#WHY DID THEY FLIP THE LAYOUT

[foxgonyoom]

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO TUMBLR

[irisinluv]

Isekaied as the Yandere Villain!? PT 1

All I could do was stare at my reflection. This had to be a joke. I was going to wake up in my bed, right this instant.

“FUCK!”

Ok, so, pinching myself hurts. That’s fine. This is like. Some sort of lucid dream. What do they say to do if you’re lucid dreaming? Oh, that’s right, put your finger in your palm, it’ll phase through!

I resist the urge to scream as my finger meets solid flesh.

You see, I’m not in the right body. Or the right world from what I can tell. No, I’m supposed to be back home, waking up in a panic as I realize my alarm didn’t go off cuz my phone died after I stayed up way too late reading manga.

But of course, I’m not late to work, I’m in a lavish bedchamber right out of the latest webcomic I’d been reading! And by the looks of it…. I’m the crown princes crazy fiancé! As much as I love reading about the Isekai trope, I never wanted to be in one! And come on- as the Yandere Villain!? Couldn’t this at least be original? There’s hundred of stories just like “my next life as a villainess,” why couldn’t I be like… a stable hand or something? Ugh. Ok. Think!

I need to get home. Do the protagonists ever get back home in the stories I read? I pace around my room and rack my brain over every webcomic I’ve ever read, every manga I waited in line for, every anime I binged, even the unfinished manhwas! I can’t think of a single fucking one where they get home?

Well this isn’t going to stop me. I have a cat who’s going to absolutely flip if she’s not given fresh kibble in the morning. She has enough in her bowl for another 2 days but she needs it topped off ok! She’s a princess! I can’t be stuck here! Who’s going to throw her pompom toy for her if I’m not there???

What did all these have in common? What’s the barebones trope layout? Ok let’s see

1) person either died or falls asleep and wakes up in a new world…. Check

2) person is the villain!…. Check

3) to avoid the characters terrible death, person tries to change the story, ends up being new protagonist…

Ohhh… hey…. Do these Isekai characters ever just…. Play along? Even the “reincarnated as a baby” ones, they only play along till they’re old enough to try to run away or rework the political structure of the entire city. Maybe that’s it. Make it to the books natural end, and you’ll wake up where you belong. It’s like when you get part of a song stuck in your head. Play the whole song, and it’ll get out.

Ok, I’ve trained most of my adult life for this- I can totally ace this trope! I just have to stalk the crown prince, act totally in love with him, and be a bitch to the female lead. Then my finance will leave me, I’ll do some crazy dramatic act to try to kill the female lead, and then I’ll be exiled or executed, and wake up to feed my cat. How hard can it be?

Hard. It’s very hard.

Where the hell did he go!? My fiancé, the crown prince Eric, was JUST HERE. I swear! He turned that corner back there and then went down this hall… at least I think it was this hall? Ugh! This is impossible! For someone with such loud shoes and an armed escort, you’d think he’d be easier to follow! Now my feet just hurt. They don’t make these fancy shoes to run around the castle all day. They’re meant to daintily peek from beneath my many skirts as I host a tea party or some shit.

Ok. I’ve got this! I’ll just peek into each room until I find him, maybe I can get a better feel for the layout, or maybe find his office and see if he has a schedule or a day planner or something I can use to make this whole stalking thing easier.

I begin snooping, and it’s a bit of thrill to be honest! Back in my real life, I’m the kind of person to hide a wrapper deep in the trash can if I’m babysitting, sitting on the floor playing a game on my phone after the kid goes to bed rather than “making myself at home” the way the parents insisted as they showed me how to access Netflix. I’ve never been a snooper. Now…. Well. It’s totally on brand for this character! I’m not me, I’m a psycho lovesick fool! I giggle a bit at that as my fingers trail over a shelf of beautiful pottery in some sort of sitting room.

“What’s so amusing dearest?”

I practically screech as my heart leaps to my throat and I whirl around, and see the very person I’d been searching for has snuck up on ME…. That’s so unfair!

“W-what? O-oh! Nothing! I was just- uh, admiring the pottery?”

I stutter out as I try to recall how to act like a human being while simultaneously trying to stop feeling my own pulse in my ears. The idiot has the nerve to LAUGH! Full on snort and everything!

“What are you doing in this wing anyways? Weren’t you meant to be out riding today?”

Shit. I was so busy trying to figure out his schedule, I didn’t consider maybe the body I was shoved into had a schedule of her own. Ok. Play it cool- I’ve got this!

“Yes, well, I decided I wasn’t in the mood and wanted to stay in today instead.”

His brows furrow

“Oh, but you love riding? Are you feeling ill? I can fetch the royal physician for you if you-“

“No! That’s- that’s quite alright! I simply wanted a change of schedule, that is all. Um… what about you? What are your plans for the day?”

He looked a bit surprised at that, and a small smile danced on his lips.

“I was just going to the library to do some paperwork, boring stuff really, and then of course our dinner at its regular time.”

I nod like that means anything to me. Ok think, if I were crazy in love with this man, what would I say?

“Would you like some company? Reading in the library sounds really nice, maybe we could have some tea as well?”

Ok. I’m already fucking this up. He looks confused…. God damnit …. I knew I shouldn’t have skimmed over those early chapters- but the translation was shit ok!?

“Well… I’d actually love that. But are you sure? You haven’t exactly shown interest in reading, and you’ve never requested something like this before…. In fact I don’t think I can recall the last time we’ve interacted outside of dinner or a scheduled social event in… well. Ever.”

Wait…. What? Isn’t my character like goo-goo-ga-ga over him? Are you telling me she never asks to just… spend time with her lover? They only talk during dinner and parties or whatever?

“Of course, I think it’ll be relaxing! Just lead the way!”

My brain is working overtime as I smile politely at him as we reach the library and I pretend to browse for books. I’m missing something here. What is-

Oh. Shit. That’s right. I’m supposed to be really insecure and awkward about him. That’s why she stalks him- she spends all her free time obsessing over this man from the shadows, threatening the competition…. Yet chokes up when it comes to how to act natural. Her inferiority complex is what drives her entire character. And then to him, they’re just two nobles in an arranged marriage who speak on dull subjects like the weather and horse rides…. And who barely interact.

This must have been a real big shake up, she always stays out of sight, they never run into each other by chance. And she certainly never would ask to sit and read with him…. Maybe watch him do his work from a hidden keyhole somewhere, but that’s right…. She IS more of a traditional lady with her hobbies. She was raised to be the perfect noble wife, so naturally, her hobbies include things like dancing, needlepoint, and horse riding. The only studies she’s interested in are etiquette and things that noble ladies are supposed to know.

Well…. Shit. That’s so like me to already have fucked this up. But that’s ok. That’s ok- he’s going to meet the female lead and fall in love and so I just have to be the obstacle they need to overcome. Surely the details don’t matter too much…. It’s my first day in the job ok? Not everyone’s perfect!

I find a book that honestly actually sounds interesting, it’s historical, but it’s giving Hellen of Troy, the closest to a dark romance I think I’ll get from an academic personal library like this. I settle into what looks like the comfiest chair in the central area, and begin reading. The prince and I exist comfortably, the only sound being the scratch of his pen, and the occasional rustle of paper as he flips a document or I finish a page. We continue like this for several hours until he puts down his pen and clears his throat, getting my attention.

“I know it’s a long way from dinner…. But I was thinking I’d grab something light for a mid day meal and then take a walk about the gardens …. Would you care to join me?”

Honestly, some lunch and pretty royal gardens sounds like so much fun, so I agree. As we begin walking, I ponder how I can recover from all this.

You know what.. this can totally still go to plan. This is just me being the evil villain and sinking my claws into him! The female lead will appear, and I’ll reveal my true, nasty side to her! She’ll have to fight to save the prince from his marriage to me!

*insert evil laughter!*

“You’re smiling.”

“W-what?”

“A smile. It suits you. You’ve been doing that a lot today….. I like it.”

Ok and now I’m blushing. I go to reply when I suddenly find myself weightless for a moment, and then hit the ground with a hard thump.

“Ow! What the-!?”

My eyes snap up and glare at this pretty blonde girl who just rammed into me, and sent me flying

“Do you not know how to watch where you’re going!? Owww…. Ugh.”

Ok I’m sorry I’m usually a nice and understanding person but I’ve never been literally knocked over before! Who does that to a person?

Eric helps me to my feet and sends a reproachful glare toward the girl, asking me if I’m alright with most concerned look…. And the girl gasps and says,

“C-crown prince Eric! I apologize! I’d didn’t recognize you!”

She drops into a curtsy and lowers her eyes all demure and modest as if she hadn’t just bulldozed me. I send an incredulous look toward Eric…. She… didn’t see HIM? I’m the one she took out? He gives me an equally puzzled look and so I decide, you know what, fuck it. I’m this evil person in this world…. I need to act like it!

“And not recognizing his highness is an excuse for taking out the princess consort, soon to be crown princess? Are you blind or just daft?”

Oh my god I really just called someone daft! This feels like when you stay up late thinking all the witty comebacks you could’ve used against your high school bullies, except actually using them in the moment!

And Eric is being a sweetie and letting me handle this, waiting expectantly for blondie to answer me, just prompting her,

“Well?”

“Forgive me…. Princess consort…. You are right. My oversight in inexcusable. It appears neither of us were looking where we were going. I hope we can start fresh!”

I scoff- that’s it? Who does this bitch think she is? Yes, I was looking at Eric, but I was going a walking pace, who rounds a corner with so much force that you knock someone over?

Suddenly something clicks- oh shit! This is the female lead!!!! This scene happened in the story, just without the prince here. This is good, that means this is on track. Although I gotta say- I was much more on the female main characters side when reading it. Now, I just feel like she’s one of those mean girls in high school who’s not *technically* doing anything mean. Anyways- what was I supposed to say? That’s right.

“Yes…. Well. I’m sure we won’t be seeing much of each other anyways. If you’ll excuse me-“

Nailed ittttt…. Now her line?

“Well, actually…. My name is Lady Cressida, and I’ll be staying in the place for several months as my father is a foreign ambassador overseeing trade agreements with his highness the king. So I imagine we will be seeing *plenty* of each other. That goes for you too your highness! So please- forgive me, I look forward to getting to know each of you better!”

Oh that’s so cool, seeing her recite the lines from the story. But ok- I have a role to play as well. I scoff and grab Eric’s arm, pulling him behind me as I storm off, playing the part of entitled lover, stuck up and irritated at this ambassadors daughter who DARED to speak to my love.

Yea, this will work, Eric will think Cressida is a genuine sweetie, and see me as being the unreasonable bitch who’s refusing to accept her apology, or apologize for not looking where I was going either. And now I’m manhandling him- totally unlady like. God I’m killing this aren’t I? Minimum wage job and demanding cat, here I come!

What I don’t see, as I lead Eric by the arm, is the cold glare he shoots towards Cressida, before smiling down at our connected hands, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Part 2

[plutolovesyou]

before you read ▪︎ loose continuation to THIS

ultra loser!ellie x teasing(slightly sadistic tbh)!reader. reads fine as a standalone!! no fr sex, but still nsfw!!! loads of teasing, ellie's shy and flustered (also gave her glasses and piercings muahahah AND HAPPY TRAIL MENTION YAYYY), reader's a little insistent (but it's ok), mentions of masturbation, discussion of sex, REALLY horny making out at the end lol, heavy petting, they almost do it, tiny abby cameo, buildup AS PER USUAL YALL KNOW THE DRILL, kinda cliffhanger ending (its on purpose HAHA), different layout bc i cheated n looked at the poll oops...NGL TS HAD ME SWEATINGGG WRITING IT LMFAO don't think i have ever written something more horny....ok enjoy! (scenario idea graciously donated by the wonderful @fleshunger I LOVE YOUR BRAIN SO MUCH POOKS) + 2.2k wc

apparently both of you missed the professor's class cancellation email on this fateful day… other students showed up too, but they left quickly after seeing it was empty. ellie stayed to catch up on some work, enjoying the silence and typing away on her laptop, which looked like one of those beefy gaming computers.

covered in stickers and the keys changing color, you thought it was interesting she'd lug that thing around campus with her, instead of opting for something light and sleek. and now that leaves you. you had no other plans for the day, and had already mentally prepared yourself for this class, totally unaware it was canceled.

you realized it wasn't a bad idea to copy ellie, and catch up on some of your own work. however you were more intrigued by her, to be totally honest with yourself.

watching her from a distance, she captivated you. she never seemed to notice your stares, too absorbed in her thoughts. you watched her type, efficiently and quickly, pausing only to push her glasses further up her nose with her slim fingers.

the truth is, she's hot. but no one was hearing you out on that, unfortunately. they'd say to you, “what a loser! i don't think i've ever heard her talk.”

you felt overwhelmed by the urge to strike up a real conversation with her—more that simple greetings or coursework questions— and it was the perfect opportunity to do just that. so you got up, sat yourself down in the empty spot right next to her, and put on the most charming grin you could muster up. she abruptly snapped out of her focus, almost flinching at your presence.

“hey! you're ellie, right? whatcha working on?” you got close to her to see, being met with a bunch of hieroglyphic-looking strings of symbols on the screen. woah, smarty-pants. “um, it's just…some project, i dunno. how d’you know my name?”

she finally looked at you, her eyes round, wider than the ufo saucer stickers on the back of her computer. they were so green, the hazel ring reminded you of a polished agate stone. the scattered freckles on her face were so pretty too, you'd never been close enough to her to really take notice. she nervously scanned your features, blotches of pink blush decorating the apples of her plump cheeks.

she was so cute, and noticing her evident shyness flipped a switch inside you, what if you messed with her a little?

you shrugged at her, “just seen you around. you're so mysterious.” you lilt, manipulating your tone to make it smoother on the ears, even containing hints of seduction if you dared.

she blushed a deeper raspberry shade and looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her rings. she was somehow getting more attractive by the second, your heart felt like it was about to burst.

“am i? never thought of it that way, you're funny.” she mumbles, her antsiness obvious. but you didn't wish to let up so soon, you were having a lot more fun flustering her than you'd ever care to admit, even wanting to see just how far you could push her.

“ooh, i love your rings. where did you get em?” “just…places. why are you asking me so many questions?” you sighed and rolled your eyes, “well, ellie. we both don't have anything else to do, gotta pass the time somehow. i wanna talk with you, is that okay?” she took a deep breath and nodded, visibly relaxing. she stretched out her arm to get rid of the tabs on her computer, close it, and put it in her bag, which is when you got a look at her forearm tattoo.

“also i'm obsessed with your tattoo, you have no idea how cool you are, how are girls not all over you?” you question, taking her wrist in your hands and examining the tattoo's intricate line work, tracing your fingertips over the pigment in her skin.

you heard her breathing change in tempo, quickening ever so slightly. but she didn't move her arm away, and let you continue. she took a second to respond. “um. thanks, i guess. i don't really know what you mean.” her voice cracked when she said the last part, igniting a flame inside you, one that you didn't know existed.

your mind wandered, you began wondering what she sounds like when she whimpers. was she really so starved of human contact you could mold her like putty, just with your fingers and tongue? you wanted to find out so badly, wanted to hear how she'd cry your name out if you fucked her into oblivion. was she a squirter or a creamer? you hoped to the heavens above you'd get to find out someday. maybe it was too much to fantasize like this, considering you formally met just now, but you weren't hurting anyone if it all never left the confines of your mind.

you were lucky you hid your own arousal well, nothing out of the ordinary showed on your face whatsoever. ellie wasn't so lucky—to her dismay, but to your delight—everything played out on her delicate features so clearly, it was nothing short of delectable. 

your eyes bore into hers, the intensity of the eye contact making her shiver, and attempt to break it. “ellie, ellie, ellie, may i call you els?” you didn't wait for an answer, and continued, “do you have a girlfriend?” you pouted your lips at her, feigning sadness as if her response was something you didn't already infer.

she was stuttering now, stumbling over her words, making less and less sense as the conversation went on. she was anxiously bouncing her leg, you could see her chest rising and falling, and her face had turned a lovely crimson color, it was so strong, the flush had spread down her neck and reached her ears, making her piercings stand out. good lord. 

