#and i was like mkay do me a favor? and he was like sure! and i went (very flatly/holding back my anger which unsettles people agsgdg) go

[bunnyb34r]

So we all walk into work and BratBoy is there and he calls all the floor people for a meeting

Well apparently like everything else NewLady didnt think that applied to HER and didnt show up

Anyway he was just giving out our tasks for the day which the team leads usually do individually when we go get our equipment but whatever dude

So he's like okay Mar you're gonna help [relative coworker] count the pallets in the steel which okay fine cool whatever

And NetflixCoworker you're gonna work grocery (of fucking course)

So the three of us go "well is NewLady here?"

Yes.

"Then what's HER job?"

Well uh we're gonna have her count the merchandise under the tables :)

And all three of us went "SHE CANT" which made him confused and we were bitching ab how all she does is refold ONE TABLE a day and just does not think she has to work anywhere else but womens and only counts the boxes there ect

And I was like "and no one touches childrens so I do that but when I get the WHOLE section done. I get more done in 4 hours than she does in 8. And womens has maybe 6 items on each table, right? I. Have. Thirty. But yet she's allowed to get away with doing ONE TABLE all day? And not helping out?"

And he was like 😧 "that's the most you've said to me in the year that I've been here" agdhhdhd like well yeah I dont like you that's why

Anyway he was like okay okay well ill talk to her and we were like BUT SHE DOESNT LISTEN THATS THE PROBLEM!

And this fucker went "why are you all yelling at me? 😥"

To which one of the few people who were still around the tables went "oh trust me that's not NetflixCoworker yelling. You'd KNOW if she was yelling"

And [RC] was like "I'm not yelling I'm telling you why we're mad" and I said "trust me this isnt me yelling." To which RC was like yeah no trust me that's not her yelling sgdggdgdgd like shes pissed but shes not PISSED bc when I get really mad I get really loud

Anyways guess how long it took NewLady to start counting? 90 minutes. We had BratBoy talk to her, NetflixCoworker yelled at her, had BratBoy tell her AGAIN, and passive aggressively bitched ab her and FINALLY this bitch starts

Like you can recover when we open motherfucker we cannot COUNT like this when we are open let's GO

[peppermint-toads]

“simon? what the fuck is this?”

your tone came out a bit more harsh than intended, but you couldn’t help it. you were quite nearly blackout drunk.

“mac and cheese,” he said simply, still holding out the bowl towards you. “like you asked for.”

he was being generous. you essentially demanded it as you stumbled through the door.

“mac me a cheese.”

he got the gist.

“no, simon. mac and cheese is not green.”

simon had been with you most of the day, and you didn’t ingest a single vegetable. so, he took matters into his own hands, deciding to add some broccoli into your mac and cheese.

even though he knew he might be seeing it again later, still worth a shot.

“broccoli, love. eat it.”

you scrunched your nose. drunk you did not feel like eating broccoli. you shoved the bowl away. “wont taste the same.” you decided.

simon was confused, to say the least. you liked broccoli. he was doing you a favor. your body needed fuel especially after the havoc he’s sure you wreaked.

he sighed.

“eat it and i’ll take you to sephora tomorrow.”

you perked up at that, skeptically eyeing the bowl again.

“mkay,” you slurred. “one bite. and you’re buying me whateverrrrr i want.”

simon hummed, knowing you’d forget about all about it by morning.

—

“morning, si.” you greeted him as he stirred awake, watching you in the mirror as you put your earring in. he expected you to be in a much worse state.

“what are you getting ready for?” he asked, closing his eyes again.

“don’t you remember? we’re going shopping.”

he’s not sure when one store turned into “shopping,” but he’d never deny you anything.

[thewintersoldatt]

SORRY, NOT SORRY -RAFE CAMERON

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x fem!listener

Summary: Rafe can be a “good” boyfriend when he wants to be… with a sprinkle of manipulation of course.

Warnings: Naughty language, Fluff low-key from our toxic daddy, ft. JJ being a chaotic mess.

notes: This audio is set during 1x05. Instead of it being midsummer's, it's the listeners birthday! I've been working on this all week and I'm tired of listening to it on repeat, so if something doesn't add up, it's because I got lazy. And I wish Rafe told me he loved me. 😭

word count: Its audio, my panties are wet and so are yours.

Scene one

JJ: Ah, would you look at this! It's our birthday girl!

You: What are you doing here?

Our cutie patootie rambles on then walks off with the security guard.

During this pause count to about 6 or 7.

You: What the hell did you guys do to his face?

Rafe: We didn't do anything… his face was like that when he…showed up.

You: Well, why did you guys corner him in here?

Rafe: We were just making sure... he knew his place. And that he's not allowed here. If anything, we were doing you and your parents a favor, I mean, god knows what he already took.

You: You promised me you wouldn’t start anything tonight, Rafe.

Rafe: Can you give us a minute? I'd like to talk to my girlfriend... alone, so get out. Alright, um, can I speak first since you wanna do this right now?

You: Go ahead.

Rafe: How long have you lived here?

You: I was born here.

Rafe: Yes you were born here, but where - where did you grow up?

You: Figure 8.

Rafe: Yes, you grew up on Figure 8. And where did... our pal JJ grow up?

You: The cut.

Rafe: The Cut. and that's exactly my point, baby. We're kooks. And... what is JJ again?

You: Jesus, Rafe don't start-

Rafe: Come on, you wanna talk, let’s talk. What about communication? Isn’t that what we're supposed to be working on?

Count to 3 during this pause.

You: He’s a pouge.

Rafe: See that wasn't so hard, now was it? Now, let me make something clear, and stop me if you get a little confused - you and me. We’re practically royalty on this island. We’re together for a reason. And before you saying, yes I do love you. I always have and I always will. You’re mine. You’re it for me, sweetheart. And… you’re a kook. So, start acting like one before I do something about it, mkay?

You: God, you’re a dick you know that? How about you leave too.

Rafe: Ugh, look I’m sorry, alright? It’s just… it’s just when I saw him on the patio talking to Sarah I lost it. This is supposed to be your day and I didn’t want him ruining it. Kind of like when… uh… we switched out the coke with flour and gave it to Top because he ate your cupcakes.

You: And how is that relevant to this?

Rafe: It’s sorta the same thing. You - you worked hard on those. Uh, he ate them. I was pissed because they were for me. And you were upset because I wanted to punch him in the throat. Tomato, tomahto. Blah, blah, blah. See you’re smiling, I love it when you smile.

You: You’re such a sap.

Rafe: I love you.

You: I love you too.

Rafe: And again, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a scene, I just didn’t know how else to get him to leave. You know how JJ and his friends are. All of them are drawn to us like a moth to a flame. Now, uh, can we put this behind us and get back to the party?

You: Thats the smartest thing that’s come out of your fat mouth all night, baby.

Rafe: By the way, I really do think he took something from your bedroom.

You: What?

Rafe: I saw him come down from the hallway, unless he took something from your dad’s office?

You: You’re serious?

Rafe: As a heart attack.

You: But… I’ve never done anything to him.

Rafe: That’s what they do though. You should know this by now. They butter you up, just to take whatever they can right from under our noses. It’s sick, if I’m being honest.

You: So much for trying to be civil.

Rafe: I know, yeah, I’ll talk to your dad, and um, see what we can do. But for now, let’s go celebrate. It’s not everyday someone turns 17.

@rafesapologist @rvfecamerons @sadfury @rafesthroatbaby @rafesaddiction @hockeybabe87 @rafeinterlude @starkeyisthelastname @secretly-tumb1r @kingkylie444 @stayonmars @maybankswhore @barbiiecams @princessmisery666 @ilovebarrykeoghan

If you would like to be tagged, I gotchu sis.

[spyder-anon]

patching up miles after a rough day

earth42! miles / earth1610! miles (aged up!)

miles moralesxblack! female reader

summary: miles visits you late at night once again, hurt and in need of help.

a/n: here’s to my first post! not sure how I feel about it but we all start somewhere. and thank you to bestie @miokienie for giving me the idea! enjoy!

earth42!

you get so sick of this man

he’ll often come to your place when he needs patching up cause he knows uncle aaron will tear him up; not like you won’t either, tho

“come on, mamí, you know you love me.” he’d tell you and grab your waist, pulling you close and resting his thumb along your jaw.

“you got 2 seconds to let go of me before i give you smth else to patch up.”

his tricks never worked, and you scolded him the whole time you were helping him, and he pouted the whole time, too, whining and trying to get you to not be pissed with him.

“mamí~” he would sing song, giving you the most charming voice and smile he could muster. “sonríe para papi, por favor~? (smile for papí, please~?),” or “come on, mamí, don’t look at me like that,” etc. it would never work and would only piss you off more.

“shut up, boy. it’s already too late for this bull, don’t push it.”

then he’d start to get pissed that you were talking to him like that despite him trying— in his own way— to make it better. “ight, ma, you can drop the attitude. you know i gotta do what i gotta do.”

you would stop and raise an eyebrow. “i know you ain’t talkin’ to me,” you’d step back and cross your arms.

“ma, i’m bein’ fr. drop the attitude, i ain’t playin.”

“neither am i.” you’d shake your head and roll your eyes heavy at him. “you see this?,” you pointed to the bonnet on your head, “i was ready to slump— you interrupted that, but i let you cause i love you. but i will get back in that bed and let uncle aaron tear you up, but that’s up to you.”

boy he would get so pissed off when you had the upper hand on him. “ight girl, whatever, jus hurry up” he would huff and cross his arms and turn his head the other way.

he would continue to make smart comments but they didn’t phase you; you knew how he was, and right now he was just bein’ a big baby cause his girl had to put him in his place. ngl, you had to keep yourself from laughing cause it was funny to watch considering how hard he acts otherwise.

“‘mkay, you’re done.” you would stand back with your hands on your hips, sighing after your hard work. “you good, baby? or you gonna keep pouting?”

he would glare at you, angry pout still on his face; most would take that face as a warning sign, but you found it endearing. “ay, cariño.” you’d coo and plant kisses all over his face.

“aye! ma— stop! stop! you play too much!” he would protest, but you knew he liked it.

you would pull away and he’d have a playfully vengeful look on his face. “oh, so it’s like that, huh?” he’d ask, and you’d laugh at him with a grin.

next thing you know, he’s picked you up and throw you over his shoulder; you hit his legs and protest while laughing a little, but your hits do nothing against him.

he lays you down— gently— on the bed and towers over you. “my turn, mama.” he would smirk, and he’d kiss you on the lips, long, soft, and slow. it was his way to show how much he appreciated you, even if he struggled to say it out loud sometimes.

earth1610! miles

this boy would look so guilty as he stood in the middle of your room, suit ripped in different places and bleeding and bruised skin in others.

“miles!” you would fuss, “we’ve talked about this.” you spoke calmly but your tone showed the upset you felt for him. the sight of him hurt would wound you in its own manner.

he rubbed the back of his neck and avoided your gaze. “i know…things just got out of hand tonight…i’m sorry.” he’d look at you with those big brown eyes, genuine guilt swirling throughout them, and your heart would completely melt as it always would. poor boy was doing his best.

you would sigh and kiss his forehead. “its alright, mijo. let’s get you cleaned up, alright?”

you would take him to your bathroom and the two of you would sit on the floor. you’d address his wounds while he would recite to you what happened; you always wanted to know if you could.

it was always rough, and your heart felt for him. you wished he didn’t have to exert himself so harshly every night. it only made you worry more about something happening to him.

when you were done, you’d look at him with loving empathy and caress his face. “ay, mi vida..” you would sigh sadly, but miles always gave you that charming, strong smile.

