#admittedly mostly U and Jack are talking

[luvdalkxdlk]

Hugo EPs, the OG and Rearrange Version Are SO Persona coded, and in this essay I will...

ALSO! I consider the rearrange version canonical mostly because IT MAKES NARRATIVE SENSE BECAUSE WHOEVER MADE THAT COOKED AND IT PARALLELS WITH THE OG EP.

Well... I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself, but Hugo Vlad. Many people have said he's such a Persona 5 reference. I do not disagree. In fact, his whole EP is not only Persona 5 reffed but also Persona. Because Hugo's inner demon can basically be considered as a Persona itself. Hugo's 'I am thou, thou art I.' It resembles more on Persona 4's idea of acceptance about the other self than anything else.

A Persona 4 example of one of the Investigation Team accepting their Shadow half.

And after fighting that shadow...

Do we know who else went thru all of that??? After a drug induced hallucination though...

Just say I am Thou at this point... T_T

Literally fighting his Shadow self...

Just like how you don't want to accept the Shadow self... at first...

But then instead of killing the Shadow, Hugo has accepted it and with this new vow... OK, but seriously, I am certainly not the only one who is this close to calling Hugo's inner demon his Persona. AM I???

Honestly, we talk about how Hugo is Persona 5 coded but it should not be discounted about the Persona 4 vibe here. Where else but in Persona 4 have people fought against their shadow selves and then accepted them to become Personas? Persona 5 is ripping off the mask and accepting the rebellion in the heart, breaking their chains of captivity and accepting the truer self they have kept in the dark. Admittedly, Hugo is both. Accepting and free.

This is where both EPs, the OG and Rearrange version came from. They share the same song but different times, of a past and present methinks.

THIS. I think both EPs are the representation of the last two lines Hugo had said. He once wanted to fight against those ugly truths. But... but the more he rejected them, the more painful. And finally, he accepted it.

The main point, he once fought against his ugliness. He rejected the inner demon. This shows more about the EP Rearrange version than anything.

This was after Lycaon's betrayal, trying to chase after him, wanting to reject those 'ugly truths' that were 'unchanged' and cost him so much regret. That inner demon might have been in play even before that drug induced hallucination, maybe even appearing when Hugo vowed vengeance against his siblings after Serena's death, the first ugly violence...

Again, getting too ahead of myself. We see Hugo getting caged, chained in. Tied by the so-called fate, that he later broke out of.

Go my man, have that gay moment as you break free but in all honestly, I think Jack's words have affected him more than will ever be admitted. The evil seed, the ugly truth... who he was and what it had costed him. He did not want to be that evil seed, he did not want that violent, ugly and evil side that can turn him into the person he hated the most, his father, and that had costed him that bit of happiness with Lycaon... (said with Crownwolf tinted glasses, admittedly).

We see Hugo confronting his inner demon who was not happy that Hugo got out of his cage. Like what is that inner demon doing here, even before the drug-induced hallucination? Hugo has been battling his other self for so long, caging the true self and coming back, not wanting to be denied mayhaps... And what did Hugo do?

In breaking free, he KILLED his ugly truth, his evil inner demon. In the past, that was what he done. He had fought, and rejected and had that gay flashback because he DIDN'T WANT TO BE DEFINED BY THE EVIL SEED WITHIN.

IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN???? HOW LONG HAVE U BEEN KILLING UR OTHER SELF, OVER N OVER??? Unlike Persona 4 of acceptance, at first, Hugo denied. He rejected. He defeated. He killed. Over and over. But the more it rejected, the more painful it was... and he had to realize his pain fades when its seen. I can only assume the Rearrange version is before the drug induced hallucination, because it was like he was just having a battle within his mind, fought to be victorious with a smug smile that only says so much

Sir, I cannot imagine how much you are hiding beneath that victorious smile. Simply I can't. But 'time heals all' for all the self-reflections and understanding that maturing growth can give. On his own, through self-approved therapy despite kickstarted with the drugs, we go back to the OG version of the EP. THE CONSTRAST BETWEEN KILLING HIS INNER DEMON AND...

This was after Hugo had the top 10 anime battle of all times. Note that instead of the adult version the inner demon posed, at a lost, the inner demon reverted back to the 'weak and powerless' child that Hugo always hated about himself, the seed of evil he refused to grow even when Hugo grew up himself. Look at how defensive, scared HOLDING THAT DAMN KNIFE. AS IF HE EXPECTED TO BE KILLED. JUST LIKE HOW HE HAD BEEN DENIED AND REJECTED FOR SO LONG.

Look at how shocked he looks that Hugo decide to ACCEPT his other self, to not kill, to not reject, to not deny. LOOK HOW FREAKING VULNERABLE HE LOOKS... AHHHHHH!!!

If that is not the most 'I am thou, thou art I', having the heart to accept every part of himself, then I don't know how much Persona coded this can freaking be. You do not gain the inner strength in rejecting your other self over and over, you can only gain the power, the fight, that inner strength, in acceptance and Hugo had all been the better for it.

The EPs, covering a past where he has met his inner demon and they always fight to break free from captivity and in agressive denial over the uglier parts while the other just wanted to defend himself while caging the real Hugo... to the maturing Hugo went through over time in self-approved therapy that he no longer kills the scared child his inner demon really is and hugs him, accepts him. I APPRECIATE HUGO EVEN MORE, AND HIS INNER DEMON TOO. GODDAMNIT, THEY HAVE AN UNDERRATED DYNAMIC FOR REAL.

At this point, I have half the mind to delve deep into the conspiracy that Hugo does have a Shadow and Persona like the Persona games and if they ever make a Persona crossover, most likely with the Phantom Thief of Hearts, Hugo would very well be the main Agent spearheading this crossover, because seriously, how is his other self NOT Persona coded??? Hugo basically going through a Persona adventure on his own, the best love letter to Persona I have ever seen and goddamnit, Hugo... in a Persona game...

Me, works harder in making a Persona inspired series for ZZZ so Hugo Vlad can go acquire vows... ahem, social links even when it's more canonical compliant and I just want Hugo to suffer different video game mechanics/j. Also, more love to Hugo's inner demon because that man is an underrated character even if he's in Hugo's own mind. Their dynamic, whether interpreted as Hugo-cest or not, deserves all the love for their tragic backstory, and enemies to friends kinda vibe.

I thought I would have more to say but maybe Hugo just makes me more speechless than I can ever imagine. How many more references can people find in this man the longer we do this...?

Source for P4 Naoto Shiragone Shadow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z9k3n-y2JU&t=861s

I don't do this for Hugo EPs because you all know where to find it, and the game screenshots is from my own game so there ya go.

[astradyke]

also u know i'm being specifically insane about this just because i know the context about TommyInnit & Jack Manifold (the hosts of the Shut Up I'm Talking podcast) -- which also btw if people want like mini explanations of who those folks are lmk in an ask or smth! -- but i think overall setting that aside, it's just going to be fun to see Dan & Phil in a podcast setting. like i know we've obviously had that in the past but i think it'll be cool to get like... not the perspective of a phannie (though that's good), not the perspective of a person who has no idea who they are (though that's usually good), but just two other YouTubers who are a comedy duo. like i'm very curious what kind of questions they're going to have (because admittedly i'm not very well-versed in the collab Shut Up I'm Talkings, i mostly have just seen some of the solo episodes where they have very specific segments that i don't think translate over but lmk if i'm off) and how the chemistry will be. i feel like Dan & Phil have slightly different senses of humor than Jack & Tom but i think the overlap there will be interesting to see!

[mango-bango-bby]

NSFW alphabet for my loving husband yandere-worshiper Kai?🌚💜

♡ Yandere Overhaul NSFW Alphabet ♡

My worshipper husband 🥺💕💖

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex) ♡

Kai is going to make sure you’re ok afterwards. Did he make you feel good? You weren't bleeding were you? He just makes sure you’re ok. Kai would love to stay and cuddle you but if you don’t want him too, he won’t. Kai understands if you don’t want him to dirty you more than he already has. But he really wants to cuddle and comfort you after.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s) ♡

On you, everything. You’re a goddess, you’re perfect and beautiful in every single way. On him, whatever you like best, is the thing he’s most proud of.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically) ♡

No. Kai’s already dirtying you enough by just having sex with you, he wouldn’t want to taint you with his disgusting cum. Although if you want him to cum inside or on you, what kind of worshipper would he be if he refused his goddess?

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) ♡

Kai does have very impure thoughts about you from time to time. It’s normal but Kai’s very ashamed of thinking of his goddess in such a way. Thinking about you in such sexual and pervy situation.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) ♡

None whatsoever. Kai believes everyone is infected and sick, so why would he ever touch one of them? Let alone sexually touch them?! You’re the only pure person.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying) ♡

Anything that you prefer. Kai would like to see your face, though. But, in the end, you’re a goddess and you should get whatever you want.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.) ♡

No. None at all.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.) ♡

Kai will honestly do whatever you want. If you don’t want him to have hair, he’ll shave. If you want him to have hair, he’ll let it grow (although the hair will be neatly trimmed)

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect) ♡

Kai wants to be extremely intimate with you. He wants to worship the hell out of you. You’re beautiful and need to be shown the love that you deserve. He’s not very romantic in his words, though. He uses very cold and clinical wording. Kai is very bad at dirty talk.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon) ♡

Admittedly, Kai has masturbated to the thought of you. He’s very ashamed about it. He knows as a worshipper he shouldn’t be having such lewd thoughts about you. But sometimes the image of you nude consumes his brain and he needs to relieve himself.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks) ♡

This should come as no surprise, Kai is into medical fetishism. He is technically a doctor and gives you checkups at least once a week. You look so gorgeous and pure in a hospital gown. He doesn’t like to admit he has a doctor kink. So he’ll just start fingering you, and saying it’s for an exam. You see through his lie fairly quickly.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do) ♡

Your bedroom or his doctors office. Pretty much the only two room you’re allowed in. He would prefer your room though. Your bed is more comfortable for you. A goddess shouldn’t have to be fucked on a cold examination table.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going) ♡

You. Just you.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs) ♡

Kai will not hurt you and will not let anyone see you. Everyone is disgusting and diseased, even him, therefore they shouldn’t even be near you. Kai doesn’t mind if you want him to top you or if you want him to be a little bit rough with you but he draws the line at hurting you. You’re to pure to be choked or spanked.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.) ♡

Kai will give you oral but you can not give him oral. Lord knows what kind of bacteria lives down there and he doesn’t want you anywhere near it. Kai doesn’t mind eating you out, though. You’re pure! Although he’s not very good at giving you head...

