#I've made it a game to see how far I can go behind the guide's desk

[angrybatart]

Quick unfinished doodle.

I can TOTALLY be trusted with a hammer! Promise!

[tigertale]

A/N: Is it bad that I can relate a little too much to Yuuya? Anyway, reader is insecure and Ace is an ass. A good 10k words??? I can't assure you a good quality throughout the entire fic

A/N 2: I died and revived halfway through writing the fic and the scenario went brrr (started this during December 2022 oops)

F!Reader; Ace

•〔　！ 〕Smut; First time; Grammatical errors; Not proofread

Ace looked at the sorry excuse the prefect of the Ramshackle dorm was.

She had unconsciously curled up into her seat, not because of the light almost see through clothes that served as a poor excuse for pajamas, but most probably because of how insecure she was about getting closer to the boy. And the sight made the clench in his ribs almost unbearable.

He was kind of stupid wasn't he? Suddenly barging into her place in the middle of the night despite having insulted her a few hours ago. It had taken for her to properly guide the unlucky chandelier group — aka him, the magicless student, whoever this dormmate of his was and a highly sensitive beast — through the obstacle the mine monster was for him to realize that she wasn't as boring as what he had told her. And now that he was before her, he remembered how he had never properly apologized.

He opened his mouth, but it seemed that the two of them had the same idea as their voices overlapped over one another. It resulted in an awkward silence that became a just as awkward game of "you first." And his persistence made him win the game.

Her knees brushed against one another as she tried to get her words out. "I know that the couch is not comfortable, so if you want you can always sleep in my bed." Eh? That was even more unexpected than what he had imagined. Didn't she mean that she wanted him to leave? Wasn't she supposed to be angry at him for how he had belittled her so far? And he made sure to voice those thoughts to her.

"I guess that… I am a little angry about that. But I don't like being caught in problems, and I don't want you to sleep under the rain too." The water drop that hit his face empathized her claim. As he wept it off his cheek with the back of his blazer and cursed the shady state of the building, he thought about how kind she was. Too much even. He was not one to be bothered by such things, but he was oh so guilty when she would selflessly try to bring him comfort — and at the back of his mind, the idea that someone other than would take advantage of it surely grew to become something he feared.

He drapped his arms over the back of the sofa, a playful smile hanging on his lips. "So~ You're okay with letting me sleep in your bed? You can't take it back once you've said yes!" A yelp left his mouth as a coil found fun by jabbing his behind.

"I've already proposed it to you… I can't just take it back now." Right! That's why he had said that she was boring. She had never talked back, they had been glued to each other for an entire day but she was just being placide and let everything unfold before her. It was a shame, especially after he had seen how she had the power to easily fix problems and had a complex yet interesting way of thinking. But so, at least he didn't have to beg to have things go his way. It would've been awkward to use the argument of his slim body to gain even the slightest bit of sympathy.

"Then come on, lead the way." She sighed as she got up, clearly displeased by the way he was addressing her, but not wanting to express it.

After they had entered the room, she had gone straight to bed, watching from time to time as he got himself ready to sleep. The urge to tease her about it died whenever he looked at her. Her eyes, expressing how expectant she was for him to finish, stopped him from doing so. And the way she was coddled up under the cover like a child made the guilt come back. She looked cute like that, and that was a damn stupid thought for him to have.

He eventually slid under the cover, his buttoned up shirt was partially open and he had kept his trousers on to keep some kind of decency. She did mention that he was allowed to sleep in his underwear after he had jokingly asked about it, arguing that she was used to it as she had brothers, and if needed she could put pillows in-between them. It may have been too straightforward for him, and before he could properly think about it he had already disagreed saying that it was only a joke.

Minutes passed where the two of them thought about the one by their side in silence. Their reflexions going from a simple "he's stupid" to more complex ones. And Ace was not one to keep himself from expressing his opinions. If he had something to say, then he would say it. "You're too kind, you know? Think about yourself more, you need to strengthen yourself a bit." It broke the stillness between them.

She shuffled under the cover, pulling it even higher above her face as if to hide it. Not that he could even see her half lidded eyes, dropped with sadness, to begin with as it was too dark. "Am I not already?" He turned towards her, unconsciously trying to make out the shape of her face despite knowing that he couldn't. "I'm "kind" as you say, but for me it's only a mean to avoid any problems that can be an obstacle to my peace. I just want to be comfortable, and I'll do anything to be. Isn't that egoism?" The silence that followed made her question her words, forgetting about the boy laying beside her. Just like everyone she had needs that had to be fulfilled, and those needs were the only thing that pushed her forward despite the hole in her heart. If she couldn't have her family by her side, if she couldn't let go of this loneliness, she could at least work out something that will compensate and make her forget about those worries.

"You're as kind as you're dumb to say things like that without hesitation." She almost choked at his words, and the snickers that followed let her understand that he had found fun in her short surprise. Part of the dip beside her disappeared as he sat up. "Shit I've never imagined talking about this kind of stuff so late at night… So what? Now it's selfish to wish for something and to work for it? And you could've just given me the sofa, but you've still offered me the bed because I could've caught a cold. If you feel that you have any obligation related to my health then you might as well be kind." A whine left the back of her throat before she could have stopped it.

She hated those words. "Kind." She was just a normal and average human being, she didn't like those labels that would be thrown at her whether she liked it or not. It was distressing in a way how some people felt the need to put nice words for her as if she had deserved it.

The mattress once again dipped, but this time on each side of her face. She was surprised that his hands were caging her head and his hot breath fawning over her face. He was on all four above her, he had moved so swiftly she had barely had the time to register it. "It seems to me that you're just overthinking." She felt the heat of his body licking her skin as he got closer to her, his arms bending and allowing him to do so. "I can try and make you forget about it, what do you think?"

He patiently waited, knowing that it may seem to her that his request was out of the blue. But she was oh so tempting, and he couldn't stop thinking about her ever since they had left each other after the mine incident. He had never been interested in these kinds of things but somehow she was messing with his internal compass, messing with his mind and reminding him that he was still so full of needs that were left unattended for a while already. And hey, she needed to get rid of those intrusive thoughts, and he wanted her. So he might as well kill two birds with one stone.

"Do you have a condom?" A what now? She let out another sigh, one that he knew he would get accustomed to, and traced the side of his face with the tip of her fingers.

"It doesn't seem like you had sex before." Now he was surprised. For her to say such crude words without any shame but at the same time struggling to tell him off when he was annoying her. And the way he just shut himself off made her assume that she was right (and she was.) "I'm not more experienced than you, but I know a thing or two. And I know that we need a condom."

"Why? It's not like you can get pregnant on your first time?" The high pitched noise that rang through the room as she slapped her forehead with the heel of her hand was way more effective in letting Ace know just how stupid she thought he was than a mere sigh.

"I… don't think that I have the willpower to explain things in-depth to you at the moment." She gently took his hands and sat up to be at the same level as where she believed his face was. "Just know that yes I can, and we won't do a thing without a condom." She plopped herself back in the bed and set herself back to sleep.

"Sleep tight, Ace. Have nice dreams."

He had yet to move from where he was kneeling. She had put an end so easily to the conversation, he was even doubting that it had ever happened. What the hell were those things she knew, and why was he curious to hear about it? But eventually he came back to the problem at hand as he settled too on his side of the bed. "Where am I even supposed to get those?"

"800 students, some of them are bound to develop some kind of physical relationship." He hummed at that, as if to say that he was giving it some thought even if he didn't care about it. "The infirmary must give some condoms to avoid STDs. Or there's a shop on the way here, maybe they're selling some there." Oh so she was telling him where to look for those. As much as he liked the idea of getting close to her —and wow, it was his first time ever wanting someone this much— he didn't trust himself to actually have the courage to buy them. Even imagining getting them was enough of a hassle for him. Having condoms was not his top priority and he was lazy just thinking about them.

"Thanks I guess." Well too bad, they won't have sex. But maybe that was a good thing. He was not one to follow societal wildly spread conceptions (as your first-time was important) but maybe that this once, it wouldn't be a bad thing to listen to them.

_____

He came back the very next day. Condom in hand.

Now, to avoid any misunderstanding, it would be nice to mention that he wasn't desperate enough to get them. If anything he had told himself that he wouldn't get them and that he should just forget about getting more intimate with her.

Yet, it had seemed that his dorm had other plans. His senior, Cater he believed his name was, had suddenly given him a handful of those plastic packages of various sizes. "Riddle's order! Every frosh are to be safe!☆" He had said when he saw how appalled Ace was. It was actually more of the nurse's order after she had chewed Crowley out for the lack of security in the school. He also added that they were to have every size to be sure to have something that fits them, it would be bad if it was too small for them to wear, right? Not every dorm was particularly uptight about this rule, and even fewer of them tried to hand them the right size — so far only Heartslabyul and Pomefiore had made this kind effort. While Riddle wasn't exactly fond of this rule, rules are rules and he still cared for those under him, so he might as well go all out.

Now the school's problem had become his, and he didn't know how to approach her. He was already in front of the rundown building after asking his dormhead the permission to sleep at her place, but how should he bring the subject back? He didn't care about how others may see him, but she was somehow a different story.

After taking a deep breath, he knocked. It didn't take long for the door to open and he cheerfully greeted her, a hand scratching the back of his head. "Hey prefect! You don't mind me crashing at your place again, right?" She stared blankly before welcoming him with a small "sure" that led to a dutiful silence. And this awkward smile on her lips was a nightmare to look at. How could it both drive him away but also stir his heart so badly?

As he entered, he finally saw her lack of clothes. The only pair of pants she had had been ditched somewhere and replaced with shorts that could barely be seen above her dirty white blouse. Upon further inspection, her entire body was painted with black spots and her buttoned up shirt had turned a dark brown with whatever liquid had drenched it.

"Errh, what happened to you?" She looked down at her poor state before becoming even more reserved. He was surprised to see her pouting as she awkwardly pulled at her clothes.

"I was trying to see what was wrong with the water heater, I hate having to shower with a bucket." She sighed as she stretched her back, hands placed on her back as she bent backwards. "But the thing is beaten down, there's no way I'll have hot water any time soon." She whined even louder and great seven, it was the first time he had ever heard her being so genuine! She even sounded approachable. If she kept such extraversion, surely the bullying would slowly soften. She wasn't an opportunist after all, and they would come to understand this.

"If you really need, I can always sneak you in my dorm. You won't mind sleeping with me, right?" The smirk that had formed on his lips paired with the boyish popular facial expression made her giggle. What was he trying to do? Didn't he say that sleeping with her was "meh"? (No offense, she did sense that he was joking) She turned around and walked him to the living room, her shoulders still shaking as she tried to hide her laughter.

He marveled at the state of the parlor. He had last entered it less than a day before, but it was vastly different then what he had remembered! She sat him down as he continued to watch his surroundings. "I tried to clean up a bit but it's still dirty… I'm sorry for the mess." 

"What are you? A perfectionist?" She may have only removed a few paintings and thrown a worn out blanket over the sofa, it was enough for the room to change. "This is good enough." She gently laughed, still not quite sure how to react to the compliment.

Knowing the person Ace was —or at least had a semblance of an idea of it— she tried not to let the silence between them linger and asked him if he wanted to sit so as to not make things awkward. It may have had the contrary effect because he was frowning as he made himself comfortable on the couch. And when she asked if he wanted a coffee to drink he just snapped.

"What are you? An old woman? Stop acting like one, shit. 'Is so fucking boring…" He grumbled the last part and crossed his arms. His annoyed eyes were sending daggers as she was left trying to find her words, mouth repeatedly opening and closing.

She eventually brought her fist up and coughed inside after finally snapping out of her surprise. "So… why did you come here?" She tried not to think much of his words. They only fed her insecurities, but if she were to express them right now, wouldn't it just confirm what he had said? If anything, she had learnt that talking about feelings was considered "boring" by most people her age. "And what's up with the bag?" She tried to change the subject by pointing said object with a finger, but it actually made him uneasy.

He tried to answer, catching himself multiple times to rectify and find the right words before eventually giving up. Instead he gave her said bag. "Condoms." He said right when she opened it.

Much to his displeasure, the silence that they (more like she, he didn't make any efforts so far to make her feel better) had tried so hard to push away all this time had finally found its way in their conversation. She was carefully processing what was before her and by the time she had eventually come to accept what it was, he had become a small puddle of sweat.

"I didn't expect you to have so much in so little time." He blushed furiously at that and took the bag back. He was furious, seething, by what she was implying. He was NOT a pervert! And he wouldn't let her think so! Or that's what he tried to convince himself to think because he sure as hell was more embarrassed about it than angry. After all, it's the exact image he didn't want her to have about him.

But she was far from thinking this and– no, actually, a part of her was impressed by how obsessed and eager he may have been, even if that's not the actual case.

"Hey dumbass! What makes you think I prepared all of these?!" He sat back down, putting all his plastic square packages in between his legs. One hand was tightly gripping his thigh while the other was hiding his bright red face from her. "Some older guy in my dorm gave me those, apparently it's a dorm rule for every student to receive them at the beginning of the year…" His voice barely escaped from his fingers, only managing to come out as an almost indescribable grumbling.

"Then it's a good coincidence for us." She came closer to him and much to his embarrassment, she put a hand in the bag, grazing her hand against and stimulating his growing hard on as she rummaged through it to grab a few of the small packages. She eventually fished out a couple of the condoms, and showed them off to the boy. "So which one's your size?"

"How the hell should I know?"

She deflated at that. "Come on, every boy has measured it at least once. Isn't it important for you all to know about it —so you can compare it in the boy locker room?" The last part wasn't pronounced, but her understood her innuendo. He did actually measure it, but he wasn't going to talk about it so casually. His lack of answer only pulled a sigh out of her, one that quickly made him cower inside the uncomfortable sofa. She had moved to be on her knees, a soothing hand caressing his thighs as she looked up at him. "If you really don't know then I'll have to try each one of them. One by one."

Her fingers started playing with the zipper of his trousers, pulling it open with an ease that almost made him question if she really was new to this. "W- Wait!" He stopped what she was doing by taking her hands in his. She looked at him, fixating on something other than the clothed bulge that was now out for her to see. "What a-are you doing? I- I'm not-... I mean no! I-I a…m actually…!"

She nodded and pulled her hands down against her bent knees. He sighed at her action, but quickly straightened back. There was no way in hell she had understood what he was trying to say, so why was she nodding understandingly. There were many ways for her to misinterpret it, and if she actually did, he didn't know what he would do–

"Ah yes, consent. I understand if you don't want to. I got ahead of myself and thought we were about to do it, I'm deeply sorry for assuming things and—"

He cut her off with an undignified "eeh?!" that made her tilt her head to the side. "Where the hell is this story about consent coming from?" She was about to answer but he shook his head from side to side. "You know what, I don't even want to know." He continued talking, explaining that what he was actually trying to say was his size. Dick size. And that she didn't have to test each condom.

She picked up and ripped a packet of the right size open with a relieved sigh. "I was honestly scared of wasting so much condoms." She took the rubber out and examined it closely before watching the lubricant stretching into a bridge between her fingers. "I've never actually put a condom on something before so it's a first for me." She put it back on the opened package and went back to working with his now rocking hard cock.

"Please don't be too harsh with me."

He gulped down the excess of saliva to try and cool off his face. She was adorable like that, pulling out his member, or more it being freed and slapping her square in the face. She let out a dissatisfied sound as she rubbed her eyes from the precum that had gotten on her eyelids.

