#about to go outside and test how much having a full wall of curtains blocks sound

[killerchickadee]

I got this neato freestanding tension rod (that I wish I had known was a thing like 5 months ago) to separate my kitchen from my living area (because staring at my microwave in bed creeps me out) and also to dampen the sound from Mr. Oliver Screamypants, and I'm really happy with it! Except I positioned it a little poorly and

There's a creepy little sliver on the side that I can't cover. It's adjustable so I could scootch it out and over but... just getting it up there was enough of a struggle. Maybe later.

Anyway if you need any kind of room divider highly recommend this thing.

[miss-kittys-magical-library]

Hi I hope I’m not too late for thirsty Thursday? I had this thought of a Robert character (of your choice) going to an adult store with the reader/ to surprise the reader

Maybe trying new things/ positions/ accessories👀

Your wish is my command 💋

LoveGame (Luba x Fem!Reader)

Word Count: 1900

Warnings: NSFW smutty as hell. Pegging, masturbation, m/f penetration

A/N: Reader is getting married. Luba wants to make sure her last night goes out with a bang 😉

You stood outside Foreign Dreams hugging your arms against the cold. You checked the digital clock chip newly implanted in your wrist. Half eleven. Luba, as always, was late.

You tapped an icon of a phone and waited. Five minutes went by and a beautiful face with lengthy platinum eyelashes answered.

“Guten nacht,” his bored voice greeted you with a hint of mischief. Just a trace of a smile on his full lips.

“Hooker where are you? I'm freezing my tits off out here.” You delighted in archaic epithets.

“Back off hündin (bitch),” a laugh now. “Nicky needed me to pick up one last table. Let me grab my cape, and I'll come warm your tits up in five.”

Rolling your eyes you sighed, “Better not let Benjamin catch you massaging them again.”

“He's a boring prick. Why do all of my exes leave me for the dullards?” You could see him moving around a back room. “These strong, silent types,” he mimicked a gash across his thick neck.

“Because you never fucking shut up. They let us talk hours at a time for once. Just get your tiny ass out here so we can get to Oswald’s store. It was rather nice of him to open on his day off.”

The side door to Foreign Dreams opened and the transmission on your wrist ended. Luba in his leather and tiger skins strode towards you with his muscular arms open. That sweet smelling cigarillo smoke hung in the air around him. Cherries tonight.

He was shirtless as always under the fur with his skin the color and texture of pearls. He hugged you in that dramatic fashion and you melted into his taut chest. Your heart skipping a beat.

“Liebchen you're freezing. Is that why you’re simply trembling?” He began rubbing your arms swiftly.

“Sure, that's why.” It wasn’t at all because he was breath-taking with a heat under his skin. If you lingered it was because you couldn't help it. Luba was hypnotic.

Shaking it off, you linked arms with him and headed towards your simultaneous wedding present and “hen party” for two. One that started off with Luba taking your hand and tipping a white powder on your skin between your thumb and index finger.

“Inhale, you'll feel better.” He held his pinky nail up to his nose and snorted. “It's a little this and that. Nicky's special mix for just tonight. Everyone misses you.”

Following suit you took a breath and the powder went straight to your brain as you seemed to float to the sex shop. Why did you trust Luba to never steer you wrong?

Inside the store, Oswald and his inappropriate Geisha makeup behind the counter. An amused smirk across his exaggerated red lips waved you both on as you followed Luba around the store.

“It's all on me poppet! We just want to make sure none of us catches Benjamin with any of the girls,” he paused and winked at Luba, “Boys or otherwise in between or nothing at all. At the parlour you know.”

Luba was standing in front of a wall of dildos. He was biting his pinky nail as he so often did when he was anxious.

“Ozzy this is too much! These choices, it's overstimulating to my brain and not my penis. Look at this,” he pried a massive cock from the wall using his hands. The suction made a satisfying snap sound that sent you both into giggles. “Who does this fit? Their pussy or asshole MUST be like a cavern. Too much. Ach.”

Luba waved the dildo around in your face and your head dodged out of the way. “STOP! I don't like you wiggling a dick in my face!”

This sent the two of you into further hysterics. Luba’s laughter between infectious and obnoxious as it bounced off the walls.

Your arms already full of lube (I know how you can be if they don't kiss you right. Sahara Desert! Look remember me, its LUBE- A) and vibrators (One for while you fuck, it's a clit stimulator. I remember how you need that. You just.. settle it right in here. The other for when he's gone away or you sex dream about me. You know Clit and G Spot?) Your eyes grow wide with each suggestion.

“Luba, I know how to masturbate. Benjamin knows how to get me off,” you started to put some stuff back in random places. Except for the wireless egg shaped clit stimulator that matched your own vaginal (OR ANAL!) rhythms. That one you pocketed happily.

Luba walked to a curtained side room and threw back the red velvet material. “That's because I told him what you like and how to do it. Ozzy Ozzy darling, what HAVE you been hiding from us?!”

You followed him inside, your mouth hanging open. Everything looked positively medieval, but you both knew it was mostly from no earlier than fifty years earlier.

“Mid- 1990s BDSM. How delightful. Berlin, London, New York. They all had a renaissance after the AIDS pandemic terrorized the world. We're like cockroaches, you can't eradicate any of us in the community.”

Luba was lost in his own diatribe. His long white fingers running over the leather binding of whips and flogs. He nicked one and slung it over his shoulder. Then clicked his tongue a few times deciding between a realistic flesh penis attached to a harness or a silver metal one.

“See this, THIS!” he held out the slender metal version towards you. “I might be a sex worker but this is what fits my holes best.”

“LUBA that's a strap-on. Are most of your clients even into that?” You took it from him and held it up. Fascinated despite your protest.

“Liebchen, don't be so judgmental of others appetites. You were hungry for all of this once,” he ran his hand dramatically over the length of his torso.

You still were. The way you were staring at his svelte body and pert nipples as you bit your lip slightly, he knew it too. His eye brow was arched in satisfaction as he took your hand and dragged you towards the back of the room.

“Why don't we test some things out?” Luba tossed the question over his shoulder while closing the curtains to block Oswald from catching a glimpse.

“I'll try it on, but I'm not pegging you.”

“Sure you won't. I am curious what’s in these drawers though.” He had made his way over to a cabinet with wooden drawers and began pulling them out one by one. “JACKPOT!”

You joined Luba, strap-on still in hand. The drawer was lined with crushed velvet that matched the curtains. It was lined with rings and clamps. There were other devices, but you didn't have the guts to ask.

“Vier.. Fünf.. Six.. Ja this would fit,” Luba held up a deep jade cock ring. “Look it even matches my eyes!” He giggled and held it up to his face. “Take my jacket. I'm going to try this on.”

He tossed his coat but you dodged. Luba paid no mind as he unbuttoned and zipped his leather pants. He let out a satisfactory sigh as his cock was let free. You covered your face and chortled unable to understand that this was your life right now.

“Come here, liebe. I want you to put it on me.” Luba’s eyes sparkled.

“What does it even do?” You took the ring from him and held it in your palm.

“It keeps the cock erect so you last longer. I'm getting hard just thinking about it,” he gestured towards his junk.

Shrugging your shoulders you used your fingertips to slip the cock ring on much like Benjamin had your engagement ring. Almost tenderly and with great care. Luba twitched just ever so slightly as your hand and the smooth jade traveled the shaft so that it fit snug at the base above his balls. You let your fingers glide back upwards towards the head and made a circular motion with your thumb over it. Repeating yourself a few times

“Fuck. You always were good at that.”

Luba gazed up at the ceiling in ecstasy. His eyes closed and throat exposed as he moaned under the pressure of your touch. You pressed your mouth into the warm, ivory skin and lingered a moment over his Adam’s apple. Your fingers pumping harder over the shaft and head, twisting and stroking. Your tongue leaving a wet trail down to his clavicle. Your other hand was free to grab his ass and squeeze.

“If you're going to play with my ass, make it worthwhile, darling.” Luba demanded.

You stumbled a bit away from your ex standing naked without a care. His cock completely erect and being held steady by a jade ring. You did that, you thought. He loves sex, but you still can get him hard.

“Only this once, right?” you informed him as you stepped out of your skirt.

It took a few minutes of struggling, of swatting Luba off when he offered assistance, but you finally had the harness over your legs. In place as the metallic and futuristic dick hung between your legs. It was a strange sensation, one you weren't quite sure why you never tried before.

“Did you keep any of that lube?” he asked as he sat down on an old fashioned settee against the back wall.

“Of course.” You pulled it out of your discarded jacket on the floor and held it up.

“Güten. I'm sure you can figure out what to do with it.” Luba flitted his hand towards the device you were wearing as he kneeled on all fours. His forearms purchased on the arm of the couch so that his ass was higher than his head.

You climbed up behind him and put one hand on his thin hip. The other on the slick silver cock that you positioned outside of Luba. You bent to kiss his shoulders and once again allowed your lips and tongue to trace over his spine as you tentatively pushed the cock inside of him.

“Is that ok?” you asked.

“Deeper. Keep going. I want your hips to touch my ass.”

So they did. You lost yourself and let the sensation take over as you pumped completely inside him. God it felt good. Weird and new but good as you slid out almost entirely. Repeating. Your nails scratching at his perfect skin.

“Your ass is tight. This is fucking amazing.”

There was no more control as you started pulling him towards you at the same time as your thrusts in.

“Jerk me off,” he begged. His breathing was labored with pleasure.

“At the same time?” You were confused but silently agreed.

Your hand taking his cock again, it found a rhythm with your rutting. Your future husband would never, you thought as you almost yanked roughly on Luba’s erection. Your hips bucking wildly into him as he struggled to stay upright.

Plunging fully inside of him only two more times, Luba exploded in your hand. You pulled the strap on out of him and gasped as you were covered with that warm, sticky substance. He laughed in return, still moaning and jerking barely as he came again. Yet his dick was immediately hard because of the cock ring

“Tell me liebchen, why are you marrying him again?”

There wasn't time to answer because Luba had flipped underneath you, parting your legs and maneuvered the metal cock out of the way. He buried his own inside of your cunt taking you by surprise for the umpteenth time this evening.

Luba lifted his hips off the couch and pulled you forward so that he could penetrate you as far as he could manage. All you could do was cry out in pleasure. It was the only way you thought to answer him.

Tag list: @elliethesuperfruitlover @super-unpredictable98 @sean-falco @magic-multicolored-miracle @robertsheehanownsmyass @slutforrobbiebro @nightmonsters @badsext @bisexualnathanyoung @firstpersonnarrator

[writethehousedown]

storm. (Ninex) -- meggie

A/N: Welcome to the spring fling installment of “Meggie projects far too much of herself onto Nina West.” This is the teachers AU if you remember that one from waaaay back at Christmas. You don’t have to read that one first to understand this one, but if Ninex is your jam, why not give it a go?

Thank you as always to Mia for hand-holding and support and reminding me when I use words too many times. Love you big.

Come keep me company this week as I start distance teaching! I’m @janssports and I love all things Drag Race.

Out of all her coworkers, Nina would not have picked Monet to be the one who was afraid of thunderstorms. 

Monet is so cool. So calm and collected all the time. It isn’t like her to be fazed by anything, let alone a little thunder and lightning on a Wednesday afternoon in April.

They’ve been dating since Christmas, officially a couple since Valentine’s Day, and Nina has to stop herself from telling Monet that she loves her at the end of every single one of their phone calls. She knows it; she’s absolutely certain of it, but she can’t be the one to bring it up, won’t be the one to embarrass herself by falling into that ridiculous (and true, who is she kidding) lesbian stereotype about falling too hard too fast.

Nina herself loves storm season almost as much as she loves Monet; she loves the electricity in the air, the way the clouds swirl and melt together into the most interesting shapes. Before she decided to become a teacher, she’d briefly entertained the idea of becoming a meteorologist, but that hadn’t lasted long.

(Mostly because Heather Marshall had teased her relentlessly after their career day presentations in the ninth grade.

“A meteorologist?” she’d scoffed. “With those thighs? Honey, they want their viewers to be able to actually see the radar screen.”

So Nina had ripped up her cue cards and bit her lip until it bled to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks. If she’d been thinking straight, she realized later, Nina could have calmly explained that she hadn’t meant TV meteorologist anyway; she’d meant the ones who work in the labs crunching numbers and analyzing data and making predictions. But the damage to her frail self-worth was done, so she tucked away her meteorological dream next to the one where she was starring in her Broadway debut—discarded for the same reason—and told her career pathways teacher that she’d changed her mind because she just wasn’t that great at math.)

But she’d always retained a soft spot for the weather, especially in the spring when it turned volatile and delicious.

When late March and early April roll around, Nina throws open the curtains and hoists up the blinds to give her students (and herself) unfettered sight lines to the sky and whatever may develop from the storms. 

The meteorologists have been up in arms about this day for at least the past week, going as far as to issue a Weather Alert Day two days ago and Nina feels the excitement bubbling just under her skin when she hears the first rumble of thunder just after nine.

She’s giving a test, which gives her a reason to wander about her room, watching for the tell-tale signs of cheating, but also allows for glances to the window, where the sky grows darker and darker with each passing class period.

At lunch, she can tell that Monet is on edge. Monet’s knee bounces nervously under the table with each crack of thunder and when the lights flicker, she actually jumps.

Nina’s practically giddy. Not for Monet’s uncomfortable state, but for the unpredictable weather raging outside.

Monet glances at her with a grimace. “Can you just. Like stop being so excited that we might die later?”

Nina places a hand on her chest. “Okay, first of all—dramatic; you’re not going to die. Secondly, have you always been this afraid of storms?”

“I’m not afraid, okay. And it’s not the storms.” Monet scoffs. “I can handle storms. It’s when there are predicted tornados; that worries me.”

Nina clicks her tongue and reaches across the table to take her girlfriend’s hand.

A few chairs down, Katya licks her finger and sticks it up by her head, like she’s testing the nonexistent wind.

“I wouldn’t worry, Monet,” Katya says breezily. “Doesn’t feel very stormy to me.”

The lights flicker again with the next clap of thunder.

Across from Nina, Monet whimpers.

***

It’s the middle of fifth period when it happens, and Nina’s stomach swoops uncomfortably because she knows what this means for everyone, but especially Monet.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket with the warning and the text from Monet comes through in tandem with the overhead announcement.

“Teachers, please escort students to the cafeteria at this time. Students, remain with your class at all times.”

Nina tells her students to leave their tests on the desks and grab only their phones, then she swings open her classroom door as the eerie sound of the tornado siren pierces through the din of the moving crowds. She’s just made sure the last of her students are out of the classroom when she glances down at her phone.

Monet: fuck this, nina

***

They seat their classes together in the cafeteria, and Monet’s eyes are wide and worried; she bites her lip as she counts heads to ensure all 24 of her students have made it to the cafeteria. 

Nina goes through her roster as well, and they give their report to Ms. Visage when she comes by to collect their numbers. As soon as her students are settled, Nina takes a detailed glance around the cafeteria. A few of the girls are crying, but they seem to be clinging closely to their friends and cell phones. Still, Nina makes a mental note to check back with them right after she talks to Monet.

Monet has her back pressed against the cool cinder block wall and she’s tapping furiously on her phone screen.

“Hey,” Nina says quietly, sidling up beside her. She isn’t sure how to approach this sensitive topic.

“Stupid app won’t work on this piece of garbage,” Monet mutters, still tapping wildly. “I just wanted to look at the radar.” She looks up at Nina then, eyes full of panic and unshed tears, so Nina throws caution to the wind and embraces her.

“It’s okay. They’re turning the TVs on.”

And they are. Trixie is standing in front of the flat screen TV in the front of the cafeteria, looking for local weather coverage. Katya is watching both hers and Trixie’s class, entertaining the kids with stories or jokes or something else that only Katya can get away with. (She’ll have them all doing yoga before this is over if she gets her way.)

Monet sets her jaw and inhales deeply. “I fucking hate storms, Neens,” she whispers, grasping for Nina’s hand. “I know you like them and all, but… I just hate them.”

Nina nods. “I know. I’m sorry this is happening.”

Monet shakes her head. “Aren’t you even a little worried?”

Nina shrugs, just as the lights in the cafeteria flicker twice and then stay off.

There’s a collective gasp and someone screams and the emergency lights click on one at a time, casting the cafeteria in a pale yellow wash.

“What do you think that means?” one of the sophomores sitting at the table in front of them asks. Nina won’t have her until next year, but she already knows her name—it’s Jan, and she’s sweeter than spun sugar and always wears something purple. Nina has a reserved space in her heart for kids like that; kids who remind her of that girl who wanted to be a meteorologist or a Broadway sensation before her thighs got in the way of her dreams.

“It means it’s right over us,” the student body president, Brianna, says quietly, and shows Jan the radar on her phone. Her voice is quiet, almost silent so as not to raise alarm, but Nina knows Monet’s heard, because her face pales and her grip on Nina’s hand tightens. Outside the building, the wind thrashes violently and hail pounds the roof.

Monet is spiraling, of this much, Nina is positive. So without thinking about the consequences, without worrying about the kids or administration seeing, she pushes her girlfriend backwards into the small detention room, shuts the door to protect them from prying eyes, and grasps her face in her hands.

“It’s okay,” Nina mutters.

“But it’s not,” Monet practically wails. Then it’s too much and all the emotion she’s feeling spills onto her cheeks in fat, hot tears that Nina wants to kiss away. “It’s not, Nina. It’s right over us and the wind is blowing and it’s hailing and the kids are holding it together better than I am right now. How can you enjoy this shit? How does this not send you into a panic attack?”

Nina kisses her, gently, but firm, and tilts her chin up when she’s done. “You’re scared of storms.”

“Not really,” Monet says, wringing her hands nervously in front of her. “I’m afraid of dying before I get the chance to tell you that I’m, like, stupid in love with you.” Monet stops talking, blushes, then looks at the floor. 

“So that’s not exactly how I wanted to tell you that,” Monet finally says, after a heavy moment of silence that’s punctuated only by the sounds of nature. “I really wanted it to be special and perfect. Like, candlelit and shit, over dinner with wine and… Christ, I don’t know. Perfect, I guess.”

The wind is still wailing, but it sounds like the hail has slackened a bit. Under it all is still the whine of tornado sirens, and Nina thinks this is absolutely the most perfect time she could have ever heard the most perfect phrase to come from the most perfect person’s perfect mouth.

Nina’s been trying hard not to smile like an idiot, but she doesn’t care, can’t force her face into something she doesn’t feel anymore.

Monet always says Nina’s a great liar with the exception of her face; she’s never able to control her expression enough to be really believable.

So she allows her smile to spread ear-to-ear and takes both of Monet’s hands, which still tremble, but maybe not from the storm anymore. 

“I’m stupid in love with you, too, ‘Net,” she says. “And that was perfect. Trust me. However it happened, it was perfect because it was you, and I love you.”

Monet grins and presses a kiss to Nina’s lips. “I guess that’s a story we can tell people, huh? It only took imminent death and being locked in a cafeteria with 500 kids to get me to tell you that I’ve been in love with you since the very first day I saw you.”

“Speaking of…” Nina inclines her head to the door. “Look, I’d be happy sitting in here alone with you until the storm blows over, but there are 500 kids out there who might need some supervision.”

Monet wraps her arms around Nina’s waist and kisses her again. “Nah. Trixie and Katya are out there. Let them handle the kids for now. Right now, we get to be the obnoxious in-love lesbians that everyone adores.”

They kiss until the tornado sirens whine their last, and then emerge from the detention room with swollen lips and smudged lipstick when Principal Visage finally finally gives the all-clear.

Nina opens her window to the dim sunlight and smell of ozone when she gets back to her classroom.

There’s a robin perched in the oak tree across the courtyard from her room and it chirps. Nina smiles. Just another beautiful thing that survived the storm.

[feverwritingandtextposts]

Can I please have a part two to the Kyōjurō x reader (shinjuku station)? I loved it so much I would be forever grateful if there was more to the story! Please and thank you!🥺😭💖💖

Thank you for reading my work! It took me a while to write this bec i was waiting to be ~inspired~ lmao. I hope you like it. Tell me if you do, defo tell me if you don’t LOL

This was also posted on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21695521/chapters/52314919

Festival

"I have an idea of what we can do this weekend!" Rengoku yells, straight into the delicate inside of your ear.

You look up from the printer, peering at him warily. Here we go again.

After the first somewhat confusing whirlwind of a date, the two of you settled into a comfortable tandem of letting each other take turns to pick date activities. You had brought him out for ramen, and he took you to a sumo show (and then out yelled everyone else in the stadium), you took him for lunch in the park, and he took you to an escape room (in which he got too excited and ended up ripping the handle off the door, which got the both of you yelled at by the staff), and so forth.

This week, it was Rengoku's turn to decide.

Rengoku had spent the majority of this week bombarding you with what he calls 'perfect date ideas'. You had absolutely no idea where he was even getting these suggestions from, or if he had always been compiling a list of his own.