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.) ♡

Kai’s pace is mostly slow but hard. However, he will speed up the pace if you request so.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.) ♡

No. You deserve the best, you deserve to be treated amazing and that means long passionate sessions.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.) ♡

Kai is willing to do truly anything you want. He really tries his best to be the best worshiper possible. Kai wants to please you, show his goddess how much you mean to him.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?) ♡

Kai doesn’t have very much stamina. He can probably go around to your hree rounds before he’s tired. However if you want more, he’ll power through a few more rounds.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?) ♡

Haha, no. All you need is him. You don’t need anything else.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease) ♡

Kai is very straightforward so if he’s going to tease you, it will be a complete accident. He’ll say accidental-teasing things like,

“You’re very wet, Y/n. You must be very aroused.”

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.) ♡

Kai is very very quiet n bed. Sometimes he’ll mutter out the occasional pet-name or praise. Sometimes he grunts and groans but it’s rare. Although he does breath very loudly and heavily.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character) ♡

Kai is a virgin.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes) ♡

Kai’s member is slightly longer than average. He’s also fairly muscular, although he doesn’t think so.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?) ♡

Kai has a very low sex drive. It’s rare for him to get super horny. Usually you’ll have to initiate sex.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards) ♡

Kai will wait until you fall asleep or if you want him to leave, he will. Or you can use him as your personal teddy bear! At least that’s what he would prefer. He will bathe all the disgust off of you before he puts you to bed.

[vrisrezis]

Can i request what it'd be like being qpps or bffs with the matsus? I live for platonic reader x matsu content. Also hope you have a good day!!

You got it >:) love me some platonic matsus!

Hope u had a good day too anon

Osomatsu strikes me as the kinda best friend that asks for favors a lot, mostly with money and stuff. He’s new to friendship, so he makes mistakes and can be shitty at times, he’s childish and can be inconsiderate. He might suck as a best friend at times, but nobody can make you laugh more than this guy! And he will make sure of that too. To makeup for you constantly giving him money, he takes you out to drink with him at chibitas and pays for all your drinks. He also tends to talk about cute girls (sometimes guys) and shows you cute people you should date, if you’re not dating somebody already. He just wants to be a good friend and help hook you up with somebody. He is definitely the kinda friend that will get you to stop working to spend time with him instead, usually though it’s if you’ve been working for what he deems too long. He also strikes me as one of those best friends that will do dumb shit and embarrass himself just to make you laugh, and he considers you a part of his family. He loves taking you to pachinko with him too, he’s a friend that likes to go out a lot, but it’s what’s familiar to the both of you, nothing overwhelming or new. Something casual where you both can be yourselves.

Karamatsu is a giving best friend, anything you talk about wanting he will get for you in a blink of an eye. It might make you feel bad that he buys you so much, but he insists on it! He won’t mind if you get him stuff too, but it isn’t needed either! He just wants to spoil you! You are his best friend after all! He’s new to friendship, so admittedly he does it so you’ll stick around, but he also does it because you deserve it! He never thinks you’re ever in the wrong though, and he will defend you through the ends of the earth! He also loves giving you compliments, especially if you’re insecure (or just an insecure person in general) he understands not everyone can seem as confident as him, so he hopes he can give you even a little bit of it. He likes talking to you about the latest fashion magazines, often trying to give you unwanted fashion tips. He’s willing to let anyone close try on his fashion, you being no different! If you ever wanted to wear his shades or his jacket, who is he to resist? Might even try to give you dating tips (even though he doesn’t know jack shit) if you’re dating or have feelings for somebody. You can count on him to be your over the top and cringe worthy best friend.

Choromatsu isn’t used to making friends, much like his elder brothers, he’s new to being so close to somebody. He’s not always sure what he should and shouldn’t be discussing, it’s safe to say he definitely doesn’t mention his hentais and keeps that part of him away from you. Some things should stay behind closed doors! But his brothers tease him plenty about it, so you definitely know and call him fappymatsu too, which makes him yell at you a lot. Overall, Choromatsu is nice to you, but he will yell at you for teasing him, and he worries about you a lot too and can act like a mother towards you. He just wants to make sure his best friend is doing good! He likes taking you out to nya concerts, if not then a concert of an idol you both enjoy! He will suggest many different mangas to you (that aren’t hentai) and the both of you can fangirl over the mangas or characters in the mangas. He tends to ramble about totoko or nya to you a lot, you’re a good outlet for him to get this kinda stuff out since he cannot talk about it to anyone else. If you have a s/o or a crush, he insists you gush about them to him too! Tends to spend more time with you alone, because of how mad he gets at his brothers.

Ichimatsu is a very jealous best friend, and hates seeing you close to other people. His brothers are an exception, but even then he finds himself being jealous. He doesn’t like the idea of being replaced, and you finding a new best friend instead of him, he’s very insecure about this and tends to be nasty to your closer friends, he can never make friends other than yourself. He worries about meeting your expectations a lot, and being a good enough best friend for you, so he gets down about this sometimes. Half the time he doesn’t even get why you’re friends with him, but he tries to just be grateful for the fact that you are. He thinks it’s kinda hard being his friend, he’s bad at keeping a conversation going, often you have to. It isn’t as bad as he thinks though, you guys love going to cat cafes together, or just seeing cats in general and petting them. If you’re a cat person, Ichimatsu is a godsend, cats are literally always around, he’s a cat magnet. He’s a good lazy friend, since he tends to not leave the house, you guys can laze around with cats and play video games or watch movies and you can talk about the games you’ve played together as well as the movies you’ve watched. You guys have inside jokes about the stuff you’ve watched together as well, and nothings funnier than having a joke only two people can understand, it shows the bond you have.

Jyushimatsu loves having you as his best friend, and he brings you up in his conversations all the time! If he can hyperfixate on a person, you’re that person. He can’t help but wanna be around you at all times, and he wants to do exciting and new things with you. He’s a very affectionate and clingy friend too! Expect many hugs coming your way, or random hand holdings, or him just laying on your lap, the guy loves giving people affection in general! He likes rough housing with you too, or even wrestling or something. He likes playing baseball with you, big surprise. If you like any other sport, he’s happy to play with you! He likes taking you to events with a lot of people usually such as festivals or something, he loves taking you to the arcade as well! He likes childish things, what can he say? He’s a good listener whenever you wanna vent about things, even if he doesn’t know how to give any good advice, he has his moments where he can give good advice though! He has this thing where he likes giving you gifts for being a good friend to him as well, maybe a manga you like or maybe some action figure from a anime you enjoy. Whatever it is!

Todomatsu can be a bit of a jealous friend as well, he’s not used to being this close to people. Sure, he has a social life, but he’s never genuinely been this close to anybody. He will try not to ruin his relationships with other people, but he ends up backstabbing them or something lol. He tries to keep you as far away as possible from his brothers so they don’t ruin your friendship, or worse, get the wrong idea. He loves posting you on his social media’s though, pictures usually, but sometimes goofy videos of you guys laughing and having fun. He’s the kinda best friend that likes posting you on his story, he’s the kinda guy that would write paragraphs online about how much he cares about you. Despite him being a “dry monster” he’s very sweet when it comes to you and he wants you to know he cares about you! He loves complimenting you and kissing your ass sometimes, mainly due to his jealousy and wanting to one up your other friends. He loves going shopping with you and looking at clothes he thinks would suit you well (he’s not wrong by the way! He has a knack for helping you pick out good outfits) and he can be clingy at times (again because of jealousy) so he likes hugging you a lot! He gets protective of romantic partners or crushes, he just wants what’s best for you, so he’s rather honest about whether he approves or not.

[thegeminisage]

birthday meta for the birthday boy <3

[this version of the meta is behind a cut. if you’d prefer the no-cut version, it’s here.]

a fun little fanon from Ye Olde Days of spn (when seasons 1-5 were airing) was that sam always had the absolute worst birthdays. a big part of this is because sam’s birthday is in may. supernatural tends to align itself with “real time,” meaning that they like to use either the date the episode was filmed or the date it aired as the in-universe date, even when two canon dates conflict each other. (they’re so intent on doing this that they pretended the gap years between s5 & s6 and s7 & s8 right out of existence - season openers also usually tend to pick up right after season finales in-universe but still somehow be set several months later.) that means sam’s birthday tends to line up with the airdates on either season finales or episodes right before the finales, which means that every time sam gets a year old, shit hits the fan. 

here’s a list of things that did happen or could have happened on some of sam's birthdays:

0-22: we don’t have much in the way as far as concrete dates go for preseries stuff, but it’s perfectly possible sam walked out all that bullshit the day he turned 18, even if i prefer to think he left at age 19 as that aligns rather tragically with some adam-related canon.

23: we don’t have any dates for the end of s1/opening of s2 either, but it’s likely that sam’s birthday took place between 1.20 (dead man’s blood) and 2.01 (in my time of dying). he could have been doing anything from hunting vampires to saving one of YED’s special children to almost shooting his possessed father to getting hit by a semi to using a ouija board to talk to his not-quite-dead brother.

24: here’s where the real fun starts >:) sam died in cold oak in 2.21 (all breaks loose pt 1) and in the episode he says he’s 23. but according to the lore (extra-canonical material), dean made the deal to bring him back on his 24th birthday...

25: ...which means that on his 25th birthday, he was forced to watch dean get dragged to hell...

25b: ...except that sam had TWO 25th birthdays, because mystery spot took place in february, and sam lived in an alternate timeline where dean stayed dead for 6 months, putting him well past may 2nd. which meant that the first time he turned 25, he was actually getting tortured by gabriel. while his brother was getting tortured (or torturing someone else) in hell.

26: 4.20 (the rapture) took place in very late april/very early may (the wiki says may 3, but that’s just a guess), and 4.21 (when the levee breaks) picks up immediately where it left off. so it’s not only plausible but EXTREMELY LIKELY that sam was locked up in the panic room suffering withdrawals when he turned 26, dude

26b: ...except that in 11.17 (safe house), bobby and rufus’s half of the episode presumably takes place at the same time during season 4, and he mentions sam and dean are in reno?? so you know they could have been doing that instead.

27: we have no hard and fast dates for the end of season 5, but it’s my personal headcanon that sam’s birthday took place during 5.22 (swan song), and he beat the devil and leapt into hell on the day he turned 27 - because at this point, why not. however, his birthday could also have taken place during either 5.20 (the devil you know) or 5.21 (two minutes to midnight), meaning he was reconfronting his old college pal who turned out to be a demon brady, or helping bobby and a human cas destroy the factory with the croatoan virus.

28: there’s a gap year between s5 and s6, so sam’s 28th birthday took place while he was soulless, hunting with the campbell family...

