#and often times you also will become the parent figure to people much older than yourself as well

[13eyond13]

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[sunderwight]

Modern AU where Shen Yuan accidentally sugar-daddies everyone.

So for the purposes of this, Shen Yuan's family is basically $10 Bananas levels of cluelessly rich. Shen Yuan has almost never had to look at the prices of anything he wants. He and his siblings all get an allowance from the family's main account, which increases when they reach adulthood, and in the interest of fairness his parents made it all the same size. So Shen Yuan gets the same amount of money for his daily living expenses as his older brothers with their penthouse apartments and vacation homes and private jets, at least from the family account (since he doesn't work, he doesn't actually make as much as them in total because they earn more on top of their allowances).

And the thing is, Shen Yuan genuinely just lives a lot more humbly. He likes people but what would he do with a vacation house? Anything really nice would probably require him to fly to get out there, and he gets sick as hell on planes. Living in the central city is also not great for him, because the air pollution is so bad. Having a whole house to himself would also be ridiculous. So he has a reasonable apartment, in a reasonable area, and he splurges every so often on purchases that make him happy and take-out food that he likes, and of course he pays a cleaning service to come in twice a week. Most people assume he's comfortably middle class and has some tech job he does from home, but he's been getting a lot more than he's been spending in his monthly allowances for years now, and the figures are big.

Enter into this environment author Airplane and his trash novels. Novels, multiple, because in this AU there's no PIDW, and instead after some alternate PIDW prototype got popular in the harem genre, Airplane decided to churn out a series of copy-paste shorter stories rather than recycling the same subplots in one massively long epic.

Shen Yuan of course discovers Airplane's writing and becomes as obsessed with it as ever, except this time he notices that if there are delays between new stories, they seem to clear up faster whenever he throws some cash at the problem. And also that the drops in Airplane's writing quality coincide with times when Shen Yuan was having health issues and not keeping up with his VIP purchases. So, he works out that Airplane's probably doing the writing for the money, and that when Peerless Cucumber isn't paying the most for it, Airplane starts listening to the other buffoons in the comment section more to try and entice them to pay his bills instead.

Peerless Cucumber leaves a comment on one of Airplane's latest stories that kicks off the two of them actually chatting, and Shen Yuan eventually gets to the point of offering to fund all Airplane's writing, in exchange for Airplane not doing his crap sellout stuff to appeal to other readers anymore. Airplane thinks he's joking or maybe mocking him. Shen Yuan asks how much it would cost. Airplane fires off a ridiculous number. Shen Yuan doesn't even blink and wires him the first payment. Then he gets annoyed because Airplane leaves him on read for a while, but that's because Airplane is staring at his account balance in shock.

Of course, it's Airplane who starts referring to Peerless Cucumber as his sugar daddy. Shen Yuan is just like "based on your sex scenes I don't think anyone would pay you for that" and Airplane's all "but you WOULD pay for my sex scenes ^_~" and Shen Yuan's like "technically I am actually paying you not to write that shit" and so on. Usual banter. The quality of Airplane's writing improves dramatically, a lot of his readership drops off but he does get new readers and gradually builds up an even bigger fanbase than before, and so on, it all goes pretty well. He eventually writes a few things that take off to the point of getting physical publications and international translations. Technically Airplane no longer needs Shen Yuan to pay all of his bills by that point but he's not going to tell Shen Yuan that! The contract's still good as long as he keeps writing!

Then one of Airplane's online acquaintances runs into some financial trouble and asks for help.

Liu Mingyan used to beta read for Airplane back when he wrote fanfiction (she was like thirteen, Airplane was unaware because internet and hey free beta), and it seems her family has hit a rough patch. She wants tips on how to go pro, but Airplane explains that it was extremely difficult and he mostly lucked out by finding a single wealthy backer. Mingyan wonders if the same guy would be interested in her writing, Airplane sadly thinks not because Mingyan exclusively writes kinky danmei erotica and Peerless Cucumber seems pretty firmly in the closet still and also generally prefers plotty and world-building heavy stuff.

But like, Airplane has definitely gotten a vibe off of Cucumber-bro, and Mingyan's gorgeous older brother does video streams of himself doing cool martial arts and swordsmanship stuff. So he asks her permission and when she gives it, he recommends Liu Qingge's videos to Shen Yuan, being sure to mention that the guy in question can't really afford to keep up with his hobbies and oh what a shame it would be if he had to stop making art like that.

Haha, Airplane, you're not subtle.

Even so, Shen Yuan watches the videos and immediately agrees that Liu Qingge is beauty in motion, and that it would be criminal to deprive the world of more videos of his sword. Swordsmanship! That is the, the art of, martial arts! Definitely. He clicks the donate button, reasoning out that he'll just send a donation about the size of his usual monthly payments to Airplane and call it his good deed for the day.

Liu Qingge is very confused by this new follower from nowhere who suddenly dumped a little over a month's rent into his account. One thing leads to another, with Mingyan and Airplane conspiring to try and get Shen Yuan as a permanent patron, and then Liu Qingge being let in on it. Except that Airplane keeps referring to Shen Yuan as his sugar daddy, and well... it's not like Liu Qingge doesn't ever get 'those' kinds of comments on his videos. At first he's embarrassed, then offended, then mortified that his own younger sister is apparently setting him up to make premium private videos for what he assumes is some old pervert who is going to want him to do untoward things.

However, their options are pretty bleak at the moment, and Liu Qingge worries that if he doesn't do this then Mingyan might. She even mentions something to the effect of having planned to offer herself, and only didn't because she wasn't this "sugar daddy" guy's type!

Teeth clenched, Liu Qingge asks Airplane stiltedly for advice on how to... appeal, to this wealthy benefactor.

In the end though it's not nearly as bad as Liu Qingge feared. He winds up doing more videos in costumes and cosplay, which ought to have been an untenable expense, but Peerless Cucumber always ends up covering the cost of whatever he invests in plus extra. Sometimes he sends Liu Qingge stuff with a request to wear it, but so far it's just been like, badass warrior-themed or historical costumes. Nothing overtly pervy. He does some LARPing, he makes enough to start doing horseback archery again, convinces some of his good-looking peers from various clubs to spar with him, and ultimately the most risque videos he ends up doing are the ones where he demonstrates how to put on certain kinds of gear. He still locks those ones behind paid subscribers only, mostly because he feels like he's doing something illicit now, even if he used to show more skin on his older videos any time he took his shirt off.

Peerless Cucumber doesn't leave creepy comments, either. In fact he seems genuinely nice and supportive, it's hard not to like him, and so even once his situation levels out Liu Qingge decides there's not really much need to stop making videos for him. (He maybe even gets a little giddy thrill over... well, sometimes he finds it all a bit... just when he thinks about Peerless Cucumber watching him demonstrate his physical prowess and finding that alone worth... ANYWAY--)

So that goes on for a while, before Yue Qi enters the scene.

Yue Qi is the childhood friend of one of Shen Yuan's older brothers (Shen bros!) and Shen Jiu owes him a big favor for something that he won't talk about. At least he won't talk to Shen Yuan about it. But Yue Qi is also not the type to ask for help, and Shen Jiu is very bad at offering it, so when Shen Jiu gets word that Yue Qi is having some difficulties making ends meet, he tells Shen Yuan to act as the middle man. Go offer Qi-ge money, he knows you're nice he'll just accept it, and then Shen Jiu will pay the actual bill.

Well it turns out that Yue Qi doesn't just accept it, of course he sees right through it, and gently but firmly tells Shen Yuan that he's not interested in burdening Shen Jiu further than he already has. Etc, etc, stoic stiff upper lips and no proper communication all around. Shen Yuan panics because it's not working and he's also genuinely worried about Yue Qi by now, so he tries to figure out how to make it compelling and basically blurts that, well, see, the thing is that sometimes he pays men to entertain him. You know. To like. Do things, for him. So. He could also pay Yue Qi? To do something for him?

Yue Qi gets the wrong idea entirely, and at first is like, oh, no, A'Yuan, you shouldn't be paying people for that! These things should just happen organically! But Shen Yuan is very adamant that he believes in compensating people for what they do for him, it's not like he can't afford to, and it gets awkward but Yue Qi is like well he does have health problems. It's perhaps difficult for him to meet people. So then he starts worrying about Shen Yuan and all these strange men he's apparently paying for "entertainment". Does his brother know about this?

No of course Shen Jiu doesn't know! He'd hate it, and Shen Yuan doesn't want to hear about how he's doing everything wrong with his life again!

Then Shen Yuan mentions that his prior house cleaning service up and quit on him (they didn't), and if Yue Qi would like to earn fair compensation he could just come over sometimes to help instead, and Shen Yuan would pay him just to tidy up and hang out for a few hours! Which Yue Qi thinks is a fantastic idea, actually, even if Shen Yuan is only doing this because of his brother, this will give Yue Qi a chance to keep an eye on him and his so-called entertainers. Even if he sort of... ends up also being one?

Shen Yuan keeps everything above board, though his apartment always seems perfectly clean and he overpays way too much (Shen Jiu is still footing this bill after all), and Yue Qi starts to think maybe he actually is being paid for intimacy. Of a sort that they're maybe still working up to? Shen Yuan usually has a very thin face after all. He's kind of got two minds about this prospect. On the one hand, he's got his situationship with Shen Jiu, so dating his brother would be absurd. But on the other hand, it's not actually dating, and he does like Shen Yuan, and maybe if they can be good company for each other then Yue Qi won't feel so depressed and Shen Yuan won't need to hire strange men so often.

Meanwhile it's come to Shen Yuan's attention, perhaps through an offhand comment he read online somewhere, that people who are struggling financially often also struggle to "treat themselves". Because even when they have enough money to be comfortable there's often the looming specter of deprivation, and etc, so he figures he should start buying some of his dependents more treats and things. Since they might not buy them for themselves? And also he's enjoying doing this but shhh no he isn't, it's a huge hassle, he's only doing it out of basic moral decency, etc.

So like, Airplane starts getting little things that he'd put on some public wish lists, clearly sent by Peerless Cucumber. And he tells Mingyan to make a list for Liu Qingge too, and sure enough, Liu Qingge (bewildered, slightly flustered) tries to figure out what he's supposed to do with an album from a band he likes and some high-end leather polish. Ultimately settles on playing the music and wearing his nicest leather in his next video. Yue Qi starts arriving at Shen Yuan's place to be plied with his favorite coffees and to have scented candles awkwardly foisted onto him (Shen Yuan does not know what Yue Qi likes in gifts) (he buys these presents himself they're not out of Shen Jiu's pocket).

So finally Shen Yuan's parents start to notice that he's been spending a lot more than usual, and start to worry that he's either been taken in by a scam artist or is secretly dating a gold digger or has developed a drug addiction or something. But asking things directly like normal people is basically illegal in the Shen family, so they decide to hire a private investigator.

Enter Luo Binghe, a young man of humble background who is struggling to make ends meet after the untimely death of his adoptive mother, and is using his P.I. job and his online cooking videos to help pay his way through school (scholarship student). Usually his cases are more like, cyberstalking someone to find out if they're cheating on their spouse, or helping someone planning a lawsuit accumulate evidence on their corrupt employer, or other things like that. When he gets the Shen Yuan case, the idea that the Shen family's son is paying for "company" is well within his list of probable answers.

Though this one is a little... peculiar?

Mostly because Binghe can't find evidence of Shen Yuan actually getting what he would, presumably, be paying for. At first Luo Binghe just goes through the online paper trails, using the info that the Shen parents give him to figure out that Shen Yuan is paying Airplane and Swordmaster Liu (*cough*) what seem to be exorbitant prices just for trashy fiction and cosplay videos. He assumes this is a cover, that someone's actually delivering drugs or going over for "private meetings" or at least actually sending dirty videos as well, but even when he pays for Liu Qingge's VIP access it's just tutorials and such. Neither of these guys are even on any of the sites that are more lenient towards hosting explicit content. Luo Binghe's aware that kinks aren't always obviously sexual, but people don't usually pay through the nose for the kind of content they can easily find for free all over the place, either.

He digs a little more but keeps coming up empty on evidence to clarify which of the many vices the Shen family's son is actually indulging in. Which is a problem because that's the information they're paying him to find out. Plus his curiosity kind of piques as he reads Shen Yuan's seemingly quite invested comments on Airplane's writing and Liu Qingge's videos, looking to see if there's any kind of clandestine code or pattern. But near as he can tell, whatever else Shen Yuan might be getting out of these arrangements, he does genuinely like the stories and videos too? Well. Sometimes. Sometimes he's actually scathingly vitriolic towards Airplane's writing.

Luo Binghe decides that surveilling Shen Yuan himself is probably the way to go. That gets more complicated in court cases, but since the Shen parents just wants to know what's going on and aren't planning on prosecuting their son for anything, it doesn't matter as much if Luo Binghe gets information in sneaky or underhanded ways.

So, Binghe uses the account he created to access Liu Qingge's videos to chat with Shen Yuan a few times, and then recommends his own cooking channel. Shen Yuan doesn't seem too interested in cooking, so Luo Binghe makes sure to include a video that has an image of himself in his recommendation, and then films a few new videos of himself cooking with his shirtsleeves rolled up to three quarters and a few more buttons than usual unbuttoned, adopting a more flirty persona than he typically does for his shows. He takes his cues from some of Liu Qingge's more popular videos for how to be enticing bait.