“don’t worry, ma, i’ll be alright. i’ll always be alright. plus,” he would smirk, “i think we make a good team like this. you can be my hot nurse.” he winked. he didn’t want you to worry at all, especially not more than you had to. he would always be okay for your sake, if not for anyone else’s.

you would cringe roll your eyes at his statement and thump his forehead playfully. then, you’d bring him in a warm embrace. “you wanna stay here tonight, hermoso?”

“yeah. yeah i’d like that.” he’d smile softly down at you, wondering how he could ever repay you for all you’ve done for him.

-thank you for being here~!

[mariejordans]

Have you considered being a nicer person? I just happen to be friends with the person you slagged off on your blog and you clearly didn't expect your post to get back to her, but it did, as a few people alerted her to your post. FYI, that wasn't her post, the thing you were attacking her over about Sam and Cate, that was submitted to her blog from somebody else from Reddit. Second, she's not a Stan, she has development disabilities and Sam is her special interest/emotional focus. He makes her happy, so of course she's only going to focus on him. Calling her a 'Mega Stan' is rather ableist on your part. She's also not a Cate stan. Why would you even think that? Cate hurt Sam. So maybe next time you want to attack disabled people on your blog, take two seconds to cool down, consider how your words may hurt people and just don't do it. Mkay? This fandom is small and it got back to her eventually, so just think about your actions next time please. You are very lucky she isnt the call out type, because she will never say anything on her blog about this, but at least some of us know your true colours. Consider your actions and check to see if your posts are hurtful.

first of all, as someone who is also neurodivergent, i apologize for my comments hurting your friend. it hasn’t and never will be my intention to attack disabled people on this blog, so i’m genuinely very sorry for that. to be honest, i did not know that your friend had developmental disabilities, so again, i apologize.

that being said, i believe you’re talking about this post i made almost a month ago? it was in response to this post just to be clear, because a few of your comments have me a bit confused. i’m not sure what you mean by “that wasn’t her post, that was submitted to her blog from somebody else from Reddit” when everything i was responding to in my original post were based on things that she did say in this post (which she published so it is her post) not the person who sent the ask or the redditor (who i actually agree with.)

secondly, i don’t have any issue or problem with sam being her special interest. it doesn’t bother me that most of what she posts is about sam. most of what i post is about marie or jordan, so i get it. there’s nothing wrong with sam being her sole focus.

what i DID have an issue with was the way that she constantly undermined marie in her post. marie moreau IS the main character of gen v. that’s not an opinion, it’s literally a fact. every single point that the person made in the reddit post is correct and your friend wrote an entire post trying to come up with excuses for that not to be true. it just comes across very odd to me that they wrote an entire post trying to undermine marie and her importance to the show.

and honestly, why does it bother her so much that marie is the main character or that other people think of her like that anyway? her being the main character doesn’t diminish or take away anything from the show or sam, so i genuinely don’t see the need to make a long post about how marie actually isn’t the main character.

you can like any character you want. you can dislike any character you want (although if you dislike marie, i do give you serious side-eye) but undermining one character’s importance for the sake of another, ESPECIALLY when said character happens to be a queer black woman that you discredit in favor of two cis white characters, that’s where i have a problem.

[justpeaxchy]

Lover.

{I decided to continue the small drabble idea of this Taylor swift song <3

It's amazing so please, do me a favor if you can, listen to it!}<3

✓

The one thing izuku set his mind on when he was enrolled in UA was to become the number one hero, obviously.

But then you came along.

Oh, what a sight you were.

--------------------------------------------------.

Did time freeze? Why couldn't he move? The air around him seemed... suffocating. Almost.

Izuku watched as you smiled at him. It was subtle but brightened up his world nonetheless.

How could someone be so angelic?

'and there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear.'

Even as you walked towards him your steps seemed gracious. He didn't know what to do with himself.

This was only his first time meeting you.

"So you're izuku, right? The name's y/n." You grinned and left the poor boy speechless. He knew that you were going to unfold a lot of interesting events just by the looks of you. He knew something about you when he looked in your eyes. Those eyes that gleamed in the sunlight where you stood.

'have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?'

"Y-yes! I am.. izuku. Izuku midoriya. How did you know about me-" The star-struck teenager stumbled back slightly when you took a rather massive step forward, making you even closer to him. Personal space wasn't on your mind when you did the action by the looks of it.

"I've heard about you around here y'know? You're pretty well known in this school... I'm surprised you didn't think about that." You smirked, noticing the flushed look that took over his face. Izuku seemed like an interesting one. That was for sure.

"Well now that you say it I guess I didn't know..."

Reputation? Of what? Breaking his bones? Just the thought of that being the reason why he's "well known" in UA fills him with embarrassment.

Although he thought the situation couldn't get worse, your small laughter brought him out of his overthinking as you rested your hand on his shoulder. Izuku knew you only meant it in a good way - at least he hoped - but he couldn't help but panic on the spot just by a simple touch.

What was wrong with him today? Did he get hit by a quirk he wasn't aware of? His emotions felt more out of control than they ever were.

"Hey, you're a good person from what I can tell. Now if you don't mind I actually need to get to class. I'm pretty sure we're in the same one.."

Izuku's eyes widened slightly, realizing the situation.

You were the new exchange student. The one that class 1-A was expecting. How could he forget?

The big news about "y/n" suddenly enrolling in UA shocked many. Apparently you were related to Aizawa in some way but he didn't mention how.

"Oh! I-it's you!" Sparkling emerald eyes stared back at yours and you had to wince. This guy was a little too bright for your heart. But you kind of liked it. Was he using an unknown quirk on you?

"Heh. I assume people have talked about my arrival? That sucks honestly. I wanted it to be on the low, y'know? I guess we can't always get what we want.."

Your gaze slowly looked up towards izuku's. Had he been staring at you just like that the whole time?

"I know the feeling. M' sorry about that.." he chuckled and began to beckon you in another direction. "Well if you wanna get to class I think we should start heading there now!"

You blinked while staying in place. Why were you so caught up on his laughter? It was... cute.

"Yea. Right. I'm coming!" You skipped near your new guide and elbowed his arm lightly. "Save me a seat next to you for later, mkay? We should talk more."

You grinned at him once more. The lighting in the building made you exquisite to izuku. He shook his head to try to get rid of his flustered state. Why in the world couldn't he be normal around you just for a few seconds?

"O-of course! I'll be sure to remember that for later. I'll save you a seat.."

------------------------------------------------.

"Y/n!" Your name rolled off his tongue as if it were his first words he ever spoke. As soon as class was over he waved his hands dramatically in the air, beckoning you to come over.

You couldn't help but giggle at the boy's action. He was always over-excited for you to sit next to him everyday.

Without wasting any time you jumped from your seat and made your way to where the bundle of sunshine sat. That's what you liked to call him in your head.

"That desperate to see me, huh?" As you sat down in the chair next to him you noticed the small grin on izuku's face. His palm resting against his cheek as he just gazed at you. Was there something on your face?

"Maybe. But last time I remember you told me to save you the seat next to mine for you."

This bastard. Your face slowly morphed into a shade of pink and you turned your whole body in the other direction.

Looks like the promise still stands.

---------------------------------------------------

✓

{this was a song based drabble if you didn't know :D. First one I think 🫠.

Lmk if y'all want more of this bc I'm down! I hope it came out good lmfao 😭}

[hinatastinygiant]

Chapter Thirty Five

Chlosyne Janais Eruca

Pairing: Haikyuu!! x Fem!Reader

previous | next | 2099

KENMA'S P.O.V.

"Kenma!" my coworker Sora beams through my computer screen. "How's it going?"

I sigh as I see her bright face light up my otherwise dark room. "Bright," I reply as I squint my eyes. "What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a big favor," she adds as she pulls her face closer to the screen, causing her brown and green eyes to bulge out from behind her clear glasses.

"Not again," I sigh. "What is it?"

"Well," she mutters, almost about to change her mind as she slides her hands down one of her two purple braids. "I was wondering if you could talk to that Build and Sell client for me... I'm still working on the pet grooming design and I don't think I can take another case without my brain exploding, Kenny!"

"Please don't call me that," I reply as I close my eyes to prevent myself from getting pissed off at her. "I don't think I should meet with that client. I'll just lose them like I lose all of them."

"Ah geez, there you go again. You only struggle to keep clients because you say stuff like that! You gotta act more excited about the project or else they won't think you're a good fit! You gotta act the part," she attempts to explain to me as she takes off her glasses and inspects them up close to her eyes.

"What do you expect me to do? I'm a fucking graphic designer, not a businessman. I would have majored in that if I didn't want to sit behind a computer all day," I respond.

Sora shakes her head as she begins to scrape something off her glasses with her pointer finger. "Yeah, well, you do good work. Your portfolio certainly shows that. Hell, you and I both know it's ten times better than mine is. But you also gotta act the part, mkay?"

"Yeah, whatever," I roll my eyes as I watch her continue to pick at whatever's stuck to the lens of her glasses. "I'll talk to the client but don't blame me if we lose them."

"Deal!" she beams as she looks up and smiles widely. "Thanks, Kenny, I really appreciate that!"

"Sure, but you gotta tell me what's so damn interesting with your glasses," I scoff.

"Oh, I just got some dead skin cells stuck to the frame. It's all good now though! It's not as bad as the green dirt that grows on the nose pads or the random stuff that spreads throughout the frame! That stuff's the worst!" she laughs.

"That's fucking disgusting," I shake my head. "Why don't you just get new glasses?"

"Do you seriously think I've got enough money for that?" she scoffs. "I'm not spendin' any money for something I already have!"

"So gross," I whisper to myself as I reach my hand to my mouse. "Bye, Sora."

"No Kenny, wait!" she calls out before the end tone of the call cuts her off. I can practically hear her saying 'aw man' even though she's not in the same room as me.

After, I lean back in my chair and look down at my watch. My meeting with the client is tomorrow, so I've got all night to myself. That is, until I remember that I'm supposed to see Kuroo. With a sigh, I pack my things up and walk out of my room. By the front door, I left that copy of the book girls: A Paean that Kuroo wanted for whatever reason. I've never read it, but judging by the way he obsesses over it, it must be good and commissary money.

When I get to the penitentiary, I'm asked to sit in the visitor's room and wait for Kuroo. When he walks in, I already know the rules. I get one hug when he walks in and one when he leaves. After the two of us sit down, he smiles softly and folds his hands together on the table between us.

"So?" he asks curiously. "How's it going?"

"How's what going?" I reply, unsure as to what he's referring to.

"Work. You know, 'cause you said you were struggling to meet new clients," he responds.

"That's really what you want to talk about?"

"Well sure, what else would we talk about? You probably don't care to know I beat five guys in a game of tic tac toe and won a Snickers bar," he grins.

I sigh at his answer. "I suppose that means you're doing well then."

"As well as I can do," he then shrugs. "And you?"

"Sora found me another client. I have a meeting with them tomorrow. It's some Buy and Sell thing. I don't really think it'll be all that interesting but Sora says I've got to act that way or I'll be out of a job," I explain to Kuroo.

"She's right, you know," Kuroo then chuckles. "Girl's weird as all hell, I'll give you that, but she's smart. Besides, she's a couple of years older than we are. She knows what's up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I nod as I look around the waiting room. "Oh, by the way, I brought that stuff you wanted."

"No fucking way!" Kuroo gasps so loud that he attracts attention from the whole room.

"Hey! Settle down inmate!" one of the guards shouts back.

Kuroo puts up his hand to apologize before looking at me excitedly. "So you got the book?!"