You'd never admit it out loud, but anything with Rengoku, despite how god awful it may sound, ends up ridiculously fun. His good-natured unquenchable enthusiasm and encouraging spirit made any situation exciting, and you loved it.

Although, you had boundaries.

"It's oil wrestling! It'll be a great test of spirit!"

"Watching or doing?"

"Doing!"

"Absolutely not."

Rengoku seemed to deflate for a moment, and you almost felt bad. Almost.

Making her way over to you, Kochou Kanae hums her agreement as she gathers her stacks of fresh handouts from the printer. "I don't know... Oil wrestling doesn't seem very romantic Rengoku-san. What about going to a haunted house instead?"

You sigh softly to yourself. It was bad enough that you had to fight off Uzui's repeated attempts to 'help' you and Rengoku's budding relationship, but now it seemed that everyone in the staff room wanted to meddle.

You still haven't fully recovered from Tomioka's suggestion to 'exercise' as a great date idea. You've never ran so many laps of a track field before, and never want to again.

Rengoku folds his arms, considering her suggestion seriously. "That sounds great Kochou-san! But I don't know of any haunted places in the area!"

Kanae smiles at him, excitement twinkling in her eyes. Fishing in her pocket for her phone, she proudly shows Rengoku a compiled list of 'Tokyo's Most Haunted Getaways'. Before you could pull the both of them (and their horrifying plans) apart, Himejima comes up behind you, huge frame blocking out the light.

"Sorry to interrupt..." he begins, looking not very sorry at all. "Have you all submitted your class' necessary forms for the school festival?"

At that Kanae titters, bustling back to her desk to pick up the forgotten forms while Rengoku, ever the star employee, nodded in reply.

Rengoku follows you to your desk as you try to locate the forms, looking deep in thought. "Why don't we go to the school festival then?" he suggests brightly.

"As in... on a date?"

Rengoku grins. "Of course! It'll be fun! My class is hosting a haunted house, it will be perfect!"

You couldn't help but smile at his excitement. You couldn't imagine any of the lively students being anything close to scary, but you were sure it would be fun regardless.

---

"Welcome," says a frazzled looking Aoi, standing at attention behind the little ticket counter.

Rengoku greets her cheerfully, his voice ringing loud even in the noisy hallway. His bright hair and brighter smile fit in perfectly with the excitement of the event. It seems to do nothing to lift her dismal mood though, as Aoi only sighs out her reply.

It was only eleven, but the festival was already in full swing; the usually rowdy students driven uncontrollably raucous with the lively atmosphere.

You can imagine why poor Aoi was already looking like she needed a ten hour nap.

"Look lively, Aoi-san! The festival has just begun!" cheers Rengoku, passing her a can of milk tea from the giant bag of treats he bought at the convenience store just before. You carry a similar bag of goodies, the two of you wanting to motivate your respective classes as they work through the  festival.

Aoi sighs, far too weary for one so young, popping open the tab of her drink as she complains. "Inosuke won't keep to his scare area! He keeps jumping around, and Tanjiro leaves his scare area to put him in his place! Zenitsu keeps whining that it's not fair that he has to watch couples go by the haunted house or something, and its driving me nuts! Rengoku-sensei, can you please talk to them?"

You wince, inwardly thankful that your class was easier to handle. Rengoku booms a laugh, feeling none of your apprehension or Aoi's tired annoyance at his misbehaving students.

"It sounds like they're fired up today huh!" he chuckles, as Aoi rolls her eyes. He hands over the tickets for her to take. "We're going in Aoi-san! I'll talk to them while I'm inside!"

Aoi perks up at that, nodding as she rushes to the door, peeking her head inside to yell at the scare actors to get ready. At her nod, the two of you walk inside, pushing aside the heavy black curtains as you move into the cramped, dimly lit space.

It seemed like the students had set up makeshift walls, covered in fake leaves and cloth, creating a narrow route that winded through the class room space. Lit only by lamps, the outside light blocked out with what was probably more curtains, they managed to make what seemed to be a decently convincing, forest-like atmosphere. It was an impressive feat for a bunch of high school students with no theater background and even less of an attention span, and you praised them to Rengoku who hummed loudly in agreement.

You pressed close to Rengoku's arm to walk side by side, and you feel him fumble around until he located your hand, squeezing it gently. Was it even acceptable to be holding hands while you two were in school? Ah well, it's dark enough that it shouldn't be a problem.

The first bend brought with it the first scare actor, the student's rustling the only sound that permeated the room. With a half choked "WAGHH!" Tanjiro leaps out at the two of you, teeth bared and arms splayed. Dressed in what seemed to be a werewolf costume, he had two little brown ears peaking out in small brown tufts from his messy red hair, and brown paw gloves. He looked... too adorable to be scary.

Still, you pretend to be scared for his benefit, letting out a small "WAH!" of your own, but quite unable to keep the smile off your face. Tanjiro seems pleased enough with it. Rengoku laughs loudly, reaching over to clap him on the shoulder. "Kamado my boy!" he grins, letting go of your hand to rummage through his bag for another canned drink, "Excellent yell! Your fierce spirit really shows through! Here take this, and keep it up!" Tanjiro looks pleasantly surprised to be handed the drink, his "YES! THANK YOU!" loud and sharp like a soldier.

"I didn't expect you to come by, Rengoku-sensei, nor you (Y/N)-sensei!" he chirps cheerfully, not even bothering with keeping up his 'scary' persona in front of his teachers. "I would not miss a chance to cheer on my students!" proclaims Rengoku. He says it loudly enough that an excited murmur goes through the fake walls, probably from the other scare actors listening in. You smirk up at him. Rengoku was as popular with the students as ever.

Tanjiro grins up at him, seeming to get more pumped up by Rengoku's words. As he moves to go back to his hiding spot, he turns to you. "Ah! (Y/N)-sensei, be careful! I know you're not good with scary stuff, and our haunted house is pretty scary," he says, smile dropping in worry for you. You had no idea how he even knew you weren't fond of horror, but you doubted a bunch of students would be very scary anyway. Still, you smile encouragingly at him, but before you can reassure him of your bravery, Rengoku cuts in. "Do not worry young Kamado! I will protect her!"

You stare at him in disbelief, embarrassment colouring your cheeks in a hot flush. How does he even say things like that with a straight face? Tanjiro doesn't seem as embarrassed to hear it as you are, instead nodding at him very seriously.

The two of you leave Tanjiro, continuing down the dark hallway to the loud, snip snip sound of what was unmistakably scissors. Out from the darkness lopes out a giant set of garden shears, clipping shut way too close for comfort. You jump back in shock, and Rengoku takes a step forward, half shielding you and squeezing your clasped hand in comfort. The boy wielding it stepped out into the light, tear stained cheeks glinting.

"Even YOU Rengoku-sensei?!" cried Zenitsu, snapping the scissors a few more times for effect. He might have had more polished makeup at one point, but his tears had long smudged the white powder and black eyeshadow, making him look even more ghost like. His next words came out nearly indistinguishable, choked and warbled with tears but you picked out "unforgivable" and "punishment".

Rengoku seemed startlingly unconcerned by Zenitsu's behaviour, still grinning his manic smile down at him. In fact, he seemed almost impressed. "Incredible, young Agatsuma!" he cheers, fist pumping. "You have really gone above and beyond for your role! You are absolutely terrifying!"

At the (misplaced) compliment, Zenitsu's grief seems to clear. Immediately the tears stopped, replaced by a giddy bashful smile. "Heh, sensei do you really think so?"he asks, bouncing in his place and cuddling the giant pair of shears at Rengoku's affirmative hum. "I only did what I could," Zenitsu says, rubbing at his nose in an attempt at humble nonchalance.

Rengoku's grin, lit with the glow of the lantern, was blinding. Passing the boy one of the canned drinks, Zenitsu accepts Rengoku's praise happily, nearly skipping back into his hiding spot as the two of you went past. You had absolutely no idea if Rengoku had planned that entire exchange to calm him down, or if he truly thought it was all just Zenitsu's acting skills.

The two of you barely made it three steps away from Zenitsu before something came barreling down the path, knocking over the props, lamps and even a few walls before launching itself at Rengoku. Amid the chaos of the thing's growling roars and Rengoku's booming laughter, you could make out the boy's boar head, furry pants, and telltale lack of shirt and shoes. He would have been pretty scary in his own right if you, and most of the school hadn't seen him prowling the school in that same ridiculous headdress. He had gotten so excited over how 'cool and badass' it looked that the moment Aoi was done fashioning it a few days ago, he refused to take it off.

"SENSEI!" Inosuke roared, voice not diminished in the least by his mask. "BE AFRAID OF ME! COWER!"

Rengoku laughed even louder in response, grin threatening to split his face even as he wrestled with the boy. "Wonderful, Hashibira my boy! I can feel your passion burning stronger than ever!"

Inosuke barks out a laugh just as loud as Rengoku. "Praise me more! I'm FAR scarier than Monitsu and Gonpachiro!"

"I don't know who those people are!" shouts Rengoku. "But you are amazing in your own right Hashibira! I'm proud of you!"

You flutter around the two of them, pulling at their arms in a futile attempt to stop the impromptu wrestling match. Luckily, as quick as it started, Inosuke decided that he has had enough of trying to overpower and outshout Rengoku. He seemed very satisfied with Rengoku's praise, giggling happily to himself. From behind him, a few of the other scare actors emerged, upset that Inosuke had destroyed half the room's arrangement in his conquest. From behind you, you could hear Tanjiro yelling at him, voice audible even over the din of everyone shouting at once.

The chaos took a while for Rengoku and you to settle, and once everyone calmed down enough to start clearing up the area, you dragged Rengoku out of there, realising it will be better for them to work without Insouke trying to start a new wrestling match every few minutes. Rengoku left the rest of his treats with Aoi who promised to hand them out to the rest of the students on shift.

"So, wasn't it scary?" asked Rengoku, beaming down at you. You didn't really think scary quite covered the mayhem in that room, but you DID have a lot of fun, and tell him as much.

The two of you decided to stop by your classroom next, and you breathe a sigh of relief at how quiet your class is in comparison. Honestly, it was a silent reprieve in the midst of the festival's commotion. The dango the two girls manning the front of the store glistened enticingly in the light, and (to no one's surprise) Rengoku ended up purchasing nearly half their ready stock.

Nezuko thanked you for your treats with a muffled sound of appreciation, mouth stuffed with dango. You wondered faintly if she was selling the food or eating it, but Makomo beside her assures you of their good sales regardless.

Setting off now unburdened with treats but arms full of delicious dango, the two of you made your way through the stalls with Rengoku pausing every few steps to hand feed you his dango. Perhaps it was the cheerful mood of the festival, but you found yourself less embarrassed by the public display of affection than you would usually be.

The two of you strolled around, arms interlinked, enjoying your food, the giddy feeling of Rengoku's full attention making you feel like the two of you were in your own world. That is, until you heard the whistle.

Sharp and blaring it sounded right behind your heads, causing the both of you to jump. Turning, you stared right into the steely blue eyes of Tomioka, his characteristic frown setting him apart from the happy festival goers.

"Tomi-" Rengoku began, raising his arm in greeting before Tomioka blared his whistle again.

"Please maintain a sufficient amount of space between each other whilst on school grounds," he says, voice flat and serious. He jabs his ever present bokken at your linked arms, tapping until you unwind yourself from Rengoku. Rengoku's eyes widen even more than usual at Tomioka's intrusion. Although his smile remains ever present, the slight furrowing of his brow is the only indication of his true feelings.

Rengoku booms a laugh, slapping the bokken away from the two of you. "It's a festival, Tomioka-san! I'm sure its alright to be a bit lenient today!" Rengoku shouts cheerfully.

Tomioka doesn't seem in the least fazed, tapping his wooden sword against his shoulder in a flat, yet strangely menacing manner. "I disagree. Rules are rules, Rengoku-san. Please understand, we are teachers, we must maintain-"

"I understand!" you say, cutting off what was sure to be a rambling speech. "We'll be more careful."

Tomioka eyes the both of you, dubious, but finally he assents, nodding sharply before striding off immediately to hassle a student couple.

You moved to continue walking before you feel Rengoku grab your hand again. Eyebrow raised, you turn to him. "Tomioka just said that we can't be too close in school right?"

Rengoku grinned, blinding. "He did, indeed!"

"Then why?" you question, looking pointedly at your linked hands. At that Rengoku leans closer, cupping his hand around his mouth as if to whisper.

"He's not looking at us now," he says, voice still too inappropriately loud for a whisper. You turn to watch Tomioka smack the male student over the head with his bokken, presumably for talking back to him. For a second, you wondered if he'd smack the two of you for daring to disobey the rules even after a warning. You didn't doubt it.

As if sensing your thoughts, Rengoku's smile pulls wider, playfulness twinkling behind those burning sonic eyes. "We'll be sneaky."

In Rengoku's defence, he tried his best.

The two of you strolled around, hand in hand, dropping away from each other at the first sight of that messy black hair and worn blue tracksuit. It became nearly a game, greeting Tomioka's suspicious gaze with the most innocent expressions the two of you could muster (you, holding in giggles, and Rengoku, even louder with anxiety). Whenever he left, the two of you would stick together like magnets, the situation making you two even more touchy than usual, giggling your heads off like teenagers.

But in all honesty, Rengoku wasn't built for any sort of sneakery, and it wasn't long before the two of you heard the telltale blare of the whistle. It was the only warning you received before you spotted the gym teacher barreling down the crowded hallway, whose participants parted immediately, terrified of Tomioka's already swinging sword. You sighed, ready for the inevitable scolding, before you felt Rengoku tighten his grip on your hand, tugging insistently at you, as he turned to run down the hallway.

Too shocked at the sudden chase scene to say a word against it, you allow yourself to be dragged down the hall by a madly laughing Rengoku, his voice matched only by the repeated blares of the whistle. Students and festival goers threw themselves out of the way as Rengoku shot down the hallways like a burning blaze.

Stumbling along after him, you let him pull you into the space beneath the staircase, his laughter cutting off as he struggled to be quiet. Covering your mouth, he pulls you in close, the two of you trying to stay as quiet as possible as you hear Tomioka thunder past. The two of you stayed tense and quiet for a few moments more before Rengoku lifted his hand off your mouth, allowing you to properly catch your breath.

"You!" you begin, accusingly. "He's definitely going to scold us later!"

Rengoku looked appropriately chagrined, his grin looking almost sheepish. Humming softly to himself he thinks over your words. "Then, let's not leave this spot!" he says, hair bouncing as he visibly perks up at the thought of staying in the dark dusty staircase. You snorted at his antics, letting him drag you down, tucking you neatly against him as he sat down.

You lean your head against his chest, cuddled in his arms as you try to calm your heart back down after the impromptu marathon. Rengoku nuzzles his face into your hair, and the both of you sit in comfortable silence for a while. It's a welcome change after the chaos of the festival.

Rengoku, you knew thrived in that madness though, so you ask him when he'd like to return to the festival.

"Hm," he says, and his voice is uncharacteristically soft, making you turn to stare at him. He smiles, gentle, and he looks surprisingly sleepy, as if cuddling under dusty staircases was his perfect idea of a nap. "I realise," he murmurs, and it makes you wonder if this is what he's like in the early mornings, or the eaves of the night, when his perpetual fire (if ever) dims for rest. "I haven't gotten you all to myself all day... Let's stay like this, for a little while longer."

You smile back up at him, securing yourself more comfortably in his lap. It certainly wouldn't hurt to relax here a bit longer. You'll just have to hope Tomioka forgets about his scolding by the time the two of you get back.

[chilling-seavey]

Passchendaele - XVIII

A/N Time heals most wounds

T/W Brief mentions of death, descriptions of loss/grief, and a bit of talk about warfare strategies/planning

Corbyn and Zach didn’t speak, keeping their hesitant glances at Daniel as discreet as they could as they sat in the trenches. What was there to say to a man who just held his brother while he died? The storm was still going strong, lighting and thunder flashing across the dark sky as the sun had long since set, rain pouring down onto the earth below. Daniel simply sat in the small dugout in the side of the trench, his stew untouched in his mess tin on his lap as he stared blankly into space, ignoring the rain that was plastering his dark hair over his eyes. He didn’t even blink.

Corbyn and Zach had finished their supper much earlier, sitting on either side of their solemn friend.

“You should eat something, mate.” Corbyn whispered, breaking their lengthy silence.

Daniel shook his head, pushing his tin into Corbyn’s hands and he hid his face in his palms with his elbows balanced on his knees. Zach set a soft hand on his shoulder.

They stayed by his side all night, even if none of them slept a wink. Daniel didn’t cry, he only stared blankly at the ground, not bothering to push off Zach’s weak attempt at comfort which was honestly just him leaning his head on his shoulder. Corbyn watched the two younger men, his back up against the dirt wall and his feet tucked in front of him as he faced them, a cigarette smoked every hour. He watched them carefully, as if it was his job to protect them.

It was some time during the night that Daniel finally moved, carefully pushing Zach off him and he reached into one of the pouches on his belt. Corbyn watched through tired eyes and a soft twirl of smoke from his mouth as Daniel pulled out a half empty ration of cigarettes. He turned it over in his hand a few times before opening it and pulling one out.

Without a word, Corbyn flicked open his lighter and held it out to him. Daniel set the cigarette between his lips and let the older man light it for him before he was settling back against the dugout and closed his eyes, taking a long drag from the cigarette and blew out a gentle cloud of smoke. He held the rest of the package against his chest like it was an important possession, his fingers clinging tightly onto it as his other helped balance the cigarette against his lips. Corbyn passed Zach one from his own ration and lit up for him too and the three friends smoked in silence in the early hours of the morning, half sheltered from the cold rain.

The rain had faded into a mist by sunrise, the grey clouds still blocking the light from the sun, but the Lieutenants gathered the men for Stand To. Daniel was a walking haze, the world moving around him as he took his position on the front lines, rifle resting against the parapet like every morning. It was as if everything was numb, expressionless, unbelievable. Life wasn’t really feeling like it was being lived anymore. Daniel himself truly felt dead.

When the order to stand down was shouted down the lines, Daniel shuffled off on his own, leaving Zach and Corbyn standing alone. They didn’t follow him, allowing him a bit of time to himself.

The trenches were still flooded, and Daniel waded through the water until he reached a secluded part of the alleyways where he could sit, finding the driest part of ground he could. He pulled out his tin from the inside of his jacket and set a blank parchment on his lap, pausing to glance at the photograph of Elizabeth that was still laying on the top of the stack. Her gentle smile captured in the image made him breathe for a moment, relaxing the best he could before he began to write to her. He honestly didn’t know what he was going to say, how much he wanted to tell her through a letter, or how much he was ready to share, but he scribbled a few lines the best he could. Even just the little bit he wrote started to calm him the slightest amount, Elizabeth always being his confidant even when they were parted. He didn’t want to worry her, however, so he kept his descriptions short and promised to speak with her at a later time, making sure to sign his name with a heart at the end like he always did.

Just as Daniel was finishing up writing out the address to the Ypres Field Hospital, he caught a glance of commotion farther down the line and adjacent to him. A group of soldiers were rushing through the water together, quickly followed by the General himself, dressed in a clean uniform, only stained by the flood water that reached his mid-calves.  Daniel watched him walk off, his broad shoulders hard to miss as he disappeared around the corner towards the officers’ dugouts.

Daniel looked back down to his lap again, turning the sealed envelope to Elizabeth over in his hands carefully. His heart ached for her and he bit his lip to keep his emotions in, only wishing to be back in her arms in the warm sun of their town back home.

The water sloshed in front of him as someone approached and Daniel looked up in the misty rain to see Zach stood in front of him.

Neither spoke for a moment.

Zach cleared his throat, his hands held together in front of him nervously as he stared at Daniel’s downcast gaze, “The General asked to see you.”

Daniel’s head shot up to look at him, confusion etched in his features, his voice rough from the smokes and his exhaustion as he mumbled out a, “Me?”

“Says it’s important.” Zach added, hoping Daniel would comply and he wouldn’t have to return to the terrifyingly large man to say his demand had not been met.

Thankfully, Daniel got to his feet, holding out the letter to Zach, “Can you mail this for me?”

Zach could only nod as he took the letter, glancing down at Elizabeth’s name scribbled out with shaky penmanship over the front. When he looked back up, Daniel was already halfway down the trenches, fixing his uniform to look his best for the commander of the entire British army. Daniel kept his head down as he navigated the twisting alleyways, pushing through the water as he approached the officer’s dugout. Corbyn was waiting for him outside the entrance.

“What’s going on?” Daniel asked hesitantly.

“He asked for you specifically.” Corbyn brushed off Daniel’s shoulders and helped him with the top button on his uniform that always was a bit snug before giving him a friendly smile and leading the way into the dugout.

