#anything he might want later. me? i said well future me will simply have to be disappointed. raze it to the ground.

[filmnoirsbian]

I love myself for her ability to just decide You know what? This isn't worth it. And abandon ship the moment the good stops outweighing the bad. I hate myself for her inability to fucking save anything. The amount of stuff I have simply left behind when deciding to last minute move states/continents is obscene.

[love-and-deepspace-fanfic]

Another delulu for our fishie! And this time of course will be for his newest steamy card “Omnipotent Perception”!

This will be the lighter version with different approach (suggested by LnD contest theme) but I hope to still be able to capture Rafayel’s complexity and profound feelings.

This personally is my favorite card (I know I know I had so many favs now huhu) but definitely on par with Private Trip and Floral Promise for me.

This journey of discovering Rafayel inner feelings has been quite a treat for me and I look forward to seeing more of these in the future.

Hands up to LnD dev team! Excellent job as always ❤️❤️❤️❤️

PS: I would also appreciate if you can check out the post on X as well!

Now is the time for our delulu!

Rafayel and I were enjoying our vacation on an island miles away from where the Lemurian ruins were discovered then fate found the better of us…

The Unspoken Feelings

"Today’s forecast: Sunny and breezy, perfect for picnics and outdoor sightseeing..."

The ding of a text message with a weather alert pulled me from my slumber. As I looked around the unfamiliar room, I realized I was on an island southeast of Linkon City, about miles from the discovered Lemurian ruins. Rafayel and I had come here for a summer vacation. A big yawn reminded me of how well-rested I felt thanks to him. Last weekend was hectic, but now I can relax and enjoy my vacation with Rafayel, with whom I want to spend the rest of my remaining time.

Even though this was my third day waking up to the colorful sunlight filtering through the blue-tinted windows of my room, as if I were submerged in the sea, I still couldn't stop marveling at this place.

An island surrounded by the sea, like a lone oasis in a desert. I'd heard rumors of mermaids living here, but only those who'd seen them could confirm the truth.

Not only the island itself but also the way someone had furnished this guesthouse intrigued me. It was very nautical, or rather, very Rafayel.

In my bedroom, beside the large blue-tinted windows, small sea-themed decorations were scattered on the shelves: seashells, pearls, coral, scented candles that smelled of the ocean, an hourglass, and a pot of bright red lilies.

If someone told me this was Rafayel's house, I wouldn't hesitate to believe them.

But when I asked if he had lived here for a long time because this kind of decor is usually found in places for people with long residences, he simply said that a friend had given him the house, so maybe that friend had decorated it in his style and left it there in case he needed it in the future.

I knew this was his usual way of avoiding an answer if he wanted to hide something. And it made sense. Why would Rafayel have a house on such a remote island, except for the local residents or curious people who wanted to explore the Lemurian ruins? If that were the case, it meant he had a past he hadn't told me about. I suddenly realized I might not know him as well as I thought.

When my phone buzzed a third time, I realized I'd been spacing out for quite a while. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I could immediately guess who had been texting me all morning. It was Rafayel who kept asking if I wanted a seafood breakfast, and really, only he would suggest something like that so early in the morning. Just as I was about to touch the screen to reply, I heard the door open, and the smell of the ocean mixed with his distinct scent and food filled the room. When Rafayel saw my dazed expression, still lying in bed, he chuckled and said,

'Cutie, it seems your sleep is about to turn into a fairy tale about a sleeping beauty.'

Without waiting for me to speak, he went straight to the round table by the corner of the wall, carrying the plate of food he had in his hand. The faint smell and vapors from the food also let me know that this was something he had just prepared. Before I could say anything, he went straight to the bathroom. The sound of running water echoed, and a moment later, a wet towel was draped over his arm along with a basin of water. His fluid movements left me stunned as I could only watch. Rafayel chuckled at my naive and silly expression. He sat down beside me and lifted my face to gently wipe it.

As he traced the lines of my face, Rafayel looked at me and teased, 'Haiz, I think I'm losing money on this deal. I hired you as my bodyguard, but it turns out I do more serving you than you do for me. I wonder if I can get a refund.'

I was silent, enjoying his gentle care, until I caught the distinctive salty smell of the sea.

'It's your honor to serve me, Mr. Rafayel. Now tell me why you got up so early this morning to go to the beach. You're not usually the type to wake up early, are you?'

'Silly girl, don't underestimate me! I need to exercise too, especially when I have the chance to come back here. Watching the sunrise and then immersing myself in the sea. The feeling of sinking into the water and forgetting all my troubles is the best way to de-stress.'

Rafayel flicked my forehead. 'If you're still feeling troubled by work, you should try it. I'll do my best to accompany you.'

I hit Rafayel, and he reflexively yelled. But before he could complain, I immediately pointed out a flaw in what he had just said.

'Rafayel, didn’t you always say you wanted to watch the sea or the sunset with me? So why didn’t you invite me this time? And by the way, what do you mean by getting de-stress?'

Rafayel sighed, looked at me, and stroked my hair from my temples to my face, then gently pinched my cheek.

‘You’re overthinking it, it’s just simply because I saw you sleeping so soundly, and I didn't want to wake you up, so while I was waiting for you to wake up, I had to do it by myself and for de-stressing, maybe from…not getting enough attention from you?’

Noticing a slight irregularity in Rafayel's voice, before he could finish, I quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, then looked straight into his bright cerulean blue eyes covered in fiery red with a determined expression and said,

"I want to do that with you from now until the end. So next time, don't forget to take me with you, no matter what happens, okay?"

Rafayel was momentarily surprised, but then he smiled softly, leaned down close to my cheek, and placed a kiss on it, watching the blush spread from my cheeks to my ears.

When satisfied with his handiwork, Rafayel replied, "Okay."

After we finished eating, it was time to carry out the plan that Rafayel had already set up, and the reason I emphasized that this plan was personally arranged by Rafayel was that he was determined to let me relax without a care in the world. It was in executing this plan that I realized Rafayel was more familiar with this place than I'd thought.

And that surprised me because he usually would proactively tell me things I needed to know, but perhaps this land, along with the buried past here, was something he didn't want me to touch. Not only that, deep in his eyes, there was a nameless sadness, like a fleeting nostalgia that quickly passed like a fish's tail gliding quickly across the palm of my hand, leaving me no time to grasp. Maybe I didn't understand Rafayel as much as I thought. I thought I understood a large part of him, but the chain of events of the past few days had revealed to me that I still had a long way to go.

I tried to learn more about what he hadn't revealed, but whenever I wanted to mention a part of that past, he would just pass it over with a calm tone as if it were just one of those trivial matters that didn't need to be mentioned - from the villages he had been to, to the streets he had walked. Everything he told me was like a third-person narration, not from the direct perspective of someone who had experienced it. I also asked if he was really happy when talking about those past times, and fortunately, because I knew he was a truthful person, instead of glossing over it, his answer through silence was proof of what I had guessed.

And that made me want to know more and more about him. So when I looked at the schedule for the last day, packed with places to go, from the harbor to the art gallery to the night market, I suddenly felt that I didn't want him to keep reminiscing about the unhappy memories anymore. I wanted to see him in a place where, although there was still a hint of nostalgia, he wouldn't feel suffocated. And that place was the guest house where we were staying.

That meant there was a possibility that today, both he and I would do nothing but look at each other. When he heard my suggestion, Rafayel was quite surprised and observed me for a moment as if trying to find something different about me, until he sighed and agreed.

"If you want, cutie..." he took my hand and gently kissed it. "I don't mind spending the whole day with you without doing anything. Luckily for us, I just found a flyer stating that there will be a seaside market near the shore around the afternoon when the fishermen have finished fishing, and they will also hold a small festival to celebrate the summer, so there will be fireworks by the shore. What do you think? That's also like doing nothing in this place, right?"

Fireworks and a seaside market? That's a great idea! I'm sure Rafayel would love it!

So I agreed immediately without hesitation.

The detailed plan for today was simplified drastically to "sit idly at home until there is a seaside market and fireworks in the late afternoon."

**************************************************************************************

The sounds of fishermen and vendors mingled with the excited chatter of shoppers, signaling to Rafayel and me that it was time for the seaside market. Conveniently, the market was located right next to the guesthouse Rafayel had arranged.

Hand in hand, we wandered towards the tents set up for the festival. It was quite different from what I had expected. Instead of just selling seafood, there was a wide variety of other items characteristic of the region. From seashells to thatched hut decorations, necklaces and bracelets made of pearls and stones, created mysterious sea colors. To emphasize the summer atmosphere, a multitude of Hawaiian-style shirts were sold everywhere in the stalls. Before I could tear my eyes away from all the goods, Rafayel had placed a straw hat on my head, having bought it from a nearby stall without me noticing.

“You’ll need this when walking by the sea in the afternoon, or you’ll end up like a dried fish,” he said with a smile. Seeing him wearing a similar hat, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this memorable moment.

“Then I have to save a picture of you before you turn into dried fish too!” I teased. Rafayel grabbed my phone. “If we share the fun, we have to share the misfortune!”

Our laughter somewhat eased my mind as I thought about the part of Rafayel I didn't know. I told myself perhaps now wasn’t the right time to delve deeper.

But fate had other plans.

As we took photos, a heated argument erupted at a nearby stall. A customer, with a fierce expression, was holding a pearl and was berating the young boy behind the counter. “A trivial pearl like this, and you dare to say it’s priceless and charge a sky-high price? Do you know the price of pearls is going down? If you don’t sell it cheap, no one will buy it!”

The boy, almost tearful, replied, “No...this pearl is truly priceless...very precious...I can't sell it to you like that…”

Just as the customer was about to get physical, Rafayel intervened, grabbing the customer's hand and examining the pearl.

“Hmm, a very fine, aged pearl. Truly priceless, not something you can buy with money. Unlike someone who didn’t even know its true worth and still dared to make himself a bargain.”

Rafayel glanced at the customer and with a force only the man could feel, he snatched the pearl, wiped it with his sleeve, and handed it back to the boy.

“You're right. This pearl is priceless, and priceless things shouldn't be sold carelessly.”

The boy stammered, “But...I need money to…”

“Alright,” Rafayel interrupted, “if you want to sell, I can buy it and give it back to you, and of course, I won’t do it for free. So the condition for returning it is that you let me meet the owner of this shop, is that okay?”

The boy looked from Rafayel to me and then to the angry customer. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded and said he would tell the owner.

When the owner met Rafayel, I felt indescribable, as if they were old acquaintances who hadn't seen each other in a very long time. As they went into the hut behind to talk, I grabbed the boy and asked about the stall owner.

The boy called the owner “Grandpa”. Grandpa was the one who had taken care of him as he once lived in an orphanage. The boy also said that “Grandpa” was very knowledgeable about the island, everything from tides to weather. He loved “Grandpa” very much, but “Grandpa’s” health had been declining lately as if he was sick even though Grandpa always told him there was nothing to worry about. With his small mind, he only knew that if “Grandpa” was ill, he would have to see a doctor, which would require a lot of money. But “Grandpa” rarely asked for help, especially from people wearing white coats, and Grandpa also forbade him from selling anything except for what Grandpa caught or made, and the money earned from those small items was very little. So while Grandpa was resting behind the stall, he had tried to sell the gift the man had given him: a pearl as bright as the moonlight shining on the sky when the tides ebb and flow. That's how we were able to encounter the scene today.

After putting everything together, I had a feeling of who the stall owner was. There may be some things I need to ask to clarify.

As I finished my conversation with the boy, Rafayel and the stall owner emerged. Before I could speak, Rafayel took my hand and said,

"Let's go, there are still many other stalls waiting."

He turned to the stall owner and said in a serious tone, "As the old saying goes, if you need anything, we're still here."

The stall owner laughed as if this was something he often heard. "I know, I know. If you keep saying that, you'll become an old man. But let me have a few words with this young lady."

Rafayel looked at me as if asking for permission, and I nodded without hesitation.

As I approached, the stall owner looked at me for a long time and sighed, "That boy, although he talks a lot and has quite a sharp tongue, still withholds a gentle nature. So would you mind taking care of him?"

"Don't worry, that's my plan!" I proudly replied. Seeing my sparkling eyes, the old man sighed as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. He looked directly at Rafayel and me and suddenly bowed, surprising me a little.

But before I could stop him, he looked at us and said, "Well, I wish you both a happy outing. Be careful because..." He whispered, "It will rain tonight, so you'll have to find something else to do."

To my surprise, the old man and the boy waved goodbye as Rafayel held my hand and led me away from the stall, leaving behind a multitude of unanswered questions.

The sun was setting, turning the sky a deep red. The stalls were winding down as people eagerly awaited the evening's fireworks. Yet, between Rafayel and me, there seemed to be an invisible divide.

Since our encounter with the mysterious stall owner, who seemed to be an old acquaintance of Rafayel's, his mood had been down, despite his attempts to hide it by avoiding more profound questions.

He could explain the stall owner's background but seemed reluctant to discuss the man's current condition or why he was on the island in the first place.

There were too many intertwined secrets, and I had an intuition that these secrets held the key to understanding Rafayel's true self, a facet of him I had yet to discover.

This led me to bolder speculations. Perhaps this was the true emotion he had always held, and I had only realized it now because he had hidden it so well. While I acknowledged that his genuine, happy smiles were always associated with the moments he spent with me, it was only when he mentioned his "past," the time before we met, when he was still in Lemuria, that he seemed distant. And it was largely due to my inattentiveness; I hadn't truly focused on learning more about him.

Determined, I decided it was time for Rafayel and me to break through this invisible veil. I wanted to understand him better, including the things that might have hurt him in the past and the scars he tried to hide from me.

I wanted to know everything, to understand him better, only because I loved him as much as he had, was, and would love me.

Taking a deep breath, I took Rafayel's hand, who was still busy introducing the stalls in front of us. A determined look in my eyes conveyed my steadfastness, catching him off guard for a moment. But finally, he sighed in defeat. He squeezed my hand and stroked my palm gently as he said.,

"There's an open space on the other side of the dunes. Would you like to sit and watch the sunset while we wait for the fireworks?"

I nodded gently. The four footprints treaded side by side towards the base of a tree on the other side of the dunes.

The gentle breeze carried the salty scent of the blue sea mixed with the sand, creating a slightly itchy damp feeling, like rolling in the sand while still wet. It was uncomfortable and stuffy. Perhaps that was also the feeling the Lemurians had to face and adapt to when they first hesitantly set foot on the shore.

We both remained silent, watching the sun gradually set on the horizon until I decided to break it.

"Rafayel, you don't have to tell me more details. But at least you can share the basics about you. After all, those basics will help me understand you and your origins better."

Rafayel rested his head on his hand and looked at me intently. "What do you mean by basics?"

I took a deep breath and looked straight at him. "By basics, I mean things revolving around your daily life or at least how you feel. For example, how did you, as a merman, feel when you first stepped onto land? Did your feet, accustomed to swimming, hurt when you first learned to walk? Or did you feel lonely in a strange place? You may not need to tell me what happened, but at least how you felt when experiencing those."

Rafayel's eyes seemed covered in darkness immediately after hearing my questions. He lowered his head and let out a bitter chuckle before looking back at the sky, which was gradually darkening as the sun had set.

"So if I say it hurts, or I'm lonely, what will you do? I'm not naive. Who's to say that those past experiences and feelings weren't all fabricated by me to trap you?"

"Rafayel!"