28b: ...except spn likes to say “a year passed” without adding one to the calendar, so sam ALSO had a 28th birthday during the airing of s6. there’s some conflicting information about s6′s timeline, so this could have happened anywhere from 6.18 (frontierland) to 6.21 (let it bleed). sam could have been doing anything from time traveling to fighting eve to grappling with cas going dark side to rescuing lisa and ben.

29: sam’s 29th birthday almost definitely took place during 7.20 (the girl with the dungeons and dragons tattoo), during which he met charlie. in case you’ve forgotten, that was actually a great day for him - in a moment of true little brother antics and justifiable homophobia, he got to laugh at dean gay flirting with the security guard.

30: there was another gap year between s7 and s8, which means that sam spent the big three-oh with amelia richardson while dean and cas were in purgatory. he got to have a picnic!

30b: ...but since spn ignores gap years, sam ALSO had a 30th birthday during s8 (a big season for him). there isn’t an exact date for the episodes leading up to the finale, which takes place in late may, after sam’s birthday, so his birthday could have taken place in either 8.21 (the great escapist), where he nearly died of his trial-induced fever and confessed to dean that he always felt unclean, or during 8.22 (clip show), where he met sarah blake again after nearly a decade, only to have her die right in front of him.

31: the s9 timeline is pretty vague, but the best guess for this one is 9.18 (meta fiction), in which sam finally gets to confront gadreel, the angel who possessed him and killed kevin with his hands

32: the s10 timeline is also short on dates, so sam’s birthday could have taken place anywhere between 10.16 (paint it black) and 10.21 (dark dynasty). a few possible things sam could have been doing: dealing with a hunt involving soulless people, helping cas and bobby break metatron out of heaven’s prison, catching up with charlie and giving rowena the book of the damned, battling the cursed werther house (don’t click that unless you’ve seen the episode, the twist is TOO good), reuniting claire with her mom, or building charlie’s pyre.

33: the last quarter or so of s11 happens really quickly sequentially, every episode picking up soon after the last one left off, which means that sam’s birthday either took place at the very end of the season or the beginning of s12. it’s most likely he turned 33 either the day dean saved the sun and sam himself got shot and kidnapped by toni bevell, or a few days later when he was being held captive and tortured in her basement.

34: unfortunately, sam’s 34th birthday almost definitely took place during 12.21 (there’s something about mary). i was really hoping it’d be 12.22 so he could be kicking the bmol’s asses, learning lucifer was back, and hugging mary, but no...instead he was mostly likely learning that ketch had had eileen killed. 

35: because of some weird canon, the timeline for season 13 is actually batshit insane and makes no sense whatsoever, which means sam’s birthday is really early this season - either during 13.17 (the thing) where he rescues his brother from a frisky tentacle monster or 13.18 (bring ‘em back alive) where he hangs out with gabriel and cas in the bunker. since that’s garbage, you’d be forgiven for ignoring canon and pretending sam’s birthday fell on one of the following episodes - 13.19 (funeralia) is very touching, as he and rowena clash and then make up with each other; 13.21 (beat the devil) has sam capturing lucifer, then dying and getting revived and captured by him; 13.22 has sam getting a little revenge by leaving lucifer for dead; 13.23, of course, has lucifer finally dying for good.

36: there’s no dates whatsoever on the back half of s14, so theoretically sam’s birthday could take place in any episode after 14.13 (lebanon). the likeliest and COOLEST candidate is for sam to turn 36 during 14.20, in which he shoots god himself point blank. other admittedly inferior  scenarios include his stint as justin the 50s househusband, mary’s death, or putting jack in the ma’lak box.

37: we saw this birthday happen onscreen during 15.14 (last holiday) at a party thrown by mrs. butters. unfortunately, not too long after that, she wound up torturing him by pulling out his fingernails.

38: that’s this year! because the timeline of s15 is also so weird and vague, partially fucked up by covid changing the shooting/airing times, and because sam’s birthday is SO early in s15, it’s possible that he has another one this season, right at the end, or maybe post-canon, which means............................................

...................................................that he’s spending it with dean and jack and the newly revived eileen and cas, in the bunker or somewhere else he feels safe and loved :)

happy birthday, sam winchester <3 after all the unhappy ones...u deserve it

[spn masterpost]

[lovemesomesurveys]

survey by tater-tots

What is a fruit that you might eat in the morning? I, personally, haven’t had any fruit in quite awhile. :X I used to have a banana sometimes in the morning, though. Cutting it up and putting it on bread with peanut butter was also good, as well as in oatmeal.

Do you enjoy any food combinations that others might consider to be weird? I’m sure. Scrambled eggs with ranch is probably weird to some. I also recently discovered sourdough bread and Lay’s ranch dip go quite well together. 

What is a green vegetable that you enjoy eating? Spinach.

Name something you might find in a salad. Hard boiled eggs. What is your favorite type of sandwich? Turkey and salami with either Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar, or Colby Jack cheese, mayo, and spinach or bologna and either of those cheeses with mayo. A pickle on the side is good as well as some olive oil for dipping. If I get a sandwich from a deli, I like to add a sandwich spread of some kind.

Which condiment do you use the most often? Ranch. Name a chocolate bar that you enjoy eating. White chocolate bars.

What is a meat that you do not eat - ever. Anything other than beef, chicken, turkey, or pork.

Are you lactose intolerant, or have any other sort of food allergies? I am.

What was the last food that you burnt your mouth on? Probably ramen.

Which brand of soup do you eat? Maruchan pork ramen.

What are some flavors of ice cream that your enjoy? Strawberry, mint chocolate chip, ones with peanut butter cups or brownie chunks, and birthday cake.

What is the best type of cookie, in your opinion? My favorites are sugar cookies and shortbread.

Would you rather have popcorn, pretzels, or chips as your salty snack? Popcorn.

Have you thought about going on a diet & actually went through with it? No.

survey by pinkchocolate

When you woke up today, was there anything on your mind? That it was freezing, ha.

Who was the last person you interacted with for the first time? Hm. I don’t recall. I haven’t interacted with anyone new in quite awhile.

What colour was the wrapper of the last snack you ate? Hm.The last thing I ate that had a wrapper was ramen, which had a brown wrapper.

Do you have a favourite mug to drink from? What does it look like? It’s a Peter Pan mug that has Peter and the gang on it flying and is blue on the outside and yellow on the inside.

What was the last thing you used, that came in a spray can? The Christmas-y room spray I got from Bath and Body Works. I loveee it.

What colour is your favourite bra? I prefer just black bras.

Who was the last person you went to for advice about something? My mom.

Have you had a deep conversation with anyone lately? Not really.

What was the last compliment you recall receiving from someone? I don’t recall.

And the last compliment you gave to someone else? My brother on his Thanksgiving cooking. Everything came out really, really good.

What kind of bread did you eat most recently? Sourdough. I’ve always liked it, but prior to Thanksgiving I hadn’t had it in awhile. My brother got a loaf from the store and I ended up eating a ton of it with this olive oil and different seasonings dip I made, but then I discovered it also goes really well with Lay’s ranch dip and ended up eating it with that. Ha, the next day I asked my brother to bring home some sourdough bread from his job (he works at Panera) and I’ve been enjoying that ever since.

What was the last sound you heard, that you found pleasant? I’m currently watching/listening to an ASMR video.

How many books do you think there are in your house? Take a rough guess. Oh, man. Uhhhhh. At least 100. A lot of them being my mom’s.

Of all the books you own, which do you think has the most pages in it? The Bible.

^ And how many pages is that? 1,200.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What did you think of it? The Invisible Man back in February. I enjoyed it.

In the last book you read, what was the main character's name? Eva Rae.

What was the last song you heard, that meant something to you? Everlong by Foo Fighters.

How many people do you know whose name begins with Z? Two.

What do you expect to be doing at this time tomorrow? Hopefully sleeping.

survey by luckforlemmy

Did you start listening to more Michael Jackson after his death? I grew up listening to his music, but admittedly I did get into it more after his passing. I was really into his This is It album for awhile, which he worked on just before his death and was done with his concert documentary by the same name.

When was the last time that you played hide and seek? I play with my doggo sometimes.

Who was your first celebrity crush, if you can remember? Aaron Carter.

Do you worry about money? Yes.

Have you ever had to beg for a second chance? No, not begged.

When was the last time that you sent an actual letter through the mail? Many, many, many years ago.

Are you excited to return to school? I’m done with school.

Do you hate Internet abbreviations? No. Omg, but I hate stuff like, “C-U l8er” or something like that. *cringe* That was done more so back in the AOL days, though. Everything was abbreviated back then it seemed.

What was the last insult you gave out? Uhh I don’t go around giving out insults.

What'd you last look up on YouTube? The ASMR video I’m watching.

Are you texting someone really awesome right now? I’m not texting anyone right now.

Do you know when to be serious and when you shouldn't be? Yes.

Do you think that you're funny? I have my moments once in a blue moon and I own the hell out of it when it does happen haha.

Have you ever sent a secret to Post Secret? No.

What movie do you really want to see in theatres right now? There aren’t any showing in theaters in right now or for most of this year. I miss going to the movie theater. 

Have either of your parents shown affection for you today? I haven’t seen either of them, yet. 

What's the last thing that you sang out loud? Christmas songs.

Is there a word that you always misspell? I always say this when a question like this comes up, but “onomatopoeia.” I only ever use that word when asked this, but I have to look up the spelling every time. I don’t know why it won’t stick.

What was the last thing that you bought that someone else benefited from? I ordered my mom a cute Christmas mask.

Has someone ever made you a really great mix CD? Yeah.

Have you ever been on Omegle.com? Yes.

Did you talk to someone cool there? I didn’t talk much, I just went on there to check it out.

What song reminds you of your best friend? There’s a lot of songs that do.

Who was the last person to hit on you? I have no idea, it’s been a long time.

What's on the paper nearest you? There isn’t any paper near me.

Do you have a set of lyrics that you really love? A ton.

Did you get an A in your last English class? Yes.

What did you last use scissors for? I think it was to cut the plastic thingy that holds bottled drinks together.

Did you ever secretly hate a friend of yours that thought you liked them? No.

What do you think of when I say "boat"? Uhhh, a boat? 

Would you ever get a tattoo sleeve? No.

Do you know any really fake people? Yes.

What does the last blanket you used look like? I currently have two throw blankets: a rose gold fuzzy one and a super soft Christmas one.

Do you have appreciation for graffiti? I’ve seen some really cool graffiti artwork.

Why don't you drive? Well, there are extra things that need to be done since I’m a paraplegic and it can be quite expensive. Mostly, though, I’m scared.

Does it annoy you when your printer runs out of ink? It was always super annoying how my printer seemed to know when I was in a hurry or really stressed out cause that’s when it would decide to malfunction or be out of ink.

Have you ever drank anything from a thermos? Yeah.

When was the last time you played in the snow? The last time I was around snow at all was back in 2010.