It takes a few videos, but eventually Shen Yuan comments. Luo Binghe latches onto the chance to start talking to him, playing up a persona of a vulnerable young man with little means who is trying hard to make it through school, etc, and sure enough Shen Yuan seems interested. Well, most predatory people like vulnerable targets, don't they?

However... Shen Yuan just sends him a chunk of money.

Luo Binghe is confused.

Isn't he supposed to ask for something or create some kind of expectation of repayment first? But, maybe this is his approach to handling new targets. Maybe he's just trying to lull Binghe into a false sense of complacency, before he starts indicating what he wants from all of this. Luo Binghe makes sure to move the money Shen Yuan sends him into a separate account, so that if the Shen parents get angry about it then he can return it as a gesture of good faith.

But Shen Yuan just keeps sending supportive comments and donations. Eventually he leaves a comment that alludes to how badly he'd like to taste Binghe's cooking, and Binghe is like finally, but when he implies that they could perhaps meet in person and Luo Binghe could thank him for his support by making him something, Shen Yuan backs off.

Things eventually progress to the point where Luo Binghe, who is a totally normal person treating this like a totally normal job still thank you very much, is basically camping out in the bushes in front of Shen Yuan's apartment building. At some point he conscripts the aid of his weird cousin (finding his birth family was how he got into this business initially), and then almost immediately regrets it because Shen Yuan helps get Zhuzhi Lang a job doing landscaping for his building.

Why would he want Zhuzhi Lang close but not Binghe? Binghe is much handsomer! He'd make an excellent target for seduction! >:(

Anyway eventually Yue Qi catches Luo Binghe lurking around like a creeper and is like, finally, I have caught one of these suspicious men, whilst Binghe is like oh so he does have a lover, well this guy sucks and is clearly not good enough for him, and they both try and chase one another off and Shen Yuan comes home to a heated passive-aggressive-politeness war being waged in front of his apartment. Eventually he realizes the misunderstanding and calls everyone together (zoom conference? in-person meet-up?) to clarify that he is not paying any of them for "special favors", that was just Airplane being deranged about his sense of humor, and then he has no idea what to do when the prevailing response seems to be disappointment.

[lilacs-stars]

moon + tides

this is part 1, read part 2 here! pairing: james hook x fem!reader (requested) SUMMARY: you, ariel's daughter, find yourself in a strange relationship with the one and only infamous pirate captain, who's absolutely obsessed with you GENRE: yandere, a bit of angst, some comforting fluff here and there, especially at the end CW: a few mentions of violence, someone walking a plank, mentions of drowning, some suggestive material, nothing too graphic though WC: 4.2k

A/N: this req was really fun to write! I might have gotten a bit carried away, heh...this part includes the backstory of how you two got together and the first part of the req, and the second part will include the rest of it. hope you guys enjoy reading this cause I definitely put some hard work into it lol. also please give me feedback and suggestions, I'd really like to know your thoughts!

If you could go back, would you change what happened?

This is something that you often ask yourself. 

You think about that fateful day frequently. It was the summer before your first year at Merlin Academy. You had finally convinced your parents, the famed mermaid Ariel and her Prince Eric, to let you go for a swim unsupervised. Being half-mermaid, half-human allowed you to transform back and forth at will. And although life on land was pretty good, your heart always ached to go back to the sea, to feel the cold, salty water as it engulfs you. To race along the reefs, tail swishing back and forth, allowing you to reach speeds far past what your human form can do. To leisurely swim amongst the many species of fish and plants that created the world of the ocean. To go back home.

Your parents had already gone over the rules with you hundreds of time, to the point where you could recite each one of them word for word: “Don’t go past the boundaries,” “Don’t approach any animals you don’t know,” “Don’t go so deep where you can’t see any light,” “Come out at the first sign of bad weather,” and, most importantly, “Do not, under any circumstances, interact with any humans.”

Your mother may be renowned for rescuing a stranger from the unrelenting grasps of the sea—if she hadn’t, you wouldn’t even be here right now—but that was a very rare case. Far more often than not, mermaid interactions with humans out on the waters ended up in the mermaid being tortured, held hostage, or even killed.

You knew the rules by heart, and yet, maybe it was because of your young age, you still broke them. You weren’t really aware of your actions in the moment; one second, you were swimming alongside a pod of dolphins, racing against the currents. The next, you heard loud voices and realized that almost directly above you, yet still a good few dozen meters away, was some sort of ship.

You had ducked down next to a big sponge, peering up apprehensively. It was at that moment you realized that you were far outside of the boundaries set for you by your parents. You should have turned back, should have swam back home, but there was something about the ship, something that intrigued you so much it forced you to stay in place.

A few moments passed, and seeing as there was no commotion, you let your curiosity get the better of you. After all, that ship shouldn’t even have been out there. Slowly, you crept closer and closer to the surface, making sure to remain in the shadows. The noises were becoming clearer; you could make out people’s voices now. But they still weren’t sharp enough for you to understand what they were saying.

Finally, you took the risk and poked your head out of the water near the rear of the ship. The sight before you elicited a sharp gasp, and made you wish you had just gone back when you still had the chance. 

Extended from the side of the ship was a long, wooden plank. Standing on one side of it (the safe end), was a man, gagged, blindfolded, and bound. He looked to be no older than forty, with a scraggly beard and ripped clothes.

A pirate.

Another figure emerged, walking to the edge of the deck. Your reflexes caused you to duck down quickly, so only your eyes were barely above the water. This figure was much younger, with dark brown hair parted neatly and angular features twisted into a wicked smile. He donned a maroon blazer that covered a white shirt with an upturned collar. Something in his left hand shined brilliantly under the sun’s bright rays.

The younger figure laughed, but not in the way one would laugh at a funny joke. He unsheathed a cutlass from his side, using it to poke the back of the man on the plank. 

“You see, Mr. Jones? This is what happens when you cross the most feared pirate captain in all the lands!” the young figure roared as he yanked off the older man’s blindfold, revealing to him his fate. The fear and panic that spread across the man’s face has been forever etched into your mind, even to this day.

You heard the man beg and plea for mercy, watched as every move he made caused the plank to sway even more violently. The pirate captain simply laughed, his crew along with him. Finally, when you suppose he tired of hearing the man grovel, you watched in terror as the captain gave the man a good kick in the back, finally sending him over the edge.

Suddenly, it was like the world was spinning in slow motion. The man plummeting off the wooden platform, falling, falling, falling. His screams muffled by the cloth around his mouth. Then, all too soon, he made contact with the water with a loud splash. 

He sank quickly, devoured by the ocean’s waters within the blink of an eye. Your young, distraught face watched as a few bubbles rose to the surface. Then nothing. All that remained of the man’s existence, all there was to give proof that he had ever even been there, were a few ripples in the water.

That was it.

You were frozen in shock. How–what–why? Your brain could barely string together a comprehensive sentence. All you were sure of was the feeling inside you. You couldn’t quite put it into words, could barely even understand it. But it made your tail ache to move, made you feel as if you simply couldn’t stay in one place any longer.

You dove beneath the surface, frantically swimming towards the direction where you saw the man go under. You kept looking around, searching, but to no avail. You decided to dive deeper, swimming lower and lower until the water around you was near pitch-black. You were growing more and more panicked by the second, because every second you wasted was another second the man grew closer to death.

Finally, you caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of your eye. Hope flaring, you darted towards it, the figure becoming clearer the closer you got.

It was him.

You reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to prevent him from sinking farther. His eyes were shut and he wasn’t breathing, but you could still hear a heartbeat. There was still time left.

Wrapping your arms around him, you started the difficult journey back to land. Thankfully, you knew of a small island not too far from here. Swimming with the added weight of a fully grown man was incredibly difficult, especially for a young mermaid, but you persisted. After all, this was his life on the line.

You swam as hard as fast as you could, and thankfully, by some blessing from the heavens, found a warm water current going the direction you were. You let it carry you, the rushing stream multiplying your efforts. Finally, after what seemed like hours but must have only been a couple of minutes, you reached the island.

Letting the wave wash you up on shore, you settled the man down on the soft sand the first chance you got. You rolled him to his front, which was quite the endeavor itself. His heartbeat had grown more shallow, but it was still there. There was still hope.

Using the skills your mother had taught you, you started to nurse the man back to health using your melodic voice. Ever since you were young, she had explained to you the gift bestowed upon mermaids, the power of healing through song. She taught you to sing before you could walk, and it was the one thing that you were sure you could do right.

As you sang your strange and melodious tune, it finally occurred to you that you were breaking the most sacred of rules. Not only were you interacting with a stranger, you were coaxing him back to life. Like mother, like daughter, you thought. I suppose healing strangers who were drowning at sea runs in my blood.

The only caveat to your healing powers is that it takes quite some time to have its full effects. You don’t know how long you sat on the beach, but it had been quite some time. You probably would have been there for much longer had it not been for the boom voice that sounded behind you, waking you from your trance of song.

“Well, I’ll be. If it isn’t a mermaid.”

You practically jumped out of your fins as you turned around, startled beyond words. There, towering above you, was the evil pirate captain you saw earlier. He was even younger than you had previously thought. In fact, he couldn’t be much older than you. You wondered for a fleeting moment how a kid like that could command an entire ship full of grown—and scary-looking—men, but decided you have bigger matters at hand to worry about.

A few members of his crew lurked behind the captain, and you could see a small lifeboat docked to the ground near the coastline. Further beyond that, his ship swayed in the ocean waves, dark against the bright horizon.

You followed the pirate’s gaze down to your tail, which was still out. You silently cursed yourself for forgetting to transform back into your human form, being too distracted by saving the man to pay attention to your own safety.

You wanted to yell at the cruel pirate for trying to kill this man. No matter who he was, what he had done, he didn’t deserve to die. At least not like that. But the words got caught in your throat, so while a war raged inside your mind, you were completely quiet on the outside, simply staring up at the man with wide doe eyes.

“You have a lovely voice,” the man said, with a tone that you wouldn’t quite imagine a killer using. He must have overheard me sing earlier, you thought to yourself. “Tell me, little mermaid, who taught you to sing?”

“M-my mother,” you replied weakly, your voice far more meager and small than you wanted it to be. You were still staring up at him, afraid of what he’d do to you.

“Your mother? Well, that’s quite interesting.” The captain raised his left hand to scratch at his chin, which is when you realized that it wasn’t a hand at all. Instead of a hand was a curved metal hook, with a sharp point gleaming at the end. So that must be the shiny thing I saw earlier, you thought.

“Oh, where are my manners?” laughed the pirate abruptly. “My name is Captain James Hook, leader of the Jolly Roger. And you are?”

You blinked, almost forgetting your own name. If it were a less tense moment than this, you would have laughed at the fact that his name is rather befitting for him. “Y/N,” you respond.

“Y/N…Now, where have I heard that name before?” He tapped his chin with his hook again.

“Sir, that’s the name of Princess Ariel’s daughter,” one of the big, meaty pirates behind him answered in a gruff voice.

“That’s right!” Hook exclaimed. “You’re the mermaid’s daughter. You know, rumor has it you’ll be joining me at Merlin’s Academy in the fall, is that right?”

For some reason, your voice seemed to not work anymore, so you settled for nodding. Join him? you pondered. You didn’t know that he was also a student at the school you were planning to attend.

Hook started pacing along the beach, arms crossed with his hooked hand extended, deep in thought. You watched him, fear growing by the second. A sly smirk spread across his face, which only served to fuel the flames of your worry. 

“You know, you directly defied my command by saving that man,” he started. Slowly. Deliberately. Choosing every word precisely and carefully, like a shark circling its prey. “Do you even know why I made him walk the plank?” You shook your head no, the panic in you reaching record heights.

“That man”—he vaguely gestures towards the unconscious body laying on the beach with his hook—“stole an entire week’s worth of rations from my ship. An entire week’s worth of food and rum for an entire crew. Had he gotten away with it, we likely would have starved to death out at sea. Does he seem so innocent now, little mermaid? So worth saving?”

Again, you shook your head no. Although you agreed he definitely wasn’t an innocent man, you still didn’t see making him walk the plank a justifiable punishment. Despite your thoughts, you kept your mouth shut. Angering the captain further was not going to do you any good.

“Now, if anyone else had done something like this, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut their head right off,” Hook said menacingly, and with a swish, unsheathed his sword once again. You flinched—hard—and scrambled to back away from him. 

Hook took note of this, and, sheathing his sword, crouched down to get on the same level as you. “But don’t worry, little mermaid. I won’t hurt you. You see, you’ve piqued my interest. Plus, it would do me no favors to have a little girl’s blood on my hands.”

You let out a breath you hadn’t even realized you were holding. So he’s not going to kill me, right?

“But, alas, you can’t leave unpunished, now, can you?” he added. Your eyes grew impossibly wider, your entire body shaking in fear. This was it. He was going to kill you, or do something equally worse.

“I demand”—you already felt a tear slip down your cheek—“that you write to me for the remainder of the summer.”

Wait, what?

