#Idk if I would call these BAD or WRONG choices exactly but like

[rottiens]

hi sorry for coming in your asks again lol but I'm thinking about endeavor..... like idk he's just always in the back of my head

anyway have you considered divorced detective endeavor??? like he's completely neglecting his family & responsibilities as a father, his ex-wife is shacking up with his younger (hotter) subordinate, basically drowning himself in alcohol and cigarettes. the one routine he's kept all these years is coming into your bar at the end of the week, getting a little too drunk, and letting the alcohol flirt with you (but you've always brushed it off knowing he's married). you've listened to him vent countless times and had to call a cab to take him home just as many.

you can clearly see the ways he's fucked up (it's pretty much always his fault) but you also see the regrets washing through his mind. he wants to be better, but he keeps slipping into the same habits.

he's been coming in a little more often lately, he hasn't mentioned the wife and kids in months, and he's not wearing a wedding ring anymore. He doesn't flirt with you as often as he used to, but not because he's not interested, because he is. because he's afraid of it going somewhere. because he's afraid he'll ruin your life like he has done to the rest of his family... and because he's convinced he doesn't deserve you.

i'm sorry i'm just so obsessed with a divorced detective au ok and i cannot believe this thought has not entered my head....

You really put me in a difficult situation here. Because I'm torn between the idea of, what would he really do? Would he walk away from you completely or would he continue to indulge a little more in the idea of flirting with you, knowing he shouldn't have you?

You miss him. You miss the Enji who would come to talk to you, babbling on about work problems without getting to anything specific because, of course, he can't discuss such topics with a civilian. But you are so full of life and hope, unlike him and everything he touches that he can't help but want to spend a little more time with you and Enji hates the bitter taste the hangover brings along with your image the next day.

After the divorce, he keeps wearing the ring for a few more long weeks, hoping that his failed marriage could be mended again. He knows he did it wrong, he knows he's been careless and a bastard, but he also knows he's selfish at heart and that the idea of having a happy family is so appealing.

Yet he lets it go. He lets go of his wife and his kids who are leaving with her, and you. He cuts off every shred of happiness in his life because he is tormented by the idea of being truly happy. Enji convinces himself that he doesn't deserve it. After all the bad decisions he has made throughout his life, he only deserves to sink into his misery, into the boxes full of items his wife never went to pick up from the house, into the loneliness of the cold walls, and into the ghosts his children's laughter left behind.

Enji refuses to go back to the bar, to see you. But he has no choice but to accept when one of his subordinates invites him for a beer, something to relax for the weekend.

Like every Friday, the bar is full of people. Pop music he dislikes is blaring from the speakers. I should go home, is what he's saying to Keigo just as he catches your gaze behind the bar. Your fingers greet him animatedly, sealing the words he was about to say and walking, as if spellbound, to where you are.

Enji can't believe you look prettier than the last time he saw you. You have a different haircut, a new uniform and your smile is so warm and genuine that his chest hurts; he couldn't remember the last time someone greeted him with such joy to see him.

Immediately, guilt grows like weeds inside him, weaving through his insides and creating roots.

You pour him the same old drink and his cheeks heat up at the thought that you remembered exactly which beer he likes.

"Thank you," he says without looking at you, picking at the foam dripping off the rim of the glass with one finger.

Your warm fingers cover his for a moment, drawing his attention to you. His fingers are still trapped on his lips, the gesture of tasting the beer foam.

"Is everything okay?" you raise your voice above the music.

Enji hesitates for a moment. "Work keeps me busy."

You purr away from him and turn your back on him, clearly not believing the half-truth he just told you, but you don't probe further.

Other customers approach the bar and you continue to prepare the drinks. Enji feels your gaze on him, which he avoids at all costs, gulping down the beer as fast as he can and eyeing Keigo on the dance floor, enticing some dance partner to accompany his peculiar moves. As he comes back to the front, you're smiling at him again, placing another full glass of beer in front of him.

"I thought you forgot about me," you comment innocently, leaning a little into his personal space.

Enji doesn't pull back, but you see him tense under the white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and suspenders that cling to his broad shoulders. His lips quiver not knowing what to say. Pathetic. Maybe you do the same with the other customers, and yet you still have him trembling with your mere presence.

"I couldn't forget you. You guys are my favorite."

You purr, reaching out to touch his hand to the watch hugging his wrist. The hand reads 11:35 at night.

"Are we your favorite or am I?" You look up at him through a slow blink.

Fuck. Something beats in his chest and in his pants. He'd forgotten this: the thrill of flirting with someone, with you, of feeling wanted. Of feeling desired. When was the last time someone touched him? He doesn't remember the last time he came in someone.

Enji clears his throat and, against his will, pulls his hand away from yours to toss a few wet red locks back.

"I think I should go."

"So soon?"

Enji had to get up and run before anyone else noticed the visible bulge against his thigh, smothering between the fabric of his pants and his now damp briefs.

"Yeah, I-"

"Stay. One more beer, on the house," you smile at him. Enji barely notices that you had clung to his forearm before he could escape. "Please." You lean in, and he takes a peek at your cleavage. Your lips find his hot cheek and leave a fleeting kiss there. Enji feels his whole body boil with heat.

He knows he's going to ruin you and hates himself for it. But he can't think of the consequences when that pussy wraps around his cock like it was made for him.

"Slow down, it's been a while.."

But you cling to him like you don't want to let go. Your nails on his back, mouth open gasping for air.

The bar is already closed, so your moans and his grunts are the only thing accompanying the music now. Your hips buck desperately as he thrusts you upright against the counter.

"Easy there.." growls enji, burying his fingers in your hips to keep you still. "Hold still. Just feel it."

Enji rolls his hips deep, his pants puddling at his knees. His curly hairs meeting your bare clit.

"Like this… nice and deep. Take it like a good girl."

His heart beats so fast, his balls tight around your drooling pussy. Every time he thrusts deep you lose the rhythm of your breath for a moment, the full force of his body and thighs pushes you against the counter, weakening your feet off the ground and you can only look at him with eyes full of eagerness as you split on his fucking thick cock.

And when you ask him to cum, to cum inside you; enji has no doubt. He's going to ruin you. And he hates himself for it.

[scrollonso]

First Kiss (Race 6)

A strollonso AU where 18 year old rookie Lance Stroll falls helplessly in love with the notoriously mean world champion. (1.3k words, angst at first? idk, it gets fluffy) [@v3lnys @biancathecool] {I kept getting ideas while writing this so I stopped like 4 times to write another chapter}

last part - masterlist - next part

Lance made his way onto the paddock, his dad having driven him instead of Nico. After waking up in Fernandos bed after his DNF in San Marino he'd unintentionally avoided the Spaniard for the past week. He didn't remember much past him complaining about Coulthard, all he knew was he woke up in an unfamiliar hotel room with Fernando Alonso asleep peacefully beside him.

He looked gorgeous, obviously, his long hair slightly covering his eyes, chest rising and falling slightly as he breathed, he looked peaceful, Lance could've stayed and stared for hours if reality didn't hit him suddenly.

He was in bed with Fernando. Alcohol was out on a table a few feet away and he could tell he'd had too much to drink the night before, without thinking he collected his things and left as if he was some sex worker the world champion had taken back to his room the night before.

He'd managed to ignore all of the older mans texts, a part of him feeling bad and longing for him while another part was busy worrying about how badly he must've embarrassed himself.

After a week of putting it off there was no way to now, if Fernando didn't speak to him before Quali he most definitely would after.

He walked alone through the paddock, answering short questions here and there before he found a swarm of people who all called his name.

"Lance, Lance Stroll, How do you feel about what Red Bull and David Coulthard have had to say about you this past week?"

Lance thought for a second, wondering if it was a wise choice to answer the question, in the end he decided it couldn't hurt too much "I honestly couldn't care less, I don't care what Red Bull or Coulthard thinks about me, thank you" He nodded slightly before leaving, not having much more to say and not wanting to elaborate on the whole thing

Somehow he'd managed not to run into Fernando even as Quali came to an end, he was set to start the race in 11th, somehow stopping himself from checking where Fernando was starting from.

His luck didn't last long before he was greeted by the same voice as always

"Lancito, will you avoid me forever?" Fernando asked, Lance wasn't sure whether the Spaniard was joking or was truly hurt by what Lance was doing

"Sorry, I've been busy" He lied, not even turning around to look at Fernando

"What is wrong? Did I do something? I am not sure how to fix it if you do not tell me, mi sol" He spoke softly, just like he always did with lance, he entered the Racing Point garage, just trying to get closer to the Canadian, trying to get him to meet his eyes

"It's nothing, I'm just busy" Lance tried to convince Fernando, he wasn't very good at it

"Too busy to talk to me but before I was the only one you'd talk to" Fernando teased, trying anything to figure out what was wrong

Lance tried to hide his embarrassment as he finally looked at Fernando, the only thing he could think about was the morning after the Europen Grand Prix.

"Is this about last week?" Fernando guessed, Lance couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at how the older man was always right "All we did was drink, Lancito, you were upset so I thought you would like drinking alone, no?"

"Yeah, sorry, I- I don't know why I freaked out" He forced out a laugh, trying to make himself feel less awkward talking to Fernando for the first time in a week

"Is okay, Lancito, are you embarrassed because of what you said?"

"What I said?" He echoed, now he was embarrassed, what did he say for Fernando to bring it up so many days later

"About the crash, you were very upset, mi sol" Fernando didn't exactly lie but he knew that wasnt what he meant. If Lance really didn't remember what he had begged of Fernando than maybe he didn't mean it, Fernando was sure his emotions were just hightened.

"Oh" Lance laughed, feeling relieved after Fernando confirmed nothing else was talked about "I'm not embarrassed, I kinda feel like you"

Fernando smiled, patting the Canadians shoulder "Feels good, eh? Getting in a little trouble?"

The two continued talking, both felt as though a weight had been lifted of their shoulders except Fernandos was replaced with another. While he spoke to Lance as if nothing had happened he couldn't help but hear Lances words replaying in his head.

His eyes stayed glued to Lance as he rambled on, the Spaniard wondered if he really did need him, if he truly felt that way, or if it was just drunken words influenced by how he was feeling earlier that day.

The two spoke for a while longer, just catching up as if much had really happened in seven days.

Lance felt better walking into the paddock the next day, arriving with Nico again as if he hadn't spent the last week moping and ignoring everyone (besides his dad, it proved to be harder to ignore your dad-boss than your coworker-friends.)

"Let's hope coulthard keeps his distance today" Nico spoke, breaking the silence between the two

"God, the next time I hear his name I think I'm gonna explode." Lance whined, having been asked about him all week

"Cmon, you know no press is bad press" Nico added, reminding Lance of his dad

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get ready" The two entered the garage, both almost going straight to their drivers room to get in their fireproofs and race suit

This week was better, David Coulthard qualified last so there was almost no chance in a collision with him, Lance was thankful.

Lance managed to overtake a few times in the race, going from 11th to 9th by the end but he knew it wasn't good enough, neither drivers securing points for the team.

He wasn't upset though, he decided to go to the podium for the first time after the race, excited for Fernando since he just won his home Grand Prix

Fernando looked gorgeous on top, practically beaming as the Spanish anthem played. Fernando was basking in it, the win, his home country, his fans supporting him so loudly with flags and signs, though none of it made him smile as bright as seeing Lance in the crowd below, the Canadians smile shining brighter than anyones.

He stood out, whether it was because Fernando couldn't help but search for him in every crowd or because of his bright pink suit, Fernando didn't care. All that mattered was that he was there, celebrating the Spaniards win as if he hadn't had a disappointing race.

Once he got off the podium he went straight to Lance, not letting him speak before trapping him in a tight hug, he wasn't sure why, he just wanted to.

"Good job, Nando" Lance laughed, hugging the Spaniard back

"Gracias" Fernando spoke into Lances shoulder, feeling as though the pair were on the people in the world. He wasn't sure why he was so happy knowing Lance came down to congratulate him, it just felt good, earlier in the week he was scared it would never be the same between the two because of the past week but he'd managed to save it perfectly, leading to the two in one anothers arms once again which was exactly what the pair wanted.

"You did good, great, amazing, seriously, you led 55 laps and just won your home Grand Prix, you're brilliant" Lance gushed, Fernando raising his head to look at the Canadian

"Is this how you feel when I come to you?" Fernando asked, a smile still plastered on his face, not able to imagine a better end to the race week.

[vicsy]

something something something about how max’s hair is completely brown now…when daniel closes his eyes all he sees is blonde

ohhh. ohh anon. you should not have gone there.... but I am glad you did. this is also something very up @mysticalbreadcollective 's alley since blonde Max is on her daily agenda BUT

anon. idk what floats your boat but let me take you somewhere rancid under the cut (let the record show that I am a maxiel truther but my god do I enjoy making them suffer with other people)

it's current season and maxiel aren't together due to Reasons with capital R of course. Daniel's "i can't fuck my teammate i am not into guys or am I but maybe that's just Max oh no you can't be with Max" and Max's general understanding of his own worth and needs. they can't escape the tension, the lingering touches, the double entendre running through their relationship like a river in flood. one step forward, two steps back etc etc

so things aren't going exactly as planned for Daniel and, naturally, he's fighting the pull towards Max and the best next thing his brain chooses to do is find someone to hook up with, get it out of his system. since his dick is very much attuned to Max after years of imagining that's its gonna find itself parked in Max's ass (which never happened), Daniel's looking for someone particular to scratch the itch and, apparently, to spite the fate, his choice falls to YOU GUESSED IT – Liam.

very convenient, since they're both gunning for the same thing. exploring some healthy alternatives to their impromptu rivalry or whatever the media says. Daniel's pretty charming and Liam's easy. done and done.

and it's bad. capital "b" Bad. the sex comes pretty fast and Daniel's checking all of his boxes - rookie, blonde, tiny waist, looks at him with wide eyes etc etc and Liam is surprisingly down to fuck cause maybe that is also convenient for him, too. but he's mean about it. He's heard legends about Big Dick Ric and the dick is very big but the prowess? lacking. he says that to Daniel's face after, like, the third time it happens. which should be incredibly insulting but–

Daniel's pining and trying to trick himself which works exactly for three seconds but Liam isn't what he wants. wrong kind of blonde hair that Daniel's gripping tight while he fucks Liam from the back, never face to face, because that would prompt Daniel to THINK and RUMINATE and he doesn't want that. he wants Max the way he sees him when he closes his eyes but it's gone when he opens them and finishes another underwhelming sexcapade. it's never the right color, it's never the right person' it's always a bad time.

