#NOT EVERYONE IS A BIG BRAIN WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE BIG BRAIN PLOT

[killuaisaprincess]

Fuck everyone I love the hunter movies

[inkskinned]

you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.

you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.

he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.

a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.

he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.

you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.

people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.

wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.

also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.

he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."

you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.

"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."

he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.

you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.

is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?

you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.

[pupyuj]

→ “magic words.” || jang wonyoung x reader fic.

— what was supposed to be a simple tutoring session turns into something more when the most popular student in the campus, jang wonyoung, opts to teach you a completely different lesson...

word count: 4.7k.

dynamic: dom!mean girl!jang wonyoung x sub!nerd!virgin!reader.

content warnings: smut, praise kink, mommy kink, overstimulation, semi-exhibitionism, fingering, begging.

requested ? : nope.

a/n: this one has some sort of a plot so it takes a while to get to the smut part,, hope this one was okay! (jang wonyoung pls marry me.)

next: your colorful secrets.

jang wonyoung was late.

you didn’t know why you were even disappointed. what did you expect from someone with her social status? rich, popular, and a bit of a snob… which was why it was a surprise when you managed to convince her to help you study for an english project. you really didn’t know how you did it. when your professor had told you that being aided by someone who was near fluent in the language could help, the only person that came to mind was wonyoung. she studied abroad once, has the top grades in class, and still looked somewhat more approachable than aeri uchinaga (the other student that could’ve helped you).

or maybe it was just your big dumb crush on the campus princess that willed you to talk to her on that miraculous day, but that’s completely unrelated to your current dilemma.

after five more minutes of waiting, you started feel disheartened. what if she was just playing a joke on you? it’s not like wonyoung was an angel; you’ve heard horror stories about some of the fucked up shit she has done in her time in the campus and even before that. so there was definitely a possibility that she tricked you into believing that she was truly into the idea of spending time with who was essentially a nobody, like you.

ten minutes passed, now you were just really, really sad. but your pride was too big, you didn’t want to walk out of that room looking heartbroken. what if wonyoung and her douchebag friends were waiting on the other side to laugh at you? you shuddered at the idea. you already face so much humiliation and scrutiny from being different than everyone else in this school when really they should be all like you: hardworking, passionate, and actually try to give a fuck about their studies instead of just partying every weekend.

twenty minutes later, well — you were nearly passed out. you rested your head on your arms, blinking sleepily at the lights that you dimmed slightly earlier. you decided that you were going to take a short nap, and then you’ll get to work on your own. screw wonyoung and her joke promises. you were hoping that the rumors weren’t true, that people just made them up because they were jealous of her and her money, her brains, and that pretty little face and those beauty marks and those unnecessarily attractive slender fingers. but she really is just like everyone else.

needless to say, you fell asleep. and you don’t exactly know for how long, because when you were shaken awake by someone, your head was seemingly in another dimension. you lifted your head from your arms and yawned softly, earning a laugh from whoever it was that woke you up. you rubbed your eyes, blinked, and tried to identify the person standing by the side of your desk and— oh, shit.

“w-wonyoung?” you asked with your eyes wide, staring at the tall, gorgeous girl clad in expensive attire that smiled down at you. were you dreaming about her again?

“the one and only,” jang wonyoung takes off her jacket and folds it neatly, putting it on one of the unoccupied seats across the table. “i know i’m super late. i had to find a real reason to come here other than, you know, just for shits and giggles. you should thank gaeul-sunbae for talking some sense into me.” oh. she couldn’t have said that in a nicer way?

“okay…” you murmured, nervously picking on the lint on your clothes for no reason.

wonyoung settles herself beside you, sipping on a cup of iced coffee. she slides a full cup to your side of the table, “that should wake you up.”

“you didn’t have to get me one…” you replied timidly but accepting the cup nonetheless.

“oh, i didn’t. gaeul-sunbae got that for you and told me to give it to you because apparently, it was the least i could do for making you wait for over an hour. huh,” wonyoung puts down her cup, leaned back on her chair, and looked at you, smirking. you tried your hardest not to blush at the way her eyes completely raked over your figure. you shifted uncomfortably on your seat, suddenly finding your skirt too short or your uniform too tight. “maybe she has a crush on you. ha! well, that’s quite a jump. from that hot soccer captain in that other university, ahn yujin-ssi, to you.” wonyoung giggles.

god, really? you held back the urge to groan, or roll your eyes, and just smiled awkwardly at her. you were seriously regretting having that dumb crush on her. she was pretty, but her mouth and the things that come out of it made it hard to truly like her.

“i doubt that…” you said, picking up your pen and opening up a novel. the very same novel you had a hard time understanding, and the very same novel that you hoped wonyoung would help you understand but that didn’t seem likely now. seeing that all she wants to do is insult you.

wonyoung doesn’t say anything else, merely fishing out her phone from her bag and silently scrolling up, completely forgetting the reason she was here in the first place. you sighed, tired eyes skimming through the words in your novel. every single word you read just went over your head, and you really hoped wonyoung would notice how helpless you looked but she was… well, she was taking photos of herself. you took your eyes off your novel to do nothing but stare at her. truthfully, you would also drop everything to take photos of yourself if you were wonyoung because she did look particularly good in this day.

“why do you even need me? you’re supposed to be super smart. aren’t you on scholarship at this school?” wonyoung suddenly asked while still posing. you flinched, immediately turning back on your novel in hopes that wonyoung wouldn’t know that you have been staring this entire time. 

(she did. but whatever. everybody stares at her.)

“t-that’s exactly why i need you, though,” you said. wonyoung chuckles. you blushed at what your words may have implied. “i want to keep that scholarship, but i-i’m not that very good at english and you’re… you’re great so i thought you could help…”

wonyoung closes her phone and puts it down, “well, aren’t you adorable. i kinda get why gaeul-sunbae is obsessed with you. don’t tell her i said that.” were you some kind of inside joke between her and gaeul or something? you doubted that the popular senior actually gave a damn about you, so maybe wonyoung was just pulling words out of her perfectly fine ass.

you really needed to stop talking like that.

“don’t start crying now. i’ll help.” wonyoung brings her chair closer to yours. maybe a bit too close for your liking, but her perfume calmed your senses so you appreciated the lack of respectable distance nonetheless. she takes your novel from your hands and without a word, she examines it. the front cover, the back, the first few pages, and the chapter you were reading. you watched intently as she did her work, and you couldn’t hold back squirming in your seat because of course jang wonyoung looks fucking hot when she starts taking things seriously.

her eyes flicker back onto yours and she catches you staring. you didn’t even make an effort to look away. it was too late anyway. wonyoung wordlessly stared back at you, eyes completely devoid of emotion so you couldn’t tell whether she was annoyed of you for staring or not.

“this isn’t what we’re studying in class.” wonyoung said.

“n-no. i’m reading it for myself. i want to write a thesis on it.”

“a what? so, you’re saying you’re doing this for fun? you have that much time?” wonyoung looks at you in disbelief. she puts down your book, almost offended at this reveal.

“that’s how i study. if i can’t prove to myself that i understand whatever i’m doing then i pretty much failed at that subject.” you confessed.

wonyoung groans, throwing her head back. you stared shamelessly at the curve of her neck, and had this sudden urge to kiss her. what the fuck. “i thought you were going to write a dissertation with how you made this whole thing sound so urgent yesterday. turns out it’s just a cute little project, and for yourself! you’re wasting my time, you know.” the tall girl said.

again, you felt sad. you grabbed the book from her side of the table and pouted as you looked at the cover, “w-well, you’re free to leave if that’s what you think…”

“you won’t cry?” wonyoung asked. you took note of the teasing evident in her voice and rolled your eyes.

“why would i—”

you looked at her and found your words getting stuck to your throat. it was weird, because wonyoung was literally just sitting there and yet she looked so… there's really no other way to put it in your lovesick little head. wonyoung looked regal. arms crossed, sly smile, eyes shining with mischief, and one long leg crossed over the other, hiking up her skirt just a little. you immediately looked away, but you were too late. wonyoung knew exactly where you were looking at.

“oh, i see,” wonyoung giggles and leaned forward, propping her arm up on the table and putting her chin on her palm. you avoided her stare, but you couldn't hide your red ears. “gaeul-sunbae’s gonna be really disappointed to hear about this.”

“please, stop with that. gaeul-sunbaenim is not interested in me.” you say in an attempt to divert her attention.

well, much to your dismay, wonyoung wouldn’t let up just like that. she completely disregards what you were saying. “i guess you’re kinda cute. in an almost pitiful way.” she says, eyes examining your features way too intently. “intelligent, decent, and you don’t dress that bad…” the tall girl continues on, taking note of the accessories you have on your wrists, neck, and hair.

you really didn’t know if she expected you to thank her.

“i’d say innocent too, but that's not all true, is it?” wonyoung moves closer, her perfume once again wafting into your nose and nearly intoxicating you. she places a pretty hand on your thigh, smirking at the way you flinched and hid behind your book. “since i’ve lost interest in whatever you actually want to do, how about we do something that’s actually worth my time?” she says, prying your book off of your hands and putting it on the table.

“i-i can’t skip classes. i was serious when i told you that i want to keep my scholarship—”

“don’t worry. you won’t be stepping a foot outside of your beloved school for this activity.”

see, there were a lot of things that you didn’t believe were true in the world. one of them being your brother allegedly not being free earlier this morning to give you a ride to school because he had something important to do, when you knew he just wanted to play video games until he had to leave for his classes. and now, you have something you can add on the list: jang wonyoung kissing you.

you were waiting to be woken up again, convinced that this was all just a very detailed and prolonged dream. but wonyoung bites your lower lip and nothing happens. other than you moaning softly, obviously.

“i knew you’d like this.” wonyoung mutters before grabbing you by your necktie and pulling you closer. her tongue tasted like coffee, mint, and peaches, and her lips were so, so soft. you were on cloud nine; how many people can say their totally unattainable crush kissed them first?

still, despite liking wonyoung’s lips and the warm feeling on your chest, you couldn’t help but gasp and move away once her hand squeezed your breast.

“what?” wonyoung asked, a bit annoyed.

“w-what are you doing?” you asked back, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“...trying to fuck you? i don’t understand what was so misleading about my intent there.” wonyoung says, looking at you like you were the crazy one.

“how is sex so casual to you and your friends…?” you mumbled. you said all that but the thought of wonyoung touching you like that made you feel certain things in your lower region that you really did not want to know about. or maybe you did, but you were just terrified.

wonyoung, utterly confused, quirked up an eyebrow. “why wouldn’t it be to you? wait,” the tall girl takes another second to look at your bright red cheeks, and the way you squeezed your thighs together presumably to calm that feeling in your core. and then she laughs. “of fucking course, you’re a virgin.”

having your crush find out that you haven’t been touched all your life and laugh at your face about it was not in your bingo card.

“that’s putting it lightly… you’re even my first kiss.” you admitted. you absentmindedly touched your lips with your fingers, smiling as you remembered the way wonyoung’s felt when she had been kissing you.

the tall girl stares at you, there was a softer look in her eyes that made you melt. “ugh, you really are fucking cute. you’re making me feel really bad about poking fun at you earlier.” (and that was definitely new. jang wonyoung never feels bad.)

you shrugged, simply accepting that that was her personality, as brutally honest as she was. you started packing up your things half-heartedly after minutes of silence. a part of you was mad at yourself for cutting off that kiss earlier. maybe you would still be kissing wonyoung right now if you hadn’t stopped her, or maybe you’d be doing something more.

“where are you going?” wonyoung asked, looking up at you since you were now standing.

you pulled at your uniform, “y-you said this was a waste of your time so… i think i’ll just study on my own. t-thank you, though. for the coffee and… that other thing.”

just as you made a step towards the door, wonyoung stands up and catches your wrist in a tight grip. “you’re killing me, (y/n).” wonyoung muttered. she pulls you close, which causes you to drop your bag to the ground and nearly crash into her.

“because you’ve somehow managed to make me feel soft inside, you’re getting laid.”

“i’m getting what—”

“i’m gonna fuck you, (y/n). seriously, what era are you from?”

and with that, wonyoung kisses you again. she wasn’t as gentle as before. her hands were on your hair, tugging and pulling. you didn’t know where to put your hands exactly, but wonyoung noticed this somehow took one of your hands with her own and placed it on her hip. you tried to keep up with her as much as you could, not at all aware of how messy you really were with the way you kissed.

unsurprisingly, wonyoung was annoyed at this and pulled away, “this isn’t a slobbering competition. can you calm down?” she says.

“i can’t. i really like you—”

“fuck. you’re pathetic.” she kisses you again, and you really didn’t know if you should have felt insulted or flattered. a part of you wanted to see how far you could go, this was a once in a lifetime kind of thing after all, so this time around you actually tried kissing her better. wonyoung moves, she’s got your lower back pressed against the desk and her hands on either side of you while you hold her face. she lets you control the kiss, smiling slightly since she found you so, so endearing.

wonyoung sneaks a leg in between your thighs and presses her knee against your buzzing core, making you moan into her mouth. she takes off your school-issued blazer and throws it mindlessly in some unknown corner, then she takes your necktie and slowly tugs you towards the small couch in the room, all while keeping her lips on yours. she unfortunately breaks the kiss and sat down on the soft cushion, leaving you standing in front of her, confused and out of breath.

wonyoung leans back on the couch, smirking, “come on, baby. give me a show.”

you didn’t know what she meant, and you were too afraid of turning her off by asking. but by the way she licked her lips as her eyes scanned you up and down, you just did the next best thing you could’ve thought of doing. you pulled off your necktie and you must’ve done something right because wonyoung’s smirk only widened, urging you to continue on undressing yourself. next, you started unbuttoning your white shirt, revealing your silky cream-colored bra. and finally, you pulled off your panties, just so you wouldn’t have a hard time doing it later.

wonyoung was more of an open book than you expected because it was quite easy to tell that she really like what she was seeing.

patting her lap, wonyoung beckons you over, “sit.” she said. you let your shirt fall to the floor and did as you were told, settling yourself on the taller girl’s lap. you shuddered at the feeling of her thigh against your bare cunt, and fought the urge to ride her.

“it’s always the quiet and nerdy girls like you, hm? hiding all of this behind a book and some straight A’s…” wonyoung’s pretty hands explore your body; from your back, your chest, your stomach, and to your thighs. she enjoyed the way you shivered and slightly moved yourself, desperate for some friction in that area. she plants a small kiss on your collarbone before smiling up at you and attacking your neck. she sneaks a hand underneath your skirt and palms your dripping pussy, her long fingers parting your folds and her thumb just barely brushing your clit.

your soft moans filled the air as wonyoung marks you up. she favored your chest, leaving hickies all over it. she leans back, staring at her work proudly. you took her face in your hands, tilting her head up slightly and then putting your lips on hers. you could feel her smiling as she kissed you back. she found your enthusiasm entertaining, but she was glad she wouldn’t have to do all the work. you boldly pushed your tongue past her parted lips, bravely exploring her mouth. your heart starts beating erratically upon hearing wonyoung’s muffled moans. her voice was so pretty.

suddenly, wonyoung inserts a finger knuckle deep inside you, making you gasp into her mouth and pull away from her lips. the tall girl laughed, “that caught you off guard?” as if she wasn’t looking directly at your widened eyes and gaping mouth. wonyoung pulls her single finger out slowly and pushes it back in, watching as your face contorted from the tiniest bit of pain you were feeling.

“one more?” she asks, but she doesn’t give you a chance to reply and goes ahead and inserts a second finger, making you whine and hug her. wonyoung giggles against your chest as she quickens her pace, relishing in the feeling of her fingers smoothly going in and out of you. the pain was quick to go away, and soon enough you only felt pleasure.

“you’re so tight, baby,” wonyoung wraps her free arm around your waist to keep you steady. she curls her fingers inside you and you moan loudly in her ear. “i’m glad i got to you first. i guarantee you nobody else can fuck a pretty little thing like you as good as i can.”

wonyoung looks up, staring at your features while you try to keep yourself as quiet as you can. the walls weren’t soundproof after all, and the librarian could very well just open the door and invite herself in to check on the students occupying the room. upon realizing this, you threw a quick glance at the door, worried out of your mind. wonyoung notices and gives you a kiss on the cheek to grab your attention, and she was successful.

“nobody will care. plus, you’re with me. you’ll be fine,” she said. she holds onto your waist tighter as she moves her fingers even faster. you clutched onto her shirt, biting your lip but unsuccessfully holding your moans back. “be as loud as you want, baby. let this whole school know who’s fucking you.”

wonyoung couldn’t even begin to tell you how turned on she was right now. you were falling apart before her eyes, the prim and proper (y/n) (l/n) being reduced to this… and knowing that it was all for her… wonyoung doesn’t know if she could hold herself back from completely ruining you on the spot.