"You're not circumcised." She pulled the foreskin down to let the head of his cock free for her to see. If the precum was a lot before, now that the tip was out in the open, she could see just how much of a mess it was. She hummed as she circled the hole at the very top of it and enjoyed each of his twitching. "I've never seen an uncircumcised one so close… but don't worry, as long as you're clean, I'm down for you." She let out a string of "hehe" that made his blood pump faster. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her back so that she could directly connect her eyes with his.

"Stop joking around already." She agreed to do so in a tone that almost made him question whether she would really do it or not, and went back to her forgotten condom.

She recited, one by one, every step needed to put a condom on under her breath, guiding herself into doing it as Ace visibly didn't have much knowledge. Once it was done, she brightened up and happily clapped his thigh, which made him hiss with pain.

"In one go!" She happily said with a proud smile that was all too bright for him. His fingers that were still planted into the root of her hair brought her attention back to the twitching member in front of her by angling it back to where it was at first.

"A-Ah wait… I'm a bit nervous… I've never done this before." But she was only shoved forward as an answer, her cheek planting against his pelvis. His penis was now right before her nose and mockingly staring back.

"Then you'll learn." She timidly sniffed it, something that took him aback.

She pecked it at first, trying to see how it would go, and the first impression being quite good, she switched to small stripes being licked along his shaft. While it was rather tasteless for her, his breath was heavy and his body had become unbearably hot.

He popped a few buttons of his shirt open, letting his chest breath as she moved to the base of his dick where two fingers were tightly pressing it. He didn't expect to feel all of her touches so vividly with a condom on, but she had once again found a way to surprise him.

His fingers moved from the back, where he painfully was gripping the small hairs along her nape, to the top of her head when she finally shifted her attention back to the tip of his shaft. A hand still lingered at the base where she kept a tight grip while the other was pumping up and down.

It started with small kisses that quickly became her pumping his cock in her mouth. The first try had left her a coughing mess, but the second was much more successful after making her hand into a fist. He did marvel for a second at the technique, wondering if it would actually work, but his mind went into shambles when the warmth of her cavity wrapped his lower half in a steamy hug.

She tried to peek up at him, wanting to see his facial expression, but couldn't do so as his hand only but pressed her further down his aching shaft. Later, when he would cum inside the plastic protection, she would have the time to see it as he would bask into his aftermath.

And it may have come earlier than what she had expected because he removed himself from her mouth not long after. He fisted his rod as he kept her in front of him. Was it because he wanted to get off to her face or because he imagined her covering with his cum? He didn't know, but both were good endings for him.

He eventually came, the condom swelling with the amount of sperm he had let out and she just watched, fascinated, as it did so. He came rather fast, but she was not worried at all, and she was ready to comfort him if he ever felt down about it. It was normal for a first-time, and she was more curious about the taste than the time.

"Was it good?" She asked as she started to take the condom off. She carefully carved the sight of his flushed face, drooling and seemingly fucked out of his mind, in her memories. She was not one to masturbate, but this image could only become a great fantasy for her to get off to for the next following days.

He let out a small moan as he stretched his back and tilted his head down to see what she was doing. "Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so good actually." Thankfully he had finished his words in time, she had started to remove the condom, and he feared just how embarrassing it would have been if he had to explain why he had stopped talking halfway through. She was pushing every last bit of his cum out of the plastic and onto the tongue she had stuck out.

A humm left her as she swallowed it all, a thumb passing over her lips and chin to pick any leftovers before popping it inside her mouth. "It's kind of sweet. You should watch your diet." He groaned as she merely laughed.

"Shut up. I'm not here for diet advice." His words only made her laugh harder.

But she quickly came to a stop. "Ah wait, that was a bad move."  She got up and dusted herself with a sigh under his curious eyes. "You can still get STDs by swallowing semence."

"Are you implying that I have STDs?" It seemed to get on his nerves, and she quickly tried to reiterate her words.

She sat on his legs and shook her head. "No, but there's always a possibility even if you're a virgin." For whatever reason, the last word made him frown even more. Why do boys his age have to be so hard to work with? His ego was truly something else. "There's also a possibility that I have those, so don't take it as something personal. I'm just trying to make you pick up good habits."

But he didn't listen. Now that she was on him, he could feel her warm and dripping cunt on his limp manhood. Even with two layers of clothes, it was impossibly wet and coated him with her juice. He had put two hands on her hips as she was talking and had started to grind her against him.

She quickly saw what he was doing and gently wrapped her arms around his neck and arched her back to press her chest against his open one. "You've barely come a minute ago, shouldn't you wait before going back to it?" But he merely groaned as an answer and buried his face in the junction of her neck.

He continued his movements, which have been gradually increasing in force, as her heavy breath picked up with the pace and blessed his ears.

Still pressed against him, she slid to fingers in-between their body to continue his previous work. The last buttons of his shirt were popped open and she removed the piece of cloth from him.

"Aaah… W- Wait…" she gently pushed her hands against his chest and backed from the rod grinding against her. "We need another condom." He mindlessly nodded but felt awfully frustrated when her fingers left him to search for a new piece of rubber.

She did the same as before after opening the package, saying aloud what she was doing as she pinched the tip of the condom and rolled it over his shaft.

He curiously watched as she raised herself above his rocking hard erection, her expression rather unsure and her bottom lip tightly grasped in-between her teeth. "Uh, shouldn't I prepare you or something." He was not one to care much about others, but surely she wasn't about to put herself through pain, right?

She flushed at his words and nervously tapped his shoulders. "Don't worry… We'll just go slowly." She had thought that he had forgotten about it all. With how uncomfortable she was with her body, she thought it would be best for her to just skip such steps so she could avoid any types of embarrassment. Surely the pain won't be so bad if they were to take their time.

He didn't push her further on, thankfully for her, and she slowly pushed herself against him. And maybe that she should have thought twice about this lame idea because she had to stop when the tip was barely in. The blush on his cheeks came back when she once again pressed her chest to his, except this time hissing and twitching.

A few minutes passed where the two of them were too engrossed in both their current fixation — him enjoying the feel of her clothed breasts against him and her laboured breath, and she, focusing on his fast beating heart, before he came back to the current situation at hand. "Uhh, you're sure you're good?"

"Yeah…Yeah yeah." She mindlessly nodded as she took the chance to continue her way down his shaft. Despite the slight uncomfortable feeling of being full, she had indeed relaxed. She eventually came to a stop when her ass was pressed against his thighs and it pulled a moan out of him that she gladly let her ego feed on.

"Uh, you seem to like it." He didn't answer, his mind far too gone for him to properly care about the comment. He still buried his face in the crook of her neck when he felt her sliding off his cock.

She was using his shoulders as a leverage, two tight hands marking his skin with the crescent shapes of her nails, and slowly pulled herself upwards. At the same time, his face followed the shape of her body that was pressed against him. His nose ended up brushing her clothed breasts. And the material scratching his skin successfully pulled him out of his reveries.

Once she was high enough, the tip barely peeking from her cunt, she went back down. Although more easily this time. Both of their voice resonated in the empty room, and she was thankful that no-one was around to hear them — or at least they didn't make themselves known and avoided the parlour, which was just as good actually.

He was tempted to dig his fingers in the small of her back to switch to a faster pace, but the fabric that was still hiding her upper body was more bothering at the moment. His shaky hands moved to her buttoned up shirt, the way she was bouncing and moaning on top of him almost making him forget about what he was trying to do, and started undoing the buttons one by one. He deemed his mission complete when half of the blouse was open and didn't waste time diving in her breasts to bite and lick whatever parcel of skin was welcoming him.

Her whimpers and hitched breath only increased as shivers would rack her body to the point that she was only but uncontrollably twitching. And when her pace eventually faltered, Ace was sure to take over, two hands grasping her ass and jumping her on his thighs as he continued to shamelessly bite the top of her chest.

The dents of his zipper painfully turned her skin red with every thrust. But in the heat of the moment and the different overlapping sensations, it only further stimulated the coil that was painfully tightening in her lower half and made her voice higher.

She thanked whatever divine being she could imagine, her mind fading to a blank state with each of his trusts inside her and her body so hot that she feared that she would just succumb to it all. Her stomach twisted painfully when his pace suddenly picked up, something that she had never experienced before, and made her wonder if her end was getting closer.

But he stopped right when she felt herself reaching her peak.

He groaned as he let himself rest against the sofa. Now limp, he wasn't maintaining her body up, and she just fell forward against him.

How frustrating it was, her lower half was still pulsating with pleasure, and she couldn't understand why he stopped. "Ace, are you done?" She whispered from his shoulder, where her head was resting. He pressed a hand against his forehead before removing the sweat and hairs sticking on it.

"Uh…" oh he was still very much basking into the aftermath of his climax, and it took a while for her words to be understood by him, she even repeated herself when she heard how lost he was. "Yeah… yeah, shit that was– fucking shit it's-" He tried to utter some kind of answer but his mind was too much of a mess for him to properly think. At least he understood what she said now.

She sighed, tempted to press a kiss against the skin of his neck, but they weren't close enough for her to do it, right? If they were just some kind of one night stand (it's the middle of the afternoon,) they shouldn't kiss, it would be weird, wouldn't it?

She didn't expect her first time to end so abruptly. Yes she didn't hold many expectations, knowing that it would never be perfect, but she was still very upset. She eventually forced herself to think that they weren't even close to begin to even fathom him taking care of her like a boyfriend would, which they weren't.

His half lidded eyes opened wide when she removed herself from him. She had pressed her hand against his chest to help her up, and when his dick fell limp it of her he hissed. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the condom that was full, before focusing on closing the buttons of her shirt. "I'll take a shower first, you'll go after, okay?"

"Why?" Here she was, once again confusing him with her decision.

"You're staying here for the night, continuing the evening clean would be better I think." She's not wrong, but he didn't feel like bathing right now. Yet, before he would voice out his thoughts, she was already closing the door of the parlour behind her. Uh? Why was she so cold? It seemed that she reverted back to her placide and awkward self.

He pursed his lips, annoyed by how the mood just fell flat after her sudden change. As said before, he didn't like holding onto whatever most people deemed as a "social norm", like treating his first-time like something so special that you needed to plan it and idealise it. But her leaving so abruptly somehow sat wrong with him, it even woke him up from his dazed state.

Now he had to wait for both of them to bathe before addressing whatever stupid thing was going through her head. Hopefully it won't take long.

_____

After drinking water and properly washing themselves off of any remaining fluids, they both basked into each other's presence and continued on with their pajama party. He had come late into the afternoon and by the time they had finished cleaning up, the sun was not visible anymore, only a faint gradient of orange and purple was seen.

The bath had been ice cold, thanks to the destroyed water heater, but after lighting the fire in her bedroom's fireplace and placing a few logs inside to keep it alive, it was much more bearable. They both laid on the ground before it, enjoying its heat.

 "Are you bipolar or something?" She turned towards him, surprised to see that he was already looking at her. Even more unexpected, he was frowning. Why was he suddenly pissed? It's not like she had done anything… Or perhaps was it her lack of engagement that brought this sudden behaviour? He did mention that she was boring… And she wasn't making her situation after all. "Just talk instead of creating those weird scenarios in your head." He could clearly see on her face that she was not getting any of what he was saying.

She was lost. Was it not her uninteresting self that was annoying him? "Then… What's the problem?" She couldn't see what possibly annoyed him.

"Can't you guess?" Well obviously, it seemed that she couldn't. She was staring at the ceiling absently, uncertain about what he was expecting from her and how she should fulfill these expectations. "Why did you suddenly close yourself after what we did." Oh.

She awkwardly laughed, what was he talking about? Perhaps was he mentioning the brief moment when she realised that they were not close. But it was the truth, they were not, and she shouldn't have open herself to him in hopes of something more.

"It's nothing, really." Her words did nothing to quell the conflicting feelings inside him. As if she could just end the conversation with only a "it's nothing."

"How about you tell me more about the Great Seven." Despite the proposition coming out of the blue, it was far from some kind of random conversation subject. The mirror above the fireplace reminded her, for some mysterious reasons, of the statues of the seven great figures by the school's entrance. And it was a nice way to get out of the chat he wanted to have.

"Why would I even talk about them?"

"Because I'm too dumb?" She was using his words against him uh? Well at least it seems like she was once again getting comfortable with him if she was able to talk back like this. So he just let it go, hoping that one story would be enough for them to continue their previous talk, but when she answered back with a tale of her own world, it was too late.

Ace was still much more reluctant to keep this peace up, starting a "it's boring" streak (hopefully she would just go back to why she had became so cold back in the living room), but one mention of paranormal stories from her world and she had his full attention. Each and every story somehow managed to catch his attention, so much that they didn't see the time flashing before them.

"Aaaah!" She stretched her back, a long tired moan emphasizing the arch of it, which caught his attention. Hey, now that he was thinking about it, she had yet to show herself to him, as in, he still hasn't seen her naked, did heN?

She jumped when she felt his hand sneaking under her loose shirt and barely grazing her skin. But when she turned around, the only thing she saw, and was surprised by, was his focused face as more and more of her body was shown as he moved it higher. "What… What are you doing?"

He hummed, a mischievous smile on his lips. "You escaped our talk there, lemme take a small revenge~" A moan resonated in the room, tuned out by the crackling of the burning wood before them, when she felt another electric shock coursing through her due to his cold finger. And the sound, almost unheard, still managed to stir the heat in his body. Eh, he might as well just go for another round.

He turned her around, much to her confusion, and pulled her down with him. An involuntary sigh left his lips when he felt her breast against his chest. He used to consider himself an ass person, but clearly his judgement was wrong. Not that he would kill for them, but her breast were definitely becoming his fixation.

"Is there a problem Ace?" He groaned, thrusting his lower half against her as an answer.

"Let's do it again." She let an audible "oh" left her mouth before chuckling, her face hidden in his clothes. He could only feel her body, twitching with the laughter she tried so hard to hide, but it was enough for him to frown. Not that he was displeased and annoyed by her reaction,  but he definitely was.

She eventually calmed down when she heard him muttering something to himself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you in any way." She trailed a ginger along his neck, fixating her gaze on the skin peeking under his shirt. "I just didn't expect you to be so eager…" A strangled huff was heard right after. Clearly, despite her apologetic tone she was far from it, her poorly stopped laugh the most obvious proof he could have ever got.

He wanted to retort back, how could she claim being so apologetic then mock him so easily? But his words died when she pressed her lips against his collarbone. And at the contact, they both froze. Did she… just do what she told herself not to do not even an hour before?

Immediately after she threw herself up, flustered by what she just did. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I just… I don't know what came over me…" Her hands were immediately covering her face shamefully, shielding it from Ace. But the boy was far from being concerned about her shyness, the soft touch of her lips was way more comforting than what he could have possibly thought.

But when the silence they were in stretched more than what she knew shouldn't have been, normally Ace would have made a nasty comment by now, she peeked behind her finger so see what was troubling him. Much to her surprise, his cheeks were turning to a deep red, wide eyes staring at her with confusion. "You don't mind what I did?" Her timidity, this time, didn't seem to anger him, far from it, he was even nodding mindlessly.

It was now or never, right? She bent forward once again, her hot breath fawning over his skin a short instant before she pressed another kiss on the same spot as previously. A deep sigh was heard, and his body relaxed right after. It was good, surprisingly, how her touches were like heaven against his skin. He didn't think of himself as a romantic guy, but maybe that he was just trying to fool himself all this time. Because when her lips dragged lower and lower, forcing her to open his shirt, he knew damn well that he was too far gone for her.

And now that he had her draped all over himself, relishing into the way she was covering his body with all types of affection, the fact that they had never once kissed each other suddenly made him restless.