I took his chin and pulled him to face me. "Look into my eyes."

Rafayel, startled, slowly turned his gaze from the dark sky to meet mine. "...Why? Why do you insist on knowing this? Isn't it easier to not know?"

Just as I was about to reply, a loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky, followed by heavy rain. Oh...just like the old man said...it's raining...

Before I could react, Rafayel quickly wrapped his arms around me, trying to shield me from the pouring rain. But the rain was coming down so hard that everyone had to seek shelter in the stalls being cleaned up, except for me, who was still in Rafayel's arms and protected by him.

But I didn't want to be protected like this...I wanted to face it with him.

My impulsiveness caused me to act faster than I thought. Amid the heavy rain, I grabbed Rafayel's hand and ran straight towards the guesthouse.

The sound of the rain pattering on the ground seemed to separate Rafayel and me from the outside world. This separation became even clearer when we finally reached the door and got inside. It was just him and me in our own space.

The heavy breaths mingled with the raindrops gradually falling to the ground made the atmosphere around us change invisibly.

When my sudden sneeze broke the silence, Rafayel quickly grabbed my hand and led me towards the bathroom. The sound of running water carried the warmth that gradually emanated from the bathtub. While Rafayel was still focused on preparing the bath, I continued to look at him and said what I hadn't been able to say in the downpour earlier.

"I want to know, Rafayel. Because I love you and want to understand you better, including the aspects you consider ugly and not worth mentioning."

After a long silence, Rafayel sighed. He approached me, touched my cheek, and said with a gentle voice.

"Alright, I can start by writing a book or telling you 1001 stories of the Lemurian people. Now go to the bathtub and rest, I'll wait for you.”

As Rafayel was about to leave after ensuring I was settled in the tub, my hand quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. My sudden action caused Rafayel to pause, and before he could pry my hand away, he lost his balance and fell into the bathtub.

Silence enveloped us until Rafayel took a deep breath and chuckled as if he had no choice.

Rafayel leaned against the side of the tub opposite me. The hem of his bathrobe was askew, almost like an invitation.

"So you want me to stay here? In this state? Just to find the answer to what you've always wondered?"

I looked at him and reached out to where his heart was beating. "Yes, I want to know more about you."

Rafayel took my hand and rubbed it gently on his cheek. "So what do you want to know?"

"You don't have to be specific, but you could start with...how your Lemurian people express affection?" I firmly acclaimed.

"You really want to know?" Rafayel moved his hand from my wrist to my fingers and gently placed a kiss on it, slowly saying, "When Lemurians fall in love with someone…All our senses are committed to perceiving them without questions."

Before he could finish, I moved my finger to touch his lips and stroked them. "You mean...like this?"

Rafayel chuckled. "Your way of triggering my “sense” has only touched the surface."

I chuckled too. Because, of course, this touch didn't stop there. To prove my point, my hand gradually traced along his neck and went down to where I had touched earlier.

Rafayel's body stiffened with each movement of my finger, signaling that he was also becoming tense. "You...are all humans so foolish...this isn't just about touching..."

Before he could finish, my finger went even deeper to places I wouldn't usually wander. And by now, even Rafayel couldn't stay calm. His eyes darkened, only faintly lighting up when lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating the entire space for a moment, revealing shades of deep blue and fiery red. Before I could react, he pushed me onto my back while holding himself above me with his arms. My whole body was submerged in water, enveloped by his strong body.

Rafayel looked straight at me with a frown.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

With his words, the thunder roared continuously, signaling something big was about to happen. I knew what it was, and I was the one who was looking forward to it. "I know. And I know you're looking forward to it, too."

Rafayel looked at me intently with eyes I'd never seen before. It was as if I were prey being watched by a predator, and in the blink of an eye, I could be attacked without a chance to fight back.

Our heartbeat gradually filled the silent air, drowning out the thunder outside. Even I couldn't tell whose heartbeat was so strong, mine or the person I loved who was facing me. But no matter who it belonged to, I knew the hidden intention.

Rafayel finally spoke after his hand gently stroked my lips. "I'm looking forward to it because it's from you."

His entire body leaned down as he pressed his lips against mine. A warm sensation appeared between our lips. From the familiar, it gradually turned strange. This kiss...was different...so intense...so passionate...and so unfamiliar... Could this also be another part of him?

Our heavy breathing continued after the passionate kiss he had given. It was frantic, as if devouring. There was no more thinking or reason. Only passion and intensity. My warmth caused him, a merman, to exclaim, "And you’re warm, I like that."

Somehow, those words touched my heart. They recalled many legends I had once heard, and one vaguely mentioned how mermen didn't like the heat and how difficult it was for them to adapt to the warmth. But for him to say that he loved my warmth, how much had he had to endure to adapt to that extent?

When Rafayel looked at me intently after the passionate kiss ended, I couldn't help but reach out, hold his face within my two palms, and gently caress it, which was unfamiliar and slightly different from usual. I uttered the words that I thought from the bottom of my heart.

"Rafayel...this different side of you...is it still you?"

Immediately after hearing that question, his eyes sadly looked down for a moment, but as if reassuring himself, after a moment, he looked up at me and said, his voice mixed with a little self-doubt and a touch of pleading, "So will you still love me no matter what I become?"

I suddenly realized. It turned out that he was worried about me no longer loving him after discovering his past?

Silly Rafayel, how can I tell him that my love for him can no longer be taken back?

Ignoring all reason, my body acted on the most primal instinct. I grabbed the necklace around his neck and pulled him down hard, leaving a bite mark on it. I bit down fiercely as if to leave a strong and unfaded mark, a mark to say that he belonged to me no matter what might happen.

And to his surprise, I reached out and touched the bite mark, uttering the crazy words I had hidden deep in my heart and now had the opportunity to express. "Rafayel, just to let you know, when you’re madly in love, human often have the urge to mark their territory. And this mark of yours is no different."

His eyes were filled with a thousand emotions, and one of them I could see was relief. It seemed that he, too, understood my feelings for him as much as he had always had for me.

So Rafayel, please don’t be hesitant to open yourself up to me as well.

As if reading my mind, Rafayel pressed his body against mine again and whispered a word only he could understand the depth of. "If you say so, then join me. Let’s drown in the ocean. Together."

Despite the pouring rain and the constant thunder in the sky, in that room, only two minds were sinking together into the current of the waves of love.

**********************************************************************

On that unforgettable night, as I drifted off to sleep, I heard Rafayel's faint voice telling me the first story he had promised in the collection of 1001 Lemurian stories. As mentioned in his first story, I vaguely recalled the image of the Sea God in the dream I had afterward.

Like in a film, I saw the image of that sea god swimming from under the sea to the shore. Then, from the shore, he wandered aimlessly in the endless night. I desperately wanted to reach out but couldn't get close. And that scene repeated over and over until I finally took on a definite form, the form of a traveler standing on the shore after my countless silent prayers just to get closer to that sea god. But instead of the Sea God, in front of my traveler form was the image of a merman whose eyes I was familiar with. And even before the merman raised his singing voice, I rushed forward and grabbed his hand, his cold, lonely hand, and hugged him tightly and gave him the warmth only I could give. And in return, I received from him a warmth that comforted my soul despite all the chaotic melodies in the outside world.

A breeze blew past me, carrying the salty scent of the sea, gradually waking me up from the bittersweet dream I was encountering. Facing me was the sunrise on the horizon hidden behind the seashore. And I was wrapped in warm blankets and cuddled deep in Rafayel's warmth.

Rafayel….he always remembered…no matter what I said despite how nonsensical they were sometimes.

Thank you, Rafayel, for always keeping your promise to me.

So this time, let me also make an unbreakable promise.

Lying quietly in Rafayel's arms and watching the sunrise, I made a silent wish.

I hope that you and I will always be together.

Forever. Despite all obstacles.

All for love.

[flyingwargle]

“coach! i brought keiji with me!”

akaashi steps out from behind bokuto, a familiar sight to the black jackals. they gather around him with greetings and waves, and he replies with his usual formality. foster joins the huddle and gives him a warm smile. “welcome back, keiji. it’s always a pleasure to see you.”

“thank you for letting me stay.” he bows.

“we welcome family, friends, and significant others. isn’t that right, boys?” foster shoots a look at his players. meian and barnes whistle innocently, and hinata scratches the back of his head. “i always appreciate your observations.” he turns his heel. “koutarou, can i have a word with you? shugo, get started on warm-ups, please.”

“sure, coach.” meian gestures for his teammates to head to the court while bokuto walks with his coach to the side. akaashi is about to take his spot on the bench when an arm slings around his shoulder.

“hey, ‘kaashi, i gotta ask for yer advice,” miya says. “ya got a minute?”

“i’ll do my best to help. what is it?”

 “i need ta see ya set. bokkun keeps sayin’ my tosses are second-best an’ i ain’t settlin’ for that.”

akaashi glances over his shoulder. “i’m afraid you’re out of luck. i haven’t set a ball since high school.”

“bokkun tells me ya still play,” miya points out, raising an eyebrow. “casually.”

“yes, as a form of exercise. i’m sure he only says you’re second-best because of our relationship.”

“that man needs ta keep romance off the court,” miya grumbles. “yer here anyway, might as well play fer a bit. i know ya got a pair of court shoes in his apartment.���

“i’m not dressed for volleyball, if you haven’t noticed.”

“miya!” meian calls out. “get over here!”

“just think of how happy bokkun would be if he could hit yer tosses,” miya says, sliding toward his teammates. “ain’t nothin’ better than seein’ yer partner shine their brightest, y’know?” he jogs away, leaving akaashi to stare after him, stupefied.

if he thinks about it, there isn't anything special about his tosses. each spiker has their own preferences, from the ball’s height, distance from the net or antenna, and speed. bokuto never had any specifications; right from the start, he simply told akaashi, “just give me a toss! any toss!” later, he learned that the third-year setter didn’t toss to bokuto often because of how streaky his performance was, and it wasn’t until after he retired that bokuto’s full potential was realized.

no, that isn’t accurate. akaashi was never able to draw out his full strength, but with someone as talented as miya, he could definitely raise bokuto to greater heights. if bokuto had gone to a different school, had someone better as his setter, would he have taken victory home? but that implies a future where they’d never meet, one that akaashi doesn’t want to think about.

“keiji?”

akaashi startles. bokuto is in front of him, hands in his, concern in his eyes. “you’re overthinking again. is something on your mind?”

noise filters in and blocks out the rest of his thoughts. akaashi shakes himself, looks up at him. “no, everything is fine. if you don’t mind, i need to head back to the apartment for something. i’ll be right back.” he kisses his check in farewell and hurries off. he should have a spare t-shirt and shorts somewhere.

when he returns, practice is underway. he sits on a bench, chats with the assistant managers, who relay any observations he makes. afterwards, foster thanks him for his advice before heading out, and bokuto approaches. akaashi stands. “why don’t we play for a bit?”

“you want to play volleyball?” bokuto gasps. “but–“

“miya told me that you said his tosses are second-best, and he wants to know why. it appears he won’t take anything short of a live demonstration.” akaashi takes his jacket off, reveals the faded fukurodani gym strip that he once wore daily. “so why don’t we show him?”

“nice ta have ya join us, ‘kaashi,” miya says, standing between hinata and sakusa. “i’m ready ta see what yer tosses are like.”

“akaashi-san’s tosses are great!” hinata chirps. “they’re super easy to hit!”

“that was before. as for now…” akaashi stands at the net where the setter is positioned. “it…has been quite a while since i last did this.” he can’t even remember the last casual game he played, anywhere from last month to last year. the days tend to blur together, lost in the monotony of adulthood.

after he warms up and declares himself ready, bokuto marches forward to go first, but miya holds him off. “gotta save the best fer last, y’know?”

“i’ll go, then!” hinata stands at the end line, ball in hand. “any toss you’re comfortable with is fine, akaashi-san!” he throws his ball and makes his approach.

hinata’s contact point is much higher than before. he’s in the air longer, similar to hoshiumi-san. so the toss should be… akaashi jumps, sets the ball. hinata spikes it effortlessly, cheering as he lands. “nice toss!”

“nice kill!” bokuto cheers.

sakusa is next. “i prefer if it’s close to the net.” akaashi nods, watching the ball as it arches through the air. sakusa’s jumps aren’t as powerful, his main strength being the snap of his wrist. he sets it slightly lower, close to the net. his spike is parallel to the sideline.

“sharp!” hinata comments.

“not bad,” miya remarks.

bokuto is last. their eyes meet, his golden eyes radiating with nothing but love. akaashi smiles, simply raises his hands as the ball arches toward him. he sets it, and bokuto meets it in midair, arm pulled back, slamming the ball down with enough force that it bounces off the wall. when he lands, he pivots and picks akaashi up in his arms. “yup, your tosses are still the best!”

“bokkun,” miya whines, “ya gotta explain why! what makes my tosses second-best?”

“it’s because his tosses remind me of the best time in my life.” bokuto’s grin is wide, eyes on his boyfriend, a spark in its depths. “i have fun playing volleyball every day with you guys, but nothing beats playing with keiji. i’d never want to trade it for anything.”

akaashi feels his chest throb with adoration. all his overthinking was for nothing. “thank you, kou. i feel the same way.” his cheeks warm as bokuto leans forward to kiss him, his teammates making comments in mock disgust. he laughs, happy to be in his arms, watching him shine the brightest he has ever been.

[doe-eyed-fool]

Fear Of The Known

Lucifer x Fem!Angel!Reader

|Chapter Four|

Y/n couldn't seem to rid herself of that off feeling. Something wasn't right, and it was making her anxious. But was there really anything to get worked up over? Not really. And yet, the feeling remained.

She decided later that day, she would go and visit Michael again to calm her nerves. On the way, she had ran into Adam. At his side, like always, was Lute.

"Well if it isn't the mystical babe!" Adam smirks. "Where are you heading off to, sweet thing?" Y/n inwardly cringes. While keeping a proper attitude, she responds. "Hello Adam, I'm on my way to visit Michael."

"Psh, you two are totally fucking aren't you?"

"Is there something I can help you with?" Y/n says, choosing to ignore what he said.

"Didn't deny it." Adam mutters as he elbows Lute. Lute keeps her harden expression, her arms folded behind her back. Adam continues. "Nah, I don't need anything from you. Unless you're looking for a good time, if you know what I mean." He grins mischievously.

"No, thank you." Y/n says curtly. "How was your meeting with Sera?"

"Boring as shit." Adam answers simply. "I see. I assume everything is fine then? There wasn't anything strange that came up during the meeting?" Asked Y/n.

"That's between me and Sera, babe." Adam says, clearly bored with this conversation too.

"Alright. Well then." Y/n walked past him. "Pleasure talking with you, Adam, Lute." Lute said nothing, other than nodding her head.

"Oh trust me, the pleasure's all mine." Adam says, Y/n could practically feel his eyes on her rear. She rolled her eyes and speed up her walk slightly.

Y/n finally made it to Michael's home. She entered and made her way further inside. Normally, she would have needed Michael to portal her to where he was, due to how large his home was. But Y/n grew accustomed to the place over the years, she could easily find him now.

Michael was in the study, passing the time by reading. His head perked up when he heard Y/n approaching. "Y/n." He greets her with a smile. "What brings you by?" He asks, closing the book and setting it aside.