The sandbags at the entrance allowed less water to be flooding the area, Daniel’s boots splashing in the shallow puddles which was a nice contrast from the consistent knee-deep pool outside. The dugout was dark, only lit by a few lanterns that were scattered over the tables and ledges. The General sat alone at the large wooden table in the center of the space, his broad chest and squared shoulders looked like he was ready to snap the table in half if someone tested him. Daniel shifted nervously, shuffling closer to Corbyn.

“Private Seavey, sir.” Corbyn introduced, both men offering a stiff salute to their General.

The man looked up at them from the work that was laid out over the table, his eyes lingering on Daniel a moment before turning back to Corbyn, “Thank you, Lieutenant. Dismissed.”

“Sir.” Corbyn nodded once, sneaking out a gentle hand to pat Daniel’s shoulder as he walked back out, closing the cloth curtain behind him.

“Please have a seat, Private.” The General spoke lowly, gesturing to the chair opposite him.

Daniel removed his helmet as he sat down, placing it on his lap and set his rifle to the muddy ground.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” The man held out a hand to Daniel, his skin callused and worn, warm under the soft light of the lanterns, “General Dolan. Grayson Dolan.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir.” Daniel stumbled out, taking the handshake firmly.

“I have had a meeting with the Lieutenants here earlier…Besson says you’re the best in the Division.”

“I don’t know about that.” Daniel flushed.

“I don’t take compliments like that lightly, Seavey. He has reported nothing but glowing reviews of your performance out here, stating you’ve been an excellent solider and a man of the utmost admirable persistence and integrity.”

“I appreciate that, sir.” Daniel whispered.

“We have come to the conclusion that I should offer you the promotion to Sergeant.”

“Sir?” Daniel’s eyes went wide.

“I am well aware that this would be a jump of three ranks from your current title of ‘Private’ but we’re in desperate need of more officers and you seem like just the man for the job. Do you think you can lead a Section of ten men, Seavey? You would be taking over Besson’s place since his own promotion.”

“Yessir. Thank you, sir.” Daniel rushed out.

“Good.” The General’s friendly smile made Daniel smile a bit himself, but he quickly forced his face back to expressionless as he dropped his eyes to his lap. He felt that it wasn’t the right time for smiling. The General studied him quietly, full eyebrows furrowed slightly as his pen rested against his lips, watching how Daniel’s eyes scrunched shut for a few quick seconds before he was taking a shaking breath.

“Can I offer you a bit of advice, Seavey?” The General’s voice was softer now as he set his pen down against the table and crossed his hands together on top, no longer speaking from a position of authority but more from a stature of friendliness.

“Yessir.” Daniel didn’t look up at him.

“I know what it’s like to lose a brother out here too.”

Daniel looked up at the General under a confused expression.

“I watched my twin brother get shot to death right in front of me last year. It’s not an easy thing to experience.”

“No, sir.” Daniel’s voice broke a moment and he looked back down to his lap.

“But it doesn’t help to dwell on it, not on the end of it at least. Finish up out here and you’ll be home again in no time where you can remember the best of your brother with your family there.”

Daniel looked back up at the General, watching how he turned back to his paperwork and maps like the conversation was finished.

“Permission to speak, sir?” Daniel asked quietly.

“Granted.” The General looked up at him expectantly.

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t believe we should continue this mission.”

“Elaborate, Sergeant?”

Daniel shifted nervously under the new title and the intense stare from his superior, “These conditions are brutal and the rain hasn’t let up for days. The Germans have the higher ground and to keep pushing on like this would be a…a suicide mission…sir.”

“Who told you to say this?” General Dolan’s voice was darker again and Daniel swallowed nervously to keep his composure, trying not to say the wrong thing to make the large man in front of him snap.

“No one, sir. Just my observations. I think it would be best to stand down, find another way around the German front lines.”

“Seavey, if we don’t capture Passchendaele promptly, the Germans will have a stronger hold on the Western Front. They have been sinking all of our supply ships, medical ships, and local marines across the English Channel and into the Atlantic, and if they keep this foothold on the Belgian coast, this war will not see end.”

“They have the artillery and machinery to destroy us all, sir. Fortifications. Lieutenant Besson and I spotted them yesterday during the attack-”

“This battle will be pushed forward and we will not retreat under any circumstances…we cannot afford it. I suggest you stop trying to undermine your officers before your higher rank is revoked.” The General spoke strongly, his deep voice almost echoing of the dirt walls of the dugout. His hazel eyes were narrowed in Daniel’s direction, sharp jaw clenched, and his large hands folded on the tabletop, his expression as if daring him to try to speak again.

“Yessir.” Daniel only whispered, bowing his head again, sliding his fingertip over the brim of his metal helmet that rested on his lap.

“Will that be all, Sergeant?” The General spoke dryly.

“Yessir.” Daniel repeated.

“Dismissed.”

Daniel didn’t look up as he gathered his rifle from the ground and turned for the exit. He turned to face the General once more, giving the expected salute to him, eyes downcast, before he was leaving the dugout without another word.

[nctwd127]

Arranged Marriage.

Chapter Eight.

Warnings: Mentions of miscarriage. Slight smut. Talk of depression.   

Word Count: 2853

“Yuta, don’t. Please, I’m sorry.”

He maliciously laughed and whispered in my ear, “You think I care that you’re sorry now? You should have thought about that when you decided that hitting me was a good idea.” His grip tightened a little more, cutting my air off.

My grip tightened around his wrist and grabbed a fistful of his shirt in the other.

“Yuta please.” I pleaded in breathes. Things were starting to get a little hazy.

“Hmm, I like the way you beg.” He bite my earlobe before he left kisses down my cheek, to my jaw and then shadowed my lips. “Tell me you want more.” His lips brushed against mine but didn’t fully come into contact. His hand caressing my bare upper thigh.  

“Tell me you want more princess.” Yuta pleaded into my neck as his fingers were holding onto my waist tight, trying to keep himself from thrusting into me, knowing I needed more time to adjust. It was our first time and the stretch hurt a little more than I could handle right now.

“I want more.” I moaned. He started to move slow, letting the feeling of my walls wrap around him consuming him in full lust. “Fuck. You-you’re so tight, you feel so good.”

The pain subsided and I was ready for more, “Fuck, more baby, please.”

The animal in Yuta was released at the hearing of those words. He sat on his knees and pulled himself almost completely out before he slammed back into me without warning. A loud moan left my lips as my hands grabbed onto the silky sheets below me.

Yuta took hold of my waist and pounded into me. Watching the way my boobs bounced in rhythm with his thrust, the way my face twisted in pleasure, pleasure he was giving me.

It was in this moment we both knew that this was more than just a like, more than best friends losing it to each other for the sake of losing it.

It was in this moment, as he was pounding into me, making his for the first time that we both knew that we were in love. The way our eyes sparkled said it all.

“Stop. Please stop.” Is all that could manage to say, I couldn’t take it anymore, the memories, the feelings, everything was too much.

“Yuta, don’t do this to me. I can’t.” I closed my eyes and felt his lips press into mine. Not hard or forced, just pressed against mine.

His hand left my neck and went to hold my waist and pulled me into him. He pulled away from my lips enough to ghost over them again and I opened my eyes to look at his. His eyes were much softer now, still dark but not as much anymore. He moved my hair away from my shoulder and then held my cheek.

“Your life is completely in my hands, so don’t try and test my boundaries again.”

He gave me a kiss before he fully pulled away from my body. Leaving me cold and exposed again. He looked over on my covered body once more before he turned to walk out. He stopped with his hand on the door handle but didn’t turn to face me.

“I mean it (Y/N), let this be the last time something like this happens. Next time I won’t stop.”

Once the door closed, I felt my body shake violently as the sobs left me uncontrollably. How am I supposed to make a life like this? My world was collapsing around me and there nothing I could do about it.

Yuta had my life in the palm of his hands. He could control everything and anything he wanted about me.

I spent the rest of the day locked away in my room, thrown on my bed, covered in the heavy blanket. Crying and crying, till it hurt and even then, I still cried. I didn’t bother turning on my phone again after I had turned it off when I ran away earlier. I didn’t care for the real world, just like it didn’t care about me, making me suffer in agony like this.

With my thick black curtains closed and my phone off, time didn’t exist for me. My mind was being weighed down by the memories. My body was exhausted of everything it was going through. Everything was too much and I just wanted this to end.  

I had been discharged the same day of the accident, when my parents came for me. The doctor informed them that I was ‘fine’ just a few cuts and bruises, nothing a day or two of rest wouldn’t fix.

Before he stepped out, he gave me a sad smile and nod, I returned it knowing what it meant. As promised, he kept the pregnancy that was no longer present out of the information of my well-being. I didn’t know how to process this alone, I needed Yuta.

After I changed into the clothes my parents brought me, I stepped into the hallway to find our parents. Once I did, Yuta’s mom brought me into a tight hug, “Oh thank god you’re okay.” She cheered hugging me a little tighter. I hugged her back.

“May I see Yuta?” I asked her when we pulled away from the hug. “Of course honey, go ahead. The doctor said he has a concussion so just be weary.” She informed me, pointing me to the direction of his room. I thanked her with a nod and walked to Yuta’s room.

I knocked on the door to see if he was awake, which he was as I heard a faint “come in”. I pushed open the door and felt a little stunned seeing him like that. Small cuts adorned his face and bruises were starting to settle on his beautiful silky sun kissed skin.

Yuta looked at me and nodded, giving me a wide smile, “You came to see me.” He cheered like he hasn’t seen me in a while. I stopped for a moment not expecting that reaction.

“Of course baby, how are you feeling?” I questioned as I walked over to him, taking his hand in mine. He gave me a puzzled look and laughed. “Baby? When did you start calling me that?” I returned the puzzled look he gave me.

“Yuta that’s not funny, you shouldn’t joke like that.” I scolded, trying to push the ugly feelings that were starting to come up at his reaction. “Joke like what? I’m being serious, I don’t remember when you started to call me that (Y/N).”

(Y/N)... He hasn’t called me by my name in months now…

“What’s the last thing you remember then?” I fretted. He looked at me like he was ready to burst out laughing at the way I was acting, like if I was joking.

“What’s the matter with you? You’re being weird.” Yuta chuckled as he pushed my hand away like it was nothing.

Just then the doctor came in, he looked at me for a moment and carried on.

“Mr. Nakamoto, how are you feeling?” he quizzed as he looked over his chart. “I’m feeling fine, my head hurts a little though.” Yuta complained as he brought his hand to his head.

“Ah yes, you took quite a hard blow to the head during the accident.” The doctor informed him.

“Yeah about the accident, what happened?”

The doctor looked up at him with worried eyes for a moment, “You mean, you don’t remember?” He walked over to him. “Not really, it’s a little hazy.” Yuta answered, he turned to look at me. “Were you there?”

“Mr. Nakamoto, what month or day is it?” the doctor interrupted before I could answer.

I tried to hold in my tears at the scene unfolding before me. Yuta knew the month and day. He remembered most of the day prior to the accident. He remembered the last two months as well.

The only thing he didn’t remember from those two months was me, just me. He thought I had been away for the summer since he couldn’t recall spending time with me. I don’t know what he remembered from those two months then because most, if not all the time was spent with me.

When the doctor stepped out, I told Yuta I’d be right back and went outside to speak with the doctor.

“Doctor, what’s happening? Why doesn’t remember me?” my voice cracked when I finished asking my question. “Memory is a tricky thing Ms. (L/N). It’s complicated. Sometimes, severe trauma or stress can cause the brain to reject emotions or thoughts that are too overwhelming for it to handle.”

I couldn’t understand. I didn’t understand. None of this was making any kind of fucking sense to me.  

“Is there some way to make them come back to him? He has to remember.” I insisted.

“Ms. (L/N), its best you let those memories come back to him on their own. If you push too much, it could cause him emotional distress that can cause him to block out even more.” The doctor explained.

“But he will remember, right? His memories will come back to him, right?”

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look that was enough for me to understand that the possibilities were up in the air. I ran the risk that he could never remember what we had.

This was the start of the downfall my life took that changed everything forever.

I felt myself yell out Yuta’s name as if it was being ripped out of my throat as my body jolted awake. I sat up panting with a thin layer of sweat covering my forehead. There was shuffling outside my door before it was thrown open by a well-toned shirtless Yuta, holding a bat.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, I mean… I’m okay. I think I was having a nightmare. I’m sorry.” I stuttered trying to gather my thoughts, trying to push everything down that was coming up right now. Seeing him wasn’t helping me.

He looked at me from the door putting down the bat from the swinging position he was holding it in, “You’re having nightmares again?”

My body tensed as I looked at him wide eyed. “How did-“

“Your parents told me you were having them, a month after they started. They asked if I knew of any reason for you to be having them.” He informed me leaning against the door.

“Oh, um I didn’t know they had asked you.” I whispered avoiding his gaze. “Well you cut off like I was nothing, like I didn’t even matter to you so I can’t imagine why you would know.” His voice hiding an undertone of hurt and bitterness.

Our eyes met at his statement, hurt washing over me. I never gave him a reason for cutting him off the way I did. But it’s not like I could just tell him that we were together, I couldn’t tell him in detail all the memories he forgot.

“I…I’m sorry for disturbing you like this.” I apologized.    

Yuta scoffed, thinking I would give him a reason for what I did, after all this time. He gave me a meaningless nod and closed the door as he left.

After sitting on my bed for thirty minutes just absorbing in the memories that creeped up on me, I decided to turn on my phone. The time read 1:14am.

Overwhelmed at the missed calls and text messages I had gotten. Most of them were Hendery and Ten, texting me, our group chat and the one with Doyoung in it. Doyoung had also sent me a few messages.

[Bunny]: I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I was wrong for it, I just, this is a lot for me too. I lost you and I can’t stand it. I’m falling apart without you.

[Bunny]: That’s no excuse for what I did today or Saturday, I know that. But I don’t know what else to do. I damn near lost my mind when the guys told me they were going to help you move in with him. I had one too many drinks and I just wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t want you to find out the way that you did.

[Bunny]: I had overheard Jaehyun and Taeyong talk about how you were going to make your relationship with him public today and I just broke. I know you’re hurting and I just made it worse.

[Bunny]: When I saw that you slapped him (like he rightfully deserved by the way) I was ready to rush over to you in case he tried anything but then you ran away. I ran after you but I lost you in the crowd of people.  

[Bunny]: What I’m trying to get as is! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to pick you up anywhere?

[Bunny]: Please answer me, I’m so sorry, I really am. I love you so much and I never wanted to hurt you like this. Please, I’m sorry.

Reading his messages crushed me because he is going through so much too and I just can’t do anything about it. I can’t make it better, not for him and not for me, not for anyone. There is nothing I can do, everything is in the hands of the black haired devil across the hall.

[Me to My home skillet biscuits]: Hi guys, I’m sorry for worrying you so much, I am fine. I just needed a break, it’s been really rough, for all of us. I’m sorry this has to be such a burden for everyone. I’m sorry but I’m okay.

There was nothing else I could do besides apologize.

Despite it being the late hour that it was, they all texted back, telling me that I shouldn’t apologize because none of this was my fault, I did nothing to cause it and there was nothing I could have done for it to not happen. Yuta’s parents and mine are to blame for this.  

Doyoung also apologized, not just to me again but to the boys as well because he’s been taking out all of his anger and every other emotion he can feel right now on them, on us. We all forgave him because much like this wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t his fault either that he was lashing out like this.

We all agreed that we should have lunch tomorrow, to just talk and find some kind of way of making this easier, for any of us. But the chances of that being possible are slim as the only way to make this easier is if I didn’t have to marry Yuta.

Shortly after that, we all said goodnight and called it a night. Well they did, I couldn’t sleep anymore. The dream kept replaying in my head over and over again. All the hurt that I first felt came rushing back to me.

Mourning the loss of a baby I didn’t know I was carrying, pushed me into an unbearable depression, where I lost all sense of sanity. Getting me out of the house wasn’t an option because getting me to even pass the four walls of my room was impossible.

I wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything. The world didn’t matter to me. I lost my baby, our baby. And I lost the version of Yuta, I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Nothing mattered.

I was devastated after Yuta didn’t remember the time we spent together. I hoped that over time the memories would come to him on their own but when the first year passed and nothing had come back, I had to give up, on him, on us. On everything I had known between us.  

It’s been eight years now and he still doesn’t remember what we had. But I am being forced to endure the fresh wave of flashbacks that took me years to burry and forget. I am being forced to endure my miscarriage again. This is torture to my heart and my mental health.

The summer we spent together, where we told each other time and time again, that it was the happiest we had ever been, is best forgotten. I don’t want him to remember it, none of it. Maybe it makes me selfish but I don’t want to have to relive it all over again. The first time alone was more than enough.

Yuta has the right to know, of course. But not now, not like this. Not at the expense of me, of my health and sanity.

~While I sat in my room, hoping that those memories never came back to him. Yuta was twisting and turning in his sleep, sweat covering his overheated body as a very vague memory played itself in the form of a dream. A memory of us. But it was too unclear for him to fully understand that it was a memory and not a dream.  

Soon enough he’ll know. ~  

Masterlist                                                      

[empressxmachina]

Patients Zero - iii. by Imperial-Radiance

~Also on Wattpad~

*gasp* *cough*

Oh, good god. What? I thought I was— But, how am I—? Didn’t I get—? Wait, where am I?

Hard: I’m on something hard. Hard, flat, slick, and cold. My back hates this. I’m guessing it’s a floor. But I feel grooves, not just one that takes up my entire hand. It almost feels… made for me. Impossible. My eyes; they’re closed. It’s dark, behind and in front of the lids. Yet, there’s a glow: a… soft one? Not the blinding white from before? It’s cool, still, but not as much somehow. I wait for a voice to give me any sort of insight of where I am, and all I get back is just the gentle hum of a… a… Wait, is that a fan? No, is that a heater? Even on the hottest days outside in the real world – real because this is a fantasy, still, especially if I’m alive – it never went past room temperature. I… I’m boiling like I’m stuck in an oven.

Oh, my god. Am I being cooked in here? No, screw that. I’ll accept going out in plenty of ways in this diminutive state, but I will not go out as someone’s di—!

Well, this is… new? I finally lift my back up and open my eyes, and I’ve found myself lost… and in pain. Holy crap! Everything hurts! Ugh. But that’s the least of my worries. I’m alive, somehow, for some reason. But, why, and why here, wherever here is?

Am I crazy? This sure looks like a living room: not very different from my one at home. There’s a sofa, a table, and works of art that admittedly caught my vision immediately. I’ve liked to think that I’m not a leech for moving media, so not seeing a television or the like here is pleasing. There are dimly lit LEDs as large as me, a rug across the ground over there as large as me, and an actual fan even larger than me. Sure, it nearly takes up a whole wall like a fireplace would, but the latter would be unconventional. It’s blowing out heat, so it must switch between hot and cold. The only thing missing is a collection of literature of varying genres, but I doubt printing that small is even possible. Besides that, it’s like it was made for me.

But that’s just it. That’s fucking weird. It’s made for me, and how small am I now?

I must be going insane. This can’t be real. This room can’t possibly be mine—Oh. Oh shit.

That’s a kitchen over there behind me. A real kitchen – well, as real as it can be with its counters and cabinets. But it’s the actual cooking stuff that made it real: the primitive tools in the corner for refrigeration and cooking – some solar funnel/pot thing, I think – and the bruised yet familiar food scraps from my past life stacked in a triad of pyramids next to them. Wait, past life? I say that like it’s been forever since I was… ambushed… by someone big enough to make a place like this if they’re careful.

I’ve got to get out of here. But what is here? First things first, I should probably get my ass off the floor: this uncomfortably perfectly-sized floor.

O-Okay. Up and at it. The floor isn’t an ocean anymore. Appliances don’t have as much of a chance of killing me now. If I go this way, then I can sit at this table right here and contemplate all the dumb stuff I did to get here… wherever here is, not to mention there are enough chairs to fit a whole family or a group of housemates. Housemates. AmI alone here? Why am I here? Why do I keep asking myself these questions rather than just looking for the answer?

I’m irrational. This is irrational, but I must make the most of it. No, screw it, do I even have a choice? Well, with all these grabbable, sharp things around, I guess the answer’s technically a ‘yes.’ But. I’m not that depressed. I’m not. Not *sigh* that depressed. I’ve fought this long for others’ lives before and my own at this level, so why stop now? It’s not like I’m not used to being like this. It’s just this current situation that’s new… and heaven knows how much I love surprises… and rambling. Where was I? Oh, right.

If I go that way, now, then I can go to a surprise upstairs with who-knows-what… or who-knows-who. Would they really bunk me with someone else? I wasn’t one for strangers at full size, so how would they think I’d manage one on this scale!? They’re the ones that are short-sighted, not me. Ugh, I can’t wait to deal with that possibility. Though, maybe I don’t have to.

There’s the door. Huh.