"Hey, prefect." She separated herself from his chest where she was lavishing him with her own praises. The rope of spit connecting his perked up nipple from her lower lips made an uncontrollable shiver run along his spine.

"Hmm?" She sat on his stomach, waiting for whatever he was going to say. But how unexpected it was, for him to suddenly jerk up and press his lips against hers. Just as fast, she moved back, hissing as her teeth throbbed with how hard he had hit her.

"SHIT— That hurts like hell!" He complained while desperately breathing air in as if it would cool his pain down. She put a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention, and only when he looked up could he see the frown on her face as she passed her tongue over her aching teeth.

"Be careful when you're trying to kiss someone." Her hands moved to his cheeks, angling his face towards hers with half lidded eyes. "It's supposed to be a mark of affection, you can't be too rough you know." And with that she pressed her lips against his, more softly than what he previously tried.

Oh he was definitely a romantic now.

The kiss was slow, his fingers finding solace by caressing her sides as her own hands went to his hair, playing with the small tresses that would often pass in the crevices adorning her hands. And one tug was enough to set the temperature higher, the all too familiar burning from their past session returning much harder. His tongue pressed against her lips, pressing against her own when she opened her mouth, and the open-mouthed kiss was the official announcement of yet another round.

The fingers that were exploring her chest grew bolder as they trailed down. Should he grind her against him like he did a while before? Anchoring them on her waist to leave marks testifying that he was here first? It was more than tempting actually, but he was more curious about something else. The kiss was broken so she could bite the back of her hand instead when she felt him grazing her clit. 

Now what was he doing? Why was he suddenly caressing her in a place he had barely even thought about exploring before? While she was left panting over his shoulders, his thoughts swirled with delirious ideas.

Yeah, he was romantic as fuck, and needed to fuck her just as good. She was insecure about her damn body? Then he should just show her how much he appreciated it, and please her in a way that would make her forget about seeing any guy other than him. Maybe that they will drift apart at one point, that she will find someone else to nicely pamper her before fucking her up, but she would never forget about him. He's her first, and she will be obsessed with him till the end.

She was thrown on her bed much to her surprise, or more like a bunch of mattresses on top of one another to make up for the fact that the first one had fallen through the bedframe a few nights before, and he joined soon after. 

Both of his hands dipped inside the blankets under her head as his face got closer to hers. Her face heated up when she opened her eyes to see him above her, a knee parting her legs mischievously before he shifted his body so he could be above her hips. His fingers dragged the loose shirt that she used as a pajama up, and her running shorts were pulled down, allowing him to see her pair of plain panties. Now was not the time to comment on it, he wanted to see how she would react once he was eating her out.

He quickly discarded the piece of garment away from his sight (they were just hanging on one leg) before tentatively blowing on where he thought her clit would be. And lucky him, immediately after she let out a small whimper to let him know that he found it. For a first time he wasn't that bad, huh?

His finger ran along her slit, finding quite easily her hole and pushing two in. Her arousal was enough for them, but he knew that he had to stimulate her a bit more if he wanted to fit one or two more inside. And so, disregarding her sound as he was more focused on a solution to please her, his attention switched back to her clit where his tongue slowly approached it. He was suddenly pressed against it, mouth fully enclosing it as she had taken a handful of his hair and tried to pull him closer.

Her fingers gripped and tugged his hair, frustration ironically eating her out as his tongue was pressed flat against the small bud he was sucking. At the same time, the slender limbs inside her picked up in pace. The overwhelming sensations all building up, the euphoria more present than ever before. Would she come undone in the next few seconds? Most probably she feared, but she was too much into this unholy craziness to allow herself to doubt too much. She was finally coming after all. He didn't left her to fend for herself for too long it seemed, maybe he even cherished her a little like her with him. And the happiness of such meaningless and unproved implications had so easily triggered her release.

His name, strangled, was cried as his head was trapped in-between her thighs that she had involuntarily closed. Despite how uncomfortable it was, he continued to lap at any of her juice his tongue could get, even taking the chance to explore her inside more thoroughly than with his fingers.

When her body eventually relaxed, he took the chance to move away from the warm spot between her thighs. He surprisingly liked it. Her heat, her taste, her skin, her noises, they were way more enjoyable than what he had thought. And his throbbing length was just as enamored.

When he saw her starting to fall asleep, he quickly moved her body around, giving small and painless slaps on her cheeks to keep her awake. "Hey prefect, don't fall asleep now. I still need you." She tiredly hummed, her mind still blurry as both sleep and pleasure claimed her mind. But he could see that she was barely responding.

He groaned as he tried to unbuckle his belt with one hand, the other one pulling her legs apart, and successfully opened it after struggling for a short while. Any trace of tiredness disappeared when she felt him entering her hole eagerly without much foreplay to back him up. Thankfully her previous release was enough to lub him, but the compassion for it was a highly sensitive and overstimulated body.

Her arms immediately joined themselves behind his neck, bringing him closer to her and forcing him to push a hand beside her head. He dragged his shaft back, the motion stealing one of the moans that were quick to build up at the back of her throat, before diving back inside her. The repetitive motion effortlessly broke her sanity, with each of them, paired with her previous climax, her brain became too overwhelmed.

At one point, he pressed back the bulb-like tip against her cunt with a hiss as she was babblering words of affection at him, hoping to make him move faster in her delirious state. Thankfully for her, his mind was just as muddy as hers, and he happily listened to her wishes.

His eyes rolled at the back of his head. He had fully, and unannounced, gone fully in and was squished by her tight warm walls. He felt like they were sucking him more with each twitch of his body, and maybe that was the case as her breath would adorably itch whenever he did so.

She was his. This body overflowing with insecurities and heating up with each passing seconds was his. It was him who had stick his cock so fucking deep inside that she had started babblering some nonsense about how much she loved him. Him who was brushing her cervix with his raw dick. She was the one that had made him wait for him to have some rubbers, but now she was fucked without one just because she was head over heels for his cock.

"A—Awn… So-… Y– You love me?" He wouldn't have tried to tease her a while ago, when she was sucking him off and he had prematurely come, but now that she had lost any bits of reasonable thinking, she was easy to talk to. And the way she was deliriously nodding made him smirk manically.

He slowly slid himself off before slamming back in with a noise that threatened to make any souls passing by cower with fear. She let out a high pitched moan that cut her answer off. She tried to regain herself back, but the sudden and continuous assault only managed to reduce her to a whining pitiful mess. His scent, down to his meat beating her, was too much for her brain to understand what was going on. After a few orgasms, the only thing it wanted was to feel Ace grinding up against her as her body chased yet another one of those releases.

"M- Much!" He hummed back, although it was broken from time to time as he would thrust into her worn down body without any care, to let her know that he was listening. "L— Love you zhis much!" Her slurred speech was barely discernible, but the heart she made with her fingers, hands pressed against the fat of her chest, was enough for him to understand.

And he came just with that.

His sudden hot, almost burning, semence made her shudder and a shiver ran through her body. But she didn't have much time to think about it before Ace laid beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist despite his fluid dripping out of her, he was not bothered. Far from it actually, he was quite proud about it.

When looked down at her, he was not surprised to see her already sleeping with tears already drying on her skin. She was definitely tired, and even if she had made a fuse earlier as she had asked him to take a bath, exhaustion had made sure to hit her before she could even think about it.

He was tempted to chuckle but stopped himself from doing when a yawn was forced out of his mouth instead. It was early in the night, barely the end of evening, but he sure was tired. And looking at her peacefully cuddling against him was a nice arguments to get him to close his eyes.

_____

The next morning, quite early at that as the sun barely peaked its nose between the dirty half ripped curtains, Ace woke up to movements by his side as he felt her sliding off the bed. He cracked his eyelids open, but the only thing he could make out was her putting on a pair of panties and a t-shirt, his shirt, that had been discarded the night prior. 

She quickly left to go to who knew where, but he wasn't conscious enough to properly think about it. Whatever. He closed his eyes back after some time and tried to go back to sleep. His poor efforts were rewarded by the sound of the door cracking open.

Despite clearly trying to stay quiet, the wooden planks would howl under her weight and he eventually stopped trying after a while.

He reopened his eyes to her, hitching the bed cover up, ready to go back to sleep. He sat up which caught her attention and made her stop halfway through her action. She whispered soft words to him, excusing herself for waking him up, but the way she was bent over, trying to reach out for him as her shirt had moved way pass over her stomach and gave him a clear view of her soiled panties — the waking sun laying a soft blanket of light along the arch of her back, made an all too familiar intensity come back in his lower stomach.

He gripped her hand and pulled her under the cover. A small yelp left her, one that was quickly swallowed by him as he eagerly pressed his lips against hers in a messy kiss. Tongues and teeth meeting one another so early in the morning that she was barely conscious of it all.

A small giggle resonated in the room during the small time he had broken away from her to take a deep breath. The tip of his fingers had found a way inside her shirt, caressing the side of her stomach and leaving a stimulating trail of goosebumps behind them.

His lips went back to hers, but instead of connecting them, he left them hanging near each other teasingly. "Fuck, I want you…" He almost whined as his half awakened cock rubbed against her almost too shallowly.

"It's like 6 in the morning, we should sleep more before preparing for school." But her words fell into deaf ears as his hips moved with more force, his dick pressing against her despite the layers of clothes in-between them to the point where she could almost feel him penetrating her. 

Her breath would be cut by a moan from time to time as she tightly gripped his shoulders. "Don't care about school." One harsh thrust made her bite the back of her hand with how loud her whine was. "I want to feel you again."

And maybe that she felt just the same because it was all it took for her to succumb to him.

When they finished, she could hardly feel her legs with how stimulated she had been in such a short amount of time. Each and every little movement brought the pain back, but it was also a pleasurable reminder of how much she liked it, enough that it almost made her ask Ace for more. Almost. Still it was enough for her to be more forgetful than usual.

Even Deuce had to step in when he picked both her and Ace up for school. He was a blushing mess as he pointed the trail of cum slowly dripping down her inner thigh. And when she had, quite detached at that much to his surprise, hoisted her skirt up to remove it with a piece of tissue, the sight of the ropes of cums desperately clinging between her exposed skin and underwear threatened to make him faint.

He didn't know what happened, but Ace would be sure to hear about his thoughts.

[mitsuki91]

Of course because my brain can not stop and it's full of floating snowbaird plots, now I am thinking about a story post canon where Lucy Gray return to 12 and with Maude Ivory as the snowbaird ambassador... So I write a little bit and I present to you my own version of Maude Ivory, the new menance to society, who has the best (worst) part of Lucy Gray charm and Coriolanus manipulation:

She saw him again a year and a half later.

Unbelievable. Maude Ivory had insisted on taking part in this phantom Victory Tour that Panem was advertising everywhere - while Lucy Gray had stayed cooped up at home because she couldn't bear the thought of the Hunger Games, just as she had been at home during the summer event - and so she had gone to the square, alone in the crowd, to watch the little speech that that year's Victor was going to give.

And there he was.

Her hands itched. Maude Ivory bit her tongue, thinking back to the promise she had made, but there had to be a way... A way...

Coriolanus was not alone. He was moving with a small group of people - a blonde woman who looked like him, another blonde woman who looked like she had a stink on her face, and one with black hair so straight it looked like silk and an almost sullen expression - but she couldn't let this opportunity pass her by.

When the stage show ended she slipped through the crowd, taking advantage of her petite build and the fact that no one really paid attention to a nine-year-old girl, until she found herself just behind the group.

"... How dreary" the obnoxious blonde woman was saying "And you put up with what? A month? Far too long, if you ask me."

Maude Ivory leaned even closer and then tugged at the sleeve of Coriolanus' red coat.

He turned instinctively towards her and the world froze.

She saw it, in his blue eyes. An instant of panic, and then a pain so sharp it hurt reflexively, and then... Nothingness. A flat calm, deposited like the fine coal dust that covered everything at the Seam.

"... Do you have any caramel popcorn?" asked Maude Ivory, assuming her best good-girl-does-sweet-eyes expression.

The small group had stopped with Coriolanus and the girls were all puzzled and silent.

"No," replied Coriolanus, dryly.

Maude Ivory used her secret technique of making-a-cute-pout. Just a little glossy-eyed, to soften.

She let go slowly of his coat sleeve, trying to put in as much devastation as a poor, dirty, starving child could muster - which was a lot, she had to admit, so Maude Ivory congratulated herself as she waited for any reaction from him.

Which did not wait.

Coriolanus' lower lip trembled imperceptibly and his eyes filled with pain again - with regret, Maude Ivory realized at that moment.

A second later and Maude Ivory felt herself being lifted into his arms and found herself hanging by his side, her face at his height, while he smiled, tenderly, masking his suffering.

"Hey, how about I buy you a cake instead?"

"A cake? A whole one?!"

"Of course."

"Will you get me a chocolate one?"

"Whatever you like. Only, you have to help me. You see, I've never been to this part of the District: will you guide me to the bakery?"

Maude Ivory smiled and let out a few exclamations of enthusiasm. She began to guide him noisily and chaotically, pointing with her arms and hands, laughing when he pretended to take a wrong turn to be corrected. With a very small part of herself she was aware that the other girls were following them and that their expressions were priceless: of pure amazement, speechless in front of that spectacle in which Coriolanus almost made a fool of himself just to make a little girl laugh.

Perfectly so, thought Maude Ivory, enjoying the power she wielded over all of them, Coriolanus above all.

Barb Azure used to tell her that she was too smart and sprightly for her age, and in that moment Maude Ivory fully understood what her cousin meant. And she was proud of it.

Finally they arrived at the bakery, where Maude Ivory, still in Coriolanus' arms, made a lot of other scenes pretending to be undecided between different chocolate cakes. Finally she chose a medium-sized, heart-shaped one - because, it was obvious, even if he didn't know it, it had to be a gift from Coriolanus to his Lucy Gray - and as Coriolanus struggled to get the money out of his coat pocket, she threw her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulders, hugging and cuddling him. Surreptitiously she peered at the girls and saw that the obnoxious blonde looked disgusted, so she smiled brightly at her.

"Who are you?" she asked her, direct and innocent.

She emitted an annoyed snort.

"Livia Cardrew," she replied, "Coryo's girlfriend. You know, the guy who's buying you a cake for no good reason." she added in a hiss, addressing him.

Maude Ivory felt Coriolanus stiffen beneath her and widened her smile.

You are deluded, blondie.

"Then prepare yourself, for when I am grown I will take him away from you," she replied, quietly, and saw the dark-haired girl turn to hide a laugh in the palm of her hand.

"Oh really?" asked the third girl, smiling amused "And what is your name?"

"Maude," replied Maude Ivory. She purposely didn't say her middle name because, she knew, 'Maude' could be a Miss Nobody, but 'Maude Ivory' belonged to the Coveys - and the Coveys were a secret she only wanted to share with Coriolanus.

He seemed to appreciate it, however, as he turned his head slightly to the side to leave a light kiss in her hair.

That earned her another grunt of disapproval from stink-below-the-nose-Livia and an even squeakier laugh from the other girl.

"Then nice to meet you, Maude. I am Tigris, Coryo's cousin, and in a few years I will be honored to be a relative of yours."

You don't know how much, thought Maude Ivory.

Coriolanus had managed to pay, so they all left the bakery.

"Will you take me home?" asked Maude Ivory to Coriolanus "I'll tell you the way."

"Of course," replied Coriolanus, in a low voice.

Maude Ivory knew she was directing him towards many memories. Good memories, she hoped, though they must be full of bitterness since he didn't know Lucy Gray was back and well.

Fate would decide.