“ahem- no, i don't have a girlfriend. actually never have, shocking i know.” she chuckles at her self-deprecating joke, and while her smile was enough to light up a room, you wanted to slap the doubt out of her. or rather, fuck it out of her. 

you exhaled loudly, “hahh, well isn't that a shame. you're so pretty, i'll just have to snatch you up for myself then.” she swallowed audibly, greatly taken aback. “sorry, what?” “oh, don't you know how much people love losers like you? tsk tsk tsk, you're so much hotter than you realize, i mean it, els. look at you! you've got these piercings, this tattoo, you're smarter than this whole class combined, seriously.” 

she just gaped at you, unable to process what she was hearing. no one had ever talked to her like this, it was only something she read about. and coming from you? this ethereal person who starred in all of her most intimate fantasies? she rubbed her eyes roughly, convinced she was hallucinating. her mouth opened and closed dumbly, her voice box failing to produce any sound. but you were affecting her so much, especially because she lusted after you to an extent she could only take to the grave.

flashes of her midnight escapades flickered in her mind, of her shoving her hand down her pants like an animal in heat, orgasming so intensely she'd black out, abusing her hole with nothing but images of you playing in her mind, and your name on her tongue. her cheeks burned with the embarrassment of her wild actions, and she shook her head to clear the thoughts away. 

you groaned and leaned back in your own seat, exclaiming, “god i'm so bored. and pent up, fuck. it's been so long since i had sex…” that was true. in any other situation you'd never say something like that aloud, but because you were alone with the clueless idiot you wanted so carnally, you let it slip. 

“...maybe you should take care of that.” you heard her cough out, her voice coming out strangled. “i could. but that's boring.” you opened your eyes again and smirked devilishly her way, poor girl looked like she was about to go on a trip with the ferryman. 

you grabbed her hand, examining it some more, commenting, “you play guitar, don't you? guitarists are very good with their hands, i will say.” you played with her hand, pressing it into a fist, then extending her middle and ring finger. gosh, what's gotten into you? “i bet you're sooo good.” 

you've never seen a person look more flustered than she did right now in this moment. her voice was impossibly quiet, barely above a whisper, “cut it out.” “okay, fine.”

some beats of silence passed, but a thought crossed your mind. if she really hated this interaction that much, she could have got up and left eons ago, yet she stayed here and endured it all. hmm. you blurted out, “els, have you kissed anyone before?” 

and again she stayed silent, even after you waited patiently for an answer. she kept looking away, her jaw tense. 

you decided to quit the teasing just for a moment, and speak to her gently, genuinely. you shifted to sit a little closer to her and asked, “do you want to?” her gaze locked onto your mouth, she licked her lips, then muttered, “if you're really offering and not just fucking with me, sure-” 

your patience broke and you didn't wait for her to finish her sentence before swiftly leaning forward and connecting your lips with hers, relishing the tiny gasp she made as soon as you did it. she tasted like a dream.

after a split second she kissed you back, it was inexperienced and clumsy, fueled by adrenaline, but she got into a rhythm soon enough. you took the lead and deepened the kiss, absent-mindedly tugging on her bottom lip with your teeth, coaxing eager whimpers out of her, pure music to your ears.

you succumbed to the sensations and increased the pace, your tongue dancing against hers. you felt her hands fumble by your waist, and she pulled you closer to her. your hands clawed at her chest, the beautiful symphony of panting, the wet smacking of your lips colliding, and her uncontrolled moans filled the empty room.

she gripped your waist so tightly, fingertips surely leaving small marks in their wake, you couldn't wait to find them later, and you shamelessly felt up her chest, your thumbs finding her nipples—perky, hard, and poking out through her thin shirt. you caressed and rubbed and squeezed, feeling her jolt under your magical touch.

she was fully whining now. spilling needy, high-pitched sounds, this was better than you could've ever imagined. neither one of you breaking the kiss for even a second, your hand trailed lower and landed on her stomach, slipping under the bottom of her shirt. you felt her defined abs tensing, and the whisper of a happy trail—now it was your turn to moan.

she got even louder and her kisses got sloppier, and you were about to venture inside her waistband before a sudden sound startled you both. 

your phone vibrated aggressively, and with great effort you separated yourself from ellie, long strings of spit connecting you to her still.

she whimpered from the loss of contact, chasing your lips, then huffing and quietly groaning while you took out your phone, her hands not letting go of your waist. when you checked it, it was a message from your friend, abby, just saying: URGENT. COME HERE NOW. ASAP.

fuck her. fuck her and her timing, was all you could think. really, now? you wanted to kill her.

trying to slow your breathing and racing heart, you explained apologetically, “ugh, it's urgent. im so, so sorry ellie, i gotta go.” she stared at you, speechless, but nodded meekly, reluctantly retracting her arms. you didn't want to leave, and stayed gazing at her for a little longer, and brushed a loose strand of soft hair out of her face. what a cutie, she looked all disheveled and dazed. you were about to look for a paper to scribble down your number to keep in touch, until your phone buzzed again, and started ringing with abby's repeated attempts to get ahold of you. couldn't she wait a minute?

you gave ellie one last devastated look, getting up and rushing out of the classroom before abby called you another seventeen times. 

ellie was left in the classroom, reeling from the encounter and what it had turned into. she was utterly bewildered at the events that transpired, her blood rushing in her ears, mind spinning, lips still puffy, glasses fogged over, hands trembling, and of course a sticky, uncomfortable damp spot in her boxers. she leaned forward to rest her head on the desk in front of her on top of crossed arms, to take a moment to cool down before escaping back to her place. 

“holy shit.” 

im horny🧍‍♂️just like ellie after that. as soon as she got home, u best believe she came so hard she saw literal angels and deities LMFAOO (this is my favorite thing ive ever written gawdDAYUM)

yall who wanted more, hope this suffices as a continuation! @stonerzdaze420692 @womenlvrrr

[jwonsite]

strawberry muffins - psh

pairing: fwb!park sunghoon x fem!reader

word count: 1.3k

warnings: unprotected, he calls reader “good girl” like twice, slight breeding kink, hoon is a fake ass emo.

a/n: @g0niki this was for you 💯

your head spins as you feel yourself being suffocated by a pair of lips on yours, pushing you into your apartment and against the front door as it closed behind the both of you. legs tangled as he pulls you towards him, trying to somehow get you to the bedroom all without breaking the kiss.

you don’t have to guide him there, sunghoon knows your apartment layout all too well. coming over once or twice a week, or whenever he was bored, to do the same routine you guys always did.

fuck, sleep, and he leaves in the morning before you even wake up. no texts, no notes, no strings, no feelings.

deciding he didn’t want to stumble to your room he taps the bottoms of your thighs signaling you to jump up so he could carry you the rest of the way.

he carried you easily, not once breaking the kiss before placing you down on the bed and pulling away to look at you, a certain look in his eyes that you’ve never seen before. it wasn’t arousal, or lust, and you couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted from you. your cheeks heat up in embarrassment and you avert your eyes from his.

“what? why are you looking at me like that?” you said as you look to the side, hands instinctively coming up to hide your face. his face almost instantly goes back to his cold, hard, almost emotionless face he always has.

“nothing,, you gonna take your clothes off or what?” he asks, getting seemingly more impatient as the minutes pass.

“wow such a gentlemen hoon! makes me wonder why i ever consider not seeing you again,” you say sarcastically, sitting up a bit to take off your shirt as he’s stripping himself from his clothing at the end of the bed.

“you would never because you know nobody fucks as good as i do,” he said cockily, winking at you with a smirk before coming to stand at the foot of the bed, his underwear still on. you roll your eyes at him before completely pulling off your pants, leaving your panties on for him to take off later.

“you want to do the honors?” he jokes, gesturing towards his still clothed dick. you crawl forward on the bed, leaning forward to give it a kiss before suckling on it through the material, the grey underwear turning a darker shade as your spit collects on it. he moaned out before grabbing the back of your head and pushing you into him.

“stop teasing or you won’t cum tonight.” he said as he held your face flat against his cock. you pulled back and pouted at him a bit before pulling down his underwear to free his aching hard on, it slapping his stomach before you grab it and sucked on the tip, wrapping your hands around the rest of his length. his hand came down to tangle in your hair, pushing your head down onto him and making you take almost his entire length down your throat.

you felt you eyes watering, trying your best not to gag as you felt his tip halfway down your throat. your hands were firm against his thighs, grabbing them harshly and leaving small crescent marks from your nails in its place.

sunghoon was a moaning mess, throwing his head back and groaning every time he bottomed out in your throat. you fondled his balls a bit and that is what pushed him over the edge, his hips stuttering as he held you down on his dick, his cum shooting down the back of your throat. when he pulled out of your mouth his cum leaked out of the sides of your mouth, sunghoon using his thumb to wipe it up before pushing his thumb into your mouth, letting you suck on it before grabbing you by the waist and flipping you onto your stomach, face down ass up.

“being such a good girl taking all my cum down your throat hm? you think you can keep it all inside when i fuck you?” he said, palming your ass before slapping down a couple of times, rubbing the sore spot after. you nodded your head into the pillow in front of you, too desperate to give him an actual answer.

“use your words princess. or do you wanna be used like a slut and not cum tonight?” he said in response, wanting to hear your pretty voice begging for him.

“fuck,, yes hoon ill be a good girl please just fuck me already,” you said desperate, reaching your hand back to grab his wrist.

“mm,, good enough i guess,” he says before pushing himself into you, bottoming out in one go. you moaned out, gripping the sheets next to you in support. he leaned forward to give you a kiss on the back of your ear, before pulling all the way out and slamming into you again, starting a brutal pace as one of his hands gripped your waist and the other kept your head pushed into the pillows.

you were moaning out his name and strings of pleas, not even being able to think straight as he fucked you. his hips didn’t stutter once as he kept fucking you hard and fast, slapping down on your ass before pulling you by your hair up towards him, wrapping his arm around your neck in a slight chokehold and holding you up against him like that.

“you like being treated like a slut hm? letting me use you how i want,” he says into your ear, squeezing his bicep around your neck even tighter, eyes rolling back as he deprives you of oxygen.

his hips begin to stutter and that’s how you know he’s close. he keeps you locked in his bicep as his other hands goes around your body to toy with your clit, wanting you to cum with him.

his hips stilled inside of you, pushing his cum deep inside as you felt the coil in your stomach snap, letting out a loud moan and throwing your head back against sunghoons shoulder.

he lets go of you, letting you fall back onto the bed before pulling out and watching how his cum drips out of you, using one of his fingers to push it back into you. you moaned slightly at the feeling of his finger inside you, but mostly becoming overwhelmed with sleep. you laid down on your pillow, eyes fluttering shut while your body is still exposed to him. hoon lets out a small chuckle under his breath, smiling to himself before getting up to go to the bathroom and get something to clean you up with before laying down next to you and draping a blanket over both of you.

“night y/n,” he says, giving you a light kiss on your forehead, light enough to deny it happened in the morning if you remembered.

________________

you woke up to the feeling of a cold bed next to you. the blanket still fully covering you as the other side was neatly put back together, almost as if nobody had slept there the night before. you let out a sigh before rolling over to grab your phone off the nightstand, squinting as the light burned your eyes a bit. your eyebrows furrowed at a notification, pressing on the text to open it.

hoon 🤍

i left you one of those strawberry muffins from that place you like down the street. i was already going there to get one for myself before work so i figured i might as well bring one back to you since you live so close. anyways, hope you like it.

you read the text from him and giggled a bit to yourself. speaking aloud to nobody at all when you say,

“i think he forgot he told me he doesn’t like muffins”

[bedoballoons]

Just wrote a Sumeru boys request and when I saw there was another one I got so excited!! AHH I LOVE CUDDLY READER!! Thank you for this request and I hope you enjoy <3

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️

{༻~Cuddles, snuggles and warm bundles~༺}

CW: GN! Reader, fluffy cuddles with the Sumeru boys!!

(Includes: Tighnari, Kaveh, Alhaitham, Wanderer, and Cyno!)

𑁍༄Tighnari:

You pulled the blanket around you tighter, the chill of the morning making you want to stay in bed and cuddle with Tighnari all day, feeling his fluffy tail wrapped around you and his arms sleepy holding you against him. Maybe he felt the same way you did, or maybe you both were so comfortable that any other plans no longer mattered, but neither of you ended up moving even after a couple hours.

Even after he fully woke up and just watched you with this dreamy gaze, even after you talked for hours about everything going on in your life that you hadn't gotten to tell him about, even after the two of you started getting hungry. It was just...so unlike either of you to stay in bed and just, enjoy eachothers company. Forget about work and the things that make the days hurry by.

"Hey Tighnari, can we snuggle like this more often? Just take a break and catch up until we physically have to get out of bed..."

"I love that idea. I think, this may be one of my new favourite things to do"

𑁍༄Kaveh:

You watched Kaveh as he sketched out a entire new layout for the design he'd been stuck on for hours now. This one really seemed to be getting to him and even with all the help you could give, he just wasn't having a good time, he seemed stretched thin...creativity all but gone. "Kaveh, why don't you take a break hmm? We can cuddle for a little and give your mind a rest?"

He sighed in defeat and nodded, smiling as you curled under his arm, using his side as a pillow, "I'm not sure why this idea is so difficult for me to get a grasp on...it's just supposed to be a comfy look, but none of what I had in mind originally really fits what I'm going for." He kissed the top of your head as you listened to his troubles, you wished you could do more for him but you didn't really know how to design anything..,"Well, hmm. When do you feel the comfiest Kaveh?"

"When I'm with you. Oh, my gosh that's it!" He quickly grabbed his sketch pad, his pencil drawing cushions and hidden heart shaped motifs into the design...unaware he'd left you with a goofy smile and a dark blush. Maybe you were more help than you thought.

𑁍༄Alhaitham:

You placed a kiss on Alhaithams neck, feeling sleepy after cuddling with him for so long. Usually he'd have work or other things to attend to, but today, today was his day with you and that meant sitting there reading as you snuggled up to him. The room nice and warm, his arms tightly holding you in place and the gentle sound of the page flipping ever so often...maybe others would find it strange to be so quiet, awkward even, but to you two it was like a comforting silence. A time to unwind and not hear the constant chatter of others or things moving, nothing but the two of you enjoying eachothers presence.

His chin gently rested on your head and you smiled, finally letting your heavy eyelids close and nod off to sleep. You wouldn't even wake up when he carried you to bed, but the next morning would feel like a breeze, like all your stressed had just...melted away.

𑁍༄Wanderer:

Wanderer grunted as you climbed into his lap, your head resting on his chest and his arms holding you tight so you wouldn't fall. To think you'd ask for such a silly thing...to cuddle in a tree, was it something you'd seen in a romance book or dreamed of? He didn't know...he didn't even know why he'd actually agreed to it...until you were resting in his embrace, the soft flutter of leaves all around you and the branches hiding you from the rest of the world.

"It's nice isn't it Wanderer..."

"Tsk...I guess so." He hid his face in your hair, thinking about you and your wild imagination, he silently thanked you for showing him this type of love. He never thought he'd enjoy it as much as he truly did.

𑁍༄Cyno:

You smiled as Cyno kissed your cheek from behind, his hands intertwined with yours and your back resting against his chest. You wouldn't say it out loud yet, but cuddling with him were your favourite moments. Whenever he pulled you close, wether it be after he's just won a tcg game against one of his friends or after he's had a long day and just needs to hold you for comfort, you loved it.

"You okay Cyno?"

"Yes, just a had a long day and wished to be close to you..."

"Ah, well I'm here. How about I tell you a couple jokes I heard today, they made me think of you." You tilted your head back slightly so you could see his reaction and the smallest bit of a smile had already started to form. "Tell me."

"Why did the invisible man turn down the job offer?"