"do you think I'm not getting what you're doing here?" Liam says to him one day, grinning meanly, and Daniel truly doesn't know the answer to that question. he's hella confused himself. Liam seems to get off on the situation more than when he's riding Daniel's dick, so he calls Daniel Danny in the garage and he suddenly glues himself to Daniel's side, which is. weird. manipulative? Daniel's plan to get over himself backfires when he sees Liam talking to Max one day and Max's easy smile slowly dissipates as Liam's yapping but Daniel can't hear a word.

he doesn't really need to. he knows Liam cashed in on Daniel's sorry excuse of a reason to hook up. all Daniel can do is add to the history of horrendous decisions he's made in his life and live with the knowledge that he's probably never going to wake up next to Max's mostly-not-blonde hair getting in his face where they're tangled in bed, that Daniel's dabbled in something he should not have touched with a ten foot pole, that he'd tarnished all of his chanced, basically set them on fire when max had been there and never turning him down all the way.

Daniel got some, Liam got some. after all, it's Max who, unfairly, walks out it hurt the most, because of Daniel's choice, because of him thinking he was chasing something else while in reality he was running. and Daniel never fucking stopped.

[im-dehydrated05]

I need help from all the resident lover people because I usually love everyone else’s work, but I really harshly criticize mine, so can you guys tell me if this is good? Should I continue this? Idk man. The Oc takes MC place so yeah…

To Break Away From Fate

This is an OC x RL Story

Something's wrong...

Something's terribly wrong.

I keep remembering — I keep remembering.

My heart has no pity on me.

I hurt them.

I hurt them because I chose them.

What happened? How did this happen? I only thought it was a joke. I thought that Bella had finally gone mad from all the stress and work she did.

I just wanted to help.

I didn't believe in it. In the loops, the school being a cult, but then I started to remember the other time lines and all the outcomes. I felt sick; I didn't want this, but fate didn't give you a choice.

SHE didn't give you a choice.

Miranda: "We belong together, don't you understand? It doesn't matter how many times you resist me or how many times I have to restart. The loop will only stop when you are who you are meant to be. When you finally come back to me, that is what fate has planned for us."

I almost laughed at her words, "When you are who you are meant to be," after I chose her. She wants me to change completely to be like the ghost of her lover.

I finally chose her.

I chose her so many times, and yet...

YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH...

And suddenly, all that sadness turned to ANGER.

"I don't give a fuck about your Fate."

I clenched my fists so tightly that I felt like I might draw blood from my palms with my nails.

I almost wish I did.

You deserved it.

"They didn't deserve that, and you know that. I'll never be that woman you fell in love with, and you know it."

And just like that, the facade Miranda had been putting up shattered in an instant. Once she discovered that it wasn't 'me', her face immediately turned cold. She made her way toward me.

Miranda: "I see... this loop seems to be another failure."

I backed away from her, a startled look on my face as I looked around her office. I knew what those words meant, and I knew exactly what came next, but where was she—

?: "That's too bad. I was finally starting to like this version of you."

A deep voice behind me said. There was an ease in her tone, like she was amused by the boldness of my words. As if she had been here the whole time.

My breath hissed as I turned slowly, thinking maybe I could talk my way out of this. If she kills me...

I don't want to forget everything.

You'll forget.

Rᴜɴ

Tᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ...

sᴀғᴇ

"What the hell?"

My vision became blurry as a strange voice called out to me. My mind dissociated, seeing a vision of a small lake surrounded by trees.

Tʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ

I groaned, my vision finally coming back. Mia's knife was the first thing I saw as she swung it at me. My body jerked back as my hand grabbed onto the blade, pulling Mia towards me before I delivered a kick to her stomach, knocking the air out of her. I didn't even feel the blood running down my palm as the adrenaline built up in my body.

Rᴜɴ

An exit I need to get out of here, but Miranda and Mia were blocking the only door, so I did what any person under the influence of adrenaline would do... I jumped out the window, but not before getting attacked by Cornelius, who scratched my face, leaving a nasty cut on my cheek. I smacked him away, finally jumping out of the office and sprinting towards the forest. My body moved on its own, taking several turns before it finally stopped. I hunched over, catching my breath, and looking around.

It was the lake—the lake I saw before.

A feeling of comfort and safety overwhelmed me as I walked closer to the lake. I tilted my head, looking at my reflection in the water. My tired self could only manage to lift my eyebrows in surprise, my expression shifting to a frown as I got on my knees to get a better look at my reflection.

It was me.

Yeah, no shit... but my clothes looked different—a 1960s type of style.

"What?"

I reached my hand toward my reflection. My hand touched the water, dyeing the water red. I hissed at the pain, finally feeling the wounds that were inflicted on me. My hand didn't pass the surface of the water, leaving me confused until my reflection smiled softly at me. My soul almost left my body as I jumped back.

"What the fuck!"

It was quiet for a second before I heard a merry laugh coming from the lake.

"Wᴇʟʟ, ʜᴇʟʟᴏ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴏ."

I didn't dare to move at this point, questioning if I was going insane... already.

"Hᴇʟʟᴏ, ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ?"

Okey, so I have officially gone insane.

I let out a shaky sigh before standing up and wobbling back to the lake, feeling dizzy. My reflection tilted her head, a frown on her face.

"Yᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ."

I nodded very carelessly, the words not really processing in my head. I felt a cold sensation all over my body, my muscles aching as I lay down next to the lake, trying to listen to whatever my reflection was saying.

"Sᴏ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ, I'ᴍ ʏᴏᴜ, ʙᴜᴛ, ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ. I'ᴍ ᴀ ᴘᴀsᴛ sᴘɪʀɪᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ I ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴇxᴀᴄᴛʟʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ sᴏᴜʟ sɪɴᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ I'ᴍ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ—"

I steadied my breath, feeling like I was having difficulty breathing, and closed my eyes when my vision was going black on the edges.

"Sᴏ I ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ sɪɴᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴀsᴛ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ɪs Bᴜᴅʀɪᴏʟɪ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴍᴇ sɪɴᴄᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀɴᴄᴇsᴛᴏʀs ᴡᴇʀᴇ—"

The sound of pounding blocked the voice speaking to me, and I could hear my heart slowly stopping before everything was quiet.

It was quite, still, so peaceful...

Until a voice broke the peaceful silence and another and another. They're here again. Too many voices. Too many memories. They all overlapped over one another, and then... they started to make sense.

"...Eva!!"

"We'll bring her back..."

"—choose you every time-"

"Romeo-"

"—star.."

"...worried about you-"

"—wait in the car for me—"

"...no matter where we go-"

"—roses look good on you..."

"you were going to leave-"

"...Italian will do won't it?"

"—I won't let you go..."

"...believe me..."

"—love and be loved."

"—doesn't matter how many times I have to do this, who you go to, what you do, I will reset this as many times as I fucking HAVE TO!

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

Drenched in sweat and with a racing heart, Aurora jolted up, finally waking up. She looked around the room, a sigh leaving her lips as she noticed she was in her dorm room.

.

.

.

Wait a minute. Shouldn't she be back with her friends in the apartment? She shouldn't be at the university yet.

"What the hell is going on?"

[hp-confessions]

Seeing Snape and marauders fans argue all the time is like the live reenactment of the characters in a nutshell.

Both will continue arguing over their takes on that era and how their sides are the better choice. However, no one, or at least most of each community refuses to listen to each other. Instead they keep arguing as if it’s going to solve things.

Usually it’s always just reduced to petty insults.

“Snape deserved to get bullied” On a snape slander post.

“stan bambi” on any and EVERYpositive tt centered around snape.

“She should’ve gotten with snape anyways” on a jily post.

The same thing happens in the book. Insert the name calling.

Then there’s the apologists/victim blamers.

“Snape didn’t do anything wrong. he was right to bully children.”

Just because snapes life sucked doesn’t mean he’s just allowed to take it out on others?

“They were just fifteen.”

Unclothing someone, the shrieking shack incident , and probably having multiple 4v1 isn’t justifiable by any means.

“they matured”

Seeing as sirius still calls snape snivilous at his grown age, snape taking any moment he can to slander any of them, or just remus brushing things under the rug id say that yeah no the fuck they didn’t.

“snape saying mudblood was an accident”

He still said it.

“Shrieking shack was an accident”

Remus got exposed and Snape could’vedied.

“We dont know if they completely took off his underwear so it’s not that-“

exactly. we don’t. yet a lot of evidence points towards it but wtv. either way he still took his pants off. That’s assault.

“His father and the rest nearly killed me and tormented me for seven straight years.”

yes, and that’s bad ofc but that doesn’t excuse snape continuing the cycle and doing the same to his students.

”He was a slytherin! He wasn’t a good person!”

pretty sure a first year wasn’t showing any signs of being death eater material but alright..

then there’s the demonizers….😟

“Snapes a pedo because if harry was a girl he’d be creepy towards harry”

WHAT THE FUCK🤢🤮 NO HES NOT OH MY GOD..😨😭 Genuinley what goes through your mind when you think that.. Snaoe would probably still act hateful or if anything he’d absolutelyavoid fem!harry because in this hypothetical situation she was similar to lily. Not because he’s a pedophile but because of TRAUMA????? HELLO???? Seeing ur bully is one thing but seeing ur dead ex bff is another.. just. because. you. think. he. liked. her. mother. does. not. mean. he’s. going. to. become. a. kid. liker. for. her. daughter. just because harry’s a gender bend doesn’t mean snapes going to transform into a creep. how did you even get that from SNAPE of all people. SNAPE. If you haven’t gotten the memo bro DESPIES no he LOATHES the existence of children. he’d be the last person to be a pdo. Yes he does care for them obviously, but in a way of where if a pedo was idk being creepy with a child bro would 🪄💥🧨🔪🧠 off that pedo…

“Sirius tried to murder snape”

….no…he didn’t. if i recalled sirius was not guilty gor murder charges regarding a rat.. like i said earlier, the shrieking shack incident wasnt okay in the slightest but that doesn’t mean it was purposeful attempted murder. they were stupid (no this also doesn’t justify their actions) and thought it’d scare him and obviously didn’t think their little prank through. they weren’t trying to murder him they were just being assholes. i don’t see sirius using remus to kill, ever. a highly dangerous prank apparently? yeah? murder? no,

“____/____ didn’t contribute at all”

Snape, sirius, and remus literally threw away his life to save harry. not pettigrew tho he’s a little bitch rat i hate pettigrew!!!!!!!👺👺

Anyways, to summarize, everyone’s arguing yet never actually trying to achieve anything but submission when that’s quite literally impossible to accomplish. And that’s because no one’s willing to find a common ground and no one wants to actually create logical arguments. Petty insults and cursed theoretical nonsense isn’t going to solve the argument.

Many Snape fans ignore or straight up defend him bullying students and refuse to acknowledge he was in the wrong.

Many marauders fans ignore or straight up defend the bullying and refuse to acknowledge they were in the wrong.

Snape will refuse to back down from Sirius and Lupin and will continue behaving the way he does.

Sirius and Remus will refuse to back down from snape and continue to do the same things they did as schoolboys.

Real or fantasy, this is something that will never be resolved. maybe because no one cares enough to fix it? maybe because they care too much?

either way i guess it’d be nice to say i like snape and not immediately stereotyped as a snape apologist or get made fun of by it from friends. Im not stupid and if anything i like that he’s morally grey. i don’t support his actions, but i like to see characters with faults and put together why they ended up that way. his home life and other (non bullying) aspects of him are relatable and that’s another reason i like him.

i guess it’d be nice to talk to marauders fans and let them yap abt fanfics and for them not to think that i’m going to instantly call them horrible people for liking the marauders. I may not be in the m fandom but that doesn’t mean i won’t be respectful and gen listen to them. i’m sure that marauders fans like relate to the non bullying aspects aswell.

anyways yeah, i kinda just wished the fandom was a little more chill and not a fucking dumpster fire💀💀

~

[shakingparadigm]

idk if your still busy so obviously finish what your doing before doing anything else but do you know how hyuna's prosthetic latches together?? I think theres like a knee-latch on her prosthetic that's a bit father down than her other leg but theres so much going of its hard to tell whats going in that area

Honestly I'm not sure how the mechanics of it would work, especially since there's got to be some weird alien technology or structure at play there. It's pretty different from what a prosthetic leg is like in real life, so it's tricky to make assumptions based on that, too.

There's some stuff I noticed about Hyuna's leg across the various official arts, though. Mostly the fact that it's inconsistent, and I kind of see a reason for it. Please forgive me as I go on a bit of a ramble.

In her original performance outfit the prosthetic is structured almost like it's just a normal leg molded out of metal. It's a lot more solid and is dark in color, almost black. It also seems as if it goes up to just her knee? Maybe it still goes up to her thigh and she just ripped her pants until the knee for better/unobstructed joint movement. It joins at the ball of her knee and seems to be composed of quite a few different parts, somewhat complicated.

In All-In, Hyuna's prosthetic is still mostly of average leg shape. The most notable difference is that the leg includes hollow spaces, most likely thinner parts assembled together as opposed to one solid leg. It's also a different, lighter color. We can infer from this image that her leg is until her upper thigh.

And then we have the latest one. Hyuna's leg in All-In seems to be until her upper thigh, but this image makes it seem as if it goes much higher than that (although it's most likely an artistic choice. maybe I shouldn't look into it too much. I've learned my lesson 😭). But it's interesting how this leg is the most unique, solid and without hollow spaces, but considerably thinner, more simple.

There's also the fact that you mentioned, the latch being farther down in comparison to her actual knee. It's different from her previous prosthetic legs which seem to join at the knee exactly and are much more similar to that of normal leg anatomy. For this prosthetic, her leg doesn't actually latch at the knee, it latches just a bit below it. The prosthetic knee may look a little lower, but it's just the way she's angled, left leg facing left and right leg facing forward.

Maybe I'm overexplaining something that's already obvious/basic knowledge, my bad. Also I'm no scientist, so I could be wrong.

Anyway, the fact that Hyuna's leg changes quite a bit is interesting. It could be a design shift from the earlier production of ALNST to the finalized version, but I personally like to think that Hyuna's leg changes because she replaces it sometimes. Her lifestyle calls for a lot of action, and while her body can heal itself overtime, her prosthetic leg is prone to wearing and breaking apart.