She would not break any promises, she would not say anything, but Coriolanus was going to return to the Covey house. And there he was going to find Lucy Gray.

They walked for about a quarter of an hour. Maude Ivory had chatted a little with the girls - she had found out that the third was called Clemensia and that she had been invited to attend the Victory tour as a friend of Tigris, who was the stylist, and Coriolanus, who was responsible for the success of the event.

Then they had arrived. The last house before the meadow.

Maude Ivory had stirred and slipped out of Coriolanus' grasp. Tam Amber had come out of the house and merely observed them, puzzled.

"Look!" had exclaimed Maude Ivory, taking the bag from Coriolanus' hands "Coryo gave me a cake!"

The girls called him that, so she had decided she would do the same.

Tam Amber took the bag from her hands and opened it, looking at the box with the cake shop symbol.

"Mmmmh..." he commented, neutral "Did you say thank you properly?"

Maude Ivory returned to Coriolanus and pulled him tightly into a hug. He, puzzled, merely looked at her.

"What a warm coat!" she exclaimed, looking up at him and enacting another skit of her own "I bet it would look great on my cousin Barbie! Do you know she has to run every morning to get warm because we don't have enough fabric for winter clothes?"

Come on, thought Maude Ivory, take the bait.

Coriolanus stared at her for several moments, confused. Then he raised an eyebrow, puzzled. He looked both irritated and amused.

“You want my coat? For... Your cousin?” he asked finally.

Maude Ivory performed a huge sly smile.

"My cousin would thank you very much if she were here, I'm sure."

Holy stars in the sky, that wasn't even a lie.

Coriolanus hid his mouth behind his hand. A flash of pain in his eyes, and then a secret laugh.

“You know what? That's fine. You've earned it,” he finally told her, taking off his coat. Maude Ivory heard the blonde hen exclaim "What?!" and ignored her. She took the coat from Coriolanus' hands and folded it back on itself, holding it up so it wouldn't touch the ground.

"Thank you! We will make good use of it!"

"I hope so. It's fine tailoring, you know."

"Fine what?"

"Never mind."

Coriolanus tousled her hair in a gesture that was both affectionate and familiar. Lucy Gray always did it to her.

"Kiss?" asked Maude Ivory.

Coriolanus raised an eyebrow again and then leaned towards her to leave a small kiss on her cheek.

"I really have to go now... Maude."

"Well, thanks for everything, stranger."

Coriolanus turned, after nodding to Tam Amber, and had almost reached the end of the street when Maude Ivory shouted one last thing to him.

"If you can, send me some caramel popcorn when you get home!"

She heard him burst out laughing and smiled back with thirty-two teeth. Coriolanus turned for a final wave and then disappeared behind a turn, tailed by the girls.

Maude Ivory, still with the coat in her hand, went round the house until she found Lucy Gray on the other side, standing at the wall, pale and with a terrible expression on her face.

As if she had seen a ghost.

And with a pain that mirrored what she herself had seen in his eyes.

Maude Ivory handed her the coat.

"I have not broken my promise, I swear," she told her. Lucy Gray remained silent. She did not even seem to be looking at her, lost in some memory she had not shared with her "It still smells like roses" Maude Ivory insisted.

With a terrible sigh Lucy Gray came back to reality and, with trembling hands, picked up the coat. She detached herself from the wall of the house and wrapped it around herself, sinking her face into the collar and sniffing at the top of her lungs.

“Thank you, Maude Ivory,” she said at last.

She was not stupid enough to refuse such a gift even though, Maude Ivory was sure, in a few days she would be scolded good and proper.

"Are we all celebrating with cake tonight? It's chocolate."

She saw Lucy Gray smiling, and smiled back.

The stars had not graced them this time but, she felt, sooner or later they would help her sort things out.

She wasn't going to stop trying anyway.

[bangtaninborderland]

Risk It All (30)- Choose Life pt.1

Genre: Chishiya x f!Reader| angst | eventual smut

Warning: mentions of injuries/blood/violence

A/N:lmao this is nearly the end of the first season yet I've been writing this story for YEARS???

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Neither of you stopped, weaving in and out of burnings, over and under rubble as your feet carried you as far away as possible. Ignoring the chance you were dragging yourself into more danger, you let Chishiya guide you.

“In here!”

It was a small hardware store, the windows were already broken and the shelves raided, no doubt for weapons but luckily hidden behind the counter was a set of stairs. You tripped up them still holding each other's hand. As much as you desperately wanted to slump against the floor and let your lungs replenish the mass amounts of oxygen that you had depleted due to your impromptu sprint you knew that safety wasn’t guaranteed.

“Help me get this across the door.” You gesture to a solid filing cabinet. Mustering up the last of your shared strength you locked yourselves in. Bullets wouldn’t get through metal that thick.

The windows thankfully hadn’t been smashed but there was no heat.

This wasn’t like the home Chishiya had made.

“Did you get hit?” Chishiya asked through a pant. “How is your arm?”

“Fine.” You check to make sure. “What about you?”

He lifts his shirt before nodding. “It didn’t reopen, it’s okay.”

“What the fuck was that.” You drop your head against the wall. “How did he find us.”

Chishiya pulled off his backpack, handing you a bottle of water. “I think he knew people would be heading there to join the game.”

You stilled, the bottle clutched in your hand. “The game Kuina and An left to join?”

“Yeah probably.” He takes another swig of the water before recapping it and putting it back in his bag. “Why?”

“What if they got shot?”

He shakes his head. “Trust me Kuina is like a leech, she won’t die.”

“But what if-“

“Stop worrying about them.” He cuts you off. “They weren’t the ones that just nearly got shot to death, it’s okay to care about them but you have to prioritise yourself. Stop being irrational.”

“I’m not being irrational, I'm worrying about a friend.” You explain through gritted teeth.

He stares at you blankly. “Do you think Kuina would want you to worry in this way?”

You hate how he makes a good point.

Kuina would be angered at the thought you were worrying about her when your own life had been in danger. “No, she wouldn’t.”

“Then forget about her for a while. It’s okay to do that. It’s okay to care for yourself.” He assures you. “We need to figure out where we are.”

You peek out of the window, dropping back into your previous position when you see nothing. “I didn’t see any signs as we ran, it’s too dark.”

He agreed. “We will have to wait until the sun comes up but whatever is going on, I think this is coming to an end.”

“You think the games are nearly complete?”

He sounds sure. “I think that we have nearly won every card we need.”

“I hope so.” You wish. “I don’t think either of us will fare well against another game.”

“We should rest.” He manages to find a blanket and a cushion, laying them down on the floor. “You sleep first we can take it in turns, I’ll wake you up in a little so we can switch.”

“Are you sure?” You eye the makeshift bed. “You’ve just come out of a game one that was no doubt exhausting, mentally if not physically. I’m okay you want to sleep first.”

“No, it’s okay.” He declines the offer. “You get some sleep, I'm going to try and see if there is anything useful here, just let me know if I make too much noise.”

“Okay.” You agree, laying atop the blanket. “Goodnight.”

“Mhm.”

Despite his warning about making noise you don’t hear anything, it was hard to drift off at first. Your mind ran a world of its own as it had you picturing the masked gunman shooting down the door any second but eventually, the adrenaline you’d worked up burned out and you were left depleted and exhausted.

This time there were no dreams, just a void.

“Hey.” You felt yourself being sat up.

“What?” You grumbled, still disoriented from your nap. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s been a few hours.” Ah, it was time to switch.

You sit up, huffing as you brush the stray hairs out of your face. “Okay you sleep, I’ll take watch.”

“Okay.” He agrees, slipping onto the mat you’d just moved from. “I found a spare wrench, it’s against the wall.”

“Oh that’s good.” You yawn, leaning against the wall opposite Chishiya. “Sleep.”

“Goodnight.” He mumbles.

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, it made sense though. He hadn’t exactly had time to rest after his game and it was unlikely he had managed to eat anything.

That was another pressing matter - food.

You quietly looked around, sifting through drawers and cupboards. Most of it was no good, perishable foods that were so rotten they looked as if they had been there for a millennia.

At this point they probably could have been.

It was hard not to wonder what was happening in the real world, if time passed different here then how long had you been gone? Years? Months? Days? It felt as though you’d been here for at least a year but it was probably something more like a few months.

The sun was already rising, it seemed as though some days night lasted forever, an unending darkness accompanied by a few hours of dull sunshine but some days it was the opposite, a hot sun with little reprieve found in the minimal hours of darkness that coats the city.

Today seemed like the latter.

You peered over the windowsill, the city as always was dead but you took that as a positive rather than a negative, you dropped back to the floor with a thud.

It was probably weird to watch Chishiya sleep but it wasn’t as though you had a variety of things to keep you entertained, you missed the small house and all of its perks. You forgot, even for a few days, what it was like to have absolutely nothing in a world where there was no permanency.

Your life in the real world - if it could be called that - had grown dull. There wasn’t much variety in the things you’d do, you were lonely and had grown accustomed to living alone but you missed how permanent things were. You had a home you could return to, you had a job, you had people you’d interact with, the sun rose and set at a normal time, you could go to stores and not worry about the shelves being empty.

Nothing here was permanent, not even the people, that’s what hurt you the most.

From the corner of your eye you saw an object stutter in the sky, you scrambled up, your heart racing in preparation to run.

Only to see something that, for once, provided you comfort.

“Chishiya wake up!” You slap his chest.

He jolts up, body rigid. “What?!”

“Look!” You point out the window at the mass ball of flames falling upon the city.

“Is that the blimp?” He squints. “It’s the king of spades. If I’ve worked it out correctly and I’m sure I have, that means after Kuina and Ans game finishes there’s just one game left.”

“What one?” You ask, a part of you relaxing at the blimp crashing into the ground.

“The queen of hearts.”

“We should go.” He stands, brushing his clothes off.

You quickly pack up, both taking a few sips of water and halving an oat bar before setting off.

The journey to the final blimp was thankfully a short one, the game stationed relatively close to the hardware store you'd hidden in the day prior. It made sense, you were practically in the heart of the city.

“Is that-“ You were shocked to see so many familiar faces. “Arisu? Usagi?” You called out.

They both turned to you at the same time, eyeing Chishiya cautiously before approaching you. “You’re alive?”

“Clearly.” Chishiya scoffs under his breath before turning to you. “I’ll be over here.”

You nod as he walks away. “How are you both?”

Arisu smiles although it’s strained. “As well as can be, are you going to play?”

“No.” You shook your head. “I have enough days on my visa.”

Usagi shrugs. “We played a few, I think we all just want this to be over.”

“You can say that again.” Arisu laughs. “Heart games are never good.”

“They aren’t.” You agree, the memories of your own horrifying experience with the card were always on your mind. “Have you seen anyone else?”

“Like who?”

“ An? Kuina?” You ask.

“Not for a while.” Usagi answers. “I saw them both after we split up at the train station they were doing okay.”

“We were staying together.” You explains. “Only for a few days but they both had to leave to join a game.”

“The Queen of Clubs?” Arisu questions.

You make a noise of affirmation. “How did you know?”

“I saw the blimp pass over, I also saw it crash.”

If the game was over and they weren’t here that could mean….

“Didn’t you say you were staying together?” Usagi seems to notice your train of thought and intervenes. “Did they know you were coming here?”

“No.” You purse your lips. “We were hiding out at a small house type hut but the king of spades turned up and quite literally blew it up.”

“I’m sure they are fine.” Usagi rubs your arm. “They probably went back there first.”

You truly hoped that was the case.

“Thanks.” You smile at her. “Is there anyone else here?”

The atmosphere around you turned into something solemn.“Tata…he passed away during a game.”

“How?” You weren’t close with him but he wasn’t a bad person.

Arisu looks at you with unbridled guilt. “He died helping us win.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t regret that choice.” You reassure him, it was never easy when you were the reason for someone’s death even when you weren’t directly involved in it. “I’m glad you’re both okay.”

“Likewise.” He doesn’t make an attempt to smile, you can understand why. “I think the game is starting.”

You look back to find the gates surrounding the large building open, something they hadn’t been when you arrived. “I’m gonna go get Chishiya.”

He seems to have the same idea as he walks towards you. “Happy?”

“Just peachy.” You retort sarcastically. “Let’s go.”

“Without us?” You could scream as you turn back to see Kuina and An walking towards you, both worse for wear with various cuts and bruises littering their pale bodies.

“Fuck.” You curse as you run towards them, your arms wrapping around their waist as you help them stay upright. “Chishiya!”

He understands and wraps Ans arm around his shoulder. “You owe me, both of you owe me.”

“Stop complaining.” You hiss at him. “What happened to you two?”

“We won our game but it was hard.” Kuina says tiredly. “I need to sit.”

“Here.” You help them both slump down against the set of stairs beside the building. “You’ll be okay, you will. Chishiya do you have anything to help?”

He looks at the pair before grabbing your hand and pulling you aside. “I’ll be honest. I don’t think they are going to make it.”

“Don’t say that.” You felt the colour drain from your face. “You can help them.”

“There’s too much blood.” He shakes his head. “It will be pointless.”

“Chishiya please.” You bat away your tears. “I can’t lose them.”

He groans but pulls the bag off his back. “What one first?���

“Her.” An nudges Kuina. “She has it worse.”

“Take this.” Chishiya shoved a small bottle of cleaning alcohol into your hands. “Clean as much as you can. I’ll deal with Kuina.”

“What happened?” You glance at Arisu before tuning back to An.

“They were in a game.” Your voice wavers as you carefully dab at the large gash on Ans leg. “We need to finish this and get out of here, they need a hospital.”

“Usagi and I have decided to play.” He informs you. “I’ll do my best.”

You hear him turn away. “Arisu?”

He turns back to you. “Yeah?”

“I know you can win this.”

You watch as he and Usagi disappear inside the building, both of them limping as they go, clearly sustaining their own injuries.

“Hey?” An croaks.

You turn your attention back to her. “Yeah?”

“It’s okay.” It takes her far more effort than it should to brush the tears away from your cheeks. “It’s okay.”

Arisu needed to win.

You needed to get out.

They needed to live.

You needed them to live.

[jmdbjk]

Bangtan Weekly Report

Why did JK come back to Korea?? I seriously thought it was to send Yoongi off but we're still not there yet.

This trip for JK is supposedly associated with a fashion schedule. Seems like if he was on his way to the VMAs they'd be ramming his appearance down everyone's throat for clout.

Personally, I hope he does not appear on that farce of an award show but if he does he'll pomichidai or however you spell it.

Dazed and Jungfused. He let those nipples see daylight and hasn't looked back.

JK is single-handedly dragging us along in Chapter 2, force-feeding us some grown-ass man full bleed adult Bangtan with his cigarette-smoking, nipple-feuled photos.

You know Mr. OG with the nipples will need to step up his game now right?

Tae x Layover ... poor guy wondering why everyone was cursing him out during his listening party on Stationhead.

So I listened to Layover. Added it to my playlists. It's nice, jazzy, R&B. Those genres are not my usual vibe.

Of all the songs, I think Slow Dancing is the one I like best. They were right to choose that as the title track.

The MV is gorgeous, except for the weird images of Yeontan in the trees of the mountain. Those kinda creeped me out... a little hokey, lol.

I was surprised that the songs are heavy in English lyrics. I know Tae has memorized things in English for things like award shows and all, it never seemed like he was confident in speaking English so it surprises me there is so much English in these songs.

Perhaps this is why he had Jungkook record the guides so he could follow them to help with pronunciation.

I watched a few of his Layover promotion interviews. I've been waiting to see him let more of his personality out during this solo rollout.