I know I just got out of some stasis a moment ago, but it only just occurred to me that all the windows are covered and presumably closed. There seems to be no light peeking out of anywhere, either, so either it’s still nighttime, or I’m enclosed somewhere cut off from the world. No, the latter’s always going to be true here, now that I think about it. I don’t know where here is, but I do know it sure isn’t out there. There’s no use in not verifying it, though.

I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised how what should be a small door doesn’t have a lock. Yet, it has a hinge – two of them? Okay. Am I too dumb for not checking the windows? No, just crazy, but I knew that already. What’s crazier, though, is how I’m simultaneously right and wrong upon opening this door.

This is a small house, and this sure doesn’t look like a lab, a ward, and especially not that basement. To be honest, I kind of expected there to be grass or an equivalent on the ground here. Ground. I say that like this place containing me isn’t on a freaking table right now. Well, to be fair, they brought in real grass, plants, and stuff for the diorama dwellings, so I guess it’s not that weird. But those were for hundreds if not thousands of people on several stations. This is just me… and a house for me… on a table.

A table in what looks like a… a bedroom? I mean, I think I can make out the mountainous shapes of a bed, nightstands sandwiching it, and I think a dresser across from them, but it’s freaking dark in here. I’m surprised I can see that far away. Those LEDs boxed in my walls shouldn’t be able to reach that far, even if their brightness was somehow magnified through the cracks between windows and the door, yet here they are. Despite that, there’s no denying I’m in some resting place for some giant somewhere. Somewhere.

I could be freaking anywhere, but where?

I do know one thing: it’s damn fine that I don’t have a fear of heights. That helped me back there with the commons, so it’ll help me here, too. But, god, damn it, that drop is large. I bet it was intentional, along with my placement here. With the back edge cut off by the wall and the front sharply opening to this no man’s land of a room, I don’t have many options of escape.

I hear a heater running like a radiator under a window on one side of this table, and I’d rather not get burnt to cinders today. I could test my luck descending the curtains, but I don’t think I’m in proper form to climb or slide down. The opposite side is blocked by a chair in the corner. Falling onto a cushion might not be a bad idea. Maybe there’s a vent I can get through behind there. Hmm.

Screw it. I’d rather risk seeing my maker than wait for them to come to me. Chair, it is. It seems like the only way to go. But, should I take a leap of faith or weigh my options? Eh, watch with my luck, and this room’s patron comes back in and throws something atop of me – maybe even themselves. A smudge on somebody’s ass: that’s not legacy worthy. At least if I’m up here for some time, then I can probably make it back in the house and use it for even a smidgen of protection.

Hopefully.

Huh. Should I be bothered by how my steps aren’t clicking across this surface? I mean, they never did in the basement, but there were plenty of people around causing noise and whatever. Here, I’m alone… at least for now. That should be calming, shouldn’t it? Alas, as I continue forward, the curve of what-now-looks-like-an-accent-chair crests over the horizon and—

Oh, curse me.

So, I was right in being worried about possibly being suffocated to no end in colossal clothing. But, of all of them, did it have to be scrubs? I’m no color aficionado, but I do think that’s how that health-centric blue is supposed to look in this lighting—er, lack of light, I should say. Of course, they’re not just any scrubs, either. Any sensible physician would know to discard of their scrubs in at least a hamper to be washed after use or just use a new pair. These look like cast-offs like mad.

I’d put money down on them being his. That monster brought me here, didn’t here? Then, me being here would make sense: I’m where he lives or, at least, stays so he can watch me like some project.

Looking back at this rather extravagant house for a subspecies like me, who knows how much other preparation has been done since he acquired me? Is he why I’m hurt like this? Speaking of hurt, wasn’t I beeping before, and that led to all of this? It’s stopped now, and so was I, but is replacing it with pain much better? If I run away, then how do I know that the beeping won’t restart and lead to an even greater demise?

I’m curious, though, considering he could’ve ended me earlier while I was presumably incapacitated if that were his goal. But what if he may have plans for me, instead? What if he’s planning for me to run away, and that’s why he’s away, probably watching from afar? The basement had cameras whether they wanted us to know they were there or not, and I bet there’s some in here, too, with night vision, thermals, and all that other fancy gobbledygook. Ugh, it’s dark and distant in here, but damn it, I’m going to find one if it’s the last thing I—

Are you kidding me?

Do not tell me that’s been him this whole time. Him, and he’s that? Well, that’s poetic as hell, isn’t it? He was going to take me out beforeall this crap started. Now, he’s going to do me in here, instead, screwing me sideways and 1-upping me even more so.

In my visual pursuits of a camera, the last thing I expected to find was an I.D. To surprise me even more, I recognized the face on it. I remember my first time seeing it.

I was on a lunch break, just reading in my journals about Match Day – how it had been the largest amounts of matches in history or whatever – and then Doc Adams suddenly broke the fun and excitement, coming in with a list of our future interns. One of them was him. If it had been just a few years prior, then I would’ve been excited. After all, there’s nothing wrong with more doctors, right? But, Adams, the louse, has… had been trying to get me out of the doctoring game since.

It’s because he knows that I’d be better at his job than him, and the supervisors at the system H.Q. have been telling us both this. I can’t help that I love – loved– helping people directly so much to not replace it with a tedious desk job, even if it looks over pretty much everyone else in the hospital. Thus, his solution was to put more and more people in our ranks to dilute the focus away from me. It worked for a while until someone had a symptom that they didn’t know how to treat, but I did.

Despite my knowledge, this new guy was perfection, though, and from across the ocean, no less. I bet Adams creamed his pants at him on the list: this—What’s his name again? Oh, yeah: this ‘Mikul Merchant’ or whatever. I wonder how many bribes Adams had to make to get him. But that doesn’t matter now, does it? The first day for the interns would’ve been months ago, and the kid and I are both here, apparently, with him ruining my life just as much if not more so than he would’ve been without this wretched disease.

Though, if he was already on this continent way before then, then he must’ve been excited, too. After all, I’m sure his home country has its own center like this where he could’ve been. Why was he here, and how in the world did he turn out to be a carrier, too?

Upon registration, everyone is given I.D.s, but rather than having the random number sequences and barcodes the others get until they’re rendered useless by dwindling heights to where they can’t carry the damn thing, carriers’ listings are just ‘zeroes’ with a Q.R. code. I’m positive that’s how that self-deprecating squad of bugs found me and put their emotions out on and into me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one here, so why would they charge me rather than someone like him? Well, besides his youth, foreignness, and relative handsomeness that may correlate with them, unlike me, he’s a carrier of and might as well be immune to both strains.

Curse this minute minutia. Curse my imperfections. But, most importantly, screw this—!

*CLICK* God, no.

Before I can even blink, a beam of light blinds me, revealing the previously dark side of the room and thus allowing me to see that this isn’t just a bedroom but more like a hotel room. A vanity adjacent to a closed closet appears. It’s spanning across the wall opposite me, this table and chair, that house of mine, and the window. How I didn’t see the reflection of this house in the mirror beforehand is beside me. But, no other reflection aside from my own hasn’t yet come into view, which makes me wonder if this is genuinely that giant’s room.

I know I used to come across my team’s scrubs in my office on occasion, so who’s to say that a lead person isn’t just keeping subject/’Doctor’ Merchant’s clothing with them for testing or safekeeping? Though, I don’t think that just throwing them across a chair shows its direct importance or proper sanitation practices. Or, maybe there’s another type of experiment going on. Perhaps it’s just dealing with me and what I do in this new location? Either way, that doesn’t answer whose room this is or why—

Never mind. There, he is. I’m here with him. I should stop doubting myself. No, this is the one time I should challenge anything and everything I’ve ever known.

Emerging from what I assume is a bathroom, a lanky, lean embodiment of a supposed human comes through. Supposed. Humans aren’t meant to be that large. It’s almost godly – the glow of his mostly bare, solely-pants-wearing, towel-draping-necked form – but I’m not glorifying a monster, checking his face and onyx hair over the sink and counter like he hasn’t done anything wrong. His auburn skin with no marks in sight is so nourished like he’s been able to bathe sensibly and get proper sunlight. There’s not one eye bag or wrinkle like he’s never had a single stressor in his life: the pampered, pompous prick. I’d almost say he’s prettier in person, but beasts are never pretty.

If you’re here, then you should be under all the stresses. Yet, here you are, flouncing around almost naked like you aren’t contracted with and spreading disease! If that’s the case, then why the hell am I here, trapped with you—!?

You… You… You’ve got to be kidding me. I mean, it was only a matter of time, but… don’t fucking dare.

Before I can even comprehend it, his almond gaze snaps on me like a locked crosshair in a gun’s sight. I try freezing in place, but I’m sure the vanity lights are making my eyes glow like a beady animal’s, so it’s all in vain. Aside from that, I didn’t think he had even noticed me at first, but then he had squinted his eyes and cocked his head like an inquisitive dog trying to hear. Just to test my luck, he even acknowledges me… or whatever he thinks I am if he doesn’t know for sure for some reason,

“H-Huh?” He sounds so soft, almost… Nope, I’m not going to say that. There’s no way he actually cares. I… I’m nothing in comparison. He’s taken out souls larger and smaller than me, so what difference would I make? “Is something there?” See? ‘Something.’

I’m a thing now.

I almost thought he’d salivate for his new toy, treat, or whatever I am to him. He’s already been a predator in public upon thousands of eyes. How much craftier will he be, all alone? I’m not going to wait to find out. Even if that’s what he’s expecting me to do, I don’t care. It’s fight-or-flight, and the former is definitely out of the question.

“W-Wait!”

Like hell, I’m doing that.

[entirebodyexercise]

96 ways to keep your heart healthy and strong

1. Substitute puréed prunes or applesauce for butter in cooking recipes.

2. Workout! Study shows top aerobic athletes often tend to live 5 years longer.

3. Decrease your salt intake by replacing canned veggies with frozen.

4. See the glass as half full. Positivity is related to a more powerful heart.

5. Pick potassium! This mineral helps cancel sodium levels (a major wrongdoer in destructive our hearts).

6. Take pleasure in a square of 70 percent dark delicious chocolate. It has potent antioxidant as well as anti-clotting properties.

7. Do you recognize the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure? Trick concern: There aren't any! Have a pharmacologist or doctor check yours this week.

8. Replace your workdesk chair with a medicine ball. It's a terrific means to shed additional calories and also raise core strength.

9. What inspires you to stay healthy and balanced? Compose the factors on sticky notes as well as publish them at the workplace as well as at residence to remind and influence you.

10. Learn how to say no. Claiming yes to every little thing can result in anxiety as well as poor health.

11. Experiment with whole grains: Attempt hulled barley, teff, millet, buckwheat, quinoa as well as wheat bulgur or berries.

12. Go nuts! Studies discover a handful five times per week assists lower heart problem risk.

13. Maintain your cool. When your temper increases, your high blood pressure could also increase.

14. Serve lentils, beans or tofu as the primary rather than meat. With a little seasoning they really shine!

15. Grab a pedometer. Try including 100 steps to your overall every week.

16. Avoid sugarcoated. Flavour your coffee or tea with cinnamon instead.

17. Devote to health and fitness: Stroll any distance that's 10 mins away or less.

18. Supply your fridge with low-fat or skim milk products.

19. Lease a romcom. Science web links watching funny flicks with advantageous blood flow throughout your body.

20. Do exactly what you enjoy. A solid heart is emotionally and also literally fit.

21. Inning accordance with leading heart docs, workout is like sleep: you can't save it up. Rise, obtain going!

22. Stretch it out! Versatile muscle mass imply adaptable arteries.

23. LOL ASAP: Giggling actually is the finest medicine. It relieves anxiety as well as improves your immune system.

24. Start a brand-new practice this Thanksgiving. Make time for a stroll with buddies and also household to take pleasure in the colours of fall.

25. Eat out! Search for vital words like baked, broiled, grilled, poached or steamed on the menu.

26. Lift weights: For every single extra pound of muscular tissue you develop, you'll melt an added 10 calories each day.

27. Brighten a cool morning. Make a low-cal London Fog with Earl Grey tea, vanilla essence as well as steamed low-fat milk.

28. Huge up on B vitamins-- they increase good cholesterol by 15 to 35 percent.

29. Do a stress inventory. Take 5 mins to see where you hold stress and anxiety: jaws, shoulders, neck. Now breathe, stretch, relax!

30. Schedule much more suppers in. Households that dine with each other make much healthier selections together.

31. Allow go of stress and also perfectionism. Loosen up, as well as care for yourself.

32. Ditch that soft drink. A pop a day can add up to 15 extra pounds in a year!

33. Offer a dish of low-sodium, broth-based soup.

34. Treat on raw vegetables rather than chips when you're craving a little crunch.

35. Usage smaller sized bowls and layers in the house. Portion control secures your heart.

36. Moms-to-be that do low-impact workout provide babies a head start on heart health.

37. Stressed? Get a pen. Discussing difficult events could help you release negative feelings and feel better.

38. Create a hassle-free bedroom. Lower the thermostat as well as try ear plugs as well as light-blocking curtains.

39. Test new heart-healthy oils, like soybean, safflower and sesame.

40. Attempt an anytime, anywhere fitness break. Stash stretchbands as well as skipping ropes in your purse.

41. Today, have a cozy movie night. Serve low-fat cocoa as well as air-popped snacks seasoned with Cajun spices.

42. Feeling emphasized? Talk it out with a buddy. It'll make you feel much better as well as maintain harmful stress and anxiety degrees down!

43. Neglect frying! Try steaming, broiling, or cooking your food for healthier dishes, as a first program. It loads you up without adding mega calories!

44. Throw some chia seeds on your salad for a hit of heart-healthy fiber as well as omega-3s.

45. Set up an once a week exercise date with a close friend. Studies reveal you'll lose more weight together!

46. Easy on the salt! Go for no even more than 2,300 mg a day (that's one teaspoon).

47. Inflate the volume! Hearing songs releases feel-good hormones.

48. Release anger: Hanging on to aggravation injures your heart. Repetitive rounds can thicken artery walls.

49. Smile! When you beam on the outdoors, you beam on the inside also. Research links joy with solid hearts.

50. Change screen time with face time. Limit TV to 2 hours a day.

51. Reach out to friends and family. Interacting socially is fantastic for your heart!

52. Schedule leisure right into your week. Try tai chi, yoga exercise, reflection or a quiet stroll in the park.

53. Appreciate Loss's bounty: Get some fennel, okra, beans, corn, shallots and also late summertime squash on your plate.

54. To earn waiting less stressful, maintain Sodoku problems, weaving or a book in your bag.

55. Suppress cravings with healthy and balanced snacks: Low-fat cheese as well as grapes or celery, or a handful of nuts and a pear.

56. Leave the cars and truck in the house! Try strolling, biking, or public transportation to obtain where you have to go.

57. Window-shopping is good for you! When it's unpleasant outside, hit the shopping centers for Thirty Minutes of quick walking.

58. Even if it's margarine, doesn't imply it's heart-healthy. Examine the label: It must be non-hydrogenated as well as trans fat free.

59. Relocate your feet with motivation: Authorize up for an enjoyable run or a charity stroll for a good cause.

60. Can not state no to a friend? Pledge your BFF you'll obtain energetic with her - you'll be more probable to go!

61. Discover your city with a led walking tour, or take a mid-day to check out a new neighbourhood on foot.

62. Obtain examined! Half of females have high cholesterol.

63. Stress less regarding the future. Excess stress and anxiety might emphasize your heart.

64. State many thanks! Revealing gratitude reduces stress, which could help take added stress off your heart.

65. Replacement lean turkey for ground beef. It has less saturated fat.

66. Include more colour to your plate. You can boost heart wellness immediately by upping your fruit and veg intake.

67. Envision a much healthier you. It's the primary step towards making long-term changes.

68. Measure your blood pressure at the drug store. Fifty percent of people who have high blood stress do not know it.

69. Purée additional vegetables into sauces as well as soups for a sneaky health boost!

70. Adhere to low GI foods. They may trigger fewer spikes in blood sugar, which indicates much less strain on your heart.

71. Eat whole fruits, rather of alcohol consumption fruit juices, to get insoluble fibre.

72. Make it a practice when dining in a restaurant: constantly take home a dog bag.

73. Put on your own initially. Stay smoke-free, consume right and workout, these are some way of living changes that could reduce the danger of heart problem as well as stroke by up to 80 percent.

74. Relax. It's good for your heart and also soul.

75. Explore a brand-new Indian dahl recipe. Legumes never ever tasted so good!

76. Healthy sex lives create healthy hearts. An attractive session could be as good for your heart as a vigorous walk.

77. Try tabbouleh! It's a great means to obtain in even more yummy whole grains.

78. Experience new spreads: Attempt peanut, hazelnut or almond butter on bread.

79. Join a community yard in your area. Gardening minimizes stress and anxiety and also can shed 400 calories each hour!

80. Stopped cigarette smoking-- no butts about it! Smokers are three times most likely to pass away of heart disease.

81. Absorb the sunlight! A great dose of vitamin D keeps heart cells healthy.

82. Put sleep initial (go for a minimum of 7 hrs). Pleasant dreams produce satisfied hearts.

83. Brush and also floss! They do even more than freshen your breath. Great oral health and wellness could minimize cardiac arrest risk.

84. Inspect nourishment labels: If sugar is the initial or 2nd component, simply say no! It's not a healthy choice.

85. Work in workout whenever you can. At the workplace, squat till you're almost remaining on your chair. Do 15 reps. Easy!

86. Reside in a heart-healthy 'hood. Supermarket and also parks within strolling range encourage casual exercise.

87. Fret less concerning the future. Excess anxiety could worry your heart.

88. Ordinary popcorn is a heart-healthy snack!

89. Bear in mind every bite. Reduce down and also indulge in the flavour.

90. Ditch deep-fried foods as well as business baked products. They seriously increase the danger for heart disease!

91. Excel to your heart currently. The seeds of disease are planted early. Stop them prior to they take root.

92. Usage healthy fats like cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil on your salad.

93. Start roughing it! Fibre-rich foods are one of the finest methods to assist prevent heart disease.

94. Construct a far better brekkie. Oatmeal is a heart-healthy start (reward factors for sprinkling flax seeds ahead).

95. Make time for hugs. A limited capture could help reduce your high blood pressure and lower stress.

96. Play a sport you like! A fit heart is a delighted heart.

[adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy]

Mayst I have the sneak peeketh my good ma'am?👀

Anonymous said: I DO I DO I DO

Anonymous said: omg yes please we need another sneak peek

oKAY YAY here ya go!

-

Harry reaches for another staff, picking the one at the bottom rung. It’s completely black, the surface twinkling alluringly under the light that streams in through the sheer silver curtains, giving away that the weapon is made out of some type of stone or gem. 

He catches Y/N studying the stick intriguingly, voicing the answer to her curiosity. “It’s made of obsidian and onyx. Forged by a good friend downstairs. It’s weighted specifically to my hand, balanced to my liking.” 

With his single free hand, Harry gives the staff a few quick, skillful twirls that show off his close fellowship with the tool, the pieces of onyx strewn within the tempered obsidian bouncing the faint rays of sunlight all across the maroon walls of the room. He slams one end down onto the floor, the circular flat edge digging into the royal blue safety mat covering the entirety of the ground. “Never lost a fight with it.” 

Y/N tilts her head to the side a tad, licking over her lips as excited anticipation starts sparking across the tips of her fingers. “There’s a first for everything.” 

Without warning, Harry hurls the other bo staff toward Y/N with his full strength, wanting to test her impulses in order to survey his competition. 

Y/N doesn’t miss a beat, her body acting on centuries of muscle memory and celestially-spiked adrenaline. Her arm shoots outwards, the staff ramming longways right into the palm of her awaiting hand, digits wrapping around it tightly as she absorbs the strength behind the blow, her own canceling it out. 

Harry simply gives a satisfied nod, his bare feet padding against the vinyl plastic of the mat as he draws closer to her until they’re about a yard apart. He leans against his custom prop as Y/N lowers her’s beside her right thigh, his eyes tinted their usual jade once again, full of impressed amusement. 

“Final rule: best-two-out-of-three wins and if you’re down for at least three seconds, you lose the round. The first two are hand-to-hand, the last one is with the staffs. I’m guessing you’re versed in Krav Maga, right?” 

“Was there when it was invented, so obviously.” 

“Jujutsu?” 

“Mmhm.” 

“Taekwondo?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Boxing?” 

“Yes. I can also make a mean bologna sandwich and can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue. Are you done stalling?” 

“Just wanna make sure that when I win, you don’t pull ‘I wasn’t taught that style’ as an excuse.” 

Y/N lightly chucks her pole just outside the bounds of the practice mat, where it won’t be an obstacle. “I’m a little insulted you’d think so little about Heaven’s first line of defense.”  

“And I just don’t want you to be a sore loser. Pettiness isn’t a cute look on you.” Harry quips as his staff is strewn across Y/N’s, the crack of the impact echoing across the entire apartment. 