"I wanted to see you. I'm...a bit frazzled at the moment." Y/n answers, feeling somewhat selfish. Though, Michael was always open whenever she needed to talk with him. "What's happened?" He asks, concerned.

"Sera is acting off. Or at least it feels that way. I told her of a vision I had, and she barely question it. Normally the questioning would be non-stop until she's satisfied. But, she didn't seem concerned at all." Y/n explains.

"Is there a reason to be concerned?" Asked Michael. "Charlotte Morningstar will be meeting with Heaven soon." Said Y/n, causing Michael's brows to raise. "What for?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. But whatever it is, Sera didn't seem too concerned. But maybe she was, from how she basically rushed me out the door. She said she needed to speak with Adam about it."

"Is there nothing else you can see from that point?"

Y/n shook her head. "I can only see so far into the future. As time passes, the path will reveal itself further. We can only wait for now."

"I see." Said Michael. "Do you sense any ill intent from Charlotte?"

"No. Nothing like that. You've heard me talk about her. She's so...not demon like at all, despite where she comes from." Y/n crosses her arms. "It makes me think, could there really be demons down there who are like her? Is there any good in the hearts of sinners?"

"That I don't know, Y/n." Said Michael. "But if this Charlotte girl is only good that's down there, well then...That gives me hope that Lucifer has done something to influence that kind of mindset from her."

That made Y/n smile slightly. "You think so?" Michael smiles as well. "I do. And hey, maybe Sera's finally giving you a break. Take advantage of that while you can."

Y/n sighs. "Maybe I will. I might just be overthinking all of this. I'm sure everything's fine."

Everything was not fine. A truly awful vision came to Y/n one week after talking with Sera. Y/n was rushing to find the head Seraphim, desperate to tell her what she's seen.

And even more desperate for answers...

Once she arrived at Sera's residence, and knocked on the door quickly with shaky hands. Unfortunately it was not Sera who answered, but Emily.

"Hi, Y/n! What brings you by?"

Y/n tried her best to conceal her panic as she spoke. "I must speak with Sera right away. It's urgent." Emily's smile dropped as she grew concerned. "Is something wrong?" She asks.

"I...I don't know yet." Y/n lied, wanting to spare Emily's feelings. Emily agreed to let her see Sera, welcoming her in. Emily lead Y/n to Sera's office.

"Ah, Y/n. How can I help you?" Asked Sera. Y/n furrowed her brows, but she kept a calm tone as she spoke. "I need to speak with you Sera. I had another vision."

Sera looked to Emily. "Emily?" Emily nods before leaving the room to give them privacy. Sera folded her hands. "What's happened?"

"I am in disbelief Sera." Y/n began, her voice dipping as anger finally settled in. "How could you? How could you allow for something so cruel to happen?"

Sera narrows her eyes. "What are you saying?"

"The exterminations." Sera's eyes widened. "You allowed Adam and his angels to down to Hell and murder thousands of people! How could you, Sera?"

Sera's expression hardened. "Those people are dangerous. I did what was best for everyone in Heaven. They were uprising."

"Uprising? Sera, nothing in my visions warned of any sort of uprising!"

"Perhaps that is because I took charge. Hell's population is growing too large. One way or another, it was going to become a serious problem." Sera stood from her desk and turned her back to Y/n. "I for one am not going to sit by and do nothing, and just allow Heaven to fall into harms way."

Y/n was seething with anger. "I didn't allow Lucifer to bring harm to Heaven! Don't you dare insist I would ever allow anything to bring harm to us!"

Sera turned to face you, her eyes sharp with anger. "You had the chance to warn us about Lucifer's revolt and you did nothing!" Before Y/n could get the chance to argue back, Sera spoke again.

"We have souls to protect here, and I can not have any more mistakes that will put those souls at risk. And Heaven is safe, because of the tough choices I had to make. And if a few demons must die for the sake of everyone in Heaven's safety, then so be it."

"There are human souls down there Sera!" Y/n exclaimed.

Sera narrows her eyes and turns away from you again. "They were human, once. And they had their chance."

Y/n could have stormed out right then, but that was not the only vision she saw.

"Well. Because of your little exterminations, Adam will be killed."

Sera sharply turns her head over her shoulder. "What?"

"In six months, Adam will go down to Heaven for the extermination, but he will not return." Y/n glares at Sera. "So. Are you willing to send Adam to his death, Sera?"

Sera returns the glare, she looks away from Y/n again. "If you have nothing else to say, then you may leave."

Oh, Y/n had plenty more to say. But she would not waste her breath on someone like her any further. Clearly, Sera was in no mood to negotiate.

And she never will be.

So, Y/n turns and walks out of her office. She stormed past Emily, ignoring her as she tried to ask what was wrong. Y/n went back to her home, still furious, but trying to calm herself.

How could Sera have kept this a secret for so long? She's been lying to everyone, even Emily. Well, Y/n most certainly wasn't going to let her get away with this.

This extermination plot of hers is over, and Y/n was going to make sure of that.

As soon as she reach for the door, it swung open. And in walked Adam and Lute.

"Hey babe. Heard you and Sera had quite the argument." A wicked grin formed on Adam's face. "She sent me over to keep the peace."

Y/n took a step back as Adam approached her. Lute smirked as she shut the door and locked it.

"So. How about we settle it, right now?" Adam chuckles darkly.

Tags-

@bloody-delusion-expert

@simbalioness

[showtoonzfan]

HELLUVA BOSS: S2E4 REVIEW

Ganna be honest, this episode wasn’t AS bad as I thought it would be, like I’m lowkey shocked. It’s certainly not the worst out of what we’ve seen, and it didn’t piss be off to high heaven, especially since the runtime is short and Blitz and Stolas are away from one another here, but….it still wasn’t….good, so let’s get into it.

So everyone already knows this episode was….so fast paced. Andrealphus doesn’t even get a proper introduction, and like I said before, in the span of one fucking minute, we have Stolas and Stella petty banter, Andrealphus, and Striker coming back to kidnap him. For starters, Yayy….glad to see Stolas and Stella acting like petty middle schoolers towards eachother. I was right when I said that the writers can’t figure out what they want their dynamic to be. Like….this is supposed to be the same couple that’s in an abusive serious situation, and it kinda doesn’t make me take them seriously if they’re just swearing at each other and bickering Viv. Also, glad to know the writers are outright saying “cheating is okay”- simply because Stella never liked him, so again….way to take the flaws Stolas had in season 1 and completely erase them and excuse them, just because you want Stolas to be in the right. It’s so distracting how fucking retconned they are, they might as well just have said “Stolas did nothing wrong” in Loo Loo Land if these were the writer’s true colors all along, but since Viv wrote this episode, I’m not surprised.

They hyped Andrealphus up but he gets like….two scenes and doesn’t do much like…lmao. In The Circus, again…they try to make it clear that divorce in the Goetia family is uwu serious, and Stella mentions Andrealphus, implying that he would be upset, or is a threat. When we actually meet him tho, he isn’t even….upset about the divorce? Why did Stella mention him then? What was the point of foreshadowing him and having Stolas say he doesn’t care what he thinks if Andrealphus was just going to be all like “oh you’re getting divorced? Okay, give us money then”- like it’s so fucking underwhelming but we’ll get back to him and Stella later. Also we see that Stolas has a scheduled meeting with Ozzie, implying that he may be trying to get that crystal after all. But…can this show just fucking….stop teasing us with future shit and just do it already? I’m so tired of the show dangling plot threads to come later in our face but they either NEVER come or the execution is underwhelming.

Blitz continues to be the most annoying and unfunny character in the entire show. His jokes and dialogue are a fucking pain to sit through and the scene where he’s trying to announce his appointment and fights with the lady in the waiting room drags and is unneeded. In fact, this whole side plot was unneeded. Viv doesn’t know how to fucking balance this show, she wants episodes to be serious and story driven but have a slice of life filler side plot at the same time and guess what? It doesn’t work or blend well. The constant cut aways are distracting from the main plot and you could have used this premise for a different episode. Loona doesn’t even have any dialogue, you could have at least improved the relationship between her and Blitz or had a moment of her being thankful that he was here and comforting her, appreciating him more….ya know….character development……..something that would have made this side plot actually useful since this is supposed to be a fucking “character driven” show about the relationships between the characters, but no. This side plot existed to pat out the run time and give Blitz and Loona something to do so they’re not just sitting there. As usual Loona does nothing, is useless and only there for the furry porn. The shot of her butt with the needle was 100% on purpose, I can tell.

(Also we’re on season 2 and only now finally get to see an upfront interaction of Imps being treated as the lower class, but it doesn’t do anything. This show tells us instead of showing us, they constantly remind you that imps are at the bottom but Blitz still literally has a good job that pays well and aside from the wrath imps providing food too feed hell, there’s no exploration of how imps having it lower than any other demon species. If anything it seems like Imps and the rest of the Hellborn species are all on the same ranking because Viv can’t storytell.) Also what is with the bleeping? I really don’t get it, it’s not funny and it’s distracting, making scenes awkward.

Predicted it, but Moxxie and Millie were…unneeded in this episode and were only included to fight Striker. These two really are useless when they’re not the focus and you can tell Viv has no idea what to do with them when they’re not. Also…..Viv…..Viv……is Moxxie strong, or not? Make up your fucking mind. In this episode he’s able to get the upper hand against a bigger imp, make him bleed and tie him to the car without an issue, and yet he’s been characterized as weak and not the muscle of the group. Is he strong or not? YAYY MORE CHARACTER INCONSISTENCIES! And glad to know Millie did nothing….as usual. Besides fight.

So Stolas has officially become Angel Dust, and Moxxie is slowly turning into Blitz so that’s great. It’s amazing how there’s barley a difference between the Stolas and Angel tho, he’s just Angel Dust. And Chaz. And Blitz. And every other fucking gay male character Viv writes. The constant cursing, the quick sassy witty banter, the sex jokes of him being tied up, you can tell Viv wrote this with those “harder” jokes between Moxxie and Stolas like…wow, it’s amazing how her gay characters have recycled personalities, aka the Sassy gay twink. Anyway, to me, Stolas before was horny and rabid don’t get me wrong, but something about the way he is in this episode just irks me more. I get that he hates Stella and Striker, but now he just seems like a petty sassy royal bird who acts like a child 24/7…..and it’s unfunny…..and annoying. All these characters are written like fucking children I can’t.

Apparently Striker has a reputation, is wanted around Hell and is well known for being an assassin now??? I thought he was just some Imp who was hired to kill someone? Lmao yet another retcon because if this was the case before, you’d think IMP would have heard of him in Harvest Moon. What’s also retconned is Striker saying he was asked to give Stolas the “full royal treatment”, to torture him I guess but….no? He was hired to shoot Stolas with an angelic gun. Why didn’t he just fucking shoot him. Speaking of that, where is the fucking angelic gun? The IMP gang had it last, and now they don’t have it. Also I already pointed this out but…Stolas can’t recognize Striker despite meeting him in episode 5 upfront. Let’s actually talk about Striker tho. He wasn’t perfect but he certainly was the best part of the episode. I actually applaud Bosco for his voice acting, and the scene with him snapping at the band to leave him alone was the only joke that made me laugh. I didn’t care about Striker that much before but this episode honestly made me did now, ignoring the fact that he’s characterized as egotistical. Problem is tho, like the rest of the antagonists, Stikers kinda just a tool. So he….may or may not be dead, I legit have no idea. If he is dead however….boy oh boy, that would piss me off, because IF he IS dead……then way to go guys, you killed off the only interesting and cool character. 🫠

I expected it, but it’s amazing how everything beforehand regarding him was for nothing if he does turn out dead. The tension he had between him and Moxxie? Would be gone. The fact that he appeared in Blitz’s hallucination, being someone who was similar to Blitz but they used their skills differently yet were the same regarding being mistreated by the upper class? Would be gone. Striker wanting to rebel against the higher class? Gone. Blitz doesn’t even get to interact with him before he dies, for a character that clearly had an impact on him. I was going to applaud this episode for actually being consistent and keeping Striker the same person who despises the upper class for what they do to the lower class, they even imply that he had someone he cares about taken away, but it’s all fucking gone if they KILLED HIM OFF. It all would go nowhere in the end and it pisses me off now because you HAD an interesting character, a villain who contrasted the main character, who had a point and could be humanized, and who rightfully calls out Stolas and his people being the scum of the earth, and now he might be dead because once again, Vivzie is an impatient writer who pushes the story forward too fast before we can even get to know these important characters, and also doesn’t want Stolas to be in a position where he’s in the wrong. Bro was literally eating at a rich place where imps serve you, treats his butler like a stress toy, talks down to Blitz and other imps…he’s not innocent Viv.

(It’s also obvious but this episode suffers from pacing issues, the constant cut aways, and scenes moving by so fast we can’t digest any of it. The FIGHT scene tho? Good god that was a mess, it’s literally faster than Millie’s fight scene from last episode, and the annoying songs playing as we kept cutting to Blitz at the appointment REALLY doesn’t help. I really feel like this studio can’t handle fight scenes….at all, or knows how they work. The video literally gets fucking blurry at one point like what the FUCK LMAO…..either hire someone who knows how to animate action scenes or don’t do action scenes at all.)

I knew Stella was still going to be one note, so I wasn’t surprised, but honestly what did piss me off is how stupid they make her. She was inconsistent before but now she’s just an idiot, because apparently she needed to be TOLD that once Stolas dies, everything goes to Octavia. Like are you kidding me? She’s so dumb that she needed to be told that?? She doesn’t even respond when Andre mentions Via, lmao her whole character really is “me hate Stolas and me want him dead” and nothing else. I’ll give the episode this, even though we barley got to see Andre, he wasn’t insufferable like I thought he would be, in fact, he’s more tolerable than Stella and Stolas combined since he’s the one who’s annoyed at their bickering and calls Stella out for being dumb, but that’s not a writing flex. Andre clearly seems to be the smart mastermind leading Stella now, I have no idea wether if they’ll later make her sympathetic and paint Andre out to be the baddie leading her, or not, it would be bad writing either way tho. Speaking of that….the way Andre treats Stella is off, and I don’t mean in the way that he could be evil. Like other critic blogs have been saying, he calls her attractive, a minx, and a vixen, all words you….wouldn’t really call your sister. It’s really gross and I’m starting to think the information we’ve been given of these two secretly screwing might be true. Like…if we’re doing straight up incest, I’m ganna hurl.

Andre also is all like “if we keep him alive, we’ll have more opportunities, let’s wait till we can get the upper hand”- and I’m…..what? You HAD the upper hand, that’s number one, and number two, this dialogue is VERY vague and makes me feel like Viv had no idea what exactly Andre’s end goal is here, so she used this dialogue as an excuse to figure it out later since she doesn’t plan shit ahead. Because what is Andre’s end goal? It’s confusing. Stella wants him dead, but then they’re talking about money and possessions. Andre seems to want to help Stella have Stolas’s estate, but she just wanted him dead because she hates him. Now you’re telling me she wants his estate too? YAY MORE RETCONS AND CONFUSING PLOT HOLES. Guess we’ll have to wait for Viv to figure out their motivations later lol.

Yada yada another retcon, Blitz cares for Uwu Stolas and is a dumbass for acting like he never knew Stolas could get hurt despite having a fucking angelic weapon on him and learning royals could be in danger in the last season, moving on-

So we’re finally at the end, the most important scene, the text scene. For starters, just like the other critic blogs have been saying……Ozzie’s finally……FINALLY gets brought up again and acknowledged, and it’s over a fucking blink and you’ll miss it half- assed text message. Like….WOW Viv, way to scrape the bottom of the barrel and confront this in the most underwhelming way possible. Would have been actually impactful and better if we saw this go down on fucking screen and have Blitz and Stolas address this in person, but nah let’s just have it happen off screen because storytelling and Viv? They don’t know each other!