“mmhn… ahh— mommy..! mommyy…”

well, shit.

wonyoung was pleasantly surprised. she chuckles, “what? say that again, love.”

you shook your head, embarrassed. “it… it just—fuck—it just slipped out.. i’m sorry…”

wonyoung presses her thumb on your clit and rubs it roughly, “say it.” you whined loudly. that felt too good.

blinded by pleasure, you fulfill wonyoung’s wish. “m-mommy… mommy, ruin me, please…!” you started moving your hips, meeting wonyoung’s thrusts and somehow it made everything feel better by about a hundred percent.

wonyoung was considerably happy. “good girl. can you take one more?” again, she asks but she doesn’t wait for you to answer. now three of her long fingers were inside you, just completely pounding into you mercilessly. the tall girl watched as you basically fucked yourself into her hand. shit, she could cum by the sight of you alone. you were even more beautiful when you were a mess… wonyoung has to fuck you more after this.

“this is a better look for you… none of that honor student bullshit. don’t you like being fucked stupid like this?” wonyoung says, once again curling her fingers and smirking as you throw your head back in pleasure.

you managed to choke out an answer. “yes, mommy… i do, i do…”

never in your life did you ever expect to be calling your crush, the untouchable jang wonyoung no less, such a nickname and even more so, getting fucked by her in a semi-public setting! you were sure to get weird looks from people who might be outside, and the news will spread like wildfire of course but you didn’t care for any of that. not right now, at least. because why else would you think of anything but the girl who was taking you to the stars?

“feels good, yeah? want more, baby?” wonyoung was saying. she herself was getting her panties soaked the faster you were riding her fingers, but she was going to have to take care of her own problem later. she couldn’t take her eyes off of you, after all.

“mmhn.. more…”

wonyoung clicks her tongue, “magic words.” she brings her hand down to your ass, making you whine.

you immediately comply — you were chasing after something that was unknown to you, but you desperately wanted it. and you knew only wonyoung can help you get there. “p-please, mommy… i want more…” you said, looking directly into wonyoung’s eyes and watching as her pink and plump pillowy-soft lips spread into a satisfied smile.

“mhm. you learn quickly, don’t you? what a good girl.”

fucking hell. did everything that came out of her mouth have to sound so hot?

as promised, wonyoung gives you ‘more’. she shifts herself slightly up on her seat, holds your waist in a death grip and whispers, “put your arms around me.” then, she pulls her long fingers out almost all the way before plunging their full length back inside you, deeper than it has ever gone. the sound that left your mouth loud, dirty, and wonyoung could hear the pain beneath all pleasure. 

she repeats her action, and you finally understood why she told you to hold onto her because holy fuck you were going to fall off her lap. you wrapped your arms around wonyoung’s neck and held her close, screaming into her ear every time she brushes past your sweet spot.

“w-wony.. wonyoung— mommy..! i feel weird… i feel weird, i feel weird…!!”

“shh, shh, it’s okay. it’s supposed to feel like that,” wonyoung starts kissing up your neck again, stopping directly under your jawline and leaving another hickey there. “you’re doing so good, baby. we’re almost done. just hold on for mommy, ‘kay?” she pats your ass, gently rubbing on it to ease the sting that her slap left earlier.

you shook your head, “i c-can’t… stop, stop… please..!” you were feeling too many things at once. you wanted whatever this was all leading up to but it was overwhelming. you wanted it to be over but you wanted to prove something to wonyoung, as if ‘holding on’ for longer like she asked would get you a medal from her or something.

“okay, okay… let go, then. it’s okay…”

wonyoung hits a spot and unexpectedly, the pressure in your stomach tightens and breaks in a second. your entire body stiffened as you came undone on wonyoung’s hand with a long, loud moan mixed with a sob. wonyoung shushes you gently, using her free hand to caress your back. she pulls out her other hand from your cunt, it was completely drenched with your juices.

you leaned back after getting a hold of yourself, albeit only a little, and watched as wonyoung licked her fingers. fuck. what you would give to engrave that moment in your mind.

“feeling alright?” wonyoung asked, brushing your damp hair away from your face with her dry hand. you looked exhausted and fucked out. it was hot. wonyoung’s core was throbbing like crazy. she wanted to get off to you so bad. you nodded weakly at her question, even though you didn’t look and feel ‘okay’. you were feeling a lot of fucking things, that’s what.

“t-thank you…” you said suddenly.

wonyoung tilts her head to the side, “for what?” seriously, you were so cute. with your flushed cheeks, eyes glistening with tears, and hair a big mess.

“...you know what for.” you mumbled, hiding your face in the crook of her neck. wonyoung laughs—music to your ears—and pulls you close by your waist, hugging you and kissing your bare shoulder.

the two of you stayed like that for a while, neither of you saying anything for god knows how long. you would ocassionally lift your head and wonyoung would kiss you, then softly asking if you were okay, or if you needed anything. sometimes, she just looked at you, tugging at your heartstrings and making you wonder just what she was thinking. (‘how come i have never seen you before?’)

eventually, however, it was time for both of you to leave as you had some actual studying to do and wonyoung, well, she has a party to attend. typical.

“hey, i’m giving you my number.” wonyoung says when you finally managed to make yourself look tidy and somewhat presentable. you knew that hickies were all over your neck, but you were too tired to lose your head over them.

“uh, why?” you asked, reluctantly pulling out your phone but not handing it over just yet.

“oh, no reason. i give my number away for free. it’s a thing i do.” wonyoung replies in an exaggerated tone. she snatches your phone from your hands, rolling her eyes at your apparently ridiculous question. her actions reminded you that yes, wonyoung will always be a snob through and through. even after giving you the best fuck of your life.

“ha ha.” you laughed sarcastically. you barely caught your phone when wonyoung mindlessly dropped it on your hands in retaliation. you weren’t going to lie though, having your crush put her number on your phone was a dream come true. you looked at your screen, ready to send wonyoung a quick message so she can save your number when you noticed the name she gave herself.

mommy💘

before you could say anything, wonyoung puts a single finger on your lips and winks, “call me when you need ‘help’ again, baby.”

[pensat-i-fet]

Not a crush (Pedri x Reader)

**I got this request and thought it could be cute and fun. It’s true that the Spanish press has been talking about this arms situation a lot, so it’s a good blend of fiction and reality. But then it turned into one of those writing projects that changed 7 times before its final form. For a second I even thought about turning this into a series. My brain! Anyways, enjoy reading! ❤️**

ETA: I ended up writing a series based on this imagine that you can read here!

Word count: 2685

Masterlist

Wattpad

“All those years in uni to end up doing this”, you muttered. “I’m never going to be taken seriously”.

“What are you talking about?”

“This article I have to do”.

Your colleague Jordi moved his chair closer to yours to peek at your computer screen.

“You know that we can’t use the computers for personal stuff, right?”

You put your head on the table. Really, no one was going to take you seriously.

“Huh?”

“Why are you looking at photos of shirtless Pedri? Got a crush?”

“Shut up! I have to do an article about the evolution of his body in the last couple of years”.

“That’s cool”.

“It’s stupid!”

“I’ve done worse when I was an intern. Don’t be so negative”.

You guessed he was right. It could be a lot worse. And you didn’t have a crush but…there were worse ways to spend a Tuesday afternoon than looking at photos of a cute player. And being given an excuse to stare at his body, which had definitely changed in the last couple of years. You didn’t visit the gym much but liked it when others did. Especially if that was the result of their gym sessions.

Writing the article actually took a good chunk of your day. Between getting the right photos and videos for it and asking for permission to use them, the actual writing and your colleagues' stupid comments about it, it wasn't as easy as you thought it would be at first. But it was a good article. And once the editor saw it and was happy with it, it was posted on the newspaper's website.

The following day you posted a link to it on your social media accounts and a little later you started to go through the comments. So many of them talked about how you were only picked to do that article because it was about a man's body and you were a woman. Right…nothing new on Twitter.

“Stop replying to hate comments”.

“It’s therapeutical”.

"It's pointless".

Just one more…

                                      **

It wasn't just the press or people on social media talking about Pedri's muscles. His teammates loved to tease him joking about that too.

"Here comes the Spanish Lewandowski", laughed Eric.

"So funny".

"Please don't be mad at me. I'm afraid you'll use those big strong muscles to punish me".

Pedri did use his muscles to push his friend and get him out of the way. He knew it was just banter but it all got boring after a few days.

"There needs to be a big signing or something so your arms stop being the topic of the week", told him Ferrán, who was looking at his phone.

“Yeah, I saw Barça posting about it on social media too. People are so overdramatic”.

“Totally, but I didn't mean that. I meant the new article”.

"What new article?"

Ferrán showed him your article and Pedri sat down to read it properly. It was a great article. You took the time to analyze the way his game could be influenced by this body change and picked different photos than the ones used by everyone else. He guessed there were still proper journalists out there. What a plot twist.

"It's a good article", he said, giving the phone back to his friend.

"The internet seems to disagree".

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know if they disagree but the girl who wrote it was getting a lot of shit on social media".

"Why?", Pedri couldn't hide his frown.

"I didn't look much into it but I saw people saying nasty things to her and then they found some old tweets and …seems like she used to have a crush on you and now she writes about your muscles or whatever and people on Twitter are the way they always are".

"Right", he murmured. He had listened to everything his friend said but also got stuck on how you used to have a crush on him. And he didn't even know who you were but footballers…they just loved being loved.

                                     **

"No point in deleting them now", said Jordi.

"I wasn't going to…".

People had too much time on their hands. That was the conclusion of the day. Somehow, just because of your article, someone decided to check your entire Twitter history to see if there was anything they could accuse you of. They probably were mad to find no offensive tweets but they found two where you retweeted a Barça fan page and wrote about liking Pedri.

The funniest thing was you barely remembered those tweets. You saw him, thought he was cute and posted that. Then you moved on. There were many players you found cute but had no time for crushes. Pedri got a mention purely for the fact that he signed for your team.

But now this was being used against you. So childish.

"Are you busy next week?"

You looked up to see your boss talking to you. He never talked to you.

"I guess. I mean, I'll be here working. So…".

"Do you have a passport?"

"Yes".

"Your English was good, right?"

"Pretty good, yeah".

He only had to look at your CV to see all the qualifications you had, including all the diplomas that proved your English was more than good but…no one cared that much about an intern.

"You're going on the US tour", he said and left. How could he drop that bomb and leave?

Your jaw was on the floor and Jordi was staring at you with a similar expression.

"Wait!", you said, finally able to get up and follow your boss. "What do you mean I'm going on the US tour? There is a group of people chosen for that already. It was decided months ago".

"I know", he said casually. "But one of them can't go and you'll take his spot".

"But I'm just an intern".

"Do you not want to go?"

"I do! Of course I do!", you said quickly. "But it doesn't make sense".

"Look. You're doing really well here. And you've gotten people to visit our website more than ever with just one article so…you earned it".

You had heard about all the visits to the website after the Pedri article was posted. But the way your boss was avoiding holding eye contact told you everything you needed to know.

"Am I just going because people think I have a crush on one of the players that'll be there?"

"If you weren't a good journalist, that wouldn't be enough for me to send you with that team. But it doesn't hurt".

"Ok, I'll start packing".

This was a great opportunity and you weren't going to reject it just because of some of the reasons surrounding it. But the excitement you felt when you first heard about the trip completely vanished.

And when you checked your Instagram and saw a certain player was looking at your stories…it was even worse.

No one took you seriously but you'd prove them wrong.

                                     **

The pre-season was both loved and hated by players. Pedri didn't really have strong feelings about it. It was just part of the job and they got to visit some different places so there were positives to take from these couple of weeks.

Another positive was having you around. After finding out about your article and your past crush on him, he checked your social media accounts. There wasn't much on any of them, since they were professional accounts. But there were a couple of photos of you and your dog.

Stories were something you also used to mostly promote your work and it was while checking those he found out you were going to the US too. He was hoping you'd meet at some point but didn't expect you'd be the one to interview him.

"Hi, nice to meet you", you said, extending your hand for him to shake. So professional.

"Nice meeting you too. I really liked your article about me".

Something changed in your expression and he couldn't understand what it was but you quickly got back to professional mode.

"Thank you. Let's get this done quickly. I was told we only have 15 minutes".

The interview was pretty uneventful. You asked good questions and Pedri gave you good answers in return. But you were so serious. He didn't know you personally, so maybe that was how you always were. But Pedri had a feeling there was more to it.

"Was that good?"

"The interview? Yes, thank you for your answers. They were really good".

"Easy when the questions are good too".

You nodded, quickly looking away.

"Are you ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because it seems like you would want to be anywhere but here".

You closed your eyes and sighed.

"Is it because of what people said about you?"

His words made you open your eyes and you finally looked at him. Instead of answering, you simply nodded.

"Don't pay attention to them".

"Easier said than done. Especially when they are the reason I'm here".

"The reason…".

"I'm not here because I'm good at my job. But because people thinking I have a crush on you got us a lot of attention. And now this interview will get more attention. So I'm basically just a pawn and I guess so are you".

"I'm sorry".

"It's not your fault".

Picking up your things, you got ready to leave but Pedri stopped you.

"I don't read what people write about me but my parents do. They like to keep the articles and print the photos and all that. Things parents do, I guess", he shrugged. "I read your article because Ferrán showed it to me and thought it was great. And then my parents told me about it, praising your writing multiple times. Your newspaper might be using you but you're good. You showed it to me in this interview too so don't feel sad".

"I don't have a crush on you".

"What?", but then he realised what you meant. "I didn't praise you because of that. God, you really need to get out of that mindset".

When Pedri started to laugh, you were more confused than ever.

"It's not you against the world. And people will praise you just because they genuinely want to…but now I'll be the one who's sad".

"Why?"

"I liked thinking you had a crush on me".

Now you were laughing too. Finally, he got to see the smile he had seen in those photos.

"Thank you for your words. I needed them. And you must go to train. I'll see you around".

"Yes".

The interview was posted just a couple of hours later. And even if Pedri's words helped, the comments you got still hurt.

Got what she wanted. To meet him.

"Yes, that's all I wanted in life. I can retire now".

"Why are you looking at your phone like it offended you?", asked one of your colleagues.

"It's the people inside it that offend me".

"Are there people living inside your phone?"

You half laughed at his bad joke.

"I know what you need to cheer up".

"Really?"

"Yes. Thoughts on karaoke?"

That made you laugh. You were such a terrible singer. "I like it. People don't like hearing me sing, though".

"I want to hear you sing so you're coming with us tonight".

                                   **

One of the easiest ways to get in trouble during pre-season was to go out and wake up to paparazzi photos of the party. But when it was the coach that took you out…then it was fine?

Pedri wasn't really into parties anyways but he thought karaoke night could be fun. He wasn't planning on signing but knew which teammates would. His phone was going to record all of it to tease them in the future.

"It started already", said Xavi, who was the first one to get inside the bar.

And he was right. There was someone leaving the stage while they found their tables. And someone else took the previous person's place immediately. Pedri wasn't interested in the random people who were going to sign but still looked up to see who was talking to the guy that controlled the machine.

And it was you who was on the stage.

"Well, that's a surprise", he said, almost to himself.

"What is?", Ferrán was now looking at the stage too. "Who is she? She's hot".

"The journalist who wrote about my muscles".

"The one that doesn't have a crush on you?", he laughed. "That's funnier now that I know she's pretty".

Pedri rolled his eyes and continued staring at you. He could see you were giggling and it was such a change from the super serious woman he met for the interview.

You picked a Franz Ferdinand song. They were one of your favourite bands when you were a teen and after seeing them live at the FIB, you were back to listening to all their songs on repeat.

Oh, when I woke up tonight, I said I’m

Going to make somebody love me

I’m going to make somebody love me

And now I know, now I know, now I know

I know that it’s you

You’re lucky, lucky, you’re so lucky

Your voice wasn’t great but who cared about that on karaoke night? Pedri didn’t. He just stared at you. You looked so relaxed. Just having fun instead of the worried version of you he got for his interview.

“Whoever she chooses would be lucky. She isn’t lying”.

Ferrán’s words took Pedri out of his daydreams. “What do you mean?”

“The song”.

“I’m not really paying attention to the lyrics. What do they mean?”

His teammate explained the meaning of the lyrics quickly and Pedri had to agree. Whoever you chose would be very lucky.

“I wouldn’t mind being the chosen one but you saw her first. Shame she doesn’t have a crush on you anymore, Pedrito”.

Yeah, it was a shame.

When you finished your song, you felt so much better. This had been the right plan to improve your mood. None of your colleagues wanted a drink, so you went to the bar to get one. It was needed after all that singing.

“I didn’t know you were a singer too?”

You turned to face Pedri and snorted. “Yes, it was my plan b if journalism didn’t work out”.

“There is always autotune to help”.

Pedri was pleased to see you laughing at his words. It was the second time in just one day he had achieved that.

“Do you want a drink too?”, you asked him when the bartender was taking your order.

