, in fact, the same one we know from UT, Asriel.)

I tried not to make a lot of comparisons to DR, considering this isn’t even canon to UT, but I did feel like the mouse attack in Bowll’s fight was very similar to that one attack in the Maus fights in DR.  But I think the Maus fight itself was probably a reference to some old video game (can’t remember which one, it just always felt familiar), so maybe UTY was making the same reference.

Was stunned to see Undyne look-alikes in the Mines, was more surprised that they mentioned her, and was the most surprised to find that they’re not related.

Clover has a very cute animation for hopping in the mine cart.

I could not figure out Bailador’s fight mechanics, and tbh, I got thru it on an absolute fluke (and the silver scarf).  I had to look up a walkthrough later to realize you have to move into the right space AND press the action button when the color lights up.  I thought it was just being in the right space.  Every rhythm game controls differently, it seems.

Wild East

Questions

Do mail whales keep notebooks full of potential rhymes, like Marty and her notebook full of puzzle ideas?

Is “designated naptime” a reference to siestas, or did Star just not want to overwork everybody?

“A ballet shoe could be lethal if used enough times.”  Um.  Got anything to share there, Blackjack?  “Don’t question my morality!  I’m not prepared to speak on it!”  OKAY, I REALLY NEED YOU TO SPEAK ON IT NOW….

Can we get into the locked farm cellar?  (Preferably without killing anyone?)

Observations

Animals still living in the Underground at least provides some explanation for where monsters get their food (in addition to the corn).

The BEST part about the health overcharge?  You don’t lose it when you SAVE!  He might be a plague doctor, but Doc works absolute miracles.

Star paid double price for the gun he bought us.

They actually take around 15 paces for the dual (I lost count).  (And yes, I spelled it “dual” on purpose.)

Moray comments that Star made them walk around with a rubber snake in their boot.  I looked it up, and it looks like the first and most well-known movie to use that “snake in my boot” reference really WAS Toy Story (although it has origins outside of film from farther back).  So Starlo also watches animations (as long as they have cowboys).

Vengeful Virgil’s comment that not caring about others’ feelings is what makes him a villain, comes while we’re on our way to console Star after his cocky selfishness drove everyone away.  This was not a coincidence.

Every monster has a magical ability, and Starlo’s is literal “bullet time” (he can slow you down).

^This also makes me wonder: remember how he flew backwards in slow-motion when we shot him in the dual?  I wonder if he was using his bullet time on himself for dramatic effect.

Star’s family: his dad, Solomon (the sun), his mom, Crestina (the moon), and a brother who’s name I never found but looks like a 4-pointed star.  (I’ve seen people call him Orion, so I’m going with that, for now.)

Star has several sticky notes in his dad’s almanac, and keeps dad’s almanac on his own bedroom nightstand.  Seems like Star probably took his life on the farm seriously before he left home.

Star also apparently had an interest in outer space.  Possibly some confusion stemming from Toy Story?  (I actually started headcanoning that Toy Story got him into cowboys, and put together a fic on that.)

Not sure where the term “space cowboy” originated, or what Clover’s actually referring to when they say it about Star, but the first use of that phrase that I’m finding is a Steve Miller song from 1969 (referenced later in Steve Miller’s “The Joker” from 1973, the line that a lot of people associate with Steve Miller: “some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love”).  The phrase has been used numerous times in multiple ways since then.

Seems like Star sewed his own outfit.

Other Thoughts

Picked “no” when Star asked if monsters die when you ride them into the sun cuz I thought the whole town would converge upon me, heh.

Was honestly surprised that the dummy finally showed up.  This was the first time I tried using the FIGHT option, and it turned out to be rather difficult.  I am not looking forward to Neutral or Genocide.

Star tells Ceroba we’re as good of a shot as him, and she goes, “Really?  A child?”  Still not entirely sure whether she’s poking a bit of fun at Star, but I don’t think she is.  Star doesn’t take any offense to her comment for himself, and her sprite when she speaks next, saying she’s “impressed,” looks extremely surprised.  (In all fairness, despite Blackjack’s claims, Star actually is really good.)

I suck at them all, but the mini-games in UTY are all so fun.

Love the change-up to the battle animation during Feisty Four’s attack, how they switch between characters and even team up.

“A tumbleweed rolls by.  It says hello.”  Well, why not?  I mean, the rocks and cacti are sentient.

The first mention of Kanako at The Lab had me in tears, because, like… we KNOW what happened to her.

Steamworks

Questions

“The Steamworks was the main power source of the Underground.”  This statement confuses the timeline a bit for me.  The Core is now the main power source of the Underground, but my understanding is that the Steamworks was operational long after Gaster died.

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT LAST AWARD ON THE WALL SAYS.

Does the story change at all depending on what parts you use for Axis’ gf?  (Also, I wonder how many of us just picked up the first 2 or 3 items and then realized there’s way more than 4 items to choose from and wished Ceroba would let us start over.)

Is there a way to fix the grandfather clock?

Does the grandfather clock say something different if the time on your PC actually is 6:26 on a Monday morning in spring?

Observations

Ceroba telling Clover to wait in the corner, kinda refers back to her doubting that a child could be as good of a shot as Star.  She has very little respect for Clover at this point.  Not entirely sure if it’s just because Clover’s a human, or if it’s also because they’re just a kid.

Don’t think I missed Flowey’s comment about The Lab.  He clearly does NOT want us to go there.

Ceroba must have some kind of dimensional satchel, herself.  I don’t see how else she can carry the hunkajunk we built (not to mention pulling her staff out of hammerspace).

BTW, “dihydrogen monoxide” is just water.  Vendy probably just called it that to make it sound poisonous.

Vendy said their last boot up was yesterday and that their creator always comes by on Mondays to restock them.  Sadly, the grandfather clock is stuck on 6:26, Monday morning.  Kinda feel sorry for Vendy.

Guardener is actually nice.  She even grows a flower just for the bot that came late.

Telly-Vis starts using the bullet patterns of other monsters during the “reruns” portion of the fight.

You can cheat on the Axis fight if you have the silver scarf.  Just deliberately miss Axis when you ping-pong the red balls for enough turns to heal up.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m guessing that Ceroba would get mad and ditch you if you kill one of the robots, turning the run into a Neutral.

Other Thoughts

Screw those water puzzles at the start of Steamworks.

DAT MUSIC, THO.

I’m not gonna try to discuss Ceroba’s growing respect for us.  That needs a whole analysis post of its own.  (Well, everything about Ceroba needs its own analysis.)

Axis rolled in and I was like, “Oh, no, another one.”  Seems like we just keep running into these darned toaster ovens on wheels.

Axis music is fire, tho, all of it.

I swear I hear some DR inspirations in the music.  Haven’t learned the names for all the tracks yet, but at one point I thought I heard Digital Roots (when Ceroba’s fiddling with the generator) and at another I thought I heard Card Castle (the room where you build Axis’ gf).

A game mechanic I love: Ceroba’s shield effect (well, as long as it’s shielding Clover).

A mechanic I hate: Jandroid’s slippery floors.

I also love the manta ray ferryboat.

Mo’s level of professionalism is off-the-charts.  He ain’t about to let a little thing like his clothes and his stand catching fire ruin a sales pitch.

Being a Christian, I’m not going to share what I really think of the Axis chase.

Loved seeing the return of popato chisps.

I swear, I thought all that white stuff was monster dust at first.  Walked into the Science Division and nearly burst into tears.

I hope somebody finally has chance to either fix Guardener or shut her down properly once they reach the surface.

Conveyor belt puzzle caused me trouble because I kept trying to box up trash.  Took me a while to realize “red” and “blue” referred to the highlights around the objects.

I’ll talk more in depth later, but I love how Clover has this calming effect on Ceroba when she’s chewing out the productivity bot.

Believe it or not, I didn’t get caught by Axis in the fireplace room!  Go me!  (Actually, it’s really not that hard….)

Still not entirely sure what I think of Axis deliberately handing us a “weapon” just to give himself an excuse to attack us.

I’ve said this before: he took me an hour and a half to fight the first time.  I really hate the mechanics in his boss fight.  And it was especially humiliating for me because I’d only died, maybe, 3 or 4 times before him.  Didn’t have any trouble with Starlo, and while I never did get the hang of Bailey’s fight, I think I only died to him once.  Guardener was responsible for the other deaths.

I love how Ceroba’s been insulting the Steamworks the whole time, but I don’t think she ever insults Axis.  That was her late husband’s baby.  And then she even gives him tips on dating.

Ceroba finally respects us after the Axis fight.  It takes remembering why she needs us for her to be able to press on with her mission.

Chujin’s House

Questions

Woodworking, robotics, SOUL research, video game designer, loving husband and father- I know Chujin was kinda old, but how DID he find time for all this???

Marty finds Kanako’s room to be unsettling.  Not sure why.

Clover doesn’t like the gas stove and worries it will cause a housefire.  I’ve wondered before whether they came from an orphanage.  Did they lose their family in a fire?

“The Founder’s Crest.”  Who are the Founders?  Founders of what?  Or is this just a reference to something I’m not familiar with?  (Possibly something in Japanese culture?)

Was Chujin actually that much older than Ceroba?  Or did he just age rapidly because of his research?  If boss monsters only age when they have children, how could he have become so old before marrying Ceroba… unless he’d already had, and lost, one child before?

I’ve been told there’s a secret behind Chujin’s grave.  Will have to check it out the next time I do a Pacifist run.

Observations

Strange that Ed found the trapdoor so easily when Ceroba didn’t know about it until Chujin told her.  Ceroba must not have covered it up properly before locking up the house.  Possibly also Chujin somehow arranged it with her that he would be the one cleaning the dining room.

I feel like Moray’s the smartest one of the Four.  They knew it was a good idea to send for Marty.

And THIS is where Marty gets smart.  She takes charge in Star’s absence.  The Four listen to her, even Ed (reluctantly).  And SHE’s the one telling us to stay on track.

(Ok, she’s still a bit naïve- she doesn’t seem to consider that Chujin’s paper with her name is actually ABOUT her.)

The drawings on Kanako’s bedroom wall: Dalv, the monster on the Dunes swingset, her family… and a flower?  Well, I mean… a lot of little kids like to draw flowers, so that might not be anything.  Also a drawing of what looks like Axis lying on the floor.

“Nuh-uh!  Kids shouldn’t mess with knives!”  Nice little reference there, dev team.

And, of course, it’s Flowey who makes light of Ceroba’s mission, calling it a “science fair project.”  Well.  He has every right to say whatever he likes about SOUL research.  Doesn’t he.

Of course, we didn’t get Star’s letter in time because Ceroba wouldn’t let us check the mail.  But I highly doubt she planned it that way, as she had no idea the Five would be snooping around her old house.

Other Thoughts

Starlo is so. completely. PISSED.  And… uh, he has a right to be.  Like, she’s doing a lot of what he just did- lying and scheming and using Clover to fix her own problems (those two are a match set, I swear….)  And he’s torn.  These are his two friends, Clover being the human he practically worshipped, and Ceroba being one of his closest friends (not to mention the love of his life, but I digress).  He doesn’t want anything to happen to her, but he can’t let Clover get hurt, either.

The fact that Moray sent for Marty as soon as learning that Clover was in danger just seals in the idea that Marty is part of the family.

…how long has that corn chowder been in that fridge, anyway???

I’ve already discussed my thoughts about Chujin in other posts, a lot of them still in queue.

Hotlands

Questions

Kinda wonder what could’ve made Clover suspicious about the wall to the left of the UG Apartments.

Never did figure out where the “rain” was coming from.  I figure it’s just a leaky sink upstairs or something.  (I’d thought at first it was from the janitor cleaning the hallway, but that’s on the other side of the building.)

Observations

I’m sure everyone recognized it, but in case someone didn’t, Bailey’s in the colored tile room.

I think Muffet herself blocked the way thru Hotland, renovating for her pastry shop.

Mr. Cursor mentions a 10-sided die.  They have some version of D&D in the Underground.  Probably more like… idk, Houses and Humans?

Working for Mettaton must have taken quite a toll on the janitor.  He doesn’t look nearly so tired or decrepit here.

There was a flier on the bulletin board in the Wild East that was advertising the acts at the UG Apartments.  The band we saw in Honeydew Resort has a gig at the Apartments on Fridays.  So, this game- or at least by the time we reach Hotland- is on a Friday.

Other Thoughts

The monster candy is butterscotch-flavored.  *nods*  Of course, what else would it be?

Poor Heats.  Defeateeeeeeeeed again….

Star can actually survive drinking magma.  I’ve got headcanons about this boiling in my brain….

I thought Know Cone said he was just gonna look at Hotland from a mountaintop…?

New Home/Pacifist Ending

Questions

If there’s an elevator leading to the castle, I’m guessing that means at least one of the other endings has us actually fight Asgore.

How exactly does Kanako’s mask give Ceroba superpowers?  I feel like it might be a reference to Japanese mythology, but I know very, very little about Japanese mythology.

How exactly does Clover have the ability to see into Ceroba’s memories?

I kinda hate myself for asking, but… what happens if you choose FIGHT after you beat Ceroba?

Observations

Star is the one asking Ceroba if she’s gonna kill them all because while he doesn’t know all the details, he recognizes the headspace she’s in.

Other Thoughts

Not only am I thrilled to finally get to explore some of New Home, I’m absolutely in love with the design and the music.

I think when Ceroba says she lied about Kanako, she’s not saying she lied about Kanako falling down, or about sending her to the lab.  She lied about having any hope that Kanako would return safely.

How the heck do frikkin’ cherry blossom petals have so much attack power???

The dash mechanic took me time to learn, but if Toby ever decides to steal from Yellow, I hope he steals this :P

My reactions to Ceroba’s plan: “But Chujin specifically begged you NOT to use Kanako!  How do you think you’re honoring his memory by going against his final wish?!”  “Oh, I see, finishing the serum was his death wish.  That’s still no excuse to use your own daughter, tho.”  And finally: “…oh…”

I tried to get thru the game without cheats (except for being on easy mode) but I did have to turn on auto-fire for Ceroba’s final phase.

[ask-missparker]

I Remember It All Too Well..