"Hmm why?"

"He couldn't see himself doing it." You blushed as he laughed happily, finding the joke far funnier than it actually was.

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day!~*⁠.⁠✧

[nightowl374art]

ok I know nobody literally asked but

I think Miles G has green/hazel eyes like his mother. Just like Miles 1610 has his mother’s eye color because well parallels. Part of the reason I’m even bothering to dig into this is because I love to draw the man and I’m a nerd for accuracy. Plus it’s just a cool physical attribute in general.

Firstly if you look at him compared to Miles 1610, his irises appear somewhat lighter

And you can definitely tell his eyes are a different shade here ⬇️ (and they’re even in the same lighting)

Also, when Miles 1610 is talking to Rio 42, the lighting in their apartment is giving off a greenish hue, making his eyes look hazel or green themselves, which may be why, if she’s not looking that close, Rio doesn’t notice anything but his hair.

Plus, I don’t think the artists/animators would bother changing Rio’s eye color and not Miles G’s. If they wanted to show subtle differences between e-42 and e-1610 before we come to the conclusion Miles is not in the right universe, there are other ways, (like they did with the layout of his room). Plus I think, just like the braids, it’s another physical difference between Miles G and Miles 1610 to show while they may be the same, they’re also not.

I see some have theorized he might have heterochromia which I’m less inclined to believe (not knocking the idea entirely, mind you). Yes the lighting gives that impression, but if you flip Miles 1610 and put him side by side to Miles 42, you can see the blue and red lighting is also gently altering his eye color, giving the illusion one eye is brighter in comparison.

Anyways, I just think this is a really interesting inclusion to Miles 42’s character, because it gives him a harsher look/gaze, whereas Miles 1610 has soft, warm brown eyes—sort of a reflection on their personality differences.

[homunculus-argument]

I'm kind of stuck with the rough-and-messy art style that I have, or at least I'm not motivated enough to work as hard as it would take to completely get rid of it. But it would be kind of funny to perfectly master drawing comics in a manga style. Not modern manga, though, but specifically the kind of 70s-80s style. Like stylistically distinctly enough to make it something that's clearly Its Own Thing instead of an exact mimicry of the art of any specific artist of the era - but having the distinct vibe that the artist was one of the artists of the era. Making a reader go

"Huh the storytelling and themes of this really are eerily modern for the time. I don't know why they flipped the layout but I guess it was the style at the time, and the translator apparently did a great job making the characters speak naturally, and the text fits their panels seamlessly. Like they were designed for that." "I mean that'd make sense considering this whole thing was drawn by some dude in Northern Europe in like the 2020s." "You the fucking what?"

[jerzwriter]

Pietro & Azul

Well, I can't tell you how much fun I had with this 3-word prompt. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it, but once I started, I had a ball! Thanks so much for the request @icecoffee90! 😊

Book: Open Heart (Post Series) Pairing: Tobias Carrick x Casey (F!MC) With: Jakie Varma, ??? Rating: Teen Words: 1,100 Summary: Jackie is housesitting for her friends Casey & Tobias. It's been going well until that terrifying last night. A/N: @choicesjanuary2024 Day 13 - Whispers, Mystery MEET PIETRO!

As she moved gingerly through the darkened room, Jackie was grateful she had spent enough time at her friend’s home to know the layout. With the power out and only semi-sober,  getting around would have been a bitch if she hadn’t. Settling into a darkened corner of the living room, she cowered under a blanket with a prized bottle in her hand. Sitting here and emptying it over the course of the night sounded like an excellent plan to her.  

A bright bolt of lightning momentarily lit up the room, and she braced for the deafening clap of thunder she knew would follow. What the hell, a fifth shot sounds good? She thought as she raised the glass to her lips.

“This is the last time I ever housesit for these fuckers!”

A crashing noise echoed down the long stairway, and she dropped her head into her hands. Jackie Varma did not scare easily! She reminded herself of that repeatedly. She was badass! A power outage? A little storm? Sure, that might cripple wusses like, like... Lahela, but her? Pfft. Never her!

But one more unexplainable noise pushed her directly over the edge. What the fuck was that?

This was supernatural. She was convinced of it, and while there was precious little that would flap the resolute doctor, the supernatural? She wasn’t messing with that. Getting drunk and falling asleep had its merits, but then she rethought that choice. What if the ghost upstairs sniffed her out and found her sleeping? Ghosts do sniff? Don’t they. She had to try and stay awake. But the creak of an opening door sent shivers down her spine. It wasn’t upstairs this time; it was just across the room.

Son of a bitch! This is how I die? She thought. But if she was going to die, it wouldn’t be without a fight. She grabbed the bottle of tequila, then thought better of it. Even if these were her last moments, she was not about to waste this precious elixir, so she grabbed a vase from the table beside her instead. She rose to her feet and lurched toward the sound, working up a bravery she didn’t know she possessed. Then, just as she lifted the vase over her head, the light flashed on, and a horrified Tobias screamed, raising his arm to protect himself. The vase stopped just inches away from his skull.

“Jesus H. Christ, Varma! What the hell are you doing! And why are you sitting here in the dark?”

“Because the power went out, genius! Do you think I want to sit in the dark in your stupid house!”

With a blank expression, Tobias kept his eyes on hers as he flipped the light switch on, off, and then on again.

“You were saying?”

“But wait...no,” she exasperated. “I swear I...” She ran to the opposite end of the room and attempted to turn on a lamp, relieved when it did not. “I know I’m not crazy! I was sitting here, and the power went out!”

“It looks more like you blew a fuse.”

“Whatever! Why are you home early, anyway. You’re not due back until tomorrow! And where is Casey and Sam?”

“Casey and Sam will be home tomorrow; I returned early because...”

“Good!” Jackie interrupted. “I don’t know what kind of a man lets his wife and daughter live in a place like this anyway!”

He looked around the spacious, well-appointed townhome, bewildered. “Uh, it’s a pretty nice place? Casey rather likes it?”

“It’s HAUNTED!”

“Haunted?”

“HAUNTED!”

Tobias smirked as a little snort escaped him.  He eyed the discarded tequila bottle in the corner of the room.

“You were hitting my stash of Azul again, weren’t you? Do I need to lock that up when you come over? Or... maybe get one of those things like we have for the cat – you know, a bottle that dispenses a preset amount every hour? Keep you under control?”

“I’m not drunk,” she said, punching his arm. “But your house is haunted. There have been noises coming from upstairs all night!”

Tobias tossed his keys on the side table with a sigh. “I doubt it’s haunted. Why don’t we go upstairs and see what’s going on?”

“Oh, you’re not getting me to go up there. I’ll stay down here so I can help Casey move on to someone better than you after the ghost murders your ass.”

“This isn’t how I’m going out, Jackie. But suit yourself... stay down here alone if you like.”

Alone. Right now, the thought frightened her much more than she cared to admit, so with the vase back in her hands, she followed closely behind Tobias as they crept up the stairs.

“You know that’s an heirloom, right?” He whispered. “FDR gifted it to my great-grandfather. It’s got its own rider on my home insurance. Could you have chosen a less expensive item for a weapon?”

“Yet you leave it on a table, in your living room, with a toddler and a cat in the house. I’m not the stupid one here, Carrick.”

He was about to answer when a blood-curdling scream stopped them both cold.

“You see!” Jackie said, pounding on his back, “You see! Your place is fucking haunted!”

He didn’t want to admit it, much less show it, but he was scared for a moment; then, with a tilt of his head and a little laugh, he nudged Jackie forward.

“Come here.” He opened his study door to reveal a large TV tuned into The Conjuring. “I think this might be the issue,” he said sarcastically.

“But wait! What? I did not turn this on! No!! No!! It’s a ghost! You still have a ghost! You have a freaking ghost in this house that put this on to scare the shit out of me!

“Really?” he scoffed, gesturing toward the plush sette where the family cat was reclined comfortably, with the remote control locked under his hind paw. Tobias lifted him up, rubbing the tuft of fur atop its head. “I think your ghost's name is Pietro. But I don’t think he had malicious intent.”

Tobias had to bite his lip to hold back his laughter as Jackie’s face went from shock to rage. Shooting a terrifying look at poor Pietro, Jackie snapped. “I always liked dogs better!”

“So, given this discovery, is it all right if I allow my wife and daughter to come back home tomorrow?”  

“Shut up!” Jackie spat, stomping out of the room. “I’m going downstairs.”

“What for?”

“I’m getting a bottle of Azul to go! Two, in fact. You and that cat, you owe me!”

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[angelthefirst1]

Welp...Bethylers.🐇 ✝️♾️✝️🐇

From what I'm seeing in 104 and the trailer for 105, I would say she's close.

VERY CLOSE!

Could we really get her back on resurrection Sunday? ✝️

It's very possible, and I'm excited because wow, they are laying it on thick.

Still and Alone are on repeat once again, but this time, it's with Rick and Michonne, so it's important. Due to the Sheriff's hat.

The following are from episode 104 and the trailer for 105. To show you just how much Beth is being repeated.

Identical mirror head wounds for Rick and Beth...

Rick and Beth's story is mirrored/flipped, so he gets the head wound on the opposite side, and it's after he leaves the building that collapses with the elevator.

A mystery figure appears in a Coda after Beth gets the head wound it's Morgan.

And a mystery figure appears in the same episode Rick gets a mirror head wound...

Remember Morgan picked up the cross ✝️ and the rabbit foot in the church ✝️ in Coda?

Rabbit 🐇 Easter 🐣 resurrection of Christ.

The cabin with alcohol...🍸

Rick and Michonne will visit a cabin and drink alcohol next week.

Pine vista with the lake...

Green Wood is also mentioned when they go to the lab/gym.

Golf club sheets where a community was living.

While Rick and Michonne find a similar layout in a new building in 105...

The boots (Michonne finds Rick's boots) and the prosthetic hand...

Home sweet home...

Everyone we know "will be" dead - You don't know that.

It's Bullshit...

You don't get to treat me like crap because you're afraid...

I know you look at me and just see another dead girl...You don't know nothing!

Entering the clean house...Roomba

Chandelier trap (note the chandelier above)

Changing clothes...

I'm going to leave a thank you note...

Why did you come after me? What changed your mind?

Say it! Don't Ah-ha...

"Oh" You're the love of my life!

I'm not going to leave you...

The elevator

System failure elevator has 10 minutes left of emergency power.

Elevator has 2 minutes left of emergency power...

10.2 get well soon.

Proof they put Beth on the back seat of the car after Grady and that Beth's return will lead to a cure.

They think she's a hybrid, aka Zombie, but she's associated with fire 🔥 so the flammable liquid is her.

She will return as Christ to bring the last judgment of fire 🔥 and destroy the fake cure of the Mark of the beast and beast kingdom before the Millennial Kingdom begins.

The whole end scene when the building collapses and Rick and Michonne get out in the nick of time is a repeat of the CDC collapse.

The building Rick and Michonne are in has AI and all the modern tech just like Vi at the CDC.

It's about to be destroyed and the group run for the cars. One of which is yellow.

While the high tech building they destroy is connected to the CDC, it's also connected to Grady, so by connection, they were working on a cure at Grady.

At the CDC test, subject 19 (Beth was 19 at Grady) took 2 hours, 1 minute, and 7 seconds till resurrection...

21 days = 7x3 = 3 missing weeks.

Dr Jenner shoots his test subject in the head...

For Beth, it will be reverse shot in head resurrection after 3 weeks.

Instead, it will be Grady that collapses most likely from an earthquake.

When Jesus died, there was a massive earthquake, so...

Anyway Danai says she wrote this episode, i say hogs-wash, she re-wrote this episode!

The elevator timer says Beth is about to Get Well Soon.

[accihoe]

Deputation Gone Awry

Pairing: Avenger Bucky x Avenger fem!reader

Summary: The title is self-explanatory. But Barnes and Y/L/N go on a mission with Wilson and Romanoff. Things go awry. James and Y/N are stuck in a safehouse together amidst a blizzard.

Warnings: mean and condescending Bucky. Jealousy. Angst. Fights. Fluff. Injuries and stitches. Please don't this read if injuries make you uncomfortable.

Genre: angst to fluff

A/n: As always, my loves, please don't steal my work. Tag me and give me credit if you post my work on other platforms or use my ideas. God bless.

xxxx

"Good girl." Y/N grinned as the cat hopped onto her couch and snuggled up against her thigh (literally my cat and I rn. Her name is Goose.). A knock at the door startled the cat, who ran underneath the bed. "Dang it. Coming!" Y/N called as she got up and went to the door.

"Hey, kiddo, remember you're going on a mission with Barnes, Wilson, and Romanoff. You leave tomorrow. Get packing chop-chop." Tony clapped his hands together to enunciate his words. Y/N's stomach warmed, and her heart pounded when she heard his surname. She packed quickly. According to the list Tony had given her at the briefing in the boardroom.

She went to Steve's room and knocked on the door. Muffled voices quietened, and two pairs of footsteps came to the door. When it opened, Y/N bit her lip in excitement before shifting to the side as James pushed past her. "Hey Y/N/N. Can I help you?" Steve leaned again the doorframe.

"Hey Steve. Yeah. Could you please watch Goose? I'm going on a mission tomorrow." She asked. "Isn't that Fury's cat?" Steve was puzzled. "Yeah. That's why you've gotta take extra care of her." Y/N smiled. Steve agreed (after Y/N made him microwave brownies), and soon, all the belongings of the cat (Flerken) and Goose were inside of Steve's room.

The following morning, Y/N was in the Quinjet. Her belongings stowed away as she sat behind the stick in the cockpit. Bucky came in first. "You're early for once.". "Well, I've never been late, Barnes. I'm actually very punctual." Y/N said as she put her magazine down. James scoffed. "What are you doing there anyway? The seats are here." Bucky changed the topic, realizing he had no evidence to deflate her ego with in the previous topic.

"I'm the pilot." She said. "Yeah, right. You can hardly steer a bike." Bucky scoffed. "Bikes and planes are two entirely different things, Barnes." She sing-songed. "This is a jet." Bucky answered with a sly grin. He finally had something to belittle her for. One slip-up. "You know what I meant. Bikes and jets are still very different things." Y/N sighed.

"They're not actually that different if you compare the layouts and the functionalities. I mean, you've got seats in both, a steering stick in both -" Bucky started. "Okay, okay." Y/N moved out of the cockpit and went to the back of the jet. Bucky grinned in victory. Nat and Sam joined shortly afterwards.

"Where's Y/N?" Sam asked. "Dunno." Bucky shrugged. "She's already been here. It's her magazine." Nat said from the cockpit. Y/N emerged from the back. "Sorry. I was just checking our supplies." Y/N smiled as she stepped into view. "There's our captain." Sam grinned. "Pilot." Bucky corrected.

Bucky's scowl returned as Y/N went to the cockpit. He dramatically clipped in his seatbelt and held on for dear life as they flew to their destination. "You know she's a licensed pilot, right?" Natasha asked, not looking up from the magazine Y/N tossed to her.

"By the way she flies, it doesn't seem like it." Bucky hissed. "I'm able to read." Natasha said. "It's very turbulent. I don't know how." Bucky huffed. "We did just flie through a few typhoons." Nat answered calmly as she flipped a page. "Seriously? We're not hurricane hunters. Why's she flying us through typhoons?" Bucky groaned.

"Because she knows what she's doing." Nat finally looked at Bucky. Bucky resolved to silence for the rest of the flight and was less but still dramatic when they landed. The mission went smoothly, and all went according to plan until Y/N's suit belt hooked onto a rusted lever broke off and fell onto the steel floor.

Bucky grabbed Y/N and pinned her down as the opposition fired at them. Y/N's heart hammered in her chest, but she did not allow her silly crush to jeopardize the mission or her status. So she flipped them over and held Barnes down as she got up and fired single shots at the men, bullets laced with instant toxins to make whoever was shot pass out (unrealistic I know but bear with me).