"Yeah, I got the damn book. Thought you'd be more excited 'bout the money, though," I say as I hand him a prison guard approved box. Kuroo's eyes light up as he lifts up the box and holds it close to his nose.

"Mmm," he says as he takes in a deep breath of the front cover. "Thanks, Kenma, you're the best!"

"Why'd you want it so bad anyway?" I finally ask him.

Kuroo smirks as he holds open the book and slides it across to me, pointing to one of the pages. Within, holds the most disgusting content. But really, I shouldn't be surprised.

"Porn," I shake my head. "It's fucking porn."

previous | next | 2099

want to join the taglist? Click here for more

Taglist: @isentsworld

[raewritez]

take care of you

summary: Your worry about the future and are used to taking care of your friends. Luckily, Zuko is there to take care of you.

a/n: i don’t realllyyy ship Zutara but one of the aspects i love about their relationship is that Zuko is virtually the only person that Katara doesn’t have to act as a mother to, so I was largely inspired by that dynamic.

requested?: nope!

—————

Your fingers ran shakily through your hair, air escaping your lips in uneven breaths. You shut the heavy door behind you, coming to sit upon the air temple’s sturdy bed that rested in the center of your given bedroom. You had been fine until a few minutes ago, you had been enjoying the crispness of the air and warmth of the sun until the words of quiet voices had floated to your ears. Whispers of Aang and his destiny, of death and murder and war. The other people, they expected Aang to be able to kill the Firelord just like that, to abandon his childhood and sense of self in a split moment of violence. You knew he couldn’t do that, you loved him like a brother and if there was one thing you knew for sure it was that Aang’s heart of gold was impenetrable. You had glanced down to wear he stood with Zuko, arms raised in an aggressive stance, the fire that spouted from his palms betraying his lighthearted nature. The image had left you breathless, your protective side alighted against the cruel expectations of this twelve-year-old boy, of your dear friend.

You were upset, and you knew there was nothing you could do about it. Killing the Firelord was Aang’s destiny, and it couldn’t be altered by simple adoration or protectiveness. It shouldn’t be Aang, the weight of the world shouldn’t fall on the back of this war-born child, but it was. Your head rested in your hands, mind swimming with attempts to ward off images of death and fire and the ideas of fate and destiny. You felt silly being so affected by the muttered words of children while your friends were out there training and fighting their own battles. You were disrupted from your emotional state by the creaking of a door and the appearance of a shaggy head of black hair.

You lifted your head, plastering on a smile. “Hey, Zuko. What’s up?”

He stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him. “Hey, Y/n, I just...” his eyes darted between the walls, his hand raising to rake through his hair. “Well, I saw you leaving, and you seemed upset. So I thought I would just...come check on you.”

A genuine grin made its way to your face, worries muted and heart softened at the boy’s thoughtfulness. “Thanks, Zuko. That’s nice of you. You don’t need to worry about me, though, I just...got a little upset is all.”

His amber eyes flashed with concern, and you questioned why he cared so much for how you were feeling. You certainly cared about him, caring about people was basically your job after all, acting as the protector of the group and the only one that Katara would allow to take care of her. You cared for him, truthfully maybe more than you should, but you weren’t aware of the extent of his care for you. 

His feet brought him closer, seating himself before you at the edge of the bed. “Why are you upset?” he questioned, sincerity pouring from his voice. “Did someone do something? Or did something happen? If it did, I can-”

“Nothing happened, Zuko,” you cut him off, lifting your fingers to shyly play with the strands of your hair. “Nothing happened, really, it’s just...” he gazed at you with imploring eyes. You sighed. “It’s just that I’m upset about everything going on, all the stuff with Aang and what he has to do, and it’s stupid. I shouldn’t be upset, I mean, I’m obviously used to everything by now, but...I’m just worried about him.”

He searched his mind, he was never good at comforting people. You were always good at that, always listening to him and reassuring him in ways no-one had ever managed to. He wanted to repay the favor, to make you happy like you made him, but he didn’t possess the talent of assurance and comfort. Instead, with a certain boldness to his movement, he grasped your hand from its place in your hair with his own. 

“He’ll be okay, Y/n. He's a talented kid,” his thumb stoked your knuckles. “The comet is weeks away and he’ll be ready. He’ll be ready.”

Your eyes were glued to the spot his hand met yours, unable to focus on anything but the heat emanating from his palm. You nodded softly with appreciation, lifting your fingers to reciprocate his caring touch. Your lips parted and you found it difficult to breathe, your stomach and lungs occupied by swarms of butterflies. Your eyes met his, and you found yourself captivated by the intensity in his stare.

You stayed locked in that position, his eyes glued to yours and your hands interlocked. He lifted your arm, playing with your fingers and pressing a kiss to the inside of your wrist. “You worry too much.”

You ignored the blush rising to your cheeks. “I think I worry just the right amount. Someone has to.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to. Someone needs to take care of you every once in a while.” 

“Oh yeah?” you questioned breathlessly. “Like who?”

His eyes met yours and you could’ve sworn you saw him lean forward before the silence was broken by knocking against your door.

“Y/n! Sokka screwed up dinner and we need your help before Katara kills us.”

You recognized Toph’s voice and pulled out of Zuko’s grasp.

“Sounds serious,” you chuckled. “I’ll be right there.”

“Mkay!”

You sighed softly, averting your gaze from Zuko’s as awkward silence filled the atmosphere. “I should probably go help them.”

He nodded, masking his slight disappointment as he rose to allow you an exit. Your shoulder brushed his as you passed, and the two of you ignored the electricity as you emerged from the confines of the small room.

///

“Appa, yip yip!”

The smell of charred wood filled the air, fire flinging past your face as the soldiers advanced. Aang was lifting off, fleeing the onslaught of flames as you crumbled the earth surrounding the men to allow them an escape.

He glanced back, alarm filling his face at the sight of you. “Y/n, come on!” he yelled, looking at you with worry.

You grunted as you threw rock after rock at your persecutors. “It’s ok, Aang, just go! I’ll be fine!”

“What?! No! Y/n, just-” he cut himself off as a figure dressed in red jumped from Appa, landing on the edge of the cliffside.

“Get out of here, Aang,” Zuko spoke. “I’ll take care of her.”

Aang glanced back in worry before yanking Appa’s reigns and flying off the other way.

Zuko turned, running towards you as you fended off the soldiers with concaving ground and heavy boulders. He intercepted the fire of the remaining men, channeling it and striking towards them. As they stumbled back from the impact Zuko grabbed your arm and sped into the refuge of the forest, shielding your body from possible incoming attacks.

He pulled you along through the winding trees, twigs snapping under your feet as you did your best to catch your breath. When he slowed down you lifted your eyes to find the entrance of a small cave nestled between the rocks. 

“Guess this is home for the night.” Zuko tilted his head to glance at you, taking note of your furrowed brows and flushed face. “You ok?”

You quickly nodded your head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for coming back.”

“I wouldn’t leave you behind,” he smiled.

You looked at him gratefully before raising your arms to maneuver the stone around the entrance of the cave. Once the hole was deemed large enough the two of you crawled inside, Zuko’s hands protectively supporting your waist as go ensure you wouldn’t fall.

The inside was dreary, uneven walls forming to shelter the small patch of ground while the light of the sun was blocked out as you ventured further. Your feet ached, legs bruised and hair messed from the abrupt attacks. Zuko kept sneaking glances, worried by the tiredness of your movement and the absence of your usual optimism and cheerfulness. You made your way over to the edge of the cave, sitting down and resting your back against the sturdy wall. Zuko crept over beside you, lowering himself close to your body and staring warily at the cave’s entrance. 

You picked at your nails. “Do you think they’ll be ok?”

He snapped towards you in disbelief. You were seriously worried about that right now? “They’ll be fine, Y/n. They’re long gone by now and Aang will be back for us in the morning.”

You agreed hesitantly before leaning your head against the wall. You peered through the hole of the cave, catching sight of the sky beginning to fade to reds and purples. “Maybe we should get some sleep. If the soldiers come back we’ll need our energy.”

Zuko nodded, moving to lie down while putting a respectable amount of space between the two of you. You drifted off to the sound of Zuko’s even breathing and the warmth that was carried from his body to yours.

///

You jolted awake to wind swirling inside the cave, the coldness piercing your skin like a knife. Your lips were tinted blue, the tips of your fingers aching and nose freezing to the touch. You pushed yourself off the hard ground, lifting your knees to your chest and curling in on yourself. Zuko was beside you, sleeping peacefully, seemingly unbothered by the chilliness of the night.

You stood up, walking around in attempt to warm yourself up and find a more sheltered part of the tiny cave. Zuko woke up to your shuffling, bleary eyes latching onto your shivering figure.

“Y/n?” he questioned in a raspy voice. “What's going on?”

“Oh, sorry Zuko,” you said sheepishly. “It’s just a little chilly.”

He assumed a pensive demeanor, eyes shifting mindfully before speaking.

“Come here.”

“What?”

“You’re cold and I can warm you up. Come here.”

You made your way awkwardly over to him, trying to ignore the blush that rose to your face at his implication.

You sat down next to him, sitting in silence before his arm hesitantly wrapped around your shoulders, bringing you closer. You sighed, he did feel warm. You subconsciously nuzzled closer to the sanctuary of your friend’s embrace until minutes later you were practically on top of him. You rested comfortably against his torso, his lean arms cradling you to his chest.

He breathed into your hair, careful not to accidentally light it on fire with his nervousness. He closed his eyes, relishing in your presence.

“Thanks, Zuko,” you whispered.

He smiled. “No problem.”

You raised your head to look at him, unsaid words lingering on your tongue. He stared at you questioningly as you searched for your voice, becoming distracted by the way your eyelashes danced across your cheeks and your lip was pulled between your teeth. 

“What is it?”

You swallowed. “It’s nothing...never mind.”

He raised an eyebrow, slowly linking his fingers with yours. “You can tell me, if you want to.”

“I know I can, but it’s silly. I’m just thinking too much.”

He lifted your hand, fingers tracing over the scars and lines, thumb stroking fondly against your skin. “If it’s about the group, they’re fine. They know what they're doing, and they can take care of themselves.”

You chuckled. “Most of them. I don’t know about Sokka though. He needed help rolling up his sleeping bag this morning.”

Zuko laughed lightly, reaching to brush away the hair that had fallen into your face. “Yeah, maybe not Sokka. But Katara’ll keep him in line. You can take a break from taking care of them...” he trailed off, amber eyes moving to yours. “Just let me take care of you for now.”

You felt your heartbeat quicken at his gaze, skin set alight by the way his fingers traced over it. He held nothing but sincerity and tenderness in his voice, and his eyes conveyed a deep fondness. You couldn’t help it when your eyes trailed to the curve of his nose, the splashes of freckles, and down to his lips. He raised your hand, pressing a kiss to the inside of your wrist. In a burst of courage you moved your palm to cup his cheek, fingertips ghosting against the rugged edge of his scar. 

His own eyes felt heavy, pulled down by some magnetic force that drew him closer to you. At your caring touch, he moved his hand to the back of your neck and tilted your chin towards his. His lips met yours, eyelids slipping closed as you moved your own against his. He pulled you impossibly closer, handling you with such gentleness and affection that you wondered if you would implode. You ran your fingers through his hair, the soft stands filtering through them like water. He grasped your hips, lifting his mouth to meet yours in a seemingly never-ending heavenly embrace. You broke apart with a smile, the long-overdue kiss lightening your heart and sending butterflies through your stomach.