This is how I see it (just a theory/maybe headcanon):

The leg she has in her performance outfit is one supplied to her by the aliens, which is why it looks much more sturdy, more like a true human leg. They're very advanced, so they'd know exactly how to make one that best suits her. Once Hyuna escapes to the rebellion, she doesn't have access to that kind of material anymore, nor does she know how replicate it. So instead she gets creative, taking scraps of metal and joining them together to make another leg, which is why it looks considerably lighter and less complicated. Whenever her leg breaks, she (or someone from the rebellion) creates a new leg from the material they can find, which is why her legs become progressively more simple and less conventionally "leg-like" . It's no problem to her though, and she's very proud of it.

[klai-16xoxo]

You have the most complex love hate relationship with Ozzy

I know I act wild and hateful around him but the with ya is mostly just me messing around!

Sure the guy makes my blood boil but in a good way ya know? He just so dame evil that I just like it so much even tho is so dame wrong, let me explain why!

(Klai rambling time)

So anyone who played or at least watched Pocket Mirror and LGTS would know this guy is pure evil, he a sadistic bastard who only cares about his contracts and would do anything to see them through with no remorse what so ever and in fact he would have fun while at it in the most sadistic ways possible where he gonna torment those who make a deal with him.

Not to mention how even when he grants you your wish he would do it in a way it would ruin your life as we have seen in the wish ending with Elise and how she is basically miserable with her life even when she got all she wishes for, nothing more and nothing less~

Mf would take his sweet ass time too, he is not in a rush and in fact he would not even try to stop you from trying to attempt to escape from him. He would just watch you go through hell and may appear here and there to just do his mini theatre shows to mock either you or the other characters in a mocking pilot matter.

He also never truly lie but he is a manipulative guy and knows how to twist his words and play with ppl for his own benefit by how we saw how he tricked Enjel who he likes to call “Daughter” into thinking he would grand her own identity and yet he did it in a way that basically enslave her. He would not shy away from making such low moves. I bet he would even act Nice around you to warn your trust and all that so he can see how crush you become once he ruin your life.

And yet despite all his sadistic acts he also somehow in a sense honourable? Idk how to word it but basically all what I just mentioned are stuff he would only do if you made a deal with him or were involved with him in a way but if not then he would leave you be and not even try to force you or anything. You have the choice to walk away from him instead of making a contract with him and if you outsmart him he would accept the lost and just go back to his realm to plot another way to get you down and fulfill the contract.

Also about the contracts, if we put aside all his sadistic acts. He just a business man if ya think about it, he do his side of the deal that all and yet you dare to try to break it even when he granted you exactly what you wanted? Now who is truly the bad guy here 🙄

Idk where I am going with this, that guys is just a whole different breed man… I guess all I want to say is that I respect his determination and confidence. He just so silly and goofy yet so smart!! He such a good villain in my eyes and I like it!

[majestichyuk]

Second Try

Pairing :- Johnny x fem!reader

Summary:- All she wanted was a good first date, and the least the other party could have done so well, was be there. 

Genre:- fluff, kinda angsty, strangers to friends (can be something more if you use ur imagination ;) 