But putting that aside, I want to talk about two important problems I had with this scene, because nobody is talking about how these messages make no goddamn sense. So if you actually read the messages between Blitz and Stolas, I hate how Stolas is characterized here, and I don’t mean how he’s suddenly acting like he always cared about Blitz because that’s been a problem since Ozzie’s, I’m talking about how oblivious and emotionally clingy he is. Like…seriously these text messages are a fucking mess. He suddenly acts clueless to how Blitz feels, wondering if he was upset or not, as if Blitz didn’t fucking tell him exactly why afterwards. Fuck you mean by “you just took off?”- I’m sorry Viv, did you forget the scene where Blitz drove Stolas home that night and called him out on his bullshit, saying all he did was treat him like a plaything? Because yeah, Ozzie’s may have finally been fucking mentioned in this show, but now it’s retconned AGAIN because apparently Stolas is a dumbass and can’t remember why Blitz was mad at him in the first place when he had spelled it out loud and clear. Stolas’s text messages make it out to be like they left the restaurant after Ozzie’s taunting and the scene with them at Stolas’s house never happened. Then Stolas is saying shit like “okay well phew glad you’re not upset then Ozzie is a kidder lol I didn’t mind the jabs he makes at me”- I…..WHAT??? What the fuck is going on? Why is Stolas written differently here? Why is the events of Ozzie’s written differently now? Stolas was literally embarrassed by Ozzie calling him out and hid in his menu, much to Blitz’s dismay. They then leave, Stolas can obviously tell Blitz is upset, and when he tries to reach to him gently, Blitz shuts him out, causing Stolas to cry alone. This episode is apparently now acting like their quarrel never happened because the dialogue is written as if they’re referring to Ozzie’s torment, not Blitz calling him out. This legit pisses me off because the show is once again telling us what we saw didn’t happen and rewriting it to fool us. Making Stolas out to be some vulnerable softie who cares about Blitz’s well being too—

And finally, Viv does what she does best by wanting to make you ship Blitz and Stolas together SO badly, but accidentally contradict herself by showing even MORE proof on why these two aren’t good for each other. Putting all the retconning aside, in this case it’s that…surprise surprise, Blitz is constantly miserable and unhappy around Stolas, or whenever they interact. And it’s not even that Blitz can’t communicate, or sucks at emotions, he just doesn’t fucking LIKE Stolas, and I don’t understand how many times the show is going pin that nail on the head until something actually happens, because this scene would have been more impactful if we weren’t already HERE before. Remember The Circus Viv? Stolas going through his Instagram and noticing Blitz was miserable all the time, and reflecting on how their relationship was a figment of his imagination? This scene is the same, it’s just done through text messages now. Why are we doing this again. And I don’t get what Viv’s end goal is here. Is she trying to make Stolas realize that Blitz never gave a shit about him (because we’re on season two and this bird brain can’t take a hint) or is she trying to make Stolas go “I thought he didn’t care but omg he texted me “get well soon” he DOES love me!” Yeah…probably the last option. This ship sucks. If anything…..why can’t Blitz and Stolas just be fucking friends? You wanna say they care about each other? Fine. But romantically, it just doesn’t work. They aren’t good for each other, and function better as friends, but GOD forbid, we can’t have that because they do the dirty in bed SO IT CAN’T BE PLATONIC, it must be romantic! I was literally right, this ship gets worse and worse every passing episode and Viv wants you to ship it so hard despite the fact that she STILL hasn’t given me ONE good reason why they should be a couple. End of story.

So that pretty much it. This episode was nowhere near has bad as the previous three, it’s the most tolerable, but still heavily flawed in the writing department. The dialogue still lacks nuance and sounds like an edgy 12 year old wrote it, the world is still empty, pacing was off, the animation was off too at times, the constant sex jokes during serious scenes are distracting and take away from what’s going on, the side plot didn’t need to happen, there’s also SCENES that didn’t need to happen, there are multiple retcons and empty plot holes/threads, and Viv once again can’t write a complex serious gay couple. She just doesn’t have the writing chops for it, especially since she keeps rewriting aspects and flip flopping between who is the worse lover and who isn’t. I’ll talk more about this episode later, you know how I rant a lot lol. Tomorrow I’ll be finally answering inbox questions too! If you managed to read my endless rant essay, I thank you! See you soon!

[thefirstknife]

After recovering from the doomed yuri (he said, like a liar), I had a moment to think about a little detail that I'm not sure was seen again or addressed at all?

In the mission where we go into the cache copy of the Infinite Forest, there were 4 doors in the central room.

One led to Saint-14's Tomb and the other led to what would be the Encore area. But I recall the other 2 doors had some distinctions from the others (clearly remember one having what seemed like scorch marks and/or ice?) that were inaccessible.

....What's up with that?? There was speculation about where those could lead, but then I don't think we ever went back there to check?

Of course, I could just be misremembering things (it's not like my heart was mercilessly torn out from my chest, no no. I'm very capable of rational thinking at the present, yes)

No you remember right! They're there, I went batshit insane about this when I first got there. Took additional screenshots on my other visits and wrote up my observations in one of the posts, but I'll drop the screenshots here again because they're better quality/angles.

The icy gate is Europa gate. It literally uses the same textures and ice and snow:

Normal Sol Collective Vex come out of that gate during the fight, aka the ones you'd find on Europa. This isn't too big of a deal overall because those Vex are just the standard Vex units in the system. However, the other gate? The grassy one? That's the Black Garden gate:

During the fight, Sol Divisive Vex come out of it. This means that the Europa gate doesn't just have random Vex, it's like that on purpose, otherwise this one could've also had the Sol Collective, rather than Sol Divisive. The distinction between them does matter. Could just be for the purpose of showing off different units and all; not necessarily some huge hint but still. I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about it.

It's a really big area with a lot of stuff that's really unique, such as these various gates. It hasn't been used for anything other than this mission. Was it just a nice setpiece for a really important mission or is there something more here that might be revisited? No clue, but it looks like something that could be used at a later date.

You can return here from Encore, but I don't think it's intended. You can't come back when you're at the start of the mission; there's a turn back zone. But when you return to the starting area while doing the secret chest, you can go back fully to this room. And it's a little weird. The radiolaria pool on the floor is not moving or damaging you, for example, which means that it's not intended to go back. But if you want to go explore the area, you can!

I have no idea if they ever plan on expanding on this. The whole idea is super intriguing to me. Nessus has these "archives" that can apparently go to different places? At least Vex-controlled ones like the Black Garden and Europa (I'm thinking it's possibly connected to the Nexus/Glassway). Can these be tuned to make other areas accessible, even if they're just archived? And obviously a really peculiar detail is that they specifically use the Infinite Forest portal, including being able to go to the Infinite Forest archive, in the case of Saint's tomb at least.

Obviously this went beyond the scope of this season, but when it comes to the Vex and their abilities and options, I am very intrigued by this whole area and what it may be capable of. Also, better image of Descendant Wyverns which are unique units made only for this mission (that I am aware of):

Used only once, here. They have to have made them to be used at some point again in the future.

Certainly one of the most fascinating areas that just looks like something other than simply a setpiece for a one-time mission. The whole concept of it is really intriguing as well because if we could possibly access some of these other archives, could we learn more about the Vex and their plans? Uncover some of their secrets? Find a way to fight them better? Do these archives contain information about the actual places like the Black Garden and Europa, or are they just archives of simulations from the Forest? Or both? Also, which collective controls this archive even? One of the gates leads to the Black Garden and Sol Divisive isn't on good terms with the rest of the collectives, so how are they dealing with that?

These are questions for another day, I suppose. *punches through the drywall*

[apomaro-mellow]

Mafia AU Part 9

Part 8

Eddie tied his hair up in a ponytail and put a hat on top. He took the bus again, walking the last bit to the Harrington estate. When he arrived, Steve came down the stairs. The night of the party, Eddie was sure he’d seen the evidence of a handprint on the omega’s face. There was nothing there now. Nothing to suggest that his father was anything less than respectful.

Steve tossed some car keys to him, which he only fumbled with for a bit before righting himself.

“You’re letting me drive?”, Eddie asked.

“Sometimes capos double as chauffeurs. Whenever it’s something that requires more discretion”, Steve explained as he led the way to the garage.

‘More discretion’. That meant they weren’t simply going out for collections. Eddie’s suspicions turned out to be correct when Steve asked if he knew the way to the docks. The sun was setting as they drove out and the sky was completely dark when they got to said docks.

Steve checked his watch. “We’re a little early. So we’ll wait. In the future, you’ll wanna time it so that we arrive right at the meeting time, maybe even a little later.”

“And why’s that your majesty?”, Eddie snarked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. Steve was looking out the window, allowing Eddie to NOT admire his profile. He was just looking. There was nothing pretty about his lips, or attractive about his nose, or fetching about his eyes, or handsome about the way it glowed under the lights of the dock.

“When people show up after the boss, they think they’re late. It makes them nervous from the get-go and more likely to make a mistake”, Steve said.

“What if you wanna make them nervous?”

Steve turned his gaze from the window to meet Eddie’s eyes through the mirror. Somehow that felt more intimate than if Eddie simply turned around. Eddie didn’t hold the gaze for long, his eyes moving away to look out the front window. Where were the bozos they were meeting? 

“Is that what you do? You like to make people nervous?”, Steve asked.

“Do I make you nervous?”, Eddie asked back. 

Steve smirked. “You’re like a little kitten, why would you?”

Eddie put an arm around the passenger seat and finally turned backwards. “Well, an outsider might observe that I’m an alpha, alone in a dark car with an omega, with no one else to be seen.”

Steve didn’t look phased. “Yeah, but you won’t try anything.”

Eddie quirked an eyebrow before unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing into the backseat, ignoring when Steve asked what he was doing. He didn’t even know. He just wanted to prove Steve wrong for some reason. Once he was back there, sitting across from him, Eddie didn’t know what to do with himself. Then he remembered the little game Steve had played with him earlier.

“I think you want me to try something. I think you’ve wanted it since the first day you cornered me in that room.”

Steve scoffed but Eddie could tell he hit the nail on the head. 

“What? High society omega like you can’t just go for what you want? You need to be chased?”

“Of course you’d think being in the mob counts as being high society”, Steve crossed his arms then uncrossed them, realizing it looked defensive.

Eddie gestured around them. “I call ‘em as I see ‘em.”

“So do I”, Steve grinned. “And what I see is a little kitten of an alpha who won’t try anything because he hasn’t yet.”

“You sayin’ I don’t got the guts to kiss you?”, Eddie crowded towards him, pressing Steve to the door.

“You don’t”, Steve breathed out.

“I don’t think you have the guts to be kissed.”

“I’ve been kissed before.”

“By Robin?”

“What? Gross! Ew, she’s not-what the hell gave you that idea?”

“You two are attached to the hip”, Eddie said. “You let her in where no one else is allowed.”

“Because we are attached to the hip. Like those twins that are born connected. She’s like a sister to me.” 

There was a pause between them as Steve realized what Eddie had thought of him and Robin and Eddie realized that he’d been wrong about Steve and Robin. Steve let his hands trail up Eddie’s sides before grabbing the lapels of his jacket. 

“If that was the only thing holding you back, you’ve got no excuse now.”

Eddie, never one to back down, met him blow for blow, putting his hands on the door by Steve’s head and pushing a leg between the omega’s. The air around them felt warm and the car’s heat had been turned off a while ago.

“Think I still don’t got the guts?”

“I think if you don’t kiss me right now, you’re a coward”, Steve challenged. “So either plant one on me or-”

There was no ‘or’.

Eddie put his lips against Steve’s, hard and without finesse at first, but after Steve started to move his lips, Eddie’s softened and the kiss did too. Steve’s hands tightened their hold on his jacket, bringing Eddie in to lay his whole body down. Then they smoothed up and didn’t stop until they reached his head, where he tossed the hat off and took out his hair tie.

A low rumble left Eddie’s throat as Steve’s fingers dug into his hair, reaching his scalp and holding him in place as their kisses got longer and wetter. Steve replied with a soft moan of his own and he was wondering why Eddie hadn’t touched him yet. He traced a line along Eddie’s hand to find it still pressed against the door.

Steve wedged his under it, lacing their fingers just as a flashlight lit up the backseat. The two of them parted and Steve hoped against hope that it was the cops. That was the best case scenario.

It was not the police.

They scrambled to right themselves and Eddie put his hat back on before leaving out the other side of the car. He cleared his throat as he went to Steve’s side and opened the door for him. Steve looked just ever so slightly ravished, lips glistening in the light of the flashlight that was still on them. Eddie thought it was pretty good for a backseat makeout. Steve could have looked worse.

Apparently, the four associates they were meeting with didn’t agree. Steve handled all the talking, but it was clear that they were put off by what they had walked in on. It was obvious from their scents. Eddie just didn’t know if it was because they were middle aged guys who thought it improper to do such a thing in public or if Steve’s status had something to do with it. 

They found out later when they returned and Steve’s father immediately summoned him. Eddie tried to follow but Steve put a hand to his chest, telling him to stay there in the foyer.

“It might take a while though, so you can have someone drive you home. It’s late.”

Eddie watched as Steve left, hat in his hands and hair still out. He bit his lip before cursing under his breath and going to where he knew they were. This time the door was closed, but Eddie could hear the shouting clear as day. It sounded like those guys had called pretty much as soon as he and Steve left, telling the boss how the deal had gone down.

“That’s how you lose face in this business! Dammit this is what happens when you send an omega to do an alpha’s job!”

“I don’t know what they told you, but it’s not as scandalous as all that”, Steve’s voice was firm, but Eddie wondered what his body language was like. He cracked the door just a bit to hear better, and maybe catch a whiff of the scents in the room.

“I don’t need to hear it. I know you’ve been slutting around with that mutt. What would your mother think?”

“....”

“See? You know-”

“She’d trust that I can do the job. And she’d want me to find a partner for myself. Just like she had the freedom to do.”

“Yes, well, she had a bit more sense than you.”

Steve muttered something under his breath and Eddie knew it was cutting, he just couldn’t make it out. His stomach felt tight. He wanted this man to be put in his place, but he also didn’t want Steve to come out hurt again.

“You know how I feel about the muttering. If you want to sit with the people in charge, say it with your entire chest, Steven.”

“I said that mom chose wrong. She would have been better off never meeting you. And I’m not the only one that thinks so. Everyone says i-”

There’s the sound of a body hitting a wall.

“That Munson boy is making you forget yourself. I think it’s time I made an example out of him. He can’t touch Harrington property and get away with it.”

“It’s not Eddie’s fault”, Steve said quickly. “I was the one who came onto him-”

Eddie nearly burst through the door when he heard the slap cut Steve off. Especially when it made the other young man fall completely silent.

“I’m aware of your loose morals. Why do you think I’m trying to find a decent match to lock you down? You’re lucky there are alphas who find that kind of thing attractive, at least until marriage. You will keep your legs closed. You will get that gutter scum in line. And you will learn some respect. Or this farce will end and I will have the Munsons put on a blacklist.”