“W-write?” you asked in disbelief. “As in…”

“Letters,” Hook finished for you. “Write me letters. I’ll give you the mailing address of the Jolly Roger. Write me everyday, and I’ll promise I’ll write you back whenever we dock. How does that sound?”

“O-okay,” you reply, still taken aback by the peculiar, and far more lenient than you’d expected, request. That was all you had to do? Write letters? As punishment for saving the life of someone he’d ordered to die? You must be dreaming.

“Oh, and,” Hook said, voice lowered as he leaned in close to you, until he was just a hair’s breadth away from your ear. You could feel his warm breath on your skin, his alluring scent of salty winds and something richer, deeper, filling your lungs. “I look forward to seeing you in the fall. Don’t forget me, my little mermaid.”

With that, he stood up, smoothing out the lines on his pants. “You wouldn’t happen to need a ride back home, would you, love?”

You shook your head no, too terrified of him changing his mind to spend another moment in his presence. You glanced back at the man lying behind you, still unconscious. “W-what about him? What will you do with him?” you managed to choke out, somehow finding your voice again.

Hook pondered this for a long minute, before finally answering, “He can live.” You let out a shaky breath. “But only because of you, little mermaid. And only this time. You go against my wishes again, and trust me, your punishment will be far more severe.”

And with that, he went back to his ship and sailed away.

You still muse about that day, thinking how different things would have been if you had changed just one little thing.

You kept your promise of writing him letters, too afraid to know what would happen when you had to inevitably face him in the fall to break it. At first, they started out simple. Ordinary recounts of your day, your favorite things, what you liked to do. As the weeks passed, you started writing more personal letters. How you felt about certain things or certain people, including your parents. You never spoke a word of that fateful day to them, knowing that you’d be grounded for life and forbidden from swimming ever again if they caught even a whiff of the danger you had put yourself in. 

Hook kept his promise, too. He wrote you back, although it was far less frequent than your letters. Even though he kept his responses short and concise, you always ended up hearing his voice in your head as you read his notes. You soon found yourself checking your mailbox daily, even getting to know the mailman rather well. The rush of dopamine you got every time you opened it to find a letter awaiting you was unmatched; you would always run upstairs to your room, lock the door, and pour over the note. Reading every line, every word over and over again, committing them to memory. 

You don’t know why you enjoyed these little letters so much. Maybe it was the thrill of having a secret that no one else knew of, or the absence of your usual loneliness every time you were reminded that somewhere out there, across the seas, was someone awaiting your letters, reading them, and writing back to you. Whatever it was, your heart started to form an emotional attachment to him without you even realizing it. 

Unbeknownst to you, that had been his exact plan all along.

It’s safe to say that once you started school at Merlin Academy, Hook’s—or James’s, as he insisted on you calling him—grip on you only grew. Things started out pretty normal: light conversations in class and stolen looks exchanged across the hall, mostly initiated by him. After the first few weeks passed, things between you two only grew. Secret meetings during lunch hours, rendezvous after school, and small gifts exchanged between the two of you. From there, it became brushing your hands together whenever you passed by each other, soft pecks on the cheek or forehead where there were prying eyes, and more passionate kisses when the two of you finally found time to be alone.

Truth be told, you don’t really know what you two are now. Normally, you would consider two people that partake in such actions to be courting, and you kind of assume you are. But James has never said anything about a relationship to you, and in all honesty, you’re too afraid to ask him. You feel terribly confused at his intentions towards you; on the one hand, he approaches you every day without fail, even if you try to ignore him or when your schedules don’t match up. Somehow, he always finds a way. On the other hand, he never asked you to be his lover, never even vaguely mentioned anything of the sorts. So, you decided, with a heavy heart, to not be too confident and consider yourself his partner. And unfortunately, that meant that he wasn’t yours, either.

Really, you never meant to grow so involved with the bastard pirate that threatened to kill you on the beach that day. But for some strange reason, instead of treating you coldly like he did everyone else, especially the other hero kids, he was softer with you. Considerate, even. You had half-expected him to want nothing to do with you after your first few interactions, but he kept seeking you out. You often opened your locker to a note inside, or entered your dorm to find a letter slipped beneath the door.

Today was one of those days. You had gotten a note telling you to wait for him in your usual place in the evening, after classes. So here you are, waiting, staring at the water fountain in the courtyard. You’ve always been transfixed by the way the water spurts out the center and splashes all around. It seems that whenever you’re alone with your thoughts, they always end up back to that fateful day you met James, and everything that’s happened since.

“Wait for me long, my little mermaid?” a deep voice whispers in your ear from behind. You jump only a little, far more used to James sneaking up on you now than you used to be. For some reason, it seems he loves to startle you by wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you in close from behind, or speaking softly in your ear.

You twirl around, a delighted expression on your face, although you try to mask it with a feigned annoyance. “And if I say I did?”

“Well then, I’d have to find a way to make it up to you then, wouldn’t I, darling?” he purrs, using his hook to spin you around in his arms so you’re face-to-face. His lips make his way to yours, pulling you in for a slow, sensual kiss. You wrap your arms around his neck, bringing his head closer to yours, not able to get enough of his touch. 

The feeling of his skin against yours ignites something in you, and you find your mouth opening to give him more access as a soft whimper escapes your lips. One hand reaches into his hair, tugging at it gently from the base of his head, while the other one trails down the front of his shirt.

James leans into you even further, your bodies flush against each other now, as he deepens the kiss. You find yourself leaning against the edge of the water fountain, the cool sprinkles providing a welcomed contrast to your heating-up bodies.

Once you’ve completely lost your breath, you pull away just slightly, a love-drunk smile on your face. “You had a request for me?” you whisper, panting, eyes full of adoration for the man you were interlocked with. 

James breaks into a grin. A genuine one, not one of the smirks he flashes to uphold his patented suave demeanor. “Ah, yes, how could I forget, my love?”

He pulls further away to give you two enough room to breathe, yet keeping his good hand on the small of your back. “I was reminded today that it's been quite some time since I’ve heard your voice, my little mermaid.”

You give a little smile, deciding to mess with him a bit. “Whatever do you mean? You hear my voice every day. I mean, you’re even hearing it right now.”

James cocks his head to the side and raises a single eyebrow, clearly aware of your antics. “Your other voice, love.”

You giggle. “Fine, all right. Only for you,” you say, giving him a peck on the nose. 

You sit down on the ledge of the fountain, turning back to stare at the water again. Although it has been a long time since you stretched your tail and went for a swim, simply seeing the rushing water soothes you. It isn’t quite like being immersed in it, but it still gives you some semblance of comfort. 

You reach into the pool at the bottom, letting the cool water rush along your fingertips as you inhale a deep breath. Through your mermaid abilities, your voice twists into an otherworldly song, filling the space with a mellifluous sound. 

James takes a place on the ledge next to you, reaching into the water to hold your submerged hand. You don’t really feel it, too transfixed on the rushing waves. You don’t see the way James gazes at you, like you’re his entire world. The softness, the tenderness in his eyes, which he reserves for you only. He looks at you not as if you’re his sun, something too bright to ever stare directly at, something violent and explosive and harmful, but as if you’re his moon. 

As if you’re the figure he watches every night before he closes his eyes, and the one he wishes to see again when he wakes up. As if you’re the only thing he notices every time the darkness envelops him, your presence never falling off the pedestal he places it on in his mind. Never losing its worth. He looks at you, your soft glow and mesmerizing shimmer, as if you’re the only thing filling up the night sky. The stars and constellations pale in comparison to you, especially on your best nights, when you shine so magnificently. 

You are the moon, and he is the tide of the ocean, constantly being pulled in by you. Never being able to escape the grasp you have on him, the grasp you are so blissfully unaware of. He stares at you in awe and wonder, bathing in your gorgeous light, so close yet always so far away. Sitting all alone against the dark backdrop of the evening sky, waiting for him to come back to you. And without reason, you always disappear. Always leaving him wanting more, waiting till the moment he can bathe in your presence again. 

As you sing, the tide gets pulled in by the gravity of the moon. Your lyrical voice bounces off the stone walls, surrounding you both, just as the moonlight surrounds the waves on that mystical night. 

But the moonlight is only a reflection of the sun’s glow, is it not? When daylight comes, the moon will pull away from the waves, its absence in the sky all but forgotten in the sun’s presence. And as dawn breaks, so too will the pull between the moon and ocean. 

on to part 2! ->

leave a comment if you want to be added to the taglist!

do not plagiarize, translate, remake, or copy my works, including my writing and images, in any way.

[renshengs]

the state of juwon and kwon hyuk's relationship is so fascinating to me. flesh & blood son vs. son-my-father-wishes-he-had. that strange awkward and sometimes sad tension between them. a lot of it is a difference in backgrounds: juwon doesn't fully understand kwon hyuk's attachment to han kihwan nor kwon hyuk's willingness to serve and kiss up to someone like that, while kwon hyuk finds it difficult to fathom juwon's rebellion/resistance toward his father, who is an extremely powerful sponsor to have and represents to kwon hyuk a path to success, a way out of the implied desperation and poverty of his background.

they both like each other more than they realize and more than they'd want to admit. kwon hyuk has known juwon for a decade without Knowing him. they're both occupying several roles in each other's lives at once, all of them intersecting with each other, and the overlaps make it very awkward. kwon hyuk is juwon's brother figure and his former tutor and the middleman between him and his father and the fabled "kid your parents won't stop comparing you to" and also like, his colleague. a family friend. he's the only person juwon hangs out with, and their idea of "hanging out" is mostly just sitting parallel to each other in the private section of some gorgeous uppity seoul bar while kwon hyuk badgers juwon about friends and dating and, you know, pleasing his father.

kwon hyuk's approach to being a good hyung to juwon is also very funny. he's pretty serious about it. there's very obviously a part of him that wants to knock some sense into this elite rich prettyboy's head so that he doesn't get himself stuck in places kwon hyuk can't dig him back out of, but also this is made ineffective by the fact that his methods often rely on (unintentionally) condescending juwon, such as at the beginning of episode 10. which, like, he wasn't even wrong. juwon was absolutely not equipped to be facing lee dongsik.

the problem with his approach is that he's going by the older-sibling-who-is-better-than-you manual, half-chiding and half-lecturing, because he is not just juwon's hyung but also han kihwan's perfect little helper, the son figure he turns to, especially when his actual son disappoints him, which results in kwon hyuk feeling even more threatened by the need to be flawless and Unlike Juwon. due to their awkward inexplicable positions in each other's lives, juwon is wary of him for so long because he interprets the attention kwon hyuk gives him as an extension of kwon hyuk's supposed lifelong gratitude toward han kihwan. he's dissuaded by kwon hyuk's proximity to han kihwan. their relationship is burdened by the presence of juwon's father crowding out the potential space for closeness between them, which is, among other smaller reasons, the main reason why they can't grow any closer to each other. it quite literally takes the whole show and life-altering discoveries for juwon to finally open up enough that he becomes willing to reach out to kwon hyuk, not because he's 100% certain that kwon hyuk even likes him that much but because he's finally accepted the fact that, fine, he does care about this annoying snooty hyung of his, and cares enough that he doesn't want kwon hyuk to be caught in the crossfire.

and kwon hyuk does meet him halfway when he reaches out! juwon is rewarded by the narrative for letting himself be more honest and vulnerable with kwon hyuk than he's ever dared to be, and this time kwon hyuk considers his words and listens to him instead of treating him like a baby who doesn't know anything. it's sooo important to me that they're able to grow closer once han kihwan is out of the picture. it's so so important to me that juwon has people in his life who are not lee dongsik nor the rest of the manyang squad. i think post-canon both of them catch up sometimes when juwon's in seoul and it's—easier. better. feels realer.

[the-lincyclopedia]

In Defense of Juliet

I just read Romeo and Juliet with @socialshakespeare, and I felt like I understood it for the first time, since it’s a play I’ve never studied, and I’ve mostly been exposed to it by seeing it performed a couple times. And I am so angry on Juliet’s behalf. She has been done so dirty, both by the adults around her within the world of the play, and also by the way she’s been remembered in pop culture. She’s not a foolish, simpering teenager the way she’s often thought of as being. I honestly think that Juliet is the most reasonable and pragmatic character in the play, and that there aren’t any major decisions she makes where she truly had a better option. 

Romeo and Juliet, the characters, are both often mocked for how quickly they fall for each other. And I do think there’s something to that when it comes to Romeo, especially given that he was professing love for Rosaline literally hours before meeting and apparently falling for Juliet. But Juliet? What people often forget is that, right before she meets Romeo, Juliet is informed by her father that he has arranged a marriage for her, and that she has to marry Paris whether she likes it or not. 

Now, a few notes on this: 

Juliet is 13 years old. There are plays and books where you have to kind of guess at characters’ ages or figure it out from context clues, but this is very much not one of those times. Juliet being 13 gets talked about, explicitly, a lot in this play. 

It was not normal for girls to get married that young, even in Shakespeare’s day. Here’s a great essay on that. 

Paris is definitely older than Juliet. It’s unclear by how much, but it could be over a decade, maybe by a substantial amount. He’s also canonically pretty skeezy. 