SpiderMan Far From Home

Setting: Phase 3– Post Endgame

Continuing this post

~

Pairing: Quinten Beck x Amelia M. Parker

~~~

Take a break she says, it’ll be fun she says..

Nothing on the schedule said anything about being dragged into SHIELD work, taking care of a bunch of teenagers and seeing in person you haven’t talked to in years…

It was late at night.

Most of the students and teachers were at the hotel probably asleep, and here stood Amelia taking a walk, scouting the sights for the trip. As well as snapping pictures for Fury.

She wasn’t even technically working for Fury anymore and yet, she was still be given orders by her old boss. Hill wasn’t even far behind.

And what made it worse than Fury’s orders, was the man that was supposedly working with them on this new project.

Beck.

She swear that moment she heard his name and saw his face, she froze. His hair was longer than she thought, his built was carved out within a green silk suit, and the polished attuned ways of talking to them.

Every word he uttered could’ve easily been a lie.

But then again, she wasn’t seen him in years. Hell, they didn’t really know too much about one another, as their relationship only lasted a few short months.

She wish she could just—

“Didn’t expect to see you here at this timely hour?”

She whipped her head around to notice him floating down from the steps and catching up to her feet quickly enough. He took that moment to study her features, her hair was darker, her facial expression were more angular than her softer appearance years before, and her eyes still spoke the same tone of the day they first held hands.

Beck couldn’t resist the sudden thought of the moment he stupidly broke her heart. He broke up with the girl over a text message and kept her scarf from the very first week, as it seemed like innocence, but smelled like her.

Everything felt like a blur now.

Each bad moment seemed like a thousand words different from the good.

Blurry lines and blurry images came into play as he watched her eyes scan his very own.

“Is this the part where you tell me that you were wrong and I was right? That you shouldn’t have stood there clueless when I walked in.” Amelia responded ever so softly and shrugged.

He sighed as a small scoff came under his lips, “I had no clue you were coming here. I didn’t even want you to get in involved with any of this.”

“A little too late…”

“Yeah, right, I didn’t want anyone in there to suspect that we had something going on beforehand. So I had to act stupid, sorry.”

“Alright. I guess that’s fair…you look, good.”

“I feel good…you um, you look like you haven’t aged a day. Still the same pretty face I met all those years ago.”

She scoffed as a light smile brushed against her face, “Flattery will get you nowhere, Beck.”

“Eh, had to try to make up for earlier.” He replied, smiling, as he declared that he’ll follow beside on this walk.

“…you don’t have to walk with me. I can handle myself.”

“I know. But I want to. I want to…apologize for everything.”

“Hmm how so?”

“I wasn’t sure what I had until I lost you twice..I wished that I was good enough to realize it.”

“Tell me more, tell me something I don’t know…”

“I was upset, confused and frustrated…I wasn’t appreciative of you, how you treated me so well…”

“We both had issues..I’m sorry if I offended you any further than I did, especially when we fought..”

“And I forgive you for it.”

The two smiled and nodded.

“You remember how much you would waste my time?” He said softly chuckled.

She looked at him lightly chuckling, “We wasted it right. I would take you out for coffee and you would cuddle with me at the cafe.”

“Then I would take us to my place for computer sessions, securing models for my new ideas…and I would’ve ordered us some burgers…I miss those days..I wished I told you that before..”

“Then time went on, we got busy, we would fight..I thought…I just wished you cared a little more, where you could stayed longer...I got tired waiting for us to move forward or do something else..”

“But you liked it…coming over to my place when nobody was home, find me coding or working on a new invention..we would just stay a while on the floor working…”

“Yeah..”

“You know, I did want us to eventually move forward, do something bigger…I wanted to buy us a bigger space..i had a gift for you too..”

That struck a chord with Amelia.

“A gift?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at his tall frame.

He half smiled, “I had a bracelet...I was planning on giving to you some time that summer..but I broke it off..”

“Why did you?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you break off with me? Over text? I tried calling but you never answered.”

“I just wasn’t in the right place at the time…work was hard, we were both very busy…I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

“And you weren’t even honest enough to tell me more about you..”

“The being from another earth thing..yeah, I was gonna tell you soon. But it never came up.”

“Which I don’t believe is fully true and neither is the power thing. But I will go along with whatever it is that you’re saying.”

The two just looked at each other, staring into one another’s eyes as if searching for answers…

—

———

Ahh that’s all folks! Let me know what you think 💭

TAGS: @blueboirick @rickb-chaos @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @ask-starrk @meiramel @gcthvile @cherrysft @wizzzardofoz @luna-d-marsh

[lost-soul-in-time]

Oliver is like anyone he's ever been with. And Aaron's not sure if he likes it or not.

The man is distant. Not cold or uncaring, but he never lets him get too close. They talk, a lot. Well, Oliver does most of the talking, because Aaron's life is pretty uninteresting, and because he doesn't actually like talking about himself. He's paid to listen to his customer talk about his day, maybe get him a drink or two if he's in the mood for it.

He's tried several times to get Oliver to accept a dance, but he always gets shot down. Never rudely, though.

Aaron can't fathom why the man wants him, specifically. The others, especially Amethyst, are way better at these types of customers. Aaron's just a pretty face with a great mouth and shitty attitude. That's all that ever is to him, in the eyes of the patrons and boss.

He likes the money, likes not having to actually work that hard to get paid, but... something in him wants more from Oliver. All the subtle rejections have left him feeling undesirable, which is wrecking his, admittedly overinflated, ego.

Tonight, Oliver's complaining about a coworker of his, relaxing in the private room's luxurious seats, and Aaron decides to bite the bullet. He doesn't really want to risk the best thing that has happened to him in the past years, but he feels like he's losing his mind.

"Oliver?" He asks quietly, taking advantage of a natural pause in the man's speech. He'd dropped the cutesy nicknames he used for patrons a while ago, when it was clear that they weren't working. He called Oliver by his name, or 'sir' if it fit in the moment. "May I— May I do something for you? To thank you."

It's the first time he's not trying to seduce Oliver, but rather asking for his permission. His reasons are his own, tied to his self-image and worth, but the man doesn't need to know that. He slowly slides from his perch next to him, down to the floor in front of him, looking up through painted lashes.

"I—" Fuck, he hates feeling vulnerable. "Please, sir?" Just let me make you feel good so I can stop feeling like a failure. "You've been so good to me, and I—"

Oliver’s not sure why he keeps coming back, why he keeps paying for a dance he never wants and then some, just to talk. He’s truly reached a new level of low, hasn’t he?

Talon is more of a listener, he’s noticed, and that’s fine. He had no issue answering and telling. There was lots he had to speak on, something he realized once they’d begun to have their weekly conversations. There were moments where he’d coax a few sentences out of his listener, but he didn’t seem to budge of certain topics.

He never pushed too much for information. There was only so much a person was willing to give when they were still becoming acquainted.

Landon had gotten on his nerves today. It’s always the ones who were desperate to prove themselves who would interfere with others’ jobs in the process. The way he’d tried to step in during the discussion of a case, tried to make him look as if he hadn’t a clue what he was doing—

He didn’t like being undermined. Especially when they were all working under the roof of a building run under his family’s name.

But that thought is quickly set aside when Talon interrupts him, quiet and meek and very different from how he usually is, and begins to move himself— oh.

He’s caught off guard, that much is clear, and his words die in his mouth as Talon gets down to the ground. Where was this coming from? “Who says you haven’t been good to me as well?”

His tone is calm, gentle yet firm in his reassurances, just as always. It’s how he is, always will be. Hesitating, he reaches a hand out to brush the knelt man’s hair back and away from his face, staring down at him with a mix of confusion and a want to understand.

“I don’t find you unappealing. That’s not the foundation of my rejections… I won’t do a thing if it’s not what you want, and I wont let you do so if I can tell.”

[chenfordspiral]

So many things could happen in the finale. I kept finding myself daydreaming up possibilities instead on focusing on the task as hand.

Soooo… I’m going to continue to distract others, too. Here are some questions you consider answering.

1- What do you think the cliffhanger will be?

(My only hope is that it doesn’t involve Tim or Lucy. They’ve both had a rough go of it this season)

2- What do you think the trilogy is that Max Geo has teased about for Chenford?

3- Do you think the BOSS Big Bad will be revealed? Any predictions for who it is??

Ooh, I’m like the worst possible person to ask this because I cannot make decisions for the life of me so my answer might just be ramblings of several different things instead of a definitive answer 😂 but I will try! (So as I suspected, this got a little out of hand so I needed to put a keep reading tab in haha)

1) Oh, I’m right there with you! If I had one wish for the finale, it’d be that the cliffhanger doesn’t involve either of them for the exact reason you pointed out. My fear, however, is that they know a Chenford cliffhanger might deliver the biggest gut punch and after this season, I don’t trust Alexi not to go there. So I hope it’ll be about Nolan and/or Bailey because I just don’t care about them much (sorry!), but I’m preparing myself for a Chenford one with one of them in danger or, who knows, maybe Lucy needs to go dark cause her cover’s been compromised? Again, I have no clue, but my best guess is that someone from the team is seriously in danger (🤞🏻not Chenford🤞🏻for my own sanity).

2) So here’s the thing. At this point, I can’t decide if he’s just messing with us and simply meant the fact that he’s doing another interview with Mel and Eric (he did one before the season aired and one with Mel about 6x06), or if it is in fact related to the characters. If it is about Lucy and Tim, my best guesses would be that it’s either a third first kiss or potentially a third first date, even though I don’t want the latter to happen just yet because the breakup would feel a bit unnecessary if they already went on a date, in whatever way that could happen. Imo, something big would have to happen for them to have more than a conversation. Although now that I think about it, I guess a date could also be just them going somewhere to talk and it just has all the vibes of a date. But other than that, I honestly don't know what else it could be. Maybe it's something no one has even thought of yet.. for now, I'm just gonna say he meant his third interview about them this season.

3) The big bad boss… mmmh, this is a very good albeit very tough question to answer. I feel like I still haven’t fully understood who actually is or isn’t involved or possibly involved so I’m just gonna say it could either be someone we know already (like Elijah, although I actually don’t want him to be back; I'm on the side of "I've had enough of him to last a lifetime...), or maybe it’s this Eric Ramsey guy they mentioned last week. I feel like it might deliver a bigger punch if it were someone we already know in a way instead of someone completely new, but I’m not sure who beside Elijah or Oscar (lol) could even fill that role. So to sum up, I really do not have a clue 😅

Thanks for the ask!! 😊

[saetoru]

𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 | 𝐃𝐀𝐁𝐈.

word count: 5.1k

tags: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, 18+, fem! reader, blow jobs, cum swallowing, humping, natsuo walking in on yall lmao, unprofessional work relationships, ceo’s son! dabi aka touya, modern / business au

a/n: no scars in this, they’re tattoos, and they aren’t everywhere like his scars. also endeavor isn’t a piece of shit here, he’s just a lacking dad lmao what else is new. THANK YOU to my love ris for hearing me cry about this for hours ily

“so you don’t know what i’m talking about?” you raise a brow, and touya simply props his feet up on your table, casting you a lopsided smirk as he shrugs. he has the audacity to level your chair down to accommodate his height, and if he weren’t your boss’s son—and your hopeless little crush—you’d have half a mind to drag him by his dyed roots out the door.

“nope, sorry doll. no clue.” gritting your teeth, your hands find their way to your hips, and touya’s eyes glint in amusement at the way they hug your waist perfectly—much like your tight little pencil skirt, and it drives him up a wall.

“touya—”

“ahh, i think you mean dabi, doll,” he corrects you instantly, raising a brow. sighing, you pinch your nose in irritation. touya is entirely too much for you to handle, but somehow, you still can never seem to get enough. he’s intoxicating, he’s got the eyes of the devil, and all it takes is one fleeting glance your way, and you’re more than willing to sell your soul to him.

“this is an office, not your streets,” you hiss.

“and yet you still fuck me here like it’s your bedroom. we still haven’t fucked in the conference room, you know. i want to cross that off the bucket list—”

“touya,” you say sharply, and instantly, he sits up a little, eyes slowly turning cautious at your sudden shift in tone. he tries to read you, staring at you calculatingly as you let out a heavy exhale, shaking your head. “it’s getting way out of hand,” you say seriously.

and a ghost of a pout forms on his lips, and you fight all urges to kiss it off. he’s insufferable, but he’s got you in a tight grip, wrapped around his finger.

“i didn’t even do anythi—”

“you switched all the coffee to decaf the other week,” you challenge.

“you have no proof—”

“and our receptionist is sick of you clicking a pen around her nonstop,” you add, cutting him off. huffing, he crosses his arms with a frown.

“have you even met her? she’s so annoyi—”

“and, the entire third floor said they’re all missing their staplers,” you continue to list, and he grumbles under his breath, muttering something along the lines of it’s their fault for being the worst floor as he sags into your chair once more.

todoroki touyai is painfully off-limits. you’re supposed to be his father’s assistant. you’re supposed to be professional, but somehow, he manages to make those thoughts fly out the window and have you bent over one thing or another. and even though you tell yourself each time that this really will be the last time you let him fuck you in his father’s company building, he manages to worm his way through anyway.

but truthfully, it’s not just sex anymore. it’s little moments in between too. he walks you to your car, he stands by your window and talks to you for a good amount of time, he texts you cheesy little texts—that more often than not have hidden innuendos, of course, he gets to know you, and little by little, he lets you get to know him too.

you’ve learned that todoroki touya is a lot more than the family disappointment—so he calls himself—and despite it being a largely inappropriate idea, you can’t help but slowly lose yourself to the thought of getting to know him outside of your little arrangement.

“are you…are you getting in trouble?” he questions quietly after a few moments. tilting your head, you furrow your brows.

“huh?”

“the old man,” he scowls, jaw slightly clenched at the thought of you paying for his actions. he’d never let it fall on you. “is he getting onto you for all of it? i’ll talk to him, i’ll handle it, okay? don’t worry about that old fossil, he’s not firing you. not if i got something to say about it.”

he’s got a lot to say about it, you’re sure that that’s true. you’re not entirely in the loop why touya and his family seem so estranged—though you do know he has a soft spot for his mother and sister, and the thought makes your heart swoon a little—but he seems to cast a glare at his youngest brother every time they’re of the vicinity of each other, and being civil isn’t exactly his strongest suit when he speaks with his father. you don’t ask why, though.

“no, touya—”

“dabi,” he corrects with a scowl. “just call me dabi,” he mumbles.

“okay, dabi,” you roll your eyes, fighting the small smile on your face at the intimacy of the nickname. “no, i’m not in trouble. he just asked me to see if i could handle it. but quite frankly, i am sick and tired of hearing complaints every lunch break,” you purse your lips in irritation, rolling your eyes at the memory of the same topic of discussion for the last week. touya smirks, hands finding their way behind his head as he sends you an all too confident wink.

“jealous people are speaking on me, princess? don’t worry, you’re the only one i’m balls deep in—”

“office setting,” you cut him off with a scowl. “we are in an office setting.” chuckling, he holds his hands up in surrender, giving you a small wink. he finds it a tad bit too amusing that you insist on being professional with him in your workplace during work hours.

“alright, alright,” he stands from your chair, stealing a mint from the small jar on your desk. you don’t bother to mention that you keep them there because you know they’re his favorite, just like he doesn’t bother to bring up that he asks to get a coffee in the mornings with you, even despite hating coffee. “i’ll tone it down just for you, doll. and i’ll keep in mind this is an office setting,” he snorts, leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to your cheek before leaving the room.

you pretend your knees don’t wobble when you make your way to your chair, rolling your eyes when it’s slightly too low from his earlier adjustments. but there’s a soft smile tugging at your lips that he’s given you his word.

except with touya, just because he is a man of his word, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is any good at keeping it. you of all people should know by now that he always finds a loophole to keep at being a menace.

“shoto,” you grin, setting your chopsticks down and waving the young boy over as he walks past your table, motioning for him to join you. with a soft blush dusting his cheeks, he quietly stalks over, hands fiddling with his fingers as he doesn’t quite meet your eyes.

“uh…y-yeah?” he mumbles quietly, and before you can speak, a certain nuisance pokes his head through the doorway instantly, scowl on his face as he studies his youngest brother interact with you. you cast touya a warning glare behind shoto’s head.

“could you hand your father this folder for me? it has some notes and papers i need him to look over—”

“you know, i can always take it for you, doll,” touya offers you with a dashing smile, a little too dashing for your liking. walking past his brother—and bumping shoulders with him in the process—he snatches the folder from your hand before shoto can reach for them.

“touya—”

“i told you to call me dabi—”

“touya? what are you doing here?” shoto asks with a tilt of his head. touya’s eye twitches in aggravation and you mouth a sinister be nice as a warning, and it makes him clench his jaw. it’s a massive blow to his pride that you defend his little brother of all people, and it takes all his self-control not to smack the young boy’s head with the folder in his hand.

“aww, you wound me,” he chuckles dryly, hand over his heart in faux offense. “i can’t come to the family business anymore? c’mon, i’m still part of the todorokis, aren’t i? or are you just too embarrassed your brother’s here in front of your little school girl crush—”

“cut it out,” shoto scowls, cutting his older brother off, and touya narrows his eyes menacingly at him. before he can open his mouth and retort, you cut him off.

“thanks for the offer, touya,” you snatch the folder from his grasp, thrusting it into shoto’s hand instead, “but i think shoto can handle it. can’t you shoto?” you ask him, turning to face him with a forced smile. the younger todoroki takes the hint, nodding and leaving you to deal with the older one—although, you really don’t want to at the moment.

“well, at least he’s gone—”

“he’s your brother,” you interrupt. “you’re supposed to be older. act like it,” you scold, and his eyes harden instantly, and it’s not something you’re used to from touya. he rolls his sleeves up slightly before he crosses his arms, and you catch a glimpse of the tattoos that litter them. they run across both his arms, full sleeves that extend up to his shoulders, and your mind instantly wanders to the other ones across his chest and abs, ones only you see often. before your thoughts can escalate, you blink.

“me and my brother aren’t your business, doll,” he spits. “you would do good to keep out of family issues,” he bites harshly, and a lump forms in your throat. and maybe he has a point, you’re not exactly in a position to insert yourself in his family life anyway, but you like to think you know touya a little better than many have gotten the chance to. and you like to think the morning coffees, and the late-night talks by your car, and even the small displays of affection and cuddling after a hook up he indulges you in sometimes, are all things that make you a tad bit closer to him.

but perhaps you’re wrong, and his tone makes your heart drop.

he seems to sense the shift, but before he can say anything else, you pick your chopsticks back up, turning your attention to your lunch before you.

“of course,” you say curtly. “well, i’ll see you later, it’s my lunch break, and i have a lot of things to do after this, so i want to enjoy it as best i can.”

“doll, listen, i didn’t mean for it to come out—”

“i’ll see you later,” you dismiss, and he rubs his face with a groan, running a hand through his dark locks. the red roots are starting to grow in, and before you can stop yourself, you point it out.

“you need to dye your roots,” you mumble. smirking, he looks up from his hand before plopping himself beside you, nudging you with his shoulder.

“you pay close attention to me, huh?”

“not a chance, you dickhead,” you huff, shoving him back harshly, and he snickers, wrapping his arm around you, pulling you to his chest. “anyone would notice it with how dumb your hair looks.” his thumb rubs small circles into your hipbone, and you sigh, relaxing into his hold and giving in.

if not for the teal eyes he’s inherited from his father, you’d have never guessed that todoroki touya was the son of todoroki enji. in fact, at first glance, he looks nothing like the rest of his family. with jet black hair, a body adorned with tattoos and piercings, and fingernails painted in black polish, touya is the exact opposite of what you’d expect the eldest son of your boss to look like. but somehow, you think he’s even more alluring this way, not because he looks like the dictionary definition of bad news, but because of his loyalty.

touya is nothing if not loyal to himself, he snaps back at his father and powers through harsh stares and quiet whispers, but he remains intact to himself. you can’t help but admire him for it.

“well, i need help doing the roots,” he insists.

“you did them just fine without me before,” you raise a brow, losing a battle with yourself and reaching over and pressing a soft pinch to his nose. he scrunches it slightly, and you chuckle at the sight.

pressing a swift kiss to your temple in return, he shrugs, a grin on his face that makes your heart flutter, and your earlier distress starts to melt away.

“you do ‘em better,” he murmurs, lips hovering over yours, breath fanning over your face, and you can smell the mint in it, and you know he was in your office looking for you before he found you here. gently shoving his face away, you roll your eyes, turning back to the food before you.

“you just want an excuse to come over so we can fuck,” you say flatly, and he snorts.

“what, and you don’t?” you do, but you’d rather be swamped with even more paperwork than admit that to him—he needs his painfully large ego bruised here and there. scowling, you huff, shuffling away from him, but he only presses himself into you again.

“if you’re gonna insist on being here, you might as well be useful and do something,” you snap, though there’s no malice behind your words.

“old man makes me sign papers with ‘im,” he rolls his eyes. “he seems thrilled i’m suddenly into the family business,” touya sneers. carefully, you glance over at him, watching him cautiously before digging a bit deeper.

“and are you? into the family business, i mean.”

“nope,” he pops the end of the word. “i’m into the crazy hot assistant my old geezer dad’s hired though,” he winks at you. you can’t help the laugh that bubbles in your throat, and his smile widens at the sound. and for a moment, you both stare into each other’s eyes, neither willing to look away.

you break eye contact first, turning to your food once more after a bit, heat flooding your cheeks.

“i have to finish eating and get back to work,” you mumble.

“can i have a bite, at least?” he whines, and with a roll of your eyes and a shove of his face, you shuffle away from him again.

“no, touya.”

evidently, you’re not as good at denying touya as you thought you were, or you wouldn’t be here in his room, kneeling between his spread thighs.

“fuck, doll,” touya groans, panting as you kiss up his length, tongue swirling around his flushed tip. with a low groan, he throws his head back, hand moving to the back of your head and pushing you down closer to his throbbing cock, making you take him in deeper. your tongue runs over the vein on the underside of his length, and he lets out a strangled gasp, chest heaving raggedly as a layer of sweat covers his inked skin. hand rubbing soothing circles over his thigh, you hollow your cheeks, sucking on the tip before taking his length until he hits the back of your throat.

the todoroki household is empty, save for you and touya, and with no one meant to be back for another few hours, touya calls you over. and like a true gentleman, he makes you dye his roots for him before he asks you to suck his dick, and maybe if he wasn’t so pretty like this, you’d have left as soon as he brought the idea up. but your chest swells with affection for touya, and the idea that only you get to see him like this, only you get to touch him like this, fills you up with excitement and a carnal need.

and just like the slight flutter of your heart a few moments ago when you helped rinse the dye out of his hair and he whined about making sure not to get any shampoo in his eyes, you feel a heat pool in between your legs as he cries out for you, a mess of broken curses and moans above you.

“sh-shit, princess,” he moans, letting out a small whimper when your hand reaches to fondle his balls, heavy and sensitive as he approaches his orgasm. you feel pride swell up in your chest when you look up at him, watching as he closes his eyes, bottom lip tugged between his teeth as a whine bubbles from the back of his throat. “close, doll, ‘m so close. th-that’s it, just a bit more,” he groans, deep and drawn out as his hips buck into your mouth, hand keeping your head in place as he all but fucks your throat. and with a guttural moan, he cums down your throat, thick spurts pumping into your mouth as you bob your head and work him through his orgasm.

touya can’t remember the last time he felt like he was special to someone—all on his own, just as himself, but he thinks that he’s pretty close to that feeling when he’s with you. he feels a taste of intimacy with you that he’s craved for a long time, but this time, it’s his. alone. no younger brother to share it with—not one that’s everything he’s not, everything he won’t be, everything he can’t live up to. shoto may have enji wrapped around his finger, but touya has your lips wrapped around his cock—and he thinks that’s infinitely better.

“f-fuck,” he rasps, grunting when your hand plays with his balls through his high, his hips raised and mouth parted as the last rope of cum paints your mouth, one final quiet groan falling from his lips before he slumps back into his mattress, panting as he catches his breath.

finally lifting his head up with a smirk, he holds an arm out for you, motioning you over. you straddle his hips, rubbing your clothed cunt over his member, feeling it harden once more. you both groan at the friction, and touya’s hands grip your waist tightly, guiding you to a steady rhythm. just as his fingers slip past your waistband, moving to plunge into your dripping core, the door opens, making you freeze.

“touya? you okay, man? i heard you—holy shit,” you hear a deep voice curse, the door slamming shut once more. and you stare at the man below you in shock, watching as his eyes widen before he’s sitting up.

“touya! you told me that we were home alone—”

“we were supposed to be,” he hisses, pulling his sheets to cover himself. he’s never been religious, but he sends a silent thanks to whoever listens that you’re at least still clothed.

“what is it, natsuo,” he asks flatly. “i’m kind of in the middle of something here,” he adds, making you slap his chest. touya snickers, pressing a tiny kiss to your forehead before his brother enters once more, face bright red as natsuo clears his throat.

you try to climb off his lap, but touya’s arms tighten, keeping you firmly in place.

“i uh…didn’t realize you had company over,” natsuo mumbles. touya raises a brow with a scoff, rolling his eyes at the fact that he’d been interrupted from some free time he finally had with you.

“i didn’t realize you’d be home so soon. thought you said you were gonna be back late,” he raises a brow. his brother shuffles uncomfortably, avoiding looking you in the eyes.

“forgot my wallet and then i heard—hey, wait a second,” natsuo cuts himself off, narrowing his eyes as he focuses on you. recognition flashes his eyes, and you fight with yourself to keep from burying your face into touya’s chest. “aren’t you dad’s assistant? touya, you’re fucking dad’s assistant?”

“keep your mouth shut, natsu—”

“does he know? wait, what am i saying of course not, he’d make a scene if he did by now. holy shit, do you have any idea how mad he’ll be?”

“it’s not your fucking issue—”

“are you gonna tell him? what are you gonna say? did you tell mom? does fuyumi know? she’ll freak,” natsuo asks question after question, and despite the awkwardness of the situation, you can’t help but giggle softly at touya’s obviously increasing irritation.

“would you stop talking for a sec—”