After several moments of fighting, they ran out with their mission partners just in time to miss the start of the ambush. Amidst an ambush and a quickly approaching blizzard, Y/N lost sight of the rest of the team but thankfully bumped into Bucky. They ran off together, and Bucky hijacked a bike from the ambushers.

Y/N's cheeks were hot despite the snow as she held onto Bucky Barnes. They drove as far out of sight as they could. Y/N managed to locate a safehouse established by S.H.I.E.L.D and gave Bucky directions. Once they arrived at the safehouse, Bucky was fuming. "Why the hell would you put us all in danger like that!? And then shoot them all! We could have interrogated them for evidence or answers!" Bucky yelled at Y/N. Y/N sighed deeply. "Here we go..." She muttered underneath her breath.

Y/N had always been kind to Bucky despite his condescending persona towards her. She looked past it, blinded by her love for the man. He particularly liked to belittle her in front of others. She's no fool. She knew what he was doing and why he was doing it. "And now you're silent!?" Bucky went on condescending and patronizing her, but Y/N heard the exertion in his voice. It got meeker and meeker until they reached the safehouse by foot as the bike could not go through the snowpack.

Y/N noticed the limp in Bucky's step, his right leg particularly. She noticed the discomfort in his eyes when he sat down after checking around and locking the door. She grabbed her medical aid and kneeled in front of him by the fireplace. "Goodness, no, I don't need you messing up another thing. I'm fine. Wish I had Natasha here instead." Bucky groaned when he caught on to what she was doing. Y/N ignored the nauseating jealousy. Bucky looked mortified as she forced him to remove his trousers but allowed him to keep the thermal knee-length pants on.

She rolled the left side of the pants up where a dark red patch was. Bucky hissed in discomfort. Y/N gasped quietly at the wound, getting disinfectant and cleaning the wound carefully. She disinfected the needle with a lighter before stitching up his wound and putting cream and a plaster over.

The whole time, Bucky was complaining. Y/N droned out his voice to focus on his wound. When she was doing up the bandage, Bucky was still condescending her, "You tie as crap as you fly. Ha, that rhymes. But seriously. Did you attend the medical course?". That was it. Y/N ripped off that bandage (not the plaster) and gathered her stuff quickly before getting up and storming off. Bucky scoffed, but he did not even convince himself.

Bucky had several attempts at putting the bandage on properly himself, but he gave in when the pain got to him. Shamefully, Bucky made his way upstairs with the bandage. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw Y/N in her thermal clothing and not the suit. Y/N's mission attire was not nearly at voluptuous as Nat's, Bucky never assumed she had such a fine pair of legs. He watched as she scrubbed at his trousers to clean the blood before hanging them in front of the fireplace.

"You may come in, James." Bucky's heart dropped at her voice. She noticed him and called him by his full name. "I uh.. look, I'm sorry. But I need help with the bandage." Bucky croaked. Y/N sighed as she put her hands on her hips. "Why? I assume you attended the medical course?" Y/N tilted her head to the side. "No.. I didn't." Bucky's dropped his head slightly. "Sit down on the bed which, by the way, I'm sleeping in tonight." She said.

After wrapping Bucky's bandage properly and giving him clothes she'd found, Y/N shooed Bucky out of her room. Out of boredom, Bucky went through files of the agents the safehouse had and their personal lives. Bucky lingered on Y/N's. He looked at her rescuing people and animals. He kept his eyes on one where Y/N held a baby. A brief image of her holding a blue-eyed baby and standing beside him flashed before his eyes.

He looked at her in a pretty sundress. Good grief. How did they know and acquire all this about her personal life? Did she know? Was someone stalking her? Bucky's blood boiled with rage at the thought. Bucky closed the file and put it away as he heard Y/N coming downstairs. His skin crawled as he recognized the sweatpants adorning her lovely legs. Steve's.

"Where'd you get Steve's sweatpants?" He asked before he could think. "I didn't know that they were his. I found them in the drawer." She said. "And you didn't check for any women's clothing?" Bucky snarled. She had it.

"I am done with you constantly condescending me, James Barnes! I have only been kind to you from the start, and all you've done is misuse my kindness. I'm fed up with your constant attempts at making me feel less clever or competent because I can assure you that I am at a much higher level that you make me out to be. I'm aware that I might not be some professionally trained assassin or spy or have any remote form of superpowers or supernatural abilities, but I am far more intellectually competent than most! Mark my words. Once we are done with this mission, I will make sure that you never have to spend a moment in my presence again! You can find yourself a woman who meets your delusional capabilities for accommodating you on a mission! I. Am. Done." She went back upstairs.

Though she was stern with what she had to say, she did not yell or raise her voice. She addressed him calmly and maturely. Bucky felt even worse because of that.

Bucky made little effort to stop himself from going back to the file. His heart launched into his throat. He felt like a cartoon character with heart eyes floating after his lover and a visible hammering heart. There stood Y/N in a 1940s themed dress. Hair curled accordingly. Lips painted red. Her dazzling smile captured his heart solidly. A soldier's blazer, almost identical to his, was draped over her shoulders. If he had not seen her date of birth, he would have assumed that she was from that time.

Bucky put away the file after he had looked through it around eight times. He made his way upstairs after ensuring the door was locked and the fire was out. With a slight struggle to be quiet, he was in front of her door. He knocked quietly. "What, Barnes?" He could hear the frustration in her voice. "May I come in?" He asked. "Why?" Was all that she answered. "I want to apologize to you. Face to face." After a few moments of silence, the door creaked open. Y/N closed it once Bucky was in to trap in the heat.

"I don't know where to begin.." Bucky admitted. "Sit down. You need to ease the usage of your leg a little. And before you say anything, we were taught this in the course." Y/N said. "I wasn't going to condescend you. I swear I'll try my best to never do that again." Bucky said truthfully as he sat down.

Y/N assisted him in elevating his leg. "I don't know why it's so... normal today. My wounds are usually much less painful and heal easily." Bucky said. "It's a pretty deep wound, sarge." Y/N said. "Sarge?" Bucky grinned. "Sorry." Was what Y/N said as she sat down on the windowsill. "No, no, I like it. Takes me back to my golden days." Bucky smiled. "You sound as old as you are." Bucky laughed at that.

"Look, Y/N/N. I should probably start from the day we met. I should never have treated you like any less. And let me assure you, I've never for a moment believed that you are any less, even if I've treated you otherwise. I knew from the start that you were sharp. Smart. Kind. Able. Clever, very clever. Undoubtedly beautiful. And what threw me off is when you were kind to everyone else, and I was new, you were kind to me. When everyone hated me, you were still kind to me. I feared the worst. So I tried to convince myself that you are less than what you actually are, to justify the fear of being mortified by such a real doll. A dame. A babe, as you youngsters say." Y/N chuckled at the last bit.

"I am not trying to justify my actions with nice words! I'm being completely honest about what and why. You looked at me like you were proud of me. Like I wasn't such a worthless undes-" "Hey. Don't inflict any more hatred on yourself. HYDRA created enough negative neural pathways. We need to cover them with positive thoughts. So that we can see more of that smile that charmed ladies into paying for a meal." Y/N said. Bucky looked at the floor with tinted cheeks. "You're a.. what do they call it? Nerf? Nurd. Nerd. You're such a nerd." It was Y/N's turn to laugh.

"I didn't want to make this apology about me. I really am so sorry. I sure don't deserve it, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd be honored." Bucky said with a small smile. The air in the room was far more pleasant. "I forgive you, Bucky. I forgave you the moment you knocked on that door." Y/N said. "What? Why?" Bucky was puzzled. "Because you made the effort to come upstairs and apologize to me. You could've called me downstairs or buzzed me. But you came upstairs. That alone was an apology in itself." Y/N smiled.

Bucky recognised that smile as the one from the picture with the baby, and the one where she cradled a kitten amidst a rescue, and the one with the sundress, and the one on that 40s themed photograph. He saw her true smile. A sight that he was instantly hooked on. He mimicked her smile. "Could we try again? At being partners in the work field? I really need you on my team. Even though I never wanted to admit it. Maybe friends?" Bucky wanted so much more than friends.

"I'd love nothing more, sarge." Y/N got up and shook his hand. That's where the friendship brewed from.

xxxx

Fin.

Part 2?

Not proofread.

Gif not mine

[gachawolfiebloom]

Two Hearts In The City of Love

Chapter 12: Mr Puzzles' Amazing Couples Game Show Fanatic

Cover made by me and Puzzlevision selection is from Smg4. Please do not repost artwork.

Drumroll please...

3...

2..

1.

"Hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen! As always, it's your favorite TV host Mr Puzzles here! Now I know our last gameshow didn't quite go according to plan now did it?"

One of the members in the audience asks "Yeah, didn't you flip out and complete destroy the show because you were jealous of that red, fat, Italian guy?"

"NO! *Ahem* No...we just had a little programming malfunction with our games. But fear not! For this new show will feature all new kinds of games that couldn't possibly be ruined. And you wanna know why? MARIO WON'T BE PLAYING! That's right everyone. We've got all your favorite contestants, invited back for a new show I'm calling: Mr Puzzles' Amazing Couples Game Show Fanatic!"

Mr Puzzles clapped his hands and everyone he had trapped, except Mario appeared. Bob got all territorial and asked "UM EXCUSE ME? WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!?" Mr Puzzles took out a sheet of paper and said "Now let's layout the rules. Each couple will compete in a activity that I have set to test their intelligence (if they even have it ), their physical abilities, and how well they are willing to go for each other."

"What do you mean? We aren't couples." Tari quizzically asked when Mr Puzzles butted in and yelled "YOU ARE NOW!" He clapped his hand and divided 2 partners at each station. Smg3 looked confused as hell until he turned and saw who he was partnered with. "Oi! We're not a couple!" Smg4 did the same as he blushed up a storm and awkwardly avoided looking at Three.

Meggy and Tari also felt awkward when they saw that they were paired up with each other, but neither one was a blushing mess like Four was. Bob stomped his foot down and yelled "I REFUSE TO WORK WITH THIS GREEN BOOGER! I WOULDN'T DATE BOOPKINS IF HE WAS THE LAST FISH ON EARTH! PAIR ME UP WITH BIRDO INSTEAD!"

(Sidenote: I DO NOT SHIP BOB AND BOOPKINS. I JUST SEE THEM AS BEST FRIENDS. NOTHING ELSE.)

Mr Puzzles started to get irritated and nervously laughed. "Don't pay any attention to him folks. I think he's too shy to admit his feelings." The audience let out a couple Awwwww's. Bob was getting really angry and began complaining "HE'S LYING! I'M NOT GAY! I'M STRAIGHT! NOT GAY NOT GAY NOT GAY NOT GAY!" Mr Puzzles put a hand over his mouth and said "One moment please." He whispered "I know you're not gay Bob, but I ran out of contestants and I need a third team. Can't you just roll with it."

As he went back to addressing the audience, Bob kept chanting "NOT GAY NOT GAY NOT GAY-" Mr Puzzles facepalmed and announced "I almost forgot! Whoever scores the most points gets a sPeCiAl pRiZe!" Everyone immediately stopped their belly aching and became incredibly interested. Bob finally shut up and said "ANYTHING FOR MONEY!"

Three swung an arm over Four as he became even more flustered. "Forget what I said. We're the best couple and we're going to crush you all!"

"U-Um...Three can you not?"

Meggy got a serious look on her face and yelled "No way! Me and Tari are the best duo!" Tari thought it was a sweet compliment and didn't even pick up on how Meggy didn't mind letting the audience see them as a couple.

The crowd erupted into excited cheers as Mr Puzzles went back to his happy self. "Alright everyone! First up we have-" He felt a tug on his sleeve as Luigi nervously asked "Uhh...what do I do? I...I don't have a partner." Mr Puzzles noticed that since he didn't cast Mario in this episode so now Luigi didn't have anyone else. "Oh Luigi, you have the most important job of all!" He brought him over to a discount whiteboard and handed him a marker. "You will keep track of scores. Making sure that each team gets the amount of points I say they earn."

"Oh that sounds like fun! I can do that!" Luigi began humming to himself as he made a column for each team. "Wonderful! Now that that's all figured out, we can finally beg-"

"Um can I take a bathroom break! My face feels hot!" Four raised his hand. Mr Puzzles was getting really irritated with all the interruptions, just like his last game show. He turned around with his scary, realistic face and yelled "NO! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Four immediately slumped down in his seat as the audience went silent and Mr Puzzles felt all eyes glued onto him.

"I-I mean...Sorry Smg4, but the show has started already. But don't worry, you'll be an excellent team player. Maybe you'll even win the prize..."

"Now about we start with-"

The sounds of Italian gibberish echoed on stage as Mr Puzzles raised an eyebrow. "Huh...that's strange. But let's cont-"

More gibberish noises that sounded closer as Mr Puzzles angrily said "Whoever that is, please stop so everyone can enjoy the show." The person that was making the annoying sounds didn't stopped. It almost sounded like it came from the audience. Mr Puzzles then froze when he realized something. "Oh crap...I made sure Mario wasn't a contestant, but I never checked to see if he was an audience member!" Sure enough, Mario rushed down from his seat onto stage and said "Oh boy! Oh boy! Mario wants to play games!"

Mr Puzzles virtually tore his eyes out and politely tried getting him to go back to his seat. "Oh sorry Mario, but we have no available contestants for you to partner up with." Mario shook his head and pointed at him. "Mario can play with you TV guy!" Mr Puzzles quickly shot back "No way Mario! The host doesn't play the games and I would never be in a romantic relationship with you!"

"WELL I WOULD NEVER BE IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH BOOPKINS, BUT YOU'RE MAKING ME PLAY!"

"Shut up Bob! And Mario...GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT!" He then asked "Can Mario at least stay up here and watch?"

"NO!"

"Pretty please..."

"No!"

"Pretty please with spaghetti and meatballs on top..."

"Ugh. Fine. But only because we need to get the show started. However, you will not make a sound and you will not move from that spot over there!" He pointed to a far off corner that was almost off stage, but Mario didn't mind. "Yippee!" He hopped over to his spot and hummed to himself, head in hands, excitedly awaiting the first game. "Sorry for the delay folks. Let's get started with our first game."

Trivia Time!

"For this game, you must answer questions of different categories that are randomly selected each turn. The team with the most points wins!" Three moved his hand close to the buzzer, ready for the moment he got the answer. Bob also did the same and Tari looked nervously between their tension. Four had managed to calm down and his competitive spirit was ready to knock his components into the ground.

Mr Puzzles picks up a card from the Entertainment category (no surprise that was the first one) and stars reading "Question 1: In-"

"Oooo can Mario play! Mario is great at guessing games!" Mr Puzzles gave him a cold stare and said "AS I WAS SAYING, In the show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, what was the name of Rachel's colleague that worked at Bloomingdale's in Season 3." Bob and Three buzzed in at the same time when both answered at the same time.

"THE UGLY DUDE."

"Mark Robinson!"

Mr Puzzles made a wincing sound and said "Ohhhh sorry Bob. These answers must be clear and specific so Smg3 gets the point."

"CRAP!" Bob pouted while Three and Four pointed and laughed at him. "You can't beat the true F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan!" He made a flirty look at Four when saying that. Mr Puzzles took out a another card from a different category and said "Question 2: What is-" but was interuppted again when that annoying Italian voice whined "Cooommmeee onnnnn! Let Mario answer this question! He'll be quiettt ifff youuu doooo!"

Mr Puzzles was already ready to kick him out when he looked down at the question and said "Ohhh sureeee." Mario cheered and scooted in with Meggy and Tari. "Hello girls! You don't mind if Mario joins your team do you?" Tari gladly replied "Sure!" Meggy quickly stopped her and informed her teammate "Tari, he doesn't know any answers to these questions." Mario gave her an offended look. "Sure Mario does! Just watch!"

"Question 2: What is the square root of 9?"