“You wouldn’t. You can’t-”

There was a harder impact and this time Eddie couldn’t stand by and let it happen. He came in just in time to see the next hit and watch Steve fall to the floor as his father let him go.

“You fucking-”

“Eddie, don’t!”, Steve shouted, lifting himself up.

“Teach him well, Steven. Or I will.”

Eddie leveled a glare that would’ve sent most running for the hills, but of course the boss of a mafia family wasn’t even looking at him. He rubbed at his knuckles like punching his son was a minor reprimand and slightly inconvenient. Eddie went for Steve instead, helping him to his feet and guiding him out of the room. He had so many words brewing on his tongue, but none of them felt sufficient. 

For as lacking as his own father was, Al Munson never hit him. Eddie brought Steve to his room and helped him sit down on the bed. There was a red print on his face, his lip was split, and there was definitely a bruise forming on the side opposite the handprint. 

“Should I wake Robin? I know you’d rather-”, Eddie’s exit was stopped by Steve grabbing his sleeve with two fingers.

“No, you-can you-I don’t want you to leave.”

Eddie said no more about leaving, just making sure the door was locked before going to the en suite bathroom to get the first aid kit.

“I’m sorry about this. About everything”, Steve said. He hadn’t wanted Eddie to see any of this. Although he was sure he’d seen his fair share of violence, this felt more personal. It was like Eddie seeing right through everything he was. It was why he had pushed him away before.

“Hey, if I’m gonna be a capo, this is gonna all be par for the course”, he said with a shrug while sitting across from Steve and getting started with the aid. “Cleaning up your scrapes, taking care of you, all that.”

“Taking care of me, huh?”, Steve tried to smile a little.

“It ain’t no 9 to 5, but it pays the bills.”

After Eddie was done, he closed the kit and stood up. “Guess I’ll be heading out now.”

Steve stood up. “You don’t need to. We’ve got plenty of guest rooms. You can take one for the night.”

“Uh, which one should I-”

“The one next to me. The one across from me is already taken”, Steve said. “And I can’t let someone as pretty as you out in the streets this late.” He stepped closer to Eddie and curled one of his long locks around his finger. “Your hair really does look good when it’s down.”

Eddie was speechless because he’d just been called pretty and received another compliment in under a minute and Steve sounded completely genuine. He swallowed, wanting to say something in return that wasn’t a joke or cynical.

“Means a lot coming from you. Your hair’s pretty legendary in this town.”

The only reason Steve wasn’t inviting Eddie to stay in his room tonight was because they were already on thin ice with his father. If it got out that they’d stayed in the same room, let alone the same bed, it wouldn’t end well.

“Good night, Eddie”, Steve bid him before kissing his lips, keeping it short because of his injury and because it would have been easy to let it go further.

“Night, Steve.” And he was out the door.

Part 10

[vidavalor]

Hey Vida, I have some milk chocolate sea salt caramels to share. *Passes the canister*

Have you written about this moment yet? I'm guessing it has come up but I can't recall specifics.

The time loop hypothesis that includes the idea that Crowley figures out what is happening and starts actively trying to influence things helps me understand why Crowley would say this - that he would despair after having been unsuccessful in every attempt he'd made to change the final outcome, to save Aziraphale's life. I know Crowley has some timey-wimey stuff going on generally, like his knowing the future and making all sorts of references to things that don't exist yet... I am very curious to know what you think Crowley's deal is and what is happening for him here.

...

Also, do you think Aziraphale knows from the beginning of S2 that he has fallen? I mean, the other angels refer to Aziraphale as a former angel and principality right to his face, don't they? I remember wondering about this the first time I watched the second series. I kept waiting for the show to clarify just what exactly Aziraphale's status was...

Well, this is a more oddly worded question than I remembered. One cannot simply be "a bit of" a fallen angel wtf game are you guys (gn) playing at? Leave that perfectly frosted cinnamon roll alone!

...

Also, I am still full of so much anticipation wondering what I asked you last time! I am positive it had to do with innuendo lol

Hello to you, my fave @iammyownproblematicfave! 💕I am SO sorry about the other Ask-- I determined you asked about the innuendo in the "very nice" scene & I'm going to whip you up a batch of etymology around the insanely complicated history of the word "nice." It got lost in my Drafts folder for a little while there and I overlooked it-- will remedy that shortly! Here's thoughts on these questions and thanks for asking.

On Crowley, time & "too late" and Aziraphale, fallen angels & heavenly rank under the cut.

First, time loop idea and Crowley's "too late" comments... So, anything is possible, right? That said, I don't think it's a time loop because I think there are scenes that explain why Crowley says "too late" at the end of that episode. I wrote about how it ties to unicorns & Wee Morag a bit in another post and I'll link it at the bottom of this one.

Basically, Crowley's anxious in that scene where he threatens Gabriel and then says that "it's always too late." Crowley's memory is iffy-- he admits as much to Gabriel later in S2-- and even if he was lying to Saraqael and/or Furfur about not remembering them, we know he struggles to recall all of his memories from when he was an angel. One memory that he felt confident about was the one he told Beez earlier in the season-- that The Book of Life is bunk that he and Beez made up to tease some of the more innocent angels. It is likely that this memory of Crowley's is correct. I say that because Beez seemed to think it possible when they heard it-- but then Beez felt like a fool at the thought that they'd been threatened by Heaven with something that didn't exist and that they themselves and Crowley made up. They doubled-down and insisted to Crowley that The Book of Life was real.

Crowley suddenly thought that Beez might be right because, hey, they'd run Hell for so long, they'd know more than he would, right? He starts to doubt his own recollection and he rushes back to the bookshop to help protect Gabriel as a way of protecting Aziraphale because he now is terrified that Aziraphale could be erased from existence if he is caught helping Gabriel. He doesn't want to tell Aziraphale that Beez reached out to him because he knows Aziraphale is sensitive about the fact that none of the angels have talked to Aziraphale in years and that their only source of intel is a demon with a thing for Crowley (Shax) so Crowley doesn't ever tell Aziraphale how scared he is about The Book of Life. Meanwhile, even though Gabriel is basically on their side now, Crowley can't exactly ask him if it's real or not because dude only knows Buddy Holly songs for basically the whole season lol.

So, in addition to worrying that Aziraphale is spiraling (because he is) and that helping Gabriel could mean that Aziraphale is risking his mental health and a fall, Crowley is also now terrified that Aziraphale could be made to have never existed. It's on his mind so much that he growls at Gabriel in that episode-ending scene that Aziraphale could be "risking his existence" for Gabriel and then muses about how it might be "too late-- it's always too late..." I don't think this is a time loop indication. I think it's a reference to other times Crowley has said "too late" in the past, like the unicorns and when Wee Morag died. It's about how it might be too late for him and Aziraphale and they might be running out of time and be on a collision course with death while not knowing it-- like how Elspeth never saw the fact that it was her last night with Wee Morag coming. It's Crowley's anxiety talking. Crowley thinks it's too late to turn back now because they're already helping Gabriel and Shax is sniffing around and they might be nearly out of time.

Crowley does have some time-related stuff happening in his story and the ability to control it but it seems to me more likely that Crowley's ability to remember that he has control of it has been taken from him in the present in S2 than it is that he's in a time loop. In the disaster kiss scene with Aziraphale, Aziraphale is really obviously signaling to Crowley a request that he freeze time. (It's obvious to us, I mean-- Aziraphale hid it from The Metatron by curving his hand.) He was trying to get Crowley to do what he did on the tarmac in S1 when he stopped everything and took them and Adam to a little time out cloud to help Adam figure out how to deal with Satan.

Crowley, though, just kind of stares at Aziraphale, even though this is literally one of the most recognizable hand signals on the planet. He also didn't just do it himself at the start of the conversation. If I were the villains, I'd be damn sure that Crowley didn't remember that he could freeze time after S1 and Crowley was gone all night before this scene (which he also doesn't seem to totally realize, no matter how many people around him keep commenting on how it's now morning.) The story, to me, seems to be suggesting that the Crowley & time stuff in S2 is that he doesn't recall that he can control it.

re: Aziraphale and what his angelic status/rank is in S1-- the cherub/principality/"you've been a bit of a fallen angel" bit...

When Michael and the other angels corner Aziraphale in S1 and Michael says that they've been learning some "disturbing things" about Aziraphale and that he's "been a bit of a fallen angel", the disturbing things are, imo, the photos of Aziraphale and Crowley that Michael has dug up. (Hypocritical much on Michael's part? Their phone chats with Ligur? That Gabriel knows about and lets them get away with but Michael wants to go after Aziraphale for having a relationship with Crowley? Yeah. Gross.) Michael and Uriel are threatening Aziraphale with a fall in the scene when they corner him. Uriel says "and don't think your boyfriend in the dark sunglasses will get you special treatment in Hell." They're using their power to threaten to cast him out as a way of trying to intimidate Aziraphale, which is another way of showing how political falling is and how it's all kind of b.s..

A demon is a fallen angel, by definition. That's the definition of a demon. Heaven has socialized angels to believe that the demons are all evil-- that they're devout followers of Satan and horrible people and to associate with them is to sully yourself with their satanicness and all that lol. In reality, there are some evil demons-- Satan is evil, Ligur was pretty bad-- but there are also some evil as fuck angels... The Metatron at the top of that list. In reality, the demons are the angels who put notes in the metaphorical suggestion box. They stood up and spoke out and questioned things. They're the curious, free-thinking "troublemakers" whose questioning of authority threatened to crumble The Metatron's power so he reacted by ostracizing them. He made a sense of the demons being "other" and evil. He invented Hell and banished them all to it-- lumping curious rebels like Crowley in with evil like Lucifer/Satan and using them as examples of what happens to those who dare to question. There really is no such thing as "a demon"-- there are just angels who have been told they're no good and that they've been cast out and are part of the collective owned by and working for Satan.

In S2, we get another bit of info about a fall when Gabriel falls. The Metatron can't send Gabriel to Hell like he would other angels because he did that once with Lucifer/Satan-- the last one to have Gabriel's job before Gabriel-- and once is "a good story" (meaning, once is a cautionary tale that keeps angels in line) but twice would suggest "an institutional problem"... twice would cause a rebellion. Twice would show that the problem is really Heaven. But, The Metatron has to do something with Gabriel, so he's going to erase Gabriel's memories (he tries to before Gabriel enacts Operation Fly and saves his memories thanks to Beez) and cast him down to a new rank of angel that they've just added to the bottom of the pile-- just for Gabriel lol. It's all political, which is how Crowley and Beez fell back in the day as well. They were caught up with Lucifer and held up as examples of evil when it seems that they really were just looking for others who were questioning things, too.

Does Aziraphale realize he's falling in S2? I think there's some language in the kiss disaster scene that indicates he suspects he might be and that he doesn't fully trust in what The Metatron is offering him-- or that that's really The Metatron. I don't think he realized he was falling until that point. It's a question, though, of what a fall really is. There are many ways to fall. You can literally fall from a great height. You can fall in rank. Both of these things happen during a fall from Heaven, in Good Omens, from what we've been told, but there are other types of fall. You can also fall in love. You can fall into despair. These ones? Aziraphale knew about. He fell in love with Crowley a long time ago and despair is always something he's working at keeping at bay, sometimes more successfully than others. In the end, his fall from Heaven is tied to both of those other kinds of falls.

But is Aziraphale already something of a fallen angel, like you asked? What of the fact that he was a cherub at one point and is a principality? Which is higher rank? We are told in the book that people "make jokes" about the fact that Aziraphale has both of those ranks. The word 'joke' comes from the Latin jocus, which literally means 'wordplay' and I think maybe looking at the different kinds of rank in Heaven through that angle might be worth a look. (Me? Taking a wordplay angle? Who would've ever thought? lol)

Who outranks who can be shown to us by how the characters behave in the scenes but the ranks of angels are more about what the words mean than about exactly which level that rank is, I think. For instance, there is some evidence that a throne and a dominion are the same level of rank-- that an angel can be both at once... which makes more sense when you consider the power aspects of those words and that here's our throne/dominion leaving his chair to dominate his plants in S1:

People are complex and need more words than one title might allow.

Aziraphale can be a cherub and a principality because once you start to get into the meanings of all of these words, you can see that which ones are given to Crowley and Aziraphale are done because of how they support who the characters are-- and how they overlap. I have a meta that I've been playing with from time to time about the different meanings of principality/dominion/throne and how Crowley and Aziraphale are both really all of them. I'll try to finish that one up soon. If you look at wordplay around the word "rank" itself, though...

...a rank is a placement or a position in military order, yeah, but it's also a bad smell. Something that is rank is something that is foul and offensive. One of the themes of the show to me seems to be that, whether you're an angel or a demon or a human, you possess your own power and no one can take that away from you unless you let them. Empowerment and freedom is the realization of that. We're all equal beings. The characters who are the least interested with power systems-- the ones who have freed themselves from concern about it and live as independently as they are able-- are the ones who view others as autonomous beings and do not support oppression of others. They are the least rank because they are dismissive of the idea of rank itself.

So, while we're having fun with words here... those who are the least rank are also probably not rank in the scent sense of the word, too lol. This would be why we have a multiple scenes devoted to how everyone is in a faint over how great Crowley smells. He's the least rank of them all-- in every way possible. 😉

The other "too late"-related meta:

[scarqn]

Stranger || Vernon

Vernon x f!reader

Genre:fluff, nonidol!vernon, smau

Summary: you come home from a vacation to a random stranger in your bed, or maybe he isn't so much of a stranger after all...

Warnings: swearing (mostly f!reader lol sos), a lil but of angst & mental health mentions, hella serious anger issues(f! reader), mentions of sexual activity, very much kissing, mentions of food/pics of food:) TALK ABOUT CAR CRASH‼️

A/N: HEY sorry I’ve been gone all week I’m back at school and it’s exam time especially next week so I might be even more inactive (only since I wanna do good on these exams for the bigger ones) but I’ll try myself best. But I’ve always been away this week bc I’ve had no motivation at all and it’s been pretty tuff for me in general. But I hope I can do better in the future. So please forgive me for the long wait for part 4🙏🏼😰 anyways hope you enjoy❤️

Vernon makes his way to your bedroom, he wants to ask about your knee and what happened, but he feels like it may be a sensitive topic to you. So, he just asks if you needed anything else be he heads out. “No I’m okay, thank you though, it means a lot.” You reply. He nods and you get suspicious that he wants to ask you something else.

He slightly glances to your knee and now you know he’s wanting to ask what happened. “I was in an accident.” You say. Vernons head jerks up and he mutters out a single, “Oh.” It was unexpected, he didn’t know, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.” He’s genuine, that’s what you like the most about him. He’s honest and kind and somehow doesn’t make small things into bigger things.

“No it’s okay, I can talk about it. I ended up tearing my ACL severely. I almost lost my ability to walk, I try my best to be as careful and even though I’ve been cleared for weeks now, I dont it just stresses me out. I hit my knee and I immediately think of the worst thing possible.” You let out a small chuckle at the end.

“It happened in the states, I was staying with my mom for a little. For about three weeks, then me and my brother got into an accident after I picked him up from the gym. My mom didn’t want me to come back to Korea until I was cleared. That’s why I was gone for so long and the only people know is Mingyu and Minghao and well, now you.”