“are you dating? or is this like a fuck buddy type of thing? i won’t judge, you can tell me,” his brother continues, and touya’s hand grips your wrist tightly, and you gently take his hand in yours, soothing the back of his hand with small circles of your thumb as you bite your lip to keep from laughing again.

“dude, shut up,” he groans, and natsuo holds his hands up in surrender.

“well, it was nice knowing you, bro,” he shrugs before turning to walk out the door, but before he shuts it, he peeps back in and meets your eyes. “just so you know, touya still keeps his baby blanket in his closet,” he adds with a smirk, shutting the door with a loud laugh as touya curses at him, making you chuckle. turning back to the eldest todoroki, you pinch his cheek, grinning at the way he scowls at the sheets and avoids your eyes.

“aww, you’re blushing,” you tease, and he gently swats your hand away.

“yeah, well, did you know that he still—”

“i don’t need to know all the todoroki secrets,” you chuckle. “i don’t need a family feud starting.” rolling his eyes, he groans, slumping back against his headboard, pulling your face to press against his chest. your finger traces soft patterns into his shirt, and his hand rubs slow circles along your back.

“well, the mood is ruined,” he grumbles.

“i agree,” you nod. “but you know what?” he raises a brow for you to continue. “i like your brother, i never met natsuo before. you never talk about him,” you add, eyeing him up as he avoids your gaze. sighing, he looks off to the side.

“yeah, i guess we’re pretty close, me and him,” he shrugs.

“what did poor, sweet shoto ever do to you?” you tease gently, poking his cheek. clenching his jaw, touya doesn’t meet your gaze, no matter how intensely you stare at him. you wait a moment before cupping his cheeks, forcing him to meet your eyes.

“hey,” you say softly. “you know you can talk to me, right?” his gaze softens, and touya presses his forehead to yours, closing his eyes and nodding.

“yeah,” he sighs quietly.

“you don’t seem too fond of shoto,” you murmur, dragging your fingers through his freshly dyed hair, scratching at his scalp. touya’s face falls to your shoulder, and he hugs your waist tightly, shoulders relaxing when you press a sweet kiss to the side of his head.

“‘s not his fault, i guess,” he mumbles. “i just…never really lived up to my dad’s expectations.”

“yeah, i supposed not,” you hum, rubbing the back of his neck. “you two aren’t exactly peas in a pod.”

“well, shoto’s perfect,” he grunts. “he’s got what it takes to keep the family business going, and me and natsuo want no part in that,” he rants quietly. “old man thinks we’re wasting our potential. like i’m some failure just cause i don’t want to sit in a suit and tie all day. so what if i’m not like shoto? fuck shoto,” he spits, gripping your waist tightly.

and touya can’t remember the last time he felt this vulnerable, he can’t recall the last time he’s let himself feel the emotions he’s bottled up for so long and pretended weren’t there, but something about the way your hand glides over his back and shoulders makes him spill his heart to you.

he doesn’t realize that a few stray tears have slipped down his cheeks until you pull him out of your neck, swiping them away with the pads of your thumb. pressing a delicate kiss to his nose, you pinch the tip, making him let out a watery chuckle.

“yeah, screw shoto,” you nod, agreeing, smiling gently at him as he sniffles. it’s what he needs to hear. that someone is willing to pick his side.

“do you…think i’m…bad?” touya croaks, staring at you with wide eyes. “for being bitter with shoto?” shaking your head, you kiss his lips softly, and he melts into it, eyes shutting closed. touya thinks he’d have withered if you said yes.

“no, i don’t,” you whisper. “i think you’re just hurt. sometimes we tend to blame things when we’re hurt. we’re just human,” you mumble. “you’re good, touya. so good,” you promise, and his breath hitches in his throat. sniffling, he hugs you closer.

“thanks,” he says simply, but you know how important your words are to him. you can feel it.

“if it’s of any solace, i think you’re the farthest thing from a failure,” you kiss up his jaw, and he snorts, poking your side gently, laughing when you flinch away.

“so cheesy,” he huffs out with a quiet laugh, but your words make his heart flutter, and his lips wobble once more.

for the first time in so, so long, it feels like someone is proud of him, and he latches onto the feeling as tightly as he can. touya’s always thought that he was destruction for the longest time, always thought he destroyed his father’s dreams and reputation and his family’s name, but you give him salvation, and he feels like he builds something with you.

he’s not sure if he can let that slip past his fingers.

“nevermind, you disappoint me,” you huff, glaring at him. but he sees the softness in your eyes—he could never miss it.

“you can’t take it back now,” he bites your cheek, laughing at the way you shriek. it’s quiet for a moment, just the two of you staring at each other before he decides to break the silence, hesitantly looking away from your eyes and down at his lap. “i…okay, promise me you won’t be mad.” raising a brow, you chuckle.

“did you do something at the office again? i knew it would be a matter of time—”

“i told my mom about us,” he blurts, cutting you off.

“oh,” is all you can say. oh. and suddenly, everything feels a lot more serious, and your stomach twists painfully. you’re not used to being this serious with touya.

“that’s it?” he whispers, searching your eyes for more. it’s your turn to stare down at your lap.

“what did…what did she say?” you ask quietly. you always knew touya was wrong. he’s unprofessional, he’s off-limits, he’s everything you shouldn’t want given your position. but you can’t help but crave him desperately, and even if it has to be in secret, you want every piece of him, and it makes your heart drop and lungs feel like they’re about to give out that this might be where it ends.

“she wants to meet you,” he mumbles. “only if you want,” he adds quickly.

“but…i’m your dad’s assistant,” you mutter.

“i know.”

“well, does she know?” rolling his eyes, he nods, scowling at you.

“yes, i didn’t miss that big of a detail. she knows.”

“and she still wants to meet me?” he nods, eyeing you carefully, watching as you bite your lip. “but your dad is my boss—”

“i know!” he groans, pouting at you with a huff. “you gonna meet my mom yes or no? i…i never…never brought a girl home, okay? she’s gonna be real disappointed if you don’t show,” he grumbles with pink dusting his cheeks, not meeting your eyes. your heart hammers at the sight.

“even if the girl is her husband’s assistan—”

“for the love of god,” touya groans, flicking your forehead. the pout on his face deepens, and you can’t fight the urge to poke it with your finger, pulling away when he moves to bite it. “she knows, okay? she knows. the old fossil can shove it up his ass if it bothers—”

“that is my boss you’re talking about, touya,” you smack his chest, making him scowl at you. “highly unprofessional.”

“yeah, and so is fucking the bastard old man’s son, what’s your point?” giggling, you roll your eyes, cupping his cheeks and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips, closing your eyes when his lips mold against yours perfectly. pulling away, your nose brushes against his as your foreheads meet.

“yes, i’ll meet your mother,” you murmur, smiling when he lets out a breath. “baby’s first steps, aww,” you tease, pinching his cheeks and making him scowl. you chuckle as he pulls away from you with a grumble under his breath, but you don’t miss the faint tilt of his lips at your news.

and you shouldn’t be this excited, you shouldn’t feel this trilled to be the first he brings home, to meet his mother despite your compromising status, to make things that much more serious with touya—but you are. you are and you can’t bring yourself to regret it one bit.

“good,” he grins, leaning back and pulling you to his chest, draping his blanket over your bodies and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “i’ll take you on a real date soon, and i’ll pay with my old man’s credit card, so you’ll have a blast,” he winks, making you roll your eyes.

and you know that there’s a lot more to todoroki touya than what you’ve learned today, and you know that it’ll take some weaseling out of him to get him to share more, but there’s a certain shift in the air that makes you think that maybe it won’t be so hard, and maybe he’s not so off-limits after all. you grin at him softly, heart fluttering that maybe, you’ll get to learn everything there is about touya, and it makes you inch closer to him, pressing a chaste kiss to his jaw.

the late-night talks and the morning coffees and the small displays of affection do make you closer to him than anyone else has gotten, and you want even more of the taste of closeness he gives you.

“so, are we going to just stay like this?” you question, raising a brow. he nods, flashing you a smug little grin.

“we got the place to ourselves, natsuo won’t be back for a bit. we can always pick up where we left off,” he wriggles his brows, grunting with a pout when you elbow his ribs.

bonus conference room sex scene

got too lazy to beta it fully *sobs* so lmk if there are errors and also its ooc and not accurate obviously—it is an au

[imagine-a-life-like-this]

Talk To Me (L.F)

Warnings : financial trouble, reader struggles alone

Word Count : 1375

Synopsis : she’s always there to help felix through his troubles, but tends to struggle on her own, not wanting to burden felix. but felix wishes she would just ask him for help.

Author’s Note : thank you to the anon that requested this! i tried my best to follow the request, i hope you enjoy.

“We have to let you go. We just don’t have the funds to keep you around anymore.” Her bosses words echoed in her head the entire ride home. They echoed like a catchy song you wanted desperately to hate but would catch yourself singing along to every time it came on the radio.

           They echoed in her mind as she got off the bus, absentmindedly walking her route back to her apartment. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking, only repeating her bosses her words in her mind. Over and over again while she wondered how she was going to pay the bills that were piling up on her kitchen table.

           When she got home, she collapsed face first onto her bed, screaming into her pillows, hoping her neighbours wouldn’t make a complaint and make this week worse.

           All she wanted to do was curl up into her boyfriend’s arms and watch a bunch of movies she’d forget the plot of because Felix was absentmindedly drawing shapes onto her exposed skin, or playing with her fingers, or running his fingers through her hair, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head. She wanted to call him and vent to him, cry to him, ask him for help. But she knew this was a problem she’d have to deal with by herself.

           So she pulled herself up off her bed and sat at the kitchen table, going through all the bills that haven’t been paid yet and budgeting out her savings. She had enough to pay the bills for the month, and hopefully by then she’d have a new job.

           Felix noticed she had been more distant, which seemed to happen when something bad happened and she refused to ask for help. He racked his brain for a clue as to what could have happened, but he came up empty. He knew she wouldn’t text him, knowing she’d want to figure this out herself. Felix hated that she never came to him, even for the smallest of issues.

           At first, the independence was attractive to him. She was someone that could and would do everything herself. She wasn’t with him because he was rich and famous and she could leech off him. Felix felt blessed to have a significant other that was with him because of who he was as a person, and not because he was Felix from Stray Kids.

           But as time went on, he realized that it was a blessing and a curse. She could be struggling and pretend everything was fine around Felix. He would only find out when the struggles were over, and if he was honest, he hated it. He wanted to be there for her like she was there for him.

           She was there every time he was struggling learning the new choreography. She was there every time he felt like he wasn’t good enough, like he kept messing everything up. She reassured him each time he thought he wasn’t a good boyfriend for her. She talked him through every low moment. She’d hold him, or play with his hair, listen to him rant, wipe away his tears when he cried. And he just wanted to do that for her.

           He wanted to help her when she’s feeling low. Wanted to remind her she’s beautiful and he loves her when she feels like she’s not good enough. He wants to wipe away all the tears she cries. He wants to hold her and leave soft kisses all over her face until she’s laughing and pushing him away only to bring him in for another kiss. He didn’t want her to struggle alone.

           After a couple weeks of barely hearing from her and her having an excuse every time he wanted to see her, he knew she was struggling alone again. “Felix, are you okay? You’ve messed up the same move every time we’ve rehearsed it.” Minho asked, his anger at Felix quickly disappearing when he saw the distressed look on his face.

           “I’m just really worried about Y/N.” He admitted, collapsing to the floor, his head in his hands as his tears fell. Minho knelt down next to him, placing his hand on his back.

           “Why don’t you go see her? You’re obviously not going to nail this choreography until you know what’s wrong.”

           And he did just that. He stopped at her favourite take out place knowing she could never say no to food, especially free food. With a small smile on his face, he made his way to her apartment. As he approached her apartment, he could hear voices talking rather loudly inside. He slowly opened the already unlocked door, seeing his girlfriend with tears in her eyes, on her knees, clearly begging her landlord.

           “Please just give me some more time. I promise I’ll come up with the money somehow.” She cried out, reaching for the landlord’s hands.

           “Y/N, rent is already a week late. I’ve been patient because you’ve always been a great tenant, but enough is enough. You have one week to pack your things and leave.” That’s when they both noticed Felix’s presence, standing at the door with tears in his own eyes. “Always a pleasure, Felix.”

           “Miss Park, please!” Y/N was up on her feet again, chasing after her landlord, desperate to not be homeless.

           “My decision is final.” Both her and Felix jumped at the slamming of the door. Silence fell upon them, but it was somehow louder than the sound of the slamming door.

           “Why didn’t you tell me you were having money troubles?” Felix asked, reaching out and wiping away the stray tears running down her face. “You know I’m here to help you.”

           “You shouldn’t have to pay my bills just because I lost my job, Lix. It’s my problem, I’ll fix it somehow.” He placed the bag of food on the ground, grabbing her wrist when she tried to walk away from him, and pulling her back in front of him.

           “Love, I’m your boyfriend. Your problems are my problems, just like my problems are your problems. We’re a team, we work things out together.” His hands reached up to her face, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “I love you so much and I hate seeing you struggle alone. Please let me help you.” He could feel her melt into his touch, ready to pass the burden to Felix and rest.

           “I don’t want you or anyone else think I’m using you for your money.” Her voice was soft, almost inaudible, but Felix was entuned to everything about her. He could hear how tired she was, how close she was to giving up. “But I’m so tired, Lix.” She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest, his arms immediately wrapping around her, and his fingers running through her hair.

           “Asking for financial help when you really need it doesn’t mean you’re using me for my money. I know you love me for me, okay? Let’s rest tonight. Eat the takeout I brought, watch some movies, and cuddle. Tomorrow we’ll get you a new apartment. Take your time finding a new job and let me take care of you in the meantime, okay my love?”

           She looked up at him with her adorable pout and tears still in her eyes. He couldn’t help but think about how cute she looked, how she has his entire heart, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, Lix?” He chuckled, patting her head lightly.

           “Every day, but a reminder wouldn’t hurt.” He joked, pinching her cheek lightly, unable to hold back the urge any longer.

           “I love you so much, I want to be selfish and hold onto you forever.” He smiled his famous smile, bringing warmth back to her body as he squeezed her cheeks with his hands.

           “Please do. Because I’m planning on staying forever.” He pressed a quick kiss to her nose. “But please start talking to me when you’re struggling. Let me be there for you like you’re there for me.” She pressed her lips to his, capturing them for a quick, but loving, kiss.

           “I promise.”

[theroomofreq]

can you give me muggle jily recs pleaaseeee <3 :D

HOW MANY HIGH-QUALITY MUGGLE JILY FICS ARE THERE?? TOO MANY TO COUNT. *cracks knuckles* BUT I am here for the challenge. Jily AUs are my JAM.

Again, shoutout to our amazing @jilyarchive friends who tag every wonderful muggle jily au they come across. here is the link that will take you to their tags page. You'll find links to specific tropes and AUs :')

I've searched through my own AO3 bookmarks and history tabs, and I present to you 28 jily muggle fics that I LOVE. I am THRILLED thinking about all the good things in store for those that read these wonderful stories. This list took me ages to make because I went through and reread most of these brilliant fics. Happy reading !! xx

properly improper by @lizardcookie

“Marry me,” Mr. Potter repeats, closing the distance between them by striding back up towards the sofa, only to stop and crouch to one knee right there at her feet, looking up at her. Burning. “Pick me,” he elaborates. “Pick me, choose me, love me instead.”

- this fic is the reason why I comment the way that I do (spoiler it's because it's amazing)

The Wedding Ring by @mppmaraudergirl

What is undeniably worse than attending your sister's wedding looking as desolate and forgotten as a wilted houseplant? Drunkenly ringing your ex-boyfriend and asking him to be your date.

- SOBS UNCONTROLLABLY AT THE PERFECTION

Oh my god, they were ROOMMATES by @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world

Silly one-shot, Muggle AU with Fem!Jily as pining roommates and Marlene as their matchmaker.

- the fic that brought me back to jily and inspired my deep obsession of fem!jily

Swipe Right, Swing Left by @downn-in-flames

The unspoken rule of using dating apps in D.C. is that you always start with where you work.

James Potter, it seems, never picked up on that one.

- giddy just thinking about this gem

'Tis the Damn Season by @petalstofish

It doesn't feel like Christmas for Lily Evans, not after losing her parents to COVID before the Holiday season. She anticipates spending Christmas all alone until a boy from her past shows up and offers her a mutually benefiting deal that has her calling him 'babe' just for the weekend. 'Tis the damn season, after all.

- cries in respect for lyrical writing

Watch Me Unwind by @maraudersftw

Lily Evans hates her job, hates the bigoted customers she has to serve as a bartender at the richest club in the city. But the one person who makes bearing all of it worth it has someone else in his arms tonight. (Rated: M)

- obsessed with the way the plot jumps around the time line in this

oil be there for you by @abby10fanfic

Texting/Social Media AU: Lily and James haven't spoken for 2 years. But that's all about to change thanks to Peter and his involvement in an essential oil pyramid scheme. Featuring boss babes, toxin-free lifestyles, binding contracts, and a very oily journey.

- YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW FAB THIS IS

a matchmaking mission by @downn-in-flames

James Potter has a mission: get Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to finally admit that they both fancy the pants off each other by Valentine's Day.

His partner in crime? Lily Evans, Remus' flatmate, who he also happens to be slightly in love with

- DOUBLE the amount of pining idiots in love :")

about time by @jilyss

'sure, yeah, I can accompany you to that black tie event for your work tonight. wait. why are we on a red carpet?'

- this is my emotional comfort fic, your honor

whiskey business by @elanev91

Sirius Black has a (bad?) habit of picking up hobbies that take over his and James' flat -- this most recent one? Homemade vodka that James now has to try and peddle to everyone in the building.

- hysterical! must read!

Fashion Disaster by @maraudersftw

James Potter is roped into an awful dare by his best-mate, which involves him wearing atrocious pieces of clothing for all days until Christmas as dictated by Sirius. If this wasn't terrible enough, he now has to contend with his maddening crush on the beautiful saleswoman at the clothing store.

- classic hijinks that I live for

it wasn't a pity invite by @elanev91

Part of the December "Winter Tropes" Jily challenge. Prompt: my family invites you to join our holiday meal as an obvious setup and omG i’m so sorry

- awkward Christmas date that owns my heart

spice and honey by @clare-with-no-i

tagging along with her food reporter sister to profile James Potter, London's hottest young chef, is not how Lily Evans pictured her Monday going - especially if he's anything like Petunia’s described.

needless to say, she's in for a whirlwind at Chez Maraudeur.

- I'm one re-read away from printing this out and putting it on my bookshelf.

Waffle Wars by @elanev91

There's only one waffle maker in the dining hall and it literally always breaks. So, naturally, the only reasonable course of action is to meticulously map out when it's working and, ultimately, do a heist.

- the witty narration in this fic can not be matched

You Can Hear It In The Silence by @alrightginger

Lily is non-verbal and deaf in a world where the things your soulmate says about you end up written on your skin. She has known about her soulmate since she was seven, but knows they don't have a clue she exists and possibly never will.

- exquisite, cue me sobbing forever

out the window by @displayheartcode

A new family moves to Ottery St Catchpole.

- everything I could ever want in a fic, forever in my mind rent free

The Christmas Guest by @thegodmachine

An Evans Family Christmas: Petunia is bringing her fiancé and Lily is bringing her…Friend…

- petunia pov that gives me WINGS

Football, Calculus, and Cappuccinos by @moonawrites

At eighteen years old, James Potter has a lot going on. He's a rising star navigating the politics of professional football, the pitfalls of sudden fame, the fallout from choosing his dream over his father's company... and a serious crush on the red headed new barista at his favourite coffee shop.

- I'm still working my way through this fic, but trust me when I say its a GEM

if u like pina coladas by @zephyrcove

Lily is desperate for a date to Petunia's wedding, James has been pining, and their friends meddle ;)

- explain to me how characters can be so perfect via texting fics?

Shelf Awareness by @ghostofbambifanfiction

It's too far out of her way and she's wasting so much money, but Lily can't help but return to the bookstore every weekend, where her passion for good literature has, perhaps, been unexpectedly reignited by the messy-haired, pun-making, rather handsome bloke who works there.

- you absolutely must know that I binge read this and then immediately REREAD it

How to win a witch in 10 days by @adenei

“She’s going to find some unsuspecting wizard, get him to fall for her, and then do all the things that turn men away to get him to break things off! Won’t it be the best way to see what witches do that drives men crazy?” But what happens when the man in question is a blast from Lily Evans's past? A Jily Magical AU based on the romantic comedy "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

- fic based off of a rom com? YES PLZ :’)

The Fight Before Christmas by @ghostofbambifanfiction

The heartwarming Christmas tale of Lily Evans and James Potter - two plucky kids who hated one other, until the day they really, really didn't.

- complete sucker for this one

All This Time by @thejilyship

James and Lily grew up next door to one another. Their bedroom windows giving them glimpses into the others life, and also offering prime opportunities to argue with each other over every little thing. They never figured out how to be friends when they were kids, but now that they've graduated from college and are home for the summer, they have a second chance to get things right.

- one of my favvvv tropes

Let Me Love You by @thejilyship

With only a month until she's set to take the throne of Gryffindor, Lily is informed that she'll have to get married or choose to give up her throne. She never thought she'd have to even entertain the idea of an arranged marriage. Enter, James Potter.

- cries in princess diares AU

The Fabulous Baker Brothers by @frustratedpoetwrites

Lily walks a different route home from work and stumbles upon a cute little Bakery with an even cuter baker in the window.

- yes yes yes to embarrassed pining.

Marigold Mornings by @mppmaraudergirl

This is a fun game she thinks, as she removes her hand from his side and reaches up to run it down his chest.  He catches her hand in his own, takes a step forward so that her nose nearly brushes against his shirt. She can feel the heat radiating off of him—or maybe it’s from her. He licks his lips and her eyes are drawn to the motion.  She knows it is a bad idea, absolutely knows it.

- incredible storytelling featuring dynamic characters :') a favvv

Welcome to Pettyville by@women-inthe-sequel @alrightginger

When Lily Evans accidentally sends a text to the wrong number, she isn’t expecting to find the right person behind it. She can’t stop talking to Prongs. The only thing is, Prongs can’t stop talking about the girl in his class. What could go wrong, other than the number?

- LOVE SQUARE ANYONE

The Kiss a Stranger Project by @alrightginger

“What’s your name, then?” she asks, realizing they haven’t even properly introduced themselves yet. She nervously crosses her arms.

You shouldn’t kiss a guy without knowing his name first.

Right?

- THIS ONE WILL LIVE IN MY MIND FOREVER

[heymeowmao]

2022.06.29 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324785761651393181

Long time no see!

LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening. I am Modern Brothers’ Liu Yuning. Welcome~ C: Ning-ge, you’re a little early. I haven’t gotten off work yet. LYN: Is that so? Then let my voice accompany you on your way home. But if you’re driving or riding a bike, you still have to be careful. Ignore my stream to focus on your safety through traffic. If you’re on a bus or train, you can stand to take a look at my face, too. I hope my voice can give you company and send you home safely.

C: Are you filming a night scene? LYN: Are you talking about OUR drama (the stream)? It’s a nightly drama. But if you’re talking about the drama I’m currently filming we’ve finished up for the day already. We were shooting since this afternoon and just finished up. C: I have something to do, I can’t watch your stream. LYN: That’s okay. There’s always the playback. But remember to come back and watch it, because my streams count as a sort of ongoing drama. If you miss an episode you’ll miss out on a lot of clues/details and the next time I stream you might not know what’ I’m talking about. Try not to miss it.

C: Are you used to the new crew yet? LYN: I’m used to it, it’s quite nice. The crew and company are efficient and my fellow actors are all very professional. The only thing I’m not used to is that I’ve never been this comfortable when filming before.  C: Who sent you those flowers? LYN: The day we started shooting one of the company’s boss’s friends gave each of us a bouquet. I’ve left it there since then and now it’s a little wilted. I shouldn't have let it show on screen, because now I’m afraid you all are going to send me flowers. Don’t send me anything, alright? Don’t send me any flowers or anything.

C: Ning-ge, please pick up more works, I’m begging  you. LYN: This friend- Do they think I’m doing nothing right now?? Of course, I know- they only wish the best for me and hope I continue to have work, right? Don’t worry. People who don’t understand me... never will. But my old fans who know me know where I stand when it comes to work. Which is: If I don’t have something to do for three days straight I’ll have a breakdown. I’ll go home and keep shaking. Shaking and crying. But I still have work now.

LYN: I keep seeing some comments scroll by that read, “OOO stop watching!” They’re watching my stream, what’s it to you? Friend- please don’t worry. My stream is green-lit and healthy. It won’t bring any harm to your friend who’s watching. I’m just some gentle company. You don’t need to worry about your friend learning bad things from my stream. They can watch.

- people keep asking him if he’s eaten   LYN: Why do you all keep asking me if I’ve eaten? Do you think I don’t have a good appetite or?? Don’t worry- I eat when I feel like it. C: We’re just worried that you’re too thin. LYN: On this matter it’s like this: whoever’s ugly on camera knows who they are. I saw a fan-made video the other day and it was clips from the first season of Our Song. I was a little stunned when watching it- I was wondering, “Is that me??” I had a big face like a bun and my eyes were so small- like two black beans on a bun. My face was so fat back then! I was really round. But when I saw this video I was touched- touched because the fans who have walked with me from then until today have really suffered/worked hard. How strong of a fan-gaze must you have to have accompanied me until today? XD I’m very thankful.  LYN: The further I go, the more demands I have to make of myself. I can’t just give up on maintaining my looks, right? The more you  experience and the more you want to move forward, you have to be strict with yourself. I’m starting with making my face seem a bit slimmer.