He grinned against you, stroking his thumb against your cheek before pulling your head to nestle in the crook of his neck. He breathed into your hair, pressing  his lips against the crown of your head. He nuzzled into you, his hair tickling your face as you felt yourself surrounded by him. You felt reassured, your friends would be fine and you felt relieved by the fact that you didn’t really need to worry about Zuko. He would take care of you, after all.

[a-chaotic-dumbass]

Chaos Ranking ToG Characters: Fashion Addition🌸

note🌸 i ranked em all based on how good they looked and how memorable their looks were. bam tier is code for bland, and who the FUCK r u is for the charas i dont remember, or havent seen in the story. when i reach the lower tiers i'll just talk abt a few charas per tier. this is my opinion etc etc lets roll.

S: amazing breath taking show stopping fabulous🌸 noone. my standards for fashion r either rlly high or i cant get em low nuff for a single character to get there.

A: luv that for them🌸 that is more characters than i expected and i feel like my bias got em way higher than they should've been. ahem anyways, white's clone looked nice and was memorable nuff. cant get her lower cus the dress was cute, but she was extremely minor so i cant rank her any higher, im already doin her a favor. white oh boy. he constantly has either banger looks or he looks like he just came from cleaning up horse shit. i cant reasonably rank him higher, cus of that red sweater look and cus of the coat he had in s3. maschenny was pretty. thats all. her dresses were nice, she wasnt annoying and she didnt give a shit abt anyone so obv my bias played in and i ranked her A yier. deal w it. Garam was,,, okay? listen i was rlly trying to get sumone higher up i didnt have many options mkay. her wearing a short skirt was whatev but i liked her hair. Data Eduan also looked rlly nice. its a tie w him and Garam but i ranked her higher than Eduan cus he wasnt giving what needed to be gave. Yasratcha cus he's a cat boy. hated his shoes so he's lower than Eduan, but whatev. Paracule,,, he was memorable, not a fashion disaster, relatable, whats not to look for in a man!

B: potentials there ig🌸 Red Witch was cute and better than the gps we have. nothin else to say other than that i liked her hair and dress. Lero,,, i was doing a favor cus his s1 clothes did none. Elaine was pretty in s2, the biggest downgrade of her clothes happened in s3 that i rather she be dead. she got the worst possable treatment but i'll ignore that cus she beat bam's ass real good. Elaine's Assistent had a gay look. thats the only reason why she ranked so high. Gustang was,,, acceptable ig. he still looks like genderbended dora the explorer but im doin my bestie a favor rankin him so high. Karaka oh how far u fallen. he looks nice, i like his armor, but he's just bland so he's stayin in B tier. Khun i was also turnin a blind eye to. i placed him way higher than he deserved and if u read my posts it shows but ig he's okay. Evankhell has an exremely ugly color palette but she's the only woman i can think of who looks over 30 and she has a sick scar so she gets the edge cus milf. Rak,,, oh dear Rak. so much potential, so much personality, yet still never being used other than for comedy. Rabbit idk why he's there. i think he just had a funky staff and insulted bam so i take what i can get. Rachel i just thought could have a lotta potential when it comes to styling her clothes. putting her in baggier clothes could show how insecure she is abt her body and making her try yo imitate other characters' style could show how she wishes she could be like them, but that potential is being wasted. an enby can dream tho. Bones Dude just had a funky vibe. idk wot else u want from me. That One Girl had rlly nice cllthes compared to everyone else round her. they were bland, sure and i wish the royal blue of her jacket was spread out through her design more or was made white or black, but its okay i like it we accept her into my house. and Yama,,, lowkey? was doing my bestie a favor cus he was giving rocker dude who tries too hard vibe but its okay he's a dogboy, we can forgive.

C: u spend so much time in the closet and come out like this🌸 Xia Xia was cute ig? she was bland but cute we can give her that. That One Blonde Girl had a pretty uniform and nice hair. idk what else u want from me. The Twin Princesses weeere boring. cute but boring which is a theme in this tier. That One Yuri Rival was,,, okay. so much goin on yet nothing at all. liked the makeup, the color was funky, got bored by everythin else. Yuri iss meh. her base look is cute but bland, the colors are fine and her hair piece brings attention to her eyes and head, but all her other looks bore me to sleep. Hansung's clothes suck. plain and simple. his first look is good, but everythin after is either horrid or unmemorable. White's Clone is also okay. i have nothin else to say abt it. Enryu i placed there cus i had mercy on his ass.

D: u come into my house wearing that? not on my watch bitch🌸 Jahad is,,, meh. D: is prolly the best way to describe him. its all and nothing, the colors r disgusting, but he looks better than he used to. he doesnt look regal like a king, he looks dirty like a rat. Yura doesnt read like a pop star, she reads like an office worker. Hatz is just boring. he isnt actively bad, just nothing sticks in my mind, his colors arent any better. Ehwa was annoying me whenever she showed her face and her clothes did her no favors. her colors didnt compliment her, she acted like a brat the whole time and she has nothing else to give to the plot nor the style of the story.

F: u srsly pop out ur mama lookin like that?🌸 Urek has the worst possable hat he could. "r u lost baby girl" lookin ass. "whats up fellow kids". he looks like an adult trying to fit in w his kids. he looks like he watches sport for hobby. he looks like he hasnt touched a woman in 5 years. he looks like a Brad. he looks straight while bein so extremely gay. Data Jahad is just ugly, periodt. nothin else to say. I cant reasonavly put Endorssi above f tier purely cus she annoys me and cus of that red pants look. it ruined her fashion forever and i can no longer take her srsly ever.

bam🌸 just boring clothes. almoust like bam🤔. nothin to say here.

who the FUCK r u🌸 charas i dont remember, havent met, or just give me a headache thinkin abt.

[ipuckwithhockey]

Earned- N. Patrick

a/n: This one gets angsty, oops. I’m on a NolPat thing right now, but when are we not? I’m honestly enjoying writing again, so I hope you guys enjoy this one!  

warnings: angst, mentions of sex/oral sex, swearing, divorced parents, drinking (i think that’s it)

------

Nolan loved his friends and family, hockey, and even on occasion Travis Konecny. This was enough for him. He had his close-knit group that he surrounded himself with and that was all he needed. It’s not that he avoided getting attached to people, he just hadn’t found anyone that he felt was worth getting attached to. He was young and focused on his career. Love would come eventually. He just didn’t realize how soon ‘eventually’ would be until he met you.

You met Nolan at a Post Malone concert. Your friend Grace had gotten tickets through her job and you couldn’t just say no to floor seats for Posty. Your seats just so happened to be right next to Nolan, Travis, and Kevin Hayes. You recognized the hockey players instantly, but your best friend just recognized that TK was hot and definitely checking her out. 

By the time Post was ending his show Grace was agreeing that the two of you would join the boys at a bar around the corner. You weren’t planning on going home with anyone that night, but Nolan Patrick was flirting with you and you were a woman of opportunity. So, you found yourself going home with a Flyers forward while your friend went home with another.

Grace was your polar opposite. She was an undying optimist, bubbly, and most notably a romantic. You on the other hand considered yourself a dedicated realist who was levelheaded and decisive. The thought of finding someone to spend the rest of your life with almost made you laugh.  You had no interest in settling for a mediocre relationship that would eventually combust or at best, just fizzled out.

The first night you went home with Nolan was supposed to be the only night you went home with Nolan, but just like the tale as old as time, it was far from a one time occurrence. Grace and TK kept seeing each other and their big personalities actually seemed to mesh well. Grace was happy and you were happy that she was happy. What you weren’t totally sure about was that their blossoming relationship meant you found yourself in the same room as Nolan more often than not. A couple of drunken nights together turned into a habit neither one of you seemed to mind.

Nolan was just as aloof as you when it came to romanticism. That was what you told yourself was the reason why you kept letting yourself fall into his bed every weekend. When he started texting you to come over out of the blue instead of your usual drunken hookups you decided it was time to lay down the law.

“Ok, so just to be clear, because I don’t want to be the reason for any broken hearts and more importantly, I don’t need any lost Flyers games weighing on me, this is just sex. Like we’re not going to be those stupid kids that say it’s just sex but then end up falling madly in love. I don’t do that, and from what I’ve gathered, you don’t do that either. So, if this is going to happen again, or keep happening, then it’s strictly business.”  You’re barely even looking at Nolan as you explain your position. He had quite aggressively ripped your clothes from your body when you arrived at his place tonight and you can’t seem to locate your second sock as you scour his room.

Nolan was still laying naked on his bed, catching his breath, as he watched you in your adopted routine of rushing out of his apartment. He had met girls who were okay with a quick hookup with a famous NHL player, but you were different. You were bold and definitive. You weren’t here because he’s famous, you were here because the sex was good, and that’s why Nolan was here too.

Nolan didn’t make a habit out of hooking up with the same girls more than a couple of times, max. If you hadn’t been so good in bed and so open to just having sex, he probably wouldn’t have entertained the idea at all. You couldn’t deny that having Nolan between your legs a few times a week wasn’t a good thing. In fact, it was a great thing.  Nolan might not spend much time talking, but he definitely knows how to use his mouth. You both left each other at the end of the night tired and satisfied, and that didn’t seem like a bad thing. 

“Mkay. I promise I won’t fall in love with you. My track record is pretty good, so if you need references, I can probably get you their numbers. They probably wouldn’t be thrilled about you calling to ask them about how I’m a heartless asshole, but you can give it a swing.” You can’t help but laugh as your brain deciphers the mumbles that just came from the half sleeping body in front of you.

The second or third time you hung out with the boys you were at a party. You were teasing Nolan about all the girls who were trying so hard to get his attention, and he replied that they probably wouldn’t try so hard if they knew how their short lived fling would end.  He had a bad habit of accidentally leading girls on, thinking they were on the same wavelength but then being met with a pissed off girl who thought “they had something special.”

“Perfect. And if you somehow end up falling for my stunning good looks and amazing personality, just do me a favor and let me know so I can run for the hills.” And with that you gave him a wink and were out the door. Nolan couldn’t hold in the laugh that fell from his lips as he continued to take in the personality you had begun to share with him.

—————

It’s been two months since the two of you settled your business deal and things were good. Grace and TK had made it official and she insisted on bringing you with her to team gatherings and games. You and Nolan went over to each other’s places when the other called or texted, and the sex was still as good as it was the first time.

The two of you developed a friendship and your post sex talks began to last a little longer on topics that were just a little deeper than the time before. Nolan would ask you about the douche that likes to hit on you at work and you would ask him how hockey was going.  Then he told you about his sisters and and eventually told you a little more about his migraines. When it felt right you would ask him questions that he always provided thoughtful answers to. Nolan Patrick was much more pensive than you initially thought. To be honest you hadn’t really given his personality much thought at all, but as you got to know him you realized his aloof exterior was maybe just misinterpreted.

To his surprise Nolan genuinely liked spending time with you. Unlike most people, you weren’t constantly urging him to be “more social” or outgoing, and even though you were using each other’s bodies for sex, you weren’t greedy. You didn’t ask too much of him or expect certain things because of who he was. He felt like he could breathe around you because he wasn’t constantly trying to satisfy any unattainable expectations.

Even when he talked to you about hockey, he felt like he was just talking about any old 9-5 job; zero pressure to perform for you. You would ask him how it was going even though you already watched the games, and you would let Nolan guide the conversation to where he was comfortable. In many ways Nolan did the same for you. He didn’t press about why you didn’t have a boyfriend or why you didn’t want one. He did query over why you gracefully steered the conversation away from your family. He didn’t pry into things that were too personal, that for some reason, so many people thought they were entitled to.