“Oh,” it’s the only thing Vernon seems to let out, he’s shocked and doesn’t know what to say. “Are you okay?” He asks, you simply nod and say, “Yes, no one was killed. My brother did experience a little bit of brain damage but he’s okay now. And so am I so please don’t worry about me. I had enough of that when it came to Mingyu and Hao.” You laugh.

“Well aslong as you’re okay, then so am I. I’m glad no deaths happened. I’m glad you’re okay, and your brother I don’t know.” You nudge he shoulder softly.

“Mingyu was right about you being a big softy on the inside.” You joke, Vernon’s raises and eyebrow, “Mingyu said that? What else did he say about me?”

“Nothing bad, just a few things he thought I’d need to know before I do something stupid like kicking you out.” You shrug your shoulders. Vernon nods, “Well, I need to get going to I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, I’ll make something when you get back.” You smile at him, he returns the smile and you both bid goodbyes and he leaves.

Once Vernon leaves, you find yourself letting out a big sigh you did notice you were keeping in. At least he now knows what happened to you. You did feel like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders when you told him what happened. Even thought you and your brother are okay, it’s still a sensitive topic. You couldn’t drive for almost 4 months because you was scared. Therapy helped you over coke that though.

“Right,” you say to yourself, “Time for the gym.”

AN: I actually like this one😭🙏🏼

Tags: @dkswife @writingbarnes

(Lmk if you wanna be tagged👊🏻)

[offbrandkyoya]

48 fine then

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You sat there for a good moment. Your eyes glanced down at the article occasionally. Should you tell Thoma? It might not be true but the pictures say otherwise. You continued to stare at your phone. Maybe you should tell Childe? He’s the one who sent you Thomas pic in the first place. Though, he said it was private information.

You bit your lip. ‘What to do, what to do?’ “Hey.” You jump when you felt Scaramouche sit next to you. He looks at you in confusion. “What’s wrong?” You shifted a bit. “Um, well, it’s…” Scaramouche feels himself panic. Was it about the kiss? You seemed into it so he thought- “It’s about Thoma.” Suddenly, his eyes went cold. “What?” You sigh before showing him the article you received. You watched as he slowly took in the information, his eyes widening at each word.

He pulls away once he finished and looks at you with an unamused expression. “So what?” It’s your turn to be surprised. “W-What?” “It doesn’t have anything to do with us so why worry?” “He’s my friend! This adds up to why Childe doesn’t want Thoma to be known to me!” Then, you looked down at your lap. “And why he felt uncomfortable when I talked about DCKZ.” Scaramouche’s brows furrowed. “This has nothing to do with you.” He states but you didn’t believe him.

“Scara, if it gets out that Thoma is dating me to the media and later fans confirms that he’s from Dilucs dating scandal, who knows what can happen! It can possibly not only ruin Dilucs but DCKZ entire career!” He scoffs, “You’re speaking nonsense.” “I’m not! Why can’t you understand-“ “I do understand!” He balls up his fists. “Yn, seriously, this is all bullshit. Do you even believe that’s true?! It could be photoshopped for all we know!” You furrowed your brows and stood your ground. “I’m trying not to cause anything in the later future. Dilucs my friend and-“ “You guys aren’t close, yn! I introduced you to them but that doesn’t mean you guys are buddy buddy.” You grow furious and stand up, placing your phone on the table.

“What’s your problem? I’m trying to speak rationally!” He stands up as well. “You keep saying all that but if you tell them, that’ll start something!” “How?! Enlighten me Scaramouche!” He grits his teeth and you roll your eyes. “Honestly, it’s like I can never satisfy you.” “That’s not even true! God, I get jealous once and suddenly I’m the bad guy!” “I didn’t say anything like that!” You felt your vision go blurry.

“It seems like it! Is Thoma your new guy now or what?” You gasp, “He’s my only friend from school! Are you trying to say I’m cheating on you?!” He scoffs, “Oh please! You were all over him. ‘Friend’ my ass! You clearly prefer him over me!” “That’s not true at all!” “It is, Yn! Everything is always about you when it’s not! You always play victim!” Your eye twitched. “Asshole, I know it’s not about me! You’re the one who keeps making me a bad guy!” “I’m only saying what’s true!” “No, you’re not!” Suddenly, you felt the tears go down with your voice growing sore. “I know you went through a lot as a kid but your trauma doesn’t excuse you to act such a bitch to me!” That pushed Scaramouche off the edge.

“Shut the fuck up, yn. This has nothing to do with my fucking mom you little shit. At least I’m doing something in my life instead of pursuing something that’ll get me nowhere in the future because no one believes in me!” Then, you two went quiet. Scaramouche realized what he said, he notices your tear stains on your cheeks. That all makes Scaramouche feel weak. His mouth felt dry as he talked, “Yn, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“ “No, it’s okay.” You mustered out but started to burst out crying.

He hurries to your side and holds your shoulders. “Yn, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” He says frantically but you simply shook your head as you cried. You forced away out of his hands and collapse onto your knees. “Please, leave me alone.” You say while covering your face. Scaramouche felt his chest hurt like he ran out of air. “Okay.” He watches you cry and cry before he steps out and leaves to his place.

Scaramouche left you there crying and you knew you asked him to but a part of you wanted him to ignore your request and sit down with you. You wanted him to hold you as he said sorry and you wanted to hold him as you apologized too. It’s too late for that now and you were all alone.

You sniffled as you reached for your phone with shaking hands. You opened messages and pressed on Scaramouche’s contact. You began to type but stopped. ‘What if he doesn’t want to see me? I hurt him.’ You swiped away and scrolled to someone else. You clicked on Aether’s contact and decided you’d call him in case he couldn’t text.

He picks up, “Hello?” “Aether,” You croaked as you wiped away your snot. “Yn?! What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” “Are you home?” You dodged the question with another one. “Yes but are you okay?” Hearing that made you bawl even more. “Can you come over?” You asked him in broken words. “Yes. I’ll be right there.” “Okay.” You hang up and hug your knees.

You didn’t know how long it was until you felt your eyes grow tired. Once they were closed, your door opens revealing Aether. He puts away the spare key and hurried to your side. “Yn, what’s wrong?” You pull him into a hug and cried, “I messed up.” “W-What do you mean?” He asks, hugging you back. “Scara and I got into a fight and I said things and he said things and it’s all my fault.” Aether’s eyes widen since he noticed Scaramouche stand outside as he was making your way to your apartment. He noticed Scaramouche looked rather dull and hearing all this is the reason why. He shushed you, patting your back. “It’s not your fault, yn. Here, let’s sit.” He leads you to the couch. “Did you eat anything?” “N-No.” “I’ll make you something and you can tell me everything, okay?”

You nod and he smiles. “I’ll be right back.” He walks to your kitchen while you wait. When he comes back with a plate of snacks, he sits next to you and listens to your story. He stayed with you until you felt better and you appreciated that. You hope that this can all be resolved even if it takes a big step.

- BREAKUP ARC?!?!!,,!

- jk

- still intense 😜 (i was supposed to post this yesterday but i forgor 💀💀💀)

- team scaramouche or team yn 🤨🤨

- or none cause fuck them 🦅

🏷️ @sakiimeo @coquettemaiden @rmiyuki @kur44pika @theblueblub @jxxji0309 @dreamsofminnie @ohmyfinggod @redactedhimbo @kunisbeloved @akagism2 @sketcheeee @thefandomcrow @beriiov @thenightsflower @yukiipc @scaraapologist @scarletttcroww @samyayaya @crucnhice @monaypo1 @feiherp @myaaones @warcelia @hangecanweholdhands @yuminako @valiryyz @screechingxiaolover @tiddieshakeshownu @ilovechuuyaa @d4y-dr3am3r @dazaisfavgf @swivy123 @ganyusbrideee @sagegreenthinks @the-left-glove @wonderland-fan @kylexzz @kaoyamamegami @whycantscarabereal @rvoulte @eunchaeluvr @lxkeeeee @silvermah @baby-bread-in @yelleloww @magica-ren @itzblazekun

[kelean]

it's always funny to me when people blame jack's insanity and genocidal tendencies solely on lilith and moxxi's so-called "betrayal" and at this point i'm convinced that they played some different game because:

lilith and moxxi literally saw him kill innocent scientists only because he thought they may betray him, but there was no solid evidence for that. and even if there actually was a traitor among them, jack could've simply put them in some sort of jail or just deal with them quietly. but no. instead he decided to make a whole show out of killing them in one of the most cruel ways possible, while gathering all of his allies around. because his goal wasn't to just get rid of someone you can't trust - he wanted lilith, moxxi and roland to see what will happen to them if they dare to disobey him

after he killed the meriff he thought that it was - quote-unquote - "invigorating". killing scientists also "felt good". normal person behavior btw

he never cared about felicity. he doesn't feel any remorse or guilt after killing her, even though she was helping him this entire time. and correct if i'm wrong, but while he did need an army to take helios back, he, in the end, never actually used it. the loaders in bl:tps couldn't do much - we had to manually turn them into the loaders who can shoot or blow up stuff. and it was after we already got on helios. so basically, there was no rush to make a constructor out of felicity and consequently kill her in the process

by the time of the events of bl:tps he has already destroyed moxxi's underdome like she said in one of the side quests in bl2 (nevertheless, she still agreed to help him). and before you say anything about how he couldn't actually do that and it's a retcon because he was a low-level programmer may i remind you that he had the money to make a goddamn body double for himself. he had a fancy office. he had a chamber for angel's containment. and i think it's pretty believable that a person with that much money is capable of doing that

and yes, angel. while lilith and roland didn't know about that at the time, he has already enslaved his own daughter many years ago and used her to manipulate them into finding the vault for him in bl1. and he had the resources to keep her in her place, too

so, of course, when they saw the eye of the destroyer they knew what was going on. imagine somehow killing a monster that took down armies just to see its' eye being used by some big fucking corporation for god knows what years later

now, to the fun part - the betrayal. let's just say that moxxi’s good at reading people - she wasn’t wrong when she called jack a «power-hungry psychopath» and said that «a lot of decent people will live to regret it if you come down from helios alive» as we will see in the future events. she and others saw jack's true colors shine through during their little quest to save the moon and it was the only logical conclusion. she was fucking right

moxxi specifically asked jack to be at the eye of helios because she planned to kill him (and, well, people who agreed to work for him) and him (and his team) only. moreover, the station was already under attack by the lost legion by quite some time. so there was literally no possibility that it would've impacted any innocents (so idk from where some people got the idea that they killed "millions of innocent hyperions" - that's just called making shit up)

jack, on the other hand, didn't know how much of an impact that caused. however, he isn’t sad about the possible death of people that singularity might have caused (again, it could, but it didn’t - still, Jack doesn’t give a fuck). he isn’t even worried about his own team. all he cares about is that he lost a very valuable and deadly weapon because of «the things he could have done with it» - and it’s pretty obvious what exactly can you do with this sort of weapon. it wasn't just standing there to look pretty you know

also, while we’re at it, you can even argue how this whole “saving the moon and its’ people” thing might have been just a cover up for a real reason – that is, get this very dangerous weapon back under his control. but that's just a speculation based on some of the in-game things i've noticed, so let's not dwell on it

finally, i never really got why people are so mad at lilith for punching jack - she literally admits that she should’ve just killed him instead, as, in the end, it costed her a lot of people’s lives and, more specifically, roland’s life. she feels extremely guilty. she knows that she fucked up. her main mistake, however, wasn't that she "betrayed" jack - her main mistake was leaving him to die instead of finishing a job and thinking that he can actually be trustworthy

[panlight]

Hi! I love your blog and your opinions so i've been thinking about some stuff. I don't know if you received this already and i'm sorry if you did. Ive been reading some fics, post BD canon, and thought about some stufff. Especially about nessie/jacob. I have no ideia how this will play out. Do you think the cullens will have to leave the town by the time nessie reach maturity? i think so, considering theyve been there for 8 years and carlisle will have to be what, 33?

If so, what will happen to jacob? he will tag along with nessie, of course, but what about his alpha duties? he will be far from his family for the next 80 years? that sounds so fucked up. i simply cannot imagine how stephanie thinks this is a good thing. nessie cant have children once she reaches maturity (even tho i DOUBT smeyer will leave her without children) so her child will have to turn into a vampire later? she wouldnt make ness/jacob lose their child. or shell make ness pregnant before she turns seven?

Anyways, another question: how do you think Edward (and bella and the cullens) will react to jacob/ness wedding and pregnancy? Some fics show edward pissed the fuck off but some hes just okay, having accepted the fate (he had 7 years to get over it). Also, i'm pretty sure he'll flip on jacob if they have sex before marriage and the thought of nessie being married at 7 years old terrifies me. i doubt they'd wait until marriage, tho. they are young and non mormon i mean, i'm sure smeyer will make them wait for marriage and have renesmee married AND knocked up before she reaches full maturity. but realistically, they wouldnt wait till marriage and i hope they wait long before marrying. what are your thoughts? how would edward, especially, react to marriage/pregnancy and pre marital sex? sorry for the long ask. i've been spiriling around twilight after some years hehe

The whole thing is just such a nightmare that I have to hope she "did not think it through" because the idea that she DID think it through and thought "yes this is great!" is even worse.

She HAS said that "the lovely thing about Jacob and Nessie relationship is that as long as he keeps phasing, he won't age." Which implies to me that a) she does intend for them to be a romantic couple in the future and b) she does intend for them both to be immortal.

The full maturity at 7 years feels so much like a "ugh I don't want to have to wait to write about her as a grown up so let's just skip ahead" sort of cheat to me, but again . . . did she think that through? The logic I've seen some fans apply is basically like, well different species reach maturity at different ages. A cat is an adult after about one year, while we think of humans becoming adults at around 18 years. Renesmee's not human, she's a hybrid and for her species adulthood is reached in 7 years so there's nothing 'bad' about it. But like . .. the optics? Terrible. And she's only been alive/on earth for seven years. She's only had seven years of life experience. That's . . . that's REALLY uncomfortable to think about. Physically she might be an adult, maybe even mentally in terms of brain development, but emotionally? Socially? Especially compared to Jacob's 20+ years of life experience at that point.

And given SM's questionable relationship with science and biology, I honestly kind of expect that she'll let Renesmee have children even after the seven years. I think that's the reason that female hybrids aren't venomous. That she's set THAT up to be like "oh they're not venomous . . . so they can get pregnant!" and Renesmee will be fertile until her eggs run out. But that's assuming that her reproductive system is anything like a human's and SM could fully just be like "oh it's not!!! she is fertile every 7 years and will always have twins" or whatever she invents (I think they will have twins because twins run in Jacob's family and while that's Not How That Works it seems like a set-up for super-amazing wolfpire hybrid twins who save the world).

In canon, Edward and Bella will probably be fine with it? SM sees this as a happy ending for Jacob (he gets his predestined soulmate) and a happy ending for Bella (she gets to keep her best friend around forever . . . as a son-in-law???) so I don't think she'll have them feel anything but normal parental feelings about seeing their little girl grow up and get married. She'll write something about Edward seeing the love in Jacob and Renesmee's minds and while Bella might be lowkey a little jealous she'll tell herself she's happy for them blah blah blah.

The headcanons of Renesmee rebelling or becoming evil or breaking the imprint are probably all more REALISTIC to what someone growing up in that nightmare of a situation would do, but I don't think that's what SM is imagining here at all. I think it will be about a girl who doesn't feel like she fits in, oh woe is me, a lonely hybrid. Nahuel will come back and there will be a love triangle with him and Jacob, because Nahuel is like her and understands, is the only male of her species and she's the only female who isn't his sister. But in the end she picks Jacob because "he's always been there for me . . . since the moment I was born" (BLECH) and they'll have amazing twins with powers that will somehow be able to stop the Volturi when they come back.