“Just water, please”.

Once you got your drinks, none of you moved from the bar to go back to your friends. You just kept chatting.

“I mean, who knew writing about someone’s arms could lead to so much drama”.

Pedri followed your eyes which were now staring at his biceps. “Want to touch them?”

Yes. “No”.

“After reading the article I wondered if you knew more about my body than I do, you know? So it’s ok, you can touch”.

You bit your lip, trying not to blush. "I know you hear every day about how good you are at everything and that makes you overly confident but you aren’t as great at flirting as you might think".

"I heard about how great I am from you too. So you're at fault".

"I've barely written about you apart from that article".

"Yeah, but the old tweets…".

"I told you I don’t have a crush on you”.

“And the way you’re blushing says something different”.

When he leaned closer, you noticed how your knees were touching beneath the bar. They had been touching for a couple of minutes and you hadn’t even noticed. Nor did you feel the need to move.

“Not here”, you said.

“What?”

“Not where people can see us”.

“I thought you didn’t…”.

“I just want to test a theory”.

“What theory?”, he asked, smirking at you.

“If the crush I had on you two years ago is still there”.

[dilutedconfusion]

A Moth to a Flame

Eustass Kid x F!Reader (Part 3)

UMMM SOOOO YA’LL ARE LIKE THE NICEST PEOPLE EVER. Kisses and hugs to everyone who gives a semi-shit about what I write. I wrote this BEHEMOTH of a chapter and I personally think plot wise its my best yet. So get out your forks and knifes cause we eatin good today!

Summary: Having just found out Kid is a super big time murder machine Y/N is left in shock whilst sitting at the bar. Kid and Y/N finally have a coherent and tangible conversation. Emotions arise but Kid is still a total grump. In a fit of stupidity and some grief Y/N does something that I would not advise doing if you’re not like a professional idiot or something.

Warnings: Gore, NSFW (nothing actually happen theres just some sweet innuendos and mentions of NSFW related things)

Word Count: 6.3K

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Tags: @st4rfevrr @archangelshavethetardis @likeeliterallywtf @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @tulipps-maehem (At this point, if you comment something I’m smacking ya right in the tag lists. If you don’t want that just tell me! I’m totes fine with it.)

Kid took a sip of his rum. The cool yet bitter liquid burned his throat and swirled in the deep parts of his gut. Leaning back against the pleather booth he let out a little sigh. His arm was still throbbing like a bitch. Another sign that a strong wave of phantom pain would soon be coming on. But he tried not to think about it. Hoping his brain would stop the onslaught of pain if he got it drunk enough.

Killer was sitting across from him. Using a straw to take periodic sips of his beer. They had been sitting here for a good bit but hadn’t talked too much. A comfortable silence sat between them as it usually did. Kid’s stump randomly twitching now and then though he kept his eyes closed as he tried oh-so desperately to relax.

Watching him quietly Killer noticed the small twitching movement of his partners arm. “Is it hurting again?” He asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible despite his worry.

Trying to hold himself back from being a total asshole, Kid spoke. Opening one eye and letting out a dry sigh. “I lost a fucking arm. What do you think?”

Was that the nicest reply? No. But if anyone other than Killer would have asked that question Kid would’ve just punched them. So he was getting off easy in Kid's terms.

Killer stayed quiet for a moment, grimacing under the space of his mask. “Well, you look a little strained. Is the liquor helping or making it worse?”

Kid finally opened both his eyes, leaning forward and putting an elbow up on the table in front of him. “Helping. Now quit pestering me about this shit.” Kid grabbed his glass and took another long chug of his rum. Finishing out the last bottle he had asked the bartender to make him.

Letting out a hearty burp he felt his torso sway a bit as he sat. He wasn’t drunk but he could feel that warm goopy feeling building up in his brain. Staring blankly at the rest of the vacant and dimly lit room. Listening quietly to the sounds of people in the front room of the bar. The waiter who had taken his order was working the bar itself so he knew she was going to take a while to make an extra round.

“Want me to go get ya some more? I’ll order some food so you don’t crash as hard later.” Killer murmured out, already slightly sliding to the left to get on his feet.

That made Kid's red-painted lips scrunch up, waving his hand at Killer to stop. “Get your ass back on that seat. I got it.” Kid let out a grunt and started sliding off the booth to a stand. His body swayed just slightly but he stood up normally. His huge fur coat lay discarded on the booth seat.

Kid turned towards it and picked it up. His body felt stiff like an old piece of wood. Nearly groaning at even the slightest movement and it annoyed the shit out of him. Feeling light-headed he swung his coat over his shoulders. It was a bit difficult considering the lack of an arm but Kid has since gotten used to it. Making sure that his stump was at least halfway hidden by the fur of his coat. The bandages and torn scars running along his chest were mostly hidden, though he couldn’t hide the fresh scars on his face.

“Ya know…you don’t need to hide it. They are proof that you made it through something shitty after all.” Killer whispered to Kid, knowing it was a sensitive spot on his poor Captain's mind.

Kid’s face stayed sharp and demeaning but Killer's words had gotten to him even if just a little. Letting out a huff of air he responded, “Ya don’t think I know that? I just want everything to heal a bit more. Then I’ll show it off.” With that Kid started walking away from the table, leaving Killer in his lonesome.

He bounded past the other booths. His boots hitting the wooden floor below loudly as he made his way to the other part of the building. The sounds of casual conversation floating towards him along with the satisfying sound of taps being drawn while the bartender siphoned out beer.

Walking up the two small steps that separated the rooms he could feel the air around him get just a tiny bit warmer. The low crackling fire tracing the room with a rich wooden scent and faint smoke. Walking up to the bar he paid no mind to those around him. Leaning up against the wood as another much stronger wave of pain shot up through his stump.

Shit. He thought, gritting his teeth. He would give anything to start rubbing his arm. Soothing the muscles trying to avert whatever pain would come next. But as that same waiter came up to him he had no choice but to deal with it.

She had that same polite smile on her face. Standing on the other side of the bar, her hands filling up beer glasses as she talked. “Run out? Sorry, I didn’t make a round back there. We’re pretty short-staffed right now. What can I get ya?”

“More of the same. And…some fried chicken.” Kid mumbled out, settling down onto the barstool nearest to him. The woman looked him over for a moment. Glancing at his stump and bandages for only a second. Her face turned a bit contorted in what Kid could only assume was disgust before brightening up once again.

Never seen a guy with some wounds eh? Kid thought, almost wanting to say that out loud. If he wasn’t so tired and beat up he would’ve.

Well in truth if he wasn’t in pain he'd be drinking his ass off and winning bar fights. But he was in pain, his throbbing stump a reminder of that.

“Sounds good. I can walk it back there when it’s ready.” She said in that same sweet customer service tone.

Kid just rolled his eyes at her. “I sat down. I’ll stay here and wait. Can’t go back expecting you to remember to bring the damn food.”

The bartender cringed a bit at that but remained neutral regardless. “Sounds good. Let me go get that started for you.” She said awkwardly. Walking away from Kid in a bit of a rush and heading towards what he supposed was the kitchen door.

Kid eyes watched her as she disappeared, letting out a soft tongue click in annoyance. Eventually, his eyes just started drifting. His right hand once again itching to rub his poor stump but he held back. He looked down the line of the barstools absentmindedly to take note of the few people littering the room.

However, something made his eyes pause. They hovered over a girl. She was sitting at the other end of the bar, holding up a newspaper and looking it over as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Wait a fucking minute. I’ve seen her before.

It’s not like he didn’t expect it to some extent but a part of him had already forgotten what a weird little stalker you were. He glanced over your body, seeing the same clothes, jacket, and satchel he’d seen earlier.

Damn, it is the same chick.

He just kept staring at you wondering exactly when you were going to notice him. Your eyes were so glued to the newspaper your damn nose was nearly shoved in it. Even though Kid didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, he couldn’t help but rub your face in your obvious fuck-up.

“So you really-”

“WAH!” Your body jerked randomly hearing that deep voice once again. The newspaper crinkled as your fingers dug into it. Your whole body turned towards Kid at the other end of the bar but leaned away as if he was diseased. “Goddamn it! Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“What the fuck?” Kid mumbled out, brow furrowed in confusion as he stared at your beet-red face. Soft eyelashes blinking over and over at him again as if you couldn’t tell if he was real or not.

“What do you mean what the fuck? You snuck up on me!” You yelled, voice faltering a tiny bit as you realized just how LOUD you were being. Covering your mouth with one hand to almost suppress the sheer adrenaline running through your veins.

You hadn’t expected to be talking to him, especially since he was the one to initiate it. The mortifying news about him on the paper mixed with his sudden appearance and this lunging feeling in your gut was a lot to handle.

Kid narrowed his eyes at you, face more bemused than annoyed by what an idiot you were being. “I didn’t fucking sneak up on you. I’ve been sitting here for like 5 minutes just starin’ at your ugly ass and you didn’t even notice me.” He turned the barstool a bit more towards you, leaning his good arm against the bar gingerly.

Taking your hand off your mouth you leaned forward towards him. The multiple chairs between the two of you made the distance of the conversation a bit awkward but that wasn’t going to stop you from being an asshole. “Well if my ass is so ugly, why were you staring?”

Kid's lip twitched at that, his cheeks almost daring to blush red but he held it back. He didn’t like that you had taken his insult in that way. But before he could let it affect him he let the first thing he thought of slip past his tongue.“Cause it's so damn horrific I couldn’t look away. Plus you might as well have been licking that newspaper by the way you were holding it. Following my order like a good little puppy eh?”

Your eyes widened ever so slightly, still holding onto the newspaper rather tightly in one hand. Looking down at it for a moment like you should be ashamed before frowning at him. Kid watched and bathed in your reaction, a condescending smile on his lips. It made you reel with anger. Wanting to slap that shit-eating grin off him until he was black and blue.

“I ain’t looking at this 'cause you told me to! I wanted to do this because you wouldn’t tell me who you are. Just so happens that I know who you are now and if my calculations are correct, you’re a total asshole and a lunatic. Though I probably didn’t need the newspaper to figure that first one out.” You told him, voice quiet enough so the whole bar didn’t hear but your tone was condescendingly lethal.

Again Kid just stared at you for a moment. If anyone else would’ve given him even one-quarter of a verbal punch that you just gave him they would’ve been dead on the ground. But he was tired and though he would never admit it, your comeback was good. Letting out a strong puff of air through his sharp nose to calm his urges he decided to take the argument in a different route. One that would give him the advantage over someone who had just a tiny bit of bite to them.

“I get it, sweetcheeks. You’re desperate to know me. To get my attention. Thought you could read up on me so you could handle the real thing easier but clearly you can’t.” Kid said, raising his hand in the air so ‘matter of factly’ though his tone was anything but serious. The glint of his teeth as he smiled and the way his low voice rumbled just made you angrier by the second.

A small tint of red rising on your cheeks out of pure embarrassment. Making mouth go agape for just a moment before you concocted a comeback.

“Q-Quit acting like you're the shit, you glorified puffball. I figured out who you are and if you’re anything like how this newspaper is portraying you in real life, then I should go get a pitchfork and a torch to exile your ass.” You flipped open the newspaper and pointed it towards him. Showing him the two pictures of him committing crimes aplenty.

Hearing you call him a puffball made Kids lack of eyebrows raise in confusion, wondering why in the hell you thought he looked like a puffball. You could see the gears in his head turning as he looked down at his chest to notice the large fur coat he was wearing. Yet still, after another second of mental debriefing, he put two and two together.

“Hey don’t fucking call me a puffball!” Kid said in a slight snarl, a tiny bit of red gracing his cheeks at your comparison. Leaning forward he eye’d the pictures you were holding up. “And I look great there so I don’t know what you’re getting at. They got all my best angles. Even a good picture of me back in my start-up.”

This time it was your turn to be confused, pointing sharply at the pictures of him and even raising out your arm so he could see it better. “So we're just going to ignore all the murder. Ya know, like right here and here and here.” You pointed at the dead crucified bodies hanging limply on their crosses. Blood and splattered guts dripped out of the slightly blue and cold-looking bodies.

Kid rolled his eyes, looking at you as if you’d just said the earth was flat. He rubbed his chin almost to feign boredom as he spoke. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

And with that, you smacked yourself in the face with your palm. Rubbing a hand over your temple and scrunching your face in a mesh of lines that represented pure annoyed disbelief. Taking a deep breath you responded, “Look, I ain’t your mommy and I ain’t going to tell you what you can and cannot do. But, this is my island. You do this shit here and don’t think you’ll be leaving with all your vital organs intact.”

“Well by the sounds of it maybe I should do just that. Give me some entertainment with a good little fight.” Kid immediately quipped back, his face returning to that patronizing smile you oh-so hated.

At this point, it felt like maybe you were talking to a wall. One that was so caught up in having an argument with you he didn’t want to take you seriously. “You are just a complete fucking menace aren’t you?” That was all you could say, almost dumbfounded by his stupidity.

“I am and the people dig it. Can’t say a little danger doesn’t get ‘em all hot and bothered.” He remarked, his shit-eating grin growing even wider as he tilted his head and leaned towards you a bit more. Your face just went completely flat. Void of all emotion except annoyance and the painstaking wish he had said anything but that.

“I love it when people lie through their teeth to my face.” You said so flat and lifeless a robot might as well have said it.

Kid's eyebrows scrunched up a tiny bit, not at all pleased he didn’t get the reaction out of you he wanted. He wasn’t flirting with you, or at least that's what he thought when he said it. In all honesty, Kid has the same flirting skills as goldfish. Just making bubbles and floating by expecting someone to get drawn in by how shiny his scales were. So when he said that he actually just wanted to see you embarrassed like you had made him feel. Little to say it was the first time he felt genuinely peeved by you.

“I ain’t lyin'. I’m a big-time pirate that’s big in more places than one. What more could someone want?” He clamored out, trying to lean into his more cocky attitude. Again his innuendo is less about stroking his ego and more about getting a reaction out of you. He didn’t need confirmation that his dick was big. But he wanted you to blush because he told you.

Your eyes twitched a bit when he said that. Not knowing exactly how to interpret why he was bragging to you and most definitely not taking it as flirting at all.

As if a cocky asshole like him would ever flirt with me, he just wants me to feel small and worthless doesn’t he?

Giving him a blank dead stare you spoke, “What more could a person want? Well…I don’t know, maybe literally anyone but you.”

Kid would never in a million fucking years admit it but that shit stung. He usually never lets people's opinions cloud his view of himself. They were nobody to him so why care?

Then why the fuck am I taking what she said seriously? He mulled over this thought for a moment feeling almost ashamed that he let anything you say get through his impenetrable skin.

But he beat himself out of that thought, scowling harder than ever before and clenching his one good hand until his knuckles turned white.

You noticed this despite the multiple barstools that took up the space between the two of you. Face once dead of emotion now alight in a wave of slight nervousness and even a bit of regret.

Why the fuck did I say that? To a murderer of all people? Do I want to get killed that badly?

Kid felt his stump throb in pain once again like a hammer cast in flames slamming into every single nerve. He grits his teeth hoping you didn’t notice before responding. “Like your opinion of me matters. Quit acting like you know me. You’re nothing compared to what I am.”

You watched him carefully, eyeing the way his muscles uncomfortably tensed underneath his fur coat. The slight sheen of sweat on his brow became a bit more noticeable in the low light. It made a strange feeling of guilt swirl deep in your core seeing him like that. He was a total douchebag but it felt wrong kicking him when he was down.

“I don’t know you but I’ve met people like you. More than I’d like to admit.” Your tone was soft as you spoke, not looking him in the eye as you held on to the newspaper in an almost delicate way. “I’m just saying I don’t trust you. And…if I’m right then I have every reason to be cautious. Reading this newspaper gives you a ‘I’ll kill everyone’ air.”

Kid watched you as you spoke. His amber eyes were sharp and clear as he noticed the change in tone. It didn’t bother him but in his opinion, it sounded like the most truthful thing you’ve said so far. “I don’t just kill everybody. I have some restraint ya know.”

“Well according to this newspaper, you kill pretty much anyone all the time. To the point that it's what you are known for. I mean, look at this headline, it says slaughtering right there.” You pointed to the headline once more, laying the newspaper flat on the bar before picking up your glass. The sight of rotting flesh in the pictures forcing your heart to lurch each time you even glance at it.

“Well, all of the people I kill fucking deserve it. Do you think I hand out mercy out of sympathy for worthless people? The motherfuckers get in my way so they deserve to be in the ground.”

Kid’s voice was harsh with conviction as he spoke. As if he's said this same thing nearly a thousand times. You took another quick sip of your daiquiri. Licking the sugar off your lips with a quick swipe before glancing back over at him.

“So…are you going to do that here? On this island? String me up by my belly and let my intestines slip out?” You asked him quietly, eyes boring into him with an intensity he hadn’t seen from you before. It felt raw and almost threatening. Like you were daring him to try because you knew he would lose.