C: Can you tell us how you got this job? LYN: You mean the drama I’m currently  shooting? I always get jobs in the weirdest of ways- totally different from how work normally comes to people, you know? If you say I have a good life- it’s true. If you say I have a bad life- it’s also true, because people are always cursing me out. There’s always something you can blame me for. But life is full of unexpected opportunities, and they can be good, bad, or everything in between- but they are all a part of life. As for being cast in dramas, it is because I have met a few good people who are always giving me a hand. LYN: I’m not a child, and I’ve debuted fairly later in life than most people, so I think on some things I have a clearer mindset than most. I’m more wary. Because for those who debut in their twenties- after a while of coming and going in this industry- they have the time to make up for it. But not me- I only have the once chance, so I cherish it any chance I get. I’m just in a different state of mind. LYN: I’ve gotten used to it- if there are some people here just getting to know me, don’t worry I am still healthy so you have plenty of time. But what I wanted to say is that my ability to endure is quite strong. No matter what job I accept, there are always people who ask “Why him?”. All my life I’ve relied on the question “Why him?” to get where I am. I’ve already said- it’s because I’m lucky. It’s like I’ve gone to the market and bought a lottery ticket, to discover that I’ve won the jackpot. It’s like a neighbor hears of this and comes to me to ask, “Why did you win?” I just got lucky, what do you mean “why?”? C: Based of your abilities. LYN: No, not that. There are plenty of people who are better than me. How did I get here? Let me lay it all out for you- I remember in 2018 our little group the Modern Brothers suddenly gained a lot of recognition for a song cover. At that time a lot of people asked, “Why?/Based on what?” In the summer of 2018 I went on a few variety shows, and people asked again, “Why?” My first stroke of luck came when I was able to be on I Am a Singer. Still, viewers asked, “Why him?” Time passed and I’ve come to sing OSTs for a lot of people- so that should have stopped people from asking why I was worthy, right? Then I was on some drama as some character- oh, I didn’t finish the beginning of the story. When I went on Singer people were asking, “Isn’t he just internet famous? What’s he doing on Singer? For what reason?” Two years passed and THEN I was in some drama and they asked, “Isn’t LYN a singer? Why did he start acting?” /sigh/ Another year passed and I was on a music variety show and they came back, “Isn’t LYN an actor? Why is he singing?” On my path I’ve faced all kinds of “why” so I am already used to it. LYN: Now let’s talk about this recent drama- to me it was amazing and I even think to myself, “Why me?” But the work came at the time, so I accepted it. Let me explain to you, how I convince myself I’m worthy. I start from the character- th is drama is called Be Your Own Light. I’m working with some great actors and just playing a small role- I even ask myself why me. But after I received and read the script I thought I should be able to sit a little taller. Why? The character I play is... someone who learned how to cook for three years. A professional chef. Secondly, he’s also an adept streamer. I took these two points and compared them to the people I’ve come to know while acting and... it seems that they fit me really well. If you were to pick an actor out there who has learned how to cook and is good at streaming- who else can you name? Is there anyone? I don’t know if I’m a good fit- is there anyone out there who fits the description better? Based on these two points alone I think I have a little more of an advantage. C: Then were they set on you from the start? LYN: No, I wasn’t. I’m not worthy of having a character written for me. The scriptwriter is amazing, because when they were writing this character they didn’t even know who I was/that I existed. Then after it was written someone told them that the character seemed like me, so they looked me up. It was a real coincidence. The scriptwriter was very nice, and accepted me for the role. Because I didn’t have to reach too far to act as this character. The character is ME. I even asked, too. I asked the director and screenwriter what they would like me to focus on as I acted out the role and they told me to just be myself. To face it with the same attitude I use while streaming, and that is the right direction. A third coincidence is that the scriptwriter’s husband is from Dandong. It felt like meeting old friends. LYN: But as to how exactly this job came to me- you know how I attended the National Drama Festival? They wanted me to attend, but I felt awkward  about it because I had just started out as an actor and had nothing to show for myself. Why would I go? I had hoped to go one day when one of the dramas I was in was featured drama- but I didn’t have any representative work at the time. But they knew I had sung a bunch of OSTs for the featured dramas and they wanted me to sing and liven up the atmosphere, so I went. [t/n: he ended up going there as a singer, not as an actor] It just so happened that Tao-jie (Liu Tao) and some production members and the screenwriter were there in the audience. So I sang my medley and Tao-jie said, “See? Doesn’t he work for the role?” In the end they agreed that I was a good fit. So I have to thank Tao-jie for bringing me work. Some might think it’s really curious, but it’s just because there are good people out there looking out for me. // If you look at it that way then I really should get out more and go to the banquets and events- so more people can see me and end up recommending me work.

- it’s his first modern drama so he’s really nervous, but everyone is putting their trust in him, so he says he’ll work hard - “pick up more modern dramas” ;; LYN: Do you really think I can just do whatever I want to do? I really don’t have all the resources people are saying I do. I can’t do anything I want to. - “do more varieties” ;; LYN: I truly don’t have the time for more than one a year. I want to give enough time for acting.

LYN: Are you all watching The Truth? Before I was cast for the program there was a little interview beforehand, and they asked me how accurate I thought I was. They asked me if I had confidence in my reasoning abilities, and I said “Yes!” They asked me why that was so, and I told them it was because I had watched Detective Conan countless times already. I binge-watch for at least 20 days straight. I watch/listen to it before I go to sleep. So they asked me about my accuracy and I replied, “90% accuracy shouldn’t be a problem, right?” I thought it would be a walk in the park. I thought too highly of myself. But later when I went I was dumbfounded. But I made a bet- if I wasn’t accurate enough I would spend 10 minutes during each of my streams to promote the show. The moral of this story is to never be overconfident. No matter how much you think you’ve got something in the bag, be humble or it’ll be harder to pick up the mess later if things go wrong. But then again, I think being able to come here to stream and ask you if you’ve watched the show, or even tell you to watch it is my honor. Because I am able to recommend such a good show to you. I’m not unsatisfied, nor do I feel any pressure- I’m very happy. 

- talks about the most recent case, and how after shooting a few episodes he looked kindly upon ZKY, but then found out he trusted ZKY too much (bc ZKY was the culprit). “My feelings were hurt.” XD It was actually two cases- and as a friend LYN could understand the reason for the first case- Ke Wuku (ZKY) wanted to avenge his brother’s death. But the second murder was to cover up the tracks of the first, and LYN doesn’t think that ZKY would be that type of person- so that’s why he didn’t vote ZKY as the culprit in the end.  C: You stood up for Guo Baoyou (Guo Qilin) too. LYN: Yes, I did. The program is saving me a lot of face, because they didn’t air exactly HOW MUCH I was standing up for him. [t/n: In this case it turned out that GQL actually DID try to attempt murder, he just wasn’t successful.] LYN: And the moral of THIS story is not to let your feelings get in the way of solving a case. So I have to thank the program for protecting me. As soon as suspicions were raised I was about to put up a fight. There’s no way the murderer could be my friend, they’re definitely not that type of person. They must have been framed- there’s no way they could have hurt someone like that. /I/ can curse and joke with my friend but YOU can’t ruin his reputation like that. XD

C: You watched Conan for nothing. LYN: That’s why everything you learn in school is basically all theory. There’s still a process to apply theory to reality. It takes some adjusting. What you learn in books is useful, but real-life application is even more important. 

C: If Ke Wuku turned himself in, what about the next episode? LYN: It’s Wednesday. You can’t wait a day to see what happens? Honestly we were all dumbfounded, too. If he was the murderer then who would shoot the next episode with us? Or would one of his group members switch out with him? We didn’t know how the program would resolve this. You saw the preview- he’s back- as for how he came back, you’ll just have to watch. C: The program will say, “Ten years later...” LYN: You mean he’s out in ten years? For his crimes, he’d be in there for life. // We can say it’s a parallel universe.

- went to shoot two episodes of the variety/game show The Oasis (圆鱼洲)

LYN: Oh, my Da-ge mentioned me in his stream? I- er.. -Did he? That’s quite nice... Chen Chuhe-laoshi said-- /cuts himself off from reading this comment/ When I first started streaming I told you that this is a green-lit stream. // I’ve been ignoring you all for a while- do you really think I can’t see what you’re typing?? I just didn’t want to talk about this topic! What is there to say?? LYN: Life as a martial artists, there’s bound to be bumps and bruises. That’s to be expected, right? Even though we’re only acting as these characters... but uh- it’s unavoidable.

C: Does Jiang Junhao (Be Your Own Light) have any scenes where he’s cooking? LYN: Of course! Or else why would I go? They needed someone with a background in cooking, and also the character has won numerous cooking awards. I thought about it and I might not fit into this part of the description because I’ve only won second place in a carving contest. I haven’t ever won anything for cooking any dishes. The director told me that when we shoot the cooking scenes I have to show off a little. I told him I didn’t actually have that much to show, but I could at least chop the vegetables. I’m afraid the director has too high expectations from me- he might want me to do a back-flip or something. But proper wok technique is a piece of cake.  C: It’s time to test your professionalism. LYN: That’s right. That’s why I say that anything you learn is not for nothing. Any (technical) skills you learn- sooner or later you’ll get to use them. Who would have thought that what I learned in cooking school would one day help me as an actor? I heard something once, “A cook who doesn’t know how to stream is not a good actor.” When I first heard that my reaction was “That’s BS” but looking back on it now, it’s reasonable. LYN: So, if you have the chance to learn something, go and learn it. No matter what you learn, it might benefit you later. Even if that thing is learning how to spin a pen. C: I’m learning how to play guitar. - goes off on a tangent about how he wanted to learn music and how to play guitar because of the band Beyond. if you’re learning how to play one of their songs is the first you’ll learn. says the industry nowadays needs another influential band like them- to get young people to love and learn music.  - he didn’t bring his guitar with him, but plays one of the first songs he learned: 真的爱你 - starts singing along but suddenly got self-conscious of his Cantonese.

- He’s trending (#43 on the Entertainment Tab) LYN: Really? I don’t believe you. Why would I be trending? Why me? “I’m not ~WoRThY~”

LYN: I see you’re all still talking about Chen Chuhe. Honestly we have a very good relationship. I like him a lot. Think about it- I’ve even given him my clothes. At the time I had a red bracelet, and I gave that to him too. He walked through the doors and said, “Xiao Ning, those clothes (jacket) really suit you” and I took it off and gave them to him. How good friends must we be, for me to have given him my clothes during a dinner? How many of you could do that for your friends?? LYN: When he left Hengdian he even told me so, and I told him I would look for him to hang out. We’re good friends and have been in constant contact.  C: I wanted to give my best friend a skirt but it didn’t fit her. LYN: I can’t believe you would type that onto a public chat. Are you trying to brag that your figure is so good, your friend can’t fit into your clothes? No giving backhanded compliments- I don’t know your friend, but don’t do that to her.

- promotes Penny-jie’s new album~~ C: I’ll go listen right now!  LYN: No, no- stay to watch my stream! >.< When it’s over you have all the time to listen to her songs. It’s not like the songs will be taken offline after three days- you can listen to them for a long time. But catching my stream live you only have the one chance. LYN: If you really can’t stand it and you MUST leave to listen to her music- here’s a nice middle-ground. I’ll play her song in my stream. We can listen to it together. - lyn: lip-syncing ; kazoo collaboration LYN: Jie! You wrote to song too slowly. You have to give me some space so I can solo with you! - looks for another opportunity to insert kazoo C: You dropped down the trending topics. XD [t/n: a joke from last stream] LYN: Are people really so annoyed by the kazoo??

C: When’s ALZ coming out. LYN: I really don’t know. I haven’t received any news about it.

LYN: Alright, someone wanted me to talk about Heroes. First of all, it’s my honor to have played this character. I invested a lot of emotion and p assion into the character and drama. Looking back on it, I think I was able to uphold my own standards. I did everything I could and even everything I couldn’t. I thank Bai Choufei for all the emotions and experiences he’s given me. I’m happy to have played what I believe to be an amazing role. It’s not something I might have the opportunity to play again. I’m thankful. The good and the bad- I’m thankful for it all. I’d like to thank you all for your interest and favor in this character as well. I’ll continue to work hard.

- he’s got a trending topic in the hot search

- promoting ZLY’s new drama The Story of Xing Fu; pretends to get transferred 200RMB XD (promotion fee) LYN: No- it was just a slip of tongue. She doesn’t owe me 200RMB- she’s already done so much for me. You have to look at the bigger picture, friends. She doesn’t owe me anything- unlike ZSX- maybe one day she sees a clip of this stream and recommends me for another one of her dramas, or asks if I could sing one of her drama OSTs. XD

C: Ning-ge, do you have a rainy sound effect? LYN: Rain? Why? /plays the sound of rainfall/  - takes this opportunity to segue into using the restroom

-- Bathroom Break

LYN: We finished up with filming early today but tomorrow I have 17 scenes to shoot. The whole process is a lot faster but just as complicated. In any case, I thought I would come and chat since it’s been a while since I came to stream. - Be Your Own Light might air a lot more quickly after wrap than other (guzhuang) dramas, since it needs a lot less post-editing.

C: What’s the difference between shooting a modern vs guzhuang drama? LYN: I don’t dare to answer! Don’t make trouble for me. I CAN talk about it- not about content, but just from appearances. The happier thing about a modern drama is- right now I’m in Chengdu! What a beautiful and welcoming city. There are so many good foods here, too. The happiness of coming to work has upgraded- well, I can’t say it that way- If I did then I wouldn’t be able to show my face in Hengdian again. It’s just a different feeling. When you’re in Hengdian, you really want to fit in with the surroundings - you just automatically make yourself blend in. When you walk into the environment and interact with the surroundings, you want to respect them. Even if you’re just standing, you feel like you should stand up straight. But Chengdu is... a city of wonders! You can eat well, play well, and the view is beautiful. I get to experience the wonders of modern technology- so I’m really happy. The hotel, too- I don’t feel like I’m here to shoot a drama, I feel like I’m here to attend some fancy event. There are even some scenes that are shot right here in the hotel! How nice is that?!

C: Is this live? LYN: Are you only asking me this because your watch is out of battery? You want me to tell you the time, is that it??

- has a snowy filter because he knows it’s hot in most cities so he hopes people can feel a little bit cooler if they see snow; he’s got something that will cool you off even better, too: under the sea filter XD /gurgles water/ LYN: Now it’s like we’re all in a pond- in a fish tank watching my stream. C: Ning-ge, are YOU in the fish tank? LYN: Oh yeah, this square box looks like a tank, huh? LYN: Now let me sing for you a Ren Xianqi (Richie Ren) song -  我是一只鱼 (I Am A Fish)

C: Trending Topic #23. LYN: Really? I don’t believe you. C: But I came in from the trending topic. LYN: But you have an “iron-clad” fan label. If you have that and you STILL only came in because the topic was trending then I have some criticisms for you. You seem not to welcome me too much, if you’re relying on the topic to tell you to come watch. C: /I/ came in from the trending topic. LYN: Thank you and welcome. I think the fact that you’re here is fate. It’s around 8pm on June 29th- we may not have known each other before but we know each other now. Don’t leave, alright? From this moment forward, we are all good friends. Isn’t there a song that goes, “The more friends you have, the better your path”? I’ll sing Zhou Huajian’s 朋友 (Friends) for you. It represents the feelings I have for all of you watching right now. I hope that after this song we all become friends. I’m sure many of you know this song- today is now a KTV and we are all good friends. If you are on your phone- and as long as it doesn’t disturb others- turn the volume up high and let’s sing it together.  - Zhou Huajian (Emil Chau) - 朋友 (Friends) LYN: When I was singing I saw another song called “Friends” scroll past. In my stream there are two types of friends- the friends who have been with me a long time and have become my family, and the friends getting to know me for the first time today. Let’s take our friendship one step at a time until we become family. Here’s another song for you- it’s in Cantonese, so any friends who can speak it can sing along, but if you can’t that’s okay too. - Tan Yonglin (Alan Tam) - 朋友 (Friends)

C: My mom’s watching your stream, too. LYN: Thank you, Auntie. You have good taste.

C: Ning-ge, I don’t think I’m worthy to be your friend. LYN: There’s no such thing. In this world no one is better than another. We all live a normal life in society. No one is “unworthy”- except for me, apparently. I’m not worthy- “Why LYN?” But from a perspective of making friends, there is no worthy or unworthy. People are all the same. I might be sitting here as the Weibo Stream King and you think I’m amazing so you think you are unworthy of being my friend but that’s not the case. Many years ago I was working jobs that made ME think I wasn’t worthy of being YOUR friend. I didn’t think I was unworthy, but that’s probably what you would have thought of me. I was a waiter, a clothing shop clerk, a dishwasher- I’ve done a lot of things, and I didn’t do them for a short time and then take a long vacation, either. I was a waiter for a long time with no breaks, and this really ingrained into me a “customer service” attitude. A lot of you are awesome and have very professional jobs- am I not worthy of being YOUR friend? No- we’re all people, all equal. Friends aren’t made because of job or status. Everyone is a guest. Everyone is a friend. 

LYN: I can see all of your comments, I just can’t reply to all of them. Sometimes I have to take some time to say what I want to say. I can TRY to reply to each of them though. For example, if you type “hahaha” and if we had a good relationship, I would reply with “hahahahaha.” More “ha”s than you. But if we didn’t have a good relationship and I didn’t want to talk to them, I would reply with “What are you “hahaha”ing for?? Why are you laughing at me? Do I know you?” C: Ning-ge, can you tell me “Happy Birthday”? LYN: Happy Birthday. I think if you’re here watching my stream on your birthday, then you really do consider me a friend. You wanted me to experience the happiness of your birthday with you. But if we flip it, that means you really don’t have a lot of friends. Usually when people celebrate a birthday they have a big group of friends who are there to party and give you cake and blow our your candles. But you don’t so you came here. How lonely must you be? *Are you lonely enough? Are you long enough? Are you strong enough?* [* from the most recent episode of The Truth] - starts promoting The Truth again

- Liu Tao stopped by his stream LYN: I didn’t say anything bad earlier, did I? Because we only just started shooting.. there’s still time if they want to switch the male lead out. We’ve only been shooting for three days, now. XD

C: Lao-da, you look like a doll. LYN: I look like.. a doll?? If I were a doll I’d say... “Don’t go near the abandoned power distribution room. If you don’t listen, you’ll d*e.”* [*another reference to The Truth]

- suddenly thought of another song he could sing, because he thinks his Cantonese has been improving :) - 初恋 (First Love)

- his computer (on his end) keeps freezing; he can’t stop the split-screen effect C: Smash it. LYN: It’s pretty expensive, let’s not. Give me a chance to fix it, otherwise we’ll just end the stream for today. // Oh! I saved it. :D LYN: My video was stuck for a few minutes and about 6000 people left my stream. It’s alright though because I have a trending topic and even if they don’t WANT to see me, some more people might click in. It’s a probability. 

C: Ning-ge, I’m going to take a shower. Wait for me. LYN: I... won’t. I’m going to keep streaming and you can go wash- do whatever you want, you don’t need to tell me.

- turns off his lights for more of a KTV feel~ C: It’s not off though? LYN: I didn’t mean COMPLETE DARKNESS. There still needs to be SOME light. Did you think I meant completely dark? Are you here to look at ghosts?? Should I light a candle and put it just here (in front of him on the table) to stream???

C: Ning-ge, are you wearing shorts? LYN: Do you not have a sense of fashion? I may not have a lot of sense either, but at least I’m not like you who doesn’t have any-- These are pants!

C: You look a lot like LYN. LYN: Yes, many people say that. I’ve heard it enough times. Sometimes people will ask me, “Are you LYN?” and I’ll tell them I’m not. I only look like him. “Then what’s your name?” My name is Liu Xialai. I’m LYN’s impersonator.

- Andy Lau - 十七岁 (Seventeen) LYN: The lyrics to this song are his own story, so maybe me singing this song is not a good fit. But it’s just for fun, so... in any case, we’re respecting this piece of music. But I’m not very familiar with this song, so my pronunciation might not be the best... - stops halfway LYN: There’s being unfamiliar with a song, and there’s being unfamiliar to the point of embarrassment. I honestly don’t know this song well, so much so that I’m not sure of how some of the next words should be pronounced. 

- Zheng Zhongji (Ronald Cheng) -  无赖 (Rascal) LYN: I remember this was the 8th Cantonese song I learned, because at the time I was singing in a bar- because I wanted to be a singer and back then I didn’t have a chance to break through. So I thought I would learn a song from each dialect, and that way I would seem more impressive. The Beyond song was way before this, when I was learning how to play the guitar. Let me try the Minnan song... my old fans all know which one it is.

- 无言花 (Speechless Flower) (Jam Hsiao ver.) LYN: /making his own mv/

LYN: Don’t be sorry for these flowers, they’ve been sitting here for days and have already wilted. We just gave them some value before their final sendoff. 

- planning on trying out 浪子回頭 next

LYN: Penny-jie sent me a message, to thank me for playing her song in my stream. And because I played a bit of two, she sent me two red envelopes of 200 RMB each. If that were the case, you should’ve said sooner and I could have played all 12 from your album. LYN: I can’t accept her money, though. Right? Let’s take a vote. Do you think I should accept or not? XD If yes, type ‘1′. If no, type ‘2′. // I see that there are a fair amount of both. How about this- she sent me two, so I’ll only accept one. Let’s not break the rules of my promotion. We’ll only accept 200RMB. That’s a fair compromise, right?

- cycles through thinking about singing a Minnan song > English song > Korean song LYN: Oh, Korean I can do. Mostly only from... BigBang. - BigBang - If You C: Be more confident. LYN: I don’t dare. You can see- it says on screen “Only music, please enjoy.” There are no lyrics! I need the lyrics to spell it out for me- let me look online. /// I might not sing it accurately, but for a lot of songs as long as you get the right feel for it you’re good. I’m positive 99% of the people in this stream don’t understand the lyrics of this song. But it’s okay as long as you get the right mood. - goes on to explain how he has watched Korean dramas and observed how they speak, to try to learn how to pronounce words. - reading the Chinese pronunciation of Korean lyrics he looked up and laughing at himself. LYN: There’s no way this sounds remotely Korean, even to me. - learning how the music goes, first - BigBang - If You (Take 2) LYN: The letters are too small!! Sorry, sorry. - BigBang - If You (Take 3) [t/n: it’s... not bad...] LYN: /sigh/ How about this, friends- give me one week. I’ll learn the song properly and perform it for you better the next time. C: Ge, I know this song. I’ll teach you. LYN: I don’t need you to.

C: Ge, a Thai song. LYN: As a singer now I have to know songs in a bunch of different languages?? A Thai song...? ?_? Honestly, I don’t know any Thai. 

C: Vietnamese. LYN: Oh, Vietnamese I can! -  HKT - Tải Thêm Một Lần Đau LYN: I only know one line- the very first line. That’s it.  - “teaching” people how to sing this song, so that they can go out and brag they know a bit of Vietnamese. [t/n: no pls... i’m crying...] but his method of “misheard lyrics’ really matches up well. XD LYN: Later I’ll learn the rest of it, and we’ll slowly learn how to sing this whole song. Learning these first two lines are already impressive enough from a beginner’s standard. We’ll learn the next part next time. Who says you never learn anything from my streams? We’re using a different method to teach an online class.

-- Bathroom Break (expectation: “the neighbors are fighting” ;; reality: his acting coach is staying in the neighboring room)

- changes the song to a “happier” one because someone asked - it’s time for English songs; thanks his homeroom teacher for all the English he knows (bc they specialized in English) C: Cry on My Shoulder. LYN: You must be one of my older fans, who think that’s the only English song I can sing. I’m gonna sing something different! C: Lemon Tree LYN: I sang that last time. How about this- I’ll sing something from 后街Boys. Do you know them? Backstreet Boys. Let me see if I know any of their songs... /scrolling through the song list/ Oh no- it wouldn’t look good if I don’t know any... /scrolling/ I was mistaken! It wasn’t the Backstreet Boys! Let me find something else!! :)

- George Benson - Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You - silently singing along XD LYN: Alright, seriously this time. I’ll muddle through it and we’ll end this corner here. This doesn’t mean that I’m not serious about music, though. Let’s go.  LYN: Hello? How are you? Fine, thank you. And you? XDDDD - singing LYN: ! Oh, I’ve sung this before! I surprised myself. It’s this song! I know how to sing it. No wonder I was doing so well. This is too easy, let me me change a song.

- Westlife - My Love - “testing” the viewers on their English pronunciation by asking them how to recite the lyrics, LOL

LYN: It’s getting to my head. It’s inflated now. Let me find another~ If I can’t find one pretend I didn’t say anything. /finds another one/ This one should be no problem. LYN: Hold on- is my trending topic still there or?? I’m afraid that when I touch the kazoo the topic will drop. Is it still there or did it drop? C: You sang it off the trending topics. LYN: !! You should have reconsidered saying such a thing, friend. // Do you know how much those words can negatively effect my marketability? You’re making it seem like my singing drives people away. Will people still find me to sing their OSTs, in that case?? Right? You can’t speak that way. In any case, my stream is just for fun- it doesn’t matter if you like it or not, it’s just entertainment. Now, and English song for you all. C: Has anyone looked for you to sing an OST in English? LYN: No. I’m sure no one out there is crazy enough to. But I was thinking about something for my album- for the A part it would be in Chinese, and then once the B part hits the chorus is all English. I tried it and then scrapped the idea. My pronunciation was too bad, I would be ridiculed to death if I released it. My album is not a child’s game.

- Westlife - You Raise Me Up - cuts himself off bc the key gets to high XD LYN: That’s enough of that. Because I can’t sing it anymore. Let me rest.

C: Why are there two screens. LYN: I’m afraid you will miss out on seeing my face- miss out on admiring my countenance. I just want you to become more familiar with my face. So that we can better become good friends. Until we finally become family. 

- tells people to subscribe to his weibo, and it can alert them when he starts to stream C: I’m subscribed but I’m still an hour late. LYN: That’s normal. C: I watch your streams, but I’m not subscribed. LYN: WHY? Is it shameful for people to know you are subscribed to me?? C: Because you don’t follow me, so I don’t follow you. LYN: Some things you can’t measure in this manner. Especially feelings. Some things are just immeasurable. You can subscribe to my weibo, it’s not shameful. Thank you, everyone. It’s a benefit to my fans. Because if I don’t show up for too long of a time they can’t take it. So I come here to stream for my family when I have time. If you are watching my stream, that’s my honor. But if you can subscribe to my weibo, too- then my honor would be twofold. Happiness is just so simple. People should learn to more or less do some kind acts. One simple act can bring someone else happiness- that’s priceless. I hope you can subscribe, to make me happy. C: You’re so self-centered. LYN: I only wanted you to subscribe to my weibo, how does that make me self-centered?!? You must not know me very well- go look at the dramas I’ve done or my past streams. I don’t have any “idol burden” nor have I ever complimented my own looks. I am a very self-abased person, I have been since I was young. Why do I stream? I started because I wanted to find a sense of self. I come to let my fans compliment me so I can build up some self-esteem. // How about this- let’s give each other three years’ time. Subscribe to my weibo and monitor me, and in three years’ time you can form an opinion on whether I’m self-centered or not. Alright? Thanks. LYN: Three years will go by in the blink of an eye, especially when you’re getting older like me. XD 