And yeah Jacob will be stuck living with the Cullens, or at least with Nessie, for the rest of forever. Maybe once Nessie's an adult they'll travel independently, but they are immortal and don't age, they can't stay in one place forever. Maaaaaybe in La Push if everyone's in on the secret, but canonically not everyone is. And how IS he supposed to be a good leader for his community if his #1 priority is being whatever Nessie, a half-vampire, needs? It's a huge conflict of interest and super unfair to him.

[justatypicalwizard]

Katsuki doesn't believe in love at first sight

Katsuki never believed in love at first sight. How could someone meet eyes and feel as if a thunder ruptured down from the skies and struck them? To love someone means to accept every part of them and to be able to incorporate them into your everyday life. It means building a brand new everyday with that person.

In order to do so you need to know a lot about them. Who they are, what are their plans for the future, what is their character and so on. Then you need to see if you are compatible in many spheres. You need to invite them to your friends group to see if it’ll hit off, you should try living together, they need to get to know your parents.

There are simply so many things to check off the list in order to be able to say you love someone. Otherwise it’s just empty words. I love you here and there. I love you for a week. I love you when you do as I please. Bullshit.

Mina constantly pestered Katsuki that his definition of love feels more like a chore or a job interview than like something a human would be able to accomplish. It wasn’t his fault he had some standards everyone else seemed to lack.

So even now Katsuki doesn’t like to admit that he fell in love at first sight, because it wasn’t the first time when he looked at you.

A quiet ping of his phone tore him out of his work. A new message from someone he didn’t recognise. Without much thought he opened the text.

[Hi, you may not know me but we go to the same lecture on Wednesday at 1 PM. I heard you have neat notes and wanted to ask if it wouldn’t be a problem if you send me today’s ones. I  got sick and couldn’t come and I wouldn’t want to fall behind with the material. Thanks!]

Geez, was there a longer way to type it? Couldn’t you just write: can you give me notes? On the other hand he always complained about people being douchebags.

Clicking onto your profile Katsuki saw a cheesy photo and a few posts from your daily life and vacations. Nothing much to be honest. Yet, he could vaguely remember your face around the people who entered the lecture hall. It won’t hurt to help.

[Sure]

[File attached]

Pushing his phone to the far end of his desk he went back to work. A few minutes later there was another quiet ding and this time Katsuki felt irritation bubbling inside him. It was you once again.

[Thank you so much!]

[I owe you]

[If you ever need anything feel free to write]

Whatever.

It only took a week for Katsuki to be indeed looking for help from someone. Once in a while, during his hero training, he was forced to pair up with someone in order to work on his rescue skills. Usually they’d use dummies but some fucktard in the course planning team decided that it would be most helpful if the students could train with a real human.

Normally Katsuki would ask Mina. He’d swallow his pride and force himself to listen to her babbling for two hours. Just to get it done. Unfortunately, Mina dumped him today, leaving only a [sorry, not feeling well, find someone else]. Damned flu season.

Who was he supposed to ask now, Denki?

As he scrolled down his chats, your profile pic flew by making Katsuki halt.

If you ever need anything feel free to write.

Screw it, you said it yourself, might as well find a person already and move on with his day. He typed a quick explanation and pushed the send button. The day was nearing the afternoon when you responded.

[Sure, if it’s two hours I can make it. Send me when and where I should be]

He shrugged and gave you the address for today's training.

In the early evening Katsuki found himself trotting towards his usual fighting ground absentmindedly. He was thinking about something related to work at Miruko’s when the idea flew out of his head. You were there, he could see you from afar, walking in circles in front of the main door.

Were you an idiot? It was the middle of winter and the early evening cold tore through layers of warm coats to sink into your bones. Why weren’t you entering the building to warm up a bit.

That’s why Katsuki is so stubborn about the whole love at first sight thing. It certainly wasn’t that exact moment when his heart skipped a beat because of you. You were shivering, hiding your chin and red tinted cheeks deeper into the collar of your winter coat. When you spotted him you reached out a gloved hand and waved.

“What the fuck are you doing outside, get in there or you’ll catch another cold.” He persisted, ushering you towards the entrance.

“Wow, good evening to you too.” You looked at him from under your woollen hat, surprised to get yelled at first thing you see him. Though, you did hear the upcoming pro-hero Dynamite, who went to the same lecture as you, was rather intense. “I don’t know, this place just looks fancy. Didn’t want to stand inside like a dumbass not knowing where to go.”

“So you stood outside like a dumbass not knowing where to go.”

“Exactly.”

He let you in and showed you around. After leaving your coat and getting a warm tea (his idea), you were ready to help with his training. The support students and university staff running around asked you to take off any unnecessary piece of clothing such as jewellery or sweaters that could get in the way. You gladly went through with their instructions.

You b-lined another student, a senior support course, who showed you the place where you’d be waiting to be rescued. The spacious arena was moulded into the shape of a city. Some buildings were fine, others rundown as if a villain attack rolled over them. There were paveways and roads, streetlamps and plastic trees. You even spotted a car, though it didn’t look like it could take off anytime soon. 

“It will look the same over and over. You sit or lie down in the place where I leave you and wait for your hero.” Your guide briefed the rules. “And every time pick out a different scenario and tie the band in the place that is put on it.” He handed you a dozen of ribbons with small notes attached to them. The first one you grabbed read: broken arm (tie around elbow).

“Sure.” You nodded your head and he left you on the second floor of a wannabe office building. There were a few chairs scattered around and a table that had a weird bite mark on it. You obediently wrapped the band around your arm and sat down on the floor, waiting.

You wondered how it’ll be, to get fake rescued. You were never in such a situation, always watching the villains from the comfort of your TV rather than first hand. What was Dynamite’s quirk? Suddenly you felt stupid for not knowing. On the other hand, you were never up to date with new heroes and all the popularity polls or colourful magazines. Guess you’d just have to wait and see.

Katsuki didn’t leave you for long. You were counting the pieces of shattered glass beneath your feet when a series of explosions passed beside the building. The small pieces you were meticulously adding shook and you let out a squeak when something heavy hit the wall behind you.

“Shut up, it's me.” Craning your neck, you saw Dynamite’s face, upside down, looking at you. He was halfway through the window. “What have you got?”

“God, you scared me.” You chuckled but quickly shut your mouth. The guide asked you to play the best victim you can. Victims shouldn’t laugh.

Dynamite hopped in front of you and crouched to read the note attached to your elbow. He mumbled something in the lines of fucking scenario and looked you straight in the eye.

“I’m gonna get you out of here.”

There wasn’t anything dramatic going on, it was even quiet outside save for a few shouts here and there. Yet, there was just something in a bulked man looking at you and promising you protection, one secured by his own arms. You felt like the guy from the firefighters video.

You couldn’t stop the giggle at the thought.

“What the fuck are you laughing at?” Dynamite spat.

“Nothing, nothing.” You shook your hands in front of your still laughing face. “Oh shit, this one’s supposed to be broken. Okay, just save me already.” You really fought with the snicker but the cheesiness and awkwardness of the whole situation had you in a chokehold.

“Whatever.” The hero sighed, visibly annoyed, and scooped you into his hands like a sack of potatoes. “I’ll need you to wrap your legs around me. Push the broken arm into my chest and use your healthy one to hold onto me.”

You did as instructed and glued yourself to him as tight as you could. He still held you with one of his arms and just when you started to wonder how the two of you would get down from the second floor he jumped out of the window.

A scream escaped your lips but it was muffled by a loud explosion.

For the next two hours you flew through the air in Dynamite’s hands over and over again. He held you in different ways, depending on your supposed injury, but every time you landed into the safe zone, you realised you were the first or nearly the first. That guy was quick like hell.

The last scenario rolled over and it was a panic attack. You were supposed to be physically fine but otherwise unresponsive and difficult to work with due to your shock. Dynamite tried to take extra steps to calm you down, speaking about how he’ll take you to safety and how it will all be over in a second. It looked like he was having a hard time.

“I need to touch you to take you somewhere safe.” He said, wrapping one of his hands around you.

When you were both at the safe zone, with cardboard paramedics to take care of you, Dynamite did something different. Instead of leaving you in the place where the group of injured would grow, he carried you straight to the ambulance.

“She has a panic attack.” He said to the empty fake vehicle and you just couldn’t take any more of it. You erupted in a fit of laughter. Your body shook in his hands and you gripped the X on his uniform to steady yourself. “What the fuck?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” You tried to explain but the laughter squeezed your throat. “I’m a shitty actor.”

“I see that.” Dynamite grumbled.

“Do you really need to talk to cardboard people and empty vehicles for two hours every week?” You asked, wiping a tear from your cheek.

“Is it really that fucking funny?”

“No, no! I get it.” You finally calmed down, letting go of the front of his costume. “It’s not that funny, maybe a bit but not that much. I think I’m just in a good mood.” You shrug your shoulders. “It was fun, flying with you, like a free rollercoaster ride.” You gave him a big, big smile. A big genuine smile. A big, genuine, lovely smile, with your eyes closed and teeth out and cheeks tinted pink.

People are stupid. That’s what Katsuki thinks. It’s not love at first sight. It’s love because of a single sight.

Even though Katsuki came to some fundamental conclusions in the topic of love he would get all defensive and intense when he was asked about how the two of you met. It would sound way better if he could say the two of you met, then started to talk more, then went on a date and agreed to meet each other and so on. He just felt so stupid, so awkward and silly when he had to admit that all it took for you was a single smile to make his heart skip a beat.

The worst part? It felt a little pathetic honestly, as if people never smiled at him, but truthly they didn’t, not like that. Not like you.

Katsuki still doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Yet, every other piece of his meticulously calculated equation of love was torn down and rewritten, all of which he gladly took.

[totallybakedcake]

hello :) (if you recived another message sorry I don't know if I sent it bc my phone doesn't work) as I asked before like could you do a Aoi x Haruichi fanfict? also I'd like to read something that focuses also on Haruichi's family issue because I'm really struggling to think about something and I'd like to know other people's thoughts :)

Woo hoo my first character x character fic!! Really I do like to ship many characters together but don't have any motivation to write. I had fun trying to make a backstory so thanks:D

The joy of silence

There were no cute fanarts on them on google so settling with this one ig

Haruichi was just in his apartment, gazing at the mellow sunset while lost in thought. He had for the past four hours been opening his phone every five minutes, which even made the vice captain and instructors concerned, so he had to stop.

He didn't tell anyone; he wasn't bold enough to tell them that it was his father's birthday, and he had tried to call him multiple times, text him plenty of times, and even send him some gifts, but in response, he got dead silence.

He felt so annoyed and nervous at the beginning of the day that he worked way harder than usual, and now everything would hurt if he even moved an inch.

"I am hungry." He thought to make dinner, but during cooking, most probably his body would give out, so he diverted his mind and would think about that later.

This is the first time he felt so useless that he might cry from it, but what could even help him cheer up? Just then

The doorbell rang.

Usually at this hour, nobody came to visit him, though Haruichi did think of a certain someone when he needed to talk.

"Aoi?" Ah, yes, it was Aoi. He didn't outright say it, but he was glad that he had come to visit him.

"Talk." Kaguragi simply said that and settled on the couch. He damn well knew that Haruichi was very upset and wanted to confront him in private.

"Caught me, huh? Well,  what can I expect from you?" Haruichi didn't even hide the fact and just sat down beside him, offering him some ramen before digging into his.

He took deep breaths to calm down as he spoke. "I had a little brother; he was younger by 4 years. We played for hours and hours every day. Each day our parents would come home with gifts. He always wanted some sort of building set that helped him build weapon toys. He was going to be the one to inherit the Izumo family business. While I was 18 and he was 14, a kaiju attacked our home. He died; mom got an illness and died soon later. I was the one left that dad would leave the business to. My destiny was to become a defense force officer or maybe a captain someday, so I refused, and we argued day and night after that. Dad quit trying to convince me but also stopped talking to me as we both cut ties. Today is his birthday. I did countless things to reach out, but he just wouldn't reply."

The room felt silent as none of them dared to say anything else. Haruichi was and is still hiding his pain deep down, but the tears might start to fall and not stop.

Aoi pulled him in an awkward hug. He had never hugged anyone, but it was a great way to comfort a sad person. "At least you have us; I am sure in the future your father will forgive you; give him some time."

To say he was shocked is an understatement. Haruichi wrapped his arms around Aoi. He closed his eyes, muttering thanks over and over as he got comfortable in the warm embrace that was like a balm to his sore muscles.

It was a quiet moment where no words needed to be exchanged; just the relaxing touch was enough. They were enjoying each other's company.

Falling asleep with Kaguragi felt like heaven, but there was no way in hell that Haruichi was ever going to admit that.

"Oh Kaguragi, I love you," he thought to himself before joining in on the slumber.

[madrigaljail]

Encantober 4: Mystery

The Madrigal matriarch was not an easy woman to alarm, this was very well known, but then it was not every day she was approached by a pair of distressed parents informing her that their daughter was pregnant, and that her son was the father. 

She did her best to maintain her composure as discussion with the parents and the young couple confirmed this to be the truth, and she spoke of her family’s commitment to doing the right thing, and offering assurances that the child would be accepted and that of course there would be a wedding should that be what everyone truly wanted.

Things got as smoothed over as they possibly could be, and when a moment of quiet finally came she turned to Bruno and shook her head. “I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

“Me?” he said, face scrunched in confusion. “Why? I didn’t do anything.”

“That’s exactly it!” Mirabel flailed her arms and continued her pacing across the patio. “You didn’t think this was worth a little warning? Some sort of…’hey kid, your son’s going to knock up a tourist, keep an eye on him’ would’ve been helpful.”

Bruno blew a raspberry and waved her off, settling back in his big wicker chair. The sun glinted off hair which was definitely more silver than brown, and she had to look away because it made her think of Abuela. 

“You know I don’t look into the family’s future on purpose, Mira,” he remarked, shrugging. “The glimpses I get these days are…oh look, more kids, wonder who they belong to. Some things are meant to be solved and some should just be simply a mystery.”

Mirabel stopped her restless pacing, folded her arms, and sighed. Out on the lawn her spouse was playing with their youngest, distracting them from the tension in the household. Behind her she could hear the radio playing and a clatter in the kitchen, her mother laughing and admonishing her father to be more careful. If she looked to the front walk she could probably catch the other children coming home from school, and if she turned and glanced up she suspected she could find her eldest brooding in a corner under Casita’s eaves.

“And she’s not a tourist,” Bruno went on as he offered a treat to one of his rats. “The Deckers have been here a couple of years, I think that- her name is Erica?”

“Yes, Erica.”

“Right, I think that Erica and Pedro and the baby are going to be fine.”

She wanted to believe that, and considering the source she was willing to do so. Even without it being a proper prophecy, she trusted Bruno’s opinion on such matters.

“Hey, kid, with all of this, you know what you should be worried about?” 

Mirabel turned to him, frowning. “What?”

He gave her an apologetic smile and lifted his eyebrows. “Your prima.”

“Huh? Why would Dolor-” She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m going to be an abuela before she is.”

“Yep.”

“And she has to already kno- oh God she’s going to kill me.”