Do you know any ignorant people? Yes.

What is the coolest name you've ever heard? Hmm.

What did you last argue with someone about? Bleh.

Is there anyone that you dislike for no real reason? No.

Have you had a good day? Not much has happened so far. It’s still early and I’m in bed all snuggled up while doing this and listening to ASMR. 

Are you going to have a good night? We’ll see.

[phobiadeficient]

hello hello, it is i, a random stranger 👋 i love ur fics, but its not abnormal i guess, since u r so f good at making them,,, would you mind writing some speeding bullet, with snipes pinning scout to wall and scout being astonished and embarrassed by it? thank youu ❤❤

scout getting slammed into a wall, comin’ right up

(warnings for very minor violence)

-

“So what do you even do?” Scout asked, trailing a foot or two behind Sniper and mostly not stepping on his heels. “Like, in your free time? Wrestle alligators or some shit?”

“The stereotype is crocodiles,” Sniper pointed out, posture a little stiff as he continued walking, his freshly-filled cup of coffee sloshing a little bit with how quickly he was walking towards the exit to the base.

“That’s not an answer, c’mon, man!” Scout whined, ducking ahead a little to try and get in Sniper’s line of sight. It didn’t work, Sniper just moving around him and walking out the door to the outside of the base. Scout pursued. “We only even see you in here like once a week, maybe I’m just curious what you do all the rest of the time!”

“Be less curious,” Sniper deadpanned, not stopping or slowing in the slightest.

Until the moment Scout moves to stand directly in front of him, that was. Then he came to a very abrupt stop, flinching hard enough that he almost spilled his coffee. “Man, would it kill you to lighten up and talk for a minute?” Scout asked earnestly.

“Might kill you,” Sniper threatened outright, trying to sidestep and move around him.

Scout mirrored him. “I’m just tryin’ to have a conversation!”

“I’m just trying to go about my business,” Sniper shot back, and tried to step around him again.

Mirrored again. “What’s your problem?!” Scout challenged.

A moment later, Scout was no longer standing there with his hands on his hips. Instead he was grabbed by the collar and lifted bodily to be slammed against the concrete wall. Sniper’s other hand, in the mean time, didn’t spill his coffee.

“My problem is getting pestered within an inch of my buggering life every time you catch sight of me!” Sniper all but snapped, looking extremely irritated. “My problem is that you won’t take the hint and shut up and leave me alone! Why are you so determined to get so far into my bloody business all the damn time?!”

Silence, for a full four seconds. In that time, both Sniper and Scout seemed to realize how red Scout’s face had gotten.

“Uh,” Scout tried, voice cracking a little, flustered beyond words and trying to scramble his brain back together.

Sniper scoffed, taking a step back and releasing him. He looked confused and still somewhat irritated. “You can’t be serious,” he deadpanned.

“I-I-I dunno what you’re talking about,” Scout said quickly, trying to backtrack. “I-I—“

“Weren’t born yesterday,” Sniper said flatly. “Don’t try and lie to me.”

“I’m—“ Scout went to deny, and caught Sniper’s expression, and changed tactics. “Uh. I’m... sorry?”

“Just shut up, kid,” Sniper sighed, glaring off to one side down towards the door they’d stepped out of, taking a sip of his coffee. He seemed to notice the way Scout seemed about two seconds from evaporating in the silence, and spoke again. “Really don’t know how you expected any of that to work. You thought you’d talk my ear off and, what, at some point I’d start stripping?”

“No, I just—“ Scout started to defend, then realized he was in fact speaking out loud, and shut up for a few seconds. He tried again when Sniper raised an eyebrow at him. “I just... I didn’t think it’d go anywhere, I just kinda... wanted...”

Silence. “Wanted what?” Sniper prompted outright.

“...Your attention,” Scout admitted a little sheepishly.

Sniper just looked at him for a long few moments, and for those long few moments Scout wished for some kind of immediate escape from his situation. Heart attack, stroke, anything that would get him out of there.

Then Sniper was taking two steps closer, boxing Scout in against the wall. “Well, you have my attention,” he said, tone a little lower. “What now?”

A few seconds later, once Scout’s brain stopped short-circuiting so badly, he managed to stammer a sentence. “You—you’re serious?” he choked.

Sniper shrugged. “Depends on where you’re planning on this going.”

“Uh—yeah, yeah! Sure! Uh. Maybe, uh—“ Scout stuttered, tripping over his words, flustered and embarrassed. Sniper waited. “Uh, maybe we can... I, I dunno, go somewhere more private...?”

“Plenty private. Nobody else ever comes out this way,” Sniper replied.

“Oh. Yeah, that’s cool. Uh.” He swallowed hard. His mouth felt dry. “I-I-I dunno, what would... you want?”

“Fairly sure I asked you first.”

“I, look, I have no idea what you want from me here, man,” Scout admitted, flustered.

“I want you to tell me what you’re into, whether this would be a long-term arrangement, and whether you’d be trying to take the lead or not. From this conversation I’m guessing it’s a no on that last one,” he ventured, eyebrows rising.

“I uh, I haven’t... the, there’s not a lot of guys who... I’m kinda new to most of this,” Scout admitted next, face getting increasingly red. “Haven’t really... done anything with a guy, mostly just... y’know, just, thought about it.”

“Yeah?” Sniper asked, eyebrows rising further, though his expression was still a little hard to read with the sunglasses. “So... rather than saying anything, you’ve just been, what, dropping by to pester me until I snap at you, then running off to have a wank over it? That right?”

Scout’s voice caught in his throat, and when he finally said “yeah”, it was much squeakier than he’d intended.

He jumped bodily when a large, rough hand moved to suddenly cup at the front of his pants, finding just the right position within a moment, gripping at him through the fabric. His breathing hitched, and Sniper never looked away. “Hmm. Been a while, then?” he asked almost idly.

Scout tried to stammer out an affirmation, but it was cut off by Sniper suddenly squeezing for a moment.

“Probably won’t take much,” Sniper observed neutrally, tone unbothered and unaffected. “Hell, ‘specially since it’s me, and apparently you’ve been thinking about this.”

He’d been thinking about all sorts of things, but admittedly the concept of Sniper trapping him against a wall and massaging at his package through his pants was doing a lot for him.

“Pants off,” Sniper directed calmly, and Scout promptly moved to undo his pants, and was left trying to keep them from falling down into the dust with one hand and clinging to Sniper’s bicep with the other when he was promptly taken back in hand. Sniper paused long enough to spit into his palm before he was jacking Scout off in steady, even motions. 

It wasn’t anything fancy, but he was right, Scout wouldn’t need it. Already his head was spinning.

“Good?” Sniper asked when for a while all he could do was choke on little noises of pleasure, trying to hold back any potentially embarrassing sounds.

“Yeah,” he agreed quickly, shakily, and fuck, Sniper was still only using the one hand, still hadn’t even put down his fucking coffee, and here he was about to lose it any second, holy shit—

And the words he tried to say were “oh my god”, but mostly it was just a babble, but Sniper seemed to catch on anyways, and he sped his hand and hummed in interest when Scout spilled over his knuckles with a weak whine.

Sniper wiped his hands off on Scout’s briefs, moved back enough to let him get his pants back on. Scout looked at him once he had his head in order, saw that Sniper’s pants were suddenly a good bit tighter.

“Uh,” he tried, and blinked a few times to reorient himself, and tried again, going for more suave and less squeak. “You uh, want me to take care of that?”

Sniper raised an eyebrow, sipped his coffee. “Up to you. We could head somewhere with a bed and I could show you a thing or two. Since you’re new to blokes and all.”

“Yeah. Yeah! Sounds good. Sounds great actually, great. Great ideas. Uh... thanks?” Scout stammered, mouth right back to running.

“Kid, do yourself a favor? Shut up.”

“Yeah okay shutting up—“

[edda-blattfe]

Twisted Wonderland Tag Game: Post Release Version

Link to game template: https://edda-blattfe.tumblr.com/post/623310756946067456/twisted-wonderland-tag-game-post-release-version

Rules: Answer the following questions, then tag 3 or more blogs to keep the game going. Have fun, and may the gotcha goblins seek favor upon you!

Tagged by @twisted-eels

~Your twisted tale begins!~

1. Y(o/u)u just woke up in a coffin trapped with this talking rat thing that swears he isn’t a tanuki. How do you actually react?

- Severly confused but relatively calm. I would likely ask said rat thing a long list of questions...you know, like where are we, why are we stuck in a coffin of all things, and how did he manage to sneak me out of the house without waking my light sleeping but up.

2. Let’s pretend for a second that you’re not at the mercy of a magic mirror and incompetent bird dad, choose which dorm you would like to be a part of. Why, and do you think the mirror would agree?

- I used to think Diasomnia, granted that was mostly because of the gothic fairy vibes the dorms aesthetic gives off, my tendency to excel in academics, and the results I typically get from dorm sorting quizzes. However, as the game reveals more info on the dorms and student’s personalities, I think the mirror would sort me into Pomefiore. The reason I usually excel in school is because I love learning and have an (admittedly pathetic) desire to impress instructors/people in charge; also have a hard time accepting failure from myself (the mere thought of failing is enough to trigger anxiety attacks, but let’s not focus on that). These traits are synonymous with the “magnanimous efforts” Pomefiore prizes above all else. Vil’s beauty expectations would be trying, but if he (or Rook) is willing to teach that would likely trigger that desire to impress them along with those other traits. This is all speculation though. 😅

3. Going back to twst reality, where you don’t have magic and get sentenced to Ramshackle; what is your first thought upon seeing this safety hazard of a building? What’s the first thing you choose to fix there?

- “You’re leaving new here...alone..with only a talking rat for protection in a world of magic....great.” Will likely go around picking up small things at first to clear up clutter, next item is the doors and windows. Hope the ghosts can help me out at least a little.

4. In an alternate reality where you don’t immediately get lumped together with Ace and Deuce, who in the school becomes your best friend(s)?

- Likely Rook, Malleus, and Jack. Rook and Malmal are both characters with specific interests who don’t really get many chances to gush about their passions, that combination tends to work out well for me, they also seem approachable despite the out of character reputations their peers keep shoving in mc’s face (seriously, I don’t see how Rook is any weirder than say Sebek or how Mal is supposed to be intimidating when doesn’t act even remotely shady) talking to them would be easier than the “normal” students. Jack is someone I can respect for his morals and honest nature, we’d definitely get along well in class.

5. Which existing club would you give a shot? Any particular reason why?

- Science club! (Not because of Rook) The science club is a mishmash of multiple disciplines that could have been made into a separate club if enough people took interest, this is an especially enticing detail as it would offer multiple fields to study.