Tae is very animated and expressive when he speaks. And this is where I say he would excel at acting. He mentioned wanting to play a villian and I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT!

The Weverse Magazine story and today's Suchwita episode were more enlightening to me than anything else so far and gave me more insight as to the differences between him and the others. He made me understand his personality better. He made me realize or remember how sentimental he is. They talked in-depth about several topics: 2018, Chapter 2, individual projects and best of all they talked about when they get back together as 7. It did make me tear up when he said when they get back together he would like them to go on a trip together.

Anyway...

Tae has been feeding us on Instagram daily along with Namjoon...

Happy 29th birthday Namjoon!

You are loved and admired. Thank you for normalizing fuzzy mole head Bangtan, but I'm still going to fall down in a weeping mess when I see Jimin's head like that.

RM just going about his business and showing Jimin some art. The Leeum Museum is within walking distance of their apartments at Nine One, not that I think they walked there, they probably went in Jimin's car since Joon still doesn't drive... just kidding... but who knows. I got behind a Porsche Panamera the other day and was thrilled. That's a much larger car than I originally thought it was.

[Pretty sure that's a drink Jimin's holding in his left hand. Maybe iced coffee.]

I want to think that some deep conversations happened while these two were contemplating art. How can deep conversations NOT happen when you are hanging around Joon?

And Hobi and Jin still making their presence known on Weverse and IG. We are on the downslide for Jin. I can't wait for him to be back.

I think, not 100% sure, but I think after Korean men are discharged from the military they are automatically put in reserves. I didn't know that until the other day. So we may think they are scott-free when they are discharged but not really. Phooey.

💜💜💜

Just a quick thing for insight: Miley Cyrus said touring is hard for her because she felt her "ego" gets "overused" and that "it's hard to turn it off." She said "I think when you're training your ego every single night to be active, that's the hardest switch, for me, to turn off." Having every day the relationship between her and other humans to be basically 'subject' and 'observer' isn't healthy for her because it erases her humanity and her connection.

Just food for thought...

[misshoneyimhome]

Chapter 4 - 

Prologue I 01 I 02 I 03 I 04 I 05 I 06 I 07 I 08 I 09 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14.I I 14.II

Summary; a terrible misunderstanding can always be solved over a solid portion of Italian food; Julia and William sort their troubles out, and find themselves getting more personal and closer;

Tags; William NylanderxOfc, soft!William; Halloween; “We never go out of style”

Warnings; none I think; maybe indication of steamy relationship; 

A/N; trying to dig a little deeper, so their friendship will grow even further; I just feel like William is the perfect chill guy to talk to about everything, and I’d love nothing more to just spend time with him on the sofa 😉

Words; 3.5K

-

“And when we go crashing down, we come back every time”

As William and Julia arrived at William's apartment building, they rode the lift to the 33rd floor, and he guided them into his condo.

"Hello there," Julia greeted with enthusiasm as they were welcomed by Pablo and Banksy at the entrance.

"Looks like someone's really excited to see you, huh,” William remarked with a chuckle as he made his way to the kitchen through the living room.

"I'm pretty excited to see you too," she playfully responded, engaging with the energetic Goldendoodle as they moved into the living area.

Julia was left speechless when she caught sight of the breath-taking view from the living room.

“Shiiit,” she whispered softly as she entered the room, and William couldn't help but chuckle as he fetched plates from the kitchen. "You know, I’d kill for a view like this," Julia joked.

William grinned, enjoying her reaction. "Well, I suppose I could always check out if there’s another condo available," he teased, placing the plates on the coffee table.

Julia laughed, "If only I could afford to live in a place like this."

"You never know" William playfully replied, "maybe one day you'll be the famous architect behind a skyscraper with an even better view."

Julia slightly blushed at the compliment, and they both settled down to enjoy their meal while watching TV and taking in the mesmerising cityscape before them. 

As Julia admired the breathtaking view, she couldn't help but take in the exquisite details of William's condo. The spacious living room featured plush, cream-colored sofas that contrasted beautifully with the rich, dark wood flooring. Soft, ambient lighting cast a warm and inviting glow across the room, and a tastefully arranged collection of art adorned the walls, hinting at William's appreciation for creativity.

Large, floor-to-ceiling windows dominated one wall of the living room, offering a panoramic vista of the city below. The twinkling lights of skyscrapers stretched as far as the eye could see, making it feel like they were dining among the stars.

"I didn't know you liked Sugo's," William remarked as they unpacked their takeaway.

"I've only tried it once, just last week," Julia responded. "Auston and Mitch had recommended it, so Charlie and I decided to give it a shot, and now I'm in love."

William chuckled at her words. "Well, it's pretty amazing."

They both sat on the sofa, with Pablo and Banksy happily joining them, as they savoured their Italian cuisine and watched a rerun of one of William's favourite TV shows.

During their meal, they exchanged stories about their day, discussing Julia's busy workday and how William’s training had been tough but good. While their conversation remained platonic, they both felt a slightly urge to delve into more personal topics, as they had during their previous time, they were alone.

"You feel ready for the upcoming games?" Julia asked, offering a warm smile as she set her cutlery down to indicate she had finished eating. She then sat back relaxing on the sofa with her feet up, and William mirrored her relaxed composure as he’d also finished his food. 

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling good about the games. We've been working hard on techniques, and I'm in great shape, so.”

"I'm sure you'll do great," Julia said with a soft, friendly smile. "You work hard, Willy. It's quite impressive how dedicated you all are."

"Well, it's our job, and we get paid quite well, but it's also our passion," William said with a light chuckle. "We work hard because we love it."

Julia smiled as she admired his calm demeanour and his genuine passion for hockey, which shone through.

"I envy you," she admitted softly. William looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression, encouraging her to continue. "I mean, you have talent, and luckily, you're passionate about your sport. You've always known what you wanted to do with your life."

"I suppose,” William smiled. “What about you?”

"Oh, I've never been so sure," Julia said, stroking Pablo. "I spent two years working and travelling because I didn't know what else to do. Then I ended up in Business School, which I never thought I would, but it seemed right at the time."

Julia paused, uncertain if she was revealing too much. However, William's attentive gaze put her at ease, and she sensed that he wanted her to continue.

"You didn’t like it?" 

Julia shrugged. "People kept telling me I was smart and had a thing for numbers, but it’s not like I loved it. I just did it to get a degree in something. But then when I moved back to London and found the job at Milton's, I was genuinely excited. I knew nothing about the construction business, but as it turned out, I was pretty good at project management. Plus, my financial skills came in handy, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time."

William smiled. He found her story intriguing. Julia was indeed intelligent, and he could tell that she enjoyed making an effort regarding her work - which he could very much relate to.

"Why exactly did you move back to London?" he inquired, and Julia's smile faded a bit. She sighed and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Because of my ex-boyfriend," she said quietly, looking down at her glass of water in her hand. "After he’d finished his master’s degree, he wanted to move back to England, so I moved in with him," Julia added, managing a faint smile.

Julia had met Ezra during Business School in Copenhagen. He was a couple of years older than her, and another fellow Brit, who’d taken the opportunity to study abroad, and when he met Julia, he was immediately intrasquad. And so was she. Ezra was the overall son-in-law dream guy with confidence, and his finances and life all together. He had a habit of getting what he wanted with his overly charming character and schmuck smile – which Julia now, when rethinking it, thought to be more narcissistic and arrogant style of behaviour. 

"Sorry, if you don't want to talk about it," William said softly, sensing Julia's diminishing enthusiasm when discussing her ex. She looked up at him and offered a smile.

"It's okay; it was tough at the time, but I'm all good now."

"What happened?"

Julia hesitated for a moment. She was somewhat surprised by William's curiosity about her past.

But William wanted to know more about her past. A part of him was curious to know, how such an intelligent, strong, and independent woman, had chosen to move across the world, when she seemed to have it all already. 

"Not much, really... the nice version is that we simply grew apart," she replied.

"And the not-so-nice version?" William chuckled.

"Well, he had a change of heart, out of nowhere," Julia simply stated.

"Like how? Did he kick you out, or..."

"Yes… Well, we were engaged," Julia sighed, and William's eyes widened a bit. "The bastard proposed on New Year's Eve, and I said yes. But then, five months later, he changed his mind."

"Wait, what?" William was taken aback a little. "Just like that?"

"Our relationship wasn't perfect... after several arguments and discussions, I expressed that I wanted more, like travelling together and experiencing new things. For him, it meant taking our relationship to the next level, so he proposed," Julia explained, chuckling softly. 

"But why did you say yes if you didn't want to?"

Julia had never really liked the question - a question she had been asked too many times, but she knew the answer.

"People do crazy things… when they're in love," she simply replied.

William didn’t know how to reply. Hearing Julia speak about her previous relationship made him understand why she was cautious about her feelings towards him. She had been hurt by her ex, and now she likely wanted to be more guarded with her heart. It all made sense.

"He sounds like a jerk," William finally managed to say, which made Julia laugh a little.

"Yeah, I suppose," she smiled. "But honestly, looking back, it was probably for the best. I never would have fit into his lifestyle; his family was all about flaunting their wealth and impressive educations."

William nodded in understanding and smiled. "That doesn't really sound like you."

Julia chuckled. He was right, but the fact that they had grown so close in such a short matter of time for him to say something like that, she found quite enjoyable. "Not at all - his mother wanted me to be a stay-at-home mum, which there's nothing wrong with, but it's not really for me."

William joined in on Julia's light laughter. "No, I couldn't imagine you doing that. You're definitely a workaholic."

“Oi!” Julia exclaimed, "I mean, true… but low blow.”

They both chuckled for a little while, Julia still petting Pablo, who lay beside her.

“I’m sorry, JJ - you deserve better,” William offered a soft smile. 

“Thanks, but it’s all good now, besides I’m a work in prog-mess,” she said, offering a soft smile. "Sorry, let’s talk about something else - something not so dull and depressing.”

William chuckled lightly as they redirected their conversation back to hockey and how he had been preparing for the games.

Julia had been growing increasingly fond of hockey since she was welcomed into the NHL world. She felt like a part of the team's circle of friends and family, thanks to Charlie and Mitch, and to some extent, William.

"He really seems to like you, huh," William smiled as he glanced at Pablo, who was still lying by Julia's legs.

"Well, it's a good thing I like him too," she smiled. "Although it might be time for me to head home, sorry Pablo."

William smiled as Julia slowly got up from the sofa, so she didn't disturb Pablo too much.

"Do you need a ride home?"

Julia shook her head. "I'm good, Wonderboy, but thanks."

“A big, tough girl, right,” William chuckled. 

He smiled as he closed the front door behind Julia after she had left his condo. He wasn't used to spending such intimate time with a girl where it wasn't sexual or flirtatious. He wasn't used to having conversations that delved into feelings and deep thoughts. But with Julia, he found it effortless to spend hours just talking. It was comfortable, and it felt right.

Approximately 30 minutes later, William received a message from Julia:

jjonesss: Home now 😉 Thanks for tonight - please say goodnight to Pablo and Banksy for me 🐶 williamnylander: They say goodnight too 🐶

**

The team was on the road for 10 days.

Julia and William's communication had increased quite a bit since they'd last spoken. It started innocently enough, with Julia sharing an Instagram post with a joke about the differences between the Scandinavian countries. Then, William shared a video about the distinctions between UK English and American English, and things just snowballed from there. It didn’t take long before they were chatting almost every day - well, mostly through Reels. 

Their interactions became something of a habit. which was almost more frequent than the constant communication between Auston and Charlie. While William and Julia kept their conversations friendly, with some light teasing and banter, Auston and Charlie's discussions took a steamier and more intense turn. Since Auston was a young, charming bachelor on the road, Charlie, in her typical cheeky style, had offered to "lend him a hand" to keep his spirits up.

Fortunately, the girls talking to the lads was a good thing, as it turned out they needed some cheering up. The boys won the first of five matches but ended up losing the other four.

Auston had called Charlie from his hotel room after the third game, wanting to talk and have her distract him from the loss. He wasn’t exactly good at showing his emotions, but Charlie had a way of drawing out his feelings, which, truth be told, he secretly enjoyed.

William, on the other hand, remained cool and collected after matches. He was the easy-going lad who always looked on the bright side. His sayings like "we'll get them next time" and "hey, at least we did score a pretty good goal" endeared him to his teammates. Mitch also helped keeping the spirit light with his terrible dad-like jokes and cheesy comments. 

While the team was on the road, Julia and Charlie would either go to their favourite bar or just hang out at home to watch the games. Julia was the cook in charge, and Charlie enjoyed her growing friendship with her not-so-new British co-worker. They’d talk about work and the games, but mostly about Charlie’s new relationship with Auston - which was still on situationship level - as well as Julia’s quirky friendship with William. And then they’d of course also talk generally about men, dating, sex, and much more. 

-

On Sunday, they all decided to go out for brunch, including Stephanie and Tessa. The girls felt the need for some time off as well, having been the ones lending a listening ear to their men as they discussed their recent losses. While they were more than happy to be there for their partners, they also recognised the importance of taking a break over brunch.

And for some much-needed girl talk. 

"I mean," Stephanie began, as they shared their thoughts and experiences of being in relationships with NHL hockey players, "I adore Mitch, and I genuinely want to support him. But sometimes, I just need some me-time, you know?"

Tessa nodded in agreement, fully understanding the sentiment.

"Not to scare you, Charlie, or anything," Stephanie continued with a light chuckle, "but being with these guys... it's not always a walk in the park."

Charlie nodded, letting out a light laugh in response. "Don't worry, Steph, Auston and I are nowhere near that close to a relationship. For now, it's all about having fun," she explained, and the girls smiled, intrigued by the ongoing dynamic between the happy almost-couple.

"Well, I think there's definitely something more to it," Tessa chimed in. "Mo mentioned that Auston has talked quite a bit about you in the locker room."

Julia and Stephanie playfully teased Charlie with playful "oooohhh's" and flirty looks.

"Ladies, please! We're just having a great time," Charlie reassured them, but the girls continued to giggle and wink, causing Charlie to blush even more.

"And just how great is this time, exactly?" Julia mischievously inquired, clearly looking for some juicy details.

Charlie leaned in and whispered, "Let's just say that Auston may play inside the lines on the ice, but in bed, he's all about playing way outside those lines."

The girls couldn't contain their excitement, responding with synchronised "oohhhh's."

"And... just how large is his... stick?" Tessa playfully asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure I want to know,” Stephanie said.

“Oh, I do,” Julia chuckled.

As if on cue, a waiter approached with a massive pepper grinder, offering to season their food.

Charlie glanced at the grinder, then back at the girls, raising her eyebrows a couple of times, leaving no doubt in their minds.

"oooohhhh," the other girls responded in unison, thoroughly entertained by the playful banter.

***

October 31st – Halloween 

On the next Monday, Julia found herself strolling the streets of Toronto on a chilly night, all dressed up in her costume.

As she, Phoebe, Tyler, and Keith, a friend of Tyler, meandered through the neighbourhood, their outfits drew compliments and giggles from fellow trick-or-treaters. Phoebe's zombie princess attire, in particular, was striking, with makeup that truly made her appear undead. A wish of her own. Tyler confidently strutted in his Iron Man costume, while Keith embraced the role of Captain America with patriotic enthusiasm.

However, when Phoebe suddenly announced her urgent need for the loo, Julia contemplated making a small detour to William's flat, as it was conveniently nearby. It was Halloween, after all, and a quick visit to a friend's flat seemed like a fun idea.

jjonesss: hey Willy, are you at home? 😊 williawmnylander: yeah, why? 😊 jjonesss: would you mind if we pop round real quick? I’ve got a six-year-old princess who really needs to pee, and we're just around the corner from your place 😅williamnylander: sure, no problem 😊

“Don’t worry, Phoebe, we can swing by my friend Willy's place,” Julia reassured the nearly bursting girl.