He starts rolling his shoulders to loosen up, craning his neck from side to side, feet shifting into a diagonal, parallel fighting position. “Did you stretch? Wouldn’t want you to pull a muscle mid-kick, would we?” 

Y/N mirrors his posture, pushing a few rogue strands of hair from her eyes with the back of her hand, bare feet planting themselves steadily apart as she ducks slightly, knees bending a smidge to calibrate her center of gravity. The grip of the rubbery plastic beneath her toes fills her with a type of soothing hum, her muscles purring as her senses hone into crisp awareness. She can hear the blood pumping in her ears, feel the coolness of the air expanding her lungs, and she can even make out the faint, dull ringing that is suspended in the electrified air, which fills the gap of Harry’s lacking heartbeat. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’m all good.” 

Harry holds up his palms in a peaceful gesture, the bright boxing tape seeming to glow in the dusky light swimming across the air. “Just trying t’be a caring boyfriend.” 

His hands fall into fists, thumbs instinctively resting beneath his lower round of knuckles instead of tucking under his fingers— a method he’d learned early on in his training, conceived with the notion of preventing one from breaking their thumbs with the force of their own punches. The flat side of his forearms face outwards as a first line of defense, veins carving their way under his skin as his fists clench readily, itching for the feel of collision. 

His heels carve deeper into the mat, balancing his mass and revving his nerves. “Ready?” 

“Ready.” 

“Alright. Ladies first.” 

As much as Y/N hates to admit it, it makes sense that Harry won the first round. 

He’d recently been assigned to coaching the newest flight of demons-in-training, meaning that for the last two weeks, he’d been practicing on his combat skills for six hours a day, five days a week. Y/N hadn’t sparred in a while— months, maybe. She was unfortunately rusty and it shows pretty evidently in how it takes Harry less than a minute to give her left cheek a mat-patterned makeover. 

She had started off fairly solid with a distraction technique that she was always confident in. A punch aimed right at the center of Harry’s sternum with the intent of cutting off his airflow, which he blocks swiftly, just as she predicted he would. 

What she wasn’t expecting was the form he used to block her. 

Y/N expected him to throw up his forearms parallel to one another to defend himself, meanwhile she would use that split second to sweep him off his feet with a hooked kick to his right ankle. That was the original plan. 

Harry threw a wrench in it. 

Instead, he crosses his forearms in front of his chest, Y/N’s fist ending up wedged between them. Her eyes do a terrible job of hiding her alarmed panic as she glances up momentarily, met with an expression of conceited triumph painted over her boyfriend’s annoyingly handsome features. 

The sly snark in his voice makes her teeth grate. “Oops.”  

[let-it-raines]

Since this actually happened to my friend last week and I’m now totally paranoid it’s going to happen to me too: person x is trying to sell their house/apartment and person y’s realtor forgets to give notice and person y walks in on person x getting out of the shower...

Rain pounds down around her as she drives to the viewing she set up last week. It’s time for her to get out of her apartment and have a house for Henry with a backyard. Like, an actual backyard with grass and a swing set and not something that’s covered in concrete and trash from their neighbors. She feels like she’s been saving for years, and maybe she has been.

No, she definitely has been.

It’s hard to be a bail bondsperson and a mom to a ten-year-old boy. Some nights she spends half of her paycheck on Henry’s babysitter, especially because a lot of the time they have to spend the night at her apartment. Frankly, it sucks. But this is the hand life has dealt her, with a large assist from Neal Cassidy and all of his asshole ways, and she’s dealing with it. She thinks she deals with it well, but it’s not like she’s given Henry a life with two parents and ice cream on Saturdays after they come home from his soccer games.

There’s one parent, maybe some ice cream, and Henry likes baseball, weirdly enough. She didn’t know a single thing about baseball until Henry came home one day and told her he was playing it.

She’s a baseball mom.

Like, she keeps a chair in the back of her car and brings orange slices (sometimes donuts when she forgets it’s her week) to games and slathers she and her son down in lotion so that neither of them get burned. Ten years ago when she was in the high school bathroom staring at a positive pregnancy test, she could have never imagined any of this.

Life is weird.

She loves her kid more than anything in the world.

Her car runs through a puddle, mud and water splashing up on the side, and she nearly sways into the other lane. Shit, she needs new wipers too. She doubts that comes with this house. Maybe some curtains and the appliances but definitely not windshield wipers for her car. That would be a little odd. Helpful but odd.

She thinks that she’s pulled up to the right house, the exterior looking the same as the listing online, and she checks the address one more time as a loud crash of thunder vibrates the ground, her car, and seemingly the blood in her veins. She really hates storms. Seriously. Nothing good comes from them except maybe plants and grass getting watered, but all they really need is a light sprinkle. They don’t need a thunderstorm.

Calm it down universe.

Sighing, she pulls on her raincoat, zipping it up as much as she can, and pulls the hood over her hair. She really needs an umbrella, but she gave Henry hers before he got on the bus for school this morning. It’s probably five dollars for another umbrella. She’ll stop by CVS or something on the way home.

Home.

That’s a weird word because technically, if she likes this place, and if Henry likes this place when she brings him here at some point, this could be their home.

Huh.

Home.

It’s a mad dash from her bug to the front door, her keys jiggling against the key Ashley, her realtor, gave her to get into the house as she runs. It doesn’t really help, though. Her boots are somehow soaked through, wet grass and mud covering her feet as she tries to shake the water from her coat, water droplets falling to the brick steps that are covered by the roof.

Oh, a nice little covered porch. That’s good. She likes that.

She scrapes her feet against the welcome mat (sorry, house owner) and unlocks the door, stepping inside. It looks just like the pictures, which is always a good sign. There’s a small entryway, light gray paint covering the walls, with a small cushioned bench pressed up against the wall. It’s definitely more for decoration than anything, but she can see she and Henry having a little cubby there for their shoes and his backpack. She’d definitely put a key ring there and then decidedly not put her keys there.

It always happens. And she’s always late everywhere.

With her shoes squeaking on the dark hardwood, she walks out of the entryway and into the living room. It’s kind of small, but then again, so is the house. It’s not like she’s looking to buy some kind of mansion. She’s a single mom looking for a place where she and her son can have their own bedrooms and bathrooms, preferably ones that don’t share walls. It’s not like she’s brining guys back to her house, but sometimes Henry jams out to hard rock (she has no idea where the AC/DC obsession came from, and she’s honestly not sure if she should be letting her kid listen to it) and she needs to sleep.

But her own bathroom? That’s a must have.

She wanders around the living room and the connected dining room, the table and chairs under a rounded archway, and even though she’s supposed to be imagining their stuff here, all she notices is the nautical décor. Seriously. She knows that they live in Maine and the ocean is fifteen minutes away, but this is some serious anchor and captain’s wheel decor. Everything is in dark leathers and deep blues, and if she had to bet, a guy lives here. It’s stereotypical, but stereotypes are true for a reason.

Damn, sailor. How many stripes can you have on each pillow?

Is there a crab on that pillow on the recliner? There is.

It’s a nice place, though, one that hits all of her boxes, and the very last thing to check is the master bedroom. She’s basically living in a shoebox now, so when she opens the last door in the house and sees that there’s room for a king bed (not that she has one) plus a few extra pieces of furniture, she lets out a sigh of relief. The nautical theme is still going on, a white bedspread with blue and green pillows covering the mattress, and above the bed is what seems to be a framed Naval uniform. Or at least the jacket. It’s a weird flex, but it’s not the weirdest thing she’s ever seen. Yesterday Ashley took her into a house that had purple carpeting and a leopard couch.

Nautical is much better.

She’s bringing her own stuff her anyways. The owner is going to take all of his things and never come back.

After looking at the bedroom and watching the rain fall heavily outside, she walks over to the door that she assumes is the bathroom and twists the knob, opening the white frame and stepping into what has to be the bathroom.

Which is being used right now.

Specifically the shower.

Which is clear glass.

With a naked man inside of it.

Holy shit.

“What the bloody hell are you doing in here?” the man shouts the moment he sees her, blue eyes connecting with green. Why in the world is the shower so close to the door? Why is that her concern right now?

There’s a naked man in the shower. Like, she’s getting a full frontal view.

“What are you…what are you doing in here?” she screeches, still staring at the damp hair that’s matted down on his chest and the lean muscles that are beneath. Nope. Nope. Nope. She should not be looking at this naked man who most likely broke into the house to take a shower or something. Damn it, she should have brought her gun inside.

She looks at him one more time, shock still running through her system and causing her heart to beat erratically in her chest, threatening to break through the ribcage, before she looks up at the ceiling, biting the inside of her cheek while her foot taps. Why is she standing still instead of running away? This is the dumbest decision she’s ever made.

“What am I doing here?” the man scoffs, turning the water off.

How did she not hear the water? The rain. The rain must have blocked it out. Or maybe she was too distracted by all of the nautical stuff. Maybe this house turns into a boat and sails away. It might need to if this storm never stops.

“Yes, what are you doing here? Are you one of those creeps who breaks into houses that are for sale and steals things? Or uses the shower? Did you also decided to make yourself lunch today?”

She’s so focused at looking at the pattern on the ceiling that she doesn’t realize that the man has gotten out of the shower and stepped toward her, hovering slightly over her face. Couldn’t he have put on more than a damn towel? She’s probably going to get murdered, and she’s distracted by this dude’s bare chest and the scruff that lines his jaw. He’s crazy hot, and his eyes are much bluer this close.

Crap. He’s probably like Ted Bundy or something.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Not going there. She is not getting murdered today.

“Love, I own this house. What are you doing here?”

Oh.

Oh.

Oh shit.

“W-what do you mean you own this house?” she asks, straightening out her back to try to make herself bigger. He’s not that much taller than her with the heels of her boots helping, but it’s still a difference. Plus she has to stop looking down. The towel doesn’t hide much. “Ashely said that no one would be here and I’m free to look around.”

His tongue clicks at the same time that thunder rolls outside, and she takes the brief moment to back up so that she can’t feel his body heat.

“You’re viewing the house. Thank God. I was about to call the cops.”

“And say what? A woman is watching me shower. I don’t think – oh yeah, I could totally get arrested for that. Sorry.”

He smiles at her, white teeth contrasted against the black of his beard, and she absolutely cannot wait to tell Ruby about this. She may very well die of laughter…if Emma doesn’t die of embarrassment first.

And disappointment over not getting the house. There’s no way this guy is going to sell it to her now.

“Yeah, love,” he laughs, tightening his towel around his waist, “you could.” He reaches his hand out in front of her, and she stares at it for a moment too long before taking it and shaking his rough hand, disbelief at this entire situation beginning to sink in. “Killian Jones, house owner and shower taker. I’m in desperate need of a realtor who tells me when to get out of the house so that beautiful women don’t walk in on me in the shower and see all of the features that are not included in the sale.”

“Wow,” she whistles, shaking her head back and forth at the cockiness of this guy, of Killian Jones. Or maybe he’s just confident. He does seem to be laughing a bit at himself, and he could be embarrassed. She swears that she sees the slightest bit of red on the apples of his cheeks. She honestly doesn’t know. “So if I buy the place, you don’t just hang out naked in the shower all day?”

He lets go of her hand and leans forward, seductively winking. That doesn’t make goosebumps rise on her skin at all. “I could if you want me to.”

Her lips part, all words dying on the tip of her tongue. All she can really think about doing is kneeing this guy in the balls, but that doesn’t really seem appropriate. She did kind of invade him in his own home, after all.

“I don’t,” she finally answers.

He shrugs it off. “Fair enough. What was your name again, love?”

“I don’t believe I told you.”

He raises his right brow, lines on his forehead increasing, and she gets the feeling that this is kind of his signature move.

“Would you like to? I’m not Rumpelstiltskin or anything. I don’t get a secret power in knowing your name.”

She laughs at that. She can’t help it. “Funny. My son just got really into fairytales and has been kind of obsessed with Rumpelstiltskin. But I’m Emma. Emma Swan.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Swan,” he smiles, and she notices how he doesn’t question or flinch away at the mention of Henry. Most people do. But this isn’t a date or anything. This is just an awkward meeting, and if she wasn’t interested in buying this house, she’d probably never have to see this guy again. “If you’ll give me five minutes, I’ll change into some actual clothes and show you around the house, give you the real behind the scenes tour. It’s the least I can do.”

She’s not sure why he’s being so nice when she’s the one who walked in on him, but she’ll take it.

“I’d like that.”

After he gets dressed, Killian shows her around the house, telling her all of the ins and outs that she might possibly need to know. Really, he shares far too many weird facts and oddities about the house (like how sometimes he has to slam his hand up in the freezer to get the ice machine to work and how there’s a dip in the wood in the second bedroom that gets worse in the heat) for someone trying to sell the house, but she appreciates his honestly in everything. He’s actually really good at showing the place off, much better than Ashley has been in showing her the other places, and when she asks him if he also works in real estate, he lets out a hearty laugh before telling her that he’s a retired Naval Captain (which explains so damn much about every piece of décor in the house) and is moving to an apartment closer to his new job as the harbormaster. He says he doesn’t need this much space anyways.

It’s the perfect amount of space for she and Henry, though.

She spends an hour or so listening to him talk, which is really far too much time since she’s already looked at most of the house, but she kind of loses track of time listening to him explain things and share stories that give her a little glimpse into all of the life that’s taken place at this house. He’s a charming guy, which is usually the first warning sign to stay far away, but she tells herself that it’s all about the house. That’s why she’s listening to him.

And that’s what she tells herself three days later when she brings Henry to see the place. Killian isn’t there, Ashely most likely actually telling him to leave, but he does leave a note on the counter that she knows is for her.

I left the shower free if you want to test it out. I’d suggest locking the door, love. You never know who might walk in.

“What are you smiling at, Mom?” Henry asks her as he slams a kitchen cabinet door shut.

“Nothing, Kid.”

She goes under contract to buy the house two days later.

Two years later, after dating for nearly all of that time, she asks Killian to move back into the house that he sold to her in some kind of weird full circle move.  

They definitely share the shower.

[teamdoesminecraft]

Everything about the pokemon au is perfect... is there lore???

oh you know me of COURSE there’s lore

It’s all kind of tangled together and hard to explain right now, so this post is gonna be a little less narratively-written and a little more expository. but as always, shoutout to @crystalfloe​ for being my partner in crime in developing this!

Some of the Ninetales dex entries say that it “came into being when nine wizards merged into one.” Naturally, we took this and ran with it: you know how illusioners are a sort of “secret mob” in Minecraft that were never actually implemented? Hundreds of years ago, in this lore, nine illusioners (possibly the last of their kind) met together in secret to preserve themselves. After a lengthy process of spellcasting, all of them gave up their physical forms and agency to create a new, pokemon spellcaster: Seto. Seto is his own person, not a conglomerate of nine, and he never really feels that he’s not; sometimes, though, when he argues with himself, it feels like there’s nine voices in his head all with different opinions. Being based on a kitsune and also having access to magic and curses in this AU still, he can shapeshift/illusion himself into a nearly human form-- he can’t/won’t get rid of the tails though, ever.

In these hundreds of years ago, Seto did some travelling, and his illager background eventually brought him to a wooden mansion. He lived there for a while, learning new magic under an evoker, and developing a gradual distaste for most other “humans” because of everything negative the illagers had to say about it. One lone adventurer, though, as they always do, stumbled upon the mansion, and found their way inside. Many illagers were asleep at this point in the night, but Seto wasn’t; he was the one who “greeted” the intruder firsthand. Said intruder wasn’t the nicest person either; they lashed out and tried to grab Seto’s tail to hold him down in a fight.

More Ninetales dex entries will tell you that “grabbing one of its tails will result in a 1,000-year curse on you and your descendants.”

Said adventurer lived and died uneventfully after that, but their descendants bore the burden. Sneaking around at night, looking to steal from illagers, and digging their way through the frostbitten winter woods, the family line was cursed with Weavile aspects; the original adventurer was doomed to slowly become one, even losing their mind in the body. Their bloodline wasn’t quite as unfortunate, but became a version of werewolf; were-weaviles, technically. Looking at too much moonlight at any one time causes them to transform and be mentally “replaced” by a far more animalistic version of themselves.

That’s why SSundee wears his glasses; they block out any excess moonlight. Of course, on the full moon, he has no choice but to close every curtain, because at that point there’s just too much to avoid. SSundee lives a rather quiet life, running a pastry shop in a no-name village, keeping his transformations to a minimum. He somehow inherited the original map that led to the mansion in the first place; he keeps ahold of it just as a reminder to not go there, ever.

SSundee’s got a friend, though, who’s willing to do anything for easy money.

Husky took the map, and ignoring SSun’s protests as just standard-SSun-paranoia, went to find the mansion to dig up any potential treasure there. Once inside, he was pursued by illagers, and fell between the walls; in the darkness, he reached for what he thought was a rope. It wasn’t, of course, and Seto had a whole new curse to lay. Husky had never been a fan of rain, surfing, or even baths as much as showers; Seto thought it would be the funniest thing to ruin the experience for him even more. (do I really gotta specify what pokemon Husky is) Husky’s started down the path of slow transformation, with an extra wrench in the formula; if any part of him gets touched by water, that part takes on more kip-like traits until he dries it. He found out while using SSun’s shower, and blamed it on him like it was some sort of shitty prank; when SSun wasn’t open about what he thought happened, Husky threw the door open.

It was a full moon that night (because of course) and Husky was terrified for a short while (because of course), running as far as he could. SSun, before he lost it, was even more terrified, because as far as he knew Weavile were nothing but predators; he doesn’t know much about Weavile, though, and what he neglected to learn was that Weavile are pack bonders, and that he had already built up a strong friendship with Husky. In summary, Husky spent that night trying to avoid being force-fed dead sandshrew by this terrifying demonic weavile that was also still somehow the mom friend.

BACK TO SETO, he has 1 (one) friend who isn’t an illager: a fellow troublemaking fox. Lox is a lonesome zorua who somehow wormed his way into the mansion (because doesn’t everyone eventually) and learned how to control his illusions by watching Seto in secret. Lox uses these illusions, generally, to fuck with people; it doesn’t help that Seto finds it absolutely hilarious. Eventually, Lox learned to create his own individual human form to cast, and learned sign language; he set out on his own just to explore, planning to find more people to mess with. Lox eventually discovered a small cottage in the woods, and was ready to just completely ruin this person’s day by unveiling that Deep Pokemon Magic--

--but True was, unfortunately, already a pokemon fanatic.

Even disregarding Tepig and Zubat, True tends to a bazillion wild pokemon, all the time, constantly. He’s invested in learning everything he can (scientifically) about how they work, especially their ties back to humans. (True is, in this AU, the one person who would be 1000% on board with being part pokemon, and also the one person who never will be.) When Lox tried to mess with him by impersonating people, True immediately recognized him as a Zorua, and tugged him inside for interrogation. True was relentless in his efforts to understand, poring over books, tests, and learning sign language to communicate with Lox better. Lox eventually mentioned that he didn’t want to be pinned down to one location, and didn’t plan on living forever in True’s little house; True realized this, of course, and waved him off, saying Lox was free to go wherever he wanted. Once away, Lox realized that though he liked the outside, he had enjoyed his time with True almost just as much; now Lox looks for any excuse he has to come back, and pops in from time to time for no reason.

One big excuse to come back, of course, is discovering another human-pokemon anomaly; when Lox saw a man with golden horns quietly using telekinesis to steal a lunch in a market square, he intercepted him and led him all the way back to the cottage. Sky was, understandably, confused and a little distressed; eventually after True sat him down they were able to have an actual conversation.

Sky’s history is (surprise surprise) Mary-Sueish. He’s a shiny hoopa (the only hoopa, so technically nobody knows he’s shiny?), and in this world, all legendaries have the ability to form-shift between pokemon and human. He was created by two other legends-- Notch (Arceus) and Herobrine (Giratina) to assist in preserving/expanding/helping the world. They both act as sort of guides for him in this AU, with neither really being evil or omnipotent. After creating Sky, they realized that while he was powerful, he had no experience in the world; they set him in a mostly-human form and instructed him to travel the world, meeting new people, and understand how humans and pokemon interacted and got along. They also, via a certain amount of magic, prevented him from saying what he or his history was; they didn’t want anyone finding out about the legendary child and trying to kidnap/control him. One notable ability of Sky’s is wish-granting; Hoopa being based on a djinn, we had to give him the magical bullshit. He can only grant one a day, though, in total, and he has plenty of restrictions on them-- no time travel, changing things that already happened, etc, etc. 

While Sky couldn’t tell True any of his actual history, True has been helping him learn more about his abilities and is 100% willing to travel with him anywhere to learn more about him.