“Maybe. I mean, she might go after your son first but-”

“I really, really hope you’re happy with yourself!”

“Again, I didn’t do anything!”

Later, Mirabel would decide that it would be a good idea to gently encourage the young couple to name their firstborn, should it be a boy, after Bruno. They were open to the idea, and followed through accordingly.

*

(NOTES: Yes, Mirabel's eldest son is named Pedro, his is a bit of a disaster human, I have no idea what his gift is. Yes, the baby in question has a cameo in the A Prophet In His Own Land epilogue. Dolores does not in fact kill anyone. I am turning into one of those authors who has plans and ideas for the next gen of kids, send help.)

[californiadreaminginpink]

Use me

Gator Tillman x OC

Word count: 3080

18+ Minor's do not interact.

CW: Slow burn, future smut, swearing, violence (particularly this part), assault, smoking, drinking. Don't know if i've missed anything?

Summary: A new criminal family has moved to Stark County, opening possibilities up for Roy Tillman, but only if his son can focus, which is difficult when he is intoxicated by the daughter of said family.

Part 2 - Consequences

This is a true story. The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2018. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.

The large door mat which lay at the entrance of the police station muffled the sounds of stomping boots as Gator forcefully lead out a petite Blonde woman, his hand gripped roughly to her upper arm. He winced at the brightness of the sunlight, amplified against the fresh dusting of snow as they stepped through the automatic glass doors. The blonde struggled slightly, stumbling over her inappropriate choice of footwear, heels which slid dangerously on the ice. Gator practically threw her against the exterior brick wall of the station and she yelped slightly, before rearranging her dishevel coat, scowling at him under a large pair of sunglasses which had been covering her icy blue eyes.

“You can’t just turn up at the station whenever you want Ruby,” Gator glared at her through gritted teeth, his fist clenching subconsciously. He realised what he was doing and took a step back to calm himself. Ruby knew exactly how to get a rise from him and he wasn’t in the mood for her childish games. He grabbed the vape from the pocket of his cargo trousers and took a long deliberate drag from it, staring down the woman in front of him in an attempt to look threatening. She was used to this look, it was usually followed by him grabbing her face roughly and crashing his lips against hers. She smirked back at him expectantly, however for the first time in months he simply looked away from her.

“Well, what do you expect when you ignore me huh?” She bit back, trying to find the right button to press. She was there for a reason and she always got what she wanted, especially when it came to Gator, he was so easy to get a rise from, to tease. “Least you could have done is text me that you weren’t coming over. Might have got a decent night’s sleep ‘stead of waiting up for you.”

“You’re not my girlfriend. I don’t owe you shit.” Gator said bluntly. His words stung, making Ruby bite the inside of her cheek as she felt a wave of emotion she wasn’t expecting. Sure, they hadn’t labelled anything, but they weren’t nothing. Sex involved some emotions at least, even if they were just a means to an end for each other. She hated herself as she realised in that moment she had let it become more for herself.

“Fuck you Gator,” she spat, her voice filled with venom. She shoved him harshly in the chest, desperate to hurt him, forcing him to step back. He smirked lazily looking down to the hands on his chest before shrugging them away, only to be met with a harsh slap to his cheek. He bought his hand up to the burning sensation and rolled his jaw slightly to stave off the sting.

“Whatever Ruby.” He laughed. “Whatever the fuck this is, is done. Don’t fuckin’ text me and don’t show up at the station again ya hear?” He spoke with finality, hoping to finally walk away, but Ruby continued, she really was relentless.

“I’ll remind you of that later when you’re beggin’ me like a dog shall I?” She jabbed at him with one last desperate attempt, the button she knew always worked.

“Shut you damn mouth for once in your life would ya?” Gator muttered harshly, turning back to face her, more threatening than before. His fist clenched again, but he didn’t notice this time.

He was saved from his reckless intentions, however by the loud humming of motor engines as several large SUVs pulled into the parking lot, one after the other. The convoy had caught the attention of both himself and Ruby as they passed them and parked a few rows of spaces back from the station. The doors started to scatter open as Gator blinked against the sunlight to see who it was. A few men he didn’t recognise stepped from two of the cars, stretching their stiff bones lazily and zipping up their various jackets before continuing conversations that had been started from the warmth of their cars. It was the third car that caught Gator’s eye however, as the now familiar figures of Charlie and his brother Sam exited from the back seat, either side of the car. Gator straightened up and took another hit of his vape a small frown forming on his features. He watched as, silhouetted against the sun, Charlie held his hand out and helped Rose jump down from the raised step of the car with a gentle thud into the snow. The three of them huddled together in conversation as their father exited from the driver’s seat of the car and a further man from the passenger side, the two of them continuing their own conversation.

Charlie stubbed out a cigarette on the ground, his eye catching something on his brother’s sleeve. “Did you not wash this?” He asked, eyeing the red stain that dotted Sam’s cuff, picking his wrist up for emphasis.

“’Course I did.” Sam protested grumpily, pulling his arm from his brother’s reach before eying the stain himself, picking at it in an attempt to make it less obvious. “Damn stain won’t come out. Been there since Michigan.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “Just chuck it already.”

“No way it’s my lucky shirt!” Sam protested, hiding the shirt cuff with the sleeve of his jacket which he tugged down.

“Baking soda will get it right out,” Rose suggested simply. “let me have a go with it later, good as new I’m telling ya” she smiled, continuing to muse the benefits in her teasing way.

“Who’s that?” Ruby huffed, crossing her arms in front of her defensively with a scowl.

“When did you get so nosey?” Gator frowned, pulling his eyes away from the gathering in the parking lot for a moment to look down at her.

“Get fucked Gator.” She bluntly retorted. “Better yet, maybe I’ll try over there. The blonde is gorgeous.” Her final attempt to get a rise from Gator, no such luck.

“Good luck to ya.” He smirked, taking a final drag from his vape before turning and stalking back inside the station, not gracing her with a look back.

“Okay, ready sweetheart?” John asked, placing a gentle kiss on his daughters temple.

“Oh one second,” she said before diving back into the car and pulling out a small bunch of hand picked flowers, neatly tied with a bow and a worn enamel tin, the kind which could be mistakenly opened at a grandparents house, only to find sewing supplies instead of the desired sweet treats. “Okay ready!” She smiled warmly, a skip in her step as she made her way towards the entrance of the station flanked by several well built men, most of whom where littered with questionable scars. Ruby watched, eying the new woman up and down from under her sunglasses until she disappeared through the entrance whilst half of her party remained outside watchfully.

Though the station had recently had a fresh coat of paint, the smell of which still lingered in the air, it was still dated. The tiled carpet floor was worn and the posters on the notice boards had edges which were starting to curl. The warmth of the heater blew gently down as Rose crossed the threshold, warming her cheeks. She took a moment to take in her surroundings, noticing the scattered desks and unkempt coffee station where sticky rings decorated the surface of the table. She glanced towards the work stations and spotted him instantly. He was leaning against his desk, eyes watching her intently as he exhaled a cloud of fruity  vapour, half obscuring his face, but not enough to hide the pinking shape of a hand forming on his cheek. The right side of his lip raised in a smile and his eyes flashed cheekily, sending a wave of butterflies through Rose’s stomach as her breath caught a little in her throat. She returned the smile which soon turned into a questioning smirk as she noticed the untidy hell he was perched on; energy drinks littered everywhere with various levels of liquid and scruffy stacks of paper work covered in crumbs and coffee stains. She pulled her gaze away, following her dad and brothers up towards the reception desk, helpfully labelled in large letters, where a frumpy older woman sat, her hair tightly permed and lipstick smudged at the edges. She looked over the brim of her wire glasses at the group in front of her before giving them a welcoming smile. “Well good morning, how can I help you today sir?”

“Good morning sweetheart,” her father started, making the poor lady blush, “I believe Sheriff Tillman is expecting us. Name’s Cornell.” He lifted the heavy duffle bag he had been holding and slung it over his shoulder with ease, waiting patiently. Rose knew it was full of cash, it did make her laugh sometimes at how unsubtle her father could be.

“Bare with me just a moment,” the receptionist smiled, looking through a pink polka dot diary that was sitting next to her large mug of tea. Her finger traced down the page, along the various time slots under the day’s date and stopped by 14:20: Sherriff meeting John Cornell.

“Oh there it is. You can go straight through to the back there, it’s the office at the end of the corridor. If you wait on one of the chairs outside, I’ll let him know you’ve arrived.”

“Thank you darling,” John smiled with genuine charm. He turned giving his sons a nod before moving on to find said corridor, duffle still slung over his shoulder.

“And can I help you miss?” The receptionist asked Rose, now next in line to speak to her.

“Yes, I’m looking for Deputy Clarke,” Rose asked sweetly, making sure to bat her eyelashes in a way which made her innocence shine through.

“That all for him sweetie?” The receptionist chuckled, gesturing to what Rose was holding.

“Hmm? Oh no mam, these are just a good will gesture from us to the station. We’re new to the area see. Myself, father and brothers.” Rose said gesturing to the two men standing behind her, both of whom were waiting for her to finish. “Thought they might brighten the place up a bit. They’d look just lovely on your desk here,” Rose continued handing over the flowers to the receptionist. “Oh and these are for everyone, Oatmeal raison and Choc chip. Thought you should all have a few options.” She finished handing the tin over next.

“Right… Well that’s mighty nice of you.” She took the tin graciously if not slightly confused. “I’ll just pop them in the staff room miss?”

“Rose. Rose Cornell.” The receptionist nodded, Understanding now that she had come with her father.

“Well Miss Cornell, Deputy Clarke’s desk is just over there by the window.” She pointed over to the empty desk situated next to a large dying house plant. “He’s in the staff room on break but I’ll let him know you’re waiting.” She smiled before leaving the desk.

Rose turned to her brothers, and gestured with nod of her head to follow her. She walked calmly over to wait, making sure not to look Gator in the eye, but instead emphasis her hips as she sauntered right past him, something that didn’t go unnoticed. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, making sure that fresh scent of her shampoo enveloped him as she did so. Delicately, she sat on the worn chair in front of Dan’s desk and waited patiently despite the rough fabric scratching against her skin. Her brothers remained stood either side of her like guard dogs waiting for their trigger word. This didn’t go unnoticed by other deputies at work around them. Their presence was a threat that naturally put them all on edge.

Finally deputy Dan Clarke walked back onto the open floor of the office, his movements full of false confidence, a dark grin dominating his features. He sat down heavily in his chair, stretching backwards lazily before leaning in closely on his desk.

“Deputy,” Rose smiled, hands situated neatly in her lap.

“Well well well. Couldn’t stay away huh?” Dan leered at her. She tried not to show her repulsion at the crumbs dotting his stubble and the grease stain on the front of his formally white shirt.

“Something like that.” Her smile faltered slightly and formed an annoyed pout.

“And who’s this? Boyfriends? Pimps?” Dan asked gesturing to the men behind her dismissively. Sam prickled visibly at his words, moving his jacket back to flash his gun sat comfortably on his hip before starting to crack his fingers loudly.

“These are my brothers Charlie, and Sam.” She introduced them. “Sam darlin’ don’t do that, you know it’s bad for your joints,” she added as a throw away comment.

“Brothers. Huh.” Dan smirked eying them like prey. To him it seemed their threat wasn’t real, oh how wrong he was Rose smirked to herself. “Well what brings you here? Got a crime to report or something?” Dan asked slinging a casual arm over the back of his seat, unphased.

“No. Just wanted to return this.” Rose said simply, pulling the business card from her bag, it’s edges now starting to crumple. She placed it on the table before sliding it firmly over the surface towards him, her eyes not backing down from his. “While it’s very hard to resist, I’m going to have to decline your offer.”

“You came all the way here to tell me that?” Dan scoffed, his un-earnt confidence unable to be disguised.

“Oh no silly. I came to do this.” Rose mused softly. She turned to Charlie who nodded at her and made his way to stand next to Dan behind the desk, Sam following making it impossible for Dan to find a way out as they towered over him.

“What? What are you-“ Dan started before Sam made to grab for his arm, managing to subdue him at the same time. Dan struggled against his grip before being shoved roughly by Charlie forcing him forward so that his face collided with his desk.

“No the left hand, he still has to work,” Charlie said casually to his brother, Dan’s flailing not bothering him at all as he continued to hold him down with ease.

“Right, right” Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance. He swapped the arm his was currently holding and slammed the left into the table, making sure that it was in Dan’s direct eyeline before pulling a large knife from a holster which sat on the opposite hip to his gun. The sound made Dan’s eye widen as he started to understand what was about to happen and his struggles worsened.

“What? No please! PLEASE!” Dan begged before screaming out in agony as Sam plunged the knife straight through his hand and into the table, leaving it there. The two men released him finally only for him to continue to sob and writhe in agony.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He cried, continuing to howl in pain every time he made the slightest movement.

“Fucking maniacs!” Another deputy shouted from nearby, making a move to pull his gun from its holster, only to be stopped by the rough hand of Gator holding his arm down. “Sit down. Don’t fucking move the lot of ya. This has to be, you hear?” The man reluctantly did so and looked at Gator with a mixture of confusion and obvious disgust. A look mirrored by several other deputies all watching things unfold before them.

“Jesus Christ Rose, you gotta do that in here in front of everyone?” Gator grumbled, trying not to look at Dan, still crying out in agony next to them as she stood to face him. “And he’s fucking left handed! Fuck!” He continued in growing disbelief. He knew something would happen but he hadn’t expect it to happen so soon and so publicly. He eyed Rose wearily for a moment, she wasn’t the sweet innocent girl he had originally thought, but that only made his intrigue grow. There was a danger to her which pulled him closer to her still.

“Oh shit.”  Rose grimaced mockingly. “Sorry Dan.” She called over her shoulder to him. “He’s a lefty guys!” She elaborated to her brothers.

“Who the fuck is a leftie?” Charlie questioned with a frown.

“Not anymore he’s not” Sam tried to hold back a cruel laugh but failed, smirking at him.

“You could always try and become ambidextrous?” Rose suggested, her voice dripping with sarcastic concern. She turned back to face Gator who had closed the gap between them. “You’re girlfriend do that?” She asked, genuinely curious, reaching her hand to his face as she softly brushed over the mark. “Need someone to kiss it better?”

“You done?” Gator asked starting to scowl at her. She may fascinate him, but she had also just caused him a lot of unnecessary work and inconvenience.

“We done boys?” Rose asked.

“Yeah we’re done.” Charlie replied casually, moving away.

“That’s right huh Dan?” Sam smiled dangerously at him before pulling his knife from Dan’s hand, causing a fresh wave of agony. He grabbed an old napkin from a nearby bin and wiped the knife down before re holstering it and following Charlie.

Rose turned to smile sweetly once more at Gator. “I’ll see you in Church Deputy,” her eyes lingered on his, tempting him, before she followed her brothers’ lead, dancing quickly along to catch up with them.

“Ergh this is even worse now, are you sure baking soda will work?” Sam asked as she reached him and looped her arm through his. Blood stains now flecked along the front of his shirt, not just the sleeve.

“Trust me,” Rose insisted, before turning with a sudden thought. “Oh Dan, baking soda! It’ll get rid of the blood stains just peachy, save your shirt at least, might even work on the grease stains.”

As the sliding door closed behind them a shrill scream pierced the air along with the sound of smashed crockery. Rose grimaced, “It took me ages to make those cookies!”