"Willy?" Phoebe inquired; her curiosity piqued. "Is he like Willy Wonka?"

Julia couldn't help but laugh at the comparison. "Well, not exactly, love. He's not a chocolatier with a magical factory, but he's a really nice guy and a great friend."

Phoebe, with her vivid imagination, appeared intrigued by the concept of a friend named 'Willy,' even if he wasn't a candy-maker with a whimsical world of chocolate and wonder.

Approaching William's apartment building, Julia rang the doorbell, her Cruella de Vil costume certainly catching the eye. After the buzz, they rode the lift, as Phoebe’s eyes were almost watering. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing an amused William, dressed casually, having opted to skip a Halloween costume this year.

"Well, look who's here," William greeted with a grin, taking in their costumes. "You all look great!"

Julia laughed. "Thanks, William. Happy Halloween!" She then gestured towards Phoebe, who was hopping from foot to foot. "Phoebe desperately needs to use the loo. Mind if we come in for a minute?"

"Of course, come on in!" William stepped aside to allow them entry. “It’s that door over there,” he pointed. 

“Thanks, Wonka!” Phoebe exclaimed as she hurried inside.

“Did she just call me Wonka?” William asked Julia, raising an eyebrow.

Julia couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, that’s sort of your new nickname,” she said, giving him a playful wink.

William let out a small laugh, then noticed Keith and Tyler's costumes. "Iron Man and Captain America, huh? Great choices, boys!" he complimented.

Tyler and Keith stood almost completely frozen with their mouths open. But then Julia nudged Tyler’s side lightly and he shook out of it. He beamed with pride. "Thanks, William!"

Julia knew that the young boy was completely starstruck, but he managed to sort of play it cool.

Inside, Phoebe found her way to the loo, while Julia, Tyler, and Keith settled in the living room. William offered them some Halloween candy, and they chatted for a bit about their trick-or-treating adventures.

Pablo immediately hopped onto Julia’s lap, which elicited a chuckle from William.

“Look who’s happy to see you, huh.”

Banksy was quick to join them as well but decided to seek cuddles from the young boys instead. 

Julia simply smiled as she petted the spiriteddoodle.

“If it isn’t my favourite little guy,” she exclaimed.

“Be careful, Pablo - she’s a dog killer,” William joked, referring to her costume.

“Don’t worry, honey - it’s only Dalmatians,” she pretended to whisper. “And naughty boys.”

Phoebe eventually came round to join them in the living room. "Thank you, Wonka," she said with a grateful smile.

Julia turned to William. "Thanks for letting us drop by, Will. We should get going so the kids can continue their candy hunt."

"Absolutely, anytime! Happy Halloween, guys!" William said as they all walked back to the hallway.

As Julia, Phoebe, Tyler, and Keith prepared to leave William's flat and continue their Halloween adventure, William couldn't resist offering a compliment on Julia's Cruella de Vil costume.

"By the way, JJ, you look really sexy," he said with a charming smirk.

Julia felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, but she tried to maintain a nonchalant demeanour. "Thanks, Willy. It's just a Halloween costume, you know."

Despite her efforts to downplay the compliment, she couldn't help but secretly relish the flattery. William had a talent for making her feel special, and even though they were just friends, there was an undeniable chemistry between them.

With a final wave, they left William's building, continuing their Halloween journey with smiles on their faces.

***

After Julia had finished removing her makeup and settled into her bed, she scrolled through her phone and decided to message William.

jjonesss: hey, just wanted to thank you again for today 😊 you truly saved a damsel in distress 😉 williawmnylander: haha no problem at all 😂 the least I could do, and it was nice to see you jjonesss: we were very grateful 😊 likewise, the boys only talked about you all the way home 😂  williawmnylander: well, I am pretty amazing, so of course they did 😂 jjonesss: wow… think you need to work on that confidence just a tad 😂 williawmnylander: what can I say, not all superheroes wear capes 😎💪🏻 besides, at least I got to see you in that outfit 😛 jjonesss: William! Inappropriate much 😅 you’re such an idiot  williawmnylander: yeah, but a charming idiot 😜

Julia couldn't help but chuckle at his cheekiness, but she also had to admit to herself that she rather enjoyed it. 

[apples-of-apples]

No, go ahead. talk about digimon games. I need more research 👁👄👁

*Heavy breathing* Someone asked about digimon...

*AHEM*

anyway, I'll tell you about the ds games! yes the world games and ds games are separate even through two of the games are known as digimon world ds (dawn/dusk) I'll explain.

The digimon ds games are a bit confusing for new players as the English translation made them be named after the digimon world franchise instead of existing as their own thing, but the original name they carry are the Digimon Story games! Story because they are the jrpg part of digimon lol

There are also a few universal mechanics like farm islands, devolution + evolution, SPECIES EXP, etc. the game will teach you about these, but feel free to ask about them!

-----

DIGIMON STORY (digimon world ds)

Pros:

Game is pretty short for a Jrpg!

Digimon selection isn't too shabby with there being many classic ones in the bunch, So there's a lot of variety!

Post games quests are really fun!

Digimon can enter the farm and give quests (I like how it gives the digimon some personality without needing to be full characters all right)

Cons:

This game is extremely easy. Until that boss.

Like this game is so easy that it almost leaps into mind-numbing

The mind-numbing comes from the grind being really bad...

Some of the best designed and most iconic digimon are locked behind online battles, you might see why this is a problem.

maps are mazes. this is not good. (They aren't hard, but they can be a bit confusing)

----

A quick summary for this game is that it's definitely made with the idea that kids are going to want to try and get every digimon and that they'll spend A LOT of time grinding for that. Otherwise this game is actually pretty fun!

-----

DIGIMON STORY SUNBURST AND MOONLIGHT (digimon world dawn and dusk)

Pros:

Game is a bit harder than the original digimon story!

Almost the same amount of digimon as the original digimon story!

Cool fusion digimon are no longer locked behind online battles!!!

extremely quick if you use the resources at your disposal! I've beaten it in like 18~ hours.

Cons:

Grind is much, much worse (It can become much easier, but it requires planning)

Cool fusion digimon are locked behind post game quest that is the second to last fight in the game :/

Side quests are mandatory throughout the story(Not a personal problem, but a warning)

You cannot get 100% in one game, because these games have ✨Version exclusives✨ plus optional side-quests are locked behind certain digimon, with certain personalities, with certain farm islands, and ✨✨multiple✨✨ ✨version exclusives also have quests✨

Maps are ripped from the original digimon story! with some changes!

Final post game quest needs to be unlocked through cheats because it was locked behind online battles as well...

----

Quick summary! I literally love these games, it's Stockholm syndrome 💖💖💖. also despite the negatives these games aren't that bad! just a bit boring sometimes! Planning is a bit more important in this game as a lot of things depend on how much mechanics you can figure out... honestly I'd say to give it a try! Btw here's a digivolution guide for the game! you can thank me later lol

----

DIGIMON STORY LOST EVOLUTION (No official translation)

Pros:

best ds game by far!

More digimon than ever with a built in evolution tree checker to plan out parties much easier!

less grind due to the game giving out more experience per battle, and a longer overall playtime so levels will not suddenly jump for any bosses!

a decent story with fun locations!

optional bosses throughout the game that reference other digimon media!

a reason to grind past levels! (tree of evolution plates, with expand if you want!)

side quests now have a list to see what digimon you need! and actually good rewards for completing them!

NO MORE LOCKED FUSION DIGIMON!!!!

Farms are finally helpful! They give plenty of exp once you unlock the upgrdaes for them!

Cons:

mandatory quests are still here!

you might need to look for a guide to see what digimon have what evolution plates for your personal team!

Ancient beasts and sovereigns are basically post-game digimon...

Post game quest is locked behind 100,000 tamer points... (for reference main game is completed with only 50,000 points necessary)

there is another That boss you will need to grind for.

Only official translation is an English translation made by fans :/ (game isn't hard to follow without a translation, plus there are Eng guides with digimon evolution info sooooo it's more a personal preference :p)

Has pokemon HM system but the digimon have traits that allow them to do specific things on the map... (you get three digimon with traits to help progress, but you do not need to stick with them, just keep this system in mind.)

30 digimon limit :(

-----

Quick summary! This is unironically one of my favorite games ever! It's game play improves greatly from dawn and dusk, and are very easy to get into without much knowledge of anything! There are a few problems outside of nitpicks, but if you choose one game to play out of all of these, I would 100% recommend this one!

[its-vannah]

The Moment I Knew | Part Three | Charlie Weasley x Reader

A/N: I love writing confident and shy Charlie. He's too cute and pure.

Warnings: None, just fluff with a hint of angst

Series: Check out my master list for chapters one and two!

Walking towards the burrow, you felt a sense of belonging before you even fully stepped onto the property. As a teenager, you had spent countless holidays and summers with the Weasley's. Being back felt like coming home—something you hadn't felt in a long time.

Now, as you walked down the narrow pathway to the slightly lopsided house, you began questioning everything. If Bill, your best friend, was going to marry Fleur—would you still be welcome during holidays? Would Molly still send you a sweater with your first initial knitted on the front? How many owls would you get from Ginny telling you about her latest Quidditch games?

Then the insecurities started to appear. Did the dress look alright? Was it too long—too short? Did it hug just the right places or the wrong ones? Too tight or too loose? And your hair? Had you made it look presentable? The necklace—would he realize that it's the one—

"Y/N!" A voice called out.

Looking up from the path, your eyes focused on none other than Charlie Weasley. For the first time in five years, you were looking at one of your best friends.

Ignoring the pain of running in heels, you burst into a run, sprinting down the rest of the pathway and into his arms, pulling him into a tight hug.

"You always were a hugger," Charlie acknowledged, "Weren't you?"

Swatting his shoulder, you teasingly scoffed, "As if you aren't, Weasley."

"You know, when I got your owl, I was quite surprised," He admitted, pulling away from the hug and throwing an arm around your shoulder, "I didn't expect you to come."

Raising a brow, you looked at him sideways, "And why is that?"

He gave you a knowing look, "I think everyone but Bill knows."

You pretended not to understand, "Know what?"

"Come on, Y/n/n, you can't expect me to fall for that," Charlie said, "You were one of the brightest, bravest witches that Hogwarts has ever seen. Finding out the truth about the cursed vaults? Remember that I was there, too. But..."

Rubbing your arm anxiously, you shook your head, "But what? How does this have to do with anything?"

"You've always worn your heart on your sleeve, love," He frowned, "I'm just sorry that Bill never noticed."

Your eyes met his, glossy with potential tears, "Charlie..."

"Y/N, can I tell you something?"

Nodding, you stopped walking, "Anything,"

"Y/N, I—"

"Hey!" A shout came from behind you, "I thought I said no aurors at the wedding!"

Turning, a smile appeared on your face, "If it isn't William Weasley! The famous cursebreaker."

Charlie's expression dropped, and he returned to a quiet state, watching as Bill approached the two of you.

"And soon to be husband." He grinned, and your heart dropped, "But I'm not nearly as famous as my brother here."

You turned back to Charlie, playfully batting your lashes at him, "Is there something you're not telling me, Weasley?"

He stayed silent, so Bill answered for him, "Little Charlie here put together a book about dragons."

"A guide." Charlie corrected, starting to mumble, "Not everyone knows how to properly handle dragons... It's time they learn."

"Now he's gone and bought himself his own little flat and his very own car." Bill added

Your eyes widened, "You bought yourself a car? I thought you preferred flying!"

"I do," Charlie said, "I just... Miss the Ford Anglia sometimes—being so far away..."

"Perk up, Charlie, we're only teasing," Bill smiled, leaning in to give you a one arm hug, "I've got to finish welcoming everyone, but I'll see you guys later, yeah?"

Charlie nodded, watching his brother walk away. It was silent for a moment until he cleared his throat, "I should finish getting ready, too."

"You're not already done?" You asked, "You look great—really.*

He shook his head, "It's my hair. Can't seem to tame it. It's not this humid in Romania."

"Do you need help?" You offered, but he didn't take the hint.

"I can't get anyone to help me in time for the ceremony. I'll just have to do it myself."

You chewed on your lip, "Charlie, I was offering to help."

"Oh." He sighed, nonchalantly, before his eyes widened, "Oh."

"If you're comfortable with it, I don't mind. Godric knows I had to help Penny and Talbott fix their hair back at school. Gave me practice."

"I don't want to put that in you or anything..."

You shook your head, "I'm all ready to go. We're just waiting on you. The ceremony doesn't start for another hour anyway, so I might as well. Come on, for old times sake."

With a sigh, he relented, "Alright, just make it look decent, alright?"

Smiling, you nodded, "I promise."

[silent-dragon]

Before you make that oiran-themed house explain to me what oirans are. Quickly. I don’t think you know what oirans are. It’s fine if you can’t explain though, I think we can all tell you don’t know anything about asian cultures based on how you draw asian ocs.

Normally i don't answer these but..welp got me in a mood.

Ah anon you just going to judge me solely on my awful artstyle?

Jokes on you..

I've been RPing a oiran based character in final fantasy XIV for 3yrs with a group of others who are from varied backgrounds.

My oiran themed idea isnt for twst if your thinking that..its for a monster au of my own world. I'm sure demons and monsters won't take kindly to you saying they don't look normal..lol. I'm not making a place with rl looking people with 100% accuracy thats boring..

I adore many cultures and do research..alot of it its possible to do you know? I asked my friends,deep internet searched,read books,absorbed everything.

Can we stop adding rl race to fandom ocs unless its stated as far as your concerned all my ocs are African cause I made them so boom what now? But really thats so stupid i dont make ocs based on race...I make them based on a character or a number of characters/ideas.

If you see my ocs as just a certain rl race you are mistaken cause last i checked places like Sunset Savanna or the Shaftlands are fictional places in a video game. The game doesn't have people labled by race so I do no either.

I also do not make the effort to draw my ocs in a style that I can't do. They all look the same blocky,flat,big eyed look cause thats just my bad artstyle ok? If want to know I practice using the utapri and love live artstyles as like guides and they do no have accurate features. I am not the person to look for such things im still a beginner at art and prefer having others who i commission from art for my ocs then my own.

NONE OF MY OCS ARE BASED 100% ACCURATELY TO A RL RACE OR RELIGION.

I rather make 100 demons then make a oc that is that. Inspiration and basing are different depending on the person.

Now if you come back to my askbox try without bringing up race cause by now its the lowest jerk card this fandom can throw at people your like the 4th person who has come at me like this...

Ive been told im terrible for making so many male ocs,dark skinned ocs,tanned skin ocs,and now this. It's getting old.

Im sorry im not poorly drawing your babygirl alpha...Ive long since stop catering to your hide behind a anon button kind..

[blue-kyber]

Trick or Treat? 🦇

🍬 Treat :)

A snippet from part 2 of "Out There" that I've never posted anywhere because of its spoilery nature.

Enjoy. :)

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

“These are too even anyway,” Will traced his finger around an arrow, amused by how its glow brightened at his touch, “It doesn’t look natural. Someone had to have made them. What other choice do we have?”

He had a point. “Ok. Following the convenient glowing arrows, it is.”

As soon as they began moving, the path behind them winked out, always staying lit alongside the group.

“What arrows?” Siffon begged. 