Wc :- 1.6k

WARNING ⚠️:- NONE

NOTES: - it may be a little cringy or rushed idk, but it probably is lol. This is my first fic so critique is always accepted, I can improve. Wanted to write something and this was the idea, something cute. Anyway, hope you like it. Don’t be afraid to interact. 🙂 LIKE, FOLLOW & REBLOG.

~~~~~~♡♡♡♡♡♥︎♡♡♡♡♡~~~~~~

The light breeze blew against the rainy night, delicate drops of rain damping the side of my shoulder uncovered from the tiny umbrella. Nervousness is an understatement for how I'm feeling, I haven't been out as much and don’t put much energy into seeking a companion.

Today is different from my normal routine, other than going home from a long day of work to relax and prepare my dinner for the night I went into my closet and dug out all the repeated fits I’ve worn. Finally, I set my palm on a nicely wrapped box with a bow on it given to me by my mother who recently transitioned into an angel. She told me to wear it on a special occasion, the day I think will change my life, and today felt like that day.

I met the guy after my shift was done from work, he stopped me on my way home to ask for directions to a certain place. I don’t normally do this, but he felt like he could bring happiness to my dull life, we talked every day after that, but he wasn’t the best at conversations, he mostly talked about himself but It’s okay cause it’s better than being alone.

I don’t own a car yet, so I caught the bus on my way there. We agreed to meet at a peaceful little restaurant called ANL Cafe that recently opened. I've never been there so I was excited when he suggested it.

Wrapping the dainty jacket around me tightly I came out of the bus and walked towards the Cafe. The rain started to pour down a little more, so I quickened my step and eventually entered the warm environment. Shaking the water from out the umbrella I closed it and placed it in the provided bucket inside the cafe.

I saw an empty seat close to the window wall. I took my jacket off and placed it on the back of the seat. Before I sat, I looked around to see if I saw him but ended up with no luck.

“Maybe I came too early,” I said, a little unsure if that was the case. I checked my phone to look back at the conversation we had on the time we should meet here, and I was exactly on time.

I brushed it off and waited, there’s nothing wrong with being a few minutes late.

“Hello there, and welcome to ANL Cafe! What can I get for you today?” an overexcited employee greeted me with such enthusiasm, that I found it cute.

"Hi, I'm actually waiting on someone, but a glass of water would be nice," I assured him as I gave a polite smile, which he quickly returned.

"A glass of water, coming right up!" He winked at me with a cheeky smile and left to return a minute later with the glass in hand.

"Here you are, ANL's finest tapped water," he laughed at his joke, and I couldn't muster up the strength to not laugh as well.

"Thank You..." I looked at his name tag. "Jaemin?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, that is correct, is there anything else I could get for you?" Jaemin politely asked but I shook my head, so he bowed and walked away.

15 minutes passed and I still don't see any signs of him showing up after calling and messaging him a couple of times with no response. I wasn't overly excited about moving to the next stage of our relationship, but I assumed that If I gave it a try, I wouldn't regret it, but the more I sat here and thought about it the more disappointed I became with myself. 

There wasn't much of a spark between us, but I settled for it because he wasn't a bad guy, he was quite respectful and sweet but if I'm being honest, he's a 20% type of guy, a choice made in the moment, an open opportunity taken. 

Many would have gotten up and left after probably 10 minutes but after the half an hour mark hit, I decided to order my food and treat myself. I exchange words with Jaemin here and there, he's sweet and he also told me he's working for his older brother because he looks up to him and I thought that was quite admirable. 

After I paid for my meal, I left the cafe and surprisingly the rain was still falling. I took up my umbrella, put on my jacket, and headed back outside.

I found a nearby bus stand and the seat was shockingly dry. I sat down and waited for the bus to arrive. 

I see a figure at the corner of my eye as they sit beside me but not too close. I kept my head straight, not daring to look in their direction. 

"It's raining quite a lot, isn't it?" The gentleman beside me asked in such a soothing and deep tone.

"Yea...I guess" I replied quite uneased, wondering why he was trying to start a conversation with me.

I looked at my side to see he braced his head on the headrest, looking up at the bus stop roofing, with a hat and umbrella in his left and right hand. 

"Would be nice to be at home right now cuddled up in my bedsheet with this weather, you know?" He turned his head to look at me with a look in his eyes that had me more intrigued than I actually wanted to be.

"You're not wrong," I scoffed "I'd rather be there more than anything right now,".

"So why aren't you there?" He asked me and seemed more interested then as he turned his body towards me. 

"If you don't mind me asking, that is," he reassured me so that I wouldn't feel pressured, but I brushed it off.

"It's fine really, I was actually supposed to be on a date with a guy I have been talking to for 3 weeks now, but he stood me up, so I had my dinner and left," I laughed a little when I saw the concerned expression on his face.

"Don't pity me, I'm okay, really, I'm actually happy he didn't show up," I looked up at the bright stars peeking through the dark clouds of the rainy night. He did the same and relaxed in the seat.

Silence took over us as the windy breeze passed by.

"I'm Johnny by the way," he put his hand out for me to shake. 

I looked at him and realized how beautiful he was, I shook his hand and felt something between my fingers.

"I actually saw you at the cafe and you left this on the table" He chuckled lightly. I looked in my hand to see my bracelet that I had the habit of playing with and sometimes taking it off when I’m eating.

"And here I thought you wanted to be friends," I playfully pouted. 

"Well, I had to make sure you were worthy of receiving back such a valuable item," he said in a snarky tone. 

"So, you were going to steal my shit?!" I smacked his arm. "I would have definitely done some investigation work and jumped you if I saw you in the street," I smirk and place my bracelet back on my wrist.

"Oh?" Johnny opened his hand towards me. "Give me it back and let's see how good of a tracker you are," he said in a challenging manner inching his hands closer.

I thought about it reluctantly, I don't know why a decision like this has to have a second guess, the first obvious choice would be to laugh it off and decline but he's quite interesting and had a weird cozy aura around him. So, I placed the bracelet in his palm and looked him deep in the eyes and he held the gaze with such confidence.

I removed my hands and placed them to my side, resting them on the seat. Johnny put the bracelet on and chuckled lightly.

"I like this game," he pushed his hair back and placed his hat back on. "A game of cat and mouse?" he tilted his head towards you as he asked curiously.

"More or less, you make me want to step out of my comfort zone," I wiped my face with my handkerchief as the wind blew the rain toward me.

"So, you felt the connection too? well ever since you stepped into my Cafe, I was intrigued by you actually," He crossed his arm over his chest and as I looked towards him, I realized he was gently gazing at me awaiting my response, but I looked at him confused.

"You own ANL Cafe?" He laughed and nodded his head. "So, you're Jaemin's older brother I assume?".

"I guess you'd have to go to the cafe with me and find out over a better meal that's actually paid for," he said in a flirty tone that made me break into a smile.

I laughed and looked at the road to see a bus arriving and quickly stood up.

"Oh, what a shame, the damsel has to leave to return to her exciting life of wonderful joy, happiness, sunshine, and prosperity," I dramatically placed the back of my hand over my eyes. Johnny burst out in laughter at my unexpected action.

"Well, I guess this bracelet is your diamond slipper," he looked up at you with starry eyes. "I never caught your name," he stood up and gently touched my elbow.

"Maybe I'll tell you If we happen to see each other again," I looked up at him, he was tall and even more gorgeous up close as the moonlight shaped his features.

The bus stopped in front of us. "Next time, Johnny?" I asked, waiting for his reply before I stepped into the bus.

"2 is my lucky number, so I'll make sure our second meeting leads to me getting your name and giving you your bracelet back in exchange for a continuous friendship," Johnny smiled brightly as we waved goodbye.

[ellievickstar]

Look Pretty (Eris x Reader)

A/N: I was listening to 2016 songs and Sit Still Look Pretty by Daya came one and let me tell you, inspiration is real. Shout out to Eris for choosing wisely. I really want to do an Azriel version. Idk. This follows the song quite closely, hence the lyrics in the dialogue. A lot.

Summary: After finding out your being betrothed to the Lord of Autumn in place of your sister Mor, you begin to visit the woods more often to have time to yourself when a hooded stranger meets you. 

Inspiration: Sit Still Look Pretty by Daya

Requested: Non-existent

Warnings: Beron Vanserra, Arranged Marriage, Mentions of domestic abuse

~*~*~*~*~

“You can’t do that!” You yelled as you stood from the table. Your father, Keir, had just broken the news that you were going to marry the heir to the High Lord of Autumn, Eris. Your father simply pursed his lips as he reprimanded you for your poor manners, you mother began to yell at you for not dutifully accepting that you need to play a part to extend your family power. You shook your head in disbelief as you stormed out of the room, telling them you needed time to think.

You walked down the long halls of the Hewn city as you made your way out of the castle and stormed to the forest on the outskirts of the city. Once you had gotten far out enough, you sat down as you looked at the beautiful night sky. A week. That’s all you had lefty before the High Lord’s son would whisk you away and make you his wife for the rest of eternity. You knew that the females in the Autumn Court suffered way more then the ones in the Night Court, you wouldn’t survive. You would be used as some breeding tool to breed powerful heirs because of your stupid magic.

You wept silently as you wished that things could change, that by some luck you could get away. But, after what happened with Morrigan, they kept tabs on you often and you weren’t allowed past the border in the forest from the Illyrian camps, you couldn’t get back if you tried because everyone would bring you right back and males would know to stay away from you so giving away your virginity was out of the question.

The sound of crushing leaves made your ears perk up as you wiped your face. “Why do you cry, young one?” A voice said, male. You rolled your eyes as you looked to the source of the voice, a hooded male. You debated sharing your woes to this stranger, ill talking your father was probably a bad idea, but you didn’t have anything left to lose.

You broke down as you told the male about the engagement, your powers, your restrictions, how you were forced into everything your whole life, how you had no control. Going to the Autumn Court would only make you more suffocated as people made you prepare and build you become the dutiful wife of the Young Lord of the Autumn Court.

“But, wouldn’t someone so beautiful as you want to be pampered your whole life? By marrying the Lord you would be set for life,” He stated. You only laughed dryly. “How are you so sure that means happiness?” You asked, he only stayed silent. You sighed as you looked back at the sky.

“I spent my whole life under the control of my parents, being spoilt might be what I’m used to, but I want fun. I want to make the wrong choices, I want freedom. And this,” You gestured to your gown and jewellery, “Isn’t it.”

“You don’t like a lavish life style?”

You pursed your lips at the question. “Not exactly,” You frowned s you considered your words carefully, “I love dressing up, but I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for my reputation, for my parents, and marrying Eris…” You trailed off as your eyes darted from the male to the border of the Autumn Court far off.

“It would just be another guildes cage. I could always dress up and pretend, but, on the inside I don’t think I’ll be happy,” “Why? Many females would be happy to dress up in pretty jewels and call it a day, let their husband do all the work,” He questioned. You huffed again, annoyed at this prying and mosey male, but it wouldn’t hurt to explain.

“I could dress up to get love. But, I never will be that female,” You said disdainfully. “I could play dutiful wife and pretend that I need some strong male. But I don’t. Especially not a male who probably abuses his power and will treat me like some plaything, from what I’ve heard,” You corrected. He nodded, encouraging you to continue.

“I mean, I know that sitting around and only worrying about what I’m wearing is probably a dream for a lot of females, but I’m not a puppet, I’m a human and I want to…” You thought for a moment and the male cocked his head, intrigued. “Want to change the world,” You laughed at yourself, but he seemed genuinely interested. “Why?” He asked again. You shrugged. 

“Cause I want to,” You said, “Because that’s where I wanna be, I don’t want to sit still and look pretty,” You scrunched up your face as he laughed, it was genuine laughter, something you hadn’t heard in a while, and it wasn’t at how strange your dreams were, it seemed to be something else, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. 

More footsteps approached and you sighed, it was probably the guards that were sent out by your father to make sure you weren’t doing anything wrong. You were about to bid goodbye to your new companion, but he had already left, only a note remained. 

~*~*~*~*~

The note had stated clearly that if you wished, he’s be back there the same time at night. You quickly gobbled down your food and excused yourself, telling your parents that you wanted to go for a walk, when your father had tried to protest, you simply explained that you wished to enjoy your last few days in the Night Court before you go to Autumn with your betrothed. He didn’t say a word after. 

You crept to the same spot that you had gone to the night before, and true enough, he was there. You could see the flash of a grin from under the heavy hood he was wearing and you smiled in return. That’s when he handed you a bottle. You sniffed it and recoiled at the strong scent of alcohol. 

“You seemed like you needed to let loose last night, so I brought alcohol,” He deadpanned. You looked at the awaiting bottle, and looked back at the male before grabbing it and gulping the contents. He chuckled as he reminded you to slow down. 

A few minutes of drinking in silence later, you finally caved to the wait of your struggled. “I don’t want to be a dutiful wife,” “You said that yesterday,” He hummed. You rolled your eyes as you sat down on the ground against a tree, he quickly joined you. 

“I mean, Eris could easily be the type of male that likes to control everything and that would include me, and I would much rather fly solo,” You whistled as you gestured a bird flying with your hands drunkenly. He smiled at you, and you giggled at your own actions. “There’s a children story,” He started, and you turned your head to look at him, “It’s called Snow White and there were technically seven men to do the chores for her,” He stated. You clapped as you agreed replied, “Because that isn’t what a lady is for,” You cheered. 

He chortled at you childish acts and you punched him lightly in the shoulder. 

“Even if he is nice, the only thing his father is going to give me would be captivity,” You mumbled, suddenly saddened at the thought. The atmosphere seemed to shift as he turned his body and rubbed circles on you back as you cried drunken tears. “You’ll be alright,” He promised and you sniffled while wiping your face. “How do you know,” You asked, he stayed silent before saying, “I just know you will change the world, Little flame,” And with that, he left. 

You didn’t see him the next night. 

Or the one after. 

~*~*~*~*~

The day you dreaded finally arrived as you dragged yourself out of bed that morning. You tried to look out the window to see if you could spot that familiar hooded male with the deep and enchanting voice. Nothing. You sighed as the handmaiden came to call you to the meeting room, it was time to meet your betrothed and then leave for the Autumn Court. 

You slowly entered the sitting room as you straightened your skirts, your eyes flitted from your father to the two red-headed males. Your father, introduced you smoothly and you bowed your head slightly, lips tightly pressed together. 

“She is rather young, isn’t she?” Beron mused as flames shot out, you were startled as a shield of starlight blocked the blow and created a shield of night around you on instinct. Dark starlight glowed in your hands as you raised you arms. You winced at the impact and he chuckled darkly, Eris remained seated as he kept a neutral expression. 

“Eighteen is old enough to have power, my lord,” You breathed as you lowered your shield and straightened your skirts again, the posture of ever-loving elegance and grace. He hummed in agreement as he motioned for your father to step out of the room for a moment. 

You sighed as you approached the seat allocated for you and turned your hands over as starlight glowed. Your eyes flitted to Eris and you were intrigued when you saw amusement glow in his eyes. 

“Quite the show there, little flame,” 

~*~*~*~*~ A/N: I AM FINALLY DONE WITH THIS :D There will be part 2 cause why not. BYE LOVES <3333 (Idk I’m very high on sugar today)

taglist: tag list: @moonfawnx @bankerfrog @younxii @starlit-terror @hideing@flightlesslittlebirdie @menagerofmischief @famousbasementpainter@owllover123 @cityofidek @gigisssz 

[infernaltenor]

maybe im just a super salty person bc its 5am and im Still not sleepingn and Still thinking about it but i cant help but feel that qtubbo fans are some of the most hypocritial people ive ever seen. this is like. full of generalizations and just observations ive made as a crow and im. typically defensive and salty so im gonna try to be objective but at the very least im not trying to neg on the characters or the ccs, since im directing this towards the fans. its also like a solid two months of build up .so. oops?

but uh. how to start explaining this. well for one im taking this as a recent fan who is a phil watcher pretty much only. but i tend to chronically read posts about other characters since when im into things i like to be informed on all cases (idk constant instinct i have lol). like i said im gonna focus on qtubbo here, if i go into qphil stuff its purely as a comparison point. i cant speak much on interactions with other fanbases since i simply am Not informed enough but yknow.