He wanted to be annoyed and he wanted to punch you right in the jaw. Snap you out of whatever diluted sense of power you seemed to be feeling. But his stump was still soaring with pain. He was managing it sure but he knew if he started moving around too much he’d topple over. So instead he resorted to using his words, which was his least favorite thing to do. “Well…I’m thinking about it but…I’m not in the mood. It's too worthless to kill someone so weak. I have bigger fish to fry.”

Your eyes narrowed, reading into him for even a sliver of deception. You didn’t know what kind of man he was. Supposing he was a liar and cheat like most of the men who traveled the sea were. So you prodded him deeper, trying to find the root of his honesty. “Could your lack of motivation to kill me…have anything to do with those injuries of yours?”

You glanced at his stump and bandages running across his chest. The scabbed-over and healing scars on his face were still red and puffy from their recent affliction. Kid's eyes widened and he leaned back away from you ever so slightly. Hating the fact that you dare mention his injuries. Hating the fact that you thought they were making him weak. That they were holding him back.

That rage he had been holding in ever since it happened started to bubble up. The same rage that he felt for his crew members when they pitied him. The same rage he felt for himself. He had to look away, trying to regain himself. Control his overwhelming urges to not only split your face open but break every piece of furniture within ten feet of him.

He finally looked back at you, ready to scream his head off, “Don’t you dare-”, but he paused.

It was surprising to see your face like that.

It stopped him dead in his tracks, his once boiling rage now a soft simmer within only a second.

Kid didn’t know how to describe it. It was like you weren’t looking at him for who he was. For the scars he held. Those eyes of yours were looking at him for what he is. Deep somber orbs filled with nothing but…empathy?

No…that’s not the right word. It doesn’t feel…like it’s meant to be helpful or caring. Not an ounce of pity.

Familiarity. She knows how I feel.

Kid wasn’t good at reading people's emotions. He could barely understand his own emotions most of the time. So it was strange how he met you in the middle with just a glance.

Even though it didn’t last more than a few seconds.

“I have another pitcher of beer, a tall glass of rum, and that chicken you ordered.” Came the voice of the waiter. Walking through the swinging door with a large tray in hand carrying all the contents she mentioned.

Your face contorted to embarrassment as you watched the waiter stride up towards Kid. He had to force himself to look away from you, wanting to continue the conversation with you despite himself.

What the fuck has gotten into me?

Kid nearly rolled his eyes at himself. Feeling a pang of heat cross his cheeks he let out a grumbling cough to mask it. The waiter placed the tray carefully in front of Kid at the bar.

“Sorry for the wait but does everything look good?” She asked, sliding her body behind the bar and eyeing both Kid and you. Her eyes were bouncing between the two of you a bit, clearly wondering the origins of the tension floating in the air.

Oh god. She even knows I was researching him. You thought to yourself. Feeling like you’d been caught in the act of doing something reckless and stupid.

Kid stared down at the tray, his jaw tight as he let out a deep breath of air he’d been holding in. “It’s fine.” He grumbled, again that ache in his stump making his eye twitch.

Sliding his weight down onto the floor he stood up. His back cracked a bit as he rolled his shoulders trying to subside the ache. You watched him silently. Gliding your eyes gently across his wide shoulders. How the strong muscles there tensed and rolled as he moved. His smooth pale mounds of warm skin with bandages on every other inch lingering in your mind. His height was just as demeaning as you remember it though you still were a good ten feet away.

Always close enough to talk but not close enough to be considered next to him.

His hand tugged his coat around his shoulders a bit more, before he haphazardly tried to pick up the tray. His thick and lacquer-covered fingertips tried to dig under the tray without spilling anything. His one-handed skills at doing pretty much anything got in the way of even the simplest tasks of his life.

“You sure…you don’t need a little help?” The waiter softly asked. Watching Kid as she cleaned off the countertops with a rag.

“Say that again and don’t expect to be going home tonight with a tongue.” Kid spat back, his voice dripping with venom.

The waiter again nearly clammed up but backed off almost immediately. She was used to dealing with pirates but…this man was on a whole other level. Staying quiet and walking over towards your side of the bar instead.

She glanced at you but you didn’t pay much attention. Instead, you were trying to slyly watch as Kid finally wound his large hand underneath the tray. Holding it up easily on his palm at shoulder level before starting to walk away. Disappearing through a doorway without even a second glance towards you.

You let out a small displeased huff of air. At least expecting a glance or chance to continue that conversation. You felt like you were getting somewhere with that. Getting to know him a bit better. It was interesting beyond belief and if someone asked you if you’d rather stay at home in safety or talk to a scary pirate. Well…you would choose a scary pirate every time.

It felt nostalgic and it made your boring life more lively. That is until the waiter got in the way.

“You okay hun? He didn’t threaten you right?” She asked softly, giving you a sympathetic smile as she continued to wipe the bar.

You gave her a little quirk of a smile purely just for show. Not willing to give her a hard time for breaking up your conversation with that man. “Yeah, I’m fine. He did nothing wrong.”

“Well that I don’t believe. Seems to me like he's nothing but a walking pile of wrong.”

You stayed silent at first. Fiddling with your glass a tiny bit before finally picking it up to your lips and finishing the last of it off. Gulping it down and feeling the smooth taste of it run down to swirl in your gut.

“Well sometimes…a whole lotta wrong is just right.”

__________

No matter how much you wanted to, you couldn’t force yourself to stand up and walk into the back room of the bar. To go face that redhead again and his masked friend.

His name is not redhead, it's Kid. Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid. That thought dawned upon you as you thought over your conversation with him. You knew his name but hadn’t spoken it out loud even once. Even now his name stays within the confines of your mind. You had learned it while reading the newspaper along with the aforementioned Massacre Soldier, that blondie that’s with him.

Mulling over the idea of going and talking to them you tried to hype yourself up multiple times to gain the courage.

Come up with a catchy one-liner that would make you just a bit more likable. Maybe say nothing and sit down next to one of them like you own the place.

Assert dominance. Yeah….no.

You had no reason that wasn’t deathly embarrassing when explaining WHY you wanted to sit with them.

I’m just…bored, which would lead them to joke about my small, stupid, and uninteresting life. Maybe even lead Kid into bragging about how ‘important’ and ‘amazing’ he is compared to me.

Even thinking about that made your face sour. Rolling your eyes at nothing like you had just heard the worst joke imaginable.

I could…tell them that I have this strong gut feeling and it's dragging me towards them like a fish on a hook, which would lead to them being confused, taking it as flirting or calling me…ugh desperate.

That word crawled on your skin and sunk into your flesh. Like a tick taking root so one way or another you’d end up with Lyme disease or even worse, a bruised self-image.

You weren’t about to let that happen but this longing in your gut was almost incurable.

You even tried to calm down and look at your situation in a simpler light.

It’s just two men. Two pirates. You’ve dealt with pirates. You know how they work. You told yourself, hands feeling clammy as they gripped the edge of the bar. I already talked to one of them and it went…okay. Or maybe I’m just lying to myself and it went horribly.

You slouched in your chair and frowned. Nearly slamming your head down on the bar but you held back. Remembering you were indeed, still in public and if you wanted to wallow in your self-loathing you needed to go home for that.

I don’t need more people thinking I’m crazy.

You eventually stood up, walking to the point where you were just at the precipice of the doorway before panic struck you and you turned around just to walk straight out of the bar.

Red as a tomato and filled with shame you retreated into the night.

Did I even tell him my name?

You chewed your lips, the pleasant sounds of raindrops hitting the hood of your jacket and filling up your ears. It was a dark walk home. One that felt unmotivated to return home. You’d rather be out here, at night. The barren surroundings, whirring trees in the wind, and the rain pleasant yet cold. So you started meandering, walking as slow as you could despite the late hours.

Now and then the moon would peek through the clouds as if to say hello. A far-off lantern leaving a cool milky glow on your surroundings before being swallowed up by darkness once again.

Thank god my jacket is waterproof. You thought, watching the raindrops slip off the edge of your hood and in front of your face. It wasn’t a downpour just yet but it was not the best walking weather in most people's minds.

Yet even so you started making a detour.

What the fuck am I even doing?

At some point, while walking along the slightly muddy but managing trail to your home you made a hard 90-degree turn. Walking away from the direction of the little cabin your father had built when you were born, deep on the west side of the island.

It took about a half hour to walk through those woods to your house. Strong iron lanterns hung up on a few trees so you didn't get lost in the night. The animals are far too afraid to even step foot near your trail ever since your father claimed this portion of land.

So you were safe thankfully but what you weren’t safe from was yourself.

The trail you turned off onto led straight to the ocean. It was a bit muddier and more overgrown with thick roots and ferns but you have walked on this trial nearly half of your life. You knew it better than anyone because you were the one who made it.

Now and then you could hear the low rumble of lightning in the distance. Not too close but not entirely far off. The evergreens, birch and a few sparing oaks protecting you from the onslaught of the wind. As the wind cascaded through their branches it sounded like the raw howl of banshee. It creeped you out a bit but it was something you’ve heard before. This forest home even in the looming hours of the night.

Eventually, you breached the forest and reached the shoreline. The rain had died down a little, just a light pitter-patter against your jacket. The sand was wet but solid as you stepped down onto it. Your feet sunk in just a bit held against your weight regardless.

Looking out you noticed the ocean was in havoc. Waves nearly half your height would roll in and crash down like a bomb along the shore. The ocean tugged the water back in a greedy fashion as if it wanted to consume the land. Tall white-tipped waves stretching far out into the bay. The scent of salt, seaweed, and something oh-so comforting gliding in the space between you and the water.

Gosh if it's this bad here, I wonder what it’s like out on the open sea right now.

You looked down the shoreline, spotting the docks more towards the middle of the bay off to your left. There lay a few fishing ships, all bobbing up and down like pelicans in the water. But of course those weren’t the boats your eyes stayed glued to.

The contrast between those boats and the absolute behemoth that was the Kid Pirates ship was amazing. It was a good distance away, much bigger looking than it had originally been when you first spotted it. Squinting your eyes you could still make out a few shadows of people walking along its deck.

Your memory started floating into the forefront of your mind. Days on a deck like that. Nights spent harboring the seas as you tossed and turned in your bed. It felt like ages ago. That part of your life was now foreign to you the second the incident happened.

I wonder what he would’ve wanted for me.

Grief sunk deep into the root of your being. Covering the very base of who you are in a thick, oily, and dark substance. One that no matter how many times you tried to wash it off, it just wouldn’t go away.

“Goddamn it,” You muttered, trying to will yourself out of the feelings you held. You looked over at the sea once again, eyes trailing off towards your right. A long line of huge boulders stretched out into the waters. Built to elongate the bay and protect the land from bigger waves.

Without a thought, you walked towards it. The jetty calling your name as it has done a million times.

Climbing up onto the slick boulders you made sure to stay towards the shoreline side. The other side of the boulders, facing towards the open ocean, getting berated with large waves. You could barely hear yourself think with how loud it was. The light spritz of water landed on you periodically as you slowly and carefully traversed the boulders. Algae, kelp, starfish, and mussels littered around you. Wanting to trip you up whenever they could.

This is stupid, I can’t see shit. You thought, using your hands to steady yourself on any taller outcroppings of rock as your feet trembled underneath you. It wasn’t out of fear though, it was excitement. Excitement to do something dangerous. Excitement to try something so stupid.

Why am I like this? It’s cold and wet and I could fall into the ocean, get thrashed, and drown.

But you knew why you were like this. You knew exactly why and yet you still didn’t understand yourself. Feet moving without a thought. Your brain so focused on feeling something more than yourself that you don't care to stop.

At first, you didn’t even notice them. The pair of eyes watching you from a distance. Red-painted lips frowned in confusion as they eyed the familiar image of a girl seemingly trying to get herself killed.

In the cacophony of the waves and how they thrashed you heard another noise. A low deep whine of something in the distance. Your head perked up, blinking as if you had heard a ghost. As if the wind and waves were trying to talk to you. Thinking it was nothing you continued along until a second later you heard it again.

You looked out onto the sea towards your left, swallowing hard as you stared at the rocking waves just a few feet below you. You pressed your back up against a flat boulder at your side. Gripping onto it to keep your balance you finally glanced back at the shore.

What the-

An image of a man, a puffball-shaped man to be exact, standing at the edge of the shore right next to the jetty. You couldn’t make out his features but there was no denying who it was. His one intact arm waving and pointing toward something in your vicinity.

What the fuck?

The second you finished this thought something hit you.

Something dangerously cold and heavy enveloping you. Starting from the top of your head down to your toes. It burned your eyes as the cold sunk deep into your marrow.

Scraping your hands against the rock as you tried to stay upright, though the second it broke skin you were forced to let go. Your knees caving in under the insurmountable weight thrashed upon you.

One second you were standing and in the next you were getting sucked into the dark and desolate ocean below.

A/N: SHIT IS GETTING REAL YA’LL. BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING. I wrote this with my eyes comically wide the whole time. Sorry to leave ya’ll on like a cliffhanger but it makes for good story telling so have fun suffering. Quirky reminder but Kid can’t swim. So like….yeah shes fucked. I mean she did it to herself but still. RIP Y/N 🙏 or a least RIP until the next chapter.

[fangirltothefullest]

fascinating can you do janus since you talked about him?

*cracks knuckles* Absolutely!

Janus is deception, deceit in it's finest- a smooth-talking person who keeps everything close to his chest. In canon his outfit hides everything but his face- which are covered in scales, making it easy to overlook everything else when that's distracting enough. BUT! He's also way kinder than people give him credit for and his goals align with wanting to protect and keep them all safe and happy too.

Janus gives me SO many fun vibes, but to me it boils down to "immaculate presentation hiding frustrated only-sort-of-reformed-villain that wants you to treat yourself to extravagant things because you deserve it". He wants to be a good guy but it feels like it's his nature to be a manipulative shit. He is a femme fatale, a bond villain, a sassy aunt who talks shit about everyone, strange caregiver, and aesthetically he is a diva.

Inspiration 1: That video of the guy who is a good guy talking like a villain

His outfit in the series screams villain but he's CONSTANTLY trying to make good reasonable points so this has to be a good place to think about it first.

Inspiration 2: Femme Fatale

Classy and refined, Femme Fatales use their looks and words and charms to get what they want, often at the cost of other people. Janus ultimately is a femme fatale in that he is trying to get what he wants and he tends to be smooth about it (this breaks sometimes but for the most part).

When thinking about Janus, seductive is a word that works well for him. He leans into that enticing seduction. Don't you want this? Don't you want to be like this or do this? Wouldn't it be so nice to be convinced~? While Roman is an effeminate romantic side, Janus is the one not afraid to wear the dresses and be the diva. Honestly he and Roman would be so good together flaunting dramatic diva takes if they could get past their bullshit.

Inspiration 3: Spy movies and heist movies

Janus dresses in a hat and gloves like he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Spy movies have such a mysterious and enticing feel to them. To me deception isn't just about lying, it's about convincing people that lies are true for the purpose of achieving something. Obtaining something, changing something, doesn't matter which, spies and Janus go hand in hand in my brain. Likewise, heist movies are all about precision and timing and the perfect culmination of a plan coming together. Ultimately this is what Janus WANTS to emulate. What I think he would WANT to be. Convincing and suave and charming about it. Does he come across this way? Not 100% but it's a good place to look.

Inspiration 4: Lion King

(bottom image source: FantaTara )

Back again with Lion King, but you can't think about Thomas's sides without thinking about Disney. One Disney Villain comes to mind when I think about Janus, and surprisingly it's not Jafar, it is instead Scar. A lion who didn't get the recognition he craved, a lion whose plotting and scheming got him very far. Mark on his face? Check! Smooth-talking? Check! He is more about wits and words than strength and Janus is just like that.

So we have a person who is suave and cunning, talks a big talk, villain-coded, selfish, scheming and wants to help but uses dirty tactics to do so if he has to, all while wearing a very put together outfit.

Inspiration 5: Decadent parties and backroom poker

If Janus has a vice it is partying in excess and living his best life without a care for the consequences other people experience. Old fashioned cocktail parties, wine and booze, illicit backroom poker games and rigged playing cards, gossiping while he drinks his 16th cocktail and yet hiding himself behind a facade of totally having it together.

Inspiration 6: Chess

Janus is always playing a game, and it's a game of wits for everyone he is around. Every word he says and everything he does feels like a plotted out game and everyone else is a player.

Inspiration 8: Biblical stuff

Can't get rid of the biblical iconography with the snake man, but I chose less to look at the snake as "bad evil horrible sinful" and chose instead to look for images I could use to inspire me the opposite way.... angelic figures tending to or being kind with snakes because ultimately a snake granting knowledge isn't necessarily a bad thing to every belief system, so perhaps that vice-chasing isn't so much evil as selfishness is also not evil. A dichotomy that reflects in his scales- they continue down his entire body on that half. They should always be a prominent feature highlighted by the under eye redness. He is not fully human and that should be shown.