6. Don’t be shy, we know there’s a certain someone who’s caught your eye! Who are they? How did you meet?

- Ya’ll already know it’s Rook, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s possible I met him in the science club or maybe ran into him while he was “hunting” someone and stopped to ask what he was doing.

7. Which of the events was the most exciting for you?

- Really wanted to like Fairy Gala because, fairies. But Ghost Marriage is the fav at the moment.

8. Ghosts: delightful dorm mates or unholy terrors?

- Absolute delights! Having them around the dorm would be comforting since you know them and you’ll never be left alone in this dilapidated horror scene of a dormitory.

9. Choose a champion (no further context, just pick).

- Rook. He’d offput his enemies before taking them on, an effective strategy in any scenario requiring a champion.

10. Would you rather (a) film a movie with Vil, (b) play a round of magic shift with Leona, or (c) go gargoyle sighting with Malleus?

- C! Gargoyle watching sounds like a relaxing past time.

11. Thoughts on fairies?

- AMAZING BEINGS!!!!! I wanna know more about the different sorts of fairies! Please please please give us more fairy lore tw!

12. “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” (Choose wisely now)

- Vil is pretty, don’t get me wrong, but I think Silver is the student I’d say is the most beautiful student physically. Sorry Vil.

13. Would you rather (a) keep Azul from eating fried food, (b) be responsible for dragging Idia out from his lair, (c) break a rule with Riddle standing right in front of you, or (d) tell Kalim to his face that Jamil isn’t all that great (not true).

- B, it might take a lot of effort but he’s getting out of that room one way or another.

14. You stumble upon Rook stalking another student from inside the bushes. What do you do?

- Join him of course! Ask if he’s learned anything about his current subject.

15. Which homeland (that we know of) would you like to learn more about?

- Valley of Thorns

16. Thoughts on Grimm?

- Fluffy but kind of a jerk. Really hope we don’t have to fight him in the end.

17. If you had magic, what would be your unique magic?

- Maybe some sort of illusion magic? The thought of being able to create false sensory information straight from your imagination is enticing, ngl, and could come in handy in tricking people into say leaving their room or to get their but to class.

18. Favorite ship? (oc ships are cool too)

- I...don’t have an absolute fav....wow...erm, maybe a tie between Choco x Trey and Rosid x Lilia

19. Favorite theory?

- Crowley isn’t the main villain. At this point he’s so useless we actually want him to be the villain, but imagine the anti-climatic reveal that he isn’t.

20. The school year is coming to a close, how are you feeling? Any thoughts?

- Please don’t make me go back to my parents, this place is better. Besides, who else is gonna take care of Ramshackle if I’m gone?

21. “Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” What do you wish to see from the game in future stories?

- More lore please, I’ll take anything at this point!

Tagging: @fluiditism , @tomik0 , @octavinelle-mafia , @choconanime , @terrors-of-nightraven , @the27th , @twistinghearts , @permanentlyexhaustedowl , @oiseaunoir11 , and anyone else who wants to take part in the tag game. Have fun!

[shooter-nobunagun]

Quarantine UST 5

//Seriously, writing for such a sustained stretch is...unprecedented...I think I haven’t done this since the beginning of my intro into this fandom. Maybe this period of time is good for something after all.

And yes, I definitely binged my way through FF7R as soon as it came out...

The days seemed to pass in a blur; yet as Sio woke up after another night of binging Netflix with Jess, it felt like nothing had changed, either. She’d adjusted to the rhythm of her new life fairly well: sleep in until 10am or so, leisurely troop downstairs for breakfast after brushing her teeth⁠—usually Adam was already up and frying some eggs, or sometimes they picked up coffee and pastries from a local cafe⁠—clean up, then she might go for a walk outside or spent some time in the yard while catching up on emails and texts from her family and Asao-san. By then, Jess and Mahesh were usually awake, and they’d all gather again for lunch (or in the other twos’ case, brunch), and afterwards Sio usually would do her training, either by herself or under Adam’s watchful guidance. Then it was free time (which usually involved another stroll outside), dinner, sometimes a group activity, and then everybody retired to their rooms for the night.

Recently, the group started venturing out a bit more; at first it was just to the local cafe for drinks and snacks, but yesterday the group’d gone for another grocery run, this time at the farmer’s market. Even with all the restrictions in place, Sio was glad to be able to spend some time outdoors again, and picking from the wide variety of fresh produce was much more fun than going to the grocery store.

Yawing, the sniper continued lounging in her bed, absentmindedly scrolling through her texts from last night. Her parents were doing okay (actually most of Japan seemed alright by comparison) though obviously they were concerned about her health and safety. Asao-san’s latest couple of messages contained the usual news and gossip, although the last one before she signed off left the sniper blushing and covering her face.

[Asao Kaoru]: By the way, how are things with Jack-san? You two seem to be getting awfully close... (ΦωΦ)~ Did you get any more peeks in during training?

“Moou, Asao-saaaan!! I-It’s not like, that!” The sniper screeched, tugging her hair. “Jeeze, why does everybody keep assuming we’re gonna...hook up or something like that...” 

Admittedly, her own brain wasn’t helping matters; at this point, she’d given up on denying her attraction towards him⁠—besides her nightly little ritual, she’d already had at least one...steamy dream involving him and no clothing. “Ugh...why do I have to make things so complicated...”

‘I just want to get to know him better, not get a crush on him! Besides, knowing him, he probably has a girlfriend waiting for him back in London. Or at least, had one...unlike me...’ A cool, good-looking guy like him who was the epitome of the tall, dark and handsome type? Sio looked down at her own flat chest, unfashionable haircut and childish face, and sighed. ‘Yeah right; I’d never stand a chance. He’s probably got way more experience and prefers girls who look like Newton...’

The thought depressed her more than she expected; even though she knew her chances were slim, and that shacking up with your platoon leader probably wasn’t the best idea, the thought of not getting any closer than just friendly teammates made her heart sink straight to the ground. ‘I know I’m just a below-average high schooler, and I don’t even have anything going for me except my e-gene; but even I can still hope, right...?’

She moped about all through her morning routine, not really bothering to fix her hair or wear anything aside from putting on a pair of shorts (why bother, it wasn’t like she was cute or anything). Walking into the quiet kitchen, she pulled out a box of cereal and some milk, sullenly eating her cold breakfast.

“Good morning, Sio dear. Oh goodness, is something the matter? You’re looking awfully peaked...you don’t feel ill, do you?” Jess came down the stairs, Sio a bit surprised as it was unusual for the blonde to be up before noon. “Hmm, you don’t seem feverish...”

“Oh, good morning, Jess-san.” She heaved another sigh, not really interested in finishing the rest of her soggy bowl. “It’s, nothing...I’m not sick, I guess I just feel...”

“The quarantine blues?” The sniper nodded, and the blonde patted her shoulder sympathetically. “There there, it’s perfectly normal. Things are unprecedented, you can’t expect to keep your spirits up all the time in a situation like this.”

“Yeah, well...I guess I’m surprised I’d let it get to me. I mean, all things considered, it’s not like we’re suffering or anything. There’s a lot of people who have it way worse than us...”

‘Yeah, and here I am moping about because I have the hots for my platoon leader even though I don’t stand a chance...’ 

Jess nodded in sympathy. “Definitely, I can see that. But you know, that doesn’t mean you can’t feel bad, either. I can’t say the past week has been much of a vacation, despite what Mahesh likes to claim. Feeling down about everything that’s been going on is understandable, and it isn’t healthy to pretend otherwise.”

“True...thanks, Jess-san...um, I guess it does feel a little better to talk about it.” Sio stirred her cereal a bit, surprised that she was finally having a true conversation with the blonde that didn’t involve a fear of tongues and kisses (mostly).

“Of course, dear. I apologize for my earlier behaviors...but I am still serious when I say I do want to be there for you, should you ever want another ear,” the blonde smiled kindly at the younger girl. “By the way, where is Adam? Don’t tell me he’s still asleep?”

“Eh? Adam-san...uh, I dunno. He’s usually here by the time I wake up, so...” Sio shrugged. “It’s not like I checked his room, but maybe he went out for something?”

As if on cue the front door unlocked, both girls turning around as Adam walked in, bag in one hand and a tray of drinks in the other. Sio rushed out to the foyer to help him unload and disinfect the door, keys, etc.

“Speak of the devil; we were just wondering about you,” Jess commented as Adam finally took his seat at the table. “New place this time?”

“Yeh; was checking out local places online yesterday and thought this might be a nice change of pace.” He passed out the drinks; only Mahesh’s chai latte remained untouched as the trio started unwrapping pastries and other baked goods. “Ogura, you’re alright with tea, correct? They didn’t seem to have anything like sencha, but I got jasmine, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, yes please; and thank you, Adam-san. You could’ve waited for us to get up,” Sio offered as she took a sip of her beverage. “I kinda feel bad for making you go all by yourself...”

“Eh, it’s fine. Even I like taking a break from cookin’ once in a while.” Their leader shrugged as he drank his coffee (pure black, no sugar or cream). “Besides, it’s nice to get some fresh air when it’s early in the morning. Also less folks t’ dodge...swear to god, every time we go out it’s like playing a game of Frogger...”

Sio sweatdropped, but it was true; as much as she cherished her daily walks, there was a reason why she preferred running on the treadmill. Trying to avoid other passerby who were also exercising or walking their dogs and also not getting run over by traffic... It was a good thing the yard was decently sized, and the days were slowly starting to warm up. The sniper glanced out the windows, where the golden rays were starting to bathe the garden with their yellow hues.

“Actually, I’m gonna eat out in the garden. The weather’s been so pleasant lately, might be nice for a change.” She took her tea and croissant with her; to her surprise, Adam followed. “Oh? Did you...also want to eat outside?”

“Why not; like you said, today seems to be shaping up to be pretty nice...would be a shame to spend it all indoors, again,” he gave her just a the slightest hints of a smile, and Sio felt her stomach fluttering with butterflies. Maybe she wasn’t insane for thinking it would be possible? Maybe?

“U-Um, s, so, how was the rest of the city?” She was stuttering again, much to her dismay; didn’t she get over this already?

Adam didn’t seem to notice, or at least, he didn’t comment on it. “Hm, mostly the same; not that many folks about, but all the better for me. At least we can still get takeaway and drinks.” He finished the rest of his cup. “I was surprised Jess’ up so early; usually she and Mirza sleep ‘til past noon...”

“Heh, me too.” Sio grinned as she finished her croissant. “Mm, this croissant is super flakey...so good...” If it weren’t for their training and exercise, she was sure she’d have gained at least 5 pounds by now. Even in the midst of a pandemic, San Francisco’s culinary scene did not disappoint; and that wasn’t even counting their cooking nights.