for one, i think both tubbo and phil ahve similar things when remembering lore that is Not their own. not a neg on either one, since i dont expect them to remember it, but both have forgotten major stuff recently, ie. fred's kidnapping (phil) and the birdhouse (tubbo). both things happened before purgatoryand the subsequent forgetting happened after so even in character it makes sense (they had more to worry about), but i also think reactions in character tends to fuck with audience perception. ie, tubbos very visceral reaction to the ill timed fred joke phil had made (and it was ill timed, and thats all that i feel was criminal about it. tubbo and phils friendship is very much based on banter and friendly barbs, lots of teasing from either side. phil simply shot back on a smilar level as tubbo had originally, making his joke about "phil and who?". other people have spoken on that so im not gonna rehash about whos comment was worse, since imo they were both just shy of being insensitive, had tubbo not been dealing with freds presumed death at the time. im not gonna talk about the funeral, becasue if i do i'll get mad.). likewise, when tubbo forgot birdhouse phils reaction was much less outwards. he just said a birdhouse wouldnt be slaying- given the imprisionment he had, it makes sense that phil would associate it negatively, especially since it catalzyed all of his future derealization episodes. both of these are simply ooc things imo, from their original standpoint. i dont think either is in the wrong for forgetting. but what annoys me is the fandom perception.

this is a problem im going to link back heavily to purgatory. im not sure if it was present beforehand, as i only really got into qsmp the last two-three weeks in october (bad timing) and had only really been watching vods in order to catch up. that being said, i think the bolas and soulfire rivalry had widened the gap between the fans, which in turn affects negative perception. later weeks in november had full bad faith interpretations of phil because he was critical of tubbos choices or simply didnt understand sunnys character perfectly. and there were. a lot of those. purgatory had happened just a few weeks prior, so i liken it to that. maybe it is just my expierence, but the phrasing of a lot of character crit and analysis between the two has wildly different interpretations of a character (to wildly different results)

you can get qphil fans explaining against a bad faith interpretaiton, and people will (and have) called them excuses to defend against character analysis. i have noticed, however, when qtubbo fans do the same thing (and they have) it seems to be more of a matter of adding context to the conversation. thats.... exactly what qphil fans are doing however? when talking critically about qtubbo not communicating with other parents and friends both his and sunny insecurities, its all that hes younger and in a bad mental state. but you have something about phil not understanding sunnys character perfectly, and hes a cruel stepmother and such; and when an explanation is added to why hes not a bad father nor a good father, just an imperfect one trying his best, its simply a "mindless defense against a crit of his character". are these not the same things? providing context to a percieved bad faith interpretation? idk. i cant tell if its the age or the percieved roles theyre supposed to take, but why is tubbo allowed to be imperfect and doused in outward angst, especially when interacting with other characters (ramon had to take the initiative to communicate with tubbo. and yet. age age age.) phils just as complex and imperfect and unwell. all of qsmp is unwell. it is an explanation, not an excuse.

anyway. i think i was thinking about this because of the flightless bird/ostrich dna joke. ill timed, just like the fred one. but phils reaction speaks volumes doesnt it? if its an age one maybe he'll overdramaticize, but he laughs it off mostly. theres a lot he laughs off. he doesnt. "if your kid wasnt here id kill you". tubbo doesnt know about phils failed flight. he probably wont for a while (i cant help but think qphil is embarassed. he was knocked unconcious from hitting the water too hard. and he knows how to fly? fuck, man). i think its wild, however, that one fred joke gets the entire fanbase ready to deface and mischaracterize the whole character. but one wing joke gets maybe shocked laughter and about two posts complaining? idk. maybe im just complaining about nothing, im tired as fuck.

tldr is that tubbo fans are so wildly hypocritical that they cant see when theyre doing the same thing as everyone else. im sure im being hypocritical in this post, its human. but its annoying as fuck when its everywhere, and i think purgatory made it worse.

[biggie-chcese]

Idk anything about raincode but can u tell me about that one sopping wet detective

HIHIIHI

How I feel about this character

im so obscenely mentally ill about him that it makes me genuinely violent. sometimes i think about him too hard and i start shaking like a rabid animal. i dont have any merch of him because it would be covered in chew marks by the first hour.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

almost everyone. im so serious. it'd be easier to say who i dont ship romantically with bc him he's my little bicycle lmao. my favorites to pair with him are makoto, yakou, shinigami and vivia tho. there is one ship for him i straight up dont like tho but ill say that in the next question

My non-romantic OTP for this character

him and kurumi!! i actually really fucking hate the canon attempt at some sort of budding romance. it's so forced and it hinders kurumi as a character so much because they want her to be a palatable love interest so much that anything compelling about her gets completely cut off in favor of them dumbly blushing as other characters obnoxiously say "woooow is that your girlfriend teehee" it actually annoys me so damn much. but the thing is... i like their dynamic when they aren't pushing the romance. they make a really good investigative duo and i really really love the idea of yuma mentoring her in a potential sequel because i can see her wanting to be a detective. he should be the phoenix to her apollo <3 she already admires and sees him as a role model (terrible choice) so i would love to see her learn not to idolize her heroes while also learning useful detective skills from him

My unpopular opinion about this character

hrmm... for the most part im in pretty good agreement with the fandom. though i think people consider him more of a doormat than he actually is. like, dont get me wrong, he is very pathetic, but when he's not literally in danger of getting killed, there's a pretty surprising amount of snark from him which fans often forget. for good comparison, it's kinda like how ace attorney fans forget that phoenix is kind of a bitch lol

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

i wish that he actually had better reasons to enter the mystery labyrinths (this is like... the metaverse in persona 5 except for mystery solving and it killedthe criminal(s) when u complete it) because it... rarely actually gets him out of a situation. he calls upon it when cornered, but it only saved him exactly one time. the rest of his bad situations were stopped by outside forces. it makes a certain endgame interaction seem really disingenuous. like, he kills a lot of people for absolutely no reason, which would be great if the game chose to expand on that as a plot point! but it instead only frames his actions as what saved him despite that really not being the case.

[izzyspussy]

may or may not be putting this in tatg (& if i don't maybe i'll make it its own fic) but like. and i know other people have mentioned this, right, about how when one parent is abusive there's no realistic way for the other parent relationship to be all hunky dory or whatever.

and the way jamie talked about her in season one, the way his childhood bedroom is as-was and there's such an abundance of publicity-looking photos on that shrine as compared to personal photos which are all kid photos, etc. we can - if we choose to - assume that there was at least some kind of in between period where jamie and his mom were not as close.

and idk i'm just thinking about the specifics of that in between period and how they both felt about it / their motivations / etc, and how we can also assume - if we choose to - that georgie pretty much knows What Happened wrt james. i mean there's equally as much room to interpret it as jamie didn't tell her exactly what happened in amsterdam specifically but she could tell he didn't have a good time and took him back, or maybe he did tell her exactly what happened and she took him back for the same reason of like overwriting the memory or whatever. like those two are equally canon-supported takes imo.

and tbh i don't think either one of those is more likely than the other, but personally i think the way the vibes feel to me, i err toward the latter. because when jamie told roy he seemed to know like okay this isn't a good experience but it's not that bad and assumed roy thought the prostitute would have had a worse time somehow. so from that we can maybe assume - if we choose to - that he wouldn't really know to hide it from georgie (of course on the other end, we could assume instead he would have felt the feelings without thinking about them and hid because of that even without knowing, but that's not what i'm assuming rn). but we can ALSO assume that since jamie so automatically didn't think roy was talking about him when he said "traumatizing" then.... georgie wouldn't have said as much when he told her.

and like. okay. so maybe she thought if she said the big scary words, if she said "traumatized" if she said "abuse" if she said "rape" that would make it worse. maybe she thought she needed to not make a big deal about it, right, to protect jamie, to not make him even more upset. i know that this is something that people think when faced with this, especially with kids.

but i also know. most of the time. in my experience. that is not the right choice at all. it seems right, and the people doing it absolutely are doing what they think is best and honestly there's not ever going to be much of a "best practice" for this because everyone is affected differently, etc. but in my experience. it's the wrong thing to do.

and it's also kind of a known phenomenon that people don't want to admit their parents were wrong or to hold things against them, especially when they have an understanding that the parent in question was going through their own struggles or surviving their own traumas at the time. buuuuut. not wanting to feel a certain way doesn't actually make you not feel that way. and additionally, not know why you feel a certain way doesn't make you not feel that way. in fact, even not realizing you feel a certain way at all doesn't make you not feel it either!

so. i think jamie was probably really upset with georgie for never saying it. for just trying to help jamie through it by moving past it, instead of ever facing it directly and calling it what it was and impressing upon him how serious it was, how wrong. (and he was also angry about this wrt to teachers, doctors, coaches, etc etc. not ted, even tho it's the same and he should have been, because it was in a pretty messed up spot when ted didn't step in, when he didn't step in again, when he later suggested more of the same just moving right along, and he maybe couldn't feel angry at ted right then whether knowing why or not, these things are sooo complicated, but later probably! later, he might be angry enough to call ted up in america and say hey man. i need to say my piece about this actually.)

and all that shit was true for him - that he didn't realize he felt that way, and if he did he wouldn't know why, and if he did he wouldn't want to - until he got to a better enough and stable enough place that he could work through all that and then have a conflict about it.

but anyway, yeah! so that's part of the reason why they were maybe not totally estranged but definitely strained in season one, maybe for a lot of season two, and however long before canon. (i think i'm headcanoning here that they started rebuilding/healing their relationship around the christmas episode, though i don't remember exactly where that falls in the timeline other than "before wembley".)

and then on the other side! georgie would probably - despite all efforts, and knowing she was being irrational, and knowing it wasn't jamie's fault - would feel a little bit sort of something similar about jamie being ""close"" with james in immediately pre-season one times. like because, he's her son, she loves him so much, and he's supposed to love her too, and he's like hanging out with her abuser. his own abuser too, yes, but! again, feelings don't care about sense. and like, she was never really angry with him, she was never actually disappointed in him like he thought she would be, but there would be this sort of background bitterness that he was (seemingly) choosing to spend time with james and change his behavior to suit him.

it's a really complicated, excessively shitty situation!

but yeah i think probably they never really talk about or even really need to talk about georgie's side of things of feeling shitty about jamie choosing to be around james, because that's totally not his fault and he was suffering for it anyway, and imo that's just one of those "your kids will hurt your feeling sometimes" facts of parenthood type of things. it would simply... pass.

but either in very late canon off-screen, or else post-canon, they absolutely do have to talk about it and let jamie get out that she did him wrong by not saying those words and making a suitably big deal over It All. and like of course he's aware she did what she thought was best and there's no real way she could have known how that would affect him or not, but it is something he has a right to be upset about and have addressed.

anyway all that to say. that's why he's not calling her about his nightmares in tatg. (and also this is at least preeeetttyyy close to my actual canon interpretation of their relationship and why it is the way it is and why it isn't the way it isn't.)

[scoonsalicious]

the first thing i really want to say, i hate being right. i really hate it this time. WE WERE ROOTING FOR YOU BUCKY. I !!! WAS !!! FUCKING !!! ROOTING !!! FOR !!! YOU !!! I'll be calling you other names now until further notice. honestly, what more can I say? I basically said all the thoughts I had on my previous ask, and while at first they were based on theories, well, now they're not 😭 I'm not even mad at him anymore, I'm just so drained and tired of it all. Disappointed really. Just disappointed. I do know he didn't do the "<3" tho. Since Jethro went through his phone so she probably changed it herself. But that's the least of everyone's problem right now.

Like I said, if he had just confessed right off the bat, it wouldn't have been as bad, in my opinion at least. I mean, it's still a shitty thing to do no matter the semantics or technically, but it's the LYING. It's truly what fucks a person up. And yes with what you said!!! Brendon took so many choices away from Pocket!!! She was blindsided and manipulated to some degree and it's just. sigh. so disappointed.

Now, let me put my theory cap on because lol surprise, I have some. You said the first time didn't count. So something must've happened and I know you said it wasn't SA but sex pollen? could be? Or omg, something Hydra put because you know how they would probably want super soldiers to procreate even if it's against their will? What if Jacinta knows that code? and ..... shit, omg. wait. I just realized something. I really had to stare at my screen because this could be mind blowing but I also could be so wrong because this probably won't make any sense. BUT, (i know this will seem like i'm defending him but hear me out) if the first time wasn't his choice (not fully anyway), he probably still felt disgusted by himself that it happened. So, the second time, do you think Bob did it to punish himself? Like doing the act didn't give him any pleasure at all, just disgust and guilt and regret and actual physical pain? !!! TW !!! but kinda self-harm but in a different way? Because maybe in the back of his mind, he knew this would destroy Pocket, and the thought of that itself is so painful to him that, he did it as a way to punish himself? To hurt himself by hurting pocket? Which is a really fucked up mental gymnastic but idk okay, i have no idea how my brain works LMAO. He needs a new therapist my god. Or maybe he needs two. Or maybe I'm just way over my head and the reason the second time happened was because that was the time he saw the articles. OR could be both a mixture of both. And again, he had an actually devil in his shoulder. But still, to given in that easily. Weakass supersoldier if you ask me. Like I said, the whole "I did it for revenge" cuts differently too. Honestly just basically what i said on my previous ask hahaha

Sigh, I know there's something else going on. I know something was cooking underneath all that. I'm sure Jenny had more at play to this than Baker. I don't think she's that lucky that the universe just decided for everything to fall into place like that. I'm sure she had all the string. Like yes, I won't deny Bryan is an asshole, and he still did what he did. But still, no matter if there was something that happened that led up to the act (apart from the articles which is shitty on its own as a reason but he's a fragile weakass man so) It still won't change how he lied about it after. I do think the heaviest part of it, especially to Pocket, wasn't exactly the fact that he slept with Junia but the fact that he lied about it and covered it up.

I will add tho, as much as I am looking forward for Pocket to have her villain origin story, because she absolutely does deserve it, I'm just hoping she won't do something that she's regret later on. Though right now, I also have no idea how she's ever going to forgive him. We'll just have to wait and see as everything unfolds.

Honestly, I don't think I've got anything more to add. I'm just sitting here sighing and shaking my head as I'm typing this. Though I can't wait for the truth to unravel, because I really do have a feeling there's more than meets the eye. I'll probably pop back in if I have a new theory, but either way. You're amazing as always!

— Jnon 🤍

I think getting your posts are the favorite part of my day!

Let's address! I'm sorry you were right. I hate that you were right, but right you were. Pocket is also definitely drained and tired from it, too. Exhausted. Brutus definitely did not do the <3; he didn't even know how to unblock her. Venus Flytrap (going with a V-name this time, lol) did it all herself.

Part of what hurts Pocket so much is that Buckwheat knows her history, knows how much trouble she has with trusting people, and yet, he keeps lying. It's one of those "I lied because I knew the truth would hurt you," but he doesn't realize that the truth is so much more easy for her to digest than having to constantly wonder if he's being honest with her, just to find out he's not. One of the things they bonded over, early on in their friendship, was that they had had their bodies used by others, without their consent, so she thought he understood how important that was for her, and to have him make the same decisions her abusers did, by taking away her ability for informed consent, that's what's killing her. She thought he knew her better than that. Your theories! The "first time" doesn't have anything to do with sex pollen or Hydra. You are definitely close in that he felt disgusted with himself, which has a lot to do why the first time doesn't count. You'll have to wait until Chapter 27 to find out! It really was a happy accident for Jaeger Bomb that the articles happened. She didn't pull any strings, but she absolutely used them to her advantage. If they hadn't come out, she would have most likely come up with some other diabolical plan to get what she wanted. Pocket's going to face some dark times coming up, definitely. There will be a lot of self-destructive behavior and spiraling, but she's not gonna go full-on Thanos or anything (who could blame her if she did, let's be honest). The only person she's really going to hurt, going forward, is herself :( As always, Jnon, it is a pleasure. Thank you so much for bringing such happiness to my days <3 I love you!