SPEAKING OF NOTCH ARCEUS did you know he had a bastard son?? And that son was Xephos? YEAH THATS RIGHT TC/YOGS CROSSOVER AND I DONT GIVE A SHIT

Respawning doesn’t exist in this AU, so the yoglabs complex serves a real purpose via the cloning machines. Xephos doesn’t actually know he has any Arceus genes in him; they’re locked away and not apparent at all. That’s not why we’re looking at yoglabs right now, though: we’re here for Bajan.

Backtracking once again, Bajan grew up in a relatively decent-sized village, watching Wizard of Oz (Poke-Oz?) and absolutely loving the Infernape character. When he was about eight, his village was raided by pillagers; he had to run, as fast and as far as he could. Eventually he stumbled into the mountains, and up to Xephos and Honeydew, who were conducting a relatively boring test compared to normal, and YES i’m saying that Bajan’s gay dads are from the yogscast, nothing matters anymore

Bajan was adopted into the compound and was a very curious and energetic child. So curious and energetic, in fact, that he stole a transformation talisman and used it without calibrating it first; he passed out and was given two weeks to live, with his human DNA in constant conflict with the over-abundance of non-specified Pokemon DNA. Not wanting to support child murder, Xephos developed a particular method that he severely hoped would prevent Bajan from dying; he had Bajan pulled out of his safety-fluid-tank for a few hours so he and Dew could talk to him. They explained the procedure and asked if he had any requests-- Bajan still loved Infernape, so that was the first thing out of his mouth.

In the experiment, of course, they had to use Chimchar DNA to more closely match Bajan’s youth, but the procedure worked; he was given a very specifically calculated transformation talisman to wear to prevent him from becoming unstable again. (He was a little miffed that he had been given the “baby” form, but hey, what could you do.) Bajan lived for the next few years as a poke-human hybrid in the labs, generally being a good, if destructive, kid, practicing his firey abilities. On his birthday, he committed a small act of mischief; he lied to Dew and was able to go outside the labs for the first time since he got there.

Bajan fucken loved the outdoors, because who wouldn’t, and went running around way past his curfew before he got lost. While lost, he stumbled upon an absol-- Jerome had been on the run for as long as he could remember, because of the human superstition of absols causing natural disasters. After enough poking and prodding, Jerome eventually agreed to lead Bajan back to the vault door; on the way back, he locked up and refused to move. Bajan followed his gaze and realized that Jerome had sensed an avalanche before it could even begin-- there was no way they were going to outrun it. Bajan positioned himself between the oncoming snow and his new friend, and put every effort he could think of into spitting out the most powerful flamethrower he ever would--

--and he evolved. Bajan had never realized he could evolve before, and spent the next five minutes in complete and utter glee before yanking Jerome back to the labs to show off his new form and his new friend. The yogs weren’t as excited as he was to bring an absol into a place prone to nuclear disaster; he was grounded for lying, staying out past curfew, and the aforementioned absol-napping; Xephos took a mild amount of pity on Jerome, though, and agreed to test whether or not he was actually the cause of natural disasters. Eventually, when nothing really proved that he was, Jerome was allowed to talk to Bajan again-- at which point Jerome asked Bajan to translate his request to the yogs. 

Jerome had lived his life being unable to enter human society, even as a pet, because of the superstition around absol; seeing Bajan, a healthy and happy human-pokemon hybrid, had give him an idea. As Bajan translated, Jerome himself wanted to be a hybrid, so he could talk and interact with people. Xephos, though skeptical, was never one to turn down a scientific opportunity, and eventually was able to complete the procedure. Armed with a new half-human friend, a newly evolved form, and an advanced understanding of maturity, Bajan approached both Xephos and Dew one night with a request: he wanted to go outside the labs, with Jerome, and explore the world on his own to participate in battles. Eventually, they conceded; Bajan was abso-fucking-lutely ecstatic, and so was Jerome, to be travelling with someone for the first time ever. They currently roam the world as a duo, picking fights and having fun.

The entire team will eventually meet up, either through Sky’s wish-granting, Bajan and Jerome’s roaming, or Lox’s people-hunting; maybe a combination of all three. From then on they can travel the world together, working hand-in-hand to discover new things about each other and help one another as some of the only of their kind in this world.

Xephos, however, still sits in the labs, working on understanding pokemon in a much less communication-based way than True. Every time he re-clones himself, some piece gets lost, sending his mind into a darker spiral... it’s only a matter of time before he discovers his locked Arceus genes, and uses them in a way he definitely never should have.

[somewhere-in-the-dungeon]

2019, Aug 16

I love teaching people to fight :) Okay, it was like, an hourlong lesson at most, and it was on boxing which isn’t especially well suited for some things especially this person’s stature, but they had fun and I had fun and they beat up my punching bag a bit and I showed them how not to telegraph so heavily and how to use their leg and hips to punch.

Also I got to run Ars Magica, and I am loving this campaign. We spent the whole time wandering through the school (we’re basically doing AU Hogwarts, and the school is structured as a somewhat more structured geomorph but with weird magical wards and weirdness, and I had a blast. Pretty sure the players loved it too, from the room that gave half of them cat ears (+4 to Perception rolls involving sound!) to the room with no light and a bunch of buzzsaws randomly strewn around.

First-pass session writeup below the cut, because this is long but I didn’t want to leave out clues to how the place works and also because I was just really excited. I should probably boil this down somewhat, since the writeups are supposed to double as summaries for quick catching up and this one. . . is not quick.

(If you do read it and think it sounds fun, we run a session once or twice a month based on a poll I send out after each session, and it’s West Marches as well as Troupe Play, open table!)

Nemed, Alois, Barley, Luthor, Squawk, Glade of the Empty House, Blair and Caoimhe, Bole of Perdo and another Perdo scholar set forth under Eantro's order into the school, to find the lost book- the Perdo Perdo. With no further information, they set forth into the winding unmapped and perhaps unmappable corridors and passageways of Strawgoh. The first out of place room they come to contains a fountain of water spouting into a stone pool, only several inches deep but perhaps three paces across, with coins at the bottom and the words "Keep in mind your heart's desire" written around the base in Latin. Barley tosses a coin in for luck, but nothing appears to happen, so they continue out through the one door up the stairs.

From there they enter a room of stone with torches high on the walls, and the sparks from the torches quickly form out words on the ceiling, spelling out a popular rude drinking tune. Barley sings along with great gusto, and once finished the sparks simply say "Play something new?" Barley obliges with "The Party on the Back of the Wagon," a song that's just as jaunty and just as crude. From there they can take either a door to a marble bridge which goes outside the walls, clearly two stories up from the castle despite no such bridge existing from the outside, before making a U-turn back into the building. At the midpoint, they speak with a talking stone statue of an imp, swapping gossip. Alois tells it that the mayor of town was graverobbing, and it tells them that many people have been dreaming of the pastor naked or of a brilliant multicolored bird.

Beyond that they wind through a long corridor where strange tapping can be heard on the walls, and a frieze of a sprouting seed can be seen as well as numerous doodle like carvings. From here, they face two choices- one room which Alois recognizes, occupied by well crafted leather seats and which inexplicably fills the mouth of whoever enters with the taste of sweet pastries. The other room is like a small entrance hall, full of balls of yarn and clawed furniture and the sound of rats. Squawk determines that the rats are not actually speaking, but are a babble of rat noises. When the party enters to look around, about half of them wind up with cat ears. From the room with the yarn, they find two doors- one leads to a corridor with an infinitely tall pair of walls leading to open sky above, at the end of which they find a room filled to the brim with clear water which does not spill out, a stature of a mermaid embracing a sailor. The water proves deathly cold, and the party retreats back to the parlor. The other door there leads to a library with many books in dead languages. In the library, they find that one book is missing from its spot on the shelf- and also that the others when translated for a page or so are mostly lewd romances.

Beyond the library is a pitch black room which admits no light, but Barley's Lumos reveals its interior. It has many stone blocks rising from the floor to knee height, as well as a few ropes stretched across parts of it and one spot with a small pile of marbles. The party passes through, though one of the Empty House members collects some marbles for use elsewhere. Beyond this is a staircase, rising up and up at least two stories, the last stretch of which is covered in broken eggshells. Squawk determines many of the eggs to be chimeric, mixtures that flow from bird egg to snake egg to fish egg, and the magi in the party in unison groan that this is the work of the Gryphem, possibly the founder himself. This staircase ends with an odd set of double doors- they seem to have no divide, yet one door opens to a small parlor with a number of small items on its counter and shelves as well as a few coins and some empty leather purses, and the other opens to a wide stone auditorium with an onyx archway with a ragged curtain at its centre and the Perdo sigil scratched on the stone beside it.

Investigating the dividing line briefly, Glade of the Empty House rogues and Barley find putting a hand through the middle space to be disconcerting, an electric tingle that grows painful and buffets their hand in turbulence the further they reach into that divided space. After experimenting with this, they find their faces have swapped- Barley looks like the rogue, and the rogue looks like Barley. Investigating the arch, the party determines that it is a magical item with a powerful Perdo effect. Many of the party hear whispers from their departed parents, which urge some of them to come through and others to stay back. Glade produces a dove via magic, which Barley mistakes for a phoenix and Squawk convinces to fly through the archway. The dove falls, dead, and the party decides to move on despite Luthor's conviction that it holds a doorway to somewhere else beyond.

From the auditorium, they have two doors to choose from. One leads to an expansive wood walled and wood floored dance hall which is filled for a moment with phantasmal dancers. Entering the room, they feel an eerie sensation attempt to seize control of their limbs, compelling them to dance to the tune. Barley and Alois dance across together, she making up for much of his lack of polished dancing. Nemed frowns and manages a dispelling aura around himself, walking through, and Blair and Caoimhe dance together through though Caoimhe ends up taking a fall and lightly twisting her wrist. Blair dances back and forth, helping them each along. From there, there is at first a stairway with some carvings in the walls, many depicting circles of wizards and witches, one clearly depicting Luthor's great working on the town of Longwater where he walked their low outer wall. From there they find a stretch of corridor with heptagram tiled floor, which interlinks without a gap the way triangular or hexagonal tile can be laid, but the geometry of which hurts the eye and mind to look at for too long.

Beyond, they find another room of pitch darkness, carved with the Perdo sigil. Inside, they again try Lumos, but this time it does not overpower the darkness, and they cautiously enter. Glade rolls marbles forward and listens to the sound they make, while Nemed follows the wall. Both guide themselves carefully around the obstacles, which this time are whisper-silent rotating blades of jagged metal. They realize the danger only when Nemed finds one reaching out from the wall, and feels his way gingerly up to the edge. Now warned, they make their way through the darkness until they find a door, though they know not if it is the only one. Beyond is a short hallway, ending in a door with the Perdo sigil marked. Here, they find a treasure perhaps worth the journey, though it is not the book they seek- an beautifully designed and supplied lab for Perdo magics, with a black sphere an armspan across at its centre. Brief tests reveal the sphere destroys anything inserted into it, as well as leaving a black spot in the vision of anyone who stares directly at it for too long. (Alois does this, sustaining a large splotch in the centre of his vision.) Two doors are here, one opening to the dining hall which is just finishing dinner, and one carved with the words "The arts called dark really are not good for a person in the end" in Goídelc.

Eantro, being carried from the dining hall, spots them and desperately manages to warn them against going through the door so inscribed. It is left by him for a successor, someday, but will kill anyone unready to face it. He describes it as a place of Perdo, perfect in all forms, and Nemed determines that a piece of wood pushed into the blackness beyond is destroyed utterly. Much of the party returns, trusting from past experience that a laboratory door will stay fixed for some time.

Nemed, Squawk, Luthor and Bole continue on, backtracking a bit to the auditorium to take the other door from there. That door leads to a short passageway with an elaborate chandelier as well as one uncomfortable sigil of an eye with a warped sclera and pupil (C-12) carved into the stone. The passage slopes downward into a small room marked with the sigil of the spreading seed, with flickering torches set on the walls casting unnerving moving shadows on the ceiling, augmented by many cranelations and inserts. Flies buzz here, but they pass through unmolested. From there they enter a winding sandstone staircase that leads up at least two floors, opening on to a storeroom of sorts. It has many burlap bags and a number of flies buzzing above, and a thick coating of white goop. Squawk identifies this as bat guano just before Nemed taste-tests it with his poison detection spell. They climb further up the staircase, arriving at a belltower with a huge bell missing its tongue. They look about them, and suspect the tolling of the bell heard around the school originates from here, though no belltower has ever been spotted from the ground and no bellringer is employed. On the way down, they see a sigil of a bat etched into the steps, and as they cross the passageway they find the eye has disapeared, replaced by an odd inked drawing or painting. (C-7) They too retreat out of the maze of Strawgoh, back to stable, unwarped territory.

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia -- Chapter 23: Takiyo Aoyama Tries to Shine

The raw, unedited next chapter of my on-going, next gen, My Hero Academia fan fic. 

All prior chapters can be found here

Takiyo is four years old and supposedly will have a Quirk. His parents have had him tested and he lacks the extra two gene and otherwise tests positive for having one. But so far, they’ve been unable to find out what it is or make it manifest.  His father can project a thin, harmless beam of light from his index fingers, like a laser pointer.  And his mother glows, ever so slightly.  But no one can yet figure out what it is his does.

And then, there’s a day when he’s playing with his father. Nothing fancy, just playing ball in the yard while his mother hangs laundry.  He misses a catch and loses the ball in the grass, but his father sees it, lighting it up with the light beam from his fingers to show him where it is. Takiyo grabs for the ball, inadvertently putting his hand in the beam.  And that is when his Quirk decides to come in. Like a man dying of thirst encountering water for the first time, his Quirk starts greedily sucking up his father’s light beam.   Takiyo starts glowing, brighter and brighter, and he can’t break away; his father is unable to turn off his beam, both of them locked together as he absorbs the light.

Their worried cries attract his mother, who throws her arms around him and tries to pull him away.  But his Quirk is a greedy one, and it starts sucking up her light too.  Only now he’s beginning to hurt, feeling like he’s burning up inside.  He desperately cries for help, for his parents to make it better, but they can’t. They can’t break contact, they’re just as scared, if not more so, than he is.

And even the sunshine is beginning to make him feel funny now, tingling on his exposed skin more than it ever has.  He can feel his little body just drinking it up.

It’s too much for him.  All of that light he’s absorbed has to go somewhere.  And in his case, it goes everywhere.   It erupts from his body like a beacon, blasting up high into the sky.  He’d never know it, but official reports would say that the flare could be seen for miles.

***

Takiyo awoke to darkness, as he always did.  The accommodations of his dorm rooms were built to a very exacting standard.  The glass doors of the sliders could be turned completely opaque and heavy blackout curtains slid over them to keep even the smallest vestige of light from the cracks from slipping in.  The door sealed similarly, blocking out everything from the hallway.  His alarm clock displayed no illuminated numbers; those could only be turned on through a manual switch.

Everything that could be done to prevent him from absorbing any light had.  It would prevent him from absorbing too much overnight and hurting himself… or others.

He groped for his bedside table as he slid out of bed, finding the small remote there and pressed the single button on it once, turning on the lights.  His pajamas covered much, but still left his face, hands, and feet exposed.   It was really just enough light to see by.  Even then, he felt the tingle across his skin as soon as the light came on. Just from that little bit of light alone, he could see the blue-white glow starting to emerge from within him.

It had been this way since his Quirk had come in.  The belt and bracelets he wore helped to control it somewhat, gave him better means of directing the light he absorbed, but the fact remained that his Quirk was, by and large, very much out of his control.

It took him the better part of an hour to get ready for the day.  Even with no classes, it would not do to look anything less than perfect. There were standards to uphold, after all.  And it would be a crime to deprive the world of his face.   One of many reasons why he didn’t wear a mask to hide his features and block out the light.

As Papa said, “When you shine, mon fils, the world must always be allowed to see.”

Dark pants, a long-sleeved white shirt buttoned all the way up, matte-black boots (fashion nominally dictated they be polished and shine, but some sacrifices had to be made for his well-being) made up his outfit for the day, to which he added his bracelets and belt.  As soon as he clipped them on, he could feel the intensity of the light within him subside slightly.  

His room was tastefully decorated, the latest in interior decorating from France.  Light colors, mirrors, the dark wood of his furniture looking quite sharp.   He took a moment and drew in a breath, before pointing at the far wall.  He let out a beam of light from his fingers, like a powerful halogen lamp.  And he kept it up for several long seconds, feeling the light leaving his body.

It gave him an empty, hungry feeling.  It always did when he was low on light.  His body craved it as much as it craved food or water.  The eight hours of beauty sleep he got a night were about just as long as he could safely do.  But the empty feeling was immediately replaced by the feeling of sucking light in. What little illumination his ceiling light provided was better than nothing at all to his Quirk.  It wasn’t picky.

Steeling himself for the world outside, he opened his door.

***

Takiyo wakes up in a hospital bed.  Quirk Exhaustion, they’d later say.  His first manifestation of his Quirk being too much for his small body to handle.  It wouldn’t be the last time it would happen to him.

The lights around him are dimmed, leaving him mostly in darkness. But even then, he’s starting to glow. It doesn’t hurt this time.  It feels good, it makes him feel… full.

Even at his young age, he knows something is very, very wrong. More so than just being in the hospital.

There’s a curtain drawn around the bed, but he can hear someone talking to his father just outside it.

“I know you’ve had a traumatic experience, Mister Akasuki,” a voice says, “but I don’t think you you’re thinking clearly.  Your son is going to need you.  His Quirk is potentially very dangerous…”

A voice, his father’s, cuts the other off.  “Don’t you think I know that?” his father asks.  “But I just…  I can’t.   I’m not strong enough.  He’s my son, but all I can think about when I look at him is there’s the boy who took off my hand and killed my wife…”

There’s more arguing outside, but Takiyo can’t hear it.  He’s crying.  Is that right?  Is his mom dead?  Is it his fault?  Did he make his dad leave him?

Long, terribly long, minutes pass.  And then the curtain parts and a doctor enters.  He has dark hair that’s long enough to make Takiyo think he’s skipped a haircut and eyes that are solid black.  It’s a little creepy, but his smile is kindly, if sad.

“You’re awake,” he says.  “How’re you feeling?”

“Who… who are you?” Takiyo asks.  “Where’s my dad?”

“My name’s Haru Shima,” the doctor says.  He doesn’t answer the question about his dad.  “I’m your doctor.”  He comes and sits in the chair near the bed, and Takiyo flinches.

Doctor Shima sees him flinch, but he doesn’t move.  “It’s okay,” he said.  “You can’t hurt me.”  He takes a pen from the pocket of his white coat and hands it to Takiyo. “Here, throw this at me.”

Takiyo gives the pen a little toss.  He doesn’t know why he does it, but it gives him something else to think about.  The pen stops in mid-air before it hits the doctor and just falls as though it had hit a wall.  The doctor catches it easily.  “See?” he says.  “Anything gets too close to me, it stops before it can hurt me.  That’s my Quirk.”

That’s something, at least.  But it just makes him think about his parents.  “What about my dad?  Where’s my mom?”

Doctor Shima frowns.  “I’m sorry,” he says after a long moment.  “We should probably have the social worker here for this, but…”

***

Takiyo entered the Common Room to find it in chaos.  This wasn’t actually uncommon, but it was always a toss-up as to who would be responsible.   Had Mika Mineta angered Katsumi Kirishima-Bakugo?  Was Asuka Tokoyami’s Frog-Shadow acting up again?   Was Shota Shinso going on about something he saw on the internet and had dragged Toshinori Midoriya and Isamu Haimawari into it?

No, today’s nonsense came in the form of the far more usual suspects: Kimiko Ojiro, Kenta Sato, and Takuma Sero.   Ojiro was not quite as terrible as her partners in crime and he did find her an enjoyable source of gossip, but collectively, the three were nothing but trouble.  He blamed the Sero boy for corrupting them both.  Sero was sitting across from the other two, who were sitting at one of the dining tables.  

“Okay,” Sero said, keeping his phone pointed at Sato and Ojiro, “tell me what about you’re doing?”

Sato gave the camera a grin. “So this is a very special addition of Will Sato Eat it?  Kimiko here is going to give me something to eat, but she’s going to use her Quirk to make it invisible.   Without being able to see it or touch it, I’m going to have to guess what it is.”

Ojiro elbowed him in the side.  “Oh yeah,” Sato added hastily.  “Hastag invisi-lunch!”

Idiots, all of them. He understood the desire for fame. His papa had taught about controlling your image and putting your best face forward from the moment he had decided he was going to be a Hero. Takiyo knew all about how to stand out and shine.  But he also knew you didn’t do it through idiotic stunts and trying to go “viral.” To say nothing of the fact that neither Sero nor Sato had enough of a sense of style or stage presence to pull it off no matter what.  Ojiro, at least, did have some of that.

He just wanted to make himself some breakfast and now he had to deal with this. Very pointedly ignoring them, he made his way to the kitchen to start preparing an omelet.  They seemed to be ignoring his ignoring them (how very rude!) but he still took some satisfaction from not giving them the attention that they so obviously craved.