They moved through more connecting forks in the cave system, following their illuminated guide. “I’d like to say this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen, but today just feels like one of those gifts that keeps on giving,” Yune said. 

He watched Will running his hand along the arrow path, brightening them one by one, and got in on it by tapping the ones that dimmed to relight them. 

He laughed. This was actually entertaining. He was having fun playing this game. “Hey, Sparky. How many do you think I can get going in a line?”

Will walked backwards, “Um… Ten.”

“Hold on, Princess.” He let Siffon slip down off his back so she could balance against Will, “Back away from the wall and watch a master at work.”

Will and Siffon moved to the other side and the lights dimmed. 

Yune backtracked far enough, then took off in a sprint, sliding his hand along the arrows.

They quickly brightened in rapid succession like runway lights.

“Go! Go! Go!” Will laughed as Yune flew past.

Siffon began to believe they were developing cave madness. They were playing in the dark.

Yune stopped up ahead. The arrows dimmed until they reached him. “Haha! Easy. Next time give me a challenge.”

“Ok, dork,” Will grinned, “I light up ten, then you gotta light up fifteen.”

“You’re on.” He started back to take over as a balancing aid for Siffon when his contacts flickered spastically, returned to normal, then died.

Yune’s world plunged into darkness. 

He stopped. 

He waited two seconds. Three, four, five, six…

His heart rammed into his ribs, and his breathing shortened. His blood thickened to a cold sludge. 

Will, the all-purpose tool light, the arrows, the cave, Siffon, even his own body, had swallowed up into a void that faded into alternating colors, clouded shapes, fractals, and swirls of light. 

Anything definitive in the 3D world vanished.

And didn’t come back. 

A pulse of panic hit Will like a deep bass beat. He turned to find a stunned, wide-eyed Yune staring out into nothing, “Yune? Are you alright?”

Yune forced his voice through a closed throat, “I can’t see.” 

“I know it’s dark, but--” Will tried.

“No, Will, you don’t understand. I mean I can’t see,” he held his hand in front of his face, but only knew it was there because of proprioception - the motion and the sensation of his muscles trembling.

His skin turned clammy and his pulse rose. His voice quivered from the permanence of his reality.

“...I’m blind.”

[scholarofthenights]

Love, Hate and Dungeons: A divergent perspective on Baldur's Gate 3

I want to preface what I write by saying that Baldur's Gate 3 deserves every ounce of praise it has gotten so far. I've only experienced ACT I of the story and it is more than enough to see the craft that went into this. Years of development and Early Access allowed for a game which really does show what an RPG can be. As someone who plays D&D themselves, I can say that it perfectly translates all the mechanics of the game and throws in stuff like character creation, fully voiced (and well-acted I might add) NPCs and a diverging, cohesive storyline that allows for all the choices a character can make. For all the praise I could give it, the game, much like many other RPGs before, had left me frustrated. I want to enjoy this absolute masterwork, but I somehow can't. This left me asking, why? Why can't I have fun with something which, by all accounts, is one of the best games of all time?

At first, I wasn't sure if the combat system in Dungeons & Dragons was right for me in a computer setting. I had some tough fights, and poorly executed battles, and experienced some bad fortune. However, despite my personal reservations, the D&D combat system is actually quite efficient here. I learned the hard way that it's best to avoid tackling difficult battles at 2 AM. As someone who's played XCOM, I can say that a success rate of 60% is good enough. Moreover, the system also works well during dialogues, offering different options and abilities that lead to interesting outcomes. Overall, it's a decent and enjoyable system, where you can even watch the dice being rolled. And if you do fail, you can always revert to the previous save. So, alright, the combat is fine, so maybe something is wrong with the story?

I have experienced I believe a good 90% of what ACT I has to offer and it is amazing how the writers can make you interested in every single character. From the smallest NPC to your very romanceable companions, you can really feel the life behind what are in essence fictional characters. I think what revealed to me the true issue I had with the game, was when I heard Lae'zel, one of the romance options express disapproval at my actions. I was not going to for her, Karlach is the absolute best girl, but this small interaction sent me into a panic mode nonetheless. I can handle fail states in games. Every strategy game I've played, at some point, forced me to go back to a previous save. That's fine, I approach these games like a puzzle box, with a simple end condition - win the game. RPGs feel more delicate. My autistic brain sometimes has trouble reading what I should say to get the specific ending I want and when my perfectionism is added, this creates one of the worst situations for me. Can I win and finish the game? Yes, definitely. Can I do so without causing myself a lot of emotional pain? I doubt so.

For me, video games always have an escapist quality to them. Baldur's Gate 3 creates an amazing, living world, where one can truly feel like an adventurer. However, with that vividness, I also get to experience all the anxieties that come with human interaction and relationships. I want to love this game, I really do. I do not want however to spend hours on walkthroughs and guides to learn that I made a crucial mistake several hours ago and it's ever losing IRL evenings of progress to correct that or having to live with the fact that either an important character died or doesn't love or worse. All I want is to shoot Eldritch Blasts and kiss the demon girl. What I hate is that it's all underpinned with the same anxiety that makes me take 2-3 business days to respond to simple texts.

[lit-works]

"Ah might've killed that man if he hadn't already been dead." Rogue says quietly.

"Learn from that lesson, kid, and be more careful in the future." I tell her. "But don't dwell on it. Death was probably a release for him, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"From the uniform he's wearin', I'd say he was one of the missing guards. The Hand would have only one reason to keep him alive as a prisoner," I explain. "They'd wanna know how many people are inside the base, and how to get through the mass-field wall. That's probably why the blew the generator up last night."

"You–you mean they tortured him?" Rogue chokes.

I nod, then dismiss the subject. Rogue looks pale, and I know it's not just the moonlight. "As tough as she acts, she's really got a pretty tender heart," I think. "This is a lousy job for a teenager."

Still, the girl follows gamely behind me, determined to get even with the assassins,as I continue tracking the man whose trail has led me this far.

I can hear him as well as smell him now. From the way he stops occasionally and waits, I guess that he knows we're following him. I suspect he may even be leading us into an ambush. I wonder if he knows that I know he knows. That would make the game more deadly. My quarry's scent mingles with that of four other men. I've noticed that Hand assassins often travel and attack in packs of fives.

"We got a full house," I whisper to Rogue. "Let's blitzkrieg 'em! Thataway!"

Rogue gets a good grip beneath my arms and flies off with me. I don't see the ambush ahead, but I know it's there, waiting. Letting my intuition guide me, we soar over the brush until I see the slightest flicker of a shadow. Then I signal Rogue to drop me to the ground below.

My fall causes a small disturbance in the brush, but the shadowy shape that moves toward me, sword drawn, is unprepared for my sudden appearance. With a perfectly placed kick to the knee and a second blow to the back of the skull with the side of my hand, I put my attacker out of commission, then quickly check out my foe. He wears the crimson robes of the Hand, and he's armed to the teeth with weapons only a ninja would use.

I hear a disturbance several yards away and realize Rogue has made her first strike. I sneak up on the noise until I can see what's going on. Rogue has knocked out another assassin. He lies slumped against a tree. In close quarters of the forest, though, my partner can hardly keep taking off and dive-bombing her targets, so she remains on the ground, trying to land a blow on a third and fourth ninja. With her strength, one blow is all she'll need, but The Hand assassins are agile and dodge her punches and kicks expertly.

As I watch, Rogue's attackers discover that their shurikens merely bounce off her and that their shortswords, which have shredded her costume, haven't even nicked her.

I'm reluctant to reveal my position until I see the fifth assassin, but one of the ninja pulls out a small weapon that I know can spell trouble for the young woman.

The device is a metsubishi, a small box with a mouthpiece and a blowhole. Customarily, it's loaded with dust or powdered pepper, which can be blown into an enemy's face. Knowing the Hand as I do, however, I'd be willing to be this Metsubishi contains something a bit more deadly. Rogue's skin may be thick, but her lungs are vulnerable, and I must act immediately.

I launch myself at the assassin aiming the weapon at Rogue. To keep him from maneuvering in close enough to harm her, 

I spring from the undergrowth, slamming the ninja into a tree before he can blow through the deadly Metsubishi.

"Whoah!" Rogue cries out, startled by my action. She has no idea that I may have just saved her skin.i give the ninja another kick for good measure.

[mechanicalinertia]

STMPD Recommends Bubblegum Crisis Fanfiction - Resources: The Licensed Bubblegum Crisis RPG Books

No. Not my own RPG. That's... in a state of transition. I broke a bunch of stuff in it and will probably need to get back to it someday to fix it. Not high on my priority list.

And no, not the Shadowrun Second Edition Partial Conversion drafted up by Neo No Armor Against Fate's Shawn Hagen. Apparently Shawn maintains that his RPG conversion is better, said he was able to dissect the combat easily on Usenet back in the day. And he might very well be right in terms of mechanics, except, oh, wait, probably not, because it's Shadowrun, amirite folks?

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week.

No, I don't claim to make any defenses for the BGC RPG as an RPG book, and I'll explain what I mean in a bit. I will, however, argue that these sterling little books, published in the two years before R. Talsorian went dormant for nearly two decades (cyberpunk 3.0 notwithstanding), are hands-down the best 'guides' to Crisis 2032 you could ever want. If you're writing fiction in 2032, and maybe you're pressed for ideas, I say give these three books, each shorter than the last, a read...

Which you can do electronically, for free, right here.

This is going to take awhile, isn't it? Well, yeah, we're talking a few hundred pages of small-font text and some really good settei (concept art) serving as the pictures, some of which saw no reproduction outside Japan at all. So, like the multi-part epic rant I've had brewing in my drafts folder for the past half a year, let's break it down into sections. We'll start with

DON'T ACTUALLY PLAY BUBBLEGUM CRISIS: MEGATOKYO 2033 THE ROLEPLAYING GAME: ARU PEE GEE NO DENSETSU

For context, and this is kind of an interesting story: R.Talsorian Games, the primary publisher behind the OGBGCRPG (OG for short) made its fame on two big product lines.

First there was wargame / RPG hybrid Mekton, pioneered by Mike Pondsmith back in the eighties as a mecha fighting game, in the halycon days when most anime watchers got fansubbed tapes from conventions or were watching rebranded Voltronesques on Saturday mornings. Anime fandom as we know it, or even knew it in the nineties, just did not exist, and here's Pondsmith drawing up a whole fucking wargame to do it. The most recent edition circa the nineties was Mekton Zeta, which also had the mecha-building sourcebook Mekton Zeta Plus.

The other was Cyberpunk 2013, released in 1988, which was essentially a street level adaptation of Mekton's mechanics (called 'Interlock' 'cause all the systems could, e-hem, interlock), that got a cool sourcebook or two (including one inspired by cyberpunk classic Hardwired that was written by the novel's author) before getting a second edition in like '89 or '90. That's Cyberpunk 2020 - that's what put R.TAL on the map, that's what I wrote a shitty fanfic crossing with BGC about (It wasn't hard to do), that's what became Cyberpunk 2077, and that's also what became Cyberpunk RED once R.Tal got money from CDPR to make a new edition.

With me so far? I bet you're thinking, Kyle, "gosh and golly gee wilikers so they put their anime system together with their cyberpunk system, because all those parts interlocked just like you said, and they made Bubblegum Crisis!"

And oh, my sweet summer child, how your eyes are shut.

Yeah... So, the OG is actually run on a system called Fuzion, which blends R.Tal's loose network of systems with that of the HERO System, which is... one of those really complicated universal systems that they say can build anything and everything, was designed with a variety of advantages and disadvantages for characters to use to represent their character, and isn't GURPS. No, it was made more for a superhero RPG, I guess?

Anyway, somehow the two companies met, decided to make a joint universal system for all their work going forward, and called it Fuzion. Many other licensed games used it for awhile, people made universal themed supplements for it, but it's not in wide use anymore as far as I know.

Why? Let me see if I can explain by way of picture.

Champions used 3d6. Interlock used a d10. The devs argued and argued and argued over which type the game should be balanced around, then gave the fuck up. Does that fill you with confidence, readers?

So there's this sort of... highly elaborate mishing and mashing of various elements of two very different systems such that neither comes out the better for wear. Here's R.Talsorian's Lifepath, a character-backstory generator where you roll dice to build a character (setting-agnostic, because they were trying to sell a universal system); then here's Champions's Perks and Complications, bought using those same precious campaign points you're using to buy civilian gear (but aren't your players playing as Knight Sabers? Who needs real shit to be marked when you're building hardsuits with separate points entirely?), and complications must be activated x amount of times a session even if it diverts from the fun of playing the game. And so on and so forth. Shit, even crossing Cyberpunk with Mekton doesn't always work, since blocks of damage from Mekton (Kills) scale unsteadily with the more dice-driven combat of CP. Worse still is that the mecha system and the hacking system are off in MZ+ and CP2020 respectively, so if you want to custom-build hardsuits beyond the small pool of tools you're given on the last fucking page of the book, or you want your Nene equivalent to do something useful, nyah-nyah, go buy more books.

And then I'm sure Shawn Hagen has plenty of reasons why the combat doesn't work, but we're not paying attention to him. Whatever. Let's talk about what does work, which is a mix of worldbuilding lore, stuff the R.Tal writers seemed to just sort of come up with, and a great gallery across all three books of Fucking Cool Mecha (especially BGC EX).

LORE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS FOLKS

I mean that earnestly. It's hard to get right, especially when said lore reflects upon the tone of the actual content, the plot, the franchise, whatever. But when telling stories with a licensed game, some degree of lore is, to my mind at least, incredibly mandatory. Maybe not so much for games where the story ought to be made up as one goes along (see RPG's like The Sprawl), but in the case of BGCrisis, an anime which at the time had a pretty loyal fanbase chomping at the bit for answers for their questions about the wider universe the Sabers operated in, R.TAL had to do a mix of cribbing from untranslated material, the B-Club special and all that, and making their own shit up without looking like they'd cribbed from their own work (CP2020) overmuch. The result is very uneven, but charmingly so. I almost want to say it feels more grounded than CP2020 or Shadowrun, but is that just because it's comparatively light on the ground? Perhaps. The mandatory universe timeline is one page, and focuses more on putting years to events that were already canon instead of adding extraneous stuff in.

Likewise with what the politics look like worldwide. We get a few paragraphs about how the U.S. is recovering (not collapsed as in CP2020), Japan is doing pretty good for itself as GENOM's puppet-state, Russia successfully integrated into the EU even if Eastern Europe didn't (See? Wacky shit like that can only be called charming), and China's one big North Korea (which I think is a holdover from the CP2020 Pacific Rim Sourcebook, where Deng was assassinated by Maoist radicals.) We get another dry bit about the idea of a zaibatsu lifted straight from CP2020's Corpbook 1, where Arasaka is discussed... newspapers are now faxed (look it was in BGC OVA 1 what do you want me to tell you)... on and on it goes.

I suppose I like the lore independent of the actual characters because of a few clever predictions. One is using all the cybernetics-gone-bad in AD Police Files to explain why nobody has them in the 2032 OVA, a link I sense wasn't really made concrete until this RPG. It's one of the most interesting interpretations of the source material and of cyberpunk tropes I've seen, you know, where all the splicing and dicing of the body turns out to be a fad and a failure, leaving those who bought into the trend left with butchered and failing bodies - in light of the crypto crash that seems to be dragging the stock market down back into recession / stagflation, that seems pretty classic capitalism.

The other is tied to Before And After, covering the impact of the cheap and now even more ubiquitous Boomers of Crash:

I mean, what can I say? I like predictions of the future that actually consider the effects of hyper-futuristic technology in that sort of way.