Mario buzzed in with his nose and yelled "21!" A bzzt sound played as Mr Puzzles made a fake gasp and said "I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. -1 points for team Megari!" Luigi put a negative point on their score and made a gesture over to the girls that he was sorry. Mario stood up and said "WAT! That's bullcrap! Mario totally got the answer right! He has 1000000 IQ!" Meggy hissed "Mario...get down and go back to your seat."

"NO! The mean TV man is being unfair!" He launched towards Mr Puzzles and yelled "This game is rigged! Mario demands vengeance!" He took the rest of the cards and burned them down with a blowtorch. "HAH! Mario wins now! Hehehehehehehe!" He smugly went back to sitting at the corner and was contempt on seeing how Mr Puzzles would hold up the show now. Mr Puzzles got up and saw the cards were now burnt to ash and he started nervously sweating. "N-Not t-to worry audience. I-I always have some spare cards." He took out a piece of paper and scribbly wrote down a question.

"Now this last one should be easy. What is the weather like today?" Tari instantly knew the answer and buzzed in. "I know! It's-" Mr Puzzles quickly turned to the boys and declared "That's right Smg4! It's sunny! Smg4 wins the game!"

"B-But I didn't-"

"NEXT GAME!"

Outstanding Obstacles

Mr Puzzles teleported them all to an insane obstacle course with hoops, pits, and beams. "In order to beat this game, both opponents must safely cross to the other side that is marked with the handy flag." He pointed way across where a tiny checkered flag was waiting in the safe zone. "We have to cross that!?" Tari cried out in fear. A little thing Mr Puzzles forgot to mention was that there was fire, swinging weapons, and many other deadly traps sprinkled along the way. Bob didn't care. He ran towards it, singing "GIVE ME THE MONEY!" and flung himself straight into the middle, where he was pierced by arrows and got a sword stuck in his head. He evaporated as an X appeared on screen and the announcer yelled "DEAD."

Mr Puzzles laughed and said "Oopsie! Looks like Bob is eliminated from the rest of the show! Sorry Boopkins, but you can't play without a teammate so you're disqualified too." He snapped his fingers when Boopkins was right in the middle of a sentence. "Wait...what-" He began evaporating as well as he screamed himself out of existence. "Now for our two remaining teams, good luck!" Meggy and Three lined up against each other, both wanting to prove their athletic skills. Four and Tari were nervous from all the deadly contraptions. When the horn went off, Three and Meggy ran lighting fast through the course while Four and Tari barely ducked out of the way of swinging maces.

"Ooooo can Mario join in!" Mr Puzzles angrily turned around and yelled "NO! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Mario grumpily crossed his arms, but then got an idea. When Mr Puzzles wasn't looking, he tiptoed past him into the obstacle course.

Tari carefully jumped over a pit when she saw a bazooka firing straight at Four. "Look out!" Four turned and saw the missile hurdling towards him as he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. Instead the missile just stopped, crying "Ohhhhh nooooo!" and poofed. That was strange. He saw Three and Meggy leaving without them and cried "Oi! You guys know that if we die, you lose right?" Both of them stopped, realizing he had a point.

Tari was dangling over a pit of fire. "I'm coming Tari!" Meggy yelled as she ran over to help her up. "Are you okay?" Tari breathed heavily as Meggy pulled her in for a hug of comfort. "Don't worry. You're safe now." Three saw his chance to go, but saw Four trembling as the weapons were coming by the bucket full. He groaned and went back to grab him. The slight hand touch made him flinch as he stuttered "S-Sorry...did you get hurt?"

"No. I'm okay. Thanks for coming back for me."

Mr Puzzles was sitting back in a chair, munching on popcorn and watching through binoculars. It seemed like the show was going really well with emotion, drama, and suspense, except one contestant didn't belong. "MARIO!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE!" He was running past the two teams, flashing the loser sign at Mr Puzzles when he saw the flag in sight. "YIPPEE! Mario is gonna win!" Mr Puzzles quickly snapped his fingers when he saw Mario was only a few feet from the finish.

He reached his hand out to grab the flag when the floor fell out from over him and he evaporated back to his seat in the corner. The rest of the contestants fell through the floor, but luckily Smg4 was the closest to the finish line. "Wonderful! Smg4 has done it again! Add some more points on the board Luigi!" Four hazily holds his head as he says "I think my brain just committed SUICIDE." The green Italian happily nodded as he added more points to their score, but Mario stole the marker for him and gave himself infinite points.

"HAHA! Mario wins the game now!" Mr Puzzles stole the marker back and yelled "MARIO DOES NOT WIN THE GAME! SMG4 IS SUPPOSED TO WIN! YOU WEREN'T EVEN A CONTESTANT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Mario points a finger in his face and says "So you admit it! These games are rigged! Bad TV man is a stinky cheater!" Mr Puzzles looks over and sees that the crowd was starting to boo him. "No no no no! I'm not cheating!" He clenches his fists and storms over to Mario. "I am finishing this show and nobody is going to stop me! Not you! Not anyone!" He takes some chains and locks and tied them around Mario, kicking him into the corner.

"FINAL GAME!"

Truth or Dare

"To play this game, all you have to do is give an honest answer to any question that an audience member asks or whatever they dare you to do. IS THAT ALRIGHT WITH EVERYBODY!" He creaks his head over to Mario and narrows his eyes at him. The Italian looked at him with a glazed look in his eyes. "Okay great! Who would like to ask the first question?" One guy in the back immediately raises his hand. "Yes. What is your question?"

"I dare Smg3 and Smg4 to recreate the 6:50 minute of snow trapped!"

Both boys immediately tense up and their faces become red and hot. "Uhhh...." Mr Puzzles doesn't pay attention to their awkwardness as he claps his hands and a igloo drops down. "Well you heard the audience. Climb in and do your thing!" Four and Three don't say a word, but they slowly begin backing up. Mr Puzzles stops them and throws them in, blocking the entrance with snow. "See you later~"

"Now then, do we have any questions for the girls!" Another audience member raises his hand and asks "What is Meggy and Tari's favorite bonding activity?" Before the girls can answer, them and Mr Puzzles hear a suspicious thud. It starts to speed up as Mr Puzzles swivels his head around to find Mario humping the igloo. "Come on! Come on! Mario wants to see the gays making out! Commmeee onnnnnn!" Mr Puzzles anger goes through the roof as his body turns a bright red and his TV box begins to fume.

"THAT'S IT! MARIO IS DISQUALIFIED!" He slaps Mario so hard that the igloo and Three come with him, the three of them crashing into Meggy and Tari. Mr Puzzles stands in shock for a few seconds and says "Well it took some time, but we finally have a winner! Smg4 wins the sPeCiAl pRiZe!" He grabs Four and tells him "Now let's go see what it is!" He used a remote to open a hole in the wall and begins pushing Four towards it.

The rest of them just sat there flabbergasted. "He didn't really win did he Luigi?" Three asked. Luigi stood there, staring at a broken board and shrugged. "I guess...he did?" Mario instantly recovered and saw the two heading into the prize room. "Oh boy! Oh boy! Mario wants to go see the prize!" He sneaks into the secret compartment, unknown to Mr Puzzles.

He excitedly awaited the grand prize, expecting it to be a never-ending spaghetti maker or something. Instead he was met with a dark room that was completely empty. Well...not exactly. Mr Puzzles led Four up to a scary looking machine. "Is...is this the prize?" Four nervously asked. "It sure is! And it's all yours!" He flipped a switch and two giant claws grabbed onto Smg4's arms. "Hey! What the-" They dragged him up as Mr Puzzles snickered.

This wasn't at all what Mario expected. He tried to run back out the door, but it closed on him. Mr Puzzles said in a cold tone "You see, I had to make you win somehow. I needed you."

"W-Why do you n-need me?"

"Oh, for something far important. From now on, you will serve me as my partner."

"WHAT!?"

"Thank you Smg4 for everything."

That was the last thing he said before he pressed a button and a wave of electricity shocked through his body. "AHHHHHHH!!! STOP IT!" Mario couldn't do anything, but watch as his best friend was tortured by Mr Puzzles. His relentless screaming. The increasingly inflicted amounts of pain. What...What exactly did Mr Puzzles want with Smg4? Why was he trying to capture him all this time?

"STOP IT PLEASE! Ş̶̨̤̫̞͖̃̔͒̃̎̓̍̅͛͆͠T̴̳̞̭̘̥́Ò̸̠͔̮̹̯͇̻͈̯̼̲̈̃́͋͛͗̄̎̕͜P̵̮̰̫͎̱̈́́͊ ̸̭̻̼͕͍̱̳̝͌͋͗̔̔́̈́̇̃̓̓̑͜͝I̶͈̹͚̫̭̞̙͕̞͑̇͐̇̌̀̓͗̆T̴̡̢̜̣̞̩̼̞͎̲̬͖̖͛̈́̓̾ͅ ̸̨̬͈͓̞̝̳̼͚̓̇͝S̷̨̰̰̮̝̯̺͔̭͕͉̐́͒̒̉̓̿͜͝Ť̷̳̞̰̇̎̆̀͋͐̏́͛̎̽̈̓͝Ȍ̴̧͓̭͑̐͜P̵͙̳̔̃̌ ̸̧̱̦͙̬̗̝̗̞̲̗̳̮̘̋́͂̈́̋̐͊͐̈́̆̈́͂͑͘͝Ḯ̴̧̧͈̮͓̫͎̙̼͔̖̪̇̑͘͜T̴̮̟̜͍͎̮̜̗͉̽̐̎̔̌͂̂̃̚ ̴̳͈̻̤͖̲̫̝̘̗̫̘̜̫͌̒͐̈́̓͗́̀̋͊̌͝S̷̢̬̜̤̝͈͔̪͙͔̫͈͗̈́͂͒̎ͅT̶̛͉̯̾̓̀͜Ǫ̶̜̔̿̃̍͝P̸̨̫̭̱̲̮̞͍̳̺̑͜ ̷̢̃̑̄͐̓͊̎̊I̶̧͍̲̍͋͘T̷͕̭͚͇͖̲̝͖̬̪̩̦̿͐̀̇͋̎̀ ̸̨̳͙̥͚̝̼͓͕̘̻̰̗͛̈́̓͛͗̀͝͝S̷̡̛͙͙̻͚͖̞̮͎͉̓͆̉͂̉͂̅͜T̴͚̮̝͉̲̿̑̾͋͒̇̆͘͠Ơ̴̢͔̩̜͖̫̲̬̬̪̼͂̍̈́͂̅̈́̐̔̕P̴̺̰̪̣̩͉̘͎͈̬͍̭̯̤͐̇̏̈́̋̓̈́̈́͗̄̀̓͝ ̸̢̢̜̳̟̫̥̖̱̭̜͇̩̐̒͐̄̉̿̍͆̊͗̏̉̈́̚ͅͅI̷̛̥͉̤̰͎̩̔́̅̅͋́́̍ͅT̸̥̮̯̫̙̪̝̯̟̭̻͚͇̈́̅̉̓̓̃͌̂̄͊̈́̑̑̇!̶̭̣͇̤̮̘͉͙͌̊̇͊̽̾̈́̍̀͐͋͑͝͝"

E̵n̸d̶ ̷o̶f̸ ̴S̴i̴m̶u̶l̵a̸t̴i̶o̸n̸.̸

W̵h̶a̷t̵ ̷d̸i̶d̸ ̶y̶o̶u̷ ̶t̶h̵i̶n̴k̶ ̷o̶f̸ ̷T̸o̸d̸a̴y̶'̴s̸ ̷E̸p̷i̵s̵o̴d̴e̶?̷

Chapter 13: PuzzleVision's Grand Finale

[bonefall]

If you flip the spade upside down and put it on Gorseclaw’s neck, it could kind of look like a tie

Hello anon with the most convenient ask in my inbox, you have been selected to receive a FLOOD OF SKETCHES

I had only drawn Gorseclaw and Ripplestar before, and I'm about to do a redesign of Larkstripe so that she has the "hearts" motif that her son gets. I did a bunch of sketches just to try and figure stuff out so, messy post

Glossary:

Ripplestar

Gorseclaw and Spottedpelt

Larkstripe

Birdflight, Marshscar

After I post this I'm gonna jump back into Clip to play with Cloudstar next

RIPPLESTAR

[ID: A sketch of BB!Ripplestar. The text points out his major features and reads, "Heterochromia: Amber + Brown." Smooth scruff, with an arrow that points out the shape. Ginger on 1 side. Deer-eared. 3 layers with an arrow that points out the three stacks of fur on his chest. Wooly, kinda like a half-shorn sheep.]

I've actually drawn Ripplestar a lot in the margins of my notes and such, so this design's pretty solid.

I change the side the hearts are on, plus the number of hearts, literally every single time I've ever drawn him lmao. It dozen madder.

What DOES matter though is that there's a HEART over his BRIGHTER eye. I use it as a bit of a visual metaphor, if he's trying to size you up or negotiate with you, he keeps you in the bright eye. When he trusts you or becomes comfortable with you in some way, he turns the brown eye on you.

So in most scenes where he's not talking to family I imagine he's not fully looking at his conversational partner. Especially on the Highrock as leader of ShadowClan, because the layout makes the leaders sit side-by-side. Might as well play with that simple logistic fact, y'know?

He does this because I imagine this marking kind of intimidates people. It's like the ginger of his eye socket has set his iris ablaze with fire, while the other is as cold as rain-soaked peat.

The ear on the "colorful" side is also orange. All of his orange is on one side, except for his tail-tip.

He's actually distantly related to Nightcloud-- his Honor Sire (who was known but not involved) went on to have a mate. So he's the half-brother of one of her ancestors, and Nightcloud has inherited this thick, wooly fur texture.

Again, I draw him a lot so this was the easiest one. I didn't have to decide anything besides that I made his nose into a cute lil carebear heart.

The drawing I did for this synopsis of Ripplestar's Rot was actually the first time I drew him, for comparison! It's fun to see what's been streamlined.

GORSECLAW AND SPOTTEDPELT

FIRST sketches didn't feel right.

[ID: BB!Gorseclaw and BB!Spottedpelt. They have long, curly tails, long claws, and bell-shaped heads. Gorseclaw has a sharp 'tie' on his chest, and Spottedpelt has a heart]

I feel like Gorseclaw's spades look too much like diamonds in this one, but I was really going for a tie.

I've been giving him those sideburns for months, so, they don't really fit the "shape theory" but I'm having a hard time removing them lmao.

And this is the first time I drew Spots which is a shame. I love a bad bitch.

If you look at my designs, you can notice that I have a few traits that cats from each Clan "tend" to have. They're all pretty genetically similar actually and there's a lot of crossings between the groups, secret or otherwise, but some traits just get selected for more than others, and StarClan is likely to toss them into kits. SkyClan has saggy skin (like a bear) and really bendy tails.

Don't think it's come through well here, though. In future drafts I'm going to try and make them saggier.

(Why? It actually helps them against insect stings and impact damage, like falling from trees and being hit by branches)

Then I went on to draft 2,

[ID: Second draft of the characters above. Spottedpelt is fatter, with "dapples" on her back which are actually spades, and a distinctive spade-shaped mask. The ears of both siblings are now spade-shaped, and Gorseclaw's tie is different, along with Spottedpelt's heart with is now more of a medal.]

I like Spottedpelt a LOT more in this draft. That's probably going to be close to the final design I do, I'm really vibing with the dapple-spades.

I DON'T like Gorseclaw in this one though, the face shape reminds me waaay too much of Dustpelt's familial face-plate. Absolutely going to revise that, probably making it more mask-like akin to Spots'.

Also very proud of myself for the spade-shaped ears.

Hate Gorse's tie here though, that's not a tie that is a stinkhorn mushroom.

But Spots' medal is excellent. Absolutely keeping that. She is a distinguished little war crime kitty

Still not fat and saggy enough. Coming back to this. I need to learn how to draw a primordial pouch.

LARKSTRIPE

I'm trying to redesign her and I'm losing :/

[ID: BB!Larkstripe. She's a very plain cat with a string of hearts from her eye down to her leg, with a heart-shaped nose, cutie marks, and a heart-shaped tail tip]

This was the FIRST first draft of the redesign and that heart chain is underwhelming.