Even in many cultures where arranged marriages are common, it’s also common for the consent of the couple to matter. “Arranged marriage” does not by necessity equal “coerced marriage,” and indeed, the Church in Shakespeare’s day did (at least in terms of doctrine) require the people being married to consent in order for their marriage to be valid. (See the essay linked to in point 2.)

So here Juliet is, knowing she’s going to be forced into a marriage she doesn’t want. Her options are basically to go along with marrying Paris, or to do something that her parents can’t undo that will make the marriage to Paris impossible. What are her options for that? Well: 

She can become a nun. This isn’t her first choice, and she’s not too keen on it even later in the play, when her options are much more limited and Friar Lawrence suggests it. 

She can run away but not become a nun. This would basically mean she would be destitute and incredibly vulnerable. It’s not surprising she doesn’t choose this option. 

She can kill herself. Again, unsurprising that this isn’t her first choice. 

She can quickly and secretly marry someone who isn’t Paris and present the marriage to her parents as a fait accompli. 

It’s really, really not surprising to me that her first choice is option (4). I mean, personally I would have considered becoming a nun, but I’m ace, and Juliet seems to, uh, probably not be. So, okay, you’ve got Juliet, literally fresh off a conversation with her father about how he’s going to force her into an unwanted arranged marriage, and she’s trying to figure out how to get out of it, and then this guy approaches her at a party and seems totally into her. Like, are she and Romeo hasty and probably hormonal to think they’re in love this fast? Yeah, probably. And Romeo a) was professing love for someone else this morning, and b) does not seem to be under urgent familial pressure to marry. But Juliet is desperate to marry someone who isn’t Paris, as soon as humanly possible, and Romeo seems both interested and more tolerable than Paris. Is it surprising that she’s all in? 

So then Romeo and Juliet have the balcony conversation, and then the next day they get married in secret at Friar Lawrence’s. Cool. Now they can break the news to their respective families, Juliet won’t have to marry Paris, and everything will be fine. Right? 

Except then Juliet’s cousin Tybalt picks a fight with Romeo’s friend Mercutio and winds up killing him, so Romeo retaliates by killing Tybalt. Romeo, by law, should be facing capital punishment, but the Prince commutes his sentence to banishment. Which is still a problem for Romeo and Juliet since they’re newlyweds and the Friar and the Nurse are the only ones who know. After spending the night with Juliet in secret, Romeo leaves town because he doesn’t really have a better choice. 

Meanwhile, Tybalt’s death has significantly increased the urgency of Juliet getting married (which her parents don’t know she’s already done). Tybalt and Juliet are the only two in their generation of the Capulets, so Tybalt was The Heir, which means that now that he’s dead, Juliet needs to marry immediately, because, as a girl, she can’t inherit. Ideally, she needs to start producing heirs as soon as possible. Her father suddenly moves the date of her wedding from some inexact time in the future to this Thursday. 

So Juliet’s close cousin has just died, her husband has been exiled, and her second (and, by the standards of the time, inherently sinful) marriage is suddenly very, very soon. She tries to talk her parents out of forcing her to marry Paris, and her dad is still very much not having it. She is, understandably, desperate. She goes to the Friar’s place and starts talking about suicide. 

The Friar tells her not to kill herself, and he gives her a potion that will make her seem dead for a couple days. He tells her to take it before she’s supposed to marry Paris, and then instead of getting married, she’ll be buried, and then she can wake up and get smuggled off to join Romeo in exile. Juliet goes home and takes the potion as instructed. 

But unlike Much Ado about Nothing, this is not a comedy. The potion works; Juliet’s family finds her “dead” and holds her funeral, and Friar Lawrence sends a letter to Romeo informing him of the plan. But the letter doesn’t make it--the friar carrying the message is quarantined for fear of plague--and meanwhile Romeo hears that Juliet has died. He comes back to Verona, duels Paris at Juliet’s tomb, finds Juliet seemingly dead, and kills himself. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead, and (despite the deeply inadequate arguments of the Friar, who leaves Juliet by herself when he hears someone coming) kills herself. 

And like, what the fuck else was she supposed to do? At any point? I thought of the musical Six a lot during today’s read-through, and Anne Boleyn’s line “Like, what was I meant to do?” feels so appropriate for Juliet (as does "All You Wanna Do," for other reasons). She couldn’t just keep living with her parents and being a teenager--she was going to be forced into an unwanted arranged marriage unless she could find a way to make herself permanently unavailable for marriage to Paris. Marrying Romeo seemed like a better idea than becoming a nun, running away and becoming destitute, or dying. Taking the potion of living death and then joining Romeo in exile seemed like a better idea than entering a sinful second marriage. Maybe becoming a nun would have been better than suicide, in the end after Romeo has died, but Juliet has been through an incredibly stressful few days at this point, her cousin is dead, her parents clearly don’t care about her happiness or well-being, and, oh yeah, she just woke up with her dead husband in her lap--I think she’s allowed to be Done at that point. 

I’m not sure that Romeo and Juliet make a good couple with long-term potential or whatever. But this is absolutely not a story about how teenagers are dumb and impulsive. The adults are the ones making terrible decisions--the Montagues and the Capulets for having a deadly feud, the Prince for not doing more to end the feud earlier, the Capulet parents (especially Lord Capulet) for trying to force Juliet into an unwanted marriage at a very young age, Juliet’s Nurse for encouraging Juliet to marry Paris even though she knows Juliet is already married to Romeo, Paris for continuing to try to marry Juliet when she’s clearly unhappy about it, Friar Lawrence for leaving the tomb before Romeo arrives and then leaving again when Juliet wakes up and is freaking out--literally all of the adults suck, and Juliet is trying her best in the face of some seriously awful circumstances. 

If the throughline of tragedies is that they couldn’t have gone any other way, I think that’s especially true for Juliet, specifically. She’s so smart, and she’s trying so hard, and there is no way out.

[manofbeskar]

Okay, I am interested in your Dracule Uta posts now. (She's just so cute and I just know he embroidered that flower on her onesie!!) I need to know more!!

I don't have too much details yet but this is what I have for now:

While Shanks finds her in a treasure chest after raiding another crew, Mihawk instead finds her after killing some marines and discovering her on their ship, eating a devil fruit. He figures the Marines probably don't have good intentions for her so he takes her with him.

For the first few days/weeks, he tries to find another home for her. He thinks his life as a marine hunter and lone pirate is too dangerous to care for an infant. A bit of a Buddy Daddies thing in that way, that he's too dangerous to be around and frankly doesn't want the responsibility.

When he finds out which devil fruit she ate (still the Sing-Sing fruit), he realises he can't risk her falling into the hands of someone more corrupt who can manipulate her powers. He decides to go all in and try his best to raise her properly.

He goes to Shanks for help. He himself never had good parents, but he knows Shanks had a good relationship with Roger and his crew also has older men who may have advice to offer. He gets closer to the RHP this way, learning from them how to best care for a baby.

Shanks grows close to Uta. He likes that her hair makes her look like his and Mihawk's baby. He also treats her like she is their kid, always accidentally calls himself her father. Uta also thinks of him like that. Similar to Buddy Daddies again, Mihawk and Shanks both acknowledge they have parental roles in her life but, at this point in time, don't view themselves as romantic co-parents.

(Of course, they have feelings for each other but Mihawk is oblivious to his feelings and Shanks is secretly crushing hard. He loves how good Mihawk is with the kid and how hard he's trying)

Shanks likes to bribe Uta with sweets to talk him up to Mihawk. Always backfires on him because she's way too frank about it (learned that from Mihawk). She'll just say shit like, "Mihawk, Shanks told me he wants to kiss you!" and it embarrasses Shanks every time.

Uta loves being carried by Mihawk. He carries and controls Yoru so easily. Even teen Uta is practically weightless in his arms. It reminds her of when he first found her and rocked her in his arms as they rode his boat back to his home.

Uta sees Mihawk and Shanks's feelings for each other grow over the years until on her 12th birthday she told them to get a grip and go out already. They went out and have been together ever since.

Mihawk and Shanks figured out a co-parenting arrangement a few years before Shanks docked at Windmill Village. Mihawk thinks it will be good for Uta to go sailing with Shanks every once in a while as his experiences sailing with him have always ended with fun stories and meeting new people.

Mihawk wants Uta to get out there and appreciate the world's vastness. He often takes her sailing (if she isn't sailing with Shanks) and shows her all his favourite spots. Sometimes Shanks comes along and tells her stories of "that time me and Mihawk came here ourselves and this really cool thing happened"

Mihawk let Shanks take Uta for longer than before when he docked at Windmill Village as he wanted Uta to make long-term friends that weren't twice her age like himself and the RHP, so she still meets Luffy. While he is a loner, he wants Uta to experience everything and meet people from all walks of life so she can figure out exactly who she wants to be.

Mihawk trained her to be a strong swordswoman since young. She's very skilled with the blade but told him she wanted to be a singer. Mihawk supports her preference and is happy to listen to all her new songs. As he strived to be the greatest swordsman when he was young, he now wants to help Uta become the greatest musician. He tunes in for every broadcast she does and makes sure the RHP catches them too. Uta still cares a lot about her swordsmanship and practices it often to stay sharp.

She carried a bamboo sword as a kid, then got Shanks's old one with the red hilt as a hand-me-down when she was 15. For her 18th birthday, Mihawk had a Yoru-inspired blade crafted for her. She named it "Musica". It looks similar to Yoru but the orbs are red and heart-shaped, the blade isn't black, and it's shorter.

She lives at Kuraigana with Mihawk but splits her time between there and wherever Shanks is. When Perona moved in, they became close friends. Perona loves hearing about her Mihawk stories. She also regularly duels with Zoro when he moves in, insists he doesn't stand a chance against Mihawk if he can't even beat his first student.

Uta's favourite colour is teal because it's the colour Yoru's blade shines.

Her eyes have rings as Mihawk also taught her powerful observation haki (I don't know if the rings are directly relevant to that but I like how the rings look on her)

[sonicasura]

Nobody Like You

I figured everyone needs something sweet after the latest chapter of the manga. Thus here's a childhood sweethearts Kafhoshi AU but with a little twist. It does contain some elements from my Always A Kaiju idea. Let's get started. Part 2 can be found here! Alternate Route Beast Tamer can be found here!

Soshiro was quite the lonely child at a young age. Due to his family's status, people never really saw the real him. Only a member of a powerful family to respect or avoid. His own kin weren't that much help either.

Soshiro's parents always held high expectations and his brother's attempts at trying to bring him down led little room in trust. Thus the young boy often found solace outside amongst nature. Particularly a hidden little clearing which bear a sole cherry blossom in the forest that stood around his home.

One day, Soshiro would come across quite the surprise waiting for him at his special place. A hole stood before the trunk of the tree. From sheer curiosity, the young Hoshina looked into the apparent burrow. His confused violet eyes immediately met a glowing pair of slitted greenish teal ones. On that day Soshiro encountered someone that would be his first friend but also future lover: a peculiar Kaiju whelp known as Kafka.

Although if the two screamed at each other in fright first then it's understandable. Not all romance starts with love at first sight. Sometimes it's a scream, a backwards fall, and maybe a punch out of fright. (On rarer occasions, it's all three.) Especially for childhood sweethearts like these two.

Upon realizing that Kafka didn't mean any harm, Soshiro began to visit the strange Kaiju. At first he would just talk to him about various things like how his day has been and such. Sometimes Soshiro brings over a snack for the Kaiju to try.

Although Kafka had a tendency to not be in the same spot. Sometimes he would pop up in other places like a bush at the public park. Or outside his bedroom door much to Soshiro's horror. There were some days where Kafka didn't show up at all. He often marked those by the small pretty stones the Kaiju left behind at his window.

Soon things begin to change between the two over time. The first sign was Kafka's attempts to say Soshiro's name. Despite the surprise, the young Hoshina helped teach his friend how to not only speak but even read and write. It did help answer some of the questions Soshiro had for him.

The days Kafka didn't appear? Apparently he was visiting his foster mother, a kind lady by the name of Sakuya Hibino. She rarely gets visitors so Kafka often visited her when no one was around.

The second sign happened on one of the days where the Kaiju asked Soshiro to come over instead. As time went by, Kafka got bigger and the young Hoshina had to exploit some opportunities that came with age like more freedom to see him. Something good to keep when his friend gets bigger than a bus.

Now imagine his confusion seeing an older human boy at their favorite spot. Something that only doubled when the stranger sneezed and 'poofs' into the Kaiju. Kafka had taught himself to become human. It wasn't always perfect since a good enough distraction would poof him back into his Kaiju self.

Yet the ability to introduce Kafka to his world made things worth the risk for both of them. The third sign came when Soshiro attended university. It was required if he wishes to join the Defense Force despite it cutting the little time he could spend with Kafka.

This is also the age where the time he spent alongside his Kaiju friend looked different. Despite being bigger than a building, Kafka was quite crafty when it came to keeping himself human sized. It kept the various activities they could do together not become limited whether by a Kaiju alert or size issues.

Though Kafka's interests had taken strange routes. Places he wanted to try eating at were looking a bit fancy. Sometimes Kafka would beg Soshiro for them to go check out a festival or any rare events happening in town. The latest one involved dancing of all things.