LYN: When you think time is precious, you’ll realize that all the little and annoying things aren’t important at all. Sometimes when I see people criticizing or cursing me I’ll feel something at first, but the more I think about it- it’s really nothing. Maybe it’s because I’ve already experienced so much in life. In the end we’re all just- this might sound scary, but- we’re a slab of meat, thrown into a furnace and burned. In the end you’re just a pile of dust. That’s the ending point of our lives. If you compare all that you’re going through right now to that ending point, you won’t think anything is too much trouble. LYN: I think the most important thing to do while you’re here is to live happily, live a meaningful life. That’s enough. You need to make yourself happy- live a life you think is worthwhile, so you won’t have wasted your time here. If you can HAVE a presence in the lives of your parents, your family, or friends, that’s the perfect life.

LYN: Sometimes I see things that are just- meaningless. Someone sent me a link the other day- it was to some account that writes stories about some artists. They won’t name any names, but use every method to let you know who they’re talking about. But most of what they’re saying is complete nonsense. In the end you can’t even report them. Just- why?? We’re all in the same business, we can each go our separate ways- why do people find the need to create this type of gossip? It’s not necessary.  LYN: Sometimes I feel like their writing is better than most scriptwriters. They should consider creating and selling a drama script. If they do so and someone picks up and puts it on film, there’s the the possibility they can become a big name. Do you know how much money a writer gets for a single script? A lot of money! Really, if you have the ability to create a story, I would suggest you to consider this line of work. You can make a lot more than you are now, making up stories about artists. Change your job. Do some good. LYN: I saw the comments on such blatantly false articles, too. “Wow, I really didn’t know LYN was this type of person. I even watch his live-streams, too! I didn’t know he was this type of person.” For these people- I suggest you download the National Anti-Scam App... you’re very likely to get conned in your life. There’s absolutely no evidence of independent thinking to be seen. // No matter how smart you think you are, you should still download the app. I thought I was pretty smart, that I was a genius before going on The Truth. It turns out I’m a fool, just like everyone else. C: Why are they cursing at you though? LYN The same old thing, isn’t it? Your origins will always be your sin. I started off as a small content creator. I wasn’t trained in music from a young age, nor was I backed by any company. I got here on my own, one step at a time. It’s true that I got here from being “viral.” :\ I don’t care anymore, but it’s always all people talk about. LYN: From an outsider’s perspective, the jobs I’ve picked up recently have all turned out pretty good for me. When you’re nothing- nothing you do will affect anyone. No one cares. But when people see you doing well- (People hate to see others succeed.). For example, if I were to say that I am currently out of work, do you think people will still curse at me? If I were to disappear from the screen, would people still curse me? No. /sigh/ Whatever. It’s normal, I don’t care that much. I just think there’s no NEED.

C: Ning-ge, you’re very popular. A lot of my coworkers know you. LYN: I’m really not! No one dares to say they’re popular. There’s no such thing. It’s only a matter of how often you appear in front of people. It has a time limit. If you’re always on TV, people will always recognize you. It’s been so many years, and I don’t think I’m popular. I’m really not- at least I don’t think so. I just want to be able to keep working, I don’t care about popularity. LYN: Honestly, though in this past year I’ve been able to feel it. Before when I went out shopping, had a meal, or walked down the street very few people would recognize me. But ever since The Long Ballad aired, people started recognizing me more and more. // You still need works to show for yourself- so that people who are not only my fans can recognize me. Many people could have watched Ultimate Note and seen Hei Yanjing; But they might not know that Hei Yanjing was played by me. - LYN: There’s an actor in our crew who played a different version of DMBJ’s Wang Pangzi (Zhang Boyu). I saw him and started chatting, because we have a lot of scenes together. I asked him if he had played Wang Pangzi. He said yes, and I told him I had acted as a version of Hei Yanjing. :) C: Were you trying to make connections? LYN: I was just trying to find a topic of conversation, so that we could communicate nicely! He asked me which version, and I told him I played UN’s Shades. He said, “You played that HYJ?” and I replied, “Yeah.” He didn’t recognize me! Or he didn’t watch that series- that’s a possibility. In any case, I just wanted to say that a lot of people don’t know that was me. They think it was Baron Chen. :p - LYN: But this past year- I went out shopping when I got to Chengdu. I’m not the type to try and go incognito- I was just wearing a cap and a mask. Suddenly someone by me shouted, “Ning-ge!” I saw a young guy there and greeted him, and he asked me, “Lying low, huh?” I said, “Ah, yes.” How social- HE greeted ME. He was pretty far from me, too but he still recognized me. // It was nice that he recognized me, first off. And secondly I’m thankful he didn’t beat me up. At least I know I’m not HATED. LYN: Before, when I wasn’t an artist yet, do you know the happiest thing for me? Pretending to be famous. I don’t know if you’ve ever done it? This was before the pandemic- any normal person wouldn’t normally go around wearing a face mask. But I went out all the time wearing one. I would go out to the movies alone and buy a ticket for the back row, wearing a face mask and a cap. In this situation- before the pandemic- these people are one of two types: 1. A criminal or 2. An artist, not wanting to be recognized. - playing out the scenario, of how people would see him (sitting alone in the back row, with cap and face mask) and imagining what their conversation would be like LYN: Normally in this situation, it would be time to take off your mask, but I didn’t. If I had popcorn, I’d stick it under the mask. /demonstrates/ C: It wasn’t stuffy? LYN: No, I was having a lot of fun! I mean it WAS stuffy, though. But you can’t do this anymore, because EVERYONE is wearing face masks. XD - telling the story of how he wanted to be a celebrity while growing up (you know how in school they always ask you: what do you want to be when you grow up?), and his teacher chewed him out for it.  LYN: Having a dream isn’t something to laugh about. I’m not just saying this because I’ve fulfilled my dream. A dream isn’t ridiculous. Maybe in the eyes of other people your dream is laughable, but you can’t consider it laughable yourself. I wanted to be a celebrity; I wanted to be a singer, to sing on a big stage. So I started working hard in this direction. I worked hard and got a job as a waiter in a bar- it’s related to music. As long as you have a dream, you can head in that direction.  C: My dream is to marry LYN. LYN: I just want to say- this dream is laughable. As LYN himself, I just needed to say that. But as your friend, as your family- this is not a ridiculous dream. Maybe on the path to wanting to marry LYN, you’ll find yourself married to someone else. Otherwise it’ll be really difficult for you to get married... // It’s always good to have a dream.

LYN: It’s time for 真心英雄  (Sincere Hero)- this song is for friends who really know each other. The lyrics go like this: “In my heart I had a dream. I wanted to use my voice to help you forget all of your pain.” This is also why I stream- I want you to forget all your worries. I want to give you a few hours of relaxation and happiness. If you know this song, sing along with me. I advise you to use headphones, so you can better immerse yourself in the sound of my voice.  - Li Zongsheng - 真心英雄 (Sincere Hero) - the lyrics on the prompter were wrong XD ;; LYN: Sorry, this is a bootleg KTV

LYN: How long have I been streaming for? 4+ hours?! / Are you sleepy? If you’re sleepy I can go. If you’re not I can continue to play and chat with you. It’s the middle of the night already. / Not sleepy? Alright. You all have the right to enter the *Happy Home’s VIP. Because you’ve endured enough, you’re lonely enough, and you’re long enough. [*The Truth E10-12]

LYN: I wrapped up early today, but tomorrow and in the coming days I’ll be shooting a lot more, and not necessarily be in the mood to stream. I came to stream today because Heroes has finished airing (for VIP) so I wanted to give it some closure, even though I’m not going to chat about the drama at all. I know that people have been watching it, and they even shed a tear or two for me. So I came here to show you a happy LYN, so that you can be in a better mood.  LYN: I don’t expect anyone to start liking me because of Bai Choufei, and I’m not holding out any hope for that, either. But if that person happens to be you, I welcome you.  C: There are, though. LYN: Really? People started liking me because of BCF?? C: Lao-da, there are a lot. LYN: Really?? C: My dad. LYN: LOL! Thank you, Uncle. You have good taste. LYN: I was going to say something about the people who like me because of BCF, but when I learned one of them is your father my resolve wavered. What I wanted to say to the people who like me because of BCF is “Are your three views* not normal?” When watching dramas or movies, you still have to adhere to your three views. [*”Three Views” refers to a person’s world outlook, outlook on life, and values/morals] C: Alright, then I’m leaving. LYN: I was joking! If you started liking me because of BCF, I think you’re very strong! You can’t stop being my fan because of my little joke, that’s not worth it. 

LYN: Anyway, the drama is over and I’m very thankful for it. I still have other dramas coming, and I hope people can anticipate them. As an actor, I’ve only just debuted- it’s only my 3-4th year. There’s a limit to how much I can shoot, but Heroes is considered my 4th drama that’s aired. Hot Blooded Youth > Ultimate Note > The Long Ballad > Heroes. There are still dramas yet to air, like Zichuan, Floating World, and ALZ- of course, I am only supporting roles. Some people may have doubts, wondering what right I have to be the male lead of BYOL. Honestly, from a viewer’s perspective I don’t think LYN is worthy either. I’ll say it for you. But the thing is I’ve started out with supporting roles- I didn’t just jump into lead roles to begin with, because I knew I wasn’t good enough. Now that I have an opportunity to take a lead role, I am very happy. Up until now I’ve always been the supporting role (for 7-8 dramas), taking on the third, fourth, even eighth male role. Since I have the chance now to play a male lead I’m going to cherish it. I hope my fans are happy to see my slow improvements. At the very least, I’m not letting myself down. I’ll work hard. LYN: I just want to tell my fans- I’m begging you- please don’t go around yelling/cursing at the actor’s I’ve worked with, alright? I saw a fan the other day doing just that- what are you doing??? D: You’re ruining the whole pot of soup, you know? I can go out and say “My fans will never curse at other actors.”- but I saw you do just that. You felt so self-righteous, too. Stop making trouble for me, will you?? I have a good relationship with every actor I’ve worked with- even in private, we have a good relationship. Don’t go around yelling at people. I’m already a target of criticism for a lot of people, so can you please not make more trouble for me? You’re supposed to have my back.  - likens to it when your kid is involved in a fight and they get the parents in for a face-to-face, only to find out it was your own kid who started throwing fists first.  LYN: Even if they’re cursing at me, let them. I already told you. I don’t care. As the guardian of the Modern Brothers’ Fans, I can’t even go out and say, “My kid would never do such a thing. You need to apologize to them first.” I don’t even have the right to say that, because my kid is the one who started the fight. It’s a mutual loss, because the kids were aiming to hurt. Let’s not make trouble- which is not to say I’m AFRAID of trouble, though I am. But let’s not make trouble while also being afraid to face it. Even if one day I make it to the top and prove them all wrong, let’s not start fights with people. - says when he’s 70 years old he’ll hold a live-stream where he complains about and roasts every bad person and bad situation he’s encountered in this industry; in his previous stream he said he’ll do this when he was 60- but the plans for 60 are to hold a concert and show his abs. XD There’s a plan for every ten years. LYN: Let’s all live a long life. - comments asking about his 40-year plan, and his 50-year plan LYN: I haven’t thought that far. I’ll see as I go. In any case, I hope to be doing more dramas. A lot of people are anticipating what I’ve got going on next- I’m honored that you like my acting and I hope you can continue to look after me, I might be acting for a long time. Of course, I will always treat it seriously. // Someone is saying they’re guessing I’ll "bai lan” (voluntarily retreat/let it rot. If I you expect me to “bai lan”, why would I be sitting here streaming? Purely for the title of Weibo King? Let me tell you, friend- there’s no one else in this industry who is worker harder than I am right now. Starting off as a content creator on a small platform and to make it to where I am today- I never once thought of retreating. When other people get together for drink after work, I’ll be here streaming until they’re done drinking. When they’re playing Honor of Kings, I’ll be here practicing my swordsmanship. Oh- where’s my light-saber? I didn’t show off my skills properly the other day, let me try again.

LYN: I bought another, because the old one is in Hengdian still. I didn’t show you properly the last time, and ended up “piercing” my... lower half. XD Let’s go.

LYN: Because I know I’ll be doing more guzhuang dramas in the future and I want to prepare for any fight scenes. When I have time I’ll look up videos and practice. You need to be prepared for anything. C: Turn off the light and try it. LYN: Oh. You should have said so earlier, that WOULD look cooler, wouldn’t it? Forget it- next time. - does it again with the posture corrector instead :p

C: I’m sleepy, can I leave first? LYN: Go. I’m not keeping you here. You can leave if you need to.

C: How long are you going to be in Chengdu for? LYN: Why do you want to know my schedule, are you plotting something against me? Did I say something too shocking earlier and you want to come hit me? // I’ll be in Chengdu for around two months. LYN: Another thing is- there are a lot of my fans who are from Chengdu. I’m very happy to be in your city and walk on its streets. Even though we’re not walking on the same street at the same time. You walk yours and I’ll walk mine. I’m happy to be here, and the fans are so, so welcoming because I come here less often. I’ve only been here twice since my debut. But I wanted to say that normally I am at work- I came here to shoot my drama. I know you’re a regular around these parts and it’s your freedom to come see me when I’m shooting, but please don’t film with your phones. It puts me in a difficult situation. I don’t care if you’re filming ME, but I came with a drama crew. What you’re filming is a spoiler for the drama- and then the crew comes to yell at you, which makes me feel bad. I don’t like them talking to my fans that way, but on the other hand what they’re saying is not wrong. It’s awkward for me. I don’t want anyone to treat my fans badly, but the fact of the matter is that you’re not listening to instructions, so I can’t say anything. I don’t mind if you’re familiar with where I’m filming and want to come take a look, but please try not to record anything. It gives the crew a bad impression of you and reflects poorly on me as well. :( LYN: Sometimes I just don’t understand. You came here to see me, which is fine. But why do you insist on taking a picture or video? You just want to post it up for likes? You want to become a celebrity or what?? // Don’t take pictures. You are all sensible people. I’m sure those who usually come to see me are hearing the words I’m saying right now.

- he stays on weibo because he likes the platform and it’s a good way to interact with his fans, he doesn’t use it for commercial purposes. LYN: Even though it is true that I promoted Penny-jie’s album and I gained 200RMB from it. But that’s a personal transaction, not a business transaction. :p

- promoting The Truth again :)

C: When will the three siblings stream? LYN: You mean me, ZSX, and YCY? Do you think we’ll get together for a stream in this lifetime? I think it’s possible. It’s possible, but it’s really difficult.  LYN: But ZSX- I’m sure he won’t come to my stream today, but he still has dramas that are going to air. I can’t guarantee he’ll come, but we’ll see. We’ll wait for one of his dramas to air, and we’ll see if he comes to me or not. /smug/ XD LYN: They’re really good friends of mine, though I can’t say if they feel the same about me. ZSX, YCY, and Chuhe-dage. I really think of them as my good friends. I know I joke in my streams and I like to say ZSX is just ~alright~ but it is all in jest and people who know me know they’re my friends. LYN: When I see people talking badly about them I really can’t help but to want to speak out for them. But when I think about it- it’s a little like making trouble for myself, because it redirects the haters’ attention to me. I just really can’t stand when people talk badly of my friends. - lyn talks about being supportive and protective of his friends; you can really see evidence of this in The Truth (with him defending both GQL and ZKY, adamant that they aren’t suspects and wouldn’t do anything harmful (they did)) LYN: It’s not that they don’t care (about the comments); Chaoyue is a little better (at refuting/reporting malicious comments) but Shunxi is different. He doesn’t really stream at all, either. We’re two very different people, but we were still able to become good friends despite that. But when people are making trouble for him he doesn’t comment- he won’t comment, but at the very least he’ll report it. Still, when I see people talking badly of them I feel bad and really want to put in a word on their behalf. C: We’re the same with you. LYN: Yes, it’s a frustrating feeling. /sigh/ I just wish there were less bad people in the world. But thinking about it, the people who make these malicious comments are also sad people. Mostly they’re people who lack presence in reality and are just using the anonymity of the internet to find some sense of self and recognition. It’s sad, but what can you do. They’re just looking for some sympathy, because people don’t pay them any attention, in the real world. Think about it- if you’re busy working on a normal basis, you wouldn’t even have the energy to make posts like that. But when you discover that in some circle you can gain that recognition you’re seeking (in this case, talking shit about celebrities), you’re going to keep doing what it takes to get that attention. This is the simplest of mentalities. They just want to be acknowledged. Humans are social creatures.

LYN: Alright, that’s about it. I sang a lot of songs today, too. If you still haven’t subscribed to my weibo, please do so. Thank you. For you, I’ll get on my knees. Thank you everyone.

LYN: I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing night. It was great to have you. I’ll see you next time!

[tarudce22]

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD FINALE

I’m in tears and i haven’t even started playing yet

quest 71 - ending

We staring of with the chess scene, got a bit more dialog then in kh3.

Vor!!

Episode 4: cruel clues

she’s in the Dwarf Woodlands so new world for DR

She gonna talk to the mirror.

OH NO, the bad cut scenes are still here. Well at lest we go them

the dwarfs are here??

Ah yep, back into the grind. My phone is hostage once again. curse me not staying on blue stacks in the end, I so much bp wtf. That quest gave so much bp to!!?

 There like 66 new cutscenes!

I wish these battles went faster, i want to see the baby!!!

WTF VOR IS STRONG!!! SHE JUST PICK THAT BOLDER UP!!

“seven... just like us” should i be worried about that line

Oh this “boss” is cute and weak oh no, i got everything maxed out

Vor told Xehanort and Eraqus about the talking mirror

I just realized that we’re party locked

Eraqus wants to know how to beat Xhehanort at chest, thats really adorable

Oh? the chess game is called Alba and Ater

ONE OF THEM IS NAMED VIDAR!!!

Does this world just not age??? Lady why you be rude to the mirror, no wonder hes so grumpy

Here we go again, fighting the mirror

YES VIDAR! Its the guy in blue and yellow, AND THIS MUSIC!! Oh i should be worry from this music alone. I love thid guy

He’s never meet Xehanort before???? Xehanort, the visitant????  hes calling xehanort different, lmao

Vor, you belong with your friends honey. Wtf do you mean have her “join us instead”

“I have something i need to do” “what is it” “you’ll see” thats ominous

She ask if she would ever become a  keyblade master, and the mirror basically said “ditch your friends and you will” wtf magic mirror

eraqus saying there never going to change is breaking my heart, while xehanort goes “yea change happen and we got to live with that fact”

She’s going with Vidar, i think this is the start of her end

all their reason to be keyblade master is cute other then you know wanting to destroy all darkness forever

xehanort wanted to be a keyblade master to see the khux/dandelion kids again

“64 years later” we go the old man cutscene!

“fewer hairs grace thy head” this line is killing me

Xehanort said him being bald is “A demonstraion of my resolve.” What??? How did you go bald my guy!?

oh there is so much i could say on this cutscene, hes asking the mirror is the khux kids existed and the mirror said yes and no in a way, “there toll has not yet chime”

mirror saying you can’t hide your heart from me.

EVEN THE MIRROR DOESNT KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, except Ven....

episode 5: the key to each world’s order

54 years later

we in bbs time now??

Oh man, master xehanort’s molded is wonderful, this chibi old man

OH THIS IS the fight where eraqus gets his face scars. kind of funny seeing this in chibi form. the backgrounds look great

OH NOW WE GOING TO THE FIGHT WHERE THEY HAVE THE LEGACY KEYS

7 years later, a year after they became keyblade masters

Ah so this is the start of the fight, Eraqus is the “one true heir”

Oh eraqus, he did inherit the resolve of no name and its wielders

this is the divorce fight number one it seems

Odin just fucked off some where it seems

it did feel like she was saying goodbye forever eraqus but lets try to be a little optimistic

no manipulating! there is just so much to say about this exchange between xehnort and eraqus here, also xehanort is right about the tilde of being a keyblade master

they’re dysfunctional loves urd

odin wtf is going on

true darkness, the 13 fragments of darkness from long ago, also once again the MUSIC!! vidar getting the history lesson of the formless darkness while he trying to tell odin “see ya” and never returning

Oh this is lore about the fortellers that got a bit twisted, AND THEY KNOW WHAT WE DID TO 4 OF THE DARKNESS, ok ok so the 4 we trapped, 2 where destroyed well luxu killed one and ven took the other in to give it form, but they know none of this and odin is going “there’s NO PROOF” to these events

this is why eraqus is the way he is isn’t it, all cause of odin, paranoid old man, also where was that cutscene taking place??? what part of scala was that??

AHHH Beast's Castle! This anit’ darkness hermod, they just roasting eraqus and how he is with darkness, love to see it,

meanwhile bragi and eraqus trying to talk to the mirrior and bragi saying “dude”, they give up cause all that queen does is look that mirror

we only have one party member now cause eraques is not here

chip knows urd??  oh its cause shes a girl, they trying to ship urd with the beast? oh the upperclassmen may have stolen the rose, why?

really got to question the age of these worlds. ah i guess the upper classmen did steal the rose, why they do that to beast?

im going to have so much useless bp after all of this

i wish they did this with KHux, where you have the theater AND you could still play the game

URD NO DONT SPLIT UP! wheres the upperclassmen at i want to know more then just Vidar’s name

Xehanort DONT SPLIT UP

why all my girls going through it right now WAIT, a upperclassmen! now whats your name! Vala VALA IS HER NAME! are you Balder’s sis or is it the other one

Vala a oracle? there is some very shady things going on right now with the upper class, what there goal, i wish i knew more Norse myths and names off the top of my head

she the right number of questions, actually i think she should ask more

Vala wtf, stop dodging the questions, is she gonna kidnap urd or gaslight her into going with her? Vala and Vidar both keep using we and us WOWOW WHOS THE NINJA DUDE!? also dick move stealing the beast’s rose WAIT TELL ME THE NINJA’S NAME

stop trying to ship urd with the beast

1 year later

it looks like they cause the unfortunate events themselves, its called trauma xehanort i think you got trauma, like some very bad trauma mostly cause of the whole khux player being well you thing, they did die with the darkness on there own volition, please give me nightmare chirithy please give me my stinky cat, xehanort no fuck destiny you dont have to do THIS WHY, fuck MoM is here or is that luxu and what do you mean “the sigularity”

Episode 6: Uncertain order  

YEP thats MoM 1 year later, the time jump arounds are not helping me at all

thats MoM, and oh here we go with his fuckery, Theodore Jack

a stroll in the realm of darkness yes, a very nice strolling area, no no answer the question, i think your answer melt my brain in a fun way, whats with this “more of less” well i guess he was more of a recruiter and forger then a wielder

I like this back ground a lot and he just hands him a coat and xehanort takes it even though he said he doesnt trust him, yea he is trying to sell it, hes a use cars sells man, its free if you sign over you soul

NO NO NONOOOOOOO NOT AGRABAH FREEE MMMMMEEEEEEEEE

NINJA’S NAME IS VALI!!!!! Vidar Vala Vali..... we got the v gang

Jafa please just get to the point i want to leave agrabah

look hermod the quicker you do this the quicker i never have to see agrabah again please, i tire of the desert

again how old are these worlds??? do they get reset again at some point??? the agrabah music is going to be stuck in my head for days i know it

hi carpet oh hello eraqus

DONT TOUCH ANYTHING, of course he’s right about jafar

poor Bragi, actually whats your deal we’ve got a lot of the others but not you yet

oh i can finally change around my party again

i love the hearless designs in this so much

again the backgrounds look GREAT oh hey Vidar, i wonder if the light ther trying to find is the princess of light, yea i think its the princess

where is young yen sid i need to know, who died

yep thats it, no more agrabah please

ah MoM again, another 1 year later but that is meaningless to me by now, oh its the kh 3 cutscene! MORE INFO TIME ah great xehanort a nihilist now,  if only he was a simple fortune-teller GIVE ME HIS NAMMMMMMEEEE fuck of course they do that

Episode 7: reason for disappearance

65 years later now with a ven, he looks so dead my boy

THE OLD BLUE MAN??!?!! what the hell that old man teach you as a baby?!

OH BBS TIME AGAIN TERRA AND AQUA!! AH its ven being dropped off but chibi,  Oh and we’re seeing xehanorts and eraqus conversation! i just want to grab chibi xehanort by his big bald head

eraqus is so bright

back with old man odin, wtf is balder

Oh the upperclass want to avoid what happen to the fortellers, ven and the player, that makes sense, again where are they in scala,

it cost a lot more then one life last time old man, lets not do that again

Kingdom Hearts

ODIN WHO ARE YOU WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AHFNOINFC YOU KNEW XEHANORT WOULD BE THE DARK SEEKER YOU KNEW WHO ARE YOU OLD MAN

man all V’s  in a gang, vildar, vala, vali and vor, we got anymore V’s laying around? ok that animation of eraqus jumping in place is adorable

BALDR FINALLY

Its been years balder, yea your sister might be dead by guy

HER NAME IS HODER?? oh you saw her die oh.... rip Hoder we never knew you and she’s so pretty to and they just killed her before we could know anything about her, fucking maleficent killed her

TO THE UNDERWORLD!!!! TO HADES!!!! olympus coliseum!

THE GAAAAAAAMMMEEEESSS! HADES!!! LMAO YEA FIGHT HIM

I LOVE THIS HEARLESS DESIGN DONT MAKE ME KILL THEM

Hades dont kill the kids, two of them got to have many breakups with each other over the next 64+ years

“yea she just faded from what we’re told, it was kind of weird”

thanks hades, i do very much love the coliseum purly cause of hades

Xehanort  tell me you worries, 23 more cutscenes to go... its been over 3 hours

Hoder Heimdall Helgi Sigrun now whos who, also only the V’s lived that to funny

Gonna guess that Heimdall is bonde guy, helgi is pink lady, and sigrun is blue/silver hair guy, maleficent ruining more keykids lives, also once again whats up with the worlds? like enchanted dominion story happens in bbs so how does it happen here in dr too?? dont split up thats how you die

the final world....

and we got to know nothing about all of you other then your dead and that sucks cause your not coming back in any other game

you have a uncle vibe to you, that one crazy uncle that will had a kid a knife of blowtorch, so yea a babysitter

oh baldr and bragi dead??

portal just snatched them, i know hades your so right,

ah the dark coridor, what a lovely place for a stroll,  now then WHERE IS EVERY ONE?! is this how hermod and urd die? please not yet

NOOOOOOOO WHY I KNEW THEY WOULD DIE BUT NOOOOOOOO, THERE HEARTS OH NOOOOOOOO

So that two for sure down of xehanorts class and 4 of the upper class dead

wtf who that, ODIN??? YOU COULDNT HAVE SAVE THE OTHERS TOO?! OLD GUY PLEASE YOUR SUPPOST TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR STUDENTS NOT GET THEM KILLED, Who are you Odin WHO ARE YOU,

ah bald chibi, VANITAS!!! 65 years later back to bbs

your a horrible parent xehanort, vanitas needs a good mentor/parent figure and therapy, he telling vanitas about the 13 darkness aka kind of who vanitas is this is endlessly funny to me, oh does xehanort know???? like he has our memories so he would maybe know wouldnt he?? DO YOU KNOW XEHANORT OR NOT!

Last Episode: The 7 Lights and 13 Darknessess

2 years later

WHERE IS YEN SID?! DID THEY RECON KEYBALDE WIELDER YEN SID

back to the chess board oh does this mean the V gang is all dead too?? or do we still have some scenes with them?? I guess from odin’s words they are dead now

wow xehanort, you really want to live 13 lifetimes, 14!? dude i think you go insane oh what you kind of did

what do you eraqus, of course its to “stay true to light” not bad but you go about it in bad way, thats sweet this whole converstaion is actually very sweet and very sad, that bittersweet kind of feeling

oh we just getting sad converstaion now, also why we always have to come back to this chess board, No dud ODIN, could you not save ANY of the others? also is the V gang still alive or not!?

I mean Bragi and Baldr should be fine??? Hades isnt all that bad??? WTF now Odin what do you MEAN YOUR SUPRISED THEY CROSS PATHS WITH BALDR?! ODIN!?! WTF! AHHHHHHHHH WHAT WHAT WAHT First he used master defender NOW HES USING NO NAME!!!?? AHHHHHHHHHHHH Oh Baldr fell to the darkness? wtf is going ON HERE!?