There was a level of respect present between you that neither of you had experienced with anyone else. In both of your past relationships people always wanted to go fast, immediately trying to see if you were compatible. You and Nolan were just friends having sex with no other expectation, and somehow that allowed the two of you to slowly peel back each other’s layers.

You were oblivious to all of this until one night when your post sex talk didn’t come after sex. It came before. Well, actually the conversation came but neither of you did that night. You were at Nolan’s after a game that hadn’t gone as well as they had hoped. He was tired and you could see it in his eyes. Instead of jumping each other’s bones as soon as he greeted you at the door, you cracked a bottle of wine and settled on the couch.

It was nice. It was two friends having conversation over a bottle of wine. You didn’t talk about hockey or work; it was just talking about nothing. You talked about the lady who gave you one of her extra coupons at the grocery the other day. He explained how he made a sweater once in home ec. ( You’re still not sure if you believe him.)

A couple of hours later, and halfway into your second bottle of wine, Nolan’s curiosity got the best of him.

“So, is there a reason you’re so anti relationship or are you just a serial heart breaker like me?”

Once he asked the question, he realized that he probably shouldn’t have. You hadn’t talked about it before and that probably meant you didn’t want to. You were surprised but his smug joke still made you laugh. Normally you would be a little annoyed by the question, but you felt like you knew Nolan. You knew he wasn’t just trying to get to the juicy part, he just genuinely wanted to know, so you told him.

“Well, if you must know, I am most definitely a serial heart breaker, but that’s just a result of why I’m not thrilled about relationships, not the actual why.”

You take a breath before going on, “My parent’s marriage was horrible. They fought constantly and I don’t think I ever saw them genuinely happy together. They insisted on staying together. Their families, my grandparents, were both pretty ‘well-to-do’ and I’m pretty sure my parents were just staying together to save face with them and their circle of rich friends. I’m not sure why, because none of their marriages seemed any different. They’re all divorced now, and remarried to even shittier people. But before that, it became more of a game than anything else. — it started getting bad when I was in middle school.”

You look out the window in front of you. Through it, you can see the city of Philadelphia. A city you came to for college, with the hopes of leaving your old life behind. 

“My mom started to go out to the country club and wherever else, and then she’d come home in the middle of the night, drunk, after doing god knows what or god knows who. My dad would go on business trips just to get away, and I’m pretty sure he was cheating on my mom too at that point. I never really saw them, and when I did they were always fighting. We didn’t have fun holidays and if my brother wasn’t there no one was in the stands cheering me on at my soccer games. Hell, by that point I preferred no holidays and no parents at my games. They didn’t care about me or my brother, and once Caleb went off to college I was on my own. I don’t blame him, I got out as fast as I could too. All we had was each other and we were always close. He’s in New York now, and we still talk pretty regularly, but being at home alone sucked, and being home alone with them sucked even more. I wasn’t always so pessimistic; I’ve dated a handful of guys but obviously they never worked out. Then I met a guy in college, and I thought wow this guy is unbelievable. He was perfect— Josh was his name. He was in grad school and he was smart and funny and said all the right things. I was young and naive, and I think I just wanted someone to love me, so I let him. And I let him take advantage of my time and energy. I let him lie to me and I let him cheat on me. And when I finally woke up from whatever trance I was in I realized that I had been looking at the world through rose colored glasses. I promised myself that I was never going to let myself do that again. I wasn’t going to rely on anyone but myself… I wasn’t going to give all of myself to someone just to wait for it to fall apart… The proof was in the pudding, relationships just don’t work, and that is why I’m so anti-relationship.”

You hadn’t looked Nolan in the eyes since you started in on your monologue, afraid that you may have just scared off your friend. Nolan was still taking it all in, reveling over the years of your life you had just laid out for him.

He had grown up in a loving family where his parents did everything they could to give him and his sisters the perfect childhood. They spent every weekend driving around Canada for hockey tournaments. He still talks to his sisters almost every day even though they’re thousands of miles away. His mom insists on carry out whatever holiday traditions she can even with Nolan in Philly. And here you were with a childhood that couldn’t have been more different than his. He didn’t want a relationship because he couldn’t find anyone he felt was worthy of his time and energy, but here you were, closed off to the world because you thought that unconditional love wasn’t real.

He didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything he could say, so instead he pulled you from your side of the couch to his, where he wrapped you up in his warm arms. You sat like that for a long time, not saying anything, not even moving, just letting him hold you. You didn’t even realize you had started crying until you felt Nolan’s hands wipe away the tears that were staining your face, and that small gently gesture was what made you snap. That’s when it boiled over, when it became too much too fast.

“I’m sorry... God. I shouldn’t have even said anything. And now I’m crying like a fucking idiot. It’s probably just the wine. It’s late, I should get going. Just forget I said anything, ok?”

And just like that you had grabbed your coat, faceted your shoes, and were out the door of his apartment. Nolan’s brain couldn’t keep up with yours and by the time he heard his door slam shut it was too late to tell you that everything was okay.

—————

Nolan tried calling you after that night, but he couldn’t get a hold of you. You couldn’t talk to him. You knew you couldn’t look him in the eyes, because for a couple of seconds you got too comfortable, you let go and let him in. It was a mistake, and Nolan would surely know that too. You had both decided this was just a transaction of sex, nothing more. You were the one who took it past that. You could have just brushed off the question that Nolan was surely regretting now.

Nolan was regretting asking that question, but not because he didn’t want to know. He regretted it because you were gone now, and he didn’t know how to get you back. You had both promised not to fall in love, not to affect each other’s lives, but that’s exactly what happened. Nolan was in love with you.

Kevin had to spell it out for Nolan as he sat on his couch explaining what had happened. Nolan knew he cared about you, but he hadn’t deciphered what that feeling in the pit of his stomach was when he saw you. He couldn’t explain why he had to constantly rub the back of his neck in nervousness when he caught you staring from across the room. He didn’t know what any of it meant.  

“Dude. I’m dumb. Like I’m big-Boston-hockey-dude dumb, but you’re an idiot. You’re in love with her man.”

“What? We’re friends, I’m just worried about her.”

“Well, she’s in love with you too.”

“It’s just sex.”

“If you were just friends, and if it was just sex, you guys would be fucking right now, and you wouldn’t be mopping here on Saturday night because she told you about her life and won’t talk to you now. She wouldn’t have told you that shit, and she wouldn’t be ignoring you now if she didn’t have feelings for you. You said it yourself, she doesn’t let people in, but she let you in.”

She let me in. That’s all Nolan could think. Maybe Kevin had a point. Maybe he did love her. Maybe you somehow loved him too. Nolan couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. A couple days later he was getting more comfortable with all the reasons he loved you, but he still couldn’t figure out why you would love him.

He loved you because you were unwavering, absolute, and even a bit brazen. Over time Nolan had found that underneath that outside shell there was so much more. There was a girl who if you were patient and gentle, she might just let you in a little bit at a time. She unveiled her scars and her wounds, and Nolan was going to do anything he could to help them heal. He didn’t know that the feelings you were denying were nearly identical to the ones he was having right now. 

It’s been two weeks since you spoke to Nolan. You had also been ignoring Grace and Travis’ attempts to figure out what the hell was going on. You were telling yourself it was fine, and that everything would blow over. What you didn’t expect to see was a large body sitting in front of your apartment door when you got home from work.

“What are you doing here?” You didn’t meet his eyes as his towering frame rose from the floor. You kept your eyes fixed on your purse as you fished out the keys to your door, and as you stuck them into the door you weren’t sure if you should slam the door behind you or turn to listen to what he had to say.

“I know that you think I’m gonna be like every other guy, and I’m gonna use you or hurt you, and maybe I will, but if you let me try, I’ll try my hardest to never let that happen because it would break me to break you. I don’t need you to give me every piece of yourself right now, I don’t want it right now— “

You scoffed. For an apology or a speech or whatever it was you were listening to, it didn’t seem to be going too well.

“-I don’t want it right now, because I know I don’t deserve it. It has to be earned. Trust is earned and I just want you to give me the chance to earn it. I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t share yourself with people because you think they’ll be disappointed or throw it away because it’s not what they wanted. But that’s not what this is. I’m a huge idiot and I didn’t realize this until recently, but I trust you. I totally and completely trust you. I can’t say that about many people, but I can say that about you. You’ve earned it. I’ve let you into parts of my life and you’ve welcomed them. You brought me closer, and for the first time in a long time I didn’t want to run away. I’m not going to say it, because I know you need time, I know that if we do this, we have to take it slow, but I think you know how I feel about you because you feel the same way about me. Or at least I really really hope you do, because I’m totally falling for you amazing personality and stunning good looks.”

Nolan is practically out of breath after the word vomit that has escaped his mouth. You’re taking it all in. You’re taking him in, and you can’t help but let a smile creep onto your face.  Nolan somehow put everything you didn’t know you needed into words and you still didn’t know what to say, so you didn’t say anything.  Instead, you pulled him close to you and wrapped your short arms around his torso as you felt his own engulf your body. You both melted into each other and for the first time in weeks felt like you could breathe.

Neither of you were sure what was going to happen next, and how this would unfold, but you were willing to give him a chance. You were willing to let him show you what this could be, what you could be together, because you had both earned it. 

[gospelofme]

Mission Success

Part 1

Kix rubbed his dry eyes, blinking a few times to revive them. He had been working tirelessly for months. What had started as a favor to Rex had turned into an obsession. But he had to see this to the end. Rex had refused to tell him how he had gotten a hold of brain scans from Kamino on ARC-Trooper Fives and Trooper Tup.

“Don’t worry about it, just look at them for me.” His Captain had ordered. He hadn’t even told Kix what he was supposed to look for. Ever since, Kix had spent hours looking at them, comparing them to other brain scans.

Tkksss. Kix popped the top on another energy drink can. He knew these things were awful for the body, but caf wasn’t doing it anymore. After taking a gulp, he slapped up two scans on the light box in an empty exam room. The stars streaked passed the viewport to his right, they were still in hyperspace.

“I don’t see anything. What am I supposed to be looking for?” He muttered to himself. He had started to think nothing was there at all. That Rex was messing with him. After all, Tup and Fives had died from complications of a biological hazard. Tup had exposed Fives since the ARC Trooper had accompanied him to Kamino. A war room meeting on biological warfare was due to take place next week.

Kix crumpled the now empty energy drink can against his head and tossed it into the recycle bin. He looked over at the empty medical bunk.

“Just a quick nap…” he said, collapsing onto the mattress. Ordinarily the mattresses were uncomfortable and stiff, but this one was heavenly soft. Maybe it was because of the lack of sleep. He fell asleep within seconds, despite drinking three energy drinks he had consumed within the last three hours.

Four hours went by like four minutes, Kix bolting straight up on the bunk. He practically fell off the bunk and hurried to the barracks. He found Rex exactly where he expected him to be, on his stomach and snoring into his pillow. He meant to gently wake his superior officer, but ended up nearly giving him whiplash.

“Captain, Captain! Wake up! I’ve got it!” He tried to whisper. Glancing around to make sure his brothers stayed asleep. Rex groaned and shoved his face completely into his pillow. Kix rolled his eyes and shook the Captain harder.

“Rex! It’s important!!!!!” He whispered as loudly as he dared. Rex frowned and opened one eye, he didn’t look happy.

“I need to scan Skywalker’s brain!” Kix blurred out. It sounded so bad. But it was essential. Rex looked confused now, he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“You need to….scan….the Gener-“

“Yes his brain!” Kix interrupted.

“Why? When?” Rex asked.