[silvfyre-writings]

When was the last time you were alright? (BSD Fanfic)

Hello~ I return after idk how long with a new fukudad fic. I like to think this one is the "finale" of this little series I have (at least for now) but I hope to bring more Fukudad to the table in the future!!!

This is another quite dark fic, so please pay attention to the tags, because what is tagged is exactly what happens in the fic. So please, be mindful when reading.

Also, Ranpo uses they/them pronouns in this fic, but there are times where I may have accidentally misused pronouns. I think I caught them all, but idk.

For over a year, an entire year, Fukuzawa had been a parent.

It certainly wasn’t the direction he’d expected his life to take, and if he’d had any choice in the matter, he probably wouldn’t have ever gone down that route. Children and family just wasn’t something he felt like he needed or deserved, especially given the amount of blood on his hands. It had simply been easier to forfeit those ideas the moment he’d first killed someone and lock them away so that they never saw the light of day again. And it was safer too, because having people to care about meant that they could become a target, and that just wasn’t fair. So, for fifteen years, since that day he first left home, he had been alone, with nothing but himself and stray cats for company.

Until Ranpo.

He still found it hard to believe that he’d managed to raise Ranpo for an entire year, and that he’d actually managed to do a good job. The kid was still alive and breathing, they both had a place to call home, and if everything went ahead as schedule, Ranpo would have a job that would allow them to show off their talents without fear or repercussions. And better yet, Fukuzawa would be able to watch it happen; a feeling of pride welled within him as he imagined Ranpo unleashing their powers of deduction upon Yokohama, because there’d been a time—a long time—that he’d feared such a day would never come.

Because as Fukuzawa had had to quickly learn, Ranpo was not simply a child of genius calibre; in fact, they had many issues that had been ignored and left to run wild until Fukuzawa had come along to pick up the pieces. Now, Fukuzawa wasn’t blaming Ranpo for all these problems, because it was not the kids fault at all, but rather the fault of all the adults that had failed them—even their parents. He was reluctant to put any blame on Ranpo’s parents, considering that Ranpo still loved and missed them very much, but he also couldn’t ignore how they had sometimes brushed off their child’s concerns and tried to mould them into something they weren’t. Ranpo had told him once when they’d travelled to visit their parents grave, that while they couldn’t agree with some of the things their parents had done, that they also understood the reasoning behind it.

Because society simply wasn’t kind to those that were different, and Ranpo was as different as they came.

Ranpo’s sensory issues were one of the biggest obstacles that Fukuzawa faced, but it thankfully didn’t take too long for him to figure out the best way to handle them. Trips to buy groceries were done alone, or on particularly bad days where he was needed at home, delivered. On days where the slightest noise would set Ranpo off, the headphones he’d bought were brought out and used, with Ranpo often curling up on the couch under a blanket until the world was a little less noisy. Clothing was an easy problem to deal with, and was the only time that Ranpo ever braved the shopping centres with him, so at least the innocent pieces of fabric didn’t cause too much of a problem. Food on the other hand… was painful. There were days where Ranpo could eat without a problem, but then there were days where they couldn’t even stomach their much loved snacks. Not to mention, that there were foods that Fukuzawa loved to eat, but Ranpo couldn’t stomach in the slightest, either because they smelt weird or the texture was all wrong.

Fukuzawa’s solution to that was to simply stick a whiteboard onto the fridge that Ranpo could use to tell him how they felt about food each day, and so far, it had worked splendidly.

Which left him to deal with everything else that came packaged within Ranpo’s tiny form.

Trauma was something that Fukuzawa had seen many times over his thirty-three years of living, in various kinds of people, that also presented itself in wildly different forms, so he liked to think that he was adept in handling it. But apparently all the knowledge, tips, and tricks, he’d picked up from others was only useful in handling his own problems, because whenever Ranpo was reminded of something from their past, there were wildly different reactions depending on what exactly it was that they remembered. Sometimes it was panic that rushed through like a typhoon, leaving behind chaos and destruction that Fukuzawa had to fight to put back together. He disliked the panic response the most, because Ranpo couldn’t handle being touched when they were panicking, and any attempt to do so would result in fists colliding with whatever Ranpo could reach, so all Fukuzawa could do was sit close by and wait for it to pass. Most of the time though, Ranpo would just shut down and retreat from the world whenever an unpleasant memory came along, falling into a pit of silence and stillness that would cause Fukuzawa endless worry until it passed.

The shut downs were relatively easy to handle, since Ranpo’s need for physical contact jumped to the extreme when they occurred. During these episodes, Fukuzawa wasn’t allowed to leave, not unless he wanted to cause Ranpo more distress than they were already in. Most of the time, Fukuzawa would sit on the couch and have Ranpo practically curled in his lap while they watched a movie, and other times, Ranpo would just want to sleep, so Fukuzawa would sit and keep him company while he did so.

But while the shut downs were easy to handle, they were also dangerous, because there was no telling just how long they would last for, and when they came about, Ranpo simply existed, unable to take care of himself properly when they were so lost within their own head, so it was up to Fukuzawa to take care of them instead. Meals became whatever he could get Ranpo to eat, whether it be a piece of fruit or some kind of smoothie, and showers were spent with him in the room providing encouragement and support as Ranpo mechanically went through the motions of washing themselves. Other than that, Ranpo would either sleep, or stare into nothing.

Fukuzawa was always grateful when the shut downs ended.

So yes, Ranpo wasn’t the easiest child to handle, but Fukuzawa wouldn’t have it any other way honestly. Because despite all the bad times the two of them tackled together, there were far more good times to look back on, and it was those memories that brought a smile to Fukuzawa’s face. Like the first time Ranpo had attempted to cook dinner; it hadn’t been the best attempt, but considering it was the first time the two of them had done something together that had had them both smiling by the end of it, it’d easily become one of Fukuzawa’s fondest memories. And then there was the time where, when the power had gone out in a storm, Ranpo had been spooked by the sudden darkness, so Fukuzawa had, in a desperate attempt to stop the panic before it could begin, suggested that they build a blanket fort together.

If only the people that knew him as an assassin could see him now.

It’d helped though, and he and Ranpo had spent the blackout underneath their little fort together with plenty of torches to chase away the dark. And once the power had come back on, Ranpo had spent the day in the fort, watching movies and eating snacks whilst Fukuzawa worked from the couch. That too, was a memory that Fukuzawa looked back on fondly, and he was pretty sure that it was one that Ranpo also looked back on fondly. One of his favourite memories though, was when the flu had run rampant around Yokohama during winter, and while Ranpo hadn’t contracted it, Fukuzawa had, and it’d been the worst time of his life. Sure, he hadn’t died, nor had he wound up in hospital like other people had, but he also hadn’t been sick since he was twenty-one and living on his own, so he’d been hit pretty hard by the illness.

But this time he hadn’t been alone.

Ranpo had been there, and unexpectedly, they’d stepped up to take care of him, making sure that he had plenty of water, lots of soup—premade by their next door neighbour because Ranpo wasn’t trusted by themselves in the kitchen—and more than enough blankets to sink a ship. Fukuzawa appreciated the gestures, especially when it allowed him to curl up and rest in bed and be miserable about his situation. Eventually, Fukuzawa had recovered, and he’d thanked Ranpo for taking care of him, only to have Ranpo brush off his thanks with puffed out cheeks that were tinted pink. Yet, despite the clear dismissal, there was no denying that Ranpo had looked happy at the praise they’d been given.

And those were just some of the good memories.

But with good memories, came bad ones, but there was one memory that Fukuzawa held that was easily the worst memory he had, and what made it even worse was that it involved Ranpo.

“Fukuzawa-san, I’m hungry!” Ranpo whined for what had to be the fifth time in the past hour, clinging to Fukuzawa’s sleeve to get his attention.

Fukuzawa couldn’t help but sigh as he looked over his shoulder with the most patient look he could muster, which he was pretty sure was beginning to fray at the edges because even he had a limit on patience. And Ranpo was very good at hitting that limit and barrelling straight past it until Fukuzawa wound up caving to whatever demand they were making at the time. “I know, Ranpo, and we’ll eat soon, I—”

“But I’m hungry now!” Ranpo tugged on his sleeve hard, and Fukuzawa spun around to pull it free.

“Patience, Ranpo! We cannot eat right this second!” His words were a little snapped out, and regret filled him as Ranpo fell silent. But before he could apologize, Ranpo beamed at him, which honestly just left him feeling more confused since that wasn’t what Ranpo usually did when he lost his patience at the kid. Usually he fell quiet, and became sullen. He never did like snapping at Ranpo, because Ranpo was still a child and still learning how to be respectful, and if he snapped, then all he was teaching Ranpo was how to be even more impatient than they currently were.

“Can we get a snack then?” The kid asked instead, hope brimming in their eyes as they opened them, unleashing the full extent of the ‘puppy eye effect’ as Fukuzawa liked to call it.

Don’t give in. Fukuzawa told himself, and he quickly turned away from Ranpo to avoid those eyes that he found himself saying yes to more often than he would’ve liked. But… Ranpo suggesting a snack instead of continuing to beg for food was Ranpo’s attempt at coming to a compromise, and Fukuzawa was trying to encourage such behaviour…

“Okay, there’s a convenience store up ahead. You can grab something, but be quick otherwise we’ll be late.” Fukuzawa said, and smiled when Ranpo let out a cheer and dashed off ahead to the convenience store in question. He knew that by the time he arrived at the store, that Ranpo would have an armful of snacks that he expected Fukuzawa to buy and carry—because Ranpo carrying their own snacks was a farfetched dream—and he would have to coax Ranpo into putting at least half the snacks back onto the shelves before they went to the register.

And just as he’d expected, he entered the store to find Ranpo with as many snacks as they could carry.

“Just three.” Fukuzawa levelled Ranpo with a look, and continued to stare, even as Ranpo begged him to buy more than three, claiming that they’d die if they had to choose just three. But Fukuzawa refused to cave this time, and continued to stare Ranpo down.

“Ugh, fine.” Ranpo sighed and began to return the snacks until there was just three items in his hands that Fukuzawa quickly paid for before the kid could sneak anything onto the counter—something he’d had to deal with before… several times over.

The two of them thanked the cashier and left the store behind. Ranpo immediately tore open a packet of pocky and munched on three sticks at the same time, chattering away through a mouthful of food about how good pocky was and that Fukuzawa should absolutely buy more of it the next time he went grocery shopping. Because, according to Ranpo, pocky was an essential food necessary to kickstart their ability into working—it was just an excuse to eat more sweets, and they both knew it—and apparently, Fukuzawa was just being mean from not allowing him to eat more.

I’d like to avoid taking you to the dentist... Fukuzawa wound up just nodding; he’d continue to buy the same amount that he always did and just tell Ranpo he bought more.

“Say, Fukuzawa-san, why are you even trying to get me back into school?” Ranpo asked when their destination appeared in the distance.

“Because it would be beneficial for you to be among people your own age.” Fukuzawa explained and quickly continued when Ranpo opened their mouth to argue. “Just because you may be smarter than everyone else in the building, doesn’t mean that you won’t learn anything at all. School teaches you life skills, and social skills, both of which you need.”

For a moment, Ranpo was silent, their brow furrowed. And then they whined and stopped dead in their tracks. “Why can’t you teach me those things? I don’t want to go to a school where a bunch of adults won’t understand me! I’ve already done that and it sucked!”

Ah, that’s right, the Academy. Ranpo had told him a little about that time of their life, mostly about how they’d been thrown out of the Academy and left to fend for themselves, so Fukuzawa understood where Ranpo was coming from and why they were reluctant to return to school. He only hoped that this meeting he’d arranged with the school principal would be enough to convince Ranpo into actually wanting to go.

“This won’t be like the police academy.” Fukuzawa reassured. “The principal was nice when I spoke with her, and—”

“No! I refuse!” Ranpo snapped, looking genuinely upset now as they stepped back.

“Ranpo—”

“No!”

Fukuzawa felt the oncoming sigh, and forced it back down. He looked over Ranpo, taking note of the tension within that small teenage frame that continued to build, along with the growing tears, and he knew that if he didn’t do something fast, they would be heading home instead of going to this meeting. But if this meeting will cause Ranpo more harm than good, then who is it for really? The thought was sudden, but welcome, because it reminded him that he was supposed to be keeping Ranpo’s best interests in mind, and while he knew that school would be beneficial to the kid in order to teach them what Fukuzawa could not, he also knew that Ranpo wasn’t just your typical kid; they were special.

He crouched before Ranpo and reached out to grab Ranpo’s hands with his own. “Is it just the adults that make you not want to go back to school, or is there another reason?”

Ranpo shrugged and ducked their head. “I just don’t want to.”

Fukuzawa knew that there was more than what Ranpo was saying, but it didn’t seem like he was going to get an answer anytime soon, not without causing the kid even more stress. Emotional conversations were best had at home, where there were plenty of blankets and hot chocolates, and not in the middle of a random street. “Okay. I’ll postpone the meeting—”

Hope brimmed in Ranpo’s eyes as they lifted their head.

“—but you need to tell me why the idea of school makes you so upset when we get home, alright?”

Ranpo looked reluctant, but nodded anyway. “Okay…”

“Come on then.” Fukuzawa placed a guiding hand on Ranpo’s shoulder. “If we’re not going to this meeting, that means we now have time to get something for lunch.”

And just like that, Ranpo brightened in an instant, grabbing Fukuzawa’s hand and pulling him away from the school. He listened as Ranpo chattered about all the restaurants and cafes they’d walked past on their way here, telling him which ones sounded interesting and which ones weren’t even worth visiting; it soon became clear that the chattering was just an attempt at distraction, and that Ranpo had already decided where they wanted to eat, because Fukuzawa was definitely hearing more negatives than positives for most of these places that he was hearing about. But still, he nodded and listened, using his free hand in the mean time to send a text to the school principal, apologizing for the last minute message, and asking to reschedule the meeting.

The principal responded almost instantly, telling him it was fine and that she was more than willing to wait until Ranpo was ready for the meeting.

How she knew that Ranpo wasn’t ready, he didn’t know, but it further solidified the idea that Ranpo attending the school—if he could convince Ranpo to at least look at it—wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

“Ranpo.” Fukuzawa said now that they had more than enough free time. Ranpo paused in their rambling and looked up at him. “Why don’t we go eat at that new café that opened up a few streets over?”

“Do they have what I can eat?” Ranpo asked. “Cause I’m hungry, and I don’t want to starve.

“You won’t starve.” Fukuzawa rolled his eyes. “We’ll check the menu when we get there, and if they don’t, there’s the cafe that does have what you can eat at the other end of the street. Is that sufficient enough for you?”

“Yep! Now come on, hurry up, before I wither away into nothingness.”

“You are not going to disappear into thin air, Ranpo.” Fukuzawa sighed, although he was smiling at seeing Ranpo so energetic and happy.

“That’s what you think, Fukuzawa-san.”

As it turned out, the café did indeed have food that Ranpo ate—a lot of it in fact—and it became a mission to get Ranpo to agree to eating one or two things instead of the entire menu. Part of Fukuzawa was inclined to just let Ranpo eat everything in sight, because it wasn’t often that the kid actually had such a good day with food, and he wanted to treasure it while it lasted. But he pushed that side of him away; he was smart enough to know that allowing Ranpo to eat and eat was a recipe for disaster, that Ranpo would no doubt become ill from eating so much, and that wasn’t a battle Fukuzawa was willing to experience today.

Eventually, he managed to get Ranpo to choose an actual meal, and a sweet for afterwards—they both knew that he would eat the sweet first, but so long as he ate everything, Fukuzawa wasn’t going to complain. Too much. For himself, Fukuzawa chose a croissant and ordered a coffee—black—to go with it. And for Ranpo, they ordered a hot chocolate—with extra chocolate—along with some sort of pastry that Fukuzawa didn’t know, but Ranpo seemed ecstatic about, and katsudon, because apparently this café was a little fancier than most that just sold coffee and baked goods. Fukuzawa knew that he’d most likely be finishing the meal, but he would make sure Ranpo ate at least half of it.

And the entire time between arriving at the café, until now, Ranpo had not stopped talking.