yea its been what like 5 ish years now? THE V GANG WAIT WHERE IS VOR!? WTF Vildar, eraqus no no bad dont do it! COME ON NOT AGAIN I DONT WHAT TO FIGHT OTHER KEYBLADE WEILDERS!!! NOOO oh they kicking my butt whelp i got charms so who cares, you are a angry angry child eraqus

yea wheres Vor also STOP SPLITING UP, oh vor is dead now isnt she, here we go again sorry eraqus baldr is long gone, loving that snap for some reason

10 more scenes to go, im so close to the end.....

VOR RUN! Oh wtf! is that his BED ROOM?! WHY IS IT LIKE THAT?! that looks like padded room wtf is it like that, oh he going in a depression spirel real fast, WHY IS A ADUL NOT STEPPING IN TO HELP THIS COULD HAVE BE AVOID!!!?? 7 days of sitting in his messed up room and no on stepped up and in, he fell to the darkness

OH its that darkness, thanks for that maleficent a real stand up job you did, oh man bragi dead, guess he’s not luxu??? that was theory going around at one point i remember, VOR NO RUN CHILD RUN

6 more to go.....

NOOOOOO YESSSS SAVE HER SAAAAAVEEEE HHHEEERRR! V GANG WIN (i know there not but a part of me can hope cant it) “May your heart be your guiding key.” *dies* thats how this is going to go i know it OH look at that heartlesNOOOOOO V GANG DOWN V GANG DOWN, VOR IM CRYING NOW NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! NOT THE MUSIC AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH ;_; vor....

5 more.....

top of the tower.... wait “13 lights must be given to the shadows”? yes do please explain, i can get lose very easily, more chess wording yea, i do think this hearless design is really cool though, good thing i bought a lot of charms cause what else will i use my bp on, sorry baldr darkness its time to die, ah the start of the war crimes path, oh we going to talk about xehanorts hear? its a mess, oh so this isnt that darkness, wait is this a darkling kind of darkness? wait....... nightMARE CHIRITHY???? IS that you!? oh we got a empath on are hands, wait xehanort is a empaht too? what? oh this is her request back from the underworld isnt it, I love Hoder, eraqus is a pure light? ah siblings.

Odin? that you finally doing something? took you long enough, “xehanort, kill him” that whats happing here, empath behavoir, really going to have a CHILD execute someone huh, i mean yea its the darkness but also like come on is there really no other adults around? WHERES YEN SID

1 month later

ah finally the grave yard, havent been here since episode 3? was it 3 the last time we where here? this sucks, like this sucks, they all died, like i knew this was most likely going to happen but still, also like i know i said this the first time i saw this place but man thats a lot of graves, yea maybe come out of your room xehanort if its anything like baldr’s it would do you a lot of good to leave it, i though he was always a glum old man eraqus, how can you put things back to normal with only two kids,

ah hes very sad and wants to step down got it, wait, is odin yen sid?? that doesnt sound right with what we know so who odin??

End

prolog and credFUCKING MOM AGAIN?! IN THE SCALA GRAVE YARD OR IS THAT LUXU? ah bragi figure it out and had to die, ok i really like bragi and i wish we got more time with him, he has that brand of energy to him i love, is he luxu? he has lux/xigbar energy like in the middle of them energy? WAIT HE JUST SAID VESSEL AND THIS BODY! LUXU?!?! LUXU!!!!!!!! “As if!” fucking xigbar brag luxu my rat man that i love, Luxu was bragi all along, all the jokes of him being luxu cause his name was right,

ON NO IM CRYING ITS THE KHUX FINAL STAFF ROLL WHY!??! Its a good song and i kind of wish dark road got it own staff roll but i do understand why it wouldnt as it and khux are heavily tied compard to other games in the series

 Also congrats one more to the two animators Mayu Shumizu and Megumi Yamamoto, Wouldn’t be here without you! not has heavely animated as khux’s ending but still wonderfully done with every animation that was in here

Finally the baby scenes, whats up blue guy, THE MUSIC AHHHH I love this soft soft version of drealy beloved

9 years ago

oh so xehanort is a blue blood..... oh no..... xehanort a child of destiny ment to comment war crimes, “we’re the only ones here” where is every one else on the main island?? so they put him in baby jail to save him from darkness.... HA, no shes dead! but no, really what happen to her? i need to know what happen to the ONE mother we have actually seen, Ephemer ;_; Brain ;_; Lauriam ;_; Ven ;_; SKULD ;_; WHO???? what.... WHAT!? wait wait Wait WAITWAIT WAIT WHAT???!?!?!?!?!?!?!! NO NOOOOOOOOOO

THIS CANT BE RIGHT WHAT???!??!?!!?!?!?!!! OH I HATE THIS SO MUCH WAIT I CANT ICANT WHAT SO PLAYER CHARACTER OF KHUX BECOMES MISSING LINKS PLAYER CHARACTER????? AND THEN WE TAKE BABY XEHANORT AND RAISE HIM???????? NNNNNNNNOOOOOO

OH i actually hate that so much, that doesnt feel right with how khux end, the scene really makes you think you became xehanort and dark road backs that up a lot, so like good plot twist?? I guess?? but also i kind of hate it

“they will be a empath” this feels like its fit sora too, like xehanort got set up to fail cause of this,

FUCK

I CANT I HAD SO MANY ART IDEAS THAT I NEVER FINISHED BASED OF THE PLAYER IS XEHANORT OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OH NOOOOOOOOOO HES WHOS GREAT GREAT WHAT EVER GRANDSON OOOOHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

WE WHERE RIGHT HE IS RELATED TO EPHEMER AHAHHAHAHAHHA

ASLCKNSOVNOFB ICANT OOOOOHHHHHH NOOOO

HOW DO I PROCESS THIS OH NO!!!!!!!!!

THATS TWO GUT PUNCHS BACK TO BACK WTF

i think i need a drink and what ever food will make me pass out

sdnfvoisrnrgvbiodn onv ICANT HAhaHA this is so funny and SO HORRIBLE ALL AT ONCE ICANT 

I still choose to belive that Xehanort is somehow in some way at list a little bit of the khux player, some of those scenes dont make sense to me any other way, and this empath stuff is nuts, wtf,

over all i am happy with this just wish the “player is xehanort” didnt get disproven cause thats just fun to me, khux ending still hit harder

there’s also a q&a that was relesed but no offical translation yet,hopefully we do get one, that may have more info about some of the stuff that went down in khdr and some stuff related to the characters

https://twitter.com/KHDR_PR/status/1563154818138460160

EDIT: Translated Q&A from KH13

 https://www.kh13.com/news/kingdom-hearts-dark-road-translated-tetsuya-nomura-qa-r3736/

[theultimateultimateweapon]

Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades (Chapter 4)

Meta Knight woke up in a strange place.

(Huh…? Where am I…?)

Flowers were blooming all over. However, all the flowers were faded and scentless. It was as dim as before dawn. The sky was gray without sun or clouds.

(Am I… on earth…?)

Meta Knight remembered.

He visited the planet Magnus to regain his treasured sword, the Galaxia. Then, the moment he swung his sword up against his enemy, Beryl…

His feet collapsed and he fell into a deep hole. He realized that it was a pitfall and tried to fly, but his limbs suddenly became numb and he couldn’t move.

As his consciousness left, he couldn’t remember what happened after.

(Then, is this the bottom of the hole…? No, it seems different…)

As he thought, a voice called out to him.

“Hello? New brother?”

“...What?” Meta Knight looked around.

He saw no figure, just a light blue butterfly perching on a flower.

“Who...?”

“It’s me, silly. You’re not going crazy, I’m on the flower.”

The butterfly fluttered its wings.

Meta Knight was stunned. “The butterfly, are you the one talking?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Meta Knight tried to bring his face closer to him.

The butterfly spoke with a kind voice. “My name is Papi. Brother, what’s your name?”

“...Meta Knight.”

“That’s difficult to say. Are you okay with Meta?”

“...That is fine. Tell me, what is this place?”

“Didn’t you notice? This is Hades, the underworld.”

“Ha...des…?”

“The world after death.”

Meta Knight was shocked by Papi’s words. “After death…!? Did I die?”

“You are dying, to be precise. Meta, you’re wandering between life and death. You have to get used to this world if you’re going to die properly.”

“This isn’t funny!” Meta Knight shouted. “I want to go back. Return me to the original world!”

“It’s not so easy. Once you’re here, it’s difficult to go back.”

“...But…!”

“Well, take your time. After a while, Meta, you’ll become familiar with this world and you won’t want to go back to the original world.”

“...Don’t be silly!” Meta Knight turned his back on Papi and started walking.

Papi fluttered and followed. “Where are you going?”

“To find a way back.”

“Eh? You won’t find one. You should just get used to Hades.”

“You’re too noisy!”

Meta Knight was confused. No way could he be wandering between life and death…

Papi seemed to have a friendly personality but he was constantly talking.

“Meta, your body took a heavy blow in the original world, so now your body is dying.”

“...”

“But you haven’t died yet, so your soul is still calling for your body. Over time, your body will die and you can’t go home.”

Papi’s voice was carefree, but Meta Knight was horrified.

“How much time do I have?”

“Eh?”

“How long until I won’t be able to go home? How much time is left?”

“Um… usually three days.”

“Three days…?”

“Yeah, but in the land of Hades there is no day or night because the sun doesn’t rise.”

“Then, how do you measure the length of the day?”

“That there…” Papi fluttered and stopped at a tree growing on the side of the road.

A gray bud was attached to the tip of a thin branch.

“This is a common flower found everywhere in the underworld. They all bloom together in the day and deflate in the night.”

At that time, the gray buds began to open slowly.

Papi said, “Wow, it just bloomed. That means it’s dawn in the underworld.”

“Then, I have three flower blooms left…”

Meta Knight started walking fast.

There was too little time left. If he couldn’t find a clue within three days, then it was over like he said.

“You have three days for the body to recover in the original world. Even if it’s less than three days, if you die, you’re stuck here.”

“...”

Is Meta Knight’s body still lying at the bottom of the deep hole?

He prayed that his subordinates and Kirby would help him.

Papi spoke with carefree cheer, “If you have any questions, ask me anything. When it comes to Hades, I’m much older than you, Meta. For example, in the underworld, you have to be careful for…”

Then.

Suddenly, a big shadow struck from the sky.

“Waaa!?” Papi screamed. “G-ghost bat! You have to be careful with those! Run away, Meta!”

Meta Knight quickly drew his sword. 

A big, bat-like monster attacked.

Meta Knight jumped high and slashed the monster.

The monster screeched and ran away.

“Wow… woow… wooow…!” Papi rested on Meta Knight’s head and fluttered.

Meta Knight took a closer look at the sword he had in his hand.

It was similar to the sword he had when he fell into the hole, but with a gray blade and no shine. Perhaps it was a sword of Hades, which had no substance.

It would be enough to fight with in the underworld.

Meta Knight held his sword and asked. “There are creatures that live here?”

“No, they’re not living things. They’re residents of the underworld so they’re not alive.”

“...Well, then what was that thing?”

“I’ve just been calling it a ghost bat. I don’t know the real name, but it’s a ferocious monster. No matter where you are, one will attack you.”

Papi finally settled down and began to flutter again.

“Well, the inhabitants of Hades won’t die no matter how badly injured, because they’re already dead.”

“...Really.”

“But if you get seriously injured, you may never be able to fly again. If you see a scary monster like that ghost bat, you just have to hurry and run away…”

Papi flew around Meta Knight.

“Meta Knight is strong! I’m super impressed you beat the ghost bat!”

“...”

“It’s rude to call you Meta, isn’t it? I’ll have to address you with more respect. Hmm… how about big brother Meta?”

“...Stop it. Just Meta Knight is fine.”

“Okay, Meta Knight can be my boss, then!”

Meta Knight thought.

In order to escape from the land of the dead, he would need to know where to go. He would need a guide.

Papi was a strange butterfly, but he didn’t look like a bad guy and might be a suitable guide for him.

“If you want to work for me, then help me get back to the original world, Papi.”

“Hmm, I don’t want you to go back. I want you to stay here in Hades forever.”

“I want to go back. No, I have to go back.”

“...I guess I can’t help it. If that’s what Meta Knight wants, I’ll cooperate.”

“Thank you.”

Meta Knight once again walked down the faded flower path.

He just kept on walking and walking.

In the land of Hades, the sun does not rise, so it never gets brighter or darker. It was just as dim as before.

Gray flowers that signal the passage of time were blooming all over. Meta Knight hurried ahead, careful about the appearance of the flowers.

How long had he been walking? Suddenly, the flowers were slowly deflating.

Meta Knight stopped involuntarily and took a deep sigh.

Papi spoke, “The first day is over! Thank you for letting me help, Meta Knight. I couldn’t find any clues.”

Meta Knight did not answer and started walking again.

“Eh, are you still walking? It’s already night time. Don’t you want to rest?”

“I can’t afford it. And… there’s something strange.”

“What?”

“I’ve been walking all day, but I don’t feel weak.”

It was a funny feeling. He didn’t feel hungry or thirsty, or tired. He didn’t feel drowsy.

“That’s not unusual.” Papi laughed. “This is the underworld. Meta Knight, you and I are just souls. Because we don’t have bodies, we don’t feel any of that anymore.”

Papi’s voice was bright, but Meta Knight’s heart was quiet.

“It’s very convenient, isn’t it? It’s such a mess to eat and drink. Hades is a good place. Don’t tell me you still want to go home…”

Meta Knight didn’t say anything and finally sped up.

“Oh, Meta Knight. Are you sure you don’t want to rest? Even if you’re not tired, you should rest at night.”

“I can’t take a rest.”

“But the night trip is dangerous…” Papi was worried.

A mysterious thing passed by in front of Meta Knight.

It was another butterfly.

A butterfly, slightly larger than Papi, slowly fluttering its wings.

What caught his eye was the shade. Even the light blue color, like Papi’s which was pale, was rare to see in Hades.

Meta Knight couldn’t look away.

The bright red butterfly disappeared as if a flame.

“What was that…?” Meta Knight’s voice murmured.

However, he got no reply from his noisy, chatty guide.

“Papi?” Meta Knight looked around.

Papi was hidden behind a gray flower bud. He appeared quietly in response to the call from Meta Knight. “Did you say something?”

“There’s a red butterfly. Oh, it’s gone.”

“Oh, good…”

Papi fluttered down and perched on Meta Knight’s head.

“What’s wrong? You seem strange.”

“Uh, yeah… I was just a bit frightened, he…”

“What, that red butterfly? What’s scary about it, it was just flying.”

“That’s right…” Papi moved his wings anxiously. “But, that butterfly has a creepy legend.”

“Legend? What?”

“I’ll explain. Let’s take a break.”

Meta Knight didn’t feel like taking a break, but he was worried about Papi’s story.

Reluctantly sitting at the base of the tree, Papi began to speak in a frightened manner.

“That red butterfly is said to react to the voice of a final agony.”

“A final agony?”

“Yeah. That’s the voice someone makes when they die. It’s not normal. Only someone who is incredibly strong reacts to the screams you make when you die.”

“That’s… such an eerie legend.”

“Right?”

Papi flew around in front of Meta Knight’s face.

“He hides somewhere during the day and starts wandering around at night, so night trips are dangerous.”

“It doesn’t seem that dangerous. How does an eerie legend attack you?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve never been attacked. He seems to be able to change his appearance.”

“Change appearance?”

“Suppose a very strong warrior loses a battle and releases an agonizing scream, that butterfly is called by the scream and flies to it. They become possessed and become a knight of butterflies.”

“Knight of butterflies?” Meta Knight smiled.

But Papi kept a serious tone. “It’s not a lie. It’s a famous legend in the butterfly world!”

“The butterfly world…”

“In the world of butterflies, everyone knows of a knight born from the red butterfly and a strong warrior called Morpho Knight. That’s how strong it is!”

“Incredibly… strong…?” Meta Knight was moved.

When he heard of the knight of butterflies he first smiled, but wasn’t anymore.

Red butterflies have an ominous power. When that power attaches to a strong warrior, an unimaginably terrifying knight may be born.

“If they’re truly such a strong knight… I definitely want to fight them.”

Finally, his true goal was found.

Papi was so surprised he turned over. “EEHHH!? Are you serious!? Meta Knight, you really want to fight such a strong opponent!? You’re weird!”

“...You think so?”

“It’s strange, that’s all. Usually I’m careful not to come across dangerous opponents. That’s why the butterfly world taught me not to travel in the middle of the night. Wait… Meta Knight!”

Meta Knight stood up and started walking.

Papi fluttered in a hurry.

“Let’s rest for now! Besides that red butterfly, there are many monsters that roam at night! There will be more and more terrifying things than ghost bats!”

“Wonderful! Let’s find them!”

“Why are you so excited!? Meta Knight!”

“If you’re scared, you don’t have to come. we can split up here.”

“No, no! I’m your subordinate now! Wait, wait~!”

Papi moved his wings together and chased Meta Knight.

(Chapter 3 - Table of Contents - Chapter 5)

[alto-march-of-death]

I’m so excited to get this posted!! This is my first collab and there’s some big names on there so I was super nervous but!! I love the way it turned out!

Summary: Akaashi plans a fun surprise for Valentine’s Day! Tsukishima makes a cameo but he’s only there to help the story move forward. Hope you like scavenger hunts as much as I do!

Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x female parts reader

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: just a touch a soft sex; Akaashi calls you “love”; mentions of alcohol and a little bit of drinking

Collab can be found here!

Why you and Akaashi had decided to set the bed up where the sun shone right in your face as it rose was truly beyond you. What were the two of you thinking? Surely if you shuffled some things around, the bed would be in a better place. Maybe the sun wouldn’t wake you up the moment it peaked over the horizon.

You turned to tell Akaashi as much, but stopped short when you noticed he wasn’t there. You gave his empty spot a pat, just to ensure he wasn’t actually there, and felt something vaguely paper-like.

You pull yourself up into a sitting position, grabbing for the paper. After rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you took a minute to read over it.

Good morning, love. I’m sure the sun woke you up bright and early like it always does. We should really look into moving the bed. You smile at that before continuing to read; he was always one step ahead of you. I’m sure you’re wondering where I am. Not to worry, it’s all a part of my master plan. Do you remember the place we first met? Not our first date, but the very first place we met. Go there. They’ll tell you what to do from there.

You hum in thought. The very first place would have to be… What was it? It had been so long since the two of you had first met.

Vaguely, a memory comes to you. You were working the late shift at the library when someone came up to ask for some help. You remember thinking he was very pretty, extremely handsome, and soft-spoken. That first night he talked to you hadn’t been the last either. He continued to come see you during your late shifts too. It was when you told him your last night working at the library was coming up, that he finally asked you on a date.

To the library, then. Once you had gotten dressed, you made your way there, feeling giddy and excited from this little scavenger hunt.

Your old boss greeted you when you came in, handing you another letter without much fuss. She did comment that if you didn’t “snag that boy” for yourself, she would happily do so for herself. You were fairly sure she was being serious about it too.

You opened the next letter, not even having to think much about where to go next once you finished reading.

Hello again, love. If you’re reading this, it means you remember all those late nights I visited you at the library. For your next location, go to the place we had our first date. Give them my name when you get there. Your order is already put in and you just have to pick it up.

With the two letters in hand, you made your way to the coffee shop. There were a bunch of couples out and about, flowers and chocolates in hand, as they wandered around in each other’s company. Seeing it made your heart warm. While you wished Akaashi were here with you, this whole elaborate plan he had was just as good.

You entered the coffee shop then, heading to the pick-up counter. They asked for your name - though you of course gave Akaashi’s - and they handed over your usual order of an iced coffee and lemon loaf, along with your third letter.

This one went rather quick, I’m sure. Now that your hand is frozen from your coffee, but your appetite is curbed, your next destination is the place I fell in love with the way you laugh. You toss your head back, your mouth stretches into the biggest grin… It’s truly beautiful. I realized this after we got chased by those ducks.

Thankfully, the last line clued you in on the location. The park where the two of you liked to walk wasn’t too far and was, unfortunately, the place where you had been chased by ducks. He had taken your hand, pulling you along until they were no longer interested in running after you. You’d laughed, half out of breath and he had smiled softly at you, apparently falling in love with the loud cackle you’d let out.

As you approached the park, you noticed an older man with a teddy bear sitting on a bench. He saw you approaching and gave a small wave. “You’re the one Akaashi left these for?” You nod, taking the bear and envelope. “One lucky lady you are to have a guy like that.”

The older man walked on, leaving you to read over your letter.

Hello, love. Me again. You’re about halfway through, I’d say. Or at least close to it. Do you remember our first Christmas together? You know when we went to the museum because they had that historically accurate display about the wise men? It was snowing, and I fell in love with the way the flakes caught in your hair.

You rub a strand of hair between your fingers, finding that your heart beats just the smallest fraction faster knowing it’s something he fell in love with.

Pushing that thought aside so you could get to your next destination, you began to make your way to the museum. It wasn’t too busy today, though there were a few people making their way through the exhibits.

At the front desk, you notice a somewhat familiar face. Tsukishima Kei, one of Akaashi’s friends made back in high school, was manning the desk. He gave you a small wave, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Hey there, stranger.” You lean your elbows on the desk and he gives you a droll stare. “What are you doing here?”

Tsukishima pulls an envelope from under the desk. “I got asked to come here to help the staff for a couple of weeks. They needed the support. Lucky for Akaashi, I am available to give you this. So here’s your letter. Go and be in love or whatever.” If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he didn’t really care about helping his friend. But you do know him, and know that, despite his words, he was having just as much fun with this as you and Akaashi were.

You opened the envelope, giving it a read. Your cheeks flush reading it, but the words inside make your feet move without much thought.

My love, this is the final one. I fell in love with the taste of your lips for the umpteenth time on the first night in our new apartment. It was the same night that I fell in love with how you loved me on that ugly, raggedy couch. I can’t wait for you to come home.

The words of the letter itself played in your mind on a loop the entire walk back home. Your scavenger hunt adventure had taken you the majority of the day, which was fine with you. It made you happy knowing he had put so much thought and plan into this, especially since it was for you.

By the time you arrived in front of your door, your nose was cold, and you were hungry again, but another envelope on the door made you pause.

That last one was the final clue for your hunt. This is the last letter. I suppose I could have worded that a little better, but it’s okay. I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you; I just didn’t know it yet. Come into our home like the way you came into my heart; slowly but with conviction. I’ll be waiting.

Akaashi turns when he hears the key in the doorknob. You were home, right on time. Your shoes were slipped off, placed exactly where you always left them, and the things from your scavenger hunt were placed on the table near the door.

Akaashi waits patiently by the dinner table, albeit a little fidgety. He pulls at his fingers, nervous to hear your thoughts on his hunt. “Hello, love. I have dinner for you.”

You smile upon seeing him, and he does the same. His eyes take in your cold-induced flush, wind blown hair, and tired but guileless expression. He begins to worry. Did you hate it? Did you think it was a waste of time?

“Akaashi, I had such a great time today! That was so fun.” He visibly relaxes, tension receding from his body. “You made dinner too? And there’s wine? You went all out, huh?”

He gives you a kiss on the cheek and pulls your chair out, gesturing for you to sit. “It’s your favorite too. I don’t think it’ll be as good since you didn’t make it, but I tried my best.”

“I’m sure it tastes wonderful. Although,” you say, taking a sip from your wineglass, “I can just wash it down with this if it doesn’t.”

He takes his own seat, asking you about your day. Obviously he knows what you did, considering he planned it, but he wants to know what you thought of it.

You tell him, including all of the comments from the people you encountered, and all of the different couples you saw. Your story is finished before the food and wine are gone, but the two of you continue to talk.

It’s when you’re talking that he realizes his eyes haven’t left your lips in a while. He stands suddenly, startling you. In seconds, he’s pulled you up, hands going up to hold your cheeks between them.

They’re warm beneath his palms, whether from the alcohol or the surprise, he wasn’t entirely sure. What he did know was that he wanted you, and wanted you now. His lips find yours, a bit sloppy and messy. You find that you don’t particularly mind that as he moves his hands to your waist, guiding you back towards the bedroom.

Akaashi trips, too busy focusing on you to really pay attention to where his feet are landing as he steps. Your lower back gets hit by the doorknob as you make it to the bedroom.

“Sorry,” he mumbles against your lips. “Thought the door was open.”

You shake your head, reaching behind you to open it. “It’s okay, come on.”

Akaashi lets you take his wrist and pull him to the bed. It’s slow going and kisses pressed into warm skin as the two of you shed your clothes, tossing them aside.

He gives your shoulder a gentle push, laying you back against the bed. His fingers trace lightly over your breast, raising goosebumps wherever they roam. You let out a sigh, back arching for something, anything more.

Akaashi gives you a soft smile, places a kiss where your collarbones meet, and then continues placing the gentlest of kisses down your chest.

He uses one of his knees to spread your legs enough for him to rub his fingers between your slick folds. A breathy moan echoes through the room, letting him know he’s okay to continue.

Akaashi kisses you as he rubs your clit, small circles against the bud that have you lifting your hips from the bed. If he could cum just from the way you moan into his mouth, he definitely would have just now.

Once you can no longer handle the feeling of not having him inside you, you bring one of your hands up, caressing his cheek. “Please, ‘Kaashi?”

Who was he to tell you no? He adjusts his position, rubbing the head of his cock against your folds. You gasp in pleasure once he finally enters you, and he bites his lip to keep the groan he lets out under control.

Once he bottoms out, he brushes some hair from your face, smiling down at you. “Let me know when you’re ready, love.”

You give yourself time to adjust, then give him a nod. He begins moving his hips, thrusting into you softly. One of his hands finds yours, threading your fingers with his own. He leans down onto his other elbow, placing kisses against your jaw, your neck, any place he can.

Akaashi can tell he’s going to finish soon, and if the way your breath has sped up is any indication of your own end, you’re close too. He kisses a spot in front of your ear before whispering, “I love you. Now and always.”

Your hips lift up to meet his, a soft cry tumbling from your lips as you cum. He finds himself unable to stop the stuttering of his own hips as you clench around him, and reaches his peak not soon after.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he lays down beside you, pulling his softening cock out before doing so. You snuggle close into his side and press your lips to the area right above his heart. “I love you too Akaashi, always and forever.”

He hums in acknowledgment, running his fingers through your hair until you fall asleep. Your soft snores and even breaths bring him comfort, causing his own eyes to droop. The last thought that crosses his mind before falling asleep himself is of the small ring box sitting in the dresser. Not tonight, but soon, he thinks to himself. We’ll have forever.

Thanks for reading! ❤️

[asset35-maya]

MANMADE FATE

PART TWO OF THREE

Read part one here

//

“Come to bed.”

Gavin hummed an absent-minded response.

“Gav...”

“We’re so damn close. We can’t stop now.”

“You’ve been at it for hours and we have work tomorrow. Come to bed.”

Lips pressed against his neck and arms wrapped around his torso from behind. Gavin finally stopped clattering away at his keyboard and leaned into Connor’s embrace.

They both sighed as their eyes fell upon the android laying on their couch in apparent slumber. They had made heaps of progress in the five weeks since smuggling the RK900 out of the Cyberlife warehouse.

His thirium pump now beat steadily and his LED glowed blue. They’d even managed to activate his synth skin (and dressed him in their own clothes when that presented obvious problems)... but they just couldn’t get him to open his eyes.

It was now a mission of their own. Independent of anything North asked of them, and far exceeding the expectations of her original offhand instruction. It made absolutely no sense, but the couple had developed an attachment, if not an obsession, with the RK900. 

They’d even named him.

“He kind of looks like a David.”

“Fuck no. Richard.”

“Allen. Shit that reminds me of Sixty’s boss.”