“To be honest, I’m more surprised you’ve been able to stick to a decent wake-up time every morning,” Adam teased, “considering someone always had to wake you for a morning meeting back at the Logan...”

The sniper nearly spit her tea back out. “H-Hey! Well, you’re always banging on my door every other morning anyway for some thing or other...so I figured, I might as well just save us both the trouble and get up anyway,” she pouted, cheeks tinged with pink. “Besides, those meetings were way early; if there’s one thing that’s better about this, is that I can at least sleep in a little...”

Adam smirked behind his sandwich, glad the sniper couldn’t see his face. For if she could, he was sure she’d be able to notice the warm flush spreading across his features, including his ears (mercifully hidden by his hair). She was adorable, really; the innocence of a girl, yet she was surprisingly insightful and able to see a clear line from point A to B, without being bogged down by details. ‘Not to mention that wit, when she actually works up the courage to talk back,’ he noted, recalling many of their previous conversations where she’d sparred with him using nothing but words.

Cunning, intuitive, determined and sincere; it was amazing how quickly his opinion of her changed, not just since she joined but even from the beginning of this quarantine. Hardly any of her quirks seemed detrimental now; silly at most, and charming at best. Was this what poets meant by love causing you to see everything through a rose-tinted lens? Even her appearance, which most people would probably consider average at best, gave him a flurry of feelings whenever he thought about them: large, round maroons, that cute bob with uneven bangs that could probably use a trim soon, and her slender, lithe figure... Adam swallowed and tried to turn his mind away from more lustful thoughts, but it was useless. It was obvious she was probably the most flat-chested female holder next to Geronimo, but it didn’t detract his attentions at all; if anything, he felt it suited her quite well. Once he’d caught a glimpse of those salacious photos Capa had distributed, and they gave him a bit of a shock—her willowy frame saddled with two huge water balloons that seemed to defy gravity, nevermind the fake, prancing-around poses the clones took.

All-in-all, good things definitely come in small packages, he decided. In fact, the smaller the better. Sio wasn’t that short, but her slight frame made it seem so, especially compared to him. He’d never paid attention, but Adam was sure the sniper would probably be just the right size for spooning, cuddled between his arms and those petite breasts could fit just right in his palms—

‘Hoo boy, stop right there Adam; you should not be thinking of your fellow holder in such a manner...’ But even his inner consciousness sounded half-hearted, as if it were just repeating things because that’s what was expected. And maybe it was right; even now, he still quarreled with himself on whether or not he should even pursue anything beyond friendly camaraderie with the girl. Her ambiguous feelings towards him aside, what if they got in trouble? What if it ended up interfering with their duties as e-gene holders? Or worse yet, what if it didn’t work out and the subsequent fallout ended up destroying their entire platoon?

“Adam-san?” He jerked up at her voice, having been lost in his own turmoil for the past couple of minutes. “Are you okay? You seem kind of...glum.”

You’re not wrong there, he almost said, but only shook his head. “Nah; just thinking about...stuff.”

The sniper nodded. “Yeah, I get that...I’ve been, kinda thinking on a lot of stuff too...”

Now it was Adam’s turn to be surprised. “Oh? Somethin’ else botherin’ you lately?”

“Ah uh, I mean nothing really...specific,” Sio squirmed, caught off-guard by his question. There was no way she could admit her burgeoning feelings for him. “I just...guess the whole pandemic situation is kind of getting to me, even though all things considered, this isn’t that terrible. But somehow things just feel...off.”

“Yeh, I get that too, sometimes. But I mean, this isn’t exactly a normal situation; people are sick and dying, we’re stuck in this house and still have to do our best to try and maintain a ‘normal’ life—and that’s not even counting the Objects mounting another attack at any minute.” Adam cut into the remainder of his muffin with a knife. “It’s normal to feel distressed about it—hell, I think I’d be more concerned if you weren’t...”

The sniper nodded, though she didn’t seem keen on finishing the rest of her pastries now, instead fiddling around with her fork. Adam felt a bit guilty; he hadn’t meant to ruin her nice garden breakfast with something gloomy like the virus. Especially not after they’d managed to have a normal, decent conversation.

“Hey uh, squirt? Y’know, if you need some time to yourself, you can skip your training for today,” he offered, the sniper blinking in surprise. 

“Oh...I-I mean, it’s fine, you don’t have to make an exception for me; it’s not like I physically feel bad or anything...”

“Don’t worry about it; I wouldn’t want you around that equipment when you’re all distracted like this, anyway. Last thing we need is an accident,” Adam muttered. To be sure, she’d definitely improved quite a bit, but sometimes he still did worry about her.

“...Are you saying you don’t trust me to handle myself?”

“...I’m just taking precautions.”

“Hnnn...” Sio didn’t say anything more, instead sullenly sipping the rest of her tea. 

Adam sighed inwardly. Why were girls so fickle to deal with at times? “...By the way, not sure if you’re interested, but one of our other care packages finally arrived, and they got our request for a game console plus some of the latest games, so...”

He didn’t finish, but Adam could tell by the way her eyes gleamed the second he mentioned the word Playstation. ‘Ah, so she’s also a gamer...’ Somehow he wasn’t surprised; it seemed natural that a military otaku would also be into video games, though he was curious if she played genres other than shooters or military sims.

“...What sort of games did they send?”

“Oh, I haven’t gone through them myself yet, but I’d assume a pretty wide variety...why, was there anything in particular you’re looking forward to?” Adam replied nonchalantly, testing out the waters. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to spend some time with her in a casual setting...

“Nothing really, but I mean, if there’s something good...” Her eyes shifted a bit over the edge of her drink, meeting his for a second before they darted back down at her plate. “I’ve been hearing a lot about Apex Legends...the guys from the Fifth Platoon are always talking about it.”

“Hm; I’m not that interested in battle royale types; I was actually thinking more along the lines of action RPG or adventure...”

They surreptitiously looked at each other for a few more seconds, before Adam suddenly got up.

“...You wanna go take a look, squirt?”

“...Okay.”

The two fast-walked back into the house, rushing by Jess who looked at the two in surprise and a yawning Mahesh, whom Adam barely had time to point to his drink—“don’t blame me if it’s cold, it’s not my fault you slept in”—and straight into the living room, where the 70-inch flatscreen sat in pristine condition, having only been used as a Netflix machine thus far. The package was still unopened, Sio carefully wiping it down first as Adam sliced the box open with ease.

“Oooh, what’s this? Looks like a headset...wait, oh my god is this one of those VR things everyone’s been talking about?” Sio’s eyes glittered with excitement as she dug around. “Wow, I wanna try it out later!”

“Let’s see, here’s the PS4,” Adam carefully set the machine up, along with its cables, “and as for games...well, looks like they did include Apex Legends, so if you want to give it a shot squirt, go ahead. Other than that...Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, whatever the latest iteration of Call of Duty is, Devil May Cry 5—that might be fun—Monster Hunter: World, and...well well,” Adam let a low whistle, “what do we have here?”

Sio looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised as she read the title. “Final Fantasy 7...wait, isn’t this game super old?”

“Look closer, squirt; it’s the remake. I don’t know how those bastards managed to pull it off with everything that’s going on, but I know what I’ll be playing tonight.” Adam tried not to sound too eager, but it was hard; Final Fantasy VII, while already dated by the time he was old enough to enjoy video games, was still considered a classic, and he’d secretly been hoping for a chance to play it as soon as it was announced.

Sio looked on in wonder as Adam diligently set the rest of the system up. He seemed much younger for a change, almost like a puppy instead of a wolf. His boyish enthusiasm was charming, and Sio felt like she was seeing a part of his true self, for once. It made her feel warm all over, but not in a horny way; rather, it was the joy of seeing him genuinely happy for once, instead of shouldering the burden of being their leader. ‘So I was right about him being a gamer...I knew that Metal Gear Rising t-shirt was more than just a coincidence.’

“Well, I guess I know what we’re playing then...” Now that everything was finally ready, she took a seat on the couch next to Adam; both sets of eyes now glued to the giant screen as the opening sequence panned over the in-game city of Midgar, the classic theme blasting from the speakers.

Though Sio didn’t know much about the Final Fantasy series (famous as it was, she preferred her games with more bullet-hell sequences and tanks), within a few minutes she could see why it was so revered, and why Adam was so excited. Movie-quality graphics aside, the action was tightly-paced and almost non-stop, Sio getting more engrossed herself as Adam deftly controlled the action on-screen. Before either of them knew it, it was past lunchtime; the only indication any time passed at all was Sio’s stomach complaining rather loudly after Adam finally got Cloud & co. past chapter 3.

“Whoa, I didn’t know it was so...cool,” Sio sat down to their late lunch (Chinese takeout), still in a bit of a daze at her mind replayed the action sequences and storyline. “No wonder it’s so popular...”

“Oh yeh; holy hell, they did a banger of a job remaking it,” Adam dug into the boxes with relish, barely paying attention to what was going into his mouth. “Shit, the graphics, characterization, soundtrack—and the overhauled ATB system is amazing—”

“I like the characters a lot! They look so realistic...well, as realistic as anime characters can get,” Sio mused, remembering the intro with one very well-rendered Cloud Strife. “So, I’m guessing you like a lot of JRPGs then...?”

Adam nodded. “I do, but I’ll play pretty much anything, honestly. I think the only genres I don’t do are racing and puzzles.” He shook his head, emptying the rest of his plate. “You? I prefer it when the action’s hot, bonus points if it’s got a great story.”

“Uh, I don’t play that many RPGs in general, but sometimes I do if it’s really good. But uh, yeah, I...prefer shooters like Ikaruga, or Biohazard—er, I think they call it Resident Evil outside of Japan? Oh, but there was that one series that came out a while ago, and I was surprised because I also liked the plot a lot...it’s called Bioshock?” 

“Somehow, I’m not surprised to hear that; a military otaku like you, would be shocked if you didn’t have some type of shoot-’em-up as your top three,” Adam smirked, Sio laughing sheepishly. “Anyway, if you wanna start your own file while I’m working out, go ahead; like I said, you should take a break today, get some time in for yourself.”

“Ah—oh, uh, okay...thanks,” Sio trailed off as Adam left, presumably to change and then train. “Well...guess I’ll try playing by myself.”

The console booted up, and soon the sniper settled into a comfy pile of cushions, learning the battle system based on what Adam was doing earlier. While years of shooters—first person and otherwise—had honed her reflexes fairly well, Sio had to admit this system of ATB, materia, and character swapping was a bit of unknown territory. Luckily the game was generous with tutorials, but she still struggled a bit against her first real boss, after the beginning section was over. She groaned as the ‘game over’ screen flashed, kneading her temples. 

“Man, I thought I had it! What happened...did I not use the right skills?”