It eventually hits Soshiro once he hears people talking about the upcoming school dance and dates. Kafka had been trying to court him like humans do. Soshiro felt pretty stupid that he didn't realize it sooner but he'd be a liar if he said the feeling wasn't mutual.

That school dance became the day both began to start dating. Kafka would propose on the night after Soshiro took the Entrance Exams. And the two happily married a year before Hoshina was promoted to Vice Captain of the Third Division.

Both lovers kept Kafka's Kaiju nature a secret even when Soshiro reached such a high status. If someone would accidentally spot his lover, then the Hoshina always intercepted so he could flee. Kafka helps by using a decoy like a kaiju they have missed or using a dummy of sorts made from his old shedded skin. There was always a romantic and often spicy apology date the next night afterwards.

A status quo the Hoshina-Hibino couple enjoyed keeping as Soshiro rather wait before he has to defend his lover. He will raise a heavy blade for Kafka against the Defense Force should the truth come out. Sadly their luck would begin to run out.

It all started when Kafka's newest coworker discovered his secret. And it only goes downhill from there as a new breed of kaiju threatens to turn everything upside down. Though the couple will stand by each other's side when their peace begins to crumple.

Nobody was gonna tear Soshiro and Kafka apart so easily.

That's all I have for now. Please enjoy this little song that came to mind writing this.

@oxandthorn @yehehbd @nightfal1n @terra-sketches @iceclew @neo0w0 @discoknack @drmarune @renard-dartigue @giantgoblin @somnidraws @elephantthbig

[moonbyulsstuff]

Gray Fullbuster Headcanons.

Female Reader.

Requested by: @the-letter-horror-lover

Request Rules.

Masterlist.

When you first joined Fairy Tail, you also had brought your younger brother along too as he was the only family you have after both of your parents died after an attack in the town you lived.

Your brother. James, was a constant troublemaker, constantly pissing off and insulting the people around him like no trouble.

It constantly got him into trouble and you always had to apologize and reason with the person sometimes.

Sometimes they let it go, but other times other people would get pissed off like badly.

Like when you first arrived at Fairy Tail, James immediately insulted the guild master, Makarov for his height.

Even though Makarov was pissed, he didn't let it get to him as he knew James was only a child without a filter.

Even though James enjoys causing trouble and insulting everyone, his target was always Natsu or Gray.

It seems he enjoys their reaction, and on how they can't do anything whenever you apologize to them for his actions.

But it was mostly Gray.

As James caught on more faster than anyone else that Gray had a crush with you.

So, he constantly mocked him.

He knows Gray can't get mad whenever you apologize.

But there was one person Gray can't tease or mocked, and it was Erza as he found her scary.

Natsu, Happy and James often argued about food and such, or Natsu being pissed off whenever James pulls a prank on him.

And when Lucy came along, she became Jame's no.2 target when it comes to his pranks.

Wendy could stand up for herself when it comes to James but had trouble to properly say it so Carla sometimes had step in.

The guild, though they found annoying of James troublesome actions, didn't mind as it brought more life in the guild.

And they couldn't get mad at you, whenever you go off apologizing to every person that James insulted.

Natsu relationship was the same as everyone else, you two were on friendly terms and constantly snitched whenever James made trouble without you knowing.

He likes seeing the little brat being put on timeout.

Erza and Lucy were like your sisters, you two went out and made sure the boys babysit James whenever they saw you tired and needing a break.

They made sure, you have fun and enjoy your life without James troublesome attitude.

And sometimes even babysit James themselves whenever you need time for yourself.

Wendy, was the same story along with Lucy and Erza

As for Gray..

You two became a couple just after an year you joined the guild along with your brother.

You two became close as you two ice make mages.

You helped each other out, and give tips to each other.

The two of you trained together, and Gray helped to improve your ice make skills as he was much more experience than you were.

Gray grew to become fond of you as you two grew closer.

Eventually catching feelings for you.

He confessed when the guild was playing truth or dare.

It was party for the guild's founding anniversary, and he became jealous when one of the members dared another to kiss your cheek.

Gray was jealous as hell and after the party, he confessed. He couldn't bear the thought of another man's lip anywhere near yours.

You accepted it making Gray feel overjoyed at your answer.

And when James saw you two began dating.

It was like the two began to feud for your attention.

James was a clingy younger brother, as you were the only he had left and his older sister and sorta mother figure to him.

Of course, he would jealous that another man was stealing his sister's attention.

It was like two began to secretly compete over your attention.

Even if James was three years old, Gray would constantly be at odds with him.

Like both of them were grown ass man.

Well one was.

But the both of them came into a agreement of protecting you from other people, especially men.

James would use his troublesome tactics whenever someone tries to flirt with you.

Or by saying outright "Mama! Papa is here!" While pointing at Gray who was coming over.

They would set their differences aside just to protect you from other men, even though you were cable of doing so yourself.

[copperbadge]

If its not too personal could you talk about what was the inspiration for Michaelis? He's got a lot of depth to him, especially for what could have been a one off character in the background after Fete. Also the way he mourns but carries on really resonates with me in Jes.

Oh sure! I mean, on the one hand it is quite personal but it's a kind of personal I really enjoy sharing. :D Michaelis began life as the Standard Hallmark Parent -- you see them a lot in the movies, the parent who is

1. Kinda grouchy

2. Usually pushing their kid slightly too hard in slightly the wrong direction (with the best of intentions)

3. Often a widow/er

4. Practically a cameo designed to stress out the lead, but easily attractive enough that they could be romantic lead themselves in the sequel.

There are actually several Hallmark films where the over-sixty characters are either the supporting romance in a one-off film or the main romance of a sequel film. (The Wedding Veil films, which despite their flaws are actually very enjoyable, have a Michaelis-like character for the mother of the male lead in the first movie, and she then becomes the major supporting romantic lead in the fourth movie.)

By the time I got to Michaelis talking to Eddie at the end of the script for Fete, I'd grown to really like him. When I adapted the script to a novel, I liked him even more. I thought that I could do a sequel with him getting jolted out of himself a bit -- and I was encouraged by how many people liked him in the initial read through. The main inspirations for the actual plot of Infinite Jes were, one, Gregory jokingly suggesting he do a podcast, and two, Michaelis's defensive dismissal of Gregory's question about what he's done for companionship since Miranda passed.

Over the course of writing Infinite Jes, he came to be a collection of themes I've explored or wanted to explore, sometimes themes I knew I wasn't skilled enough to handle yet. The core of him is based on a professor I worked with as a student; the confidence that occasionally tips into arrogance, the keen intellect that likes to take things apart, the ability to look at some toxic family traits and decide "RIP but I'm different" and be a present, nurturing masculine figure, all come from that professor, who had a huge impact on me.

But I have also been fascinated for decades now by a certain kind of character in fiction, someone who has had a devastating loss and keeps going, even if they aren't driven by something like revenge. Profound grief is difficult and fascinating for me, and I finally felt capable of exploring that fully, perhaps because the pressure on romance novels is a bit lower at times.

And honestly, a lot of him is me, processing the fact that I am aging in fandom. I'm older (44) than the oldest person I knew in fandom (38) when I joined it at the age of 14. I have, for lack of a better word, a position in fandom, a status, that affords me certain perks and requires of me certain obligations. Not to call myself elected king of fandom ("I didn't vote for him!") but the duty I feel to fandom, both as a culture that raised me and a found family, is very similar.

Most of my characters contain some of me, but Michaelis and Jerry contain far more of me than most, perhaps because I'm in a place to do some reflection. Michaelis -- intelligent, experienced, hopefully a mentor, but also lonely and detached at times -- is who I'm coming to grips with being; Jerry, the charming fuckup with power but no real clue how to use it, who is doing his best to grow up a little later than a lot of his peers and figure out how disability fits into his identity, is who I still see myself as.

So yeah -- I find Michaelis incredibly fun and compelling to write for, and I think that's because I had hit a skill level in my work where I could combine a lot of tropes and themes into one character and use him to explore why I enjoy them so much. But he definitely began life as the Hallmark Widowed Dad. :D Well, there are worse origin stories.

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Korey Adiel~

a rant about my gal for @aspenm00n to use as a ref ^_^

Korey 'Hathai' Adiel

Thai/Korean

19-20 years old

Height is 5'3

AFAB at birth but she's a Demigirl and Bisexual ^_^

She has Hypomania and Face blindness

Mbti is ENTP-A

chaos chaos chaos all throughout life

She was born to a pretty wealthy couple, problem was they were very, very neglective, forgetting about her existence even.

And from birth, girlie was already very energetic

She has 2 brothers, the older one is Esra at 24 y/o. and the younger is Noah at 14 y/o.

Now, Esra has already cut his parents off, and he absolutely refuses to see them again. He has a job, and a family now, and he's not about to let them ruin it.

Noah is kind of like a golden child, but he's actually aware of how his parents treated his older siblings. Planning to leave his home at his 15th birthday and go live with his brother.

Now with Korey is a little different. Her parents have only acknowledged her when they need to take her somewhere with them to keep up their reputation.

Desperate to make her parents notice her, she started putting herself in seriously dangerous situations at only 6 y/o, going as far as to try to gouge her eyes out with scissors to give them to her parents so they'd use them to look at her, she did that when she was 9.

Don't worry though, Esra found her before she actually gouged out her eyes.

The village people didn't really like Korey that much..

That didn't stop her from being even more reckless, however. From jumping off a cliff to almost drowning herself, safe to say she has a LOT of scars from her careless endeavors.

The only few scars she has that aren't from her purposefully putting herself in danger is one on her back, a huge claw like scar from when her and her friend Jay were attacked by a most likely drugged halfblood. Unfortunately, Jay didn't survive the attack, leaving Korey with scars and guilt.

While she did become a hunter out of rage to kill the halfblood.. As much as she wanted to deny it, it was also just for the thrill of it. Also because of a deal I talked about in part 2

I mean, comon! This is like the one job there is where they'll let you run around with weapons and put yourself in danger! Also, she knew that there's no point in harming the other halfbloods because they weren't the ones who killed Jay. Also, other than the thrill, this is like the perfect choice for her to prove that she isn't as apathetic, that she does care and is trying to make a "change" even if she thinks it's wrong

She's pretty indifferent with halfbloods at first, doesn't really mind their existence as long as they hurting anyone

Also, girlie is so fast to trust someone?? But it doesn't really show?? She was often criticized as being heartless by the village people, which ultimately became one of her reasons of becoming a hunter

When she goes manic, girlie is so SO much hyper then she already is, not being able to sleep for days from how energetic she is, ruining her mental health even more

Has a terrible habit of hurting herself when she's in a manic state, especially if she doesn't have her necklace on her

Also girlie is so shit cooking?? The amount of times she burnt water is concerning

And the number of times she'd got lost is worrying- please do not leave this girl by herself for more than 5 minutes or she will end up in another village, that's how bad her sense of direction is

And uh...i think that's it! I do have other posts explaining some things about Korey here, here two, here three, and here four <3

Sigh...adding this again, because tumblr deleted it-

Korey is friends with all of the bugs! But I decided to write a lil rant about what she thinks of some of em :3

Raine and Esther: they're the other founders!! Of course she likes them <3 they're both like sisters to her! Esther more mother figure then sisters, they would always go do errands together! (And because Korey is always getting lost) @willowve01 @asmrbrainrot

East, Lucy and LilyAnn: Korey's other parental figures :3, East more grandpa lol- she always goes to them for advice! Whether it be about Combat, relationships, or just to rant! Also loves to bother them with her energy (lovingly ofc) @itsargyle @castbracelet240 @tiefling-chaos

Her, Azren, and Ulysses are the no sleep trio lol, they'd stay up together to chat about whatever is on their mind, maybe even go on a little night outing while they're at it! @strayharmony943 @lunaritychuwolf

Loves Reya and Melody's energy! Always goes to dance practice with me when she's offered! @kaiamtt @iistxrmyskyii

Joan and Emerald are her clothing designers lol- they'd sometimes have a fashion runway for no reason but to try on new clothes and feel good about themselves <3 @rustycopper4use @aspenm00n

Amber and Victor! Loved to trade drawings with them! They all sometimes have little hangouts where they'd just draw whatever comes to their mind on eachothers notebook! @astralbulldragon13 @littlesiren79

And that's all! Tumblr istg if you delete this again I'll actually explode and itll be on your hands

[fallenflowersfromgrace]

Alright the word vomit that is subject to change off my "Pericles and Jones gain braincells and realize that they are not going to give into the curse and don't blackmail the og Mystery Inc gang" au. I have a summary for that here.

This ended up being really long but it's the whole word vomit of the au of what I got so far.

So let's start with the basics: Why Pericles nopes out of the curse.

Simple. Realized he was being manipulated into joining those who came before him, and saw it as an insult to his intelligence to be manipulated by something smarter than him and refused to play the game. Plus, put his friends over his selfish desires because he realized they were all in danger in a way he didn't want them to be. Which in turn also helps Jones nope out because if the smart parrot of all things is telling you to not go after the curse after the massive amount of disappearances and the way mystery groups were targeted and how nothing good has ever come from people being involved in the curse, it would be a good idea to listen.