Unfortunately, even as he worked on his food, the noise from the others was distracting.  Every so often something would crunch or snap or make some other unnatural noise as Sato bit through whatever it was.   Already, Takiyo could see he had bitten the head off a garden gnome, taken a bite out of a Frisbee, eaten all he glass from a light bulb, and was about to take a bite out of a traffic cone.  It also looked like Ojiro had several more items on the table for Sato to taste, only some of which he could readily identify.   He let out a weary sigh.

“Is this going to be going on all morning?”

Sero stopped filming for a moment, putting his phone down and shooting him an angry look.  “Dude,” he said.  “You ruined my shot!  Don’t you know we’re supposed to have quiet on the set?”

Sato gave him an incredulous look.  “Dude. It’s not a set.  It’s the Common Room.”  Perhaps he had an ounce of sense after all.

“Aoyammmmma,” Ojiro whined, crossing her arms.  “Whyyyyy?”

“Because I’m tired of having to put up with the three of you acting like you’re going to be the next big thing.”

Sero frowned. “Dude.  That’s harsh.”

“Sometimes,” Takiyo shot back.  “Harsh reality is needed.”

***

It’s days later and his father still hasn’t come back for him. The nice lady from social services had said something about “giving up parental rights” and that they were “trying to find a nice home for him.”

They did lots of tests and they kept his room really dark. Every time there’s even the least little bit of light, he can feel his body and Quirk sucking greedily at it, wanting every bit of it.  It doesn’t look like he can turn that off, they say.  The hospital’s Quirk specialist says they’re trying to see if they can have any support gear made that will help him,

He spends most of his days crying.  He hurt his dad and…  

There’s no words around it.  He killed his mom.   He’s only four and he understands that much.  The nice Doctor Shima and everyone has tried to make him understand it wasn’t his fault, but he can’t stop thinking about it.

But Doctor Shima visits him every day, talks to him, makes him feel just a little less like a monster.  It doesn’t last, but it lasts for a moment.  It’s nice to have someone, at least, who isn’t afraid he might hurt them.

One time, Doctor Shima visits him with another man.  And he is the prettiest man Takiyo has ever seen. Skinny, with blonde hair.  He wears a thick belt that wraps around his middle and has a sparkle of his own.  Takiyo instantly tries to scoot farther back on the bed, away from the man’s light.

“It’s okay, Takiyo,” Doctor Shima says.  “Anything happens, I’m right here.  Nobody’s going to get hurt.”    He gestures to the other man.  “This is my husband, Yuga Aoyama.”

“Don’t… don’t get close,” Takiyo cries, desperately.  “I don’t want to hurt you!”

In spite of his warnings, Doctor Shima’s husband sits next to him.  He sees the slight glow coming from him, the little bit of light he’s absorbed from the machines in the room and the light from the hallway.  He looks over to Doctor Shima for a minute, who merely nods. His gaze quickly returns to Takiyo and Takiyo realizes he has some of the kindest eyes he’s ever seen.

“I too, know what it is like to have a Quirk that scares you, mon petit ami.  Mine has, most of my life.  But my husband tells me you have been very brave.  You must be very strong.”

“I don’t feel strong,” Takiyo says.  “I hurt my dad.  I hurt… I… my mom…”

Doctor Shima’s husband does something unexpected then, and he wraps his arms around Takiyo, completely unafraid.  “It was an accident,” Aoyama says.  “It was not your fault.  It was not your fault.”

Doctor Shima clears his throat.  “Takiyo…  my husband and I have been talking it over… and how would you like to come live with us?”

***

“Really?” Sero asked. “Now you’re just getting pissy. Do you have over a thousand followers on HeroTube?”

Takiyo put a hand to his chest.  “Over two thousand on InstaGlam.  Some of us are meant to shine.  Some of us are not.”

“So what you’re really saying is you’re not any different than us,” Sero said, pointing an accusing finger.  He moved from the table toward the kitchen.

“Guys…” Ojiro said, trying to come between them.

“This… is gonna be ugly,” Sato said, looking like he was trying to find an escape.

“Non,” Takiyo said.  “I, at least, am trading upon my natural grace and beauty.  You three are a sideshow attraction, trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator.  Which is fine for you.  But do not subject the rest of us to it.”

“You think you’re so much better than us,” Sero said.  “You try to hog the glory, you talk down to Mineta, you think you’re such hot stuff, always trying to show off.   Well, you’re not any different than any of us.  You… you’re…”

“You’re on fire,” Sato said.

“Of course I am,” Takiyo said.  “When you’re this good, you’re…”

“No!” Ojiro cried out. “You’re on fire!  Your arm!”

Takiyo looked down to see his sleeve had slipped near the burner of the stove.  He’d moved his omelet when he’d started ranting at the three idiots, but had neglected to turn the burner off.  And now his sleeve was very much on fire.  

“Aaah!”  he let out a cry of alarm.

“Aaah!” Sero cried.

“Aaah!”  screamed Ojiro and Sato.

Takiyo hastily turned to the sink, turning on the cold water and sticking his arm under it.  It extinguished the blaze and he did not seem to have any burns, but his shirt was ruined.  “This.  Was. Silk!”

“Whoa, dude,” Sero said, holding up both hands. Ojiro and Sato had moved to stand beside him. “You okay?”

“This is all your fault,” Takiyo snapped.   Before he even knew what he was doing, he threw up a hand and a beam of light lanced out towards the three of them.

The three acted surprisingly quickly.  Ojiro and Sato both wrapped their arms around Sero, who shot a stream of his tape up towards the ceiling and yanked, pulling all three of them out of the path of his light beam.  It struck the couch on the other end of the Common Room, but did no damage.  He didn’t have enough light stored up for that.  Not yet anyway.

***

Takiyo is five and a half years old and he has been living with Doctor Shima and Yuga Aoyama for more than a year.  Six months ago, they adopted him.  They didn’t ask him to forget his mom or dad, but they wanted him as a part of their family now and forever.  And they are good, kind people who love him and who aren’t afraid of his Quirk.  He wants to be a part of their family.  They spent part of their time in Japan and part of their time in France, where some of his papa’s family is from.  His papa is a famous hero and his dad is a doctor.  

He doesn’t see his old friends anymore.  Their parents are afraid of him, won’t let them play with him. But he’s made new friends, the kids of his papa’s friends. They aren’t afraid of him.  Maybe he doesn’t get as close to them as he’d like, but they are good people too.

He is six when he decides he wants to be a Hero like Papa. Papa’s friends, Mrs. Yaoyorozu and Mrs. Iida do some tests on him and design him a belt and bracelets to wear, like the belt Papa wears.  He works with Papa to learn how to use his Quirk. He will be a Hero.

“In this world,” Papa tells him once, “there will be many people who say you cannot do it.  Because you need support.  Because your Quirk is not quite right for who you are.  You must ignore it.  You shine and show the world your sparkle.  You will take them all by storm and prove the wrong.”

So he tries to always shine, to always sparkle.  He has to prove everyone wrong.  He has to be the best, so that no one can ever say there is anything wrong with him again.

***

Sero had somehow managed to swing his trio from one spot to another across the Common Room ceiling.  Takiyo had continued trying to tag them with light blasts—one good one would probably make him lose his grip and then he could get his hands on them—but to no avail.

Unfortunately, their fighting had attracted attention of others in the dorm and they now all found themselves under the disapproving glares of Asuka Tokoyami and Akaya Koda.

“Someone please explain to me why you’re turned the Common Room into a shooting gallery?” Tokoyami asked, one finger aside her beak.

Sero and Takiyo both pointed at the other.  “He started it!” they said as one.

Tokoyami let out a groan. “I don’t know why I expected anything else,” she said.

“Kenta,” Koda said, looking to her friend.  “Could you tell us what happened?”

The thick-lipped young man looked guiltily at Sero.  “We were filming and Aoyama started yelling at us… But Takuma started yelling back and then Aoyama got distracted and set himself on fire and it kind of spiraled from there.”

Under the dual gaze of the most responsible and level-headed members of the class, Takiyo did not especially feel like putting up an argument.  Koda was of one of the few members of the class who did not seek to make him less than he was.  And Tokoyami had mastered the art of “disappointed in you” to a level he was not fully certain he understood.

“Clean up the mess, please,” Tokoyami said.  “I don’t want any of you getting in trouble with Aizawa for destroying the dorm.”

“Aw, but we were going to…” Ojiro began.   Sato gave her a nudge in the ribs.  “Oh, okay.”

Takiyo grumbled, but reluctantly nodded.

He couldn’t afford to let anything jeopardize his future as a Hero.

Because he had to be a Hero. And a famous, important one at that.   Because if he saved people, if he saved everyone, if everyone loved him…

Then maybe he could save enough people to make up for what he’d done.  Maybe one day he could look in the mirror and see a Hero, instead of someone who’d killed his own mom.

[timetogoslumming]

another fluffy little sprace oneshot for you! 

race finds out that spot missed out on a vital part of childhood. 

For the first few weeks that they were dating, Spot never saw Race’s apartment. It just made sense for them- Spot lived alone, and Race’s roommates could be a little bit intense. One evening, though, after they had gone out for pizza, Spot was clearly uncomfortable as they walked back toward his apartment.

“Don’t you live like, a block from here?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

Spot worried his bottom lip between his teeth for a minute. “Okay, I don’t want to tell you this-” he started.

Race looked down at him, concerned. “What is it?”

“I really have to use the bathroom,” Spot said. “Can we please just go back to your place tonight? I really don’t want to walk the rest of the way back to mine holding it.”

“Oh, my god. Fine.” They took a left at the corner and were quickly back to Race’s building. Spot stepped back while Race unlocked the door. “Just… sorry in advance about my roommates,” he started. “They’re kinda- anyway, they’re probably going to interrogate you.”

But his worries, as it turned out, were unfounded. The apartment was empty. Jack, he assumed had gone to Davey’s- he had been doing that a lot lately- and Albert just sort of disappeared sometimes. He would be gone for days at a time, then come back saying he had run out for a bagel. Race knew him well enough to know not to question it. Al would probably come up with a story about being abducted by aliens or something if he asked too many questions.

“My bathroom’s the one at the end of the hall,” Race said, pointing, and Spot walked, a little bit too quickly to be casual, toward it.

“You have a space shower curtain?” Spot yelled from inside.

“Yes! Don’t judge me!”

Race wandered aimlessly around the kitchen while he waited for Spot, eventually starting up the Keurig for a cup of coffee. Not too long after, the toilet flushed, the sink ran for a minute, and Spot emerged, looking much calmer. “Little late for coffee, isn’t it?” he asked.

Race shrugged. “No such thing as too late. Besides, caffeine calms me down.”

“Fair enough. Show me your room. I want to see if you’re as big of a nerd as I think you are.”

Race led Spot to his room and stood awkwardly in the doorway as Spot looked around at his various posters and photos on the wall. He occasionally asked who someone in a picture was, and Race would answer, but aside from that, it was mostly silent. Race had learned when they first got together that Spot liked to know his surroundings like the back of his hand. Unfamiliar spaces made him nervous, so he took the time to thoroughly explore every new place he found himself in. “Why do you have four calculators?” Spot asked, pointing at the stack of advanced graphing calculators on Race’s desk.

“In case three break,” Race replied, only half kidding.

Spot stopped at Race’s bookshelf, picking up a ratty teddy bear, which had once been white and was now a sort of greyish-brown. He held the bear up to Race with his eyebrows raised. “Really? You still have a teddy bear?”

Race made a grab for the bear, but Spot was faster and yanked it out of reach. “Fuck off,” Race said. “I got him when I was a baby.”

“It’s a him, huh?”

Race grabbed for the bear again, but this time, Spot let him have it. “Yes, he’s a him,” Race replied, smoothing the bear’s fur, which had gotten sort of patchy in old age. “His name is Barney, in case you were wondering. But seriously, everyone still has some kind of stuffed animal.”

“Not me,” Spot replied, taking a seat on the end of Race’s bed. “But then, I never really had any.”

“What do you mean?” Race asked absently as he carefully placed Barney the Bear back on his shelf.

“Never had like, a teddy bear or anything.”

Race spun around so fast that his neck cracked a bit. “What, never?” he asked. “Not even when you were little?”

Spot shrugged. “Nah.”

“How?”

“Well, when your mom is in prison and your dad thinks that kind of stuff is too sissy, you don’t get a whole lot of teddy bears.”

A pang of sadness hit Race straight in the heart. “That’s… really shitty. Every kid needs a teddy bear. Or something. I think Al had a stuffed fish, but still. Seriously, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Uh… nothing?”

“We’re getting you a teddy bear.”

Spot shook his head. “We really don’t need to-”

“We’re going.”

The next day, after a long lie-in in bed and a massive breakfast at IHOP, Race dragged Spot to the mall, making a beeline for the Build a Bear Workshop. Spot stopped just outside, staring at the display of Pokemon in the window. “Race, I really don’t want to do this.”

“Too bad. Every kid needs a teddy bear,” Race replied, shoving Spot inside.

“I’m twenty-two.”

“Yeah. We’re making up for twenty-two years of lost time.”

Inside, Race pointed to the wall of stuffed animals, telling Spot to choose the one he liked best. Slowly, they walked along the line, occasionally picking up a bear to make a joke. “This one looks like you,” he said, gesturing to a garish tie-dyed cat.

“Shut up,” Race replied, picking up one that was meant to look like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, but really just looked like a mistake. “This one looks like you.”

Finally, though, Spot settled on a classic teddy bear with fur the same color as Race’s hair, although neither of them made that connection out loud. An overly cheery teenage employee rushed over. “Are you ready to bring your bear to life?” she asked.

“Uh… sure,” Spot replied.

“Okay!” she enthused. “Come choose a heart for your friend!” She gestured to a huge bowl of red hearts.

“That’s… not necessary.” The employee started to protest, and Race nudged Spot. “Okay, fine.” He grabbed a heart at random.

“Great!” Race was beginning to suspect that the girl was a robot built by Build a Bear’s corporate headquarters. “Now warm the heart in your hands!” Spot hesitantly closed his hands around the red heart. “Good! And now whisper a wish to your bear’s heart.”

Spot jerked his head up. “You’re joking. Do I really look like the kind of guy who whispers wishes to little hearts? Who do you think-” “Dude,” Race said, interrupting him. “Will you just… be cool?”

“Fine,” Spot snapped. He brought the heart up to his hands. “I wish for cheap booze and good sex,” he whispered with a grin, quietly enough that Race and the employee couldn’t make it out.

“Now seal it with a kiss!” the girl said perkily. Spot bitterly gave the heart a quick kiss.

“What’d you wish for?” Race asked.

“Oh, no!” scolded the employee. “If he tells you, it won’t come true!” “Yeah, Race. I can’t tell you,” Spot confirmed with a smirk.

The poor girl helped them stuff the bear, but was quickly rebuked when she suggested that Spot give it a hug test to see if it was full enough, and then weakly suggested that they give the bear a bath.

Spot stared at her, slackjawed. “Give it a what?”

“A bath,” she replied, pointing toward a blue trough shaped vaguely like a dog groomer’s tub.

Spot held up the bear, which had just been stitched up. “This is a stuffed animal. It’s not real. I just bought it. Are you telling me this bear isn’t clean?”

“Spot,” Race hissed.

“It’s not really water,” the employee responded.

Spot nodded. “Okay, great. Can we pretend for a minute that I’m an adult and don’t want to give a stuffed animal an imaginary bath?”

The employee actually rolled her eyes, her robot exterior cracking. “Go pick out clothes or something,” she said dully, gesturing to a wall of clothes.

As soon as they were by the wall, and the employee had gone back to the register, Race nudged Spot. “Why are you so mean?” he asked quietly.

“I’m not mean,” Spot replied as he looked through tiny outfits. “This is stupid.” As he dug through the clothes, he froze and did a double take, looking back at Race. “Hey, look,” Spot said. “It’s your shirt.”

The tiny shirt he held up was weirdly similar to Race’s, although not identical. Race’s shirt was a diagram of Saturn, with arrows and captions pointing out various parts of the planet. The bear shirt was just a picture of Saturn. “I’m getting this.”

“Aw, so you can cuddle with me even when I’m not there?” Race teased.

Spot scowled. “Fuck off. No. It’s because this is stupid and you’re stupid.�� He held the shirt up to the bear like he was trying it on. “Besides. I don’t cuddle.” Which, for the record, was the truth. Spot liked his space.

They shopped around for a while longer, before finally settling on an outfit, which was nearly identical to Race’s. After checking out with the employee, who by this point, was completely done with them, and after a quick apology to her from Race, they left, carrying a box shaped like a house.

“Want to walk around the mall a little?” Race asked.

“No,” Spot said quickly. “I don’t need anyone to see me carrying this shit around.”

Back at Spot’s apartment, they unboxed the bear. “Okay, well… cool,” Spot said awkwardly, letting it sit on the couch between them.

“Admit it,” Race urged. “You love it. You finally got your teddy bear.”

“Get out of my home.”

[tancong]

The Delightful Date

What will two couples make of their day together, a once in a lifetime chance as they finally manage to bring Angela away from her endless pile of work?

Romance.

Summer was a time of the year that was always full of festivities and fun. There wasn’t any major festivals or romantic events during this time of the year as with the other seasons. However, it was definitely one with festivities and fun. The nights were always filled with chatter and people, whether they were simply walking by the stylish stores that lined the streets or the stalls that were set up at the city’s center where festivals were often held.

Though the level of excitement and celebration of the nightlife in the city center could hardly compare to that during the lunar new year and the mid-autumn festival, they were quite lively nevertheless. Such was the way of life in the now peaceful Japan.

It was on one of such rather ordinary summer day that Genji had chosen to bring Angela on a date. Well, ‘bring’ was probably not the proper way to describe it. Perhaps coerced would be better. He had to practically pull her from her works, carrying her in his arms while she pouted and protested just so he could sit her down on the bed and talk about the plans.

Then it took Hana coming along to actually convince her to take a day off for herself. As much as he admired and respected how much she worked, she really neglected to take care of herself at times. He can’t remember the last time that she had taken a vacation, actually did she ever take a vacation? At best, he had been able to drag her out a few days in a month on dates and things of the such. He never complained about it, of course, it was her work and he had plenty of his own.

However, there had to be some sort of moderation in all things. As such, he was absolutely determined to convince her. He knew not whether she realized that and agreed, or whether it was because Hana also came. Either way, he was glad that she finally agreed.

The pair soon found themselves in Japan. Their day began at noon, dining at a modest traditional restaurant. It wasn’t overly fancy nor memorable, but definitely an important part of their day. After all, that was when he finally saw Angela unwind, smiling and laughing as she allowed herself to relax and move her mind away from her thoughts about work.

He knew that it rarely, if ever, happened. Even in the middle of a combat situation or dinner at the base, she was doubtlessly thinking about the possible things that might happen and the things that she would need to do once she finished whatever task she was doing. As such, he was quite pleased to see that she was actually enjoying herself rather than still working in her mind. That was the point of the day after all.

As they exited the restaurant, Genji smoothly slid his hand into hers, a hand which she grasped lovingly and rather willingly. To his amusement, it was not until they had walked a few blocks down the street when she finally finished chatting with Hana about shopping and noticed the fact that they were holding hands. Met by an innocent smile on the face of her lover, all she could do is cover up her giggle with her free hand before leaning in toward him.

“A sly ninja as always aren’t you. You could just offer your hand to me like a normal person.”

Genji raised an eyebrow and very calmly responded with, “Well if I were to do that, you would say no to tease me, saying that I should work harder to get to hold your hand or something of the sort. I would say sneaking my hand into yours was pretty hard work.”

Angela considered this for a moment before smiling brightly and rewarding him with a kiss on his cheek for his rather clever reply. Their hands swung between them gently, rhythmic to the pace of each step. They passed many shops, pausing here and there to gaze at the items they offered. They eventually found themselves visiting one, yet another modest place with cute items.

It was a joy for him to watch Angela and Hana chat as they picked out clothes they think would fit the other or would like the other’s opinion on. As well-versed as he may be with girls, he was not going to interfere with their choosing. He knew there would come a time for him to give his input. As such, he simply leaned against a wall with a convenient view.

As for Lucio, however, he stuck by Hana’s side. There was a young man who was much more well-versed in the young lady's and overall modern fashion. Being of similar profession and popularity, he supposed that as a couple they were quite a pair. Soon enough, both Angela and Hana had found themselves a small stack of clothes that they wanted to try on.

Their eyes met even as Genji got up from his leaning position, making Angela smile at the sight of her cute cyborg ninja. It may come with experience but it was definitely amusing to see how he knew exactly when to start moving to accommodate with her wish. After all, who else could give her better feedback on whether her outfit would please her lover other than Genji himself?