“You might wanna check your materia slots, squirt. Those’ll matter a lot in the coming battles.”

A low, husky tone breathed right next to her ear, and Sio nearly jumped out of her skin. “Aaagggh! A-Adam-san, don’t do that! You scared the crap out of me...” She protested, hugging a pillow to her chest as Adam chuckled.

“Sorry squirt, but I was curious to see how you’d do. Didn’t wanna interrupt the fight, though seems like you’re gonna need to retool your party’s materia and gear first.” When he left, Adam was curious if the girl would continue playing Final Fantasy, or pop in another game. But it seemed Cloud Strife’s fabulous chocobo-locks had worked their magic, and he returned from training to find the sniper valiantly trying to defeat the motorcycle-crazy Rosche.

“Hrrm...I don’t really know what some of these descriptions mean. Magic I get, but things like MP up? Chakra?”

“Budge up a bit there, squirt, and I’ll give you some tips.” The sniper scooted to make room for the silver-haired man, as he plopped himself onto the couch and took the controller. “First off, always get HP up; more health never hurts. And then of course, healing...”

Sio nodded, but in reality she was only half paying attention. Adam was sitting right next to her, along with those chiseled muscles still glistening with sweat as his shirt clung to those washboard abs...swallowing thickly, she forced herself to listen to his advice, but even his scent was distracting; there was sweat, but it wasn’t offensive, mixed with a rather musky odor that she couldn’t quite place...

“—and this should be a pretty good setup,” Adam finished. “Uh, squirt? Ogura?” He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Oy, snap out of it; what’s gotten into you? 

“A-Ah—huh? Hai? I-I’m, fine...” Adam raised an eyebrow, but Sio snatched the controller back before anything else happened. “Th, Thanks for the advice...I think I’ll be able to get him this time...”

Adam blinked. “...Alright. Well, good luck then.” 

‘Was she checking me out?’ Though he tried not to rouse suspicion as he left, he’d definitely noticed Sio staring at more than just the screen while he’d been redoing her party members. ‘And I’m pretty sure she wasn’t randomly looking around the house.’ Oh no. The sniper definitely had a long way to go if she wanted to be more discreet about her little voyeuristic habits. 

The thought of their innocent little sniper actually being not-so-innocent made him hot all over again, and Adam groaned, because he knew this was the kind of heat that couldn’t be solved with simply a cold shower.

“Bloody hell...” ----- “Well, it sure seems like you two have found your quarantine activity,” Mahesh commented at dinner that night, both the sniper and the Ripper arriving long after the food arrived. “Sorry, we just went ahead and ordered some stuff we thought you’d enjoy.” He pushed their respective bentos towards the other two. “But it’s Japanese tonight, Sio, so hopefully it’s up to your standards.”

“Mmm...oh man, it’s so nice to eat Japanese food again...” Sighing with delight, Sio eagerly dug into her chicken karaage, potato salad and white rice. “A-Ah, that’s not to say the food we’ve been getting is bad or anything, it’s been really fun to try a lot of different cuisines and taste everybody’s home cooking too...”

“This is really good; I guess they weren’t kidding about San Francisco being a melting pot,” Adam nodded in approval. “Good thing DOGOO’s footin’ the bill...I wouldn’t fancy being the one having to pay for all this.”

“Just like they’re paying for all your gaming purchases?” Jess smiled knowingly at the other two, who proceeded to turn oddly pink. “What are you two playing anyway that’s got you so engrossed? It must be good, if you two are willing to skip dinner.”

“Oh, uh, it’s the latest Final Fantasy VII Remake! I’ve never played it before, but Adam has, and then I started playing it too and it’s just so good and the battles are super cool and it’s a lot of fun to play--” Sio started gesticulating wildly, chopsticks flinging rice haphazardly and Adam had to sternly remind her to not toss food everywhere.

“Oy squirt, calm down! Say it, don’t spray it.” He muttered, flicking a piece of rice off his shirt.

“And then they even sent a VR headset! Which I’m super curious about,” Sio finally finished her bento, so they could talk without the risk of food flying about. “You guys should try it out too! I-I mean, not that I’m forcing you two to play video games if you’re not interested...”

Mahesh hummed in amusement, looking at least mildly fascinated. “I’m probably a ‘casual’ gamer by yours and Adam’s standards, but I’d be willing to try out this virtual reality deal. I wonder how it compares with Capa’s illusions...”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Sio grimaced, still remembering all those inappropriate pictures Capa took (and then distributed, the nerve of him). “Pervy old man...”

“Well, certainly we won’t have to worry about that. Let’s all check it out, then; Jess, you in?”

The blonde nodded, though not without conceding that gaming wasn’t really her thing, but it might be fun to watch others. 

“I’m more of an analogue girl; I don’t care that much for all those flashy explosions on screen, but bring me a set of Catan or Dixit and I’ll play any day.”

Now the entire squad was circled in the living room, the large windows open for some fresh, night air. After some rigging, Adam managed to figure out how to configure an output so those who weren’t wearing the headset could see what was going on, via his laptop.

“Alright, now who’s our first lucky contestant? Sio-chan, since you seem so excited, why don’t you go first?”

The sniper squeaked, not being used to put on the spot. “M, M-Me? U-Uh, I’ve been playing a lot of games today, s-so, why don’t you or Jess try it?” She laughed nervously, hoping they wouldn’t force her to take center stage.

“Yeh Mirza, you seem awfully eager to see how it works...why don’t you give it a whirl,” Adam goaded. Those dark eyes seem to meet his in a challenge, before the Indian resolutely put on the gear.

Everybody else watched eagerly as the screen loaded up. “Whoa; I’m not going to lie, the graphics aren’t photorealistic, but it sure feels like you’re somewhere else,” Mahesh gingerly stepped around, everyone suddenly giving him a wide berth as he set up the boundaries. “Please warn me if I’m about to run into something, or someone; I can’t exactly see anything in the real world...”

“I wonder if we’ll ever get to the point where it’ll feel even more like we’re inside a different world,” Sio said quietly to Adam, as Mahesh started playing a rhythm-action game called Beat Saber. “I don’t like Capa, but I have to admit his AU weapon is incredible. When I was doing those training exercises, it really felt like I was in a jungle, or in the middle of Shibuya...”

“Maybe; but I think we’ve got a ways to go,” Adam responded dryly, arching an eyebrow as the Indian flailed his arms all over the place. “...Definitely a ways to go.”

After a couple of tracks, Adam couldn’t take it anymore; seeing Mirza’s piss-poor coordination and timing destroyed any sense of fun or pleasure from the thumping EDM/techno tracks provided by the game. “Alright, you’ve had your fun. Let me give it a try.”

“More like Adam can’t stand Mahesh butchering those songs anymore,” Jess whispered, and Sio giggled. “He doesn’t like talking about his hobbies, but I know for a fact he’s into these music-type games. Who else do you think petitioned to get that dancing revolution machine installed in the Logan’s workout room...”

Before Sio could fully realize that statement, Adam took over. He selected a track that none of them had ever heard of before, and despite this being his first time playing, immediately notched the difficulty up to Hard. “Someone’s tryin’ to show off, eh?” Mahesh teased, but that didn’t seem to deter the silver-haired man one bit. If anything, Adam was laser-focused on the track before him, slicing through the colored blocks flying past with coordinated ease, as if he’d memorized the track beforehand.

“Whoa, he’s so good...how the heck does he know where to slice and stuff? I can barely keep up with what color they are, let alone what direction to hit,” Sio murmured, staring at the neon-colored action in awe. “There’s no way...he hasn’t played this before, has he?” She watched as Adam completed another combo streak, his multiplier at the max of 8x. “What the hell...”

Mahesh shrugged. “Who knows; I don’t think so, since VR is so new, but that’s Adam for you. Always full of hidden surprises...and probably some he hasn’t even revealed yet.” The trio watched in silence until Adam finished the track, with an impressive score of A, to their fervent applause.

“Well that was an ace performance! Especially for your first try.”

“No kidding; what, can you see the blocks before they appear or something? Sure you don’t have some hidden ability to see the future?” Jess jokingly suggested, though for some reason Adam flinched a bit at the statement.

“...Ha ha, real funny. If you must know, it helps a lot when you’re familiar with the song...”

“Eh? Adam-san, so you like this type of music, huh? Electronica?”

For some reason the sniper’s question made him blush, his cheeks turning even redder than they already were from the faux-workout. “Uh, yeh...I listen to a whole bunch of stuff, just so happens I recognized this track, and uh, decided to give it a go...”

“Now now, no need to be modest! Music or not, you really are good at this type of stuff. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, given how skilled you are on the battlefield...” Mahesh praised.

“Yeh, and it’s a good thing you’re a defender-type, not an attacker; otherwise we’d be long dead already,” Adam replied sarcastically, making a jab at the Indian’s less-than-stellar hand-eye coordination. “Anyway, I’m headin’ up; that took more out of me than I expected, and I want a quick rinse before bed. G’night.”

“Oh uh, good night, Adam-san,” Sio watched curiously as he climbed up the stairs. “I wonder if he’s upset about something...it’s not that late,” she glanced at the clock, which just hit 10:30pm. “Maybe he’s tired.”

“Or, more like someone’s just bashful. Don’t worry Sio, he’s not offended. I just don’t think he’s the type who likes being the center of attention all of a sudden,” Jess mused, as Mahesh picked up the controls again. “Ironic, considering he’s our de facto platoon leader.”

“Well, you don’t have to be outgoing to be a leader, I guess.” Sio nodded, reaffirming her thoughts. Adam was not the smoothest talker, but he had a certain charisma, especially on the battlefield. While Nobunaga’s e-gene was invaluable for strategizing, she wouldn’t deny that Adam knew how to adapt and call the shots, especially in the heat of battle. It was the same type of charisma she felt now, that inexplicably drew her towards him, despite his stoicism and sometimes abrasive words.

‘Though, he’s definitely less harsh, now. Not just his words, but the way he acts, around everybody too...’

He was a kind person, she decided. Probably just not used to letting his guard down, and Sio had a feeling that was partly due to his childhood, of being alone and having to fend for himself. ‘Kinda like me, except I’m just super awkward and terrible with talking to people in general...’

“I liked that song he played...I don’t usually listen to music without lyrics, but it’s really catchy. I kinda wanna listen to it again...” Sio pondered as the rest of the group finally decided to retire for the night.

“Why don’t you go ask him?” Sio blinked in surprise as Mahesh sidled up next to her. “He said he’d heard it before, right? Maybe he can share it with you.”

“Ah, I—uh, I don’t, wanna bother him with something trivial like that...” She laughed nervously, though Mahesh simply winked at her. She stopped short of the attic staircase right before the room, and looked up. The door was already closed, and he was probably already asleep, but Mahesh’s suggestion repeated itself in her mind.