What does that mean for the OG Mystery Inc?

Pericles and Jones sat them down, told them for the love of all things under the sun DO NOT go looking into this because it's a curse and you're probably going to end up dead or something much worse. Divine intervention actually got them to listen...might have also been the fact Jones, an adult, and Pericles, someone they trusted, told them for their own safety not to look into it and Pericles even brought the history to the table to prove it. So they pretty much got to continue on with their lives and completely dodge a cursed bullet that would have shot them all at different times in the future. Nobody got black mailed and everyone is okay! ...sorta.

Brad and Judy and the accidental birth of Fred

(Just for context, the OG Gang always struck me as like second year high school when they got blackmailed into leaving so they're like, at this point, in their senior year) I see the OG Gang, at least Brad and Judy, keeping a positive relationship with Jones as he had access to the town's archives and would aid them on mysteries plus Jones may have become like an older brother figure to Brad. And I'll just share this piece from the current wip I am working on to explain what happens. "Brad and Judy had always had good heads on their shoulders. They were both smart and resourceful. They were in a healthy relationship that was seemingly going to follow them out of high school as well. But they were still kids despite both being eighteen but barely seniors. They were young. Really young when Brad had frantically showed up at Jones’ apartment." Aka Judy ended up accidentally pregnant during her final year of high school. Jones finds out first, and is the only one to know for sometime before Cassidy is helping Judy hold her hair back while she's puking out her guts on a near daily basis. Which in turn leads to the rest of the group knowing. Judy and Brad are completely underestimating what having a kid will mean. They are under the delusion that life will resume as normal after the birth of their unborn kid but also certain that they will be able to take care of him despite both of them still being in high school with plans to go into med school right after they graduate. And so, mystery solving is put on the back burner cuz no one wants to risk Judy's (and the baby's) safety. Brad and Judy hang out with Jones a lot more often since they don't have a lot of people in the know about Judy's pregnancy, and besides, Ricky and Cassidy are FINALLY working things out (more on that later) Jones is there when Judy has the baby. Both her and Brad realize at the worst possible time that they are not suitable to be parents, as both of them are still in school, they cannot afford to take care of him, and Judy fears that if they make him stay, he'll hate them in the future because they were too stubborn and too selfish to give him a better chance. Something out there intervenes again. Another wip to explain. “Was there ever a name in mind for him?” Jones wasn’t sure why he asked. Judy and Brad shared a look before Judy let out a soft laugh.  “We were going to name him Fred,” Brad explained.  “After you,” Judy clarified. And of course, Jones cannot just let these two kids he sees as younger siblings/close friends, just give their kid up to some stranger where his fate is uncertain after they told him they were going to name the baby after him. So Brad and Judy hand custody over to Jones, Jones keeps Fred's name as is because how could he not, and Fred Jones Jr is alive and well in the world. Brad and Judy are noted to be his uncle and aunt and try to be involved as they can (more on that later)

Ricky, Cassidy, and Pericles

Alright. I mentioned earlier that Ricky and Cassidy were starting to figure things out while Brad and Judy had the baby drama going on. the TLDR, without monsters chasing them on a weekly basis, and not having to hang out with the group as a whole as often, they hung out a lot more and got comfortable with each other because of it. Not to say they weren't comfortable before, but in a more "we can exist in each other's space and it isn't so incredibly awkward cuz we're both crushing on each other." Like both of them vibing to Ricky playing his keytar and just doing quality time together. Pericles is noted to have been canonically jealous of Cassidy. Well, since he's not being a selfish terrifying jerkward, he realizes that Ricky is growing up, and he actually has a chance to live now that he might not have had if they continued digging into the curse. Pericles realizes that Cassidy isn't the absolute worse because one, Cassidy makes Ricky happy. And two, if Ricky has to date anyone, Pericles rather it be Cassidy because that is the only person he is willing to share Ricky with.

So What Happens After?

Well, OG Gang grow up. They go to prom. Brad proposes to Judy. She says yes. They graduate. Cassidy is valedictorian. Brad and Judy get married in the summer before Mystery Inc finally comes to an end. As much as they loved Crystal Cove and all its unanswered questions, the young adults had to ask themselves who they were without it and wanted to find out. Brad and Judy go out of state to go to med school and study to become doctors. And may nor may not create a trap hustle on the side due to their coping methods of stress which is to build traps. Cassidy was prompted by Pericles to go into engineering, she refused and perused her passions now that she had the freedom to do so. And it is terrifying but incredibly badass. Ricky was going to go in as a journalist, changed majors and went into business. Ricky and Cassidy are not married yet. They talked about it, and had made off hand comments but they're fine where they're at. Timing is an issue again. Besides, they're happy and married in all the other ways but legally. (Maybe also cuz I wanted to get the Scooby Gang involved in the wedding party lol) Pericles, who has tagged along with Ricky and Cassidy to keep an eye on them, is glad that everyone left because that means the curse has less of reach to corrupt his friends. Fred grows up with Jones. But also an extended family in the form of the OG Gang. They try and visit for every winter break and birthday. Brad and Judy call every weekend. Cassidy and Ricky send him gifts in the mail. And Pericles be sending picture books. Fred end ups not having a lot of friends his first few years of school. He talks too much about traps and that's because when he was five, Brand and Judy had brought home a prototype net launcher that Fred found so cool he wanted to replicate it and that spawned his love of traps. It isn't until he's seven do Ricky and Cassidy move back home, with Ricky getting ownership of Destroido (it's debatable if he'll try and push for clean energy but considering the entity is still sorta alive and kicking, probably not) and Cassidy getting the K-Ghoul radio station, Brad and Judy confess that they're his parents, and he meet and befriends Shaggy and Velma, but Velma is more of his bestie in his early elem days since she's the only one who sorta understand trap talk and he understands part of her science talks since if it falls under physics, they're speaking similar languages in different fonts.

The rest of WIP that is subject to change

Brad and Judy move back when Fred is nine (they live near the high school and Fred splits his time between their house and Jones' but is usually more with Jones since his parents are usually busy and they don't want to neglect him) and Pericles is rightfully paranoid because his friends are all back in a place where something very evil and cursed is trying to get to them so he is on high alert. But, Pericles was somewhat cautious upon meeting Velma (when Fred was seven) because if Fred is the Brad/Judy spawn, Velma is the really smart friend in a sense that reminds him a little too much of Cassidy, and he's starting to worry about the curse slowly coming around the bend. But stuff should be fine...hopefully. Fred ends up having Daphne in his class when he's ten and she befriends him and he introduces her to Velma and Shaggy. And fifth grade is when Pericles nearly has a heart attack. Because now that Fred is older, he brings his friends around a lot more since Velma's mom is used to her always being at Fred's house (or the radio station when Jones can't watch them even tho Brad and Judy live nearby, they are still busy with med school), Shaggy is often forgotten to be picked up by his parents and catches a ride with Fred's dad (or sometimes Cassidy (who has become an established figure in the kid's lives as has Ricky and Pericles since they're always around Fred)) and Daphne doesn't have enough attention on her at home and hates being in the house when her parents are always so focused on her perfect sisters and here she can just be herself with her friends. Pericles is seeing the dots connect and he is paranoid. The Brad, Fred. The Judy, Daphne. The Cassidy, Velma. And the Ricky, Shaggy. He's pointed this out to his friends and they all do take notice but hope that it goes away. But it's fine. It is all totally fine. Even if the kids talk about Shaggy's dog, Scooby, that has an appetite as big as he does and likes watching movies and that they all really want to meet Scooby. But kids are full of imagination. Pericles has seen them turn a couch into a pirate ship. Has witnessed them saying that the animal heads on the wall were fantasy creatures that were going to kill them in their sleep. Made up a rumor about the forest around K-Ghoul was haunted and snatches children in the middle of the night. So he takes it all with a grain of salt when they mention things of Scooby talking. Until one day Shaggy delays the group on their way to Jone's house since he asked if he could bring his dog along since his parents don't want to be taking care of his dog when he isn't home. Pericles finds out three interesting things. One, Scooby talks. Two, the kids were not lying. Three, there are four kids, a talking animal, and that means that the curse is trying to take effect. It all hits the fan when the kids end up solving their first mystery fresh into middle school.

There's like a lot more mini details but this is like the basics lol

@sillydeafwitch

[oddeyevibes]

Extra Curricular Activities Part 1

Summary: Your students become worried about the man in the red suit that visited you at school.

Words: 1828

The class of 3-C weren’t the best students. They weren’t the worst either which is what made them so frustrating to many of the faculty. They didn’t have the drive to raise the bar and many teachers had an issue with that. 

Not you though. 

That’s not to say you didn’t believe in any of these kids but you also didn’t feel the need to pressure them. They are young and they have their whole lives ahead of them. Your philosophy was that the pressures of school were heavy enough without someone badgering them to not be anything less than perfect. 

There are those moments in time where the school expects you to make them study but you just let them be. It was perfect for actually connecting with them and reminding them that they’re more than they’re grades. 

Plenty of teachers that used to teach them would tell you that “trying to be their friend” would get you nowhere but…they were patronizing. They never approached them like people, they approached them like toddlers that needed to be reminded not to eat glue and when you’re dealing with teenage rebellion, that usually ends with teens doing the thing you told them not to do. 

You can admit that even this approach is motivated. Coming off as someone they can see as their big sister rather than a nagging authority figure. Someone who can be chill but can still put their foot down if the situation called for it. 

But you just…got it. 

Many of them had stuff to do outside of school. That was the ACTUAL issue. Many of these kids had to take up responsibilities because their parents either can’t or won’t take care of them or their siblings. This was the case with Takara Sugimoto, an aspiring author who lives with both her mother and grandmother. However, her grandmother had a knee surgery recently and needs some help and Takara offers since her mother has to work. 

Three generations helping each other stay afloat. 

She doesn’t hang out much with her friends but it warms your heart how her friends understand. 

Like her friend, Hajime Tsuda. His own father had gotten into a car accident and he had been visiting him often with his mother. He wants to be a baseball star when he gets older. 

Then there was the rowdy Da Liu, who never failed to mention how his dad is in the Yokohama Liumang and several times you’ve warned him to keep it down because when push comes to shove, the Liumang would probably have no choice but to expel his dad. 

There was also his twin sister, Chun Liu, who always did her best to stand out against her brother’s antics, less she only known as the class clown’s sister. She liked makeup. She liked regular makeup, she liked glamorous makeup and while she only told this to a few people, she also liked monster makeup. She’d shown you pictures of the Halloween makeup she’s done for her and brother and she has some serious talent. 

There was also Ju-Hee Chung. Whereas the school saw a fair amount of Japanese and Chinese students, Korean students were somewhat rare around here as often many people under Geomijul protection opted to just have their kids learn within their communities. There were outliers though such as Ju-Hee who transferred in after you started teaching this class and she became quick friends with Chun because they liked the same idol. She’s also into fashion and wants to be a designer…or a model…she hasn’t figured it out yet…maybe both.  

Then there was Shuichi Ono. He was one of the bigger kids. Apparently, he’s been weight training with his father because he’s taken a new interest in wrestling and now he currently wants to be a wrestler but the training makes him exhausted and you’d feel bad so you only really wake him up during these breaks whenever another teacher is coming, especially the snitches. 

Sure they weren’t “perfect”. They didn’t get their grades but they were passing. And maybe it did make you a bad teacher or a bad influence but did you wanna be the person that makes them feel that their world is going to collapse on themselves if they get anything lower than an A. 

Yes, this country gets competitive with stuff like this but you’ve always moved with one thought in mind. That very thought stood as one of the reasons you became a teacher. One day, the old destructive ways will die and then the young will change it for the better. They might not be on the front lines, but they will be there and it’s important for them to know that you’re proud of them. 

They’re being their own people. 

They will enact change

……..

……..

Their first order of business is getting you away from that guy that visits you at work. That weirdo in the dusty red suit and the rat’s nest for a hair who seems to be putting the moves on you. 

It started with Da. You had gone out of the room because some of the teachers were talking about some guy just hanging around the school grounds and they were about to call the cops but then you recognized who it was and told them he was harmless, even telling them that you’ll talk to him. 

Someone was supposed to watch the class but after a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors, everyone decided to just leave them be. 

Da, taking the opportunity, decided to pull some of his impressions of British people. At some point, he saw you and Ichiban talking and then he saw Ichiban take hold of your hands and he made his thoughts known. 

“Hey…who’s the bird nest with Ms. L/N?” He asked. 

While most of the students were just actively ignoring him, the aforementioned ones all came over to the window with Shuichi towering over all of them. 

Chun looked over Ichiban’s entire outfit. “I can smell the vintage on that suit from here.” 

Da shot his sister a confused look at her expression before turning his attention back to the both of you. 

“Is that her boyfriend? Did anyone know she had a boyfriend?” Chimed in Takara. “I didn’t think she was into…men.”

 Shuichi’s brows raised in shock. “You sayin Ms. L/N likes women?” 

Da waved it off. “She could be into both, y’know? My mom says she saw one of our neighbors at a hostess club and THEN at a host club. Bisexuals are everywhere. We could all be bisexuals and we wouldn’t even know it.” 

Then Hajime chimed in with a confused tone. “I’m not bisexual.” 