It felt like too much of a downgrade from the diamond-pattern Larkstripe I did, and I'm worried that maybe it's because diamonds just look so much nicer in a "chain"

I feel like I see too many perfect hearts on chests in WC designs, so when I do them, I try to do something weird with them like what I did to Heartstar

So I turned hers into a little fur tuft splash. I like the idea tbh, I might repurpose it for another design.

[ID: A version of the above sketch with bigger hearts on the chain and a single heart on the flank, followed by another sketch attempting to make the stripe more "blobbish"]

I'm beginning to think that maybe I don't like the sketches because Larkstripe is sad :( I like when I can draw her angry, before the strikebreaking broke her

And unfortunately she is the absolute most tragic character in BB. They took the fight out of her. I figure it would be symbolically fitting for the heart shape on her chest to "break" after Dalestar's decree.

For those asking questions, no, she never joins Skypelt. She is convinced she did the wrong thing and ended up unleashing an era of suffering on the Clans by having Ripplestar follow in her footsteps, though she had no control over him.

She's a character who would offer her life as an example during trials involving the Cleric's Vow, especially since I've gutted Moth Flight in BB. She argues about how important it is to avoid birthing cats who will claim their conquest is holy in the name of their parents.

She would also have something to say to Mudfur, admonishing him for breaking his Vow so openly, even saying that he's responsible for Leopardstar and all of her choices.

Basically, Larkstripe is beaten. She is a very tired, shameful spirit who repeats exactly what Silverpelt told her, during her own trial. She's so grateful to be here that she acts with devotion towards it.

Hurt people hurt people and all

But anyway, I still feel like it's a bit of a downgrade from the older design for Larkstripe, so I'm probably going to keep playing with it.

BIRDFLIGHT AND MARSHSCAR

[ID: BB!Birdflight. She's a tabby with the spades motif, long bases stretching up into hears on her shoulder, side, and flank.]

I want her to look old and tired. She's got that Leafpoolyness about her.

She's technically the very first member of the Tigerkin family, and has those characteristic long-claws.

I imagine in Clanmew her name is actually Yassgafba, "Raptor preparing to take flight." I have this really sad mental image of a majestic hawk that keeps spreading its wings, as if to take off and fly away, but never does.

Fitting, because she waited her whole life for Cloudstar to send word they'd found a new home, to come and fetch her and their children, but never did.

While I'm at the trivia, yes, Ripplestar and her were very close. Larkstripe argues in StarClan that Ripplestar started his war because of her, but it's not true. It was Birdflight who made him believe that Cloudstar would never abandon his family; if they hadn't heard from him, something was very wrong.

She died before he became leader, probably of a sickness outbreak. She likely didn't take the journey because she's immunocompromised in some way, plus the two newborns.

She was given a place in StarClan, but I'm not sure if she followed Ripplestar and Birdflight into the Dark Forest. She DID vote to accept them though.

I think she's practical about this. Leave for the Dark Forest, and you loose your voting power in StarClan.

She sees that there are very few SkyClan ancestors left here, hears Skystar scoff that the others are fools for leaving, that if more had remained then the rebels would not have been damned... and understands the value in his words.

If there's any reason for the Tigerkin Curse (which I hadn't really been working with until now, tbh, I just chalked it up to Bad Mojo on the night of Ripplestar's last stand), it's probably related to Birdflight in some way. Which is why no one knows what's causing it.

I don't know why, yet, though. Maybe it's an accident on her part. She could be crafting their litters, but every time she finishes a set, she can't help but cry about how much the fresh souls remind her of the newborns that stopped her from joining her mate, and her kits in the Dark Forest.

It's probably why the PROPER curse might stop abruptly after SkyClan's return. She joins Skypelt as soon as it's an option.

[ID: BB!Marshscar. He's a scrawny, battle-scarred old tabby with a diamond motif.]

He doesn't have any markings in-canon so I tried to just make all of his scars diamond-shaped. I don't think it works, I'm going to give him some markings.

I like the ears though, that's staying. I might also borrow from the old Larkstripe design, give him those funky diamond-spikes on his chest.

I have barely talked about him, but he is actually very important to Ripplestar. They've been mates since they were young warriors.

I kinda want to make it so that Spottedpelt was Ripplestar's deputy before being killed that night, but it was always implicit that if something happened to them, Marshscar was next in charge.

This drawing is definitely when he's older and more worn-out, he lives a long life without Ripplestar, ruling ShadowClan reluctantly, half-heartedly doing the bare minimum.

It's a downer story, and I think it really fits the theme here that Clan Culture is about to get a whole lot worse before it gets better... but still I love the fact that Ripplestar's Rot just ends with the entire cast like

[ID: Spongebob sits at a diner with his hands folded, frowning slightly, disquieted and deep in thought]

Like there really isn't a happy camper in this one lmao. Nobody wins. Alexa play 'That's Not How The Story Goes'

[kouchabu-archive]

Koisuru Scramble - Chapter 2

Writer: Nishioka Maiko Translation by: Sophie // Proofread by: Mirei

NOTE: I EXPLICITLY PROHIBIT USAGE OF ANY PART OF MY TRANSLATIONS ON ANYTHING THAT RELATES TO AI.

This story is fully voiced in-game! You should read while listening to it~

Episode 8: After School Rumble!

< A lot of things have happened since then but… one day amidst their normal everyday life— >

Hajime: (Let’s see… Which one of these should I pick…)

(Don’t think of this as just a measly seat change! My beloved comfortable school life lies on this blind draw! Of course I’ll be fired up!)

Airi: He~y. Earth to Hajime~ There are still people waiting behind you, you know? You’re taking this wa~y too seriously.

Hajime: Ah, sorry sorry~ I just don’t know which ones will have good or bad placements, so I'm just at a loss on which one I should pick.

Airi: Well, I feel you~ I wish I’ll get a seat at the very back near the window. Perfect spot for an aftie nap!

Hajime: Aftie nap? Hold up, you’re not planning to live off my notes right before exams again, are you?

Airi: Teehee~ ☆

Hajime: Don’t give me that~ Take your notes properly at least, please.

Airi: Yes ma’am~ But anyway. Go, go! Just pick one already.

Hajime: I can sense an ominous result… Well, whatever.

Hm… Okay, let’s do this one!

Let’s see. Seat number 14…

Number 14… Number 14… Ah, it should be this one. Right beside me is…

Miki: ……

Hajime: (K-Kurose-kun?! Are you kidding me?! Why did I pick a seat beside him, of all places?! What to do… he looks like he’s in a really bad mood. This is awkward…)

……... [ Her gaze is darting all over the place. ]

Miki: ……...

Hajime: (Oh God. Our eyes just met.)

Miki: …… (Glares.)

Hajime: (Eeeek–?! H-He’s so scary! Do you really have to glare at me like that?!)

Miki: What? Quit staring.

Hajime: S-Sorry…

(Ugh. Do I really have to be seatmates with him, of all people?)

(I bumped into him twice the other day because I was so clumsy. I'm sure it left a bad impression on him. And I’m pretty sure he hates me.)

(But now that I remember it, I wasn’t able to properly apologize to him for that, right?)

(Being beside him is the perfect chance to do just that. I wonder if me being seatmates with him is some sort of divine help from God…)

Mm. Okay, let’s do this.

U-Um, Kurose-kun!

Miki: …What?

Hajime: (visibly flinches)

(No, no. Don’t be a coward, self!)

The other day, I… I was so clumsy that I ended up bumping into you twice, so I’m sorry for that. And well, I wasn’t able to properly apologize for that so it always bothered me…

…T-That’s all.

Miki: ……

Hajime: (I’m so ready to be told off but… this silence is so unnerving…)

Miki: Don’t mention it. I mean, I have my own share of carelessness too, so, my bad, I guess...

Hajime: Huh…?

(Um… Did I hear that right? Is he really apologizing..?)

Miki: …You didn't get hurt after that, right?

Hajime: (Uh… I’m not sure I follow but… did he really notice me?)

Nope! I’m all fine and dandy! I’m not that fragile.

Miki: Hm. Then that’s good.

Hajime: ...Hehe~

Hajime: (I thought Kurose-kun is a scary guy but… maybe he’s actually kinder than what he shows.)

-----

[ School bell rings. ]

Airi: Hajime~ Let’s go home together—

Oh, hold on. Why do you still have your notebook and pen case with you? Not going home yet?

Hajime: Ah, sorry. I’m gonna hit the library today so you can go ahead first.

Airi: Library?

Hajime: Yup. I thought I should get my part in the group work done and over with. It’s hard to do it without references, so I have to stop by there.

Airi: Oh, that thing~ I’m in charge of compiling everything in place, so I can't really do my part if everyone won't be there.

Welp, guess I should leave you to it. I’ll go ahead now~ Bye bye~

Hajime: Mhm. Bye bye!

-----

— And, there we go. That should be enough references.

Okay, let’s get this over with~

(Flipping through the material.)

(I wonder if this layout makes it more pleasing to the eyes… Or maybe this one?)

Hm…

Eiki: I think this one is better.

Hajime: Eh?

Eiki: ……... ♪

Hajime: N-Nakaouji-kun!

Eiki: Shh. We’re in the library. Look, the librarian is shooting us daggers.

Hajime: Ah, I’m sorry…

(whispering) And um, what brings you here?

Eiki: I saw you deep in your thoughts and contemplating quite hard, so I thought you’re stuck in making some sort of decision. Was I wrong?

Hajime: Well, um, you got that right, but… what I meant is what are you doing here?

Eiki: Oh. I was doing my own research for something when I saw you, Koino-san. And then I just thought I’d make myself comfortable and sit beside you.

I know I should’ve asked this before I just sat down, but… do you mind if I join you?

Hajime: .........

(Wait, wait, hold on! Be still, my heart!)

Eiki: Is that a no?

Hajime: Oh no! N-Not at all!

(But oh God I don’t think my heart is ready for this! The right side of my body feels completely frozen with him right beside it!)

Eiki: I’m glad to hear that. Well, I’ll continue making myself comfortable.

Oh? Your group picked this particular era to talk about? This seems like one of the eras that didn’t have that many major events, isn’t it?

Hajime: Is that right? Well, it was a unanimous decision between all of us, so I haven’t given much thought about it. But now, I’m realizing that I don’t know a thing about this era at all, so I’m kinda regretting just going with everyone’s flow.

I think we’re the only ones who chose something like this. I’m pretty sure the others picked more popular eras out there.

Eiki: Come to think of it, Miki said something about discussing the announcement of Edo’s end.

Hajime: Miki..? Are you referring to Kurose-kun? You guys are close?

Eiki: Yes. Well, we’ve been neighbors since we were children. I guess it’s more appropriate to call it being basically just stuck with each other because of that very fact. Ah, you spelled that one wrong.

Hajime: Oh, you’re right. Thanks for pointing that out. I see, so you guys are like that. It must be nice to have a childhood friend~ I wish I had something like that too~

How about you? Which era did you guys pick?

Eiki: We’ve chosen the Sengoku period. For some reason, the samurai freaks have gathered in our group. They’re all raring to map out the old Japan during wartime.

Hajime: Ahaha. Oh gosh, what’s up with that? But hey, it sounds really exciting.

Eiki: Doesn’t it? Even I am starting to look forward to it.

Hajime: Um…

Eiki: Hm?

Hajime: If it’s okay, can I ask for more of your advice on whether my work makes sense or not? Ah, but it’s okay if you can’t! I don’t mind!

Eiki: Fufu. You really didn’t have to be so formal about that. But to answer your question: sure, if you’ll have me.

Hajime: Thank you.

-----

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter // Translation Masterlist

[rocketbirdie]

A New School Hunter's Guide to Old School Monster Hunter: What to Expect

World and Rise have come and gone. These are the games that introduced you to Monster Hunter. But now that you've completed every goal you set out to achieve, there's a big 2025 sized hole in your hunting heart where Wilds may one day be. "In the meantime, why not catch up on the old MH games?" you think to yourself, blissfully unaware of the hell that you are about to subject yourself to.

Below the cut is a SUPER LONG and very dramatic post, intended for new-ish Monster Hunter players who are bored of being good at the game, and want to remember what AGONY feels like— but would rather not jump in 100% blind like I did, doomed to hilarious suffering.

Note: This post mainly refers to MHGU, but much of it applies to older MH games as well. I came from Rise, and have not played World. If I made any incorrect assumptions about games I haven't played, apologies in advance. Let me know if I made any glaring mistakes.

Also, feel free to reblog and add any more info that I missed! I am but one mortal hunter, after all.

Table of Contents, because I wasn't kidding when I said this is a super long post:

Preparing for a Quest

GATHERING TAKES FOREVER

Paintballs, and other things that aren't in the newer games for a very good reason

When the monster attacks you

When you attack the monster

Armor Skills (AAAAAAA!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!! AAAAAAAHHAGHHAAHGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!)

The Desire Sensor (You Will Grind.)

No but really, you'd better have ~30 minutes set aside if you're planning on reading this whole thing in one sitting. Enjoy!

1. Preparing for a Quest

Many of the conveniences of the modern quest hub layout are nowhere to be found in old school MH games. Sure, you've got an overpriced shop, a smithy, and a quest handler all in one spot. And if you're lucky, maybe even a place to eat before the hunt. But if you want to change your equipment, save the game, or entrust your cat with an overseas trade deal, you'll likely have to do it somewhere else. And that means loading screens.

I'm telling you now, get used to the loading screens. Make sure you know what you want to do and where you need to do it, before you sit there and wait. Our spoiled Gen 5 asses are so accustomed to seamless transitions; the load times are not unreasonable, but the sheer number of interruptions will make you feel like a rabid animal gnawing at the bars of a wire cage. You'll get used to it. <- That's a phrase you're going to see a LOT in this post.

Go to your house to pick out your weapon and armor, and feast your eyes upon the horror: all of the equipment is haphazardly thrown into one box. There are no separate storage spaces for individual weapon types, meaning your sweet precious baby angel, the hammer, has to share menu real estate with the fucking light bowgun (UGH).

You cannot sort armor by head, chest, arms, etc. Want to see how your armor skills are looking? Close the box. Open the start menu. Navigate to "status," then flip through a page or two of normal, healthy stats. Find the armor skills page. Black out for a split second. Feel your heart rate spike, then immediately close out the armor skills, and decide that it's not important right now, and that you'll figure it out later.

Get your items in order. Set an item loadout if you can. Money is tight, and that won't be changing any time soon, so keep an eye on your zenny while you're shopping and smithing. Excess bones and ore are a decent source of cash if you're desperate.

I know I probably don't have to say it, but EAT! Eat something before the hunt! It increases your health and stamina bar and may grant you temporary skills. Some skills are exclusive to food, and can't be acquired via armor or decorations, so try out as many foods as you can. You'll be able to make more dishes using ingredients that you obtain as side quest rewards.

Before you set out on your quest, make absolutely certain that you have everything you might need. This is EXTREMELY important. The main camp is pretty much just there for show. (And for delivering eggs, but that's beside the point.) You cannot change your equipment or refill your items AT ALL once you're out there. If you forgot to eat, too bad, sucks to be you. And whatever weapon you bring is the only one you'll be using for that entire quest.

Alright, time to hunt! Talk to the quest handler, no, not that npc, no, that's not her either- ahem. Talk to the quest handler, aaaand yippee. 1 Star is all gathering quests. Well, at least they'll go by quickly!

2. GATHERING TAKES FOREVER

The first thing you'll notice on your first gathering quest in old school MH is that you slowly. Gather. One. Item. At a time. Maybe two if you're really striking it rich. Please for the love of all that is good, hold down the gathering button. Save yourself some time. Don't be an idiot like I was for more hours than I'm willing to admit.