“Because it’s….” Kix paused, and just gave Rex a nearly imperceptible raise of his eyebrows. A tiny expression of realization dawned on the Captain’s tired face.

“I need to do it now. ASAP!!” Kix added. Rex looked visibly uncomfortable. The Captain’s bare feet shifted nervously on the cold floor. He anxiously laced his fingers together and pressed his closed fist to his forehead, bracing his elbows on his knees. The Captain stared at the medic’s boots. He looked back up at Kix.

“Please.” The medic whispered. Rex sighed and gave a nod.

“You’d better be onto something.” Rex, now armored, said as the two walked to Anakin Skywalker’s quarters. Kix nervously chewed his lower lip. The Captain buzzed the Jedi’s room, a few moments later a tired Anakin opened the door. Rex grimaced at the state of Anakin’s hair, a huge cowlick sprouted from the back.

“Mmwhut.” He mumbled.

“Sir, sorry for the intrusion. But Kix needs….he needs to do a brain scan.” Rex said, trying to keep any hint of uncertainty from his face. Anakin looked between the two clones, then shrugged.

“Mkay.” He yawned, walking passes the soldiers and towards the medical wing.

“Wow…you were right. He does agree to more crazy stuff when tired.” Kix said, surprised.

An hour later, the scan was done and was being rendered.

“What was this for again?” Anakin asked, still half awake. He had actually fallen asleep In the scanner.

“Uhhh, standard procedure sir. We need to make sure there are no unforeseen head injuries.” Kix said, acting casual. Anakin raised his eyebrows and nodded.

“Well, I’m heading back to bed boys. Kix…….get some sleep. You look horrible.” Anakin said, giving the medic a pat on the cheek.

“Yes sir.” Kix replied, knowing full well he wouldn’t. He was far too awake now.

Tag list

@thatonegreyghost @jgvfhl @eyecandyeoz @escapedthesarlacc @halzore @leias-left-hair-bun-again @echo-stan

[shyrose57]

Rlly love how nice u are abt this all!!! Also ur questions rlly got the cogs in my brain turnin for this au, so ty for that! :3 -🐻

To answer some of the serious questions:

Em primarily stays in his human form. Since he didn't like shifting out of his piglin form as a child he knows that no one knows yet that Michael is a hybrid, and so it's easier to hide his identity this way.

The only item of interest that he has on him is a book which he says is his journal/diary whenever anyone asks. It's labelled "DO NOT READ" in ender (bc like father like son), but he never lets anyone get a close enough look at the book for them to figure that out.

He never really tells anyone how old he is, but then again no one really asks, it's pretty obvious he's a teenager so everyone assumes he's in the same age range as the other minors, maybe a little younger.

No one's really suspicious about his sudden appearance, more curious if anything. Most don't really make a connection between his appearance and Dream's imprisonment, but why would they? Sure, it's a little odd some teenager appears after the server admin's imprisonment, but that's easily chalked up to coincidence. That being said, there are people suspicious for other reasons. Two of which are Quackity and Karl. Karl's only met Em a few times, but there's something familiar about him. But that can't be right, because he's never encountered Em before in the other times he's seen. He knows there's something up with Em, but with his memory deteriorating it's hard to put the pieces together. Quackity is suspicious because he thinks there's something off about Em. Call him crazy, but the way Em interacts with him is just so different compared to how he interacts with everyone else. He's colder with Quackity, and he doesn't understand why.

Em is pretty awkward when interacting with everyone on the server. Originally, he didn't want to interact with anyone much outside of small pleasantries, but it gets hard to do that when everyone is so pleasant and social with you. Besides, some of these people aren't around anymore in his time, so it's hard not to spend time with them.

Em steered clear of his parents in the start (which was actually pretty easy since they were busy doing their own thing and they hadn't actually married yet), but after they brought Michael to the Overworld they went to Em for advice on piglin stuff because "Hey! Em's a piglin hybrid, maybe there's stuff about piglins that he knows that could help us!" and while Em's hesitant at first, the fact that they care so much makes him really emotional so he agrees.

Em knows about Karl's timetraveling, because how else would he have found out about time traveling? He was never particularly close to Karl in his time, with how far his memory had deteriorated by then, but seeing Karl from this time with his memory being so much better still sorta hurts.

I still haven't figured out what exactly happened for Em to jump back, but I have figured out that before everything goes to shit, the Snowchester and Las Nevadas conflict escalates to the point that one day Tubbo and Ranboo just. Never come home. After that Tommy becomes Em's guardian, and while he never actually learns what happened to them, it's pretty easy to put the pieces together.

As for some of the less serious questions:

Whenever someone asks if Em is short for, he always gives different and increasingly ridiculous answers. (I'd give an example but I'm not clever enough for that)

Em occasionally babysits Michael (which is sorta weird at first and the weirdness never really goes away, but he gets used to it) and Michael just thinks he's really cool. Not as cool as Uncle Tommy, but still super cool.

Em is a hundred percent on for pranks and stuff, and once he gets comfortable in the time period, he starts doing quite a few.

He can definitely speak Piglin! While it's not as good as it could be, it's definitely pretty good. Especially since he had Tommy to help him from getting rusty (i am a firm believer of the "Tommy can speak piglin bc he was raised alongside Tehcno" hc). He can't speak Enderian, but he understands it. He also knows how to read and write in it.

He's not the best at fighting, but he can certainly hold his own in a fight. He tends to try and outsmart his way out of fights, though.

Happy to help!

Mkay, mkay. What's his human form look like? Scars, hair length/style? We got any braids in there? When does Michael originally shift-which is an option to expose Em, if somebody noticed the resemblance.

What are the adventures of this 'DO NOT READ' book, considering how much trouble Ranboo's own get into with such a title.

Does Karl have some sort of sense because of his time travel that makes Em odd to him? Or has he perhaps met him? Or will meet him? Or did some Doomed version of him? I'm not actually sure about that last one, do Karl's doomed/lost selves have any effect on him even? And Em's cold towards Quackity? Two out of three fiances find 'em suspicious huh? What did-or, what will Quackity do to warrant such behavior? Is there anyone else Em's a bit cold toward, or otherwise?

Pleasant and social? Why's that? Who exactly talks to him then? I imagine quite a few are less than, well. Pleasant and social, as you put it, considering recent events, so who exactly does he end up interacting with if he gets a warm welcome?

Oh? Do we get bonding then? If so, how so? What sort of advice does he give them?

Did Em learn about time travel from afar-like, see Karl do it and stick around to learn more, or was it like a whole distant/dying mentor thing in a short amount of time? Does he do anything to help Karl? Since Em learned about time travel from Karl in some way, is his memory similarly effected, or does he know some way to fight the effects of that? Has he had any experiences with the Inbetween and Other Side?

Oh no, that's really not good. Poor Em. So the conflict took his parents, huh? How does this effect things for him, once in the past-considering he's face to face with his parents' apparent killer? And since this would be soon after Dream's imprisonment, that means it's a bit before Las Nevadas is formed, right? How does Em feel about Foolish-considering he's part of Snowchester at the time? How does he feel about Snowchester's current residents What's his life like once his parents are gone?

-------

Emergency, Empirical, Empire, Chemistry, Emerald, Emma, Emergence, Semi, Email. Those are a few that could work.

How does babysitting go? Is Michael a good child, or is Em silently apologizing to his parents for being a gremlin when he was younger?

Who's the first to fall to his mischief? Is he ever discovered as the culprit, or does he get away with it?

Does Techno or Tommy ever decide to try and drag him into a talk, since he can? How does that go? Do the Bee Duo try and get him to translate for Michael? Since Em understands Ender, does he ever have any encounters with Enderboo? If so, how do those go?

Any favored weapons of his? Long range, mid-range, or short?

Also, is there anything you'd like me to tag this as so you can find it easier? 

[gunmetal-ring]

Stream of consciousness for 11x7

Yeah I mean I agree with Maggie... get food or die trying you know? Also Negan sorry but gleefully murdering a man in front of his entire family including his sick and pregnant wife is like... not really something you can come back from. There's no "being even" there's just not open hostility. Idk I'm always and forever gonna be team Maggie even if the conflict is tiring

What happened to Elijah's mask? Did I forget something?

Wait what? Walkers at Commonwealth? Since when? What? Whatever. Fake Stephanie is cute but like who cares. Oh mkay I see killing walkers is basically prison for them got it. Only zeke could be dying from cancer and still be stabbing walkers with ease what a badass. Princess looks so different without her fuzzy pink jacket

Pumpkin suit!! "Nasties" bro you know what's nasty is your fuckin dumb cardigan and shitty attitude. You're gonna be the first one to die when team family eats the rich.

Oh good Daryl has dog back I was wondering if they'd ever be reunited.

I wonder if Elijah is claiming Carver or pope? Probably Carver. I think Daryl or Carol has to kill pope. Negan makes me snicker tbh "not with that attitude"

These Halloween masks are killing me so fucking weird lol. Hmm interesting. Can't tell if Leah is getting punished or if pope relented in yelling at them bc she asked him to stop

Alright!! More dynamics!! Damn Daryl is laying it on THICK lol.

Uh OK there's no way they dried out the mask quickly enough for Maggie, that's gotta be bloody as fuck lol.

Hmm they still have cars... wonder if they've got biofuel or just pretending like gasoline is still good after a decade

Wait hang on I'm just piecing it together unless I already said this and don't remember. Do we think pope is his last name or he renamed himself pope bc of his religious fanaticism?

Ugh wish Gabe killed the guy

I'm sorry I just like. I reeeeeally don't care about Commonwealth and especially yumiko and brother. Like ok her brother is all in and she's not convinced. Got it. Oh wait OK maybe he isn't all in hmm. Wonder why he doesn't want to be a doctor.

I think negan does actually admire Maggie he's not just trying to win her favor.

Truly Leah and Daryl is my favorite storyline and I can't wait for Carol to join bc she has to she just has to. Bet Leah's gonna kill the rando and that's gonna be the first indicator that she can't be saved. Aha there you go popes orders! Wonder if daryls gonna try to convince her otherwise or if it's too early for him to begin driving wedges

I guess I'm just not sure what the plan is? Like the patrol would kill walkers, no? Idk. I'm glad that they're finally having a heart to heart. Well okay then negan good talk.

That's so many walkers wtf. Hm zeke is back on his king persona... wonder if that's part of a racism thing?

Also gabe... why the fuck you lyin

Ha nasties are protecting your yuppie ass!! Well okay what a fuckin shock that he's a little shit. Uh Stephanie use your words or kill the walker?! OK fuckin finally. OK well Eugene that's really not doing you and your friends any favors. Ohhhhh wait is that the prince milton of Commonwealth?

"Settling in ok" uh sure most of them are in prison but yeah other than that everyone's doing great. Aha I was right! Hmm I wonder if fake Stephanie is gonna actually fall in love with Eugene. And he's gonna find out she's fake Stephanie and be like can't believe you lied to me ill never love you. And then rosita will remind him love is eternal and he'll be like OK you're right fake Steffi let's go

"All the chances you've gotten" Uh OK they've been sent to a detention facility without due process, threatened with reprogramming, interrogated for hours on end, cut off from their community, refused resources and legal representation, sent to prison for manual labor under threat of possible death... what exactly have you done for them?

How did they know the building was full of walkers? Hmm... alright well I guess they're gonna wander up and hope for a hospital esque attack from last season. Altho it feels like Maggie is forgetting that they have grenades so

Oo... mother and child... Leah is gonna kill them? Oh no or will Daryl kill the son to "prove" he's still supposedly in love with leah? Oh no wait nvm. Hm OK maybe pope is gonna find out that she saved the guy and the kid and that's gonna be a problem. Maybe Daryl will kill the woman for Leah to "prove" it. Aha I was right! But I do think he also felt a little sympathetic for her. Like not just strictly for strategic reasons. Nice of Leah to give him credit too.