Things that became a must for me:

Keeping him fully clothes most of the time. This also gives into the "snakes are cold" vibes.

Must remain sleek and elegant

If he must show skin, the scales have to be shown off

Adding extra features to his outfit- splashes of yellow that remain refined and potentially softer things thrown in to look less threatening under all the outer presentation layers. Even AUs should do this.

Jewelry or accessories must be sleek and minimalist to be less distracting, but overall can be expensive. Hats are allowed to be big but will always slant and will not be too decorated.

Janus must have expressions of suave mystery, enticing allure, or like he's judging your outfit choice.

Hair is not as fluffy or as wavy- simpler and less distracting and cover his human eye because it's not as important.

Often depict him without his hat when trying to make him more approachable- the hat feels like him hiding more. Likewise do the opposite- often depict him cut off in some way to highlight the snake aesthetic and make him seem more mysterious.

So I ended up with this:

[masterdetectivexx]

Hi Detective, what did you think of Movie 26?

Movie 26 (Black Iron Submarine) Review

Raw feelings:

I'm completely speechless by this movie. It was way beyond any of my minimal expectations. It was extremely good!

I was baffled out of pure disbelief at how much main plot stuff they were revealing in this movie to the point that my brain fried. You could immediately feel that it was a movie you needed to rewatch multiple times in order to fully digest and appreciate its greatness. It was pure fanservice in the best way possible, not the botched M20 way, where fanservice scenes didn't feel earned, mystery being completely gone and main plot/cast characters getting sidelined. Everyone had their moment to shine.

After 15 years, I get a DC movie that finally topped M13 as my new all-time favorite DC movie. I was so thoroughly satisfied that I couldn't help but clap at the end.

Haibara (Sherry)

Haibara truly shined in this movie. Not only did she have proactive role in rescuing herself, Naomi and later Conan, but her personal romantic feelings, childhood past and current relationships with her dear friends were further fleshed out. I was floored by the degree that she got exposed, to the point of the OG antagonist Vodka standing right in front of her next to Pinga, ready to kidnap her, and then later interrogating her about her identity.

I truly adore how the movie also revealed what started the bullying she went through in America (protecting her fellow half-japanese) and how Naomi's story complimented Haibara's childhood. It was a beautiful touch having Haibara's childhood classmate Naomi realizing Haibara's true identity by the end of the movie.

I also love how the movie depicted how highly Haibara viewed Conan/Shinichi and his protective reassuring face. It was cute seeing her face light up with happiness when he showed up. I was shocked, but also very appreciative of how respectful she was trying to be of Shinichi's relationship with Ran (more than the fandom clearly) that she went to the degree of passing on her CPR kiss with Conan to Ran.

Mizunashi (Kir)

Kir was one of the big standouts in this movie. You could truly feel the shift in spotlight focus between her and Bourbon, seeing as Bourbon was truly put in the backburner for Kir to get more shine, and it was perfectly handled and a true overdue for her (since she has been neglected in the franchise overall). I couldn't stop grinning and appreciate her nonchalant stunts to aid in Haibara's escape by pretending to not know how to open the exit tube in the submarine so Vodka could thoroughly explain it as Haibara overhears everything through the transmitter.

I especially loved her less indirect and confrontational move towards Gin, when she directly interferred with his murder attempt of Haibara & Naomi, and how she calmly talked back at Gin when he aimed the gun at her. She was a true badass worthy of her NOC title, that I've longed to see in the series, only to get it in this wonderful movie.

Pinga

I really enjoyed Pinga's role in the movie as well, and especially appreciated how he wasn't written to be similar to Irish and Curacao (who had a more sympathetic antagonist development) but rather to be a more selfish greedy psychopath with more ambition than Gin, but less talented. It was interesting to learn how he was deep undercover as an engineer for interpol since 5 years back while disguised as a woman.

I especially enjoyed seeing his fights with Ran, and how she became a troublesome enemy for him (giving Ran good spotlight like in M13), as well as how Conan straight up shit-talked to him while giving Gin praise in comparison, to the point of riling Pinga up.

Vermouth

Vermouth was the true MVP in this movie. She had such a central role in saving Haibara from the organization's suspicion. It was extremely exciting to see Vermouth immediately sensing the potential of Naomi's All-age Recognition System (ARS) and how it could expose the boss identity and whereabouts, but more importantly to her, expose Shinichi's shrinking, that she'd rather keep hidden like a pandora's box. I was shocked and loved how she manipulated the Boss into giving her the order to destroy the ARS for his own sake, when she in reality wanted to not only conceal the current APTX shrinking effects from him, but also protect Shinichi. The way she used her disguising skills to invalidate the ARS' accuracy was just a genius move by her.

The biggest surprise to me was how she was revealed to be the old woman from the start in disguise, who was given the sale ticket for a Fusae brand brooch by Haibara out of selfless kindness, and how Vermouth was basically revealed to also be repaying that kindness back to Haibara by protecting her from the BO, further deepening her motivations and multi-faceted nature in such a beautiful way as she gazes at the confused Silver Bullet (Conan) who is questioning them after getting Bourbon's intel.

Rum & Karasuma Renya

The Biggest shocker in this whole movie was without a doubt the big reveal that Rum, the no.2 of the Black Organization, is unaware of the Boss' whereabouts in recent times and that, apart from having Pinga request Naomi to sell the ARS to them so they can modify it and also use it to erase the BO's activities in security cameras (according the boss' orders), had intended to use the ARS to locate Karasuma Renya (the Boss).

This was a huge bombshell reveal, yet to be revealed in the manga, that further clarified the current ongoings within the organization. It basically as good as confirmed that the Boss is hiding a de-aged form from his subordinates (including his very close associate, Rum) and that no one other than Vermouth is aware of his hidden whereabouts. This revelation is further supporting my "Child of seven (Nanatsu no ko)" theory (the Boss being a shrunken 7-year-old who is only contacting his subordinates through phone to hide his child appearance and maintain authority). This also further established a distrustful relationship between Karasuma Renya and Rum, seeing as the Boss has kept Rum out of the loop, and how Rum has persisted to locate the Boss against his wishes, creating a very small divide within the organization's power structure. This is extremely exciting for the future of the series and has gotten me very hyped for what's left of Rum's development in the Rum climax.

Conclusion

This movie was overall a 10/10 product, that gave all the fans outstanding fanservice. Conan's devotion to save Haibara, Ran's supportive contribution to the point of almost getting shot, Agasa's deeply moving heartfelt tears after Haibara's kidnapping, Kuroda's helpful backing of Conan, Bourbon's informational support and Akai's loyal aid in taking down the submarine were all just the tip of the iceberg. All the beautiful callbacks to canon events were also among the best of the fanservice. I especially loved Haibara's callback to how a child (Ayumi) had once changed her life through their actions (File 437), Pisco kidnapping her despite wearing glasses (File 240), Ran reminding Haibara of Akemi (like in File 434), Kir's callback to her father sacrificing himself for her in response to Naomi's cry (File 604) and all the moments Haibara recalled when Conan comforted and moved her (Bus hijack, Haibara intro, Reunion, etc).

Gosho's involvement in the story was clearly noticeable, just by the sheer quality of the movie, and all of his many drawn keyframes were beautiful.

Screenshots

[thedarkmistress16]

here's some long-awaited tony food for your thots

(im serious this is 100% PWP done in like, *check watch* 6-8 hrs or so in one sitting- it's all over the place, fam)

let me know immediately if any of you want me to community label this, if that makes you more comfortable. if you want another installment (it will have actual plot i promise) just let me know. None of the used images here are mine, they belong to their respective owners, I only own my garbage writing.

Boyfriend!Steve Rogers x Girlfriend!Experienced!Unfaithful!Reader x Jealous!Yandere!Tony Stark- Repression and Suppression

and here are some messy A03-esque tags for your reading pleasure (srsly read these before continuing or you void your reading warranty):

(Lime, Lemon, G-rape, Cheating, Physical Cheating, Unintentional Cheating, Affair, Noncon, Dubcon, Forced Orgasm, Overstimulation, Fingering, Oral, Vaginal, MxF, PWP, Love Triangle, Jealousy, Third Wheel Tony Stark, Sexual Deviant Tony Stark, Manipulation, Humiliation, Dirty Talk, Swearing, Teasing, Gaslighting, Sexual Coercion, Power Play? Beard Burn, The run of shame?, Lust used as a manipulation tool, Tony blatantly misunderstands words, The horny ruins lives, Reader’s never cheated in her life ong she just misses sex, Tony is all kinds of wrong here, OOC Tony Stark, His dialogue is probably OOC sorry about that, No descriptors besides gender have fun)

...

You don’t know how this happened.

…

Okay, you do know how this happened. You and Tony stumbled upon the same floor in an otherwise empty Tower and you both plopped on the same couch shooting the shit. No paperwork for you to do and no big baddie causing a commotion in New York for the Iron Man to stop. And you may have overshared a tad about the feelings you’ve been having at his prompting about your relationship status, but hey, that’s normal, even for sober people. Everyone needs to vent every once in a while. Or overshare, or both.

What you didn’t expect, however, was your totally innocent sex conversation with Tony to turn into dirty talk. Which, alright- fair, this was Tony you were talking to, so probably not your best moment.

“It’s not like he’ll find out.” Tony’s palm rests on your thigh. “And you said so yourself, he doesn’t give you what you need.”

But thankfully, that’s when your brain started working again, and you actively began to create some space between you, with his hand falling off your leg.

“No, Tony. You know who I’m with and you know he’ll be coming back.”

Tony follows you and- what the fuck? Was this couch always this small? The palm greets your thigh again, more insistent now if the pressure was any indication.

“Can you really wait that long?”

You stare at Tony, incredulous at the turn of events. He wouldn’t- would he?

You see him smile at you before diving in for a kiss.

Wide-eyed, your first reaction is to push him off, but he practically falls on top of you, keeping you pinned there as his tongue goes to work in prying your mouth open.

You struggle, and then, well, he knew how to kiss to get what he wanted, that was for sure. It was so different from what you were used to with him, all chaste and loving. Tony used the flat surface of the appendage to massage your tongue, and- holy fuck you really forgot what good kisses felt like. Tony feels so good- so warm and passionate, that his embrace sends you into a blanketed bliss.

And as you make out, that blanket grows more and more stuffy. You lose track of time, and- well, yourself. The next time you open your eyes, you’re greeted to a shirtless and more disheveled Tony Stark on top of you, kissing down your neck, and humping his bulge against you and- oh fuck your pants were gone.

Okay, this had officially gone too far. Yes, this was hot, and yes your body was awakened from the longest dry spell ever by his kisses, but you had to try and stop this. You had to get Tony to shut this shit down, and then blame your horny self later.

But first, Operation Turn off Tony.

“Wait!” Your hands fly to Tony’s chest, pushing with effort despite wanting to melt into a puddle. “I can’t- you know I can’t-”

Okay, your voice would’ve sounded commanding if Tony hadn’t run his hands under your shirt.

And if his arm wasn’t practically glued to the damn cushions you would've had more leeway to shake him off. And if he wasn’t so stron-

Wait- one arm?

…

…oh my god why is he pushing against you?

“Oh?” It comes out automatically and your body absolutely preens at the sensation before you come back down.

Oh fuck no- now two of his fingers are inside you and you’re not sure if you can even try to hold him off now.

Think of Steve think of Steve think of Steve think of Steve-!

“Tony, mmn-m, pl-”

“Why refuse this?” He pauses to let his fingers talk and the resulting squelching has you trying to seal your mouth in protest. “Why refuse me? When the sweet release you want is right in front of you?” His fingers fall away. “And when this-” he rolls his denim-covered penis over your pussy, eliciting a groan from both of you, “cock is ready and begging to be inside you?”

There is no hope to quell your blushing at this point either, you unhelpfully surmise to yourself. But even so, you don’t let up, forcing yourself to meet his eyes.

“He’ll, ah- find out, hah, Tony.” Fucking hell it was hard to form words now, “and he w-will-”

Tony, more envious than you’ve ever seen him, snarls in retaliation. “Don’t think about him! He’s not the one who’s going to be fucking you tonight.” He takes a moment to regain his composure before adding, “don’t worry, baby. I’ll make you feel so good you can’t stand it.”

“Ton- ah!”He hit a sensitive spot inside you, and your body jolted with the feeling. “P-please...ha...” You pant, trying to control yourself as his fingers retract. Trying to think of Steve instead, and all the other reasons why you shouldn’t be doing this. Why he shouldn’t be doing this to you and how he’s currently making you tingle in too many places.

In mock concern, he inquires, “what is it, baby? I’m right here...” You swear to the highest moon that Tony Stark’s teasing is the worst kind you’ve ever had to experience in your entire life; mainly because he does it in a way that pisses you off to no end.

“I- Tony, I n-need you to-” He shushes you, leaving you more baffled. He doesn’t even know your request yet and he’s already cutting you off. The playboy slides two fingers inside your wet canal and you cry out in surprise. They slip out within the next second, not allowing you to properly process the action. He languidly laps at his fingers and you actually whine at the sight, which is literally the worst reaction you could've had. Tony hums at the taste and his eyes, holding your own, gleam wickedly as you attempt to recover.

“Oh, you need me to fuck you baby? Say no more.”

You gasp, utterly scandalized. How the fuck did he interpret a nothing sentence into that? He’s already working on unzipping his jeans and you’re quick to remedy the situation, despite your breathlessness. “No, Tony, that’s not-” A hand swiftly comes down to palm your sensitive pussy and squeezes, attempting to shut you up with desire. You’re shameful when you realize his tactic worked, as you find it elicits a sexual groan from you strong enough to make your head tilt up towards the ceiling and your back arch off the couch. Tony tuts at your wanton display.

“Don’t deny it, honey. You’re absolutely dripping for cock.” He leans in close to your ear and latches his mouth onto your neck. The man nibbles and suckles enough to probably leave a mark before playfully biting your earlobe and whispering, “and I’m more than willing to provide that relief.” A small part of you finds it ironic he’d use the word willing when you haven’t vocally confirmed it in this case.

When he’s fully sheathed inside you, he sits still for a minute, groaning at the feel of you. Tony then starts circling his hips, not thrusting in the slightest, and at this point you’ve had enough of his games. If he wants to do this so badly then so be it. “No teasing…” you huff unpleasantly.

“Hmm? What was that?” His member is still nudging against the ridges of your vaginal walls, causing your lower body to spasm and tighten at random intervals.

“If you’re going to fuck me then actually fuck me.” You make your voice harsh to get your impatience across, keeping your gaze even. Tony simply winks and wastes no time setting a pace inside you, smirking pleasantly as your body shifts from his thrusts. He licks his lips at the sight of your breasts bouncing underneath your shirt and impatiently forces the fabric up to your neck to squeeze at one. 

You close your eyes and furrow your brows, focusing your efforts on meeting Tony’s thrusts and tightening your pelvic muscles frequently to help his orgasm along. Judging by his strained moans, the fruits of your past lovers' labor seem to be working. He starts to shudder and you beam with pride.

Jackpot.

That is until he yanks himself out of you completely, struggling to hold himself over your body.

“Mngh, hah- baby,” he laughs in between ragged breaths, “let’s not spoil the fun too early, now…”

Tony then switches to playfully dragging his cock along the splayed seam of your lips, right over your spasming hole, and you wouldn’t have been able to hold in that unholy moan if you tried.

He flips you over without a word, leaving you disoriented with an “oof,” as he re-positions you to make your ass hang lewdly in the air. Tony swats one asscheek and your hands scramble to find purchase before he tries something else, which you seldom find in the firm material. Another mocking sound escapes his throat at your reaction and you turn your head to glare at him.

“Could have given a girl a warning, y’know?”

“Well, sweetcheeks, I can’t very well tackle this raging problem unless I approach it from all possible angles~” His eyes rove over your new position admiringly. “And this view is definitely worth the effort.”

He winks at you, smirking all the while. You refuse to react, deadpanning, before giving up. “Fuck you, Stark.”

He says some other comment you don’t care about- on the lines of having patience- when something wet wiggles across your folds-

Your eyes widen. Was this a better advantage point for him to-

His tongue thrusts itself inside your walls and you lose all sense of thought, wanting to collapse into the couch already. Tony’s firm and swift in his movements, pressing the angle of his chin into your mound harshly and rubbing your sensitive areas consistently. The stiff hairs of his beard rub themselves across your clit as he leans forward and you lose all sense of yourself, screaming into the cushioned void and spasming around his mouth.

Your hips lull into a gentle rocking, you realize, when the sensations have dulled. You can still feel Tony between your legs, but licking you much more softly now. Your satisfied mews fall out of your mouth like a gentle stream, and you let yourself bask in the well-overdue afterglow.