“Maybe he doesn’t need a human name. RK… Nine…. hmm… Nine sounds nice. Nine, Nine… Nines?”

Connor’s eyes had lit up spectacularly at the suggestion and it so came to be that their silent roommate was called Nines.

Outside of detective work and North’s secret errands, Gavin spent all his time poring through the data stolen from Cyberlife in the hope of finding some clue on activating Nines. He’d fall asleep at his workstation and his boyfriend would carry him to bed… but not join him there.

Instead, Connor would resume his place on the floor beside the couch. He’d take his successor model’s hand and whisper to him, pushing parcel after parcel of code through a one-way interface.

A lesser man might have found it creepy to see Connor frozen on the ground in the early hours of the morning, staring deep into a face identical to his own… but Gavin would merely brush a hand through both Connor and Nines’ hair and sit back down at his computer to generate more code for them to try.

This went on for weeks.

Then came the text messages.

Gavin thought it was advertising spam at first.

[Too much caffeine and not enough melatonin. Try decaf.] 

[When was the last time you shaved? I can add razor blades to your shopping cart if you like] 

[Your couch is really comfortable but a blanket would be nice] 

Then one morning Connor had dashed into the bathroom where Gavin was brushing his teeth. It was technically impossible, but the RK800 looked like he was out of breath.

“Gav, he can talk! He’s talking to me! In my head!” 

“Mmffff???”

“I think he’s tried to speak to you too.” 

Mouth otherwise occupied, Gavin’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 

His phone buzzed from the edge of the bathroom vanity. He snatched it up.

[Good morning, Gavin. Don’t you look fresh! Told you a shave was in order.] 

Gavin went white as a ghost. The toothbrush clattered into the sink and his phone slipped from his grasp. It was saved from landing in the toilet by Connor’s deft catch. 

"...Nines?” 

“Yes! It’s him! Gavin, I’m so happy I could kiss you but I’d rather you rinse your mouth out first.” 

“I haven’t stepped into the living room yet. How the phck did he know I shaved?” 

“Er... I might have... don’t be mad, don’t be mad! I gave him access to my peripherals. He can see and sense whatever I do. Poor devil, he’s been immobile for so long. I thought it was only fair to give him some stimuli.”

A lesser man might have found objections to that, but all Gavin did was spit in the sink and pull Connor in for a celebratory kiss.

[Spearmint?]

From that point on, there was new zeal behind their efforts. Gavin furiously wracked his brains for any residual knowledge, any subconscious memory that might explain why Cyberlife had placed the RK900 behind such bars.

But nothing came to mind. 

Then North had come knocking on their door. 

She shoved past Gavin and barged into their living room. Her brown eyes swept over the prone figure on the couch (now swaddled in fluffy blankets) and pierced through the guilty-looking pair. 

“How dare you keep this from me?” 

“Err...” 

“You found what we were looking for all along and now you want to keep the glory all for yourself? I should have known not to trust a human.” 

“The hell are you talking about?” 

“Don’t play dumb, Reed. This is the Singularity. Cyberlife’s crown jewel.” 

“North, I love you, but you sound crazy. He’s just another unlucky experiment and we’re just helping-”

Connor held a hand out. 

“What did you say he was?” 

“Technological Singularity. I mean, that’s what they used to say about androids in general, Con. Artificial intelligence equivalent or greater to human intellect. But this unit you took from that warehouse... is the holy grail of robotics.”

[Really? I’m more of a digital vegetable at this point than anything else.]

“I went over all our plans again. Every single one of them. My Tracis helped me run through every alternative direction our search could have gone. It all led back to that warehouse! We didn’t end up in the wrong place, guys. We just didn’t know what we were looking for... and it’s that android lying on your overstuffed and ugly couch.”

[Your friend has an excellent sense of humor.]

“North, that makes no sense. He’s not some tech marvel. We can’t even get him awake. There’s too many interlocking protocols preventing-”

Gavin trailed off as realization dawned. He turned to face his boyfriend and found his thoughts mirrored in Connor’s awestruck expression. There was no reason for an ordinary android to have security measures that prevented activation. 

They ushered North out of the apartment and began another one of Gavin’s ten-hour coding sprints.

The result was a shockingly simple landing page. An activation code request. Merely six digits of alphanumeric input.

So close… yet so far.

[Go to bed, Gavin. I’ll still be here in the morning.]  

Connor pulled the human even closer and clamped his mouth over his throat. Gavin sucked air sharply in through his teeth, tipping his head back to offer more access.

That certainly brought them into the bedroom. 

Their clothes landed on the floor in no time and they ended up wound tightly together... breathing and moving against each other in sync... reveling in the intimacy after a long break.

Gavin moaned as a hundred sweet nothings were whispered into the crook of his neck. 

“I never thought we would be this close.”

“Mmm…”

“I knew you were kind... but I’d have never dreamed of receiving this love.” 

The honeyed voice was laden with emotion that was a shade deeper than expected. Gavin stroked the handsome face and pressed kisses to the perfect cheekbones... closed eyelids... plush lips... 

He pulled back to gauge the reaction and the android on top of him sighed blissfully, eyes fluttering open. 

Brilliant, sheer, piercing, icy steel blue. 

A lesser man might have screamed... jumped out of bed... or maybe just fainted in shock... but Gavin leaned back in... somehow at peace with the fact that the lips on his were Connor’s but there was someone else kissing him... 

The rest of their lovemaking was something profound. 

The climax was monumental. 

Gavin couldn’t prevent the name that escaped his mouth nor the tears that streamed down his face. Connor pulled out with an uncharacteristic roar and fell onto the mattress, LED cycling furiously and chest heaving as his system reset. He blinked several times to restore the chocolate brown irises.

“What the phck did we just do?”

[humanityinahandbag]

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Other Universes vs 2020

I’m seeing a lot of crossover Sonic art lately (which has watered my fields and blessed my cows), but something that I haven’t seen discussed in full yet is that moment of realization that every other Sonic character and universe has to Sonic2020′s absolute mundanity. 

Especially because to a bunch of talking, mutant animals, mundanity actually may be the craziest thing in the world. 

Original and Sonic Boom have seen it all, they think. Even the other characters - Shadow, Tails, Amy... they’re used to being surprised! 

Until this NEW Sonic strolls up.

OG Sonic: Hey there. They call me Sonic the Hedgehog. I battle bosses and use my speed to strike terror into ultimate villains. 

Sonic Boom: What’s up. I’m Sonic. I’m an angsty adult surrounded by a gang of powerful beings who look up to me as their leader. 

Sonic 2020: Hi! I’m Sonic!

OG Sonic: Hey there, new Sonic. Tell us about yourself. 

Sonic 2020: Well, I’m a blue hedgehog with super speed-

OG Sonic: Mmmhm. 

Sonic 2020: I love chili dogs. 

Sonic Boom: Checks out. 

Sonic 2020: And my favorite thing to do is play video games after I help wash the dishes.

OG Sonic: Wait. 

Sonic Boom: EXCUSE. 

Even the concept of his name would freak them out. He goes by Sonic Wachowski. He PROUDLY goes by Sonic Wachowski. 

OG Sonic: Wachowski... is that like... a battle name?

Sonic 2020: No. It’s my last name! I got it from my parents!

Sonic Boom: And you use it to remember your horrible backstory. To avenge your father!

Sonic 2020: What? No! I use it on my school ID.

Sonic Boom: SCHOOL!?

All the other Sonic’s would have no clue how to respond to this new Sonic who has bedtime, learned to ride a bike, does his homework at the kitchen table, and plays video games on weekends. 

Mundanity is so completely insane to them. Through all the madness that is the franchise, it’s incredible to realize that the craziest thing of all is one of them got to live in a nice home with family dinners, movie nights, and school days. He’s tucked in. He has a bed. A room. A support unit. People who want to raise him; who love and care about him as their child. 

Sonic 2020′s uniqueness is defined by his normalcy. And I love that. 

But the other Sonic’s would be losing their MINDS. 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 287: Family Reunion

Previously on BnHA: The Tomura For One VS Deku And Pals clusterfuck reached new levels of clustfuckery as AFO possessed Tomura’s body and stabbed Kacchan and Endeavor. Shouto was all “good thing I leveled up offscreen so as to be able to fly around whilst carrying 400lbs worth of people”, and did just that and it was like, damn, son. Meanwhile Deku’s rage went Mach 100, and he kicked Tomura’s ass for almost two whole seconds, but in the process he apparently forgot that IF TOMURA TOUCHES HIM THAT IS VERY BAD, and so he stupidly let Tomura touch him and Tomura was all “GAME, SET.” Fortunately for Deku, his quirk plays by its own rules, and so the chapter ended with us cutting to the METAPHYSICAL OFA/AFO PARANORMAL DREAMSCAPE OF MYSTICAL BULLSHIT, where AFO!Vestige was all “lol Tomura y u mad”, and Nana!Vestige was all “SUP DEKU, YOU’RE JUST IN TIME, LOOKS LIKE IT’S ASSKICKING O’CLOCK.” I’m paraphrasing a bit, but that’s more or less the gist of it.

Today on BnHA: AFO is all “well if it isn’t Tomura’s grandmother who I murdered that one time”, and Deku is all “?”, and AFO is all “fucking vestiges, man, wild”, and Deku is all “??”, and AFO is all “ANYWAYS GETTIM TOMURA”, and OFA is all “NOT SO FAST”, and Deku is all “???”, and really, same. AFO then goes off on some wild tangent about how Deku is unworthy because he couldn’t protect everyone and needed help from OFA and got mad about his friends being stabbed, which is such a cold take it gave me hypothermia, but it ends up not mattering since Deku and Tomura both wake up seconds later with OFA still in the possession of its rightful owner, HOW ABOUT THAT. The chapter ends with the LoV approaching on Gigantomachia’s back with Dabi practically salivating at the mouth, and Toga trying to reignite an old fandom blood feud. Toga why would you do this to me. Toga.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

[CROWD LOSING THEIR MINDS] FINALLY THE NANA HAS COME BACK TO BNHA!! IF YA SMELLLLL WHAT THE NANA IS COOKIN!!!!! [RINGSIDE BELL CHIMING WILDLY] [LOUD AIRHORN NOISES]

“chapter 287: mistake” omg. yeah I’ll say you made a mistake, AFO. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE FLEETING LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR SHITTY EVIL LIFE

(ETA: so in all seriousness this must be referring to AFO’s belief that All Might/OFA made a mistake in choosing Deku, right? “I can’t believe you went and chose this shounen manga protagonist as your champion, what were you thinking.” I’ll just put this out there: however many comic books AFO read as a child, it clearly was not enough.)

wow Deku how slow are you

yes you’re inside OFA you dimbulb, did you think your clothes suddenly vanished out of the blue and the ghost of Nana just randomly appeared in the real world by some freak coincidence?? can you believe this kid. breaks his arms a measly 10-15 times in a row and all of a sudden he can’t think straight, get it together Deku

but also brb having a moment at the fact that his thoughts immediately run back to Kacchan, even with all of this nonsense going on and Nana about to lay the beatdown on AFO’s potato-lookin’ ass. forget that noise, all he wants to know is whether or not Kacchan is all right. fuckin’ geez. AM I OVERREACTING HERE A BIT. probably

(ETA: ALSO!! the way he just trails off!! “Kacchan is...” and then he can’t bring himself to complete the thought. oh my god my heart.)

HOLY SHIT

okay,

damn but this man sure knows how to ruffle my feathers. as eminently detestable as ever!!

could it be any clearer here that AFO is not on Tomura’s side?? for a moment I thought he had actually grabbed him by the back of the head in order to get him to look. but nope, he’s just resting his pointing hand on top of his head instead while he’s all “HEY TOMURA LOL IT’S THE GHOST OF YOUR DEAD PATHETIC GRANDMA”

for those keeping track at home, this would be the first time that Deku has heard this information -- that Tomura is Nana’s grandson -- and possibly the first time Vestige!Nana has heard it as well. Nana died when Kotarou was still a child, so for all we know the Vestige!Nana didn’t even know she had a grandson, lol. TODAY ON “MAKESTE RANTS AT LENGTH ABOUT THINGS THAT WILL PROBABLY BE ADDRESSED WITHIN THE NEXT THREE PANELS”, anyway moving on

lmao for the record I fucking LOLed at this giant question mark immediately bubbling up over Deku’s head

no idea what AFO is about to ramble on about now, haven’t read that far yet. but let the record show that Deku’s immediate reaction to hearing “BTW NANA IS YOUR ARCHNEMESIS’S GRANDMA LULZ” is everything I could have hoped for

(ETA: fandom nailed the shit out of this one with the confused Mr. Krabs meme lmao.)

okay so now AFO is monologuing at length about how he would sometimes have “riveting dreams” about the previous owners of all the quirks he stole. but once he gave the quirks away they stopped bothering him?? holy moly let me just take all the notes

okay so he’s saying that Vestiges are created whenever someone has their quirk stolen by AFO. but if they then disappear when he gives the quirks away, does that also mean that whoever receives the quirks also gets the original owner’s Vestige bundled in every time?? that would be wild okay hold up let me read the rest of this

so he’s saying that the Vestiges are actually the “consciousnesses” of the original quirk owners, which have become embedded in their dna or something. SOUNDS INCREDIBLY DUBIOUS TO ME LOL but on the other hand this is a world where children can be born with airplane heads, so my disbelief can hardly afford to pick and choose what it’s gonna be suspended at! anyways though, how does he know he’s the only one who was able to converse with them? did you conduct detailed six-month follow-up interviews with everyone you gave quirks to or what

and if it really is the case that this ability was formerly exclusive to him, isn’t that more evidence than ever that OFA and AFO are actually THE EXACT SAME QUIRK oh whoops am I getting ahead of myself again, sorry

MEANWHILE TOMURA IS ALL, “GRANDMA?”

“WHY AM I HERE, WELL LET ME TELL YOU A STORY, GRANDSON. YOU SEE THAT MAN GROWING OUT OF YOUR RIBCAGE THERE? WELL IT’S JUST THE FUNNIEST THING, ACTUALLY”

WAIT SO IS HE SAYING THEY’RE SOULS OR NOT??

this makes it sound like they won’t ever get to rest, which sure sounds like a soul thing to me. well whatever, soul, consciousness, I guess it’s just semantics at the end of the day

anyways though, so this asshole is finally done talking (I’m sure that won’t last), so now we can finally have the heartwarming reunion we’ve all been waiting for

sigh

-- actually, no, not “sigh”!! you know what!! because Tomura says “whatever the reason”, but that’s only because he doesn’t actually have a fucking clue about the reason. like, I don’t know if the knowledge that AFO killed Nana would be enough to give him pause, but if he knew the whole story and knew that AFO was behind not only Nana’s death, but the rest of his family’s deaths as well... now that would be a whole different thing

anyway. but at least it’s becoming clearer now why AFO spent all that time raising Tomura up as his heir and brainwashing him even though he seems to have been planning this body takeover the whole time. it’s all because he loves making people miserable! yaaaaay

btw HAS NANA HAD THE EXACT SAME MOLE ON HER CHIN AS TOMURA THIS ENTIRE TIME WTF. am I just the least observant person who ever lived lmao

lol wtf

ground: [randomly starts exploding]

Deku: “ONE FOR ALL IS BEING ERODED!!!” LOL IS THAT WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE, OKAY THEN. I’ll take your word for it

y’all I cannot fucking get over this “AFO growing out of Tomura’s hip socket like a fucked-up ventriloquist dummy” shit though

you do realize that absolutely no one can take you seriously right now, right?? it’s important to me that you know this

WHAT’S THIS NOW

seems like SOMEONE has had it up to here with a certain SOMEONE ELSE’S bullshit lmaooo bye Felicia

I SAID GOOD DAY!!

you guys why is he not dying!!

-- OH DAMN

love how Deku is just lying there like “YOU KNOW THOSE DAYS WHERE YOU’RE LIKE, THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.” poor Deku

(ETA: where in god’s name is OFA Prime standing. why are my thoughts fully consumed by this lmao.)

are Nana and OFA Prime even doing anything?? why are they sticking their arms out like that. wait hold up is this all a big metaphor for the back-and-forth going on between Tomura trying to steal OFA and OFA being all “actually no you can’t, please enter your password and click on all the boxes with bicycles in them to prove you’re a human first”?

OH SNAP OFA PRIME SAID NO THANKS

“SORRY BRO WE’VE ALREADY MADE OURSELVES AT HOME HERE”

I have only just noticed that metaphysical!Deku has the same scars as actual!Deku. and yet his arms are not currently broken! that doesn’t really seem consistent to me but whatever!! maybe he saved right before the boss battle, that would be smart of him

anyway, that’s great and all that OFA Prime is here helping out, but I really wanted to see Nana fight AFO in a one on one though so I’m a bit disappointed. also why is it only the two of them?? where are Banjou and the others. of all the times to be sleeping on the job

FOR FUCK’S SAKE, THIS MAN

WOULD YOU STOP. WOULD YOU JUST QUIT IT ALREADY

oh shit hold up

doesn’t this confirm that the reason he wanted to transfer his power to Tomura is because he believed it would make him strong enough to finally take OFA because of Quirk Singularity? jesus christ. and here he was so sure of himself. but it turns out he doesn’t actually know shit! you can’t just fucking take OFA like that ya dingdong that’s not how it works

(ETA: SO, A THOUGHT -- is there any sort of subtle hinting here in the way that he words this? “if your strength is combined with mine”, as opposed to “if my strength is combined with yours”? no idea if the admittedly-so-small-as-to-be-almost-inconsequential distinction between those two sentences exists in the original Japanese or not, but I find it very interesting that the English wording implies that he’s the one adding Tomura’s strength to his own, rather than vice versa.)

now he’s insulting Deku!!

excuse me sir WHO ASKED YOU anyway. and never mind that being consumed by an, AND I QUOTE, “unquenchable” rage is your protege’s whole THING, and that he also needed your help to avoid being burned to a crisp a short while ago. where do you get off I swear

(ETA: also just want to point out that in the panel before this one he says that he’s been “watching through Tomura”, which pretty much confirms that his consciousness or whatever is alive inside of him all the time. Tomura is definitely not getting rid of this guy any time soon.)

WOW

first he calls Kacchan useless, then he calls Deku a simpleton, and don’t even get me started with Nana. just, you guys. this man is just... a very, very rude man

NOW OFA IS ALL “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT MAKES HIM SUCH A GOOD PROTAGNIST YOU BUTTMUNCH” AND OMG PREACH

“DESPITE HIS COMMON SENSE” sdfkllk my man he already has one brother roasting him, take it easy guy

AHH WHAT

IS THIS BACK IN THE REAL WORLD

YEP

hahaha nice try Tomura

so Deku’s all “I didn’t lose my power! BUT” and I assume the “but” is the part where his arms are still broken and shit, and meanwhile Tomura’s body is almost healed up now finally

they’re both wiped out and now AFO is again petitioning Tomura to let him take over goddammit

“you won’t lose your mind��� yep, he sure won’t! scout’s honor!! pinky swear!!

meanwhile Deku is getting fucking desperate flkjl;k my baby. and Machia is going to show up any second now too, probably. what else can fucking go wrong at this point

oh shit I shouldn’t have asked

get ready to rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuumble, probably

OH MY GOD

WELL AT LEAST SOMEONE HERE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME. jesus

so as soon as he heard Endeavor was there he got all, “TIME FOR THE BIG REVEAL”, is that right? WELL JOKE’S ON YOU TOUYA, YOUR DAD DOESN’T SEEM ALL THAT CONSCIOUS AT THE MOMENT, SO THAT’S GOING TO DRAIN A LOT OF THE TENSION FROM THE SCENE WHEN YOU GO ALL REVERSE DARTH VADER ON HIM AND HE’S ALL “ZZZZZZZZ”

meanwhile Toga is having unsettlingly quiet angst

jesus christ Toga this is all we need right now

“WAS JIN-KUN NOT A PERSON” sdkfjlk Horikoshi I swear. please have mercy on this fandom. this is the debate that refuses to die!!

but seriously ffs, the issue isn’t that Jin deserved to die, it’s that the countless people whom Jin would have either directly or indirectly killed didn’t deserve to die either. people don’t only become people when you attach names and faces to them! we all loved Jin because we’d gotten to know him, but that doesn’t mean his life was inherently worth more than the lives of all the people he would have killed. sometimes there’s just no good answer

like, it’s just crazy to me that because the heroes are all “we want to protect everyone!” but then aren’t always able to do so because that’s literally impossible, whereas the villains are all “we don’t care about anyone other than the select few people that we actually like!”, the villains somehow wind up getting the better PR. it just so happens that it’s infinitely easier to be loyal to the interests of a few people as opposed to ALL THE PEOPLE. like, no shit, it’s easier to stick to your moral code when you barely have a moral code. and so the villains can kill thousands and no one bats an eye, but if a hero fails to save even one person they’re hypocritical moral failures. like what the hell

BUT ANYWAY, sorry to go off on a tangent there lol, it’s not really a big deal. I’m just preemptively trying to stave off more discourse about it lol but who am I even kidding

anyways lol, but of course they won’t kill you unless they have no choice, Toga. but when it comes to catch-22 situations, it’s a bit much to infer that the heroes don’t consider the villains people just because they opt for the choice that spares more innocent lives. I sure as hell don’t want my babies out here killing people, but to say that they can’t no matter what or else they’re no different from the villains is just...

anyway so the chapter has now just ENDED, just like that!! on a shot of Ochako’s face!

I SENSE ANOTHER THROWDOWN COMING. and it had better not be a total letdown like the last one! NANA BARELY DID ANYTHING HORIKOSHI, WHAT THE FUCK. I started out with such high hopes lol

but I will settle for Toga VS Ochako, and Deku VS Tomura: The Sequel: Shouto’s Revenge! SPEAKING OF HEROES WHO HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT MURDERING PEOPLE lmao

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 25

Helloooo world. 

I had the week from hell so far, but tonight i felt a bit more energetic and I had the time to have a look at ch 25 and have it ready for publication.

But if you see any typos or errors, I am sorry I am still on the exhausted side. 

So, we have Elorcan to open the dances, because those two are cute.

Aelin and Rowan share a deep moment and Rowan finally closes a chapter of his life. 

A bit of angst that affects Aelin more than she expected and get ready for the hint of a crazy snowstom that will happen in ch 26.

Lorcan woke up all of a sudden and when he noticed the time on the clock he cursed his military training causing him to have a natural alarm at the crack of dawn. He tried to move but realised he was blocked by a female presence sprawled on him. Her dark hair all over his chest tickling him with a sweet scent invading his nostrils.

He was getting used to that presence at his side making his miserable life better with each passing day.

He felt his lips tug up in a small smile, something that he had been doing more and more lately thanks to the woman in his arms.

Rowan and the others joked but he was starting to realise that Elide really was doing a miracle on him and in he was willing to secretly admit that he was actually enjoying the end result.

Elide had been exhausted after her shift so he had offered her a lift and they had gone to his place claiming that it was the better option since it was closer. He had stayed with her all day at the firehouse and offered to cook for everyone. The day had been brutal and he was glad she could finally have a day off. 

With his hand he gently stroked her hair. He was never one for love gestures like caresses, but Elide had been changing his mind about that too. He would not admit it to a single soul but he also had started to enjoy cuddling. Lorcan still believe in his stone-cold attitude with other people but for Elide he was happy to drop the mask.

Slowly and carefully he disentangled himself trying very hard not to wake her up and shifted his legs off the bed, only to remember he was naked.

Something else he had discovered since having started to date Elide was the joy to have sex for a person he cared for. With Elide it meant something from the beginning especially when she was still scared. He had allowed time to get to terms with the idea and they had taken it day by day allowing Elide to take charge and let her dictate the pace. Slowly, with time Elide has started to become more curious and he showed her. That had in the end been something new for Lorcan too. In his life he had a long list of partners and then a spell with Essar which was just pure sex. Never with feelings involved. Because of one thing he was certain, what he had confessed to Rowan was getting truer each day. He was positive what he felt was love for Elide. He was doomed. Utterly lost. 

He got off the bed, wore his boxers and walked to the kitchen taking his phone with him. Finally Lorcan  got off the bed and walked out of the room closing  the door behind him not to risk wake up Elide and phoned Rowan, knowing that the man was an early riser like him.

“What?” A very grumpy Rowan answered the phone.

“Are you still sleeping?”

“Yes, you idiot. It’s 6am.” He said quietly.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because Aelin is still sleeping.”

Lorcan started pacing the kitchen “remember when I told you I thought I was in love with Elide?”

“Yes,” growled Rowan on the other side.

“Well, I am now positive. I am in love with her.” Panic thick in his voice “What do I do?”

“Deal with it like all of us.”

“Damn it, Whitethorn I have no fucking clue what to do.”

“Tell her.”

Lorcan froze in his steps.

“Practice with me, Elide I love you.”

“I don’t think I can.” He went back pacing, running a hand through his hair.

The reply took a bit longer to arrive.

“Salvaterre, grow a pair and tell her. And don’t fucking call at 6am ever again.”

Aelin had answered and then hung up on him.

He placed the phone on the counter and went back trying to make breakfast. Maybe Rowan was right, he should just tell her, but he was terrified of messing this up. Worried that she might not feel the same way. He was not an easy man to love. 

He turned to make some coffee when he felt a pair of hands on his waist and a gentle kiss on his back and a groan left him because he had woken her up and Elide deserved some rest.

“Why are you up at this ungodly hour?”

He turned and smiled at seeing Elide in his shirt which on her was gigantic reaching her knees.

“Sorry,” he kissed her head tenderly. “Go back to bed.” With his hand he gently pushed her away.

Elide instead buried her face in his chest “you come too.”

He abandoned the coffee and followed her back.

Once they were again under the blankets he pulled her to him and gathered all of his courage. It was the perfect timing. He was an airforce pilot. He had seen combat. He could surely talk to Elide and tell her about his feelings.

“Eli, can we talk?”

“Uh oh…” she said, looking up to him “you are bailing on me.”

“I am not.” He took her hand and played with her fingers gathering time to think. “Are you okay with me? As in happy?”

She gave him the most beautiful smile that reminded why he was in love with her “you can be grumpy, but yes, I am happy with you.”

He nodded “neither of us have ever done this before so I am going to improvise.” He hadn’t been that nervous in a very long time “I…” he took a deep breath “please don’t be scared by what I am about to say.”

Elide pulled back from him staring at his weird expression.

“I love you.” He had said it. He had doomed himself.

Elide moved closer and kissed him deeply and he thought that surely was a good response.

“I do too.” She caressed his head “I know we haven’t been going out for a long time but yeah I have these strong feelings for you.” She kissed him again “and I love that I feel safe with you.” She chuckled “having a giant of a boyfriend helps.”

Lorcan’s mind locked on the word boyfriend. That was something else they hadn’t discussed yet. They had been dating but no labels. But he had to admit he liked the sound of it.

He grabbed her and pulled her half on top of him “so, I am your boyfriend?”

“Yes sir, and I am Commodore Lochan now.”

Lorcan laughed “considering how bossy you are, you can be the CO in the relationship.”

Elide straddled him and he realised that under the shirt she was still naked “Good. Now shut up and kiss me soldier, it’s an order from your superior.”

Lorcan pulled her down and, like a good soldier, kissed her. Deeply, showing her just how much he loved her.

***

Aelin and Rowan had fallen back asleep when Aelin’s phone buzzed on her nightstand.

“What now?” Aelin groaned, turning and slamming the phone with her hand “what the fuck is going on this morning?”

Rowan growled and pulled her to him hating the loss of contact with her body.

Aelin grabbed the phone and saw the text from Elide “good, your boss has told Elide he loves her. They are officially together.”

Rowan muttered something and Aelin smiled at his face smashed in the pillow, his eyes still shut and his hair, which was getting longer, was all messy. She took a picture of him. She loved watching his sleepy face. The hard lines of his face disappeared and his features relaxed. She scooted closer and his arms folded around her as of on instinct and buried her face in the crook of his neck then angled her face and kissed his cheek and felt a hint of stubble. Now that he was during his time off he was far more relaxed and he hadn’t bothered shaving. She admitted she kinda liked it. Aelin brushed his hair, enjoying a side of him that no one knew about.

She heard him moan gently at the touch. In the morning it was when he loved to cuddle the most. He liked contact with her any time of the day but the mornings were his weakness. He cracked open one eye and groaned again squeezing Aelin against him. Skin touching skin. Clothes in bed had become very quickly an annoying accessory and Aelin adored snuggling against him and wake up with the contact of his warmth against her.