Oo... what's he gonna tell her?! Is it real? It's definitely not about Maggie but I wonder if it's something true or a lie that seems serious or something idk. Hm.

Oh no... oh no is that Elijah's sister oh no aw that's awful oh no ugh oh God poor baby. I miss the music that always played when beta was leading walkers tho that was always so intense

Ugh it's over?! Gdi. Ok this one was pretty good. I'm glad it was light on Commonwealth. Annoyed still at the lack of Carol tho. Rly hoping things move right along. Overall pretty solid imo

[whoreoftheackermans]

can you write Kayaba and Rinko from SAO? i'd love to see a scene where they conceive a child like this!

make it soft and precious!

Okay! Yay, my first ask on this account! I wasn't sure if you meant NSFW, but you said soft so its just going to be mostly fluff with light sexual themes, if thats ok.

A Future

Kayaba x Rinko

Rinko nervously tucked a strand of her pin-straight black hair behind her ear. Akihiko had asked her to stay with him tonight. She wasn't a fool, she knew what he was asking.

She was ready for it, of course. She truly loved him, that was unquestionable. But she knows him better than to believe it was simply about sex. No, he wanted her in the same sense she wanted him. In the way that soul mates long for a future together.

She took a deep breath and smoothed out her suit. She knew that Kayaba was planning something big, and that she wouldn't see him for a long while. Well, not really see him, as his body would be in a catatonic state.

Rinko shook her head. She didn't want to think about that. She wanted to focus on the present, on the too-precious time she had with Akihiko. Resolutely storing those thoughts for another time, she lightly rapped on the front door she hadnt realized she had reached.

The door opened almost immediately, as if Kayaba was waiting for her knock. His face immediately smoothed of any creases the second his eyes landed on her.

"Rinko. Such a relief to see you again." Akihiko's voice warmed at the mention of her name.

Rinko gave Kayaba a large grin, happy to see him. Kayaba opened his arms, a wordless request. Not missing a beat, Rinko stepped into them, the one place in the world she felt truly safe. They stayed like that for a moment until, to Rinko's dismay, Akihiko stepped back, placing both his hands on her shoulders. He looked straight into her eyes, as if he were looking directly at her soul. Rinko knew what he was going to say, and she was ready for it.

"Rinko...I know that soon I won't be able to hold you like this. That is the one thing about the real world I am going to miss. YOU are the one thing in this cruel world that I am going to miss. But before any of that happens...I want to leave you with something. A part of me, so I can be with you always. A way to have a future with you, even if I can't be here to witness it. Do you know what I'm talking about here?"

Rinko just smiled and took his hands off her shoulders. For a moment, his face fell, only to light up again when she led him to his bedroom and kissed him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered, kissed him like they've nothing but time. She broke the kiss only briefly enough to say

"Give me your legacy, Akihiko. Let's make a future together."

Akihiko trembled at the surety in her voice. Loosing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, he picked her up and gently laid her on the bed. They started reverently caressing one another, as if to memorize every last detail of each other. Kayaba gently helped her get undressed, with her returning the favor.

He spent a single moment admiring her before meeting her hips with his. As they both neared the edge more and more, Akihiko couldn't help the "I love you" pouring from his lips over and over. He realized with a start she had been doing the same. His breath caught, and Rinko tensed, and they both went over the edge together, as one.

As they collapsed back into the bed, Rinko shifted so she could lay on his chest, Akihiko's hand coming to rest on her head as if by instinct. They didn't speak for a long time, though they knew what was unspoken:

They would have a future together.

Rinko was shaken out of her flashback by the sound of tiny running feet.

"Mommy! Look what I made!"

The smiling little girl ran up to Rinko, nearly tripping a few times and showed her a drawing.

"That's you, there's me, and there's daddy waking up!"

Rinko smiled and patted her head of dark brown hair.

"That's very nice, Mirai. Let's go show your father."

"Mkay!" Mirai ran off to the room Akihiko was housed in while he was in the catatonic state. He had left approximately 8 months after Mirai was conceived, having witnessed most of the pregnancy. Though Rinko knew she should be sad, she wasn't. She knew Akihiko loved Mirai very much, in spite of never holding her. After all, she had named their daughter after the very thing they promised each other.

A Future.

Author note: Mirai means future in Japanese~

[elizabeatrice]

Mystery Spot (Chapter 68)

Let’s Talk About JSHK Manga #4

If you get the title reference, I applaud you.

Warning: 1) !!! MANGA SPOILERS UP TO CHAPTER 68 !!! Duh.

2) I dropped a couple of f bombs and several curses here ... I really ranted lmao.

3) This reaction/review is closer to me spewing wild theories rather than an actual review. But these wild theories are my reactions. So. Ehhh these theories are probably wrong anyway. Lemme have my dark, twisted fun, mkay? Not sure if they’re entirely coherent though.

Had trouble copying some kanji this time around ‘cause they’re so freaking blurry! So I got too lazy to write this yesterday haha. Thank you Ropes of Fate for the translation! Truly commendable heroes of the fandom *sobs*. I also used three panels from Chapter 61, translated by Caim.

Let’s jump into it (ba dum tss).

This chapter is a bit shorter than usual and boy do you feel it. Well. At least I do. But I really hope sensei are taking some time to relax. Last chapter was 45 pages, after all. Y’all deserve it you wonderful creators.

First of all I would like to dedicate the biggest f bomb for the villagers because what the fuck. Why the fuck would you sacrifice poor, innocent young girls just to keep yourself safe? And it’s not even a sacrifice to kami-sama! Y’all just droppin’ these girls to be eaten by supernaturals! And y’all practically manipulated them smh.

Are y’all insane?! Y’all could’ve just moved the fuck out. What kind of insane people just decide to stay near a literal pit of hell? Don’t give me the ‘we’ve lived here for generations’ bs okay ‘cause y’all neighbors be getting eaten by supernaturals but y’all rather trade innocent young girls for your own safety. If Berkians and Asgardians can suck it up and be the bigger nation with all that ‘Berk/Asgard is not a place it’s the people’ shit, y’all can too.

I’ve disliked characters in JSHK before. But I’ve never hated JSHK characters before. Until now. Y’all fucking did it, dumbass villagers.

Ahem. Pardon me.

Because my brain is a literal self-debate machine let me just say that I did consider several possibilities in these ‘people’’s defense. There’s the obvious ‘some people back then didn’t know any better and believe a human sacrifice will solve everything’ mindset. Then there’s the possibility of them being trapped in their village for some reason, hence not having any other choice but to sacrifice those girls.

But y’know what else could be the case? ‘Cause my mind really went dark there for a bit.

The Minamoto clan let it happen.

In the last chapter it was mentioned that the Minamoto clan was involved. And this is a bit shocking now that I think about it more ‘cause Teru has always been adamant that all supernaturals are evil and must be exorcised, humans must be protected.

But what if they just let the villagers sacrifice these girls so that the monsters can be contained in this village, in that pit, instead of running amok to other places and cause more trouble?

Which makes me wonder.

Uh. Where did Teru go to? Does he know about this? Did he go to that pit (or that village, if Kamome Academy wasn’t built on its land)?

If he does know, isn’t he interested in saving a fellow human student and underclassman? If he does know about the Akane clan, isn’t he interested in telling his VP, who’s obsessed with an Akane? Unless ... you know ... he meant for this to happen, which I kinda doubt.

He must know something about this. He went out of his way to make Akane promise to protect Kou if something were to happen. What’s more dangerous than the Grim Reaper showing up looking for a sacrifice who turned out to be Kou’s beloved senpai’s best friend? What if Akane had to choose between Aoi and Kou at some point?

Okie next I wanna talk about Hanako. This is gonna sound just as far fetched as the previous bit lmao but here goes.

Boiiii y’all saw it. The pause before his answer. His face drawn out of view, in an evasive body language.

(Hanako my boy pls do us all a favor and stop lying to your girlfriend, we all know how well that turned out in Picture Perfect lmao)

Theory. He knew what’s been going on all along. Or at least the gist of it.

Remember this?

Imma take a detour a lil bit.

The Far Shore/torii gate refused Nene in chapter 67, right? In my Chapter 67 reaction I said it was the bracelet that saved her but now I think the bracelet probably disguised her as Sumire in the villagers’ eyes. So the Far Shore/torii gate refused her, and we all thought it was because she wasn’t an Akane.

But then we found out that Hanako was right about the village. It was just a ‘made up world’ inside Shinigami’s boundary. It’s just a reenactment of the day Sumire died, probably based on Shinigami’s memories, as the first page of Chapter 64 said.

So of course Nene was refused. Because in his memories, Sumire was the one who fell into the pit that day.

Sumire also said in this chapter’s narration that the villagers sacrificed young girls. Not Akane girls. Also, before the sacrifices began, the monsters already ate villagers anyway, right? They didn’t only eat young girls. It wasn’t said as such. The villagers probably just chose young girls because that’s sorta like the equivalent of offering the best meat or smth. Practically a please accept our humble offering of tenderloin wagyu, O Horrible Monsters.

The coveted bloodline thing was probably a plus, not obligatory. Often in stories, people with high ‘spiritual energy’ are supposed to taste more delicious and grant whoever eats their meat special powers or smth (e.g. Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West). Also ancient cultures sacrifice young girls often, that was the trend.

And they proceeded to try to sacrifice Nene anyway, despite her not being an Akane. They said it themselves. “It doesn’t matter if it’s that girl.”

So according to the (rather vague) information we have, it’s possible that the sacrifice doesn’t have to be an Akane or a girl.

Some of y’all have been theorizing that the Yugi twins got involved with supernaturals, and that sorta lead to their death.

What if this is it?

I myself am not sure how it went down if this is really the case. But I keep imagining our boy’s infamous ‘I’m not going anywhere’ being said by Sumire because bruh she’s the epitome of not going anywhere. She was chosen to be sacrificed since she was a child, not given a choice. Even after she died and became a yorishiro, she was imprisoned in this time prison world or whatever, reliving her death every single day with no escape.

And I couldn’t help but think ‘hoooo shit what if???’

I mean. I don’t know who was the chosen sacrifice. Could be Tsukasa, could be Amane. Maybe he killed his brother so that he wouldn’t get sacrificed, and decided that he’ll die along with his brother. I’m not going anywhere. Maybe it also means I’m not letting you send my brother to be eaten by monsters, and since we can’t escape either, we’re staying here no matter what.

And if the Minamotos were really in on it, it makes sense for Grandma Minamoto to accuse Amane of being an evil murderer. He practically got in the way ‘of other people’s safety’ by killing the chosen sacrifice.

banjjakz also said something about the possibility of Tsukasa being a previous sacrifice. Read about it here and here. It’s pretty interesting!

Besides, a wonder whose precious person got sacrificed and later became their yorishiro? That’d be some parallel, haha.

Sure, Sumire said ‘if the kannagi was switched’. But the early narration didn’t mention a sacrifice of kannagi. Just ‘young girls’.

Look just lemme have this, alright?

Oh. Also I wanted to point out the possible tension/trust issues between Hanako and Nene but many other blogs have pointed it out quite well so I’m just gonna stick with my wild theories.

But I will address what Nene said about the pit.

Where is said pit anyway? In Kamome? Why is it open? Is it Tsukasa changing rumors and allowing more supernaturals to cross back to the Near shore? More likely. I mean, he does grant wishes for supernaturals after all.