In response, Da leaned in closely to Hajime’s face and whispered, “but how do you knooooowwwwwwww?” 

“Shh!!!” Chun hushed him. “I can’t focus.” 

“Focus on looking?” Da asked with a scoff. 

“I’m trying to practice my lip reading, I wanna know what they’re saying.” 

Shuichi leaned in as if it would give him a clearer look at their expressions while Ju-Hee pulled out her phone from her large sleeves, their main purpose. 

She tried using her camera and zooming in the lens but it was for nothing. The windows were murky from the half-assed job they did yesterday from cleaning it. Well, specifically Da, who’s lip imprints were still visible on another panel. 

“I can’t see anything, if I zoom in too much it gets all fuzzy.” Ju-Hee complained.

Hajime stepped in to try to be the voice of reason. “Maybe it’s her friend?”

“No,” Takara shot it down. “He’s gotta be her boyfriend. Who would voluntarily come back to school?” 

Everyone shot her a glance. “Teachers?” They all replied in unison. 

She scoffed. “Without pay?” 

“........teachers.” They were more sure.

She rolled her eyes. “Maybe he’s so smitten by her that he can’t resist showing up looking like a creeper at the place she works.” 

“Yeeeeah….I’m pretty sure that’s just stalking.” Hajime reasoned as he often did whenever she started losing her head into the clouds. Then he gasped. “Is she being stalked?” 

A gasp from Chun followed. “That bastard!” 

“I mean…she looks like she’s smiling.” Shuichi pointed out. 

“YOU FOOL!” Chun yelled. “That’s a defense mechanism. Women often smile when they’re worried that the guy might kill her. I hear it’s especially dangerous in places like the States with their guns. You don’t laugh at a guy’s joke there, BAM they shoot you, in front of EVERYONE and the cops STILL won’t throw away the key.” She let out another gasp. “That’s probably why. She’s probably suffering from PTSD.” 

“But she grew up in Japan.” Shuichi replied. 

“She was born in the states and moved here when she was way younger and then she went to college in the states. Something could’ve happened.” 

Hajime let out an exhausted sigh. “Then would she have anything to worry about? Guns aren’t legal here and it’s hard to get them normally and even if you buy them in parts, it’s illegal to put it together.”

Then Da had a revelation. “Unless…he’s a gangster.” 

Now everyone looked to him but their expressions all portrayed roughly the same sentiments. Da could be right. 

“They don’t care about legality.” Takara whispered in shock. “He could have a gun on him right now.” 

Ju-Hee gasped. “Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe he’s playing her.” 

“He could be Yakuza. Y’know, they walk around in bright suits all the time. My uncle used to be Yakuza and when he wanted to leave, he had to cut something off.” 

“Wasn’t that back when the legal system was a bit more loose?” Hajime asked. “They wear normal suits now, don’t they? So they don’t stand out?” 

The energy among the group deflated. “Maybe…” They were all heard muttering quietly. 

Then Takara perked up. “Or…that’s his plan.” 

Everyone looked at her. 

“What if he’s trying to trick her? Like dressing so ridiculous that Ms. L/N won’t even consider him being a gangster? What if he’s trying to traffic her?” 

Jun-Hee spoke up. “They always do go for people they think are foreigners.” 

Hajime huffed. “If they’re foreign tourists,” he tried correcting his friends. 

“No, any foreigner is a good foreigner to them.” Ju-Hee replied. 

Takara let out a sad sigh. “Poor Ms. L/N. Doesn’t even know she’s being played for a fool.” 

“Bullshit!” Da exclaimed, pushing himself away from the window. “We can’t let this bastard get away with this! This guy’s playin’ her and we don’t know what other bullshit he could have planned for her.” 

“Should we confront him now?” Chun asked, now she was becoming fully invested in her brother’s words. 

“No. We have to get proof. If we go now, she’ll just tell us everything is fine.” 

His eyes turned back towards Ichiban but you were seen coming back into the building. 

“We’ll have to make plans to follow him.” 

[cowardlychimera]

dream team au random fun facts and stuff under cut (because uhmmm scary!) yaaay :3

Sunny first!

genderfluid, and didn't decide on an orientation because he's too busy Facing Horrors for that

he's the shortest of the 4! refusing to take care of yourself for years can do that to you

he's japanese american wowww!

after the good ending, his dream world didn't disappear at all, just simply... started reconstructing itself, with everything except white space (and sometimes red space) becoming inaccessible to him, since the state of a dream world reflects its dreamer's state of mind

he no longer uses Omori as a vessel or anything anymore, letting him be his own person (but Omori still chooses to function as a guardian, protecting the dream world from intruders and helping keep things in order, just like BYC, Humphrey, and Abbi. he's just. a little more chill about it now. a little.), so instead Sunny appears more like his normal self in his and others' dream worlds, just taking on a monochrome palette like Omori. it's not easy letting go of everything all at once, after all

music is still difficult for him, but he's very good at learning other languages!! this is very important and helpful actually, since only one of the other 3 is fluent in english...

he's helpful to a fault. often ignores his own health to work on figuring out ways to help the other dreamers and figure out how dream worlds work instead

connected to last detail, Sunny keeps a notebook on everything he learns about dream worlds! haha almost like a dream diar-

eventually he does start school again, but instead he gets to do online school, since it's a bit difficult for him to build up the courage to explore the new city on his own...

he toootally doesn't subconsciously see Madotsuki as another Mari haha what're you talking abooouutt (this is bad for everyone.)

Madotsuki time!!

I normally see her as an adult, but for this au she's 17! mainly just so I could have her be adopted by Sunny's mom tbh (I'm aware adults can be adopted but it makes more sense this way in my head just trust me)

she's also pretty short, just barely taller than Sunny! (but she's actually around average height for women in japan so she's not really THAT short, the other 2 are just tall weirdos <3)

Madotsuki's gender is Madotsuki (she's happy with being referred to as both female and male, but doesn't care to figure out what, or even if, there's a specific label she identifies with. Schrödinger's gender) for orientation, maaaybe lesbian. she doesn't really care though

she's very shy, anxious, and quiet, only talking when she has to. she eventually opens up more and talks more, but it takes a while. but if Sunny can do it, so can she!

she actually looks up to Sunny a lot, despite being a bit older than him

her art style is more abstract

Madotsuki can be a bit of a perfectionist at times... just like a certain big sis (coughMaricough)

she's chubby (not sure if this is a good word to use since I've heard a large variety of what people consider chubby

not 100% canon to this au because I'm not sure I could handle it properly no matter how much research I do (I may or may not also be a bit of a perfectionist at times <3) but! she's both japanese and peruvian

connected to last detail, she's fluent in japanese and knows quite a bit of spanish. Sunny is the one who teaches her english!

now for actual Lore, she was born in japan, and her parents died when she was young, moving in with another family member who is. less than kind

the npcs Monoe and Monoko represent two people Madotsuki was close friends with as a kid (because why not), but after losing both of them, one in quite a tragic way, things really started to fall apart

the npc Poniko represents someone she looked up to at school and wanted to be more like: popular, pretty, perfect. she took advantage of Madotsuki's desire to be more like her.

the npc Masada represents her piano teacher! the only adult in her life she trusted at the time. he was the only person in her life who was worried about her.

she developed psychosis as a kid, which resulted in an incident at school involving a knife and a bully. she dropped out after that.

eventually she moved to the US with the family member who took her in, never leaving the apartment, and only leaving her room when necessary when she was sure she was the only one home

moving on, she can get VERY protective of Sunny. she's already lost so much, she can't lose him too. she's not letting go of the one who saved her.

connected to last thing, due to Basil's history with Sunny and some very unfortunate similarities with a certain someone (coughPonikocough), Madotsuki's VERY suspicious of Basil. it takes a very long while for her to warm up to him

on a lighter note, she can act quite silly and childish! she enjoys being mischievous with Sunny and can be very stubborn and playful

most important detail ever: she loves frogs. huge frog fan. based on my favorite page in the yume nikki manga <3

ough that was long. Urotsuki time!

she's an adult and the oldest of the 4, and actually enjoys it! she likes feeling needed for once

she's also the tallest! very tall! a giraffe!! around the same height as Kel and Hero, even! what a freak! (affectionate) this detail is actually based on how the stretch effect (exactly what the name implies. makes her quite long) is treated like the opposite of the child effect quite a lot. and the stretch effect's action is just her crying, which cooouuld imply this effect represents her fear or whatever of growing up. I like being mean to her :)

she's also genderfluid, like Sunny!! yay!! based on the 2 boy effects in yume 2kki. for orientation, pan, because projection!! and also it makes perfect sense to me. can't explain why

her personality tends to switch between excitable + silly and aloof + blunt. to most people it seems like she's a faker and an asshole, but both sides are genuine. she's both at the same time, just struggles to socialize in a way everyone wants, even exaggerating parts of her personality at times to make up for that. the other 3 don't seem to mind how she acts, though. they know she cares

she's very caring of course, even if it doesn't show at times. she enjoys helping and taking care of others! even if her reasons at times are unhealthy, it doesn't change the fact she just truly enjoys having people to care for. she's pretty protective of the other 3, and would do anything to keep them safe.

her art style is more realistic, but is very inspired by anime. nerd

she could count as conventionally attractive physically, even with her intimidating height and personality, since she's naturally curvy, with an hourglass shape. she actually hates this quite a bit at times, and other times couldn't care less. she's too busy Facing Horrors

she's japanese and also russian. I have no good reason for the russian part. I made a joke about it once and it just stuck. she was raised as 100% japanese anyway

she's fluent in both japanese and english! she was determined to learn as much english as possible so she could move from japan to the US as soon as she could. an attempt to escape a past that'll haunt her dreams forever

she has and needs glasses but usually refuses to wear them. based on glasses effect, I mostly just wanted to add this detail though because I think she's cute with glasses...

her dream world works similarly to Sunny's, with guardians protecting her dreams and keeping them in order. she just. has far more guardians than him. toootally a normal amount though hahaa (lie)

Lore time! there's no fucking way I'm adding every single thing in yume 2kki to this au, so I picked only some themes and npcs I liked, and filled in spaces with whatever I wanted! anyway, she was raised by neglectful yet strict parents who expected her to exceed expectations, especially in school. she did manage to get good grades in all her classes, but of course they weren't perfect. it wasn't enough for her parents, despite her attempts to do better

she also got into fights quite often with bullies after being pushed around one too many times, and broke rules quite often too, quickly becoming the most disliked student at school. she's not the best at knowing when to back down

I added the npc Shimako to Urotsuki's Lore, because I like her and find her very interesting :3. in this au, she was Urotsuki's best (and only) friend, but due to Urotsuki's unpredictable behavior, inability to express her emotions properly, and struggle to understand and read other people well, they slowly drifted apart. they eventually stopped talking after they parted ways after graduating, despite having each other's contact info. after many failed attempts to just dm or call each other, Urotsuki one day noticed Shimako stopped going online. she took too long. she'll always blame herself for this.

YAY FINALLY ALMOST DONE! so much typing... Sabitsuki's turn!

she's also an adult, but a bit younger than Urotsuki. they often argue about who's in charge (the answer is neither of them. Sunny is secretly pulling all the strings /j)

she's definitely taller than Madotsuki, but also definitely shorter than Urotsuki. a bit shorter than the average for men in japan

her gender is. well. complicated, you could say. she's afab and does identify as female, but she doesn't feel cis due to disconnected feeling to since she never really felt like she was even treated as human in the first place. agender could also fit her, but she doesn't care for labels anyway. for orientation, same thing, she doesn't care for labels, but she could count as mspec

she has albinism! wowie!! I actually researched a specific genetic disorder(?) that causes albinism and is connected to blood disorders and bruising issues, because it seems like a perfect fit, buuut I couldn't find enough useful info for me to be confident enough in portraying it properly, so while certain symptoms and stuff are canon in this au, I'm not sure if I can say she does in fact have it

anyway, she bleeds very easily (it's actually canon in .flow she gets nosebleeds often) and bruises very easily too, and has contacts to help with her sensitivity to light and hide her eye color. she has a limited supply due to refusing to keep up with medical stuff, but she doesn't leave her apartment much anyway

she can seem cold and standoffish to strangers, but she's actually pretty chill and sweet once she gets to know someone better. she definitely has a soft spot for Sunny and Madotsuki, and tends to spoil them a bit when she gets the chance. she's often aggressive and competitive with Urotsuki, but that's because Urotsuki is just extremely good at pissing her off, and even messes with her for fun sometimes. they do eventually get along more, but will always be at least a little snarky with each other sometimes

Sabitsuki actually does make herself seem more intimidating and tough on purpose, in an attempt to scare people away and make sure no one ever hurts her again. she's afraid of letting people get close to her and being vulnerable around others, but it doesn't take long for Sunny to wear her down. it's nice having someone who can easily read the real you but would never even think of judging you

she can also be VERY protective, especially with Sunny and Madotsuki, with how easily she can see a bit of herself in them. she's determined to make sure no one ever hurts them the same way others hurt her

her art style is much more realistic, but still noticeably a bit stylized

Sabitsuki also has a morbid fascination with human bodies, for a variety of reasons

she's pretty skinny, to an unhealthy degree even. she's naturally thin, but she tends to avoid and forget about eating. and when she does eat, it's not uncommon for her to accidentally eat way too much way too fast and just throw it up again...