YOU NEED TO GATHER. You need to gather so much, all the time, constantly. If you're not actively in combat, you should be gathering. If you're not gathering, then you should be moving to another gathering spot in order to gather more stuff. Bring a gathering palico. Hell, bring two. They are The Best type of palico, it doesn't even come close. There is no moment when you should not gather.

I can't stress this enough. Old school MH games will not just shower you with free items. Quest rewards are often pitiful, and it's safe to assume that the trader won't have what you need. Yes, gathering is slow and boring. But that's exactly why you need to weave it into every beat of downtime that the game gives you. GATHER, always. You'll thank yourself later.

You will need pickaxes to mine, and bug nets to catch bugs. These take up precious inventory space, but are well worth bringing to regular locales. If you want to fish and actually obtain something worthwhile (PLESIOTH), then you'll need to craft bait or bring some with you. And if the crafting recipes aren't listed anywhere in game, then gog help you.

There is a chance that crafting will just... not work. It'll consume the materials but spit out garbage instead of what you wanted to make. The odds of this happening can be mitigated by bringing a crafting book with you on your quest, which you can buy from a shop. But that book will take up space in your already miserably small inventory, assuming you brought sensible things along too, like potions. And a map.

Unless you have the locale memorized, you won't know where you are without the map item. In Low Rank, a map is courteously provided in the main camp's rations box, along with some field meds and food. (Don't get used to this kind of generosity. It'll be gone in High Rank and beyond.) Now that you have a map, you'll be able to see where all of the gathering spots are.......... right? RIGHT?????

WRONG. If you want to know where the spots are, you'll have to find them and then dedicate some real-life human brain memory space for that info. In some games, the gathering spots are obvious, with a big question mark that pops up when you can interact with them. In older games... uh... ha. Haha...... yeah. Good luck.

On the bright side, at least the map is good for keeping yourself safe. Y'know, because of the titular monsters. You can see the monsters on the map......... right?

Okay I'm gonna cut straight to the chase.

3. Paintballs, and other things that aren't in the newer games for a very good reason

Craft a pretty pink paintball with a paintberry and a sap plant. Equip it in your item scroll bar, and press that sexy item use button to throw it at a monster. Voila! A pink dot appears on your map. This (and psychoserum) allows you to see the monster's location.

Get into the habit of bringing multiple paintballs with you on every quest. You will miss a few throws. Also, the effect wears off after a few minutes, meaning you'll have to find the monster and hit it with another paintball again in order to keep it on the map. Be mindful of flying wyverns, who are aggravatingly hard to follow without a paintball. That includes some unexpected honorable mentions, for example Mizutsune, Zinogre, and Rajang, who can just... fly to the opposite side of the map. Yeah, I know. Don't ask.

So Zinogre has just taken to the skies. Now's a great opportunity to sharpen your weapon! If you remembered whetstones, that is. They're not an infinite resource, and they're not just automatically in your inventory. You'll have to go out of your way to obtain them and bring them with you on your hunts.

Likewise, I mentioned earlier that you need pickaxes and bug nets for gathering their respective items. What I didn't tell you is that they too are a finite resource. Pickaxes and bug nets can and will break, and you'll have to buy or craft new ones. If you're planning on doing a lot of gathering, eat for skills that reduce the likelihood of your tools breaking. It makes a huge difference.

Pay attention to what locale the quest takes place in. Some locales are hot, like Dunes and... *shudders* Volcanic Hollow. Bring cool drinks with you to hot locales, or else you'll take passive heat damage. Trust me, you do not want to be on fire the whole time you're running away from (and whiffing your attacks on) Uragaan. Ask me how I know that.

Similarly, cold locales will ruin your stamina bar over time. Hot drinks protect you from this stamina drain. Some locales, like Desert, have both hot and cold areas. Which is annoying because the drinks cancel each other out. Keep this in mind.

Don't be lured into a false sense of comfort just because you didn't forget your cool drinks. Because once you get into High Rank, there's a pretty good chance that you won't spawn at the main camp when you start a quest. One day, you will spawn right into a pool of lava, directly in a monster's line of sight, with zero time to prepare. It's okay to be a total chicken and run away screaming. After all, it is a monster, and it will attack you.

4. When the monster attacks you

I almost guarantee that your first old school hunt will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Not bitter enough to make you instantly hate the game, but just enough to make you want to put the controller down and go outside and maybe even interact with other human beings, which is just as tragic.

Want to get some practice in with your weapon before the hunt? Well, too bad bucko, there's no training area. There may be a so-called "training quest," in which an npc barfs tutorial text onto your boots and then pits you against a real monster in an inescapable arena fight to the death, which is hilarious if you think about the in-game universe implications. Anyway. If you want to learn the in and outs of your weapon, then you'll have to do it the old fashioned way: get out there and get your ass kicked.

Great news! Getting your ass kicked is cheap, easy, and quick. Monsters' attacks will hit you like a cement truck packed with explosives speeding towards a steel wall. Even dumb little attacks like tail slaps and nibbles will take a CHUNK out of your health bar. Good thing you brought potions!

Terrible news! You are extremely vulnerable for several seconds while consuming healing items. Whether you like it or not, you will stand there in place, unable to move at all, glug, then flex your strong beautiful arms for the whole world to admire. And if the monster turns its attention towards you while you're doing this, there is nothing you can do but watch in despair as all of the health you just regained AND then some, gets torn away from you in an instant.

Don't wait until the fights get tough in order to prioritize learning monster's attack patterns. Even early on, only heal when you know for certain that it's safe to do so. Remember, it's okay to run away like a little wuss to put distance between yourself and the monster so you can use your items in peace. Hell, leave the area altogether if you have to. That being said, don't let the fight get too close to the edges of the area. Loading zones always get the last laugh.

Sooo.... hitboxes. They suck. They're bigger than they look, and they're present for longer than they should be. And some attacks have little to no tell or wind-up animation. Some monsters are just a vile conglomeration of both of these problems. (here's looking at you, Yian "You Mother Fucking Son of a Bitch" Garuga). Sigh... you'll get used to it.

If you came from Rise, getting knocked down by an attack will feel EXCRUCIATING. There is no fast way to fling yourself back onto your feet after taking a big hit. You will lie there, recoiling in pain, seething for way longer than you want— and you may even like it after a few hundred hours. Hang in there.

If a strong attack sends you flying into a wall, you'll very likely get stunned. Getting stunned is the single most dangerous thing that can happen, far worse than poison or waterblight or what have you. You can escape stun significantly faster by mashing buttons and wiggling the control stick. And I guess you could also bring the Stun Res skill, but... we'll, um, come back to that later.

WATCH OUT for pin attacks! You may very suddenly get snapped up and chewed apart like a dog toy, and it will be very bad for your health. That's why you should keep your pockets lined with literal shit. Chuck a dung bomb to escape a pin attack before the monster finishes ripping you to shreds. Dung bombs may also convince an unwanted monster to leave the area, which is great for when you'd rather not fight Gravios and Shogun Ceanataur at the same time. Which is all the time.

5. When you attack the monster

Your favorite weapon is not what you remember it being. Moves are missing, or mapped to completely different buttons. "How tf do I vault? Why won't my kinsect go where I want?? Stop shooting pheromone pellets!!!" whines the insect glaive main. "What do you mean there's no shoulder tackle?? How do I get to TCS faster????" cries the greatsword player. "Oh, ok, nothing's really changed," says the SnS main. It's a travesty, I tell you.

All of your movement is clunky. Attack timing is off. New school muscle memory is going to get you carted a lot. But hands down, the absolute most traumatizing thing is that there is no backwards dodge roll. You can dodge left, right, and forward, but never back. As a hunting horn main myself, I can assure you, this is a fate worse than hell. They say you never know love until you've loved and lost. You loved the backwards dodge roll, and soon, you'll know it.

And it gets even funnier if you play lance or gunlance— you can kiss your forward hop goodbye. Need to close the gap? Turn around, aim your squishy butt cheeks at the monster, and hop backwards towards it, expending absurd amounts of stamina in the process. Otherwise, walk slowly and threateningly towards it like the apex predator you are. Oh, and don't bother blocking attacks. It takes too much stamina, inflicts an abysmal knockback, and half of the time, you'll just get hit anyway. Guard and Guard Up are 100% necessary if you plan on using that shield. Good luck obtaining those skills, sucker.

The charge blade is somehow simultaneously more complicated and way easier to play than its modern iterations. The opposite is true of the switch axe, imo. Blunt weapons are stronger, but there's something a bit off about the way they feel. The longsword is the longsword. And as for the bowguns, I wouldn't be able to tell you, because I know better than that.

It doesn't matter what weapon you pick, because either way, you are going to develop a highly concerning dash juice dependency.

Take advantage of every tool the game provides. The usual stuff like barrel bombs, traps, and ballistae are indispensably helpful. But there are other familiar mechanics that are way more useful in old school MH than they are in newer games. That includes invading monsters (DEVILJHO!!), who will indiscriminately attack you AND the monster you're hunting, inadvertently aiding your hunt without you needing to wyvern ride or seek out a turf war. Jump off of ledges to rack up mounting damage in gen 4 games, which may reward you with a free knockdown (if you can mash fast enough)!

Monster's movements are janky, and this is in your favor. Get good at "head sniping" the monster as they turn around in 90 degree increments. Don't get greedy during small opportunities. Remember, monsters can go from t-posing, straight to crushing you to death, with zero wind-up animation.

There are no damage numbers when you land a hit. This may spoil the instant gratification factor of the game for a while. If you're a greatsword main, you will suffer from withdrawals due to Big Number Addiction. But over time you'll realize that it's actually fantastic, because now you're less obsessed with landing the super big awesome attack on the ultra weak spot for maximum damage. Instead, you'll find yourself savoring every little hit you manage to land. It'll be better for your cardiovascular health in the long run.

That's a good analogy for the entire new school to old school pipeline: it sucks A LOT for a long time, then gets really, really good later on once you get over the "Gen 5 stages of grief." Listen, you will have an abusive relationship with this game. It took me 80 HOURS before I could actually say with confidence that I liked MHGU more than I disliked it. Not that I loved it, but merely that I didn't hate it. 80 real life hours. That's... probably not good, but whatever.

There is one thing that I don't think I'll ever learn to love, though. And that's...

6. Armor Skills (AAAAAAA!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!! AAAAAAAHHAGHHAAHGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!)

Face it. You will never, ever, ever be as powerful as you are in World or Rise. You will not have your maxxed out attack and affinity boosting skills plus the comfy stuff like Flinch Free and Stun Res all at the same time. Not in Low Rank, not in High Rank, and not quite in G Rank either. Here's why.

Skills have tiers as usual. But now, they also have thresholds. For example, you want the skill Speed Eating +1, then you'll need 10 points in the Eating skill. If you're even one point short, then the skill will not activate. But Speed Eating +1 doesn't increase your potion glugging speed... if you want that to happen, then you'll need to add 5 more points, for a total of 15, to activate Speed Eating +2. This is true for every skill, and is way easier said than done.

Some skills will feel nerfed big time, like Handicraft. You'll almost never see purple sharpness without Handicraft +2. On the other hand, Crit Draw is a one tier skill that gives you a flat 100% affinity boost on every draw attack. Which is absolutely busted.

Wearing a single piece of armor will provide a few points towards a given skill. If the armor has slots, then you can slot in decorations to increase the points as well. Slot "sizes" are weird and inconsistent, and the decos themselves typically only add 1 or 2 points per skill. Considering the fact that the average skill takes 10 points to activate, and the average full armor set has maaaybe around 7 slots to work with, decos are not going to be your primary source of skill activation.

Now for another problem. Let's say you want an armor set that has just three skills: Status Attack +1, Constitution +1, and Stun Res +1. Pretty modest, right? Should be easy enough. Well would you look at that, High Rank Nerscylla's armor set gets you the first two, and because Stun Res decos are worth 2 points each, you can just slot the last skill in! Nerscylla's set has 5 slots, which is the exact number you need to get those 10 points in Stun Res.

Great! So you do just that. Except when you check your skill points, you discover that Stun Res has a whopping zero points.

Yeah, so... negative skills are a thing. Nerscylla's armor comes with -10 points in Stun Res, activating the "skill" Double Stun. Which as the name suggests, doubles the amount of time that you stay stunned, and I don't think I have to explain why that's bad. -10 plus 10 is zero. So much for that Halve Stun you wanted so bad.

Not all skills have equivalent negative skills, but many armor pieces and most decos will have negative points. The challenge of set building comes from having to carefully balance and calculate your skill points, to make sure you're not accidentally charging into battle against Agnaktor while at -20 Fire Res. It can be frustrating if you're like me, and you've got swiss cheese for brains and can't handle the math. Fear not, I've got something amazing for you.

Allow me to introduce you to your new favorite website, Kiranico. This website hosts Monster Hunter databases containing literally everything that the games don't tell you, or do really half-ass job of telling you. That includes weapon upgrades, material drop rates, monster hitzones and health pools, and most importantly, armor sets and their respective skills. Being able to view all of this info all in one place makes it SO much easier to theorycraft new equipment sets.

Kiranico will save you from so much grief. Bookmark it and cherish it like your firstborn child.

Alas, no amount of Kiranico homework will make it easier to obtain the materials you want. The Desire Sensor is real, and it demands sacrifice.

7. The Desire Sensor (You Will Grind.)

It's commonly said that the game can sense exactly what you're grinding for, and will go to un-fucking-believable odds to avoid giving you that which you need most. This is the alleged "Desire Sensor."

Now, don't get me wrong, the newer games have moments like this, too. Don't even get me started about the 46 tries that it took me to get ONE Golden Almudron Orb, out of the TWO that I needed in Rise.

But until you get better gear, a single old school monster could take you 15+ minutes. Especially if you're on your own. Monster's health pools are not well scaled for solo players, so chances are, hunts are going to take way longer than usual if you don't resign yourself to getting tripped by a cheater with a longsword. Couple this with some god awful drop rates plus the disheartening quest rewards, and you're in for a loooooooong grind.

I would say you'll get used to it, but honestly, you won't. You'll get sick of it. You'll be shaking Kiranico by the metaphorical shoulders, desperate for any little thing that might speed up the grind. You might even be tempted to pick up a bowgun. Such a lapse in sanity is frightening, but it will pass. Stay strong.

Take breaks from the grind every now and then, or at least have two different grinds that you can switch back and forth between when you get exhausted of one. Since there is no escaping the Desire Sensor, this is unfortunately the only advice I can offer.

Disclaimer: the Desire Sensor is, as far as I'm aware, not a real mechanic programmed into the games. But godDAMN if it doesn't feel real. As anecdotal evidence, here's a small sample of my own suffering. Materials I wanted, the amount of them I wanted, their drop rates, and the sheer number of attempts it took to complete my goal (yes, I kept count.):

Lightning Sac x8 (G Rank Khezu): 15% chance to carve. 18% chance as quest reward. 27% chance as part break reward. HUNTS: 22

Paddock Cream x1 (G Rank Tetsucabra/Zamtrios): 40% chance to obtain two as subquest reward. 25% shiny drop. 25% chance as capture reward. 14% chance as quest reward. HUNTS: 8. I mean, what the fuck.

Monster Broth x5 (High Rank Insectoid Small Monster): 20% chance to carve. 20% shiny drop. SLAIN: >70

Viscous Radiant Mucus x17 (G Rank Nakarkos) 40% chance to gather; multiple gathering opportunities. 18% chance to obtain at least one as quest reward. 18% chance to obtain at least one as subquest reward. 15% chance per tentacle broken to obtain two. HUNTS: 15 (IT'S A 30+ MINUTE FIGHT SOLO. FML)

Was it worth it? Hell yeah! Do I think we should go back to the way things were in the old games? Fuck no! 46 Almudrons haunt me in my wildest nightmares— but at least I didn't feel my hair getting longer playing Rise.

On the bright side, at least the Desire Sensor has a sense of humor, if that last Khezu was anything to go by. Shout out to carving three lightning sacs in a row.

Phew! That about wraps things up.