Honestly, Fukuzawa was always impressed when Ranpo talked for hours on end, and he did try his best to listen and understand what it was that Ranpo was telling him about. Which wasn’t helped when Ranpo would jump and change topics like nothing else; he wasn’t kidding either, there’d been one day where he and Ranpo had travelled to the kids hometown, and one moment he’d been listening to Ranpo tell him about the town and everyone that lived there, and the next, they were talking about cats and how Fukuzawa should totally let them have a cat. Apparently, Ranpo had spotted a cat through the train window which was what prompted the topic change, but it had still been so sudden that Fukuzawa hadn’t known how to react, and had just stared until Ranpo got upset at thinking they weren’t being listened to.

So yes, Fukuzawa listened, but sometimes he did miss things.

At some point while Ranpo was talking, a waitress brought their food and drinks to them, and without missing a beat, Ranpo shoved food into their mouth and kept talking.

“Ranpo, don’t talk with food in your mouth.” Fukuzawa scolded gently, interrupting Ranpo’s tangent about some comic book series—one that Fukuzawa had picked up from a second hand store when Ranpo’s last shut down episode had resulted in them not leaving the bed, or their room, for three weeks straight—that they’d become obsessed with.

Ranpo pouted, but did as asked, and finished chewing before they spoke again. “I don’t get why people kick up such a fuss about eating and talking at the same time. As long as I’m not spitting food everywhere, why does it matter?”

“It’s just the polite thing to do. And it’s also a health hazard.” Fukuzawa explained as he sipped at his coffee. “If you talk and chew at the same time, you risk choking.”

“Oh.” Ranpo paused. “That’s stupid. Just don’t choke on your food.”

Fukuzawa chuckled. Of course Ranpo would come to such a conclusion. “It’s not as simple as that, but no mind. Just eat your food, and drink your drink.”

“Why?” Ranpo asked as they shoved another piece of meat into their mouth, chewing slowly. “Are we doing something else today?”

“I have a job to do this after—”

“Do I get to come?” Ranpo interrupted, mouth bulging with rice, and looking excited as they leaned over the table and invaded his personal space. Fukuzawa raised a hand and placed two fingers against Ranpo’s forehead, applying just enough pressure for Ranpo to get the hint. The kid looked sheepish then, and sat back in their seat. “Do I get to come?”

Fukuzawa made a show of looking thoughtful, bringing his coffee to his lips, and taking the longest sip he could get away with. He smiled behind the cup as Ranpo shifted in their seat, and tapped their fingers against the table. Three… two… one—

“Come on, Fukuzawa-san! Do I get to come or not?” Ranpo whined, throwing themselves against the table. “Don’t make me use my ability!”

“Yes, you are coming, Ranpo. They asked for you specifically, in fact.”

Ranpo’s eyes flicked open. “Really?”

Fukuzawa nodded. “Really. It’s not until this afternoon that we have to meet with the client, so we don’t have to rush.”

“We aren’t going shopping are we?” Ranpo asked, eyes narrowing; the reaction didn’t surprise Fukuzawa in the slightest, and he was quick to shake his head.

“No. But I did hear that the next book in that series you love so much dropped, but if you don’t want the copy that I had put aside for you, then we can just go home.”

“No, no, I want that book.” Ranpo grinned. Fukuzawa raised an eyebrow, and Ranpo sighed. “Please.”

Fukuzawa leaned back in his chair and placed his arms into his sleeves, letting his eyes slip shut for a few seconds before he opened them again, a small smile on his face. “With manners like that, how can I say no?”

“What is this? ‘Pick on Ranpo day’ or something?”

“It is actually, did you miss the memo?”

“Fukuzawa-san!”

“I need to pee; I’ll be right back!”

Those were the words Ranpo had left with him as they’d dashed from the table in the direction of the bathroom, and he’d watched the kid carefully until the door was safely shut behind them. And once it was, he leaned back in his seat and waited, mentally plotting out the rest of the day. First, they would stop by the bookstore and get the book, and then perhaps he would take Ranpo to a nearby park and let the kid run wild for a bit. Because as smart and intelligent as Ranpo was, they were still a child. And children—in his experience—loved parks. Besides, it would be good for Ranpo to have some time outside in the fresh air.

And after that, it should be time to go meet with—

“Is that you, Ranpo? Oh my, you certainly look better than the last time I saw you. Last time you were just a scrawny boy.” A voice made its way towards Fukuzawa’s ears, a voice that he definitely did not recognize, and he quickly looked for the source. He found it in the form of a man that looked to be a few years older than himself, sitting alone at one of the tables with a smile on his face. Ranpo stood next to the table, looking at the man, but everything from the way they held themselves to the polite smile on their face told Fukuzawa all he needed to know; that this interaction wasn’t welcome in the slightest.

Fukuzawa stood and approached quickly, and Ranpo was quick to look at him, relief in their eyes, and Fukuzawa was quick to give the kid an out. “Are you ready to go?”

Ranpo nodded, and grabbed onto his hand, and together they went up to the counter to pay and then left; the entire time, Ranpo clutched his hand with a death grip, silent as they stared at the ground. Fukuzawa swiped his thumb soothingly across white knuckles but didn’t say anything. He just continued to hold Ranpo’s hand and walk down the street. He didn’t know who that stranger was, but it was clear that Ranpo did, and that was enough for him to be cautious. There weren’t a lot of adults that Ranpo held in positive light—if there were any to begin with in the first place, and while he wanted to ask who that was, he knew better.

Ranpo’s hand disappeared from his own, and Fukuzawa reacted; spinning around to simultaneously grab at Ranpo and shove the man that had dared to grab at Ranpo in the first place. He tugged Ranpo behind him, taking a stance that placed him between Ranpo and the stranger, and he felt Ranpo’s hands clutch at his yukata, and their head press itself into his back.

“Woah, I don’t want trouble.” The man said, holding his hands up.

“Then leave.” Fukuzawa narrowed his eyes, wishing for once that he had his sword, because there was no way that this man would even dare to talk to them if he had his trusty old friend attached to his hip. But he didn’t, so he’d have to go with intimidating this man instead.

“I just want to talk to Ranpo. I helped him out once, so I wanted to see how he’s doing.”

It’s a lie, he’s after something else. Fukuzawa stood tall as Ranpo’s grip tightened even more. He studied the stranger in front of him closely. There was a smile on the man’s face, but there was something in his eyes that Fukuzawa didn’t trust, something… cruel, waiting to be unleashed. But short of incapacitating the man, he couldn’t think of a way to get him and Ranpo away with the man just straight up following them.

“Ranpo is fine. Now if that’s all, we have errands to run.”

“Oh, come on, why are you speaking for him? I know the boy can talk. He has quite the mouth on him after all.”

Before Fukuzawa can say anything, Ranpo poked his head around. “We have errands to run, we’re busy.” The words are quick and short, filled with nothing but apathy.

“Excuse us.” Fukuzawa bowed a little to feign politeness even though he’d much rather launch the man through the nearest wall, and turned on his heel, keeping Ranpo in front of him as he encouraged them to start walking.

They managed not even seven steps before the man called out. “I get it now. This old guy’s your newest play thing, isn’t he?”

Three things happened in that moment.

Ranpo froze, that haunted look that Fukuzawa hadn’t seen in months returning like it had never even left.

Fukuzawa immediately turned around, understanding immediately who this person was to Ranpo, and more than ready to murder him—sword or no sword.

And the man just grinned triumphantly, like he’d won the jackpot at the casino after cheating his way to the top.

“What did you just say?” Fukuzawa spat, worlds filled with a venomous anger he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since his assassin days. Who would’ve thought that all it took to bring that feeling back, was to meet the man that had dared to lay his hands on a child.

“I said, that you’re the boy’s newest play thing.” The man shrugged. “It’s okay if you didn’t know, after all, the boy’s quite smart, so there’s no shame if you did. But if you think he cares about you, he doesn’t; it’s just a ploy to take your money and get in your—”

“You watch your tongue.” Fukuzawa took a step forward, encroaching on the man’s personal space, and felt rather pleased with himself when the man took a step backward. His anger grew with every word that the man spoke, especially when he basically confirmed that he was the one that took advantage of Ranpo before he’d met them. “I know who you are, and you are lucky, that we are in public and that I don’t have my sword, otherwise I would kill you where you stand.”

“It’s hardly my fault when he—”

“Ranpo is not to blame for the actions that you took.” Fukuzawa reached out and snagged the collar of the man’s shirt, pulling him closer until he was right in his face. “At no point, was it okay to take advantage of—”

“Hey! Hey! It was consensual—”

“It doesn’t matter if it was! You are an adult! Ranpo is a child! The only correct answer here is that you should never have agreed in the first place!” Fukuzawa let go of the man’s collar and shoved him away before turning towards Ranpo, who had remained silent the entire time. He paused and looked over his shoulder, glaring. “Dare to approach Ranpo again, and you’ll regret it.”

He didn’t wait for a response; he’d already wasted enough time on this man, more than he deserved, and Fukuzawa was done. He was angry, and upset, and worried, because Ranpo was just standing there like their world had come crashing down before them. Fukuzawa reached out, and gently touched Ranpo’s shoulder, which seemed to spur the kid into moving, and they continued down the path, leaving behind the man.

Ranpo moved fast, faster than they’d ever moved before, and Fukuzawa could see the way that their limbs were starting to shake, the way their breathing was starting to tremble and seesaw, and he knew that panic was well on the way. As they passed an alleyway, Ranpo turned and walked ten steps before they fell to their knees and retched, everything they’d eaten for lunch coming back up. Fukuzawa hovered uneasily, unsure of whether Ranpo wanted to be touched or not right now, but when they gagged and threw up again, Fukuzawa moved, placing a hand on Ranpo’s back and moving it up and down their spine in a soothing manner.

“Just breathe.” Fukuzawa murmured as Ranpo choked and sobbed, tears running down their face to join the mess at their feet. He continued to murmur the words over and over again, hoping to calm Ranpo even just a little. He didn’t dare do more than what he was currently doing, in fear of making Ranpo’s panic worse, but then they did something that Fukuzawa didn’t expect.

They latched onto him.

Ranpo threw their arms around him, and buried their face into the crook of Fukuzawa’s neck, and although the sobs had quietened down, he could still feel the tears as they began to dampen his shirt collar. I have to get them home, now. Fukuzawa dropped down and lifted Ranpo into his arms, holding them like the child that they were, and began to walk. He sped down the streets, expertly dodging passerby’s as he focused on getting both him and Ranpo home. It was close to midday, so the streets were crowded, yet somehow, Fukuzawa managed to get through the worst of it.

Should he have called for a taxi to take them home? Probably. But he didn’t, and he blamed it on the fact that he was worried. This was the first time he’d seen Ranpo react in such a way, and with how tight the kid was clinging to him, he didn’t believe he would’ve been able to convince them to let go long enough for the car ride. It would be fine though, because Fukuzawa was moving fast, and he could already see the street they lived on in the distance, and he picked up his pace just a little so that he was almost jogging.

Ranpo had quietened by the time Fukuzawa was throwing his keys into the door, and at first, he’d thought that Ranpo had passed out from the intensity of their emotions, but the moment they crossed into the apartment, Ranpo shoved themselves away from Fukuzawa, falling to the floor as Fukuzawa lost his grip, and took off down the hall. He called out to Ranpo, but the bathroom door slammed shut a moment later, drowning out his words. Carefully, whilst also making his footsteps audible, he approached the door. He could hear Ranpo breaking down within, along with even more retching, and he felt his heart shatter just a little bit, along with the strong desire to go back and hunt that man down just to eviscerate him.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he focused on trying to think about how to help Ranpo in their current state. The bathroom was Ranpo’s safe place—for some unknown reason—and it was where they usually went when they wanted to be alone. But considering this was the worst case of panic that Fukuzawa had witnessed, he was reluctant to let Ranpo try and deal with it alone. He paced the hall, even raised his hand to knock on the door before forcing himself to abort that course of action. Wait… Fukuzawa paused and thought for a moment before he turned and entered his room, heading towards his closet. It didn’t take long to find that hoodie that Ranpo always stole when they weren’t having a good day, and he pulled it out of the closet before he went and entered Ranpo’s room, finding a pair of sweatpants that would hopefully be comfortable enough. It was a little too warm for the clothing in his arms, but Fukuzawa was more than willing to turn the air-conditioning on if it would help.

“Ranpo? I have a change of clothes for you.” Fukuzawa called out quietly as he knocked on the door. He waited patiently for a response, knowing that it could take a moment for Ranpo to figure out whether or not he wanted to open the door, and sure enough, the door cracked open. A single green eye peeked through the crack, before it withdrew and the door opened wider. An invitation, one that left Fukuzawa blinking because it wasn’t the norm. But he tried not to think too much about it as he placed the clothes on the floor by Ranpo’s feet. And then he looked over Ranpo.

Ranpo’s entire face was puffed and splotched with red, and still, they were crying, with visible tear tracks staining their cheeks. The shaking that Fukuzawa had felt the entire walk had eased off, but Ranpo’s hands were still trembling as they clutched at his knees, knuckles as pale as the rest of them. But the worst of it was the look in Ranpo’s eyes; a haunted look that almost made Ranpo appear dead from how unfocused their eyes were.

It made Fukuzawa want to wrap his arms around Ranpo and never let go.

“Do you need anything?” Fukuzawa asked, kneeling on the floor in front of Ranpo.

Ranpo shook their head.

“Water? Something to nibble on?”

Still, Ranpo shook their head.

“Would you like me to stay?”

Another shake.

“Alright.” Fukuzawa stood, slowly. “I’ll leave the door cracked. If you do need me, just shut it, and I’ll come, alright?”

A nod this time.

“And Ranpo?” He waited until Ranpo lifted their head. “My door will be open.”

Ranpo threw him an appreciative smile and another nod before they turned away and curled into a ball. Fukuzawa had force himself into moving, because every instinct of his was telling him to stay by Ranpo’s side to help them through whatever emotions they was feeling. But he knew it wasn’t as easy as that, and that Ranpo needed their own space at times. So, he left the bathroom, cracking the door as he said he would and went to his own room. He would pass the time with some reading.

It was well into the night when Ranpo finally emerged from the bathroom, and it certainly wasn’t a surprise when he heard the footsteps approach his own room instead. In fact, he’d been expecting it, which was why he’d left his door open and the light on. He looked up from his book to see Ranpo with a clean face and in the clothes he’d given them. He couldn’t see Ranpo’s face underneath the hood, but he had some idea of what kind of expression was on it. Placing the book he’d been reading down next to his futon, Fukuzawa shuffled over, and lifted the blanket. In an instant, Ranpo was there, curling up as close as he could, and Fukuzawa lay on his side so that he could draw Ranpo closer and provide a comforting presence for the kid. Once Ranpo was still, Fukuzawa asked. “How are you feeling?”

Ranpo’s head pressed against his chest, and their shoulders rise in a shrug. “I’m not okay.” They croak.

“I would be surprised if you were. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Ranpo shook their head vehemently, and Fukuzawa quickly rubbed at their back to soothe them.

“Alright. Get some rest. And remember, you’re safe. He can’t hurt you again.”

He listened as Ranpo sniffled and comforted the kid when he began to cry again, just holding them gently, until they drifted off to sleep with tears leaking from closed eyes.

For the next three days, Ranpo refused to leave Fukuzawa’s futon, no matter how much he tried to coax them into getting up and sitting on the couch. Every time he asked, Ranpo didn’t respond, just stared into the floor with blank eyes. He couldn’t even get Ranpo to eat; fruits were left untouched and snacks were ignored, and no amount of pleading could convince the kid to take just one bite. Water was quickly taking the same path, but Fukuzawa refused to let Ranpo dehydrate himself, so he put on that stern persona of his and nagged until Ranpo had drunk an entire glass of water.

Had Ranpo cried and lashed out when Fukuzawa had dragged them upright? Yes, yes they had; his cheek was still smarting from where Ranpo’s fist had caught him.

But the next time that Fukuzawa asked Ranpo to drink something, they sat up themselves and drank the glass before turning away from him and going back to sleep.

On day nine, Ranpo finally moved from the futon, sitting at the kitchen table, and nibbling on an apple that Fukuzawa had sliced up. Fukuzawa watched, relieved because for the past nine days, Ranpo hadn’t eaten anything—not even the shake that Fukuzawa had tried to get them to drink—and although Ranpo had certainly gone through longer periods without food, they’d been eating regular meals for months now, and the healthy weight that Ranpo had put on after many months of battling with food, was disappearing.

Fukuzawa’s relief didn’t last long though, because not even ten minutes after eating the apple, Ranpo was hunched over the toilet, throwing it back up. He tried not to let his worry overcome him then, because this was something that he could handle. After nine days without food, Ranpo’s stomach would be sensitive, so next time, he’d give Ranpo one or two slices, and just work his way up from there.

It wasn’t time to worry yet.

It was time to worry when he realized that Ranpo hadn’t been sleeping properly.

He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed until ten days had passed, but somehow Ranpo had pulled the wool over his eyes and kept that knowledge from him. The only reason he’d discovered that Ranpo had been struggling with his sleep, was when, on the tenth night of this… shut down—or whatever it actually was—Ranpo woke up screaming. Literally.