“You are so needy in the morning.” He nodded energetically and Aelin kissed his lips. 

She felt his hands sneak down her back cupping her buttocks “come on buzzard, we can have breakfast and then we can go and do grampa things and go to the theatre later.” In response he held her tighter and Aelin smiled at this interesting side of him. She had a feeling the six months apart had made him crave even more contact with her. Not that she complained. She loved it.

She disentangled herself from him among his protests, got off the bed and reluctantly she wore her house clothes.

Rowan sat up slowly, his face still sleepy “what’s wrong with you this morning?”

“Blame Lorcan, he woke us up at the crack of dawn.”

He collapsed back on the bed, staring at the ceiling “I am going to kill him.” He groaned and then extended his arms to grab her “come back in bed.”

Aelin instead pulled his arm “food.”

“I am pretty sure you can make toast without me.”

She dropped his arm and stormed to the kitchen almost annoyed.

Rowan huffed loudly, threw his legs off the bed and sat down, grabbing his boxers. Once he was dressed he stood and joined Aelin. He reached her side and bumped her hips with his pushing her away “you are dangerous even when you toast bread.”

She gave him a very rude gesture and sat on the counter but instead of making toast, Rowan started making pancakes “and don’t say I am not nice to you.”

Aelin scoffed and folded her arms at her chest “sure, if you are in the mood.”

Rowan gasped and pinched her side “you little devil.” Then went back to cooking “I was thinking that we could go to my place and get my stuff. I have a lot of kitchen things that we can still use and I can move the last of my stuff here. If you are still up to the idea.” He suggested quietly wondering if it had been a spur of the moment suggestion after he had come back.

“Getting cold feet, captain?” She smirked “you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Rowan switched off the hob and moved to her “But I want to. My mind hasn’t changed from two days ago. I do want to move in with you. Officially.”

Her arms went around his neck “then let’s make this moving in day. We can go to the theatre tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

Aelin nodded “today is when it officially starts. Our life together. This will become house Whitethorn-Galathynius.”

Rowan’s heart started racing madly in his chest at the weight of her words. She was asking him to commit to her, to them. And although some of his fears still gripped his soul from time to time, he realised that, being with her, was all that actually mattered. He stepped closer to her “I am yours,” he had so many more things he wanted to say to her but that’s all he could muster. Her hand ran through his hair and the smile she gave him almost brought him to his knees “I am yours and you are mine.” She said softly against his lips.

“I am yours and you are mine.” He repeated.

Then her mouth moved to his neck and closer to his ear “now get a move on and finish those pancakes.”

Rowan laughed and pulled away “how did I end up with such a bossy woman at my side?”

She dunked her finger in the pancake mixture and smeared his nose with it “because you love a woman who likes to be on top and take charge.”

He cleaned his nose with a towel “you are a terror.”

It was an hour later when they arrived at his flat. It was the first time for Aelin and she was curious to see how he lived. He was very neat and tidy and super organised while she was the tornado. He would fold his clothes and put them away, she would throw them on a chair. In that aspect they were two complete opposites.

They stepped in and the flat was cold.

“Sorry, I haven’t been here in a while.” And went to turn the heating on.

The living room was simple with a bookshelf with a few books, a tv on a table, a sofa and a coffee table. There were no photos in the house and Aelin wondered if that was the house he had shared with Lyria.

“I never bothered much decorating.” He added when he noticed her expression “I moved out of the house I had with Lyria after I came back from deployment. I donated all of her stuff and got out of that place. I just couldn’t.” She saw the sadness in his eyes. No matter how horrible the woman had been she could see that he had loved her. “This has always been a place where to crash at night. It never felt like home.”

She brushed his hair “we now have our home.”

He nodded and kissed her then pulled away in case the kiss led to more. He had no intention of having sex with her in that flat.

“I have boxes,” he said “I’ll do the kitchen, could you please start with the living room?”

She grabbed some of the boxes he had pointed at and moved to the bookcase. That was a fun task at least, although he did not have many books.

“Almost all of your books are about flying.” She commented while browsing some of the titles with interest.

“I tend to have fiction on my e-reader. I can’t take physical books on a mission so my e-reader is my best buddy. I have hundreds of books in there.”

Slowly and methodically she emptied the bookcase and packed away his books. Once at the bottom shelf she noticed an hidden photo album at the back of the books.

She opened it and “Oh.” Surprise hit her when Aelin discovered it was a wedding album. Rowan and Lyria’s wedding album.

With a hint of curiosity she flipped through the pages and noticed that Lyria had been lovely. All that Aelin remembered of the woman was the bloodied and battered victim at the scene of an accident. Lyria was petite and graceful. She looked stunning in her wedding dress, then looked at Rowan in his dress mess uniform and her heart sank. He was gorgeous and much younger. He seemed happy.

She was so engrossed in the photos she did not notice him arriving at her side.

“Where did you find that?” He asked almost annoyed at her.

Aelin lifted her gaze and met his hurt stare “I was boxing the books. It was at the back, hidden.”

“I could not get rid of it,” he said, sitting at her side and grabbing the album “that’s why I hid it. 

“This is not something you bin.” She whispered. She had stashed all of Sam’s photos in a box full of memories about their life together. A box that was carefully hidden in the small attic her house had.

“We were happy in those photos, or so I want to believe.” He was silent for a while “I proposed before I left for a mission and promised we would get married upon my return. Once I was back Lyria had the wedding organised in a month.” He sighed, closing the book “soon after she started being unwell and we discovered she was pregnant. I should have known.” Aelin took his hand to offer silent comfort “it happened too soon to be mine, but I was so happy at the idea of becoming a dad that I ignored everything.” He stood and walked back to the kitchen and kept packing his stuff.

Aelin placed the photo album in the box and kept packing.

Once Aelin was done with the few belongings in his living room she joined him in the kitchen and noticed his full boxes “you really have loads of stuff for cooking.”

In response he gave her a wide grin, the sadness of a moment before completely gone “I was going to get us new stuff for our place but then I realised my stuff here is still in great condition so there is no need to waste money.”

Aelin raised her hands “you are the one doing the cooking. As long as you are fine…” She moved at his side and stared at him packing “can I do the bedroom or you don’t want me snooping?”

“Go on. Most of my clothes are already at our place. There’s not much there.”

She waltzed to his room and noticed it was even emptier than the living room. She opened the closet and found very few items in there. She folded the clothes and placed them in the bag and then moved to the nightstands and opened the drawers and took out the few items inside. In one of the drawers she found a box at the very bottom, hidden in the corner. She had a look and found out it was wedding rings. Hear heart ached. She had stashed away her engagement ring in her box of memories in the attic. A few times she had thought about selling it but never had the courage to do it. That ring was a promise she made to Sam and she would leave it with all the other pieces of a life that was probably never meant to be.

Aelin placed the tiny box in the one used for packing. Just like the wedding photos it was something that could be hidden away but never binned. No matter the hate. He had been married. Before they met they both had loved other people and that was a part of their lives that could not just be thrown away. It was part of who they were.

She finished packing the room and joined Rowan still in the kitchen finishing up the last few things.

“I think that’s us.” 

They did one final walkthrough and made sure they took everythin. Aelin helped Rowan load the boxes in his car and then he walked back to lock the door behind him but not before giving one last look at the place, ready to close that chapter of his life forever.

Once back in the car he took his place at the wheel and Aelin placed her hand on his knee “are you okay?” noticing his strange stare.

Rowan nodded shifting the gear into drive “I feel as if I finally closed a painful and chaotic chapter of my life and I somehow feel relieved.”

She kissed his temple “now it’s time for our chapter.” Then she giggled “just make sure there is a lot of smut.”

Rowan burst out laughing “no pressure, then?”

They got back to their house and dumped the boxes in the spare room except for the kitchen one. Rowan unpacked it and confessed he was looking forward cooking in an adult kitchen.

“Look at you. I am going to dress up like a frying pan maybe you will find me hot.”

Rowan stood and walked to her and pulled Aelin to him “I always find you hot.” His mouth close to her ear, his hand sneaking up her t-shirt, while the other one found its way in her shorts, pushing her closer to him, making her feel just how much he found her attractive.

Aelin kissed him fiercely and pushed him toward the counter “I want you naked, captain.”

Rowan pulled back and tugged off his t-shirt and his shorts, standing naked in front of her. “Your turn now.” Aelin removed her clothes and stopped in front of him “what are you going to do now?” She placed a hand on his chest and he grabbed her, lifting Aelin on the kitchen island. She lay on her back and locked her legs behind him, pulling him closer. Rowan bent over and kissed her belly “what about we started writing that smut chapter?” He added against her skin, then slowly moving down between her legs. Aelin moaned and her back arched “write away, captain…”

*

Aelin arrived at the fire station the next morning with a big smile on her face. She walked to the ambulance and climbed in when she noticed Lysandra in there working. She jumped on the gurney “Can I ask you something?”

“Go,” she said while storing away some medicines.

Aelin took a deep breath “when did you know that Aedion was the one?”

Lysandra stopped and turned “did something happen between you and the captain?”

“We officially moved in together. We went to get all his stuff from his flat.” She explained “we might have said things.”

“As in? Did you guys fight?”

Aelin shook her head remembering how they spent the rest of the afternoon before heading for the theatre.

“I don’t have an exact moment of when I realised Aedion was the man. All of a sudden I wanted him at my side forever. I just realised that he was the one.”

“I think the relationship with Rowan shifted.”

“Bad or good shift?” Lysandra abandoned her box of supplies and went into full gossip mode.

“Good. I think things between us just got serious.”

Lysandra smiled at her friend “and you are okay with it? Are you fine?”

Aelin nodded “Yes,” she brushed her hair “yes. I love the idea and it feels right.”

Lysandra squealed “I am so happy for you two. I knew you two were going to marry next.”

Aelin rolled her eyes “no one spoke of marriage. Yes, things developed but that is still very far away.” Then she looked at her watch “gotta go and get changed.” She jumped off the gurney “this stays between us.”

“Yes, mrs Whitethorn.” Aelin rolled her eyes one more time and left to get ready for their shift.

Once she arrived back in the common room she found it empty. That was strange. She walked out in the yard and found her answer.

Aedion, being the crazy military man that he was, was running rope rescue drills with Borte and the rest of the team was helping by playing victims.

“Captain,” said Aedion noticing her arrival “I just thought to use these quiet moments to do something useful.” She looked at Ress and Brullo playing victims and their face clearly showed that they would have been happier lazying in the common rom in front of the tv. A treat that Aedion allowed them only after he had executed his daily cruel routine. He believed in drills and training and Aelin was more than happy to give him free rain. When her workload would allow it, she would join in as well.

“Go on lieutenant.” She nodded, then turned to Borte “listen to him and you will do well.”

The woman nodded and they went back to training. 

Aelin on the other hand, went back to her office and buried herself on paperwork. That was the downside of being a captain, she had to deal with all the staff related issues for both shifts; holidays, rosters and any other issue coming her way. In front of her she had a small pile for staff requests, most of them time off requests she had to squeeze in in the next roster. The next bigger pile were the reports for the last call they had. It was her job to finalise them and file them. She hated writing reports. That’s why she was now procrastinating. One report lay in front of her abandoned while she was texting with Rowan. He told her he was having lunch with Gavriel later on. She told him to have fun and leave the other women alone. Aelin was about to go back to her paperwork when dispatch alarm went off and she laughed that she had been saved by the bells.

She ran out of her office and to her engine donning her turnout gear left on the floor with the others, jumped on the vehicle and put her jacket on while Nox drove out followed by truck and the ambulance.

“Structure fire,” said Nox.

“Don’t you just love mornings?”

The drive did not take long. Aelin jumped off the engine followed by her team. Luckily the house was small “Ansel, Luca I want you to vent the back.” Then she turned to Aedion “I can see a basement, take Ress and Brullo and do a search there.” Then she looked at the new recruit “Borte, Manon, you are with me, we’ll do a sweep of the first floor.” The three women moved inside “we don’t have much time,” she shouted over the radio “the fire is deep in the structure. Sweep and once you are clear you get out.” She turned right and indicated to Borte and Manon to cover the rest of the floor.

“Fire department, call out.” She shouted. Crouching low Aelin began to sweep methodically the room, visibility was bad and the fire was quickly spreading. They did not have much time.

 “Fire department, call out.” She was about to turn around when she saw a foot peeking from behind the sofa. “I got someone,” she shouted over the radio.

Aelin was about to grab the elderly lady when she perked up and started screaming “let me die.” The woman shouted and resisted Aelin’s help almost pushing her on the ground.

“We need to go.” Aelin grabbed the woman’s arms but she was much stronger than expected and pushed her away again “I need assistance in the living room.” She called over the radio and Manon appeared a moment later.

“Let me die. Let me die.” Kept repeating the woman fighting Aelin.

Aelin nodded to Manon and they grabbed one the shoulders and the other one the legs and carried out the elderly lady who kept trashing all the way outside. They placed her on the gurney and Lysandra and Elide took care of the woman who was now weeping hard.

Aedion joined her “basement clear.”

Aelin removed her mask “guys scene is clear, get the water going now.” Then she stared at the woman on the gurney and wondered.

They did a secondary search “fire originated in the kitchen,” said Brullo joining her outside “cooking oils fire gone wild.”

Aelin nodded “let’s pack up and return to quarters.”

The journey back to the station was quiet and Aelin could not remove from her head the plea from the woman to let her die. What kind of pain would drive someone to beg to let them die in a fire?

Once back at the station she hid back in her office and tried to work again, but after an hour she gave up. She got out and called her team “engine, let’s go for a ride. Aedion, keep truck here. I have the radio with me. If we get a call we’ll see you on the scene.” She jumped on the engine and Nox was at the wheel waiting for her orders “Orynth General.” The man nodded and the engine drove out of the station.

“Do you think she did it?” Asked Asterin from the back.

“I don’t know,” replied Aelin, her gaze fixed outside.

Nox parked the rig just outside of the hospital “you stay here just in case.” She got off the vehicle and walked into the building and then the A&E reception “Hi Sorscha,” she said to the woman.

“Hi Aelin.”

“I believe Lys and Elide dropped off an elderly lady we rescued from a fire. I was wondering how she is.”

“Yes, Mrs Perkins.” She typed something in her computer “smoke inhalation mostly and some first degree burns.”

“Did you manage to contact any family?”

Sorscha nodded “her daughter is driving from Illium just now.”

Aelin nodded “can I go and see her?”

“Med bay three.” And the doctor pointed her in the right direction.

Once there she knocked against the beam to announce her presence “Mrs Perkins?”

“Yes?” Said the woman shakily.

Aelin moved a step in “Hi, my name is Aelin, I am one of the firefighters who rescued you.”

The woman looked away “why did you do that?” The woman’s voice was strained.

“It’s my job. I can’t let people burn inside buildings.” She explained quietly.

The woman’s hazelnut eyes met hers “I begged you, though. I wanted to die.” Her voice broke and Aelin noted again the pain in the woman’s voice. 

She sat on the chair at her side and took her hand “why?”

The woman was silent for a moment “I lost my husband six months ago. We had been together for fifty two years.” Aelin’s heart hurt at the pain in the woman’s stare “it might make me weak, but I miss him and without him I feel lost.”

Aelin took a deep breath, fighting the tears threatening to appear. For a brief second her treacherous heart showed a life without Rowan and she could share the woman’s pain.

“You are far too young to understand.”

“A year and a half ago I lost my fiancee. He was a firefighter too. He died in a fire,” she confessed, pain gripping her heart. Yes, losing Rowan would probably break her completely, but Sam’s death had pushed to an abysm that she struggled to come back from for a while. “it almost destroyed me. I gave up on everything for a while. I felt like I could not go on without him. My friends brought me back from the darkness.”

“What was his name?”

“Sam.” She gripped the woman’s hand “I am sure your husband would like to know that you are still alive and well. He wouldn’t want you to give up for him.”

The woman nodded and in that instant her radio went off.

“Go,” said the lady “go and save someone else.”

Aelin rushed out and joined the engine “let’s go, guys.” And they rushed to another call.

An hour later engine and truck made it back to the station. Everyone went to their duties and Aelin walked back to the office, finally trying to catch up to all the paperwork. At least she had a good excuse for Dorian if it was late. Saving people had the priority.

She was finally in the zone and making some progress when someone knocked at her door.

“Come in,” she almost snarled.

Aedion popped his blonde hair in the crack “someone for you at the front.”

Aelin sighed and followed him on the apparatus floor and saw a woman waiting for her with a box in her hands “Hi, are you Aelin?”

She nodded.

“My name is Ellie, I believe you saved my mum from a fire this morning.”

“You are mrs Perkin’s daughter.”

The woman in front of her nodded and offered her the box “as a thank you to all of you. I got it from the bakery down the road.”

“Thank you,” Aelin grabbed the box and placed it on the big bumper of the engine “how’s your mum?”

“They will discharge her tomorrow. Given her age they want to keep her in for a night to keep an eye on her.”

“I went to see her.”

“My mum…” the woman started and Aelin knew she was restraining the tears from coming “since dad died, she has barely left the house. My husband and I live in Illium. I go once a week and do a big shopping for her, help her in anyway I can. But she gave up on everything.”

“She told me.”

Then the woman sighed “I convinced her to come and live with us. The climate is much milder. Plus she has grandkids and I hope playing grandma will cheer her up.”

Aelin smiled fondly “I am so glad.”

“Thank you for dragging her outside. I could not have been able to cope with losing my mum so soon after my dad.”

“No need to thank me, it’s my job.”

The woman gave her a nod and a smile “I need to go back to the hospital. I just thought to come and say thank you.”

“Give her our best.”

“Will do.” And she walked away.

Aelin stared at the woman disappear for a moment, then she grabbed the box and went to the common room.

“I bring goodies,” the box high up and eyes turned to her at the announcement “from the daughter of the lady from the house fire this morning.” She placed the box on the table and her team ran to it as soon as they recognised its origin. They w ere all fan of the bakery.

“Leave some for Lysandra, Elide and Evangeline. They are the only ones working.” She smiled and walked away ignoring the sweets, something that Aedion noticed and followed her into her office.

“Are you okay?”

Aelin nodded.

“It’s not like you to pass on sweet treats from the bakery down the road.”

Aedion sat down across from her, worry deep in his expression “ok, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Will you stop it?” He almost shouted “I can totally tell there is something wrong but all of a sudden you have decided that you don’t need Lys and me anymore. I know you have posh boy but we have known you longer than him.” It was petty, but he was not letting her shutting down once again.

Aelin stood in a swift motion, facing him “that lady is what is wrong. She lost her husband of fifty two years six months ago and it just opened up wounds I thought had finally started to heal.” She paced behind the desk “her pain reminded me of my own. And every time I think I am getting better my fears come back, reminding me that Rowan has a dangerous job too and makes me want to bail on him and go back being on my own because I cannot go through that pain again.” She let out a ragged breath “this time it could destroy me for good. And I am so scared.”

He moved a step to her and hugged her tight “have you told him?”

Aelin shook her head “it’s just stupid fears,” her voice on the verge of a sob.

“No they are not and he needs to know. He deserves to know. The man is crazy about you.”

She sobbed in his arms her limbs lightly shaking “I love him, but I am so damn scared.”

“You should talk to Lys.” He said against her hair “even after years she is still terrified every single time that alarm goes off.” He sighed “and although her job is less scary, I worry every time she and Elide go out on their own. Until the ambulance comes back in here.”

Aelin pulled back from the embrace.

“Talk to him, okay?”

She nodded.

“Now come and eat some delicacies before the hungry hungry hippos we have in the common room polish up the entire box. You should have some. You saved that woman after all.”

Aelin was back in her office after she had managed to eat the last bits of cakes left. She also felt better. The chat with Aedion had helped and she had texted Rowan. She had to talk to him. Aedion had been right. Rowan deserved to know.

She was about to go back to work for the billionth time that day, when Aedion joined her again “hey, I know you are trying to work, but Orynth just got a snowstorm alert. It’s quite bad.”

Aelin got into action “I want to make sure we have supplies, have Ress check that the backup generators are in good shape. Make sure the truck and engine and the ambulance are in good shape if we get a call.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Aedion left and Aelin texted Rowan to get to the firehouse quickly. She did not want him around town when the storm hit. He texted back saying that he was driving Gav home and heading to the station.

Once in the common room she joined the others in front of the tv to listen to the news. The meteorologists expected high levels of snow and extreme temperatures.

“Ok, people we are in for a treat and probably a long shift. Let’s close the doors for now to keep the storm out.”

The squad spread out and went about their duties. Aelin went to phone Dorian for an update and Dorian gave her permission to use the house for shelter for anyone requesting it.

She tried to phone Rowan again and when he didn’t answer she started to worry. The weather was taking a turn for the worse.

The dispatch alarm went off calling for the ambulance assistance. The three paramedic ladies ran to the ambulance and Aedion joined Lysandra “be careful out there. It’s getting worse. Just drive safely, please.” He gave her a deep kiss “I love you.” She kissed him back and the three left.

Five minutes later they were on the scene and Lysandra gasped when she was off the ambulance and saw who was with the victim.

“Is that Rowan?” Asked Elide joining her.

“I took Gavriel home. I went to get something for Aelin before heading to the station and then I saw  her on the ground. I think she bashed her head on the pavement.” He explained not leaving the side of the injured woman.

Lysandra noticed the good job he had done “you blocked her neck.”

“She was unconscious when I found her, but she has been breathing and has a pulse.”

“You’d make a good paramedic. You have the right instincts. ”

Lysandra grabbed the backboard while Rowan placed the collar around the woman’s neck.

“I’ll help you ladies.” And he lifted the board on the gurney with Lysandra.

“Go to the station, she is waiting for you.”

“Be safe, the three of you. The roads are nasty.”

Lysandra nodded and they climbed in the ambulance. He shut the doors and patted the door to tell them they were good to go.

Rowan walked back to his car and dumped the food on the passenger seat. Aelin had been craving a burger from Emrys in a while and they haven’t been able to go so he decided to surprise her.

Getting to the station took him longer than usual, the storm had worsened and visibility was almost non existent. He hoped they didn’t have to go out on a call.

He walked through the door and found the firehouse quite hectic. It seemed like the guys were busy getting ready.

“Captain…” Brullo waved at him.

“Is Aelin in her office?”

“She is in the gear room doing equipment checks.”

“Thanks Brullo.”

Rowan walked into the gear room and found her sitting on the floor playing with the oxygen tanks.

“I bring food.” He waved the bag at her and Aelin looked up at the sound of his voice.

“Ro.” She stood and jumped quickly in his arms “you made it.”

“I also bumped into Lys and Elide. And helped. I am the one who called for the ambulance.”

“Paramedic Whitethorn indeed.” She kissed him gently “now sit,” and snatched the bag of food from him.

“You really love the food more than me.”

Aelin kissed him “I love you but Emrys burgers are amazing. And I love you even more for bringing this.”

He sat on the floor with her and stole a few fries. “You should have gotten one for yourself.” And pushed her burger to him “come on, take half.” He took a bite and pulled his arm around her shoulder while she munched away happily.

“Can we talk?” She said softly after a while, taking the last bit of her burger.

“Of course we can.”

Aelin turned and kneeled in font of him, placing her hands on his knees “we got a call this morning. An old lady we think torched her own place to kill herself.” She told him “when I tried to save her she begged me to let her die.” She looked at him “I went to the hospital to see how she was and we talked.” Her hand grabbed Rowan’s, twining her fingers with his “she lost her husband of fifty two years six months ago. She could not live without him anymore.” She sighed deeply “it opened some wounds. Wounds I thought had now healed and my fears came back and with them the need to bail. To not get attached because the pain could be too much this time.” She sniffled “ but I am not leaving you, no matter how scared I am.” Rowan cupped her face and kissed her “I have the same fears. The night you told me what happened while I was away and walked on the balcony and left you I had the same thoughts. I wanted to bail too.” He kissed her again “I am not leaving you, though because although we haven’t been together for fifty two years, I can’t imagine not having you at my side.”

Aelin sobbed and nested against his chest, incapable of utter any more words. It terrified her sometimes how quickly she and Rowan had become involved after they stopped fighting, how deep the connection. She hoped they were meant to last, because in his arms she could only imagine a future with her silver-haired man.

“We are okay, Fireheart.” And hugged her tight “we can talk about our fears. You can talk to me, you know.”

She nodded “I know.” She sat back down “thank you for the burger.”

A kiss in her head “it was my pleasure.”

“So what do you do for equipment checks?” Rowan changed the topic trying to cheer up Aelin.

“Mostly checking that the tools are working, but most importantly check that the oxygen tanks have been filled.”

He stood and went to grab her jacket and tried it on “this is heavier than I thought.”

Aelin smiled and went to get a bundle “remove your shoes.”

He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“The boots are always inside the trousers. We leave this near the trucks so when we get a call we just remove the shoes, step into the boots and pull up the trousers and then wear the jacket.”

Rowan put his feet in the boots as instructed, then Aelin helped him pull up the trousers and the suspenders and placed the jacket on him.

“So, so sexy right now.” She took a photo of him and then walked closer and kissed him “I have so many naughty thoughts right now.”

Rowan pinned her to the wall and kissed her avidly but she stopped when she heard the sound of the backup generator kick in “that’s the backup generators. Which means a possible power outage. The fun is about to start.”

Rowan removed the uniform very quickly and together they joined the rest in the common room.

“What’s the update?” She asked.

Aedion was about to reply when the dispatch alarm went off.

“Let’s get moving.” Shouted Aelin while running to the engine. Rowan joined her “be careful, all of you.”

“You play host here. Sometimes people come here for shelter.”

He nodded and gave her a quick last kiss before shutting the engine’s. In silence he watched the three vehicles roll out of the firehouse and disappear quickly in the heavy snowfall. 

All he had to do now was wait and hope they would make it back safely.

He left the apparatus floor and sat on the sofa in the common room, the place eerily silent.

And waited…

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