Tony slowly parts from your pussy with a smacking sound, and you feel saliva trailing down your thighs as you whine. You hear him say the word “ready” and you hum questionably, not in the mood for words. He leans forward to kiss up your back and make a path for your ear, reiterating himself.

“You ready for me, honey?”

“Mm, you’re not-?”

“-finished? How kind of you to offer, baby. After all, I haven’t finished fucking you into forgetting him yet.”

Your brain almost fits the pieces together, already turning towards him to voice the question when you feel him line up his cock at your entrance. You don’t even bother doing anything other than bracing yourself as Tony thrusts into you, and you realize too late that you’re still too sensitive.

He’s more insistent as he fucks into you, just as his mouth, but he’s humping into all the right places despite your body singing to the point of pain.

“Ahn! O-oh!” At this point, you literally didn’t care that your face was practically being suffocated by the cushions that Tony Stark- your not-boyfriend- was pushing you into and fondling your breasts. You were about to get an orgasm on a dick you haven’t been treated to in months on top of a great orgasm, and it was quickly feeling like it was going to be one of the best ones you’ve ever had.

“Oh, fuck- yes, oh- Tony- fuck-! me!” You manage to scream out over your lack of breath, feeling his thrusts grow frantic. The determined mumbling he’s spouting over your ear becomes noise as your second orgasm crashes over you. Your ears are fuzzy but you can make out Tony proclaiming your name in ecstasy before he plops down on your back, causing your legs to fully give out.

You pant there, lying in sweat and regret, wanting to move just yet but knowing you have a lot of cleanup to do.

Tony shifts first, stroking your hair as he whispers once more, “So, was that a thorough fucking for you baby?”

Despite yourself, you laugh. Whether it was from the now spiraling guilt slowly ebbing away at your brain or that it was from the sudden feeling of loss in how to handle your new infidelity status, you didn’t know. You chalked it up to exhaustion.

Tony mumbles again, but you’re coherent enough to understand his words and nod, calmly lying there as he gets up. 

You waited until the bare ass of Tony left your line of sight before you shot up like a lightning bolt, gathering your clothes and racing toward the elevator in one fluid motion.

You impatiently return to your room to inspect Tony’s damages in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, trying to ignore the aftersex glow you still had. Your hands trail over your naked body, taking note of the reddened marks with each twist and turn. Yep, that was definitely a hickey.

They halt on your thighs when you feel a searing pain there and your eyes grow wide, mouth hanging open with a hiss.

Oh fuck. You had beard burn. How the hell were you going to explain that to Steve? Covering them up was one thing- but the itching pain you were going to feel?

The cum inside you suddenly shifts downward and you instinctively clench to hold it in, cringing at yourself. Another man’s mess splattered on the carpet of your and your boyfriend’s room is not what you needed right now.

Biting the inside of your lip, you hurry to the connecting bathroom and wash yourself of the sexual encounter the best you can.

[chryblossomjjk]

bts fic recommendations | 01.25.23

→ hi friends! this is a little segment i do every tuesday (reviewsday get it, aren’t i funny, pls tell me how funny i am) where i read and review two-three fics. as a content creator, i know how big of a role other creators play in your growth, therefore, i want to do my part in making sure everyone gets the recognition they deserve! so with that being said, please check out the amazing fics listed below. make sure to like, reblog, and leave feedback! ♡ #reviewsday #kikirecs

scent of eager suds - @rkivian (knj x reader | smut, angst, pwp, fluff)

summary: you missed each other, too fucking much. but your head had stayed down in futile hopes of remaining stubborn, forgetting that there is a wedding ring on that tricksy little finger of his for a reason.

so..... genuinely convinced you are the reincarnate of shakespeare babe bc like:

"He would spend a considerably scant amount of time on such a task, yet fulfil it so thoroughly that the constant aching between your legs seemed more equitable than you would like it to be."

LOOK WHAT YOU DO WITH WORDS!!! like everything is so precise. i can tell there's so much thought put into every single word of this piece and woah.. the writing is fucking stellar, seriously. like just the words you use throughout this displays how the reader feels about being vulnerable with joonie: cruel, vengeful, venomous. u put pwp but like you characterized the fuck out of this reader and it's so good...

also... this is thee kim namjoon. like as someone who is v much similar to the reader and self sabotages relationships, ppl who love you enough to recognize that trait and do their best to prove u wrong

AND YOU DID THAT ALL THROUGHOUT THE FLITHIEST NASTIEST SEXIEST SMUT EVER PLS HE'S SO HOT LIKE HE TRULY JUST WANTS TO MAKE HER FEEL GOOD INSIDE AND OUT AND IM GATEKEEPING HIM!!!! this was so so so beautiful and thank you for sharing with plebeians like me :') <3

the one where jin is drunk off his face and you get friend-zoned - @indgio (ksj x reader | fluff, crack)

saf everything you write just comforts my soul. it's missing jin hours around these parts and this is exactly want i needed. i don't know how to explain it but this gives me run episode vibes? like... this is legit kim seokjin. I COULD TOTALLY PICTURE HIM DOING SOME SHIT LIKE THIS LMAO WHAT A SWEET BABY!

also love this oc fr. like from the opening paragraph i could already tell she's the most adorable, most precious being, and you proved it throughout the rest :') <3 taking care of ur drunk partner trope will never not get me and you did it so splendidly ugh will definitely be coming back to this when im sad and 3am and missing my seokjin :'( thanks for this ily <3

"tell me more about this girlfriend of yours."

but jin looks at you with a frown, as he downs the water. "no. get your own."

^also for whatever reason this took me tf out lmao

the one where jungkook will always protect you, even from the fictional - @indgio (jjk x reader | fluff, humor)

bby istg your writing is so... refreshing? like i always think i need these super crazy, convoluted, heavy plots for my fics to be good, but your writing is proof that doesn't have to be the case. your writing is so effortless, yet so beautiful. like once again, genuine comfort content that i don't see too much of anymore. going through your masterlist has really inspired me to take a new avenue, because your fics are just so fucking addicting. i just love the slice of life vibes so much uGh okay enough nutting over u and onto the fic sehfbjsehbdhwb

pov ur saf in my brain BC THE AMOUNT OF TIMES IVE DAYDREAMED ABOUT THIS EXACT SCENARIO IS MENTAL ILLNESS (was just picturing binge watching AOT w him :'))

this jungkook is such a golden retriever ass boyfriend my heart can't take it. the banter ?? the protectiveness ?? THE BITING THE EAR ??? naur im in love it's settled. adding him to the list of fav jungkook portrayals on tumby. will be thinking about him when im bored in the back of my lecture tomorrow. thank you for daydream fuel &lt;3

stfu yes it's wednesday get off my back >:'( i posted this early last week and was just trying to even the timing out that's all... im lying. anyways, love u lmao

[anonymouspuzzler]

finished one of my finals so i decided to celebrate by sketching up some concepts for cal's mind in the Cally O'Pia au!! putting image IDs/descriptions and general elaborating on my Vision(TM) under da cut cause i can tell even before typing it's gonna get long (PSYCHONAUTS 2 & RHOMBUS OF RUIN SPOILERS IN THERE BTW YOU ARE WARNED)

Welcome. Let Me Describe You My Vision. my goal with this was essentially "how do I hit the major plot beats that are necessary for Psychonauts 2's plot to Happen while still incorporating Cal's very different backstory in this AU"; some of this involves functionally combining RoR's and Psychonauts 2's versions of Loboto's mental world. maybe someday I'll go into how I envision RoR changing in this au but whatever right now we're on The Opening of Psychonauts 2 As Played Out In This Verse

first things first Sasha's Psychic Projection has to be completely different given 1) Cally already works for the Psychonauts 2) he knows the other agents very well already and 3) he is a Known Psychic rather than a random feral dentist Morry picked up off the streets. so rather than the "Psychonauts office where Loboto gets employee of the year and has to get his vacation form signed off on" construction, Sasha instead constructs a scenario where Cally is still under his "Dr. Loboto" guise, has captured the other agents, and has to deliver Raz to his boss. unfortunately for Sasha, Cally catches on pretty much right away, plays along for all of five minutes, then drops everyone in a little box to keep them contained while he makes sure all the info on his boss is under mental lock and key. Unlike the ones you see above, Raz's box is kind of plain and nondescript because, unlike all the other agents he's known for years, all Cally knows about Raz is "psychic kid who keeps getting himself in some shit".

because this is, you know, The First Level of the Imaginary Game, this still has to be constructed as a tutorial, too, which you will see as I get into each of these little boxes. Raz's box teaches you to use your standard psi-punches, because it is Hastily and Weakly Put Together, so Raz can literally bust his way out and scamper around looking for the others. Cally, in turn, keeps trying to re-trap Raz as he investigates the next boxes, but with the help of the other agents Raz keeps finding ways to break out and proceed further (though the others remain stuck).

The first one Raz finds is Oleander's, which you can see in the top left of the first pic - the primary theming is Loboto's Lab from the first game and drawing on their time working together there, but the walls are also covered in pictures of Oleander and/or the two of them together, that have all been defaced or scribbled over in some form (since at the time of the game they're very much on the Off side of their On-Off relationship). To get out of the box Oleander re-teaches Raz telekinesis, which allows him to open up the hatch on the upper right of the wall, and then gives Raz a boost out - Coach, of course, isn't able to reach it himself before Cally slams the door behind Raz. You also may notice a hidden room behind one of the pictures - you can only get in there by returning later in the game when you have pyrokinesis, and once you do, you'll find a memory vault about his and Morry's relationship (which i've had concepted out for like a year and WILL draw eventually) and a bunch of photos that haven't been defaced (representing how Cally still has much stronger feelings for Oleander than he's admitted to, and is still carrying a torch even through the surface level of their breakup).

Next comes Sasha (top right picture in the first image), whose room is kind of a combo of his and Otto's labs, with a bunch of the props drawn from both locations - books, papers, inventions, computers, The Lamp, you know how it be. The floor also has a big glass swirl that gives you a peek at Otto's brain storage, which has a bunch of brains tumble by as you're in there (plus the occasional Faberge egg, for Foreshadowing - for even more of that, there's also the brain case on top of Sasha's exam table in the corner). The escape here escalates to a two-step process - Sasha re-teaches Raz psi-blast, the two of you combine forces to pry the door open with TK, and then the chattering teeth start spilling in and Raz has to fight his way out with psi-blast.

Third comes Milla - I swapped her with Lilli compared to the "canon" order first because I misremembered, but then I stuck with it because I felt like it worked better thematically. Anyway, Milla's room (seen bottom left) is a combo of her meditation chamber and Cassie's house back in the gulch, with pillows and tapestries and books everywhere, honeycomb wallpaper, and of course, Bees? Bees! They Have Chosen The Bees. You might notice the big scary beehive from the Forgetful Forest in the middle of the room; the escape here involves Milla re-teaching Raz levitation, the two of them pulling out the beehive with TK, using psi-blast to fend off the subsequent BEES, and then Raz drops in the hole and uses levitation to hover his way to safety. (At this point Cally is like KID C'MON and outright intercepts and dementistrates Milla rather than just keep her trapped.)

Last but hardly least is Lilli; she's in a combo of Truman's office and what she tells Raz looks a lot like her house/apartment - Cally's functionally kind of an uncle to her in this verse, so he's been particularly thoughtful in crafting a comfortable, familiar mind-prison for her. (The Extremely Subtle Foreshadowing also continues here, with envelopes and a hacksaw on the desk, the brain case on the shelf, and of course The Fuckoff Huge Crown Chandelier hanging above the desk.) The other wall has a bunch of family photos of Lilli and Truman, and one big pic of young Cally and Truman in the Gulch; Lilli re-teaches Raz pyro so he can burn that, and Enormous Mental Cally takes this as an opportunity to grab Raz much like in the original game.

Now we're at the point of the second image, and where things particularly divert from the original version of the level in my mind! Big Ol Cally drops Raz in a combat arena and he has to deal with a few waves of Censors and Doubts and Regrets - I haven't decided if this is the first time you encounter true Combat or if you have mini-waves throughout the level like in the "canon" version, but if it is your first combat I like the idea of Lilli being your "mission control" explaining the new enemies an dhow to beat them. Either way, Raz fights a couple waves while trying to convince Cally to give them information, he refuses, and when it looks like Raz is in a real tight spot he manages to dive off the arena deeper into Cally's subconscious.

This is where we start incorporating RoR stuff! Raz drops all the way to the little dollhouse representation of Cal's childhood home, goes in, sees a little Cassie-style paper projection of young Cal and overhears his parents having their Oh What Can We Possibly Do We Can't Handle This Child Anymore conversation. Paper Cal hides in a wardrobe, Raz follows, and this portals into this endless-seeming hospital hallway where dialog plays between li'l Cal and the doctors, revealing to Raz that they were going to lobotomize him for being psychic. (I think maybe you find your first accessible memory vault either here or in the path I talk about in a second; that one goes into how Cal got taken in by the psychic 7 and i also have that one concepted out please god give me time and energy to draw these soon). After this plays there's a cutscene where representations of the psychic 7 tear apart the hallway, and Raz falls into this paper representation of the Gulch. He follows a little path past some simple setpieces of things you'll see later in the game, talks to himself a bit like Wow This Is Just Like True Psychic Tales So Cool That Agent O'Pia Grew Up Here :)

Now this path leads past a little paper version of Lucy's hut (which Raz doesn't recognize for sure, which bugs him), and the path around THAT leads to a big winding path through a parted waterway (which Raz is Very Much Not Happy About, reestablishing the water curse - maybe there's a little cutscene where he sees the hand of Galochio much like in the first game at the beach). Raz nervously walks through, and dialogue plays between Cally and Mysterious Figures revealing Cal got caught undercover and was threatened into assisting with the Kidnap Truman plot (or rather, they threatened Cassie and Lillie and Oleander, which ended up being Much more effective than threatening his own life). At the end of the path Raz finds the base from RoR, and it's in there that he sees "Loboto" talking to the Shadowy Figure similar to canon and 1) learns whoever hired Loboto was a mole, and 2) sees the vision of Maligula when the figure reiterates his threat to Cal-slash-Cal's family. Vision-Maligula destroys the village, Raz snaps back to the real world, and There's Our Game!

if you've read this far you're a hero beyond compare here's the image descriptions for you

[Image 1 ID: Digital sketches of four boxlike rooms. The top left room is labeled "OLEANDER" and incorporates elements from Loboto's Lab in Psychonauts, including the jagged glass window, Mr. Pokeylope's terrarium, and a prototype brain tank sticking out of the floor. There are miscellaneous papers on the floor, and a brain tank blueprint on the wall. Various framed photos of Oleander are also on the wall, most of which have been scribbled over or otherwise defaced. There is a hatch high on one wall, and a secret room with a memory vault behind a pyro-able picture.

The top right room is labeled "SASHA" and resembles a combination of Sasha and Otto's labs, with a large bookshelf making up one wall covered in books, papers and gadgets, floating shelves on the other wall, as well as a desk with office chair, computer monitor and Tiffany lamp. Sasha's examination table is in a far corner, with Truman's brain case on top of it. The floor has a glass swirl revealing brains being transported similar to Otto's brain storage. There is a partially open sliding door on one wall where chattering teeth toys are spilling in.

The bottom left room is labeled "MILLA" and resembles a combination of Milla's meditation chamber and Cassie's home in the Gulch. The walls have a honeycomb pattern wallpaper and string lights, with an eye tapestry hanging on one wall. There are round lantern lights hanging from the ceiling, with bees flying overhead. The floor is a round conversation pit covered in pillows, throw rugs and books; in the center is a massive oozing beehive similar to the one in the Forgetful Forest.

The final, bottom right room is labeled "LILLI" and resembles Truman's office. There is a desk covered in envelopes and a hacksaw, with a desk chair behind it and two 60's style chairs in front. There are two shelves along the wall behind the desk, containing the brain case among other things, and the wall prominently displays the Psychonauts logo. A chandelier resembling the Maliks' crown is hanging from the ceiling above the desk. There is a couch and several plants against the opposite wall, and many family photos of Truman and Lilli on the wall perpendicular, with the largest (pyro-able) one being a picture of young Cally and Truman. End ID.]

[Image 2 ID: Digital sketches of three scenes in Cally's mental world. The first shows Raz (represented by the simple head-and-legs silhouette used in Peter Chan's concepts) diving off a disc-like combat arena (on which are several Censors, Doubts and Regrets) towards the dollhouse representing Cal's childhood home, which is floating in space. The second shows Raz in one of the dollhouse rooms with a paper-projection version of young Cal, with an arrow leading into a wardrobe, which portals into a long hospital hallway with a "NEUROLOGY" sign on the wall, eventually trailing off into nothing. The third shows Raz walking past Lucy's old hut in the Gulch, along a winding path through parted water, and ultimately to the Rhombus of Ruin base. End ID.]