‘Actually, maybe I will...after all, why not. I’ll ask him tomorrow...what kind of music he likes...’

If she was lucky, maybe he’d even offer to let her listen to some. Flushing hotly at the thought, Sio quickly went into her room and dove underneath the covers.

‘Ah Sio...what are you getting yourself into now...’

[lyricalt]

2017 fic round up + annual fic meme

It’s that time again, folks. Let’s see the damage.

THE LIST

*drabble/stuff under 1k words +wip

Boku No Hero Academia

Tell - inatodo

Destiny

hardcase* - implied andal brask/cayde-6

a code of you - original character: sol-6

Gamble* - andal brask/Cayde-6

Integrate

got a feel for you* - post-canon seep - pre-canon

Overwatch

R76

feel something*

21

Fourth Date Stuff

Prompt: cut*

punchline

GEN / MISC.

a priori - time travel, Reaper&Gabriel Reyes

gift for gift - gen - Reaper, Widowmaker, Ana Amari, Jack Morrison (mentioned)

all his cards you want to touch - Jesse McCree (Vigilante)/Jesse McCree (Riverboat)

cross your heart and hope - Destiny AU: has mcgenji, implied r76. Too lazy to link to individual pieces on ao3, so I only linked the ones only on tumblr.

Showteam+

Trigger happy

of all just fools - Destiny 2 AU

MCGENJI

not far from home vantage make you sway Prompt: rainy day* Prompt: surprise* must be love cut* devil gave me a crooked start down and doubt - (background implied r76) on your mark+ - AU where genji is a motorcycle and mccree is a mechanic. serial never had much faith (in love or miracles)* Carry case of six wake up calls: 1, 2, 3 Beach drabbles: 1, 2, 3 like you would to a point, to your knees damned if you do - incubus mccree/oni genji sun steel / soul intersect count to three triple threat+ Prompt: kiss on the back of the hand* 

Total number of completed stories: 33, excluding drabbles and some prompts. 

Total word count: AO3 stats say around 56,500. I’ll ballpark it 60,000.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? 

 I wrote more words and more fic this year, but a bunch of it were very short stories! Shorter than my usual, I think. I am also very in love with the Destiny AU so I think that had a lot to do with my high word count. I also wrote a lot on the side I never posted, ahaha. I think I was very distracted this year by too many fandoms/ideas. Ah well.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? 

Nah. I’m predictable. I’m still side-eyeing the genji-as-a-motorcycle AU though. I did that?

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? 

 CARRY. It was Carry. I loved writing that stupid fic. It was so dumb but I feel so vindictive and about it because I wrote it to have fun and also to express some exasperation about a couple of mcgnj tropes I felt were kinda not-my-thing. BUT!! it makes me happy that a lot of other people enjoyed it too and also @vfordii drew THIS.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? 

 I don’t feel like I took any huge risks. I am pretty comfortable with the subject matter I write (--though I think it’s more of a matter of motivation and sticking to it). I, uh, did write some bottom/sub mccree which is somehow not all that popular within the mcgenji fandom and let me tell you this was hugely a case of “if no one will write it then I will but I will complain about it for the entire time”. I wouldn’t consider it a risk though, but I did learn a bit about how to comfortably write dirty talk without needing it to be explicitly written. I don’t think it shows up a lot in my current fics but I’ve been taking note of what sounds right to me vs how much I want to write, if that makes sense.

Also for the record all my mcgnj fic is implied sexual dynamic sub/bottom mccree, like, in the case it ever happens. (I’m kidding. Or am I. I am. (Not really.) No, I’m dead serious.)

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year? 

 Finish the damn fics I start, why don’t I!!!!! (This is a constant goal.)

I do want to write some fandom stories for original characters. I also want to write more explicit fic without shaming myself out of it. What are the nastywords all the hip young adults are using nowadays? I don’t know and I get conflicting reports, but by god I will try to learn.

My best story of this year 

Hardcase, which is admittedly a small drabble but I think.. it holds very well under Destiny 2, despite my frustration with how Cayde is portrayed in comparison to the Destiny 1. I’ve always had this specific opinion about Cayde and his mysterious (and not so mysterious) agendas. Dude definitely has a hero complex and this fic sorta toes into it. Plus, I like any Cayde angst related to Andal.

I feel like, out of all my fics this felt the most complete, and one that I was most satisfied with what I wanted to convey with a limited amount of words. I’m aware that I’m not… really made for longer stories, so I guess… I like to play to my strengths? And this was it.

My most popular story 

 According to AO3 hits and kudos, it was make you sway, another mcgenji fic that started with the same motivation as carry. I think.. it’s obvious… that I, uh, like writing a specific brand of Horny McCree, in that he’s not so much embarrassed by his attraction to Genji but just slightly exasperated by it (and his timing). And, haha, also Genji not being 100% on top of his libido is a nice change of pace too. I remember having fun with this!!

Story of mine most under-appreciated, in my opinion

feel something is one I’m super fond of. It’s very short, but I feel like it’s my best r76 fic in terms of the relationship I want to portray, especially post-Overwatch. I like the way I wrote it; in my opinion it was very to-the-point, and doesn’t have the happy ending they don’t quite deserve (yet) but in my mind it’s still a very positive fic without being too idealistic? Not that either way is bad, it was just something different for me, personally.

Most fun story to write

devil gave me a crooked start was a fic I pulled right outta my ass but wrote it all in one sitting after I came up with a couple of lines of dialogue; “So I’m stuck in the future,” “Would you like to know the future you?”, etc etc. It helped that Blizzard had just released McCree’s Blackwatch skin (WITH THE BLACK LEATHER CHAPS!!!!) and while I wasn’t comfortable about Blackwatch Genji having any sort of romantic relationship with Blackwatch McCree, I was sure as heck willing for Present-Day!Genji having some good nasty fun with a younger McCree.

Also I had a stupid amount of fun writing triple threat: genji/genji/genji, and I’m now just seeing a pattern that I enjoy writing characters being humorously turned on and having fun getting their rocks off, so there’s that. What a revelation.

Most Sexy Story 

God im sorry but I wrote a mcgenji week drabble about blackwatch genji and mccree beating the shit out of each other and it’s the opposite of romantic and definitely not meant to BE romantic, but fighting can be sexy without being horny, right?? RIGHT???

Story with the single sexiest moment 

to a point, to your knees.  

It takes a huge effort for McCree to sit still after that, spine tingling and heat crawling over his body. The switchblade knife in Genji’s hand spins once in a little flourish, drawing McCree’s gaze to it. 

 His attention caught, Genji places the blade at his thumb and forefinger. He slides the knife between them once to no effect, then another time. McCree can hear the grating metal against each other and then the hiss of steam, knife edge still wet with spit from when McCree had held it on his tongue. 

 “Shall we see how sharp your mouth is now?” Genji asks, running the knife through his fingers once last time.

Genji sharpening McCree’s knife with his fingers and McCree getting hot (literally, metaphorically) and bothered by it is a personal achievement. For me or McCree, that’s up for debate.

Though I have to admit I’m absolutely still pissed about not titling the fic “cut to the feeling” instead because that’s a far better name for a knife kink fic an also my third favorite carly rae jepsen song.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story 

 I don’t think anyone was surprised about even my most wildest fic. I think a friend of mine was initially disappointed that the knife kink fic was tagged for “mild blood” instead of straight up bloodplay. I’m sorry.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters

I never quite like this question because I always have a good idea of how I want to portray a character in fic since most of my fics tend to lean on the introspective side of things. down and doubt is a very McCree-centered fic that deals with Gabriel, as well as Genji in relation to Gabriel. I wanted to show a lot of things about how McCree and Genji fight together, and what each of them thinks about the whole Gabriel Reyes = Reaper thing. I didn’t hit all the points, and I unfortunately had to scrub a scene off that I definitely want to rework in another fic, but I think I had the basics… present in the fic. I guess what did surprise me was touching on Soldier: 76, though the dynamics between him and McCree is another thing I want to write about for a later fic.

Hardest story to write 

  Intersect , mostly because the later half was such a visual story I had wanted to tell in a form that wasn’t all writing. I think It would have done better as a comic but what can u do? I still very much like the first half, which I had rattling in my head for the last year and a half, really.

I was aiming to write about McCree having hang-ups about Genji, and how he views himself—a washed out mercenary with no clear goals, in comparison to Genji, who’s off in a better headspace than him but still interested in McCree anyway. And it’s not so much a reunion fic I wanted to show but a story where it’s just ok to try and reacquaint yourselves with someone who might be a new person to you. I think. I very much did not want it to be a reunion fic.

Most disappointing 

 Intersect!!!!!!!! It was so jumpy!!!! I had a lot of expectations for it!!!! I wanted it to be so much!!!! In the end I just gave up trying to make the words all fit and banged out the rest of the story and let it go. I’m still upset it didn’t come out the way I wanted it but I think it was better to just post the damn thing rather than let it rot in my drive forever. I felt better for posting it but I don’t think I can reread it anytime soon.

Easiest story to write 

 I lot of fics that fall into this category were the drabbles like Wake Up Calls. I really like writing about mundane moments and little glimpses of a developing relationship, especially for mcgenji, because my headcanon of them consists of a bunch of little moments that somehow build up into a rolling romance that sneaks up on both of them. I think it’s why I have such a hard time writing one long cohesive fic about them. There just isn’t a Big Ah-Ha Moment for them to me? I guess? I guess. I’m rambling!!

Biggest surprise 

 That I continued the mcgenji motorcycle AU, honestly. I love it to pieces and it’s fun but god do I think it’s such a chore writing the build up leading to the parts I WANT to write in the first place!!!!!

Most unintentionally telling story 

  gift for gift started out as a very Gabriel Reyes-centric story but somehow I got passionate about Widowmaker and so it’s also very much about her as well and how she functions within her lack of autonomy. I wanted to explore Gabriel’s motivations/drive to push forward without mentioning just what, exactly, he was going for, which was surprisingly very easy.

Story I’d like to revise

Intersect, not so much revising it but revisiting some of the themes and concepts, especially about McCree. I’ve talked enough about this fic. Anyway.

Story I didn’t write but will at some point, I swear 

 Well. It’s more of a WIP at this stage but I want to write my epic 100k, 50 chaptered Guardian/Fallen romance fic for Destiny but we’ll see how that goes? Mostly I’m waiting on Bungie because I’m so dry on Bungie lore and I have no idea what the House of Dusk is up to and that’s kinda important to my story—which is, not really at all, but I would LIKE to make sure.

Anyway, that’s a wrap for my 2017 fics. Thanks for reading and all the encouragement! I hope to write more entertaining stories for 2018!! :’)