Oh. Speaking of Nene. Let’s give her a round of applause for her character development. She’s become of better judgement regarding men’s terrible behavior. Wow. That’s my girl. I mean, we still don’t know much about Shinigami, but from what I’ve seen so far, Sumire guuuurrrrllllll you deserve better.

Regardless of my ships, these supernatural boys should take notes from my precious Kou and how he loves so selflessly. Lmao. Remember that one post-chapter panels in Picture Perfect where he said he’ll find Nene a prince in the real world, even though he likes her? Broooo I want ten of this precious boy.

Lastly, Akane and Aoi.

Where are they? They look like they’re stranded in some wild boundary somewhere, the one with half sunken houses and lost things that usually appear in color spreads. I am so hyped, ‘cause I love the aesthetics, and I wanna see more of this place.

Oh. And Akane’s alive. Phew. I gotta be honest though, I kinda looked forward to his death. Not because I hate the kiddo. He’s technically still human, right. I’m just wondering whether his death or Aoi’s would cause Teru to outright declare war against the Seven Wonders because aren’t these folks supposed to protect students like they claim to be? (This, of course, ignores my previous theories about the Minamoto clan)

Basically I just wanna see some shit go down with Teru mkay ‘cause this powerful dude has been useless for quite too long now.

Aoi’s still pretty confusing, too. She went from this weird expression:

to this:

She kinda looked like she was still under the influence of the drug thingy. But she was also concerned about Akane, even though it’s not like how she worried about Nene in the past. And she knew Akane longer than her, they practically grew up together. Real Aoi would be in tears seeing his condition, y’all. So I guess the drug thingy’s effect is slowly wearing out.

Closing! JSHK is dark but usually not in ways my brain expects it to be. (And a lot of times I still get surprised with the amount of comedy it has lmao.) Sooo sensei are probably gonna prove me wrong about most of these, anyway. Haha.

As always feel free to discuss.

[milstrim]

All That Mattered

Day 31: Left for Dead

It was cold, but it didn't matter. Nothing seemed to matter in the harshly cold bunker where he lay, still hunched, his suit sparking and fritzing. He didn't know how long he'd been there, burn marks on the wall and a broken shield glinting in front of him, but he didn't really care much. Because Steve had known. Steve had known that Barnes had killed his mom. He'd known and he hadn't told him. He'd known and he'd defended Barnes. Tony and Steve had never been the closest of friends, but after everything...

The broken hero closed his eyes in distress, grimacing at the pain. He needed to get home, but a quick glance at his arc reactor proved just how difficult that would be. Thank Odin or whatever he'd had that surgery, or else he'd be dead already, but his suit definitely wasn't going to be working anytime soon. If he could ever get up, he was sure he could fix it and fly home, that was, if he could ever get up. His bones felt too cold to even wiggle a toe.

Tony closed his eyes, still not moving and sure he wouldn't be able to get himself to move for the cold, when he heard a scuffle, followed by a gasp. A familiar gasp. His eyes snapped open, and he blinked furiously to make out the blurry red figure making its way towards him.

"-ark? Mr. Stark!" Penny Parker called, and he felt a jolt of fear rush through him. What was she doing here? How had she gotten here? She knelt down beside him, her face scrunched up in worry as she looked over his trashed suit frantically, "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. That cat guy was leaving on this weird plane and I tried to sneak on but he caught me and he invited me to come with him and we dealt with that weird guy outside and he left with him. I said I'd just come and find you and you could fly, I should've--"

"Stop talking," he rasped, suddenly finding it in himself to sit up, grunting at his ribs. Penny shut up immediately, her jaw clicking audibly. He glared at her, "What the hell are you doing here? I told you you were done. You could've gotten hurt. You can get hurt. The suit can't fly us out of here!"

"I'm sorry," she said again, "I don't know, I just wanted to help. Wasn't...wasn't that why you brought me here?"

Tony cursed himself for bringing her to Germany at all. For dragging her into this and for assuming a kid who had taken up a vigilante lifestyle would ever listen to him. He was angry. He was betrayed. He was tired. And he took it out on Penny.

"No. You were supposed to help in Germany, not for you to follow me around. Where was Happy? I swear one day I'm just going to kick him to the curb. First the elevator and then--"

"Don't blame him! I have super senses, it's easy to sneak away!" Penny protested, looking incredibly upset at the idea of him firing Happy. Of course, he never would, but the kid didn't know that. Still, he only responded with an irritated look.

Tony stood up, stumbling to his feet. Penny tried to help him up by putting an arm on his shoulder, but he shook her off roughly, "The arc reactor's been trashed. There might be enough material here to patch it up, which was Rescue Plan Number One until you came along. But, since you're here, I'll have to make something to contact Rho--Happy. Grab that shield and stay out of trouble."

Penny did as told, her mouth a thine line as she nodded. She clearly got the memo that he was mad at her, and he could practically feel the way she was tiptoeing around him, following loosely behind silently, a stark contrast to the heavy thudding of his own footsteps. They headed into the room he'd been in earlier, just before the fighting had broken out. Now it was trashed, with glass and broken machinery littering the ground, crunching under his metal feet.

Tony surveyed the room, blocking out everything that had just happened in favor of letting his mind do what it did best; Work. He was great at work, at putting things together and forcing out everything that was too much.

There wasn't much in the room. It was all incredibly old, and he was sure most of it didn't work anymore, especially now that it was the remnants of a battle. If he could find some old missiles, he'd be able to fix his arc reactor. Temporarily anyway. At the very least it'd provide him with some emergency firepower, as well as keep his suit warm. It was frigid in here, and he was glad for the suit's thick padding at least.

The thought made him glance at the teenager beside him. He wouldn't be able to activate her suit's heater without contacting Friday, or fixing up her suit manually. Strangely, she wasn't even shivering. Maybe spider mutations made it easier to stay warm, like how Steve could--

He shook his head. He couldn't think about that. He had to work. He had to get home and make sure Rhodey would get the best care and braces so he could walk. He needed to get this kid home to her family so she could be safe instead of traipsing around the barren wasteland of Siberia.

The billionaire pulled out a chair that scraped against the ground, sitting down and beginning to work off his armor, "Put that shield down, kid, and help me out."

"Yes, sir," she answered, placing the shield down gently on a nearby monitor and padding over to him. He grimaced at the sir, but was too tired to even bother correcting her. Penny's super strength was amazingly helpful in taking his armor off, and despite her almost godly strength, she was surprisingly gentle. She was definitely a lot better at taking apart the armor than Butterfingers and U had been.

Once all the armor was off and laid off to the side on the floor, he could really begin to get to work, though he was considerably less warm. At least he'd been wearing a suit, and though it was torn in places, it was still better than his usual under-suit. He pried his reactor from the chest plate, the energy source flicking on and off dimly.

"Kid, go and find an AT-5 Spandrel missile. They were standard Soviet missiles, and shouldn't be too hard to find. Bring me as many as you can," he ordered as he grabbed a tool hidden within a compartment in his suit and began taking apart his reactor. He thought Penny might have mumbled a confirmation, but he didn't really hear her, instead hyper-focusing on what he was working on.

Tony's teeth were chattering by the time Penny came back with what he asked for, and he could barely work for the way his hands shook with the obliterating cold and fear. There was a loud CLANG! of metal against metal. It made him shoot up in his seat, twisting around and holding out his hand despite the distinct lack a repulsor.

The culprit of the startling sound ended up just being Penny. And a bunch of missiles. That she'd dropped.

Immediately his face turned into a scowl, glowering as the teen bent down to begin picking up the extremely dangerous explosives she'd dropped, not even saying anything.

"Jesus Christ, kid! Why weren't you watching what you're doing? And you can't even listen! I told you to stay out of the fight and now you're here! Right where I don't want you to be. I don't know why I asked you for help in--"

Tony cut himself off, plopping back into the chair with a heavy sigh. He shouldn't be yelling. He shouldn't be screaming and blaming and taking everything out on this kid. Because she was a kid. And because he'd brought her into this.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," she whispered, her voice practically nonexistent. Immediately his head snapped up, and his whole body shot up at the sight of the kid. Her face was deathly pale, her lips bluer than the sky and her caramel eyes wet.

He stepped over to her, putting as much gentleness and reassurance into his voice as he could. He put a hand up to her forehead--even he was surprised by the fatherly gesture--pulling it back, as though burned, "Jeez, kid. You're freezing up. Sit down for a moment."

"No, Mr. Stark. I'm fine, I'm okay really--"

"You're fine when I say you're fine. Sit down," he interrupted, and he noticed that she still wasn't shivering. That was bad. That was a stage of hypothermia, right? "Okay, we're just gonna have to get you warm. You're probably entering hypothermia right now, so I need to--"

"What? Why?" Penny blinked.

"You're not shivering, kid. It's a stage of hypothermia. Now, there's a heater in--"

"It's not hypothermia."

"Kid--"

"Spiders can't thermoregulate."

Tony blinked.

"That's worse. You do realize that's worse, right? We're in Siberia, and you can't keep up a constant body temperature?"

"Not really."

"Oka, okay, okayokayokay! We'll just have to work with this," Tony panicked, shrugging off his ripped suit jacket and wrapping it around her, "Just hang in there. I'm just gonna fix the arc reactor and then I can send out a message, okay?"

"Mkay," she mumbled, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You'll get cold without your jacket."

Tony blinked. Why did she care. Why did this child with wide brown eyes and poofy brown hair care about him. He hadn't done anything for her. Had just yelled at her and dragged her around countries to fight people.

Unsure of how to respond, he just patted her shoulder and began to work again. He was aware of Penny watching him sleepily the whole time, and he wished he could just work faster, but his hands were too unsteady to get anything done. He missed Yinsen and his steady hands.

As he was struggling to put two wires together, Penny padded up behind him, offering, "I can do that, Mr. Stark."

"Go sit back down, kid."

"Your hands are shaking," she protested. Tony stared in front of him for a moment before sniffing and moving out of the way.

"Fine, but you have to listen to my instructions. Okay?"

"Okay, Mr. Stark."

Penny did...great. Due to his shaky hands he allowed her to put the rest of it together for him, under his careful instruction of course. He'd known she was smart but...damn. This girl was an actual genius. She understood every word he said, had pieced together the arc reactor like it was nothing. Needless to say he was actually considering making her internship a real one.

Once they'd put the power source together, Tony placed it back in the suit, grateful to see the suit light up clue with power and to hear Friday's ever assuring voice, though she definitely sounded a little loopy.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," Friday said, "It is good to see you're okay."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he responded, "Call me and the kid a Quinjet, would ya? I'm ready for a hot cup of coffee, and maybe a coco for the kid."

"Yes, sir."

Now all they had to do was wait.

 ---

Waiting, it turned out, wasn't too bad. The cold still sucked ass, but there were worse people to be stuck with. They told jokes and kept up mild conversation, managing to keep his mind off of the betrayal that had just occurred. Sometimes he still stared off at the screen where the video had been shown, but Penny would make some dumb pun, and then he'd be back in the conversation.

He ended up being able to turn Penny's suit heater on thanks to Friday's help, allowing for some color to finally return to her cheeks, though they were still both freezing. He blamed the cold for their eventual cuddle party, the kid tucked underneath his arm as they tried to conserve body heat. Though he couldn't deny that playing with her hair was calming in a way he didn't know had existed.

And in those few hours where they waited for the Quinjet, Steve almost didn't matter. It didn't matter that the Avengers were done for. It didn't matter they weren't prepared. And it didn't matter that Steve had almost killed him and left him for dead. Just for those few hours, Penny Parker was all that mattered.