[sleepymccoy]

Still thinking about a Star trek TOS Firefly au. So I'm gonna have fun writing it out.

I love the dynamic between Mal, Zoe, and Wash, so that's certainly becoming the triumvirate. Mal > Jim, Zoe > Spock, Wash > Bones. However Wash's job doesn't make sense for Bones so he's going to change to doctor.

Jim was on Tarsus 4 and suffered the same as in canon, famine leads to who lives lottery and he wasn't chosen but survived anyway. I think that makes perfect sense in the Firefly universe too, but I think unlike in trek Kodos is celebrated by the federation in Firefly for making tough choices and leading in a strong way. So he's not on the run, he's a constant background side threat who's still in power. The face of the federation in this version, but not the head of it. You feel me

After Tarsus, Jim and Bones met and became mates. I think Bones moved to a big fancy planet for his wife and child after a bit. In the meant time, we have Spock!

This got massive, have a readmore

Spock is the result of eugenic experiments (there's no aliens in Firefly 😢) like the serenity thing that the og story is about (but generational eugenics not brain poking)(because I want there to be many others, just also in hiding and with their own political factions and opinions) but his resulted in Vulcan-like stuff. I think he's still got the pointy ears and has excessively strong emotions that he's learnt to hide completely cos he was raised in a medical facility by cold scientists instead of parents and love. There's schools of thought about them, some want to integrate, some want them exterminated, some want them to form their own society. The federation stance is these eugenic things don't exist and if you see one kill it because it officially doesn't exist. So Spock is forced into hiding and hasn't really had a chance to form his broader opinion, cos it's academic anyway. They're all hiding now.

So, Spock's escaped (more on that later) and in hiding. He meets Jim and they click, probably meeting in some silly battle. I reckon Spock has ways to get away from the feds that Jim wants to learn, so Jim pushes for them to team up. They spend some time together either on someone else's ship or on a smaller ship just them two.

After a while that comes to an end and they put together a crew and buy a ship together. They hire Sulu and Chekhov who are a criminal team who need to get off this rock very fast please. Chekhov can fly wonderfully and has enough engineering knowledge that they're like hey we maybe don't need someone in the engine room!

Sulu is a jack of all trades. It takes a few months for them to realise how useful he is, he always has a skill they need and always knows someone who'll play as a contact. Absolutely invaluable.

Eventually the engine breaks beyond Chekhov's skill to fix and they've all heard of Scotty. Everyone knows about Scotty. I think this would make a good episode one.

They work Sulu's contacts and find Scotty who is, lo and behold, having a drink with his mate disgraced Doctor McCoy. Spock, immediate dislike, this guy is a doctor. Jim, holy shit! Bones! Why the fuck aren't you emailing me back!?

Turns out Bones has gotten divorced and threw a bit of a fit in a hospital and can't work on a core planet anymore. He agrees to join the crew and Scotty has some issue that forms most of the episode plot and joins too cos hey, crims gotta keep moving

The ep ends with meeting Uhura, who manages a lot of the residual resistance movement's comms. She's the most political of the bunch, but Jim is absolutely in agreement and so chuffed to meet her even tho he's never been too war-y before. Scotty and Sulu already know her. She takes a kind of Inara role on the ship, but she's not companioning, she's boosted the comms in the shuttle and is continuing this work. It's great for her cos she gets to move around and be hard to catch, and it's great for the ship cos it gives them access to loads of underground people who aren't the hated federation

I also think she helped Spock break out back in the day. I'm not sure if she was part of it and they've met, or if she helped run things so she knows Spock but he doesn't know her. She's gonna be their reason for getting accidentally involved in larger things in the story and why they get more altruistic with their jobs. Spock also pulls them into some of the eugenic stuff

I reckon episode two needs some Spock eugenic stuff to happen so that Bones can solidify himself as on team Spock in action even if he has a go at Spock. Cos everyone else follows Jim's orders and Jim is team Spock, so I think Bones needs a chance to prove it. To great danger to himself ofc.

Repeat characters (like in Firefly they have Badger and Saffron who rock up as major non crew characters) are Chapel and Rand. I think Chapel is still on a core planet as a nurse. I would have her join the crew in season two, to look for her missing husband. But in season one she can be an insider informant for the hospital heist episode, which they do mainly for the medical equipment cos Bones has like nothing to treat people with. And maybe Spock has some additional medical needs that Bones needs to learn (Spock hates this)

Rand is like a bit of Saffron energy but less totally untrustworthy. I think she works them for her benefit but in a way where when they meet again they're like hey Janice you're not allowed on the ship but it's great to see you! Like, maybe she hijacks them to get her somewhere or stows away super inconveniently. Or maybe she just steals from them old school style and has a very all's fair in love and war vibe about it. She just doesn't hold any resentment, so it's hard to resent her

If I were to cast this show I'd cast Bones and Jim and women because I think it needs more women, might as well put them in positions of power, and honestly I think Spock's character with the emotional repression and all would change being cast as a woman whereas the others wouldn't. Spock's character in this is gonna be playing into stereotypes and expectation to stay in hiding, and those change as a woman

I've definitely got less tension on board than Firefly. There's no Jayne equivalent making life hard for everyone, but you could write an arc in for Chekhov like that if you wanted to. He could go from disliking the danger Spock and Uhura bring to absolutely admiring them over like two seasons. Could be interesting, but it's not got much to do with trek really

There's no shipboard romance here either. There could be something cool in the Scotty/Uhura that happened later in trek canon. Maybe they've got romantic history, so when she joins the ship there's tension and they just fall into bed together pretty quickly. But I'd only put that in if it added something else to the story, which it might! I'm not actually writing, I'm brainstorming

And similar to what the did in Firefly I think Spock/Bones makes the most sense. Cos we don't need proof that Spock and Jim understand each other, they're captain and first officer. They have each other's back absolutely. And similarly with Jim and Bones, they'd have old loyalty and friendship to draw on. And I think they also just obviously get along. But Spock and Bones could do with some plot prodding along, so I'd do something like the Simon/Kaylee romance where there's tension and clear desire but they're bad at making it happen. There's too much in the way. But it adds reason for Bones to have Spock's back (cos we're coming at at the start of their friendship, not years into their five years mission) and you can occasionally see Spock relaxing the emotional wall with someone other than Jim as he develops more serious a crush

I want to see! The Niska episode where Jim and Spock get nicked and tortured, and Bones goes in to trade for them back. He can only afford one but true to the Empath ep he just trades himself and volunteers for the torture.

I also want to see a Jaynestown style ep where Scotty or Sulu are the hero. I think probably Scotty. He'd be easy to write as selfish in a he only cares about tech kinda way and then to find that he accidentally did this would be funny. He also likes to keep a low profile generally so it's extra hilarious

Hospital heist ep, with Chapel cameo. I don't think anyone's handing Spock over to the feds, but maybe they get caught and Chekhov tries to trade Spock for their freedom? Not in a pre planned malicious, but more that he just doesn't prioritise Spock's safety over everyone else's. He sees it as a last ditch leverage effort, for the greater good. Could be good drama

Saffron style ep with Rand but she steals from them. I do think that's hilarious, showing them be the mark. And I'd let her win, leave them stranded without whatever thing it is she fleeced and having to find a new magical tech engine bit. But hey she left some booze as an apology and made out with Jim so it's not too bad

I really like Firefly

[pastafossa]

How do you get past writer's block? I have a fic that I'm working on that is updating on a schedule, and I made the mistake of giving myself a month off in between parts and now I can't really get back into writing it. I don't want to leave it abandoned because I have a few people who I know are really invested and I don't want to leave them hanging, but I'm having a hard time getting as excited to write it as I did before.

Ok so I'm in a weird place for this, hilariously. Because The Answer That Usually Works For Me (TM) and that carried me through a regular weekly update schedule for almost two and a half years is, in fact, not at present working for me apparently my brain can write through a pandemic but not through recovery from the shit that went down in December/Jan so we found my writing kryptonite. However, I'm going to assume you're closer to 2021 Pasta than 2024 Pasta. SO LET'S GO WITH THE METHOD I NORMALLY USE SINCE IT WAS SUCCESSFUL FOR YEARS. Cause that's the thing: sure, I've written almost a million words, and pumped out chapters for years (ignoring the past few months) but I promise, I hit the same walls as everyone else even when nailing weekly uploads. But over those years, I came up with a fairly solid list of steps that I'd go through one by one.

Fun one first: when I'm in a block, I almost always try re-engaging with canon first. I'd rewatch my favorite episodes, binge a whole season, or even the whole series depending on how much of a boost I needed. For me at least that was often like Pavlov's bell, my favorite story triggering a flood of affection. I'd remember why I loved this fandom and the characters so much, and it could often kickstart my brain and excitement back into gear. If you really want to dangle a carrot and your fic touches on canon, focus on watching parts you're excited to get to in your story. A big one for me in TRT for example was the post-Nobu, Nelson v. Murdock episode, since I'd had that planned for TRT almost since the start, and I was very excited to reach the hurt/comfort I had planned. Even if your fic isn't following canon though, see if it'll give you a creative rush again!

So let's say step 1 doesn't work, either because the canon just isn't hitting the spot or because your fic is dealing with something else. In this case, my next step was usually to jump ahead to write a scene I was really eager to get to. It was often a short blurb, but it was always something I REALLY wanted to explore, and because I'm also a reader who likes exactly the tropes and plots I'm writing, I want to read what fucking happens. Except, fuck, I'm not there yet, am I? And I can't see how that scene finishes until I write my way up to it and finish it. This is my own carrot. Multiple scenes in TRT were written months or even years in advance, simply as a way to bribe myself. This is also an option!

But maybe this doesn't work. Sometimes it didn't. This is when it got a bit more serious. For anyone who was reading at the time, you'd have noticed that I'd sometimes drop side fics, either Matt POVs or one-shots. This was me, in essence, working on the shower principle (basically, ideas/solutions will come if you stop thinking about it and do something else, like take a shower). I figured if I went and wrote something else - either with less stress, or something fun and dopamine-inducing - the part of my brain focused on my Big Fic would wander around the writer's block beneath my notice. And it almost always worked, all while I still kept my brain trained that, hey, even if we're not writing This Thing, we're still writing.

But let's say this doesn't work either. You're well, and truly, stuck. Been there now and then. And, you're going to hate this one. I hate it but it works 9 times of 10. And it is: Write anyway. Half of it was spite. I was not going to give up my schedule, I liked my schedule. The other half was that I knew myself. I knew if I could just get past the chapter/plot/dialogue I was struggling with, I'd be able to roll along again. And so I made a rule: whatever I wrote didn't have to be pretty. It just had to exist. If that meant I wrote, "Jane chased the cat in circles and caught it. She was happy." then that's what I wrote. Because everything, EVERYTHING, can be fixed in editing. But you can't fix what doesn't exist. And so there were those nights when I would scowl and groan and snarl and bash my head against that writer's block until 5 in the morning, but in the end Jane chased that fucking cat adn caught it, it was written. Hilariously, sometimes those chapters have wound up amazing (likely because I spent so much time hammering at them) and reader favorites. There are absolutely, I believe, moments where you can, and should, see if you can push through.

But that brings me to *waves* now. A lesson I've only recently recently and with encouragement. Namely... sometimes brain no go and that's ok. My steps work for me 99.9% of the time, but I've done the above during the past few months, and it just... hasn't dragged me out entirely out of it yet. Sometimes, our brains demand that break, especially when things just aren't going great. There's a reason TRT had a break of roughly 2 years between chapter 4 and chapter 5 (feel free to check the chapter index with dates on AO3!). I had some life things happening and I just was not in a place to write, even if I was still busily plotting and planning and thinking about TRT behind the scenes. And that was ok. We're not machines. I came back like a bulldozer in Jan 2021, yes, and bulldozed through weekly updates, but that break was needed. And now I'm obviously taking a short one again while I recover from everything. It's ok if you're not in a place for it. So the last step is one I've been told a lot by dear friends recently as they helped me through this: be kind to yourself, and try not to stress if none of the above works. The story will always be there, and if TRT is any indication through all its highs and lows, your readers will be there when you start up again.

[marengogo]

6 : “Happy Singles Day! …” Mistakenly Thought Marengo

Listening to a Love Wins All x BTS love songs playlist 

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

–🐺–🐺–🐺–

Hello my dearest Gurls, Bois, Enbys and everyone in-between 💜 and

HAPPY SINGLES DAY!

… not.

Singles day is actually November 11, as in 11/11, as in 1 - 1 - 1 - 1, as in single, single, single and; SINGLE. LONG TIME AGO, a very young-uni-student-Marengo, somehow, mistakenly read today to be singles day, but in fact today is Singles Awareness Day 🤡LOL. So the joke is on me, but matter 👏🏾 does 👏🏾 not 👏🏾! Marengo shall privately keep celebrating Singles Day on the 15th of February because every time she had, she did on today’s date. Granted, I hadn’t had to celebrate it for a long-long minute, but … here I am in 2024.

Granted I’m a bit rusty but, what I always used to do, without fail was:

Buy Salted Caramel & Rose macarons from Pierre Marcolini

Buy a very expensive bottle of red wine

Watch Magic Mike XXL

Haven’t got around watching Magic Mike XXL yet as I’m here writing to you all duh, but here is a picture of the first 2 points.

The bottle didn't come with that neck piece, I put that there because you could see me in the reflection; don't mess with my camera game! 😎

So before anybody starts, I’m not celebrating today because I’m bitter at people who are in love or a couple. I might have been, A LONG TIME AGO, when I started celebrating this day, but as I grew up, it became more of a luxurious and pampering habit, particularly once I realised, and gradually understood, just how beautiful love actually is. And then, when it became my time to experience it 🎊🎉🪄, yeah … LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. In fact, I actually love LOVE. I love watching people fall in love, I love just the feeling of love itself, you could even say that I love the thought of a love potential, just as much as I love the potential of a love thought … 😜.

But just like a beautiful rose, love can hurt, no matter how careful, unexpected/unseen thorns can still get you. Yet, you shouldn't hate the rose, right? “I gotta be more careful …” that should be the brains immediate reaction, but sometimes, the amygdala works real hard, with unpaid overtime, keeping us away from roses until we figure out how to better tackle them, and some other times, it just makes us give up on roses entirely, which is a shame but it is what it is sometimes, because roses are really so so so precious, no matter what your favourite flower might happen to be. My favourite flowers are Forget-me-nots, but I will never deny the charm of a rose and I’ve learned to not hate them through time, even when, or even though, I might be deadass afraid of them.

Falling in love is like deciding to take care of your own personal rose/s. You will naturally like many different flowers and will naturally nurture them, rightfully so. Yet, at the same time, there might come a time when you’ll desire to also cherish in having a rose. Some might want roses to boast at their beauty, some simply like a challenge, but all in all, for many, if they could only manage to take care of even just one singular rose, for as long as they possibly can, without it dying; they’d consider it a great achievement and I'd agree. Roses don’t smell like boo-boo, but without LEC (Love, Effort and Care) they are indeed hard to keep, and will quickly perish.

… So what does this have to do with Singles / Singles Awareness Day?! Bitch you are making me feel much worse than before! Like STFU FR. There is a reason why I watch Magic Mike XXL. I really don’t give two shits about the first magic Mike, like I don’t even remember it. Yet XXL ⚠️SPOILER ALERT⚠️ Has as a main plot the main character not ending with whom he thought was the love of his life, right from the start, and instead discovering the value of having a solid community and believing in one’s self ⚠️ END OF SPOILER ⚠️ helps me remind myself that if I am unable to find a rose to take care of, or if I am not ready to do so either, I should remember that I myself am a rose and I should treat myself as such; with love, effort and care.

So today isn't a day where I hate those who have found and are bravely keeping love. No. Today is a day where I think of what could be, mourn what could have been and remember that the me of now also deserves love in the form of macrons, expensive wine and a feel good movie. So if you are single, have been for a while, or always have been, try not to obsess over having that garden of roses. Take care of your flowers first, make sure they are healthy! I’ve neglected “my forget-me-nots” for a bit too long now, so I have some cathcin gup to do, and don’t forget you are a rose yourself; take good care of yourself, be kind to yourself; love yourself. 

Always respectfully yours,

Marengo

@ejassy @chikooritajjk @stormblessed95 Thank you so much and I love you, my unique flowers.

[archetypal-archivist]

Azul-Yutu Thoughts 0.1

Concept stuff for Azul-Yutu as based around @yuri-is-online's world building. Go read their stuff, it's good.

As dictated by canon, this guy is big, brawny, and absolutely has more brain going on than people realize on first look. He's a little salty that people keep having the worst assumptions about him but he's also reluctantly pleased because it means they underestimate him. Much like dear ol' dad Azul, he adores getting the last laugh.

Unlike Azul, however, if shit's going sideways, he's going down with the ship and taking everyone else with him. Azul might bail if the losses are stacking up too high- better to live to plot another day and cut his losses, especially when the losses are a single limb and staying might mean being eaten up by your resident shark mers entirely.