Don't let this post deter you from trying out a "hard" Monster Hunter game. I don't regret my old school experiences. They've made me a much more patient and observant player, which weirdly enough, has carried over into other series I play, too. I can't say the same about any other game I've played in my life, and that's just one of many reasons why Monster Hunter holds such a special place in my heart.

I hope that by sharing my wisdom, I've saved at least one overwhelmed player a whole lot of headache. The rest is up to you, fellow hunter. Take it slow, and have fun!

Oh, and one more thing: press the dodge button while climbing in order to climb faster. Learned that one by accident 200 hours in.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

HOTD Season 2 Episode 3 Live Watch Thoughts

Still love the opening.

Writing might be crap but the scenery is beautiful.

Idk why I thought the long haired Bracken person was a man. 100% thought it was a woman in the trailer.

Oooooo “babe killer” good. I’m glad that we’re actually hearing “lesser” houses talking about this. And of course the Brackens are going to not go for Rhaenyra considering one of them was killed during her betrothal tour. That of course will not be discussed in the show.

Bodies. Bodies everywhere.

“He is the basest of villains.” Are you going to call out your step dad Jace? At least they went for Rhaenyra and not one of your little brothers.

Otto’s great grandson was brutally murdered. Not everyone is like you Rhaenys. Not everyone is just going to shrug your shoulder and forgive the people who have claimed to kill your son.

Idk. Rhaenys feels like one of the biggest hypocrites.

ALICENT’S GRANDSON WAS MURDERED!

And you spat at Alicent’s generosity Rhaenys. Shut up.

Call her out Rhaenys about blaming Alicent for everything. If you were just a friend to Alicent after her marriage to your father things would have been fine in the show verse!

I feel like this is the episode we’re going to lose Criston’s beautiful hair. But I suppose we will grow used to it.

WHAT ARE THE BALLS AT THE SMALL COUNCIL FOR?!?!?

What is with Jasper’s underhanded comments? Actually add to the conversation or shut up.

Aemond flipping one of the gold coins used to pay Blood and Cheese to kill him between his fingers is fascinating.

*sigh* I still wouldn’t trust Mysaria considering. Just send her away. Especially since she probably helped with the plan for B&C. And I love that Mysaria is acting as though she wasn’t a madam for a brothel that catered to men who liked young girls.

And so is Laenor dead then? Is that what the “lonely” thing is meant to indicate.

Rhaena! My love! AND SHE SPEAKS

Why… why not send Aegon and Viserys with Joffrey? And sending Rhaena away too.

And if she doesn’t want to sacrifice it willingly? And you can tell the distance between the girls and Rhaenyra. They don’t attempt to call her familiarly. She isn’t a maternal figure to them. Rhaena is a motherly and caring figure for the younger children. Her voice does not matter. Seven hells.

Here has to be a smarter way of doing this Daemon, especially when you would be facing people far more familiar with the keep’s layout.

Are we going to meet Alys?

Oooooo~ Bats like for House Whent!

There’s something to be said about Daemon’s armor being clean and without blemish. I know he is a trained warrior, but still.

Why are you going in swords blazing? You could legit just ask? Or do you think they wouldn’t join you willingly?

I guess that’s Alys?

Even Lord Strong is like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh right. Larys is technically the lord.

Obviously Larys did burn Harrenhal in the show, but it’s not established in the book right? So I feel like the Larys hate (here for it) IS rooted in ableism.

And ooooo Daemon getting prissy by being called “Prince” instead of “your grace”

Man Harwin got all the good genes huh.

Why was Harrenhal not prepared? Why wasn’t Harrenhal made the epicenter of Westeros? The keep is big enough.

Does Daemon not know who the head of the Riverlands is? Why didn’t he ask for Lord Tully by name?

Lyonel and Larys are really the only politically minded of House Strong huh. Everyone else is 🤷🏻‍♀️

GWAYNE!

Ooooo he would make a decent Tully faceclaim!

Now that I see it in longer scenes, I like Criston’s hair. I just miss his curls.

I honestly think the writers forget they made Criston Dornish until it’s convenient for them.

HE IS ASKING FOR HER FAVOR! HER LORD COMMANDER!!!

Lol Gwayne clocked it.

And Cheese is still hanging. Good.

Ah. This is the episode Helaena and Alicent will be chased right?

“Fear is a weapon” you would know about that based on how you used Laenor’s death to make people fear you.

Why is Rhaenyra trusting Daemon? She said she didn’t trust him?

Would it be treason? It’s not like your father actively handled anything about war.

“The wisest of targaryen kings” there were two or three before him?

Why are Corlys and Rhaenys the most healthy relationships, but he still has two bastards most likely had during their marriage.

Luke admitted that he knew nothing of ships too.

WHAT OF BAELA?!?!?! YOU LITERALLY RAISED HER ON DRIFTMARK!

Rhaenyra’s armies truly are slow.

I wish we could have had more interactions between Baela and Rhaena so we could have established personalities. I feel like we got so much fanon from the books to make personalities for them.

Love that Rhaenyra smiles to Rhaena, who is clearly not pleased.

Also, why did Rhaenyra not talk about Luke at all with Rhaena? Why not say “you loved my son, look after his brothers” like Caesar did in War for the Planet of the Apes?

Alicent holding her granddaughter 🥰 who is young enough to be her daughter.

Helaena smiling at her baby 🥰

Are they really not going to fully let Helaena mourn her son?

Helaena and Aegon actually caring for the smallfolk.

And Alicent validating Helaena’s grief.

ALICENT REALLY NEEDED SOMEONE TO SAY THEY FORGIVE HER. SHE HAS NEEDED THAT SAID TO HER FOR DECADES!

Oh? It’s the conqueror’s armor too? It makes sense. It does look a little outdated.

DO NOT LISTEN TO LARYS!

Gosh darn it, I had hoped Aegon had squared up to Larys to call him out for victimizing Alicent.

I love that Aegon almost innocently questions why they are still having sex when they are meant to be chaste? Like… my dude?

And of course we’re going to go to the brothel *sigh*

Dyanna! Interesting. Either Alicent didn’t give her enough money or…?

Oh. Is that the Truefyre guy? I thought he pretended or claimed to be Viserys’ bastard?

Or is that just another dragonseed?

Oooooooo. Aegon arrived.

Are Aegon and Dyanna going to run into each other?

*sigh* does this scene actually add anything.

OH MY SEVEN HELLS!!! Aemond and Aegon ran into each other! If I were the other guys I would turn and leave.

And still this does not really add anything. We could have gotten this conflict without Aemond being nude.

Good lord. Truly this could be handled differently.

Someone pointed out Aegon destroying the stone Velaryon and Rhaenyra playing with the wooden one. Both can crumble and burn.

It’s almost as if you talked with Alicent once during all these years, things would have been different.

*sigh* *he’s a hightower, can’t have Gwayne have any good qualities I guess.*

I feel like the last two episodes have been slow going.

Love how everyone but Cole is shaking. Dude is calm and collected.

I hate how they will not let women make war decisions. The men have to do it for them. Let them act! It’s definitely making it seem like Rhaenyra is a bystander in her own war. At least Alicent is not the acting ruler and has some excuse.

How many swords do you have on you Daemon?

Also, post Stepstones short-hair Daemon was 100% the best looking one.

Oh? Is Alys going to try to put Daemon under her thrall?

HOLY CRAP!!!! MILLY!!!!!!!! YOUNG RHAENYRA SEWING BABY JAEHAERYSM HEAD BACK ON!!!!! HOLY CRAP!

Ugh. Making Daemon look like he regrets it 🙄 let people besides the greens look awful.

And him appearing in front of the weirwood tree.

Alys’ voice was jarring. It was mainly her accent. It felt so American.

War can no longer be averted? Was the raven sent before or after your husband had her grandson murdered? This is so stupid. It is actually ridiculously stupid.

It would have been nice to have Rhaenyra actually say “the sept” because it would make it seem like she noticed and remembers rather than having to be told.

Emma’s face is perfect for period stuff. They need to do more period dramas! Period dramas with a good script.

Let me guess, someone is going to call for Rhaenyra and it will cause a riot and Alicent and Helaena will be caught in the crosshairs?

I love Alicent, but I am begging them to stop ending the episodes with Alicent (if that is what happens this one too)

YOU HAVE A DAGGER AND ARE AIMING IT AT HER! HOW DID YOU THINK SHE WOUOD REACT?!?!?

“I have begun badly.” YOU THINK?!

Your current husband brutally beat her brother Rhaenyra.

Then why did Rhaenys proceed to kill a bunch of people afterwards.

Why should Alicent trust you Rhaenyra?

His is such a stupid scene.

HE RAPED HER! SHE DID NOT WANT TO MARRY!

Because her memory of her own mother means more to Alicent than it does to you Rhaenyra.

This is such a stupid scene.

Ugh. Are they going to have Alicent realize she misunderstood Viserys. Ugh. I hate this.

His scene is so stupid. I hate this so much.

Her grandson is already dead. She is not the queen anymore.

*sigh* loved seeing them acting a scene together but it was completely pointless.

Also, on his deathbed. He very well could have mentioned the Song of Ice and Fire and Alicent simply didn’t hear it.

The last scene was so stupid.

I swear, the only thing that is saving this show is the actors and actresses. They are amazing and deserve better scripts.

Promo Thoughts

Is the betrayal going to be Alicent and Aemond? *ugh* LET THE GREENS BE A FREAKING FAMILY!

[sparkymalone]

You ever think Kazuichi hears them at night? I mean his dorm is next to fuyuhikos

As a matter of fact...

(for this drabble just pretend the layout of Kazuichi's cottage is flipped so that his bed is on the side by Fuyuhiko lol)

Kazuichi sighed as he stepped out of the shower. It had been a particularly long day and he was exhausted. For once, nothing was going on that evening, everyone was just doing their own thing, so he actually had an opportunity to go straight to bed and get some rest.

He dried off, catching sight of himself in the mirror. God, he even looked tired. No wonder no one seemed to want to spend time with him. That had to be the reason, surely. Nothing else.

Once he was dry and clothed, Kazuichi stepped out of the bathroom. His bed looked so inviting, beckoning to him from across the room.

He quickly finished getting ready and all but dove into his bed. He pulled the covers over himself and happily settled onto his pillow.

Kazuichi probably would have drifted off immediately, if it hadn't been for that first noise.

He heard hushed voices outside, and even though he wanted to just ignore them and go to sleep, his paranoid brain couldn't help but focus on them. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could tell that one of them was Fuyuhiko. That made sense, since the voices were near Fuyuhiko's cabin. The other voice was too low for him to hear properly.

He heard the door to the neighboring cottage open and close, so he assumed that was the end of it. Fuyuhiko had gone into his cabin and whoever he was talking to probably left. It didn't matter, Kazuichi reminded himself, and he once again settled down to sleep.

He drifted in and out of consciousness for a bit, so he wasn't sure how much time passed before he heard another noise.

Kazuichi’s eyes opened blearily and he stared into the darkness of his room, not sure what had awoken him. After a moment, though, he heard the sound again and realized that it must have been that.

It took him another moment to figure out what the sound actually was. When he heard it a third time, he finally recognized it, eyes going wide.

A loud moan came from Fuyuhiko's cottage.

It was muffled, certainly, but Kazuichi could definitely hear it. And… it sounded like Fuyuhiko's voice.

Another moan seeped through the wall and Kazuichi felt his face get hot. Why the hell was Fuyuhiko moaning? And why was he doing it so loud?!

Suddenly invested, he listened closer, turning towards the wall facing Fuyuhiko's cabin. There was a moment of silence before an even higher-pitched moan reached his ears and he blushed darker. He had never expected to hear the grumpy blonde make a sound like that.

Kazuichi sat up and cracked the blinds of his window, as though he was going to be able to see anything. All he saw was the wall of the neighboring cottage, of course, with the window shades drawn.

Being closer to the window did make it a little easier to hear, though. He could now tell that the moans were almost constant. Between the loud moans he had already heard, Fuyuhiko was making softer, lower sounds. Kazuichi could also make out a second voice, though he couldn't tell whose it was.

His eyes just about bugged out of his skull. A second voice meant that someone was in there with Fuyuhiko, making him moan like that. The realization that the yakuza heir was having sex with someone had Kazuichi fully awake. He had to find out who it was.

He continued to listen intently, trying not to think about how weird it was to be listening to his friend clearly getting fucked, and definitely trying not to think about the way his body was reacting to the sounds.

Fuyuhiko certainly seemed to be enjoying himself. When he listened closer, Kazuichi could hear muffled whimpers and whines in between the moans, adding to the list of sounds he never thought Fuyuhiko would make. He could also hear the occasional murmuring of words, both from Fuyuhiko and his mystery partner, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Kazuichi was incredibly curious about who was in there with the Baby Gangsta. Who was allowed to touch Fuyuhiko like that, make him sound like that?

He tried to think of who the most likely candidates were. Obviously the person Fuyuhiko spent the most time with was Peko, but Kazuichi was pretty sure it wasn't her. He couldn't really imagine Peko doing something like this.

Honestly, the other voice sounded too low to be any of the girls. That, and Fuyuhiko definitely sounded like he was on the… receiving end.

So which one of the boys could it be? Kazuichi could probably narrow it down. He couldn't imagine Fuyuhiko consenting to be around Teruteru or Nagito, so they were probably out. Byakuya didn't seem like the type to sleep with one of his classmates, so he was probably out. It probably wasn't Nekomaru, since he would most likely be even louder than Fuyuhiko was being.

So that left… Hajime or Gundham. Neither one really felt like they'd be Fuyuhiko's “type,” but then, Kazuichi hadn't even realized the blonde was gay, so who was he to judge?

Another particularly sharp moan cut through the air, followed by the first word Kazuichi could actually make out: “Harder!”

Blushing, the mechanic laid back down, suddenly realizing how weird this whole thing was. Why was he still listening to Fuyuhiko having sex? And why did he care who it was? It didn't affect him at all, it was just morbid curiosity.

And, he told himself, his erection was a totally normal reaction under these circumstances.

After a minute, Kazuichi couldn't help it anymore. He got closer to the window, listening intently to the sounds coming from next door.

Fuyuhiko was starting to sound out of breath, even through the walls. Kazuichi supposed that made sense, with how much he was moaning. But with the blonde's sounds getting breathier, it was a little easier to hear the other person. Kazuichi strained his ears, trying to figure out if the mystery partner sounded more like Hajime or Gundham.

The mystery was abruptly solved for him when Fuyuhiko gasped out just loud enough for Kazuichi to hear: “-jime, please!”

Kazuichi's eyes got impossibly wider. So Hajime was the one doing that to Fuyuhiko? That actually made a lot more sense, now that he thought about it, but he was quickly distracted by a keening, climactic moan.

The mechanic could not have been any redder. Had he really just heard the other boy… finish? The sound was immediately followed by silence, so he supposed that must have been it.

After a few minutes, Kazuichi carefully laid back down and turned away from the window. He stared into the shadows of his room, trying to calm his racing thoughts. He had really just listened to two of his friends having (very loud) sex.

And he had a boner because of it.

Not wanting to consider the implications, Kazuichi squeezed his eyes closed and attempted to go to sleep.

***

The next morning, Kazuichi found it very difficult to look Fuyuhiko or Hajime in the eye. Every time he saw them, especially if they were together, those moans would echo in his ears.

Things only got worse when he noticed the red and purple marks on Fuyuhiko's neck.

They weren't immediately obvious. Most of them were below his collar line, but if he turned his head a certain way, they all became visible. Kazuichi tried not to stare.

Somehow, he made it through the day without having to interact with the other two boys much at all. He returned to his cabin feeling even more tired than the previous night. He completed his nighttime routine quickly and climbed into bed, ready for sleep.

Much to his dismay, a moan cut through the silence.

So this is another one that's been sitting in my inbox for ages. I got this ask right before Phantom posted that comic about Kazuichi hearing them at night, which I thought was hilarious timing. (The same thing happened with one of my previous drabbles, too.)

Anyway, I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!