Sabitsuki's 100% japanese, but in this au grew up in the US so I could keep her close to the other 3

fluent in japanese, and can understand and write in english but struggles to actually speak it

LORE TIME! .flow isn't as vague as yume nikki is, but it's still vague enough that I essentially made up my own story for this au anyway lol. her mother died during childbirth, and Sabitsuki fully believes her mother should've lived instead of her (based on. so many things in .flow. feel free to ask about what specifically if you're curious!), and her aunt took her in and raised her

her health was even worse as a kid, so she spent a lot of her childhood in a hospital. it wasn't all bad though, since this is where she met her first friend! the npc Oreko represents this friend. she often snuck into Sabitsuki's room to keep her company and play with her. they'd keep each other up to date on stuff in and outside of the hospital! though, she didn't live long. Sabitsuki refuses to let go of her memories of her

her aunt did her best to give her as normal of a childhood as possible, but slowly struggled more and more to afford anything, really. she eventually gave up and got into sex work for money, but it wasn't enough. her mental health quickly fell apart. Sabitsuki resents her for this but also can't blame her either

as her aunt's life fell apart, Sabitsuki did her best to stay afloat as a teen, taking on a few jobs here and there to try to help. then she met Smile at school

she quickly grew attached to him and started depending on him instead, even joining the gang he was part of. she managed to blend in well enough despite her appearances, willing to help with any task she was given to keep her spot in the only place she felt like she belonged: in dark alleys with the strays

she felt safe with Smile and his sister. they were like a messed up little family to her

but of course, nothing good lasts forever! soon enough, other members started taking advantage of her, eventually resulting in Sabitsuki murdering one of them. she went to Smile for help, but he refused. his sister was his priority, and he didn't want to put her in danger. Sabitsuki didn't take this well, but he forced her out anyway

she quickly went into hiding after that to avoid punishment for killing another member, managing to find a shitty yet cheap apartment in another city, the same city the other 3 end up in too

aough jesus christ I'm done typing no more

[lucidiferneedssleep]

Okay, so. Since I haven't posted this already, this is the main idea I had for DreamCycle before I start writing it:

Basically, DreamCycle is a DreamTale alternate in which, rather than both Nightmare and Dream being Guardians, they are instead appointed Gods, the sons of the original Gods. Other characters I imagined would be of similar origin in different fashion would be Ink, Error, generally just the OutCodes. I'm gonna dive into Sovereign Rift (SR), which is a variant of DreamCycle in which Nm and Dream are Kings, rather than just normal Gods protecting the sun and moon. In SR, rather than there being different universes which you can jump between, all the AUs are instead a whole bunch of neighboring countries. (Shhh it's not Empireverse. They were also all born out of the original Gods, such as Nim, who will be going under the alias 'Gaia' for this.)

(The main Gods in this case would be the parent of each respective God. YES, the CQ siblings are canon to this idea, so Geno, Fresh and Error all have the same creator-mom. Reaper has a dad. Ink has his adoptive caretakers because his actual mom is very dead, and very much THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE????? like bro. OP much? Yada Yada you know this part)

The twins were created with their mother's magic and instructed to care for the country of Ignicia as their mother tended to separate places at the same time before falling ill to erosion. (The cause of that erosion is a plot point later on, so I'll explain that when I get to it.)

Nightmare and Dream were created with two separate elements, both needed to spark life. The warmth of the sun's rays and the waves of the water. Sun and Moon, created to rule day and night. Nightmare was a drop of the same energy he could control, water, a goopy little puddle, ice cold. Dream was a ball of hot, hot fire. The two were each given an apple at their birthplace, told that the magic-infested fruit would build them a body just akin to their mother's, who was a remnant of the tree of which the fruit had been plucked.

(This basically granted them the ability to freely switch between two forms: One based on the apple, a fire-like figure for Dream, and the usual goop for Nightmare and then their 'passive' states, being the one they usually used to not expend as much energy keeping their magic protection up.)

Dream, being only seconds older than Nightmare, was awarded the title crown prince. Despite his usual childish nature, he proved to be a good leader as they both grew. With their mother growing more and more absent as years passed by, they became forced to take the responsibilities of the kingdoms into their own hands. Nightmare was working hard at being Dream's right-hand-man, but struggling under the apparent distaste the people had for him. Dream was reveling in the glory of his throne, but often was crushed under the sheer weight of the heavy crown he was appointed.

The main plot point is the twist that during a friendly duel turned traitorous battle, there's the first 'incident'. But rather than Nightmare turning on Dream and slaughtering a village as what happens in the original universe, Dream lunges a spear lit afire right through his skull without thinking. Then he feels the most guilt he ever has within his life. It wasn't meant to hit him, it was meant to scare him. But now his brother was dusting hurting because of him, so he immediately took to trying to heal him like he usually did when they fought. Except Nightmare refused. He ran off, his skull becoming slathered in a gooey substance as his vision faded. He wound up back at his own temple, dunking his head in the healing waters of the moon, vowing to never forget the day.

Later the same year, he fled the country, instead gathering the castaways, the forgotten and the unwanted by the strict leaders of Dream's Empire Ignicia, creating his own nation: Oscuro, Kingdom of Darkness. Swallowed by evil. Nightmare would forever be an empty shell, only half of what was of his childhood self, but his Moon remained in a form which obscured his past and hid his hurt parts. This meant war.

Through the rubble of the war marched out many other separate neutral parties, either wishing for peace or for their own benefit through taking no sides of the large war.

Such include, for the Gods:

Geno, Omnipotence and Time

Reaper, Death

Error, Destruction

Ink, Creation

Fresh, Illusion (Parasitism)

Other third parties could include for example Swap (Revolution and revolt, justice) or characters like Cross and Orphic, but that's the main idea

The main leading plot points would be:

- The rebellion against the 'Universal Law' with humans not being able to talk to Gods

- Dream's obsession with power (Savior complex and narcissism that was engraved in him after being told he's this great ruler his entire childhood and needing to meet up with those standards, else he lose his purpose in life. Yeah, self-esteem issues who?)

- Nightmare's desire for revenge ("You're not my brother anymore" is def gonna be said at some point and I will undoubtedly cry.)

- The consequences of the war among the people and other nations (universes)

- Ink's non-emotional state and how it changes with time

- Error learning to discern right from wrong because he's a nervous, angry wreck throughout the thing

- The breakage of the "Universal Law" resulting in the tree being killed and Gaia nearly dying bc of it, instead burying herself underground until it became so much that the wilting tree's instinct turn on her own sons to absorb the magic that is being taken away because of mistreatment of the Gods

-Fresh's subplot of creating a whole cult of people he can feed off of through his parasite

- Geno's prophecy of doom because he's seen wayyy too much, poor boy needs a break

- Nightmare creating his own nation after leaving Dream's in reluctance to his rule and taking in refugees who don't think they're treated right (Nightmare's gang would be his highest ranked generals ofc)

I THINK THAT'S ALL. I spend a reeeeealllyyyy long time on this. But I'm excited about what you guys might think! Me and a close friend are working on starting the actual book so we might release an actual start to the story at some point, if ya'll want it <3333

Thanks for reading!!

Some concept art:

Next post:

[the-void-writes]

For Riley!! 🎮📚🩹🎶🔺🌈🍎💔💘😊!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH 😁💖 I’M SO HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THIS KID

Here’s some references for Riley. Credit to Wervty and Naylissah on Picrew for the images

🎮 What are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

Riley loves guitar and wants to learn how to play it. He also likes exercise, even if Rio’s training gets ridiculous or excessive. To everyone’s surprise, he shows a lot of interest in studying health and medicine. Avery makes him his unofficial apprentice.

📚 What level of education has your oc most recently completed/is currently in (GED, undergraduate, grad school, phd, etc)?

Vesely has a school program for patients, so technically Riley is still getting a high-school education. The last official schooling he had was in junior-high.

🩹 Does your oc have any physical and/or mental disabilities?

I’m not sure if it counts, but since his powers generate large amounts of electricity, it scars his arms and damages the nerves. Too much use of it also starts to affect his heart.

That’s why Riley and Thomas work so well together. Thomas’ phasing means that when they touch him, the electricity can move through his body without hurting him, but he also had less control over it.

🎶 What type of music does your oc like? Do they listen to music very often?

Lots of alternative rock, stuff he can turn on during training and headbang to. He also loves the older rock that Jason listens to like Venus Wonder (the Freaks-universe equivalent of the band Queen).

🔺 Does your oc know how to use any weapons?

Aside from his powers, which generate strands of electricity, Rio teaches him how to use a staff as a conduit while he fights.

🌈 What is your oc's sexual orientation/gender identity? What pronouns do they use?

Riley is bisexual and transgender, the latter of which he is very defensive about. He won’t tolerate being called anything other than “he/him.”

🍎 Where was your oc born? Do they still live in/around their place of birth or do they live somewhere else? How do they feel about their birthplace?

Riley was born in a small town somewhere around Preston (I haven’t come up with a name lol). He hates everything about that town, from the school that bullied him, to the church that called him a demon, to the childhood home where his mother called him horrible names and forced him to wear dresses and regularly called the cops to have someone take this kid away. Thankfully, Jason and Rio were the ones to rescue him, and he’ll never have to see that town again.

💔 What are three of your oc's negative traits?

Riley is incredibly defensive to the point where he starts fights that aren’t necessary. He’s so used to pain and having his heart broken that he lashes out the minute he thinks someone is going to hurt him.

He can be grumpy, even with friends. Kevin lives and breathes to pester him, and though their banter is mostly playful, there are times where Riley says something hurtful. He always apologizes later.

He has little respect for grown-ups or authority figures. There have been days where this highly-powerful and rightfully-angry teenage boy has hospitalized trained officers by electrocuting them. The only adults he trusts are Jason and Henry, and eventually his adoptive parents (Avery gets a pass because he’s still technically a college graduate).

💘 What and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

His friends are the most important things in his life. They welcomed him, supported him, and loved him when his family refused to. He says he would kill a man for them, even though he doesn’t really want to.

This also becomes true for his adoptive family. He doesn’t trust them to stay, at first, but he grows to love them dearly.

😊 What are your oc's career/general life desires? What do they want to get the most out of life?

Riley wants to be a doctor. Ever since Jason mentioned it as an option, ever since he showed faith that Riley could help people, Riley’s wanted to follow that path. He never thought he was capable of anything other than destruction, and now he wants to live up to the hope that Jason gave him.

[rene-hl-trashcan]

The Gremlins' Sleeping Style

Sylvan :

When sleeping alone, he is the starfish-style sleeper—because even in his sleep he is open and welcoming. It works best because before Sylvia warm-up to him and his family, she was awfully reserved and scared to ask for affection and comfort, so Sylvan kept the invitation open even while he slept. That way, his new sister didn't have to ask if she needs comfort and doesn't want to sleep alone. However, the moment someone climbs into his open arms, he will instinctively turned to a bear trap—his arms will curl to hold whoever that was snuggling up to him, holding them secure to his chest and he will keep them still by grounding his chin/cheek on top of their head (and yes, that includes Riz who is taller than him; everyone is small spoon if you decide to cuddle with Sylvan) 😂

Sylvia :

Fetal position unless whenever she has to sleep outside in the element where danger could strike (if that was the case, she would sleep leaning against something, arms crossed and hand holding her wand) . Before she was yeeted across multiverses to Sylvan's world, she wasn't allowed to ask for comfort and affection, sometimes even punished for it. That's why she always sleep in a fetal position considering that back then, the only warmth she could get was from herself. Then, she become Sylvan's sister and although she gets overflowing affection and warmth from him, the habit persists when she has to sleep alone.

Riz :

Straight on his back, his hands often clasped over his stomach—basically the dead people in a casket style of sleeping 💀 Since Riz took the role of a parent to his niece/sister when he was super young, he thought of himself as her father figure and guardian, thus learning to be the place to be relied on instead of relying on others which is reflected in his sleeping style. Also, as a child, he moved around a lot in his sleep and had serious bruisings, which is something he wished to avoid now he is older and has more control of his body. The only time Riz's stiff shoulder will relax and he would actually curl in his sleep is when he took the open spot on Sylvan's arm that Sylvia hasn't occupied. 😂

Mildred :

On her side or her stomach because she sleeps surrounded with plush teddy bears, pillows and blankets at her home so she found it the most comfortable when she sinks into pure softness that was her bed. Mildred also likes being with people, so if she is not sleeping alone, she would try her best to position herself at the spot where she could feel the other person's breathing or heartbeats but at the same time able to use her body to block any incoming danger from hitting that other person (habit she picked up after Hogwarts and travelling the Highlands with a concerned Ominis insisting to watch her back) Obviously she would sleep on top of Sylvan. He's strong and she's smol, so they both are perfectly comfortable 😌

Because Noelle's MC sleepover party got me brainrotting at 3am. My gremlins do make contact with each other and the centre they gravitated towards is the unhinged pastel boy 😌

This makes me want to keep writing about their dynamics because I love these murder gremlins so much.