Yutu had fewer choices; upon being dropped into Twisted Wonderland and having the spectacular shit show that is The Bad Future sprung upon him, he didn't have the option to leave. For Yutu, it was stick it out or die and Yuu put too much love into raising him for Yutu to anything less than paddle for his life in this sink-or-swim situation. He's part mer now, call it instinct.

(Yutu is more stubborn than a rock and he loathes being told to sit down and shut up by anyone less than Yuu. If this world wants him dead, by the seas he'll live on in the name of spite alone. He refuses to give up even though he can't really see a way out of this shit situation and his future is bleak.)

Ends up in Savannaclaw for his tenacity and everyone is either nodding their head about their assumptions being proven true or utterly shocked because this is Azul's child, hello?? Yutu ends up a little frustrated again because seriously, what's with all the assumptions when these people don't actually know him.

He ends up getting into a lot of fights his first week and it's a bloody war of attrition that grinds Yutu down a lot. He doesn't let it show on his face but he's really, really tired by the end of it. Still, due to his efforts he gains the respect of the dorm and that lets him set up into chess-maneuvering his way to a better set of circumstances.

Yutu has a really hard time making friends at first, in part because he's too focused on getting used to this new world and in part because he's too used to bullies and always being in guard to get close to others.

Gets his unique magic about a month in when he was mentally envisioning punching one of his more persistent annoyances in Savannahclaw in the face. He was very surprised when a jolt of magic was ripped from him as if he had been punched in the gut and the other guy went tumbling backwards, having been, you know, punched in the face by a tentacle of cosmic magic.

Eventually does end up with friends, to his initial chagrin.

A beefy Savannahclaw second year who kept trying to 'show him his place' but lost every fight is first. Yutu shoving him down into the dirt and listing every way he went wrong about this particular attack and how Yutu would have done it better but hasn't yet because he's so 'benevolent'? Yeah, that kinda dragged out the guy's latent respect for Yutu and now he has a big beefy minion of his very own. Yutu doesn't trust him for a while and has no clue why this guy is following him around but when he reveals he wants to be Yutu's disciple in the way of ass-kicking-through-brain, Yutu kinda goes '!!!' Then he puts the guy through hell to see if he really means it, finally achieving mutual respect after three weeks. The pair play Guess Who using the students around them as characters as practice reading people. It's fun. :) To simplify, let's call him Sav.

The next two minions are a pair of siblings: one a second year, one first year, both hummingbird beastmen from Heartslabyul. They're tricksy and annoying and have a grand old time rules-lawyering the heck out of Heartslabyul's many rules. They'd gotten bored and had decided to make Yutu their next mark for a prank, which ended poorly for all involved. (Mutually assured destruction, plus a couple cauldrons as collateral damage. Crewel wasn't pleased.) Second year wanted to be done with the mess but first year has gotten it into his head that the incident made him and Yutu friends now. Second year tagged along to keep his younger sibling out of trouble (he didn't trust Yutu not to fling his brother into another wall) and ended up being the reluctant voice of reason. He 100% hates his life, he wants to go back to playing pranks and slacking off now. (No he doesn't, he's just going grey from worry over Yutu and company.) We'll call the first year Fior and the second year Thrush.

The last of the group is an excitable mousy-looking guy, very short and nerdy, a first year from Ignihyde. Thinks Yutu has main character energy; wants to be part of his 'five man band' and he's already specced himself into the role of white mage so he's perfect for them! C'mon, pleeeaaassseee? Yutu is deeply weirded out that this guy is literally asking to be used and that in the literal apocalypse he thinks his life is too boring. Still, he's not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so he takes him on. The hero worship for Yutu between this guy and Sav is something the Heartslabyul first year, Fior, finds very funny. We'll call this guy Morry.

First time they run into an overblot monster is on a field trip that their combat and field first aid professor has planned. It was supposed to be a jaunt down to the abandoned dwarf mines for training against the penned up blot monster inside (it'd been weakened considerably by time since Yuu and company had last fought it).

However, it'd rained a lot the night before, which had weakened the rock blocking it into the cave. Agitated by the presence of the school group, it breaks through the barrier and goes on the attack. The professor is quick to drop the rocks on the monster's head and it squishes into multiple puddles. Thinking that the problem is solved, the professor turns his back only for the puddles to rise up into several miniature blot monsters, one of which jumps him to knock him out. This hydra-like effect is how the blot monster had kept reappearing, despite Yuu and company killing it twice years prior (once in the prologue, once at Vargas camp).

The students split off to fight and Yutu grabs his first year friends, Morry and Fior, to run for the treeline where they can't get attacked from behind. He then starts fighting back, mind caught halfway between panic mode and being tactical. He thinks he'll have to convince his buddies to do what he says but nope, Fior and Morry are actually worryingly eager to take his orders. Morry in particular is treating this like a video game and Yutu like the one with the controller, which Fior finds funny.

The three settle into a rough pattern of Yutu staying stationary and acting like a turret, calling attention to himself, Fior running in to backstab at close range, and Morry covering his retreat while Yutu sets up the next big blast. It works surprisingly well but Yutu knows the monster will come back if it's not destroyed properly, and hit and run tactics won't work for that.

He gets Fior to jab it full of flora magic while he and Morry pin it (Yutu tests the limit of his cosmic magic tentacles and finds out the hard way that it's based on his physical strength.) Then, using the flora magic as a wick, he sets the monster alight, upping the temperature with wind magic from Morry such that the monster burns down to almost nothing.

It's a very cool moment... And then Yutu, Morry, and Fior look around and realize that there's a lot more monsters and not all of their classmates are faring as well as they did. NRC attitude strikes again and way too many people are trying to solo their own personal bosses, which is going poorly. The trio's hearts sink and fear begins to catch up with Yutu and Fior as they realize this isn't a climactic battle, it's a war of attrition. They blew a lot of their power and hyped themselves up when they weren't even close to done.

Morry convinces Yutu and Fior to keep going, giving them a transfusion of magic with his Unique Magic, which is themed around Tantalus. It gives his power to others, thus fulfilling their needs, but it can never heal or replenish all the way- it's never enough. Worse yet, using it is addictive for both the receivers and the caster, so it's something Morry has to be very careful with.

It does give Yutu and idea though and he gets Morry and Fior on board with it quickly: they aggro all the monsters by running by and slinging spells at them, then shout taunts at the other students about how they're gonna kill the monsters before they will and other insults about being weak. They then converge so all the monsters are herded together and the enraged students cast their spells at the same target.

That much magic all together is enough to explode the blot monsters properly and Morry collapses with a cheer. Fior and Yutu share a look, then Yutu admits to being displeased with the results as that was way too close for comfort. Fior gives a little bit of a lore dump, explaining that blot monsters are a serious threat that they all train to defeat. As students, they aren't supposed to be fighting the monsters, but as living beings in a world out to kill them, they'll likely have to. Fior admits that he's glad Yutu was with him and at this point, Yutu blows his top and demands to know why Fior and Morry were so eager to follow him.

See, Yutu knows he's not well liked. He's got several latent self esteem issues compounded on the fact that his rise to prominence in Savannahclaw marked him as a threat, not a friend. People do what he says because he gives them no other choice, what made Morry and Fior follow his plans? They nearly died!

At this point, Morry sits up and points out that they didn't die. And that, in this world? When things go to shit like this? That's impressive. Yutu already has their trust by proving that he refuses to go down without a fight; Sav's dominance battles, out-pranking Fior and Thrush, putting up with transferring into NRC late? It grinds a person down and each and every time, Yutu has risen to the challenge.

Yutu points out angrily that he still nearly got them killed by not seeing the big picture, Morry calmly replies that he trusts Yutu to do better next time. And, if things go south again... Well, Morry has his magic. He wants to help, more than anything, and Yutu is his ticket to do that. Either Yutu screws up and Morry can make himself useful or Yutu succeeds and everyone gets out unscathed. Here Fior breaks in and points out that following Yutu led to the best possible outcome- no one dying- so he's gonna keep doing that, sorry if that's not what Yutu wants to hear.

And... (here Fior gets a little shy) Fior finds Yutu interesting. Pranking Yutu, getting pranked by Yutu, having the chance to fight by his side- it's the most fun he's had in a while. It feels nice to have something to enjoy, especially when death is a constant risk. So (and now Fior firms up, smiling) he's gonna keep following Yutu's orders. He trusts Yutu too, yeah? Morry cheers and Fior hauls him to his feet, steadying the Ignihyde student when he wobbles, laughing.

Yutu's mind is a mess at that moment, caught up how his parent, Yuu, suffered growing up and how Yutu couldn't do anything to solve the problem. His mitigation only went to far, and when they traveled to Twisted Wonderland only for his parent to die? He sat with them for what felt like trauma-packed ages doing nothing while the healers were trying everything they could to keep Yuu alive. Yutu... He's never felt like enough, not ever. And now he's being given the trust of these two? People are relying on him again? He's terrified.

However, and here Yutu is too grim and smart not to admit it, he needs their strength still. If Fior and Morry are so eager to do his bidding, he's not in any place to refuse. Yutu wants to survive, even if he doesn't have much to survive for other than spite and remembrance of his parent's love, and to do that he needs allies, people who can help him navigate this new world. He can only hope that he can be enough this time and they won't regret trusting him.

Someone conjures some ice water to dump on the professor and he wakes up with a splutter, hurrying everyone back to the castle where Crewel is waiting, thoroughly pissed off. Thrush and Sav are also there and they descend in the first year trio with a lot of worry. Thrush is darting around his younger brother looking frantically for injuries, Sav is vibrating in place trying to respect Yutu's space, and Morry is off to the side, looking on with a small smile.

Yutu explains what had happened and Sav calms down while Thrush froths up, furious that Fior didn't just run or climb a tree to go hide. Fior starts rising to his brother's challenge, arguing that Yutu knew what he was doing and Thrush grits out that it's not Yutu's judgement he distrusts, it's Fior's for going along with what Yutu planned. Surely Fior could have come up with a better idea? Something that wouldn't put him on the front lines?

Fior laughs back that Thrush should just come with next time, Thrush shouts that there should be no next time, but it's obvious that he's not turning down the whole 'coming with them' idea. Sav decides to funnel his energy into fussing over Morry, which seems to surprise the Ignihyde student... And Yutu begins to think.

This is a world where death is out to get them, blot monsters are roaming the world at large, and his parent lies dead with an empty grave at their side. His dad is still out there somewhere and Yutu has minions now. Friends. Or something. If... If he can get stronger. Smarter maybe, better prepared... Maybe he could do something.

Yutu's not sure what that something is, just yet, but the thought is there, niggling. Maybe he has hope for his future yet.

Maybe more to come as time and inspiration allow...

[rainbownixie]

i'm sick of people saying jonathan "did nothing this season" and that "he's out of character".

i don't know about you, but i'd be pretty fucked up too if i had gone through half of the things jonathan's been through. he had an abusive dad and had to take care of will from an early age, not to mention all the things related to the upside down, being about to die, and losing his little brother. of course he's fucked up. of course he needs weed to handle his emotions. plus, he has a long distance relationship and they're in the 80s so they don't have enough tech to be in touch all the time.

jonathan grew up with a shitty dad, in a shitty town, with shitty people, and the only ones he truly loves and trusts are his family. and he almost loses his little brother (canonically his best friend and favorite person in the whole world). and yet still he has enough love inside him to support everyone and be in a healthy relationship with nancy. if i were him i'd be in ruins. he's so so strong for that. for still being able to love after everything he's been through.

he constantly puts everyone first and sacrifices himself to help others. he's such a sweetheart and y'all treat him like shit because what? he's smoking weed and he looks kind of sad this season? sorry to break it to you but that's how having a shitty mental health looks! did you really expect him to go on as if nothing had happened?

the only reason why people don't like jonathan this season is because he handles his mental health differently and because his best friend isn't a normative skinny white guy. smoking weed to handle what happened to him is completely normal and exactly what chrissy was about to do (with even stronger drugs). jonathan is still jonathan. he's still lovely and supportive and has proven multiple times that would do anything for both will and el.

i don't know why's everyone saying he's out of character, when the only thing i would fix about his character would be having more screentime. i need to go inside his brain!! give me more jonathan!! to be honest, the cali squad deserved wayyyy more time on screen. jonathan's trauma deserves to be addressed too, because it doesn't start in s1. it starts when his dad was home and jonathan had to protect will. it starts when he didn't have any friends at school because they thought he was a freak. it starts when he started to put everyone else first, and forgot that he was a child too.

oh, and the "he did nothing this season" argument? what's all that about? because if we are referring to defeating vecna we can say the same exact thing about mike and will. i love my boys but the cali squad didn't have enough screentime to do anything and they only started being "productive to saving the world" when el joined them. but not everything has to do with saving the world and vecna! they saved el. they helped el. and in the way, they developed as characters. byler had their development. and jonathan? jonathan is the most amazing brother in the show. without jonathan there, they wouldn't have been able to look for el. he protected the kids with his whole soul. and without jonathan, will would've broken down right then and there.

and i'm not talking about their hug scene. jonathan spends all the season worried about will and protecting both him and mike. and el, too. stop acting like everything he did was being stoned because, yes, it's definitely a big part of the plot, but it's not his whole personality.

jonathan isn't out of character, just admit that you only like shitty mental health to be addressed when it's aesthetically pleasant and when you can ship him with a white skinny guy (this comes from someone who literally ships stonathan. don't sleep on jargyle! it's a great ship).

at this point i think the only ones who appreciate jonathan are jancys, jargyles and bylers! mostly bylers because he's just like us fr he wants to protect will and yell at mike so

[badxsshottiexllie]

Plotted starter for @spoocys-glade-of-dreams

Ellie, riding her hover bike, was on her way to her rebellion groups hideout which was located outside of Eden. She needed to discuss what had happened to her the night before at the United of Eden. Originally, the woman had gone there to relax. However, there would be a series of events that would occur that said otherwise. The woman not only got to rescue Eden's biggest celebrity, but also got herself involved in trying to help his friend who was in a situation that was beyond her control.

"Whats the password?" A male voice said behind the door.

"Cabbage is perfect to eat in the dry heat." Ellie responded.

"Hey! Hows my favorite isekai protagonist doing?" The door opened to reveal a panda hybrid named Steven. Since he was a big fan of anime, he often referred to her as an isekai protagonist, someone who is randomly sent from one world to another.

"Oh hey Steven, pretty crazy shit happened last night. I wanted to see if mostly everyone was here to talk." The woman replied.

"Yeah, unfortunately, most of us are just doing are own thing today. So its just Cody, the boss, you and I here today." After Steven said who was here, you could see a teenage human named Cody playing a gaming PC. You could also see the boss, a human woman around Ellie's age named Natalie, reading a book.

"Sup Ellie, how did last night go?" Natalie asked, putting her book down.

"Hey boss, uh...well...thats what I wanted to talk to everyone about..." The redhead scratched behind her head.

Natalie got up and gently nudged Codys shoulder so that he could listen too since he was wearing headphones. "Ellie's got something to tell us."

The teenager took off his headphones and looked into Ellie's direction and gave a brief yo in greeting.

"So last night, I went to the United of Eden to relax. Well...I thought that was going to happen. I stopped a fight from happening there. You'll never guess who I saved..." There was a bit of a pause before she revealed who it was due to awkwardness. "It was none other than everyones favorite poster boy himself....Rayman..."

"WHAAAAAAT?!?!" Steven, Natalie, and Cody said in unison. They couldn't believe what they just heard.

"But why? You do know the risks involved in associating with him right?" Natalie told her.

"Like that hasn't been drilled a million times in my brain before. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He needed help. Anyway, theres this other part of it where he asked me to help his friend Mona Lisa, whose in a situation thats beyond her control."

"Mona Lisa as in...the famous painting? That Mona Lisa?" Steven asked confusingly.

"Not to be confused with the painting of the same name." The redhead corrected. "Its her stage name and believe it or not shes a limbless like Rayman. But thats not the important thing right now. Shes in a situation involving Hoyt Volker. Do you guys know who he is?"

The trio had a mixture of pale expressions and disgust. Natalie, however, was the one to speak up between the three.

"Human trafficking." Natalie spoke softly. "Murphy told me about it. Its really gross."

"Murphy? Whose that?"

"Hes someone who works with us but hes from another resistance group like ours. Hoyt Volker offers good paying jobs but its disguised as selling them to Eden for work or other crime bosses."

"No way..." The gingers eyes widened at this new discovery. She needs to tell Rayman this asap! This was huge! "Boss! You are a live saver, thank you!" Ellie gave her boss a big hug and stormed out the door.

The rebel hopped on her hover bike making her way back to Eden. Once she got back safely and into her apartment, she made sure to give Rayman a call. "I wonder if he'll pick up..."