In the end though, it was not as if he wouldn’t think that everything looks lovely on his Angela. Well, there was a low cut dress that she presented to him with a graceful pull of the curtain and a flirtatious smirk. That made his jaw drop even as a flash came from Hana’s phone. As his vent popped open to release a gentle mist of steam, Angela giggled and dropped her act.

“Good reaction. So? What about this one, Genji?”

Genji coughed once before looking her over once more before hesitantly speaking, “Well, you look extremely sexy in it but I don’t think it’s exactly … your style for wearing outside.”

Angela pretended to think for a moment before smiling. “Good~ You passed the test. But you got one thing wrong.”

Genji blinked before tilting his head in curiosity. Angela then winked at him before turning to go back into the changing room, glancing over her shoulder as she spoke.

“This is not for anyone else to see but you. ”

The curtains closed, prompting Genji to look at the couple standing nearby on his right. Lucio had an impressed expression on his face and made a clapping motion with his hands while Hana was covering her signature smirk with one hand before giving him a thumbs-up.

The couples left with a bag full of new clothes, each bag held by the male despite any protest that any of the ladies may have voiced. This was rather evident by how the way both clung to their lover’s arm as if in thanks for the service they were performing. Well, it was a small price to pay for being clung to by a pretty girl. Both of the men that day could agree on that fact at the very least.

They found themselves in front of a large center, where Hana’s eyes lit up. She gazed toward Genji with eagerness in her eyes, which made the other two feel rather left out and confused. Genji simply sighed and responded with a smirk before beginning to walk toward the door.

“I hope I don’t ruin your day, Ms. Song.”

Hana simply stuck out her tongue at him before responding coolly, “No Ms. Song business here. You better not go easy on me Genji.”

The opened doors revealed a large arcade, filled with music, voices, sounds, and lights. By the others had absorbed everything, Hana had already found the game she wanted to play. She pointed at it and eagerly skipped toward the machine as Genji nodded, leaving Lucio to look between the two before sighing as he trailed after the girl who suddenly abandoned him.

Genji suddenly seemed to remember something and looked over at Angela sheepishly, only to be met with a pout before she broke into a soft smile and pushing him toward the machine that in front of Hana.

“Go on now. Impress me.”

Genji saw down and laid his hands on the controls. It had been many years since he last played at an arcade, though he had recently picked up a few games back at the base. As busy as he was, Angela was much busier and there were times when even he had nothing else to occupy himself. As exciting as meditation and reading was, the draw of video games drew him back now and then. Besides, it was rather interesting to see how his experience with Overwatch and real life combat changed his perception and video gaming abilities.

The coin slid smoothly into the slot of the machine, allowing him to look through the familiar characters. He smiled to himself as he spotted his old favorite, the one that he had always played and had practiced on the most in the recent times. However, this was not the one he picked. Instead, he picked a monk. One with an honorable and pacifist background who only fought when he truly needed to.

Much like someone else he knew. Though comparing him to this video game character would not do him justice. After all, Zenyatta was far stronger.

The pair loaded onto the 2D stage, facing each other with their life bar and other information loading onto the screen promptly. As the music picked up its rhythm, Genji found himself cornered to some degree. As good as he was, Hana definitely seemed to have the upper hand. The cyborg frowned a bit as he failed to predict an attack, allowing her to lock him into a finishing combo that he could not stop as she unleashed her power bar on him.

They agreed on a best of 5 prior to the match, which was fortunate considering that it wasn’t an impressive show at all for Angela. His bar was at zero and Hana’s was tapped down to only 70% at best.

“Eo? Yogeo in-gongjineung?”

Genji rolled his eyes as he heard Hana taunting him from the other side, hearing her giggle afterward as she most likely got punched on the arm by Lucio. With that, the second match began.

The second match ended with an upset as Genji won the round much to Angela’s delight. He was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek as Hana peeked from the side of the machine to frown at him and stick out her tongue tauntingly. They wasted no time beginning the third match though.

The timer ticked down to nearly zero despite both of them fighting rather than stalling or hiding. Blows after blows were exchanged as they seemed to be more evenly matched this time around.

However, Genji misread a single attack, the one that ticked his life down to zero even as Hana’s character stood with only a sliver of her own health bar remaining. A small “Kuso ...” could be heard as he gazed at the final score screen. The name “D.VA” popped up once more, albeit second place to her own score from the first round, as she proudly placed her score onto the leaderboard.

“Mō issen negaou ne,” the young cyborg said to himself, though Angela nodded with a smile as he met her gaze. Well, she did know that phrase after all.

And apparently, so did Hana as she leaned over the side once more to smugly smirk at him. “Geim-eul hamyeon igyeoyaji.”

Genji nodded as he loaded up once more. However, this time his selection cursor changed off the monk. Instead, it went to another man.

A middle-aged ninja infamous for his ability to confuse the opponent with his speed. Creating and closing distance between himself and his opponent is a vital part, though not many people liked him too much. As fancy as he seemed, some complained that he was too hard to play for the low damage value that he put out.

For Genji however, he was the perfect pick. Even from his youth, he recalled connecting with the man. More than the physical description and profession, there was something about his style and personality that made him quite likable. A soothing and calm voice even amidst the battle, along with the smooth flow of his blade when he chooses to brandish it. That was a man that he looked up to, despite being fictional.

“D.va-san, honki o misete miro.”

Her smirk quickly turned into an expression of surprise as she saw the change of character on the stage. As confident as she was in winning, as a gamer she was still wary. After all, why would Genji not pick this character until now? Was he just trying to mix things up to try and get her off guard? Either way, she was not going to let him have a chance. She was going to get her third point.

The results definitely surprised everyone other than Genji himself. Despite losing the first few trades, he steadily evened the health bars and eventually ticked Hana’s own health down to zero. He did not bother to put his name on the leaderboard despite making it to third place. Not that anyone really noticed.

“Jjajeungna.”

Genji chuckled and coyly replied, “Eh? Sono teido ka?” only to receive a frown from Angela. He smiled apologetically before she broke into a sigh as she hid her smile behind her hand. She had never seen him so competitively and lively before, there was no way she could be mad at him for the banter the two were having.

“You better beat her now. Otherwise, you lose your honor forever,” Angela poked at him.

The comment caught him off guard for a moment, his mouth open slightly before he changed his expression to one of mock thoughtfulness. He nodded wisely and said calmly, “You’re right, I might end up having to consider committing honorable sudoku.”

Angela opened her mouth to chastise him for teasing her, only to pause for a moment as his words registered. Her mind went blank in confusion for a moment, just a bit too long for her to reply before the beginning of the next round.

In their last round, Genji did not seem to hesitate any longer. His character moved across the screen, attacking at Hana’s from multiple different angles. Just when Hana thought she had an opening and moved to attack, a victorious smirk accompanied by a glint of Genji’s eyes told Angela otherwise. Hana quickly realized her mistake, as if having seen the look in Genji’s eyes as well. But by then, it was much too late.

“Owarida.”

Hana’s character met an onslaught of attacks, knocking her into the air and allowing Genji to land hit after hit. Even using her power bar to break from the combo did not save her, as Genji predicted it in his backward dash to prevent the short hit-stun, only to dash forward with great precision to strike just as he character became vulnerable once more. With that, the fight was over.

Genji let out a soft sigh as Angela hugged him happily and Lucio patted the pouty ex-champion on the head. As Hana gazed at the screen, she saw a score that pushed her down by one rank, to second place. Her eyes widened at the familiar tag, standing up suddenly to the point of almost hitting Lucio’s chin with her head. By then though, Genji had already stood up with a knowing smile and linked his arm with Angela’s, getting ready to leave.

As Lucio tugged on her arm to do the same, Hana began to follow him. She cast one last glance at the screen behind her, the screen that the young cyborg had been using just moments ago. After all, he had just used a tag she had not seen for many years. For so long, she had been hoping to face the one person whose score she could never beat, the legendary Demon Fighter of Hanamura.

The previously unknown player by the tag of G.N.G.

* * * * * * * *

Alas, their double date in Japan came to an end. While they wanted to stay out longer, they did end up compromising with Angela to return early. She had protested that she didn’t want to stay out too late, hence not bringing any fancy dress for dinner or a kimono for the festive stalls at night. Though she regretted it now, they were still heading back.

Even if their wonderful day came to an end a bit earlier than they realized that they would have wanted, it was a wonderful day nevertheless. Their dinner was filled with joy as everyone found time to eat together once more, listening to the recount of the two couple’s days, with Hana pouting at Genji and demanding a rematch every other sentence.

After dinner, Hana approached Genji to ask him about his tag, only to hesitate before sighing with a smile. As curious and excited as she was to finally having a chance to fight against him, he did defeat her in the end. Probing at her habits and skills with a character that wasn’t even his main, learning about her tricks and techniques before showing his true skill to defeat her. She couldn’t ask for a better rival.

Well, she supposed that it would be nice if he had told her earlier. And not always so busy with his girlfriend. Not that she minded of course. Seeing as how happy they were together that night, she didn’t have the heart to steal him from Angela over video games.

Her rematch against him can wait for another day.

With that, their wonderful day together came to an end. Yet in their memories, there will always be the vivid image of their smiling faces, the competitive tension in the air, the gentle breeze of air conditioning that starkly contrasted with the warm and humid air outside of the arcade, and the most importantly, the warm touches of love.

The gentle touches against the gamers’ arms, the soft kisses exchange clandestinely, the warmth of their linked arms, and the countless other small gestures that they all exchanged. A day full of memories together as friends, yet also between two separate pairs of couples.

A date full of delight.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: 20 incredible products that are trending on Amazon right now

— Our editors review and recommend products to help you buy the stuff you need. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY’s newsroom and any business incentives. When I need a few things for my apartment, I head to Amazon knowing that even if I forget what I need, I’ll find something interesting worth checking out. But when I’m interested in discovering new products, or just seeing what’s new on the site, I usually head to Amazon’s Movers and Shakers page, which highlights all the largest gainers in sales rank over the last 24 hours. Since the page covers every product category on Amazon—from books to children’s toys to pet supplies and more—it gives you a real sense of what’s actually trending across the site so you can make more informed purchasing decisions. The one catch? Because the page is completely trend-based, there’s no way to tell whether these products are worth buying, or whether they’re, well, just useless knick knacks. Since we spend a lot of time here at Reviewed testing and analyzing products, we decided to take a closer look at the Movers and Shakers page. While the page updates hourly and some of these items might not be trending at this very second, these are the 20 best items we've seen on it over the last week or so that absolutely live up to the hype. 1. These Kindle e-readers that make it easy to read anywhere Credit: Reviewed / Michael Roorda These are our favorite Kindles for unlimited reading pleasure. Maybe you need to replace your old e-reader or you’ve just been procrastinating switching from the familiarity of hard copy to the more efficient digital medium (it’s okay—you’re not alone!). Our experts named these two Kindles as the best to own thanks to their comfortable feel, storage capacity, and Bluetooth compatibility, among other things. It’s a no-brainer that so many people continue to buy so many dang Kindles. Get the Kindle - 6" Glare-Free Display with Built-In Front Light for $89.99 Get the Kindle Paperwhite - 8 GB for $129.99 Get the Kindle Paperwhite - 32 GB for $159.99 2. A super-convenient dry shampoo that’ll save you time and water Credit: Not Your Mother’s Solve your oily hair woes with this $6 spray. Whether you have oily hair, or you just need to look presentable in a pinch, Not Your Mother’s has got you covered. We missed this product when we ranked our favorite dry shampoos of 2019, but $6 sounds like a steal when you see its 4.2-star rating on Amazon. Plus, reviewers rave about the volume and texture, light coconut scent, and lack of residue. Joelle writes, “This smells amazing! I love the texture it gave my hair as well. My hair is usually thin and hard to put into buns and this gave my hair volume which helped so much.” Get Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo for $5.98 3. A cold brew coffee maker that you can use all season long Credit: Takeya Get your cold brew fix for less. If you’re like me, you love coffee and likely just put up with the acidity. But no longer! This cold brew coffee maker boasts a brewing process that extracts only natural flavors—no oils or acids. And should you deem the weather too chilly for cold brew, you can also use this to prepare a hot cup of Joe. Once brewed, you can keep your coffee in the shatterproof, airtight container for up to two weeks. Get the Takeya Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker for $16.99 4. This adorable, uber-efficient planner Credit: Panda Planner Keep organized with this undated planner. With over 250,000 units sold, the Panda Planner is a game changer if you want to add some structure to your life. The undated pages allow you to use the planner as often as you want, eliminating those passive-aggressive, paper-wasting guilt trips that dated planners put you through should you miss a day or several. In addition to the daily section, there are also weekly and monthly sections for your more long-term goals. Get the Panda Planner Daily Planner 2019-2020 for $24.97 5. Alexa’s favorite smart clock Credit: Amazon The perfect pair with your Echo speaker. Every household should have a clock or two. If you own an Echo speaker, you’ll want to keep Alexa busy with the Echo Wall Clock. It’s a must-have if you’ve got an Echo speaker, as you can sync them together and set timers, which will count down as illuminated LEDs on the clock’s face. Initial reviews for this product indicated that it killed batteries quickly, but Amazon deployed a fix, which has greatly reduced this issue. Get the Echo Wall Clock for $24.99 6. These doorbells that will answer the door for you Credit: Reviewed / Amazon This bundle is the ideal video doorbell surveillance system. Manage your home more effectively with Amazon’s Ring Video Doorbell bundles, which include a free Echo Show 5. Ring is our favorite smart doorbell and this combination lets you keep an eye on the front porch with motion-activated alerts, two-way talk, and an on-demand video feed without having to step away from your household projects. The Echo Show 5, meanwhile, is a great cooking companion or audio/video source for your favorite podcasts, TV shows, and other entertainment. Get the Ring Video Doorbell 2 with Echo Show 5 for $199 Get the Ring Video Doorbell Pro with Echo Show 5 for $249 7. These skincare products to keep your face feeling good Credit: LilyAna Naturals LilyAna Naturals are known to be good on all skin types. With autumn in full swing and winter approaching, everyone’s trying to keep their face looking fresh and vibrant. Whether you’re using these products for their anti-aging benefits or to keep acne at bay, these LilyAna Naturals moisturizers and serum are good on all skin types (including sensitive skin), free of parabens, and vegan friendly, making them some of the most popular skincare items on Amazon. Get the LilyAna Naturals Eye Cream Moisturizer for $19.99 Get the LilyAna Naturals Retinol Cream Moisturizer for $19.99 Get the LilyAna Naturals Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid for Face and Eyes for $19.99 8. Your dentist’s favorite toothbrush Credit: Philips A toothbrush your dentist would be proud of. At my last dental checkup, my hygienist marveled at my oral health for the entirety of my cleaning and eventually asked my marital status. Was it appropriate? Not really. But I see it as a testament to the effectiveness of the Sonicare Essence electric toothbrush. I would recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade their brushing practice and maybe brighten someone else’s day. Get the Philips Sonicare Essence Sonic Rechargeable Toothbrush for $39.98 9. This underrated bathroom appliance Credit: OXO Good Grips The best assistant to clean your shower. Who doesn’t love a good squeegee? With a durable, flexible blade and non-slip handle, your cleaning job is sure to be free of any streaks or slips. Several reviewers also love how well the suction hook sticks to the shower wall, with Steven writing, “The large suction cup that holds this squeegee in the shower works perfectly. And unlike many metal squeegees, this one is very lightweight, so it will not pull itself off the wall.” That’s quite a bit of quality and convenience for $8. Get the OXO Good Grips All-Purpose Squeegee for $7.99 10. These curtain panels that’ll help you save money Credit: Sun Zero Keep the heat in and the sun out with these curtains. Give yourself some privacy while you save on your energy bill. These curtain panels help to block out both summer heat and winter chill while also reducing outside noise. One of our editors, Shayna Murphy, swears by these and says they look great. Need I say more? Get the Sun Zero Barrow Energy Efficient Grommet Curtain Panel starting at $6.37 11. These versatile microfiber cloths Credit: Amazon From cleaning spills to washing cars, these cloths are very versatile. My parents are so gung-ho about these, they stopped buying paper towels. I’m not quite as eccentric, but I love these microfiber cloths nonetheless. They’re terrific for cleaning up spills around the house, as they absorb up to eight times their weight. I set a couple of these below my dish drainer and use them to buff out my glass cooktop stove after cleaning, too. Get the AmazonBasics Blue and Yellow Microfiber Cleaning Cloths (24-Pack) for $12.81 12. A natural deodorant that actually works Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar Eliminate aluminum from your pits and still smell great. Imagine a natural deodorant, free of aluminum, parabens, sulfates, and other harsh irritants/unwanted ingredients, that actually keeps your underarms fresh. The Native brand has a cult following, which now appears to be trending toward the mainstream, given its uptick on the Movers & Shakers page. One of our experts recently reviewed this product and raved about the scent quality, natural feel, lack of white streaks on her clothing, and its durability throughout the day. However, be advised you may have to give your body a couple weeks to adjust from your old deodorant to Native. Get Native deodorant for $11.97 13. This leak-proof travel mug Credit: Contigo Sipping coffee on-the-go should be stylish and insulated. Few things make for a more satisfying commute than a travel mug that doesn’t leak. The earth angels at Contigo made this mug easy to drink from and super comfy to hold, quelling any fears you might have of dropping it on a crowded bus or subway. Additionally, its double wall vacuum insulation keeps your beverage hot for up to six hours or cold for up to 12 hours. Get the Contigo SnapSeal Byron Mug (16 oz) for $11.44 14. A yoga mat that’s got your back Credit: BalanceFrom This yoga mat is affordable and non-slip. This mat offers quarter-inch thickness, which provides much-needed cushioning for your spine, hips, knees, and elbows on hard floors. At just $13, this mat is also the top-selling yoga mat on Amazon. As someone who once pulled a hamstring in yoga class due to mat slippage, I can’t overstate the importance of slip prevention. However, while the mat will stay in place on the floor, you might slip if the surface gets too sweaty. Get the BalanceFrom GoYoga All Purpose Non-Slip Yoga Mat for $12.99 15. A more enjoyable and effective means of flossing Credit: Waterpik Finally get your dentist to stop asking if you've flossed. The late comedian Mitch Hedberg once joked that it’s just as hard to quit smoking as it is to start flossing. Sadly, he didn’t live to see the advent of the Waterpik. This water flosser is the only one on the market that has earned the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance, which is huge. This product comes with five different tip attachments—including ones designed to work with braces, crowns, and implants—allowing you to floss in areas that are tough to reach with traditional floss. Get the Waterpik Water Flosser for $59.95 16. This comfy cushion that’ll save your back Credit: Everlasting Comfort Survive your 9-to-5 with a comfy cushion. Whether you’re at a 9-to-5 desk job or a road warrior, you’re bound to put undue strain on your back and backside. Fortunately, you can significantly reduce that stress—and improve your posture—with this orthopedist-recommended seat cushion from Everlasting Comfort. Made from memory foam, this cushion maintains its density and keeps its shape while supporting your tailbone, lower back, spine, and hips. Get the Everlasting Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion for $29.95 17. This mask and conditioner to restore and strengthen your hair’s health Credit: Arvazallia Add moisture to your hair with this affordable mask. You can keep your hair looking and feeling healthy with Amazon’s top-selling hair treatment mask. Argan oil is rich in compounds that moisturize and soften hair, making it a great supplement for medium to coarse hair types. Reviewers say this product significantly helped enhance their hair’s softness, texture, and overall manageability. This two-in-one mask is completely paraben- and sulfate-free and works on straight and curly hair. Get the Arvazallia Hydrating Argan Oil Hair Mask and Deep Conditioner for $12.95 18. This foam roller to optimize your workout Credit: LuxFit Roll out your achey muscles. Wish you could get more out of your workouts? You can with this durable, sweat-proof foam roller. This is a great tool for improving your balance and bodily coordination as well as for muscle relief before and after workouts. When you order this roller, you also receive an email with a link to free online instructional videos that demonstrate proper use. Get the LuxFit Foam Roller for $9.95 19. This warm and cozy throw blanket Credit: Bedsure There's nothing cozier than a fleece blanket. Be your coziest self with this fleece blanket. Whether you’re bingeing your favorite show on the couch or traveling somewhere, this throw blanket keeps you warm while still being breathable. Made from microfiber fabric, it weighs less and keeps its shape and color more effectively than cotton. Get the Bedsure Fleece Twin Throw Blanket for $19.99 20. A foot cream for everyone Credit: PurSources Heal your cracked and callused feet with this popular cream. While this cream is geared toward people who suffer from calluses and cracked feet, all feet stand to benefit from using it. The formula in this lotion nourishes and hydrates your skin, improving circulation and promoting new cell growth. This product comes with a free pumice stone and brush as well as an unlimited satisfaction guarantee—if you don’t get the results you want, PurSources will give you a full refund. Get PurSources Urea 40% Foot Cream 4 oz for $15.99 The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest deals, product reviews, and more. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

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