Fukuzawa had managed to convince Ranpo to sleep in his own bed that night, mostly because he needed to wash the futon, and he’d made a makeshift bed for himself on the floor of Ranpo’s room because their own bed was far too small for the both of them. It was just one night, so he’d thought it would be fine.

It wasn’t.

The scream was loud and terrified, and Fukuzawa flew to his feet the instant it happened, ready to attack and defend his child. Only, there was no one in the room, and Ranpo was stuck in the midst of a dream. He’d shaken Ranpo’s shoulder’s until they’d woken, and the fear on their face, tore his heart into pieces. He’d gone to place a hand on Ranpo’s shoulder, to calm and soothe them, but Ranpo had taken one look at him in his half-asleep state and panicked, kicking out as they shoved themselves into the corner of the bed, begging for Fukuzawa to stay away in between the sobs.

“Stay away from me! Don’t touch me!” Ranpo cried, hands flailing as they tried to find something to grab onto and ground themselves with.

Fukuzawa grabbed a plush toy from the floor and offered it to Ranpo. “Okay, okay, I won’t come unless you want me to. But let me get you a glass of water?”

Ranpo snatched the toy and nodded, burying his face into the soft material of the plush.

A glass of water later, and Ranpo was tucked back under their blankets, clearly not sleeping, but at least resting. Meanwhile, Fukuzawa was on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed as he ran his hands through his hair, wondering what he was doing wrong. It’d been ten days of Ranpo suffering and not talking to him, and he wasn’t sure what else he could do to help. It was the most severe shut down he’d witnessed.

But he wasn’t going to give up.

Because Ranpo was worth the effort.

The sixteenth day was when the last of Fukuzawa’s sanity cracked and crumbled.

After sixteen days of not leaving the house, they’d begun to run low on food and other things, and so he’d left the house to go grab what he urgently needed from the convenience store just around the corner. Why he hadn’t just arranged for the items to be delivered like he usually did, he didn’t know—when he asked himself later, he told himself it was because he needed air to clear his head—but he’d left the house after waking Ranpo and explaining that he was just going to the store to grab some things.

Waking Ranpo was his first mistake. Leaving the house was his second.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been gone—he swore it wasn’t even fifteen minutes—but it’d been far too long for Ranpo apparently. Fukuzawa had returned from the convenience store to the distinct smell of blood, a smell that he was well attuned to because it had once been his job to spill the precious liquid. And considering that the only other occupant in the house was Ranpo, Fukuzawa panicked. He threw the bag from the convenience store onto the kitchen counter as he ran past it, following the smell to the bathroom.

And for the first time in his life, Fukuzawa froze.

He didn’t freeze for long, but it was long enough for Ranpo to notice his presence, and immediately, the tears that were already falling, began to fall even faster, and apologies began to spew from their lips. Fukuzawa grabbed one of the towels from the rack and fell to his knees, putting pressure on the wounds on Ranpo’s thighs.

“It’s okay.” Fukuzawa soothed. It’s not fine, this is not fine at all.

“I’m sorry!” Ranpo wailed, bringing their bloodied hands up to their face. Fukuzawa reached out with one hand to stop Ranpo, gently prying the blade from his hand first.

Fukuzawa’s hands shook as he grabbed a second towel. There was so much blood, so, so much blood, and he didn’t know what to do other than put pressure on the wounds and hope that he didn’t need to call an ambulance. Should I take them anyway? He asked himself, because this, this, wasn’t something he was equipped to deal with. And after sixteen days, he was only just realizing this. Should he have done something sooner? Should he have forced Ranpo into talking rather than waiting like he usually did? Questions like those swirled around his mind as Ranpo continued to cry and wail and apologize in front of him.

He continued to sooth Ranpo as the minutes ticked by, and after two had passed, he lifted the bloodied towels to see the damage underneath them, because in his haste to stop the bleeding, he’d neglected to look in the first place. Stupid, you know better. His movements were almost mechanical as he grabbed a cloth and wet it, using it to wipe up the blood that smeared Ranpo’s legs. How could he have missed this? Why hadn’t Ranpo come to him when they’d started feeling this way? He could feel tears forming in his own eyes as he asked. “Why, Ranpo? Why?”

“I don’t know!” Ranpo wailed, reaching out to grab at the sleeves of his shirt, spreading more blood around. “I’m sorry!”

“I know you are; I know.” Fukuzawa soothed as he gently cleaned around the wounds. Most of the cuts were shallow, and had stopped bleeding, but there were several deeper ones that were still bleeding, and it was those ones that Fukuzawa was worried about the most. “Ranpo, you need help—”

“No, no, no, please, I’m sorry!” Ranpo shook their head. “I’m sorry!”

“Ranpo, I can’t help you.” Fukuzawa could feel his own tears falling now. “I don’t know how to help you through this. I want to, I do, but I don’t know how to.”

“Please, please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Ranpo continued to say, and at this point, Fukuzawa didn’t know what it was they were even apologizing for in the first place; it could’ve been for the past sixteen days, or it could’ve been for the bloody mess they’d created, but either way, the apologies hurt, because it wasn’t Ranpo’s fault to begin with.

It was Fukuzawa’s for failing to take care of them properly.

And now he had to fix it.

He picked Ranpo up, apologizing when the motion pulled on their injuries, and sat them on top of the counter so that he had hands free to grab the first-aid kit from under the sink. He continued to speak soothingly to Ranpo, telling them that he’d get them help, and that they’d be okay, and all the while, Ranpo continued to cry and apologize.

Fukuzawa began to hush Ranpo as he bandaged the wounds, telling Ranpo that it wasn’t their fault and that it was okay, and his words seemed to soothe them, because finally, they stopped apologizing. Tears still fell down their cheeks, but they were quiet now, chest hitching occasionally as they tried to stifle their crying. Once the wounds were bandaged, Fukuzawa put away the kit and cupped Ranpo’s cheeks in his hand, swiping his thumbs underneath their eyes to brush away the tears. He pressed a tender kiss to Ranpo’s forehead, and they let out another sob, and a quiet apology, before wrapping their arms around his waist.

Fukuzawa returned the embrace, and rested his head on top of Ranpo’s own. “We’re going to the doctor—” He wanted to take Ranpo to the hospital really, but he didn’t know how that would go; at least Ranpo’s doctor knew them— “and we’re going to get you help, okay?”

Ranpo started to shake their head, and Fukuzawa held them just that little bit tighter.

“I know you don’t want to, but this is the one time where I’m not giving you a choice.”

Fukuzawa considered it a blessing, that when he walked into the doctors clinic, completely forgetting that he needed to actually make an appointment in the first place, that Ranpo’s regular doctor had had a cancellation and agreed to see them. In just four minutes, he’d poured out to her everything that had happened over the past sixteen days, and she had listened carefully, nodding occasionally while Fukuzawa rambled.

She was gentle, as she encouraged Ranpo to sit on the bed, and unwrapped Fukuzawa’s harried bandage work, and she didn’t react when she saw the wounds; all she did was pull on some gloves, grab some supplies, and set about cleaning the wounds. Fukuzawa stood beside Ranpo, holding their hand firmly, whilst the doctor cleaned the smaller wounds and stitched up the larger ones before replacing the bandages and giving Ranpo a lollipop.

The entire time, Ranpo didn’t say a word, didn’t even move. It was like they’d retreated in on themselves entirely, doing as they were told, but not actually aware of the world around them.

“We have a psychologist at the clinic that I’d like Ranpo to talk to before you take them home today.” The doctor said as she typed out something on her computer. She paused for a moment to look up at Fukuzawa. “Based upon what you’ve told me today, and taking in Ranpo’s usual methods of coping, I believe it’ll be beneficial for him, and she can help develop a strategy so that what happened today, doesn’t happen again.”

“What if he doesn’t want to?” Fukuzawa asked, glancing over to where Ranpo still sat on the bed, sucking on the lollipop, and keeping occupied with one of the plushies that lived in the office.

“You’re their guardian, Fukuzawa-san, and Ranpo is still a minor, so really, it’s up to you to make that decision.”

“Okay…” Fukuzawa took a breath and returned his attention to the doctor, nodding once. He’d promised Ranpo that he’d get him the help he needed, so that was what he was going to do. “Arrange the appointment… please.”

-----

“Whatcha thinking about, old man?” Ranpo’s voice drew Fukuzawa from the memory, and he looked up to see them standing in front of him, hands on their hips. “Wait, let me deduce it—oh, you were remembering last year.”

“I was.” Fukuzawa nodded and stood from his seat, forcing Ranpo into taking a few steps back. “I was looking back on how far we’ve both come since that time. When did you get back?”

“Just now. Saeseki-san dropped me off because I was her last appointment. Said to send her regards, blah blah, the usual.” Ranpo said, as they followed him to the kitchen, bouncing ahead to raid the fridge for snacks. “She wanted to know where I got this dress as well, so I told her. I didn’t want to, but I did, but if I see her wear it at my next appointment, I won’t be happy. It’s mine.”

“I doubt that she will, so you don’t need to worry.” Fukuzawa nudged Ranpo out of the way, passing them the plate of watermelon that he’d cut up just before when Ranpo had been at his weekly appointment with the psychologist. He’d figured on a day like today, where humidity made one’s clothes stick to their skin—or in Ranpo’s case since he was just wearing one of his summer dresses, just gain a sheen of sweat across his skin—that Ranpo would appreciate the gesture. And if the way that they immediately began to munch on a slice was anything to go be, it was appreciated. “How did your appointment go?”

Ranpo hopped up onto the kitchen counter and shrugged around a mouthful of watermelon before they swallowed and spoke. “Same as usual. Asked me how I’ve been feeling, asked me if I’ve had any trauma responses, asked me if I’d left the house—which obviously I had because I was there…”

Fukuzawa listened as Ranpo continued to chatter, nodding, and adding his own comments when Ranpo gave him the opportunity to actually speak. As Ranpo continued to talk, Fukuzawa continued to move, grabbing out all the ingredients he needed for dinner that night and setting about preparing them. Ranpo made no effort to get off the counter, although they did move over a few inches, so, that was something.

He was cutting up the chicken when Ranpo suddenly changed the topic. “Saeseki-san wants you to come along to next week’s appointment as well.”

“Why?” Fukuzawa paused in his cutting and glanced over. Usually, Ranpo’s therapist would call him to give him updates on Ranpo’s progress; the only times he’d ever met the women had been at Ranpo’s first appointment just over a year ago, and two months ago, when Ranpo had nearly relapsed—nearly, because Fukuzawa’s gut instinct had kicked in and he’d run off the job early to get back home, only to find Ranpo in the bathroom, unharmed, but nearly not unharmed—so he was a little concerned as to why she would want to see him again.

“She wants to do twice weekly sessions for a bit, and she needs your permission.” Ranpo admitted quietly, after hesitating for several minutes.

Alarm shot through Fukuzawa, and Ranpo was quick to notice, raising their hands to try and calm him before he could start to panic.

“You don’t need to worry! We’re just about to start… working through, that part of my life… you know, the one you were remembering just before.” Ranpo dropped their head to stare at the floor. “She’s worried I might react badly since it’s taken us so long to get there, so she said it’s just a precaution.”

Fukuzawa remained silent for a moment, seemingly frozen in time before he nodded. “Alright then. I’ll clear my schedule.” He paused for a moment before dropping the knife and stepping over to draw Ranpo into a one armed hug.

Ranpo blinked before they returned the gesture. “Why are we hugging?”

“It’s my way of saying that I’m here if you need. Since you got tired of me saying it.”

“Well, yeah, you’ve said it a hundred and twenty-four times in the past year, of course I got tired of it.” Ranpo rolled their eyes and suddenly hopped off the bench. “Do you need help with dinner?”

“And have you burn our house down? No thank you. But there’s a present on the table for you.” Fukuzawa said as he went back to slicing up the chicken.

Ranpo gave him a dubious look. “I don’t like presents.”

“You’ll like this one.”

He listened as Ranpo shuffled over to the table, and had to stop himself from turning to stare as he heard Ranpo open the envelope he’d left there. He could tell that Ranpo was reading it, and he knew the moment that Ranpo finished reading it, because he had exactly three seconds to drop the knife before Ranpo threw themselves at him. Fukuzawa managed to shuffle them over to the sink so that he could wash his hands and dry them before he ran one through Ranpo’s hair. “I told you you’d like it.”

“He’s really gone?” Came the muffled question.

Fukuzawa nodded. “He’ll be going to prison for life. With no chance of getting out. Personally, I would’ve rather seen him killed—”

“You wouldn’t want his blood on your hands.” Ranpo interrupted and then looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

Fukuzawa’s eyes softened and he held Ranpo closer. “You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

“How did you and the police catch him?”

“We staked out the streets that had… children who would be of interest to him, and one of the officers caught him as he was trying to lure a child. I identified him, and he was pretty quick to spill everything once he recognized me, and they arrested him.” Fukuzawa explained, running a hand through Ranpo’s hair again when they shuddered in his arms. And then his voice turned soft, softer than he’d ever spoken to someone before. “You won’t ever have to see him again.”

He heard a sniff, and held Ranpo for a while longer, until they moved to pull away. Despite their red eyes, there was a smile on their face, one of pure joy and relief that brought a smile to Fukuzawa’s own face. To him, it finally felt like the last piece of the puzzle that was Ranpo’s life had fallen into place, and despite how devastating the kid’s past may be, Fukuzawa wouldn’t have them any other way.

Because Ranpo was his child and it was as simple as that.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I feel like risk shoulda had Mari try to unify all the miraculous not given to a hero instead. I feel like risking death is riskier then giving it to her crush

YEAH

Like.

Marinette didn't even take any real risks there as far as I remember. This was a big situation where they needed to call in the cavalry, so she handed out all the Miraculous so everyone could fight.

Was it weird that she decided to forgo giving the Dog to Sabrina in favor of giving it to 'Adrien'? Yeah, but that's not exactly a 'risk'. Choosing 'Adrien' isn't a problem because she has believed in him being able to be a Hero before and is honestly the only person left in the main group she could potentially give a Miraculous to. Especially with her logic on it being that 'Adrien' wasn't affected by Risk.

Could you argue that bringing 'Adrien' in was a risk because her crush makes her act stupid sometimes? Maybe, but Marinette has proved that even if she can act dumb when trying to flirt/confess, she is 100% capable of ignoring her crush when she has some shit to get done.

So yeah Maribug could've taken more risks such as 'trying to use all the Miraculous at once'.

I think the bests risks would be ones that still utilize her giving the Dog Miraculous to the wrong person, but have it be a legit risky choice she consciously makes instead of 'Felix tricked her'. You could have her know it's Felix, deciding to give him a second chance after his disastrous first episode thinking it must've been a one-off bad day, and things proceed as expected. You could have her decide to try and trust Chloé again, and then because this is season 4 'evil for shits and giggles' Chloé things go sideways. Have her do something REALLY stupid like try and give Lila a second chance with 'ah the responsibility and attention of being a Hero will help her!' only for Lila to work with Gabriel

idk they could've just. Made her actually do something risky.

[recentadultburnout]

Today is still not July 15th ((T_T)) I'm dying here, waiting for it to air.

I'm gonna talk about it more to try to fill in the void in my heart.

I think if this ⬆️ ending scene is really in the drama, it will be one of the first scenes, purely because if Chan still looks that evil after they actually know each other, then Tinn probably didn't survive.

Maybe it would even be before this ⬇️ scene where Chan introduces himself.

Tinn sounds a tad bit too betrayed for a total stranger to me. What do you think?

I have committed the crime of not-putting-in-curse-words-when-translating when I do a fan sub for this ⬇️ scene.

Anyway, in this ⬆️ scene, both Chan and Tinn curse using the same word. I kind of like this little mirror behaviour in the heat of the moment? I know they look a second away from throwing hands, but still.

When Chan kind of lectures Tinn about everyman-for-themself-the-sociaty-is-suck, and Chan calls Tinn by his name, it makes me think, "Oh, they seem quite close", and they both seem so emotional.

And this bit we get from the bts clip!

T : If what you've done has gone wrong. How will it be?

C : What do you want me to do, then?

T : Anything! But not being cold-blooded like this!

This sounds like Chan is doing something bad and risky that he believes is the best choice (for both of them?) and doesn't understand why Tinn is disapproving.

I will guess that they have some good moments before something reminds them of their different world views and moral stances.

So, enemies to co-workers to enemies to lovers?

Not gonna lie, Flim would make such a hot villain.

For this ⬆️ scene where we all scare it might be non-con. I really hope that it not.

Maybe Chan stages a situation and then pretends to be Tinn's saviour, and that's why Tinn says the line in the end? Maybe not, idk.

Chan looked very calm, like he knew exactly what he was doing, but that did not tell me what was really going on.

This ⬆️ being mad makes you hotter scene.... That line is so unhinged that the whole situation seems impossible for a sane, real person to be in, so we probably can't apply real-life logic to it. I won't guess anything about this scene (._.)

I think the necklace Chan wears is always the same in every scene. Do you think there is a back story, or is it just part of Chan's wardrobe?

Is this a clue??? Is the admin just toying with us, or does it actually mean something?????

Teaser — Official(with eng sub) / my fansub

Teaser bts — Official(no sub) / my fansub

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