That's what a lot of the RPG's lore is at its best, basically working overtime to paper in the gaps left ignored by the series' creators. So we get a nuanced look into how ADAMA is different than similarly-sentient Boomers from the ADPF OVA; we get the Largo = Mason + Boomer Messiah explanation theory that the internet came up with just a year or two prior to the RPG's publishing; we get conspiracy theory proposals about whether or not GENOM undermined the cybernetics market to replace the enhanced with Boomers; we get to see the ADP go from hotshot riot suppression force able to slaughter undesirables en masse to actively disdained by GENOM; a weird consideration of how recognizing Boomer rights could still serve GENOM's agenda... on and on and on. It's such a mishmash of ideas, beautiful because of it.

Obviously no sane RPG player would ever give a rat's ass about any of this, but again, this was a product also marketed towards fans who just wanted a good worldbuilding book. I'm not saying you should take every part of the RPG's world into your own fanfiction, but you can take a great deal of it in and things will hold up.

POWER CREEP? YEAH, I'VE GOT THE POWER, CREEP!

The actual sourcebook sections of the sourcebooks are a) the characters, and b) the mecha. That's it, that's all. Civilian gear is almost an afterthought shoved into the front of the book like it didn't need to be there, cybernetics don't show up until Before and After. For although there is a section in the corebook proposing non-Saber campaigns players can run, they're essentially permutations of the already-existing types from CP2020: Corporates, mercenaries, medias, etc. And why, I ask you, would you run anything else but your own fanmade Saber team in your home city, overgrown and under threat? Shit, RTAL even went out of their way to put a few pages in EX, the last book in the series, highlighting player campaigns with online presences (Geocities, email addresses, etc.) and describing them in brief. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for the play sessions of the guys who did Mega-Gotham...

Anyway, back on topic. Both character pages and mecha pages get a great deal of settei transposed onto these pages, concept art ripped straight from Artmic's design docs and provided, again, more as a nerd resource than anything super useful. This especially comes into play in BGC: EX, where all the concept art and mecha are instead from everything that wasn't animated. Rejected concepts for hardsuits with wheels for feet; Boomer sketches only found in old hobby magazines; scribbles one of the Crash! mecha designers tried to get in that were apparently labeled 'problematic' (I guess he was a toy designer before all this?). I unironically love all this shit, even the beam cannons mounted on a hardsuit right where the boobplates are. Shit, my Discord profile pic is a non-Boomer mecha supposedly used by the JSDF, a 'Battlemover' whose origin I have no idea about, but which looks cool as hell. That's the kind of weirdo fan I am.

My point is that if you need to spice up your fiction, throwing 'new Boomer X' at the Sabers is one thing, giving the Sabers some power-up parts you dreamed up is another, but using the designs Artmic came up with before you did is more galaxy-brained than either. Shit, I should know, it was what Craig Reed did for the fanfics that I continued off of back in the day. And it's the same with these extraneous lore details that some rando RTAL staffer dreamed up a quarter-century ago, because they beg to have an entire fanfic made about any one of them. What happened to Jeena, folks? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anyway, that's it. That's all. Read through these and be a better fan because of it.

[sunnydaydevs]

PINNED POST 🌻

Hey, I'm Sunny and I am a slowly budding indie game developer and long time tumblrite - though most of my time on Tumblr has been spent in Fandom places, of course my works here may be influenced by games I have played and novels I have read (aren't we all?) but they will be 100% original in as much as anything can be.

The blog is still WIP as far as hard coding things in; real life is a bit of a trial at times but I'm working around it as best I can.

If you want an in depth run down of my current works, you can check it out here, and if you'd like a quick overview to know what I'm about feel free to click the read more below or hop into my askbox or messages. I can be slow to respond, but always eager! Can't wait to get to know some more people who share my interest.

(And now, a little bit about my current projects -- this may change over time.)

Twine IF: All the Queen's Men

My main project, currently getting a ground-up overhaul to implement more details and ideas as well as futher fleshing out characters. It's going to be a lengthy project but I'm really invested in writing it. All the Queen's Men sits where a dating sim meets strategy rpg, (If any of them become a VN, it will be this one.) The premise is that a war has been dragging on for years and the Queen of Etheria (player character) was widowed without an heir not so long ago. The royal council sees this as an opportunity for her to remarry not just for an heir, but to strengthen Etheria's position in the war. The choices made by the player Queen will have global influence, but she will also have to live with it personally. What is the price of peace? How many paths could lead there?

Twine IF: The Crown Will Fall

Formerly laid out as an RPG Maker game, The Crown Will Fall quickly became something I realized needed more description and detail than I could properly provide with RMMV. The story remains a fantasy rpg, character driven and of course strongly dependent on player choice. The premise is that the once kind and just ruler of the kingdom [player] lives in has grown cold hearted, cruel and dangerous in his paranoid assumptions, and started turning against his own people. In the grief-stricken aftermath of the destruction of your hometown, you make a vow to see justice once more. Whatever that means in the end.

Twine IF: Rewind

Rewind is a story I almost wrote as a novel before realizing what I really wanted to do with it was explore the reader's decisions and choices - something I'm seeking out now with Twine, though it's currently down the line on priority. You play an amnesiac, nonbinary person who has only the barest snatches of potentially unreliable memories and a slew of notes with no context. But with undeniable power under your skin and a world in crisis, it looks like you're going to have to take a chance.

RMMV: Homesteader

Homesteader might well be the prelude to a larger game down the road but it does stand alone. The difference being that Homesteader by itself is more of a farming / crafting sim and the full thing would be RPG meets strategy game. As it stands, your parents have been called out of retirement to aid the king once more. As your training is incomplete, you're left to finish it when they drop you off at an old fortress they'd served at. Being given the land they had left behind, it quickly becomes clear that there are going to have to be a lot of renovations and hard work to pay them off while spending time on your training, in hopes of reaching full knighthood under the guildmaster's guiding hand within three years.

Pixel Art: Farm Assets

So I am a huge fan of the farm sim genre. I've been playing Harvest Moon games since the days of the Gamecube and GBA (my favorite remains the GBA's A New Beginning though MFOMT gets a shoutout for nostalgia and DS Cute is really good) and I have logged... a lot of time on Stardew Valley, even more since I discovered mods. So I decided I would make some assets for people to enjoy, They may or may not go up on Itch depending on how happy I am with them and if I make a cohesive set.

Godot 4:

No project here -- yet! Still working on learning the program. I'd like to do some basic stuff first? minigame type things, puzzles, things that test the logic of the system against the logic of my brain.

[tarnishedxknight]

is ashelia still in love with basch while she's dating carter? because it seems so

{out of dalmasca} So... the short answer is... not for 99% of AUs, no. But there's a few things that maybe I should explain because Midge and I have talked a lot behind the scenes, and maybe what we're writing is a little confusing for our readers. So here we go on straightening all of this out...

In canon, Ashelia never had romantic feelings for Basch, at least not any that were ever definitively confirmed by narration, her dialogue, etc. On her end, there is no evidence of a ship with them being canon, unless you read into the one comment Penelo made in her letter to Basch at the end of the game, something to the effect of, "She (meaning Ashe) would never say it, but... I think she misses him." That's literally the ONLY canon support for Ashe x Basch shippers on Ashe's end, lol. Listen, we squeeze a lot out of that one line, okay? XD

On Basch's end, you can read a lot into his devotion to her, all those long stares throughout the game, their comfortable conversations, or the way he closes his eyes after he reads the above line in Penelo's letter, as if just hearing that is sustaining him, heh... but there wasn't any canon confirmation in the main FFXII game that he had romantic feelings for Ashelia. There was confirmation in the storyboards for Fortress, the FFXII sequel that never happened. In those storyboards, he actually does confess his feelings to Ashe, but they are not reciprocated by her. Now... one could say that at the time they were under duress, based on the plot, so maybe she just didn't want to say at that time. And... one could also say the Fortress storyboards are not canon. But so far, all of these things I've mentioned are the only canon (or sort of canon, heh) evidence for an Ashe x Basch ship.

SO... In all AUs where either Basch or Ashe are shipped with other people, whether it's Wanda, Carter, Thor, Leigh, etc., I go with FFXII canon and say that they are very close but they don't have romantic feelings for each other. Except... for some cases in which Basch does say he used to love Ashelia but then realized it was loving the idea of her, or puppy love, or something not as solid as what he eventually finds in his ships. So in 99% of AUs where Ashelia is dating Carter, she is not also in love with Basch.

My idea of how the Basch x Ashe ship would have worked (or actually never worked) in canon is that Basch developed feelings for her after seeing her married to Rasler, but Ashelia kindof didn't realize that her "love" for Basch was more than just loving a dedicated subject, friend, guardian, or mentor. It wasn't until the end of the game when she was apart from him indefinitely that she realized that he exemplified everything that she would have wanted in a partner personality- and morality-wise. And that he always guided her well, made her feel safe, etc. And by that time, it was too late, because he has to stay in Archadia and she has to stay in Dalmasca. So... in canon the ship I guess could have been confirmed through feelings on either side, but I usually say that Ashe comes to the realization too late that she actually loves him in a romantic sense, so they never actually end up together.

The same is true in the MCU verses. Whenever I would want to ship Basch and Ashe in a thread, Ashe kindof has to come around to the fact that she loves him first and then make the first move, because Basch is never going to say or do anything on that front. He considers her above him and unattainable and would never pursue her. So it's not that she just always was in love with him but then started dating Carter anyway, because it's something that has to develop after the end of the canon game or well after they end up in an MCU verse.

Now... what I think you're talking about is the thread that Midge and I have going where Ashe is dating Carter and then Basch is found later. And Carter is slowly realizing that Ashe may have more feelings for Basch than she realizes, and that Basch has feelings for her as well. That is the ONLY AU in which I do have Ashelia coming to terms with her feelings for Basch while dating Carter, and there's a reason for that. Midge and I have decided to play around with the idea of a polycule type of ship with them in that one AU. So eventually we want for Carter to maybe help Basch and Ashe talk to each other because omg they need some help, haha, and then she will also realize she has feelings for Basch and he'll develop them for Carter as well.

It remains to be seen how it will all play out, but that's why it seems like Ashe is into Basch while dating Carter in that one AU. She just doesn't realize that that's how she feels, she's not thinking along those lines, so she keeps telling herself, no, we're just friends. She's not lying to Carter, she's a combination of oblivious and in denial of her own feelings. It's going to take an third party observer like Carter to notice... hey wait a minute, heh. What you have to remember is that Ashe was raised as royalty, which comes with a lot of etiquette, strict rules, and kindof predetermined ways of relating to or thinking about those "beneath" her, so she almost kindof doesn't realize that she can think of Basch that way? It's not crossing her mind on a conscious level that that can even be a thing, but subconsciously she does love him, if that makes any sense. She needs Carter to basically hit her over the head with it (figuratively, heh) and clue her in. XD

I hope this clears everything up! =)

@starcchild, @illbringthechaosmagic

[pugs-cats-bb-8]

Shido-Vanilla

Unvoiced conversation.

You don't have to talk to Futaba to get her to leave?

Unvoiced conversation.

Ren looks really good in a hoodie. I know he doesn't have a shirt on because I can see his collarbones. 😋😋

"💎 Mine" 🤣🤣

Unvoiced conversation.

"The guy behind everything" turned out to be your boyfriend's dad.

Unvoiced conversation.

Why does he not have his glasses on in the animated cut scene? That's the second time and there's no reason ever given. And they return once you get control back.

It's always sad when I get to Shido. Because Akechi leaves so there's an empty spot on my team.

Unvoiced conversation.

The shadow's pathing doesn't go as far in Royal.

He just ripped the shadow's mask off and got a Persona without battling? Is this how Ryuji's ability worked in Vanilla?

I love the cute "Take this"! when he uses a Treasure Trap. 🥰😍😍

I love how you can pick up the map before the game tells you to. Same thing in the second part of Madarame.

You have to grab the map to get into the Safe Room. And you have to talk to everybody, even Futaba to get into the Safe Room, once you have the map.

I love how Morgana knows that you're tired. Even if you did one battle.

Unvoiced conversation.

I love how you can see your breath.

"We might freeze to death before we can change his heart". 🤣🤣

"Black like coffee". 🤣🤣 Ren has my sense of humour.

Iwai has a sucker? I thought it was a toothpick.

Eiko can fall off a cliff.

"She deserves him". 🤣🤣 True that.

Morgana with his cute little paws on the table. 🥰🥰😍😍

"He's saying, 'money, money' ". 🤣🤣 He's Mr. Krabs.

Some of these MM get off way too easy. I wish there was a "burn in hell" option.

"He's a bit of a nag". 🤣🤣 In the anime, he says "he made curry" which sounds odd out of context.

"That beetle over there"? 🤣🤣

I think they redesigned Mementos a bit.

Morgana is fine in the dark because he's a... Thief? 🤨

Shiishaa➡Jack Frost

Matador➡Ame-No-Uzume

R3 didn't change.

Ame-No-Uzume➡Phoenix

Neko Shogun➡Setanta. Neko also moved up a rank.

No hearts for lovers on their info.

I forgot how lax all your teammates are when you fuck around and don't go into the palace.

You forget how tall Ren is until he stands next to Futaba.

Different layout.

There's a lot more bars in Vanilla.

Also, no 👣 to guide you.

Unvoiced conversation.

Unvoiced conversation.

Mice 😍😍

I like the mouse puzzles.

Different layout.

Different sound for Treasure Skimmer.

Different sound for mouse switch.

I like how you can get items from smashies out of chests.

Unvoiced conversation.

Unvoiced conversation.

No poles to hide behind on the pool deck.

One less shadow in Royal.

The vent for the fitting room is hidden behind the stairs. 😠😠

Different vent kicking sound.

Unvoiced conversation.

Throw Ryuji under the bus 🤣🤣 NGL he deserves it at this point.

Unvoiced conversation.

Less places to hide in the hallways.

I've never seen an enemy leave after giving you ❓ once.

Different layout.

No cheese traps.

No powerful enemy by the locked chest.

No enemies upstairs.

Unvoiced conversation.

That host is down bad.

Poor Akechi.

No smashies or enemies on the bottom floor of the casino.

Hell, the whole part is almost devoid of enemies.

Different layout.

Those are some big mice.

Different layout.

Different layout.

Added a safe room in Royal. Either that or dude didn't hit it.

Missing conversation.

Different layout + a chest.

Chest.

I like the Phoenix.

The cleaner's my favourite.

Sad part.

"I sense a solid bond between me and Akechi". 🤣🤣 My man you sense a wall.

Unvoiced conversation.

Unvoiced conversation.

Change in the text for maxed stats.

"Let's steal his stress" 🤣🤣

I love how Ren's voice doesn't sound like he used a voice filter.

That dude must be looking for his new fav flavour. 🤣🤣

She just sidestepped that. 🤣🤣

Don't give him ideas, Yusuke.

Everybody jumps opposite the hand they use. (Right-left, left-right) Except for Haru and Morgana who jump in the direction of the hand they use (left, right).

You don't fight him 1V1?

I get Ann hitting him. But Ryuji didn't deserve anything after that.

You couldn't do anything after battling Shido? In Royal, you just use Kawakami.

Unvoiced conversation.

Now it looks like an explosion.

No quiz.

They punish you for not calling for backup and dock your pay? That doesn't sound legal.

Christ, you make pennies. 2,800 Yen=18.93, 2,300 Yen=15.55

"You must be tired". Goes to sleep right in the middle of my bed. 🤨🤨

Unvoiced conversation.

Same answer, different answers.

Same answer, different answer.