#because you're the guy who calls out others so obviously you wouldn't share any of their flaws

[gender-euphowrya]

successful internet personality constantly feeling the gaze of the "THE RISE AND FALL OF ___" video essayists just waiting for them to slip up and crash for content for their next 4 hour video

[vegasandhishedgehog]

Okay here I come with thoughts that I'm not sure many people will be on board with, but I'm gonna share anyway because who cares! Wandee Goodday is doing a fantastic job selling characters who are ridiulous, and many of them are charming. I'm gonna talk about the guy who isn't. Charming that is.

I Think Ter Is In The Closet

And I'm only using bits from episode 4 to demonstrate this. Sorry if you need more to be convinced.

Ter is a strange character because we meet him through Wandee, when he's still up on a pedestal. That image almost immediately gets crumpled and tossed into oncoming traffic to be flattened in a rubbery, Bangkok traffic death. Dee confesses his feelings and Ter insists he's straight. He's straight. He's straight! He likes women, not men. Sorry. To make matters worse, he pulls the asshole move of just asking Dee to leave the scholarship to him.

These men have known each other for eight years. Eight fucking years and this is where things are going? If we know how much of a disaster Dee is, then it really makes me wonder what disaster side of himself Ter has (aside from what we know).

(thinking them gaaayyy thoughts) (also this weirdo doesn't listen to music while working out? no wonder he's the devil)

Ter is recalling the moment when Yak came into the hospital with flowers for Dee, called him tee-rak, and the two of them are looking at each other like. Like That.

Super normal for a hetero dude to focus on that part of his long-term colleague's life. And if he were a huge homophobe, I could understand it being a possible upset, but then he wouldn't be so close to Dee if that were the case. This is Golf Tanwarin we're being led by here.

Our Devil Doctor is pulled out of his train of thought by the appearance of a shirtless Plakao

Guys, I won't lie to you, I yelled NO aloud because for a second I thought he was going to have his come to Jesus with our favorite asexual king, and as an asexual who worships Plakao and how amazing he is, I just wasn't gonna have it!

And the first thing Ter notices? Kao is alone - specifically, he isn't accompanied as usual by his bestie Wandee. So Ter immediately interrupts his workout to question him. Kao responds that Dee's with his boyfriend now, which prompts more questioning about their relationship from Ter.

Yeah, Ter. What's it matter to you?

You turned Wandee away because you're straight. So, obviously that's a no, right? Right?

Not addressing that then. Okay. We'll just hit the skip button for that dialogue option, I guess.

As a tenured colleague and friend, that would be the natural reaction to this. Kao is a wise, wise man, and like many an asexual, he has done the work of figuring himself out while living in an allonormative world (while also recognizing he likes men! I cannot stress enough how beautifully nuanced his okay). From what he understands (and is stating for Ter to ponder), is that this would make sense for someone who doesn't harbor any other kinds of feelings toward Dee and until recently, has been on good terms with him.

But Ter doesn't get to ponder because he gets called away and immediately forced to face Dee happily walking hand in hand with Yak. It's awkward. Dee excuses himself and Yak. And then Ter's eyes foooolloooww.....

And later he gets back to his room with the number of the beast and fondly recalls when Dee used to leave snacks on his door....

(crowd goes awww)

But this guy can't help but notice while he's doing an evening workout -

Hey! There are Dee and Yak again! Being all cute in the pool! It's too coincidental! (He had not considered that his colleague works at the same place and has a similar schedule, therefore all this appropriately timed boyfriendism could only happen within that schedule)

So he has to conclude that it isn't real.

Little does Ter know that it was originally intended for YakDee to be fake boyfriends; that he'd stumbled upon the truth immediately. What he wasn't expecting was for Dee to double down not only to not be caught plotting like that, but because he's way further into his feelings for Yak than he is fully aware of.

I cannot stress how interesting it is so see this man be so obsessed over their relationship. Anyone who would call themselves a close friend or colleague would simply be happy for Dee, maybe warn him about some people who are less accepting if that were an issue, and then continue focusing on whatever it is he's doing for the scholarship. And maybe he does focus on the scholarship - we aren't shown his side of it because it's not important - but if that's true and his secondary focus is theorizing that Dee's relationship is fake? TER? WORSTIE?????

And then this happens!

Now I've seen a lot of people taking this as manipulation and I'm not going to call them wrong. It is exactly that. But I think he's also seeing if maybe he missed a chance? It wasn't that long ago that Dee was reminiscing about the past eight years together and Ter had decided the scholarship was more important than pursuing whatever thing they had between each other. Ter is realizing he doesn't want to throw either of them away, but still has his heart with the money. So he improvises a lame little plea, it's badly executed, and we get sad eyes watching Dee leave.

I would've expected him to curse under his breath, or have some sort of small scale tantrum after that interaction if he was fully planning to manipulate Dee like that. His melancholy here is what has me thinking that it wasn't well thought out, and there's a part of him who cares about his relationship with Dee and wishes it could carry on as it used to.

Ter continues to obsess. We know he'd immediately seen the story Dee posted, and it seems he's returning to it again (knowing social media habits, he's likely checked it several times in between).

CAUGHT.

Kwan, in contrast to Ter, is also Dee's colleague. She finds him and his boxer boyfriend just charming!

This line kills the entire conversation. There's very obvious tension about this subject.

To me this is where Ter has kinda said the quiet part out loud. He's more concerned about his own image. To whom? His family? His patients? Future opportunities? To himself? Not that there's nothing for Dee to be worried about (this is in Thailand where gay marriage is not legal yet, after all), but he has had a good reception of being publicly queer so far. Is that due to his queerness being more pronounced? Has Ter ridden for most of his life on being able to pass as straight because he was afraid of the consequences?

I'm gonna take a hard left for a moment, and then redirect.

There's a scene in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar where a sheriff (who has had an altercation with a drag queen and is looking for her for severely homophobic reasons) sits in a saloon and essentially narrates gay erotica aloud like he's trying to process the concept of homosexuality. He's disturbed about the idea. The people around him are also disturbed by his imaginings. It almost gives the sense that his thoughts come from desire, but he's been taught too much hate about that desire to recognize it.

And this is the moment where I just felt sorry for Ter. It seems like he maybe has some deep-seated denial, and it's being overturned by everything Dee is doing. It doesn't excuse him, but shit's gotta suck. And it's clear his disturbance with the idea of Dee having gotten over any feelings for him will be hard to reckon with on top of deciding how he feels about Dee himself. P'Golf does their antagonistic and confused gays well.

[danieyells]

Thank you for sharing the tdb affinity lines! I know I won't be naturally getting any of these for ten years (if the games even still around by then) lol.

I was wondering if you could share any interesting lines of Taiga's? No pressure tho! It's just after seeing some of his lines from other people, he seems to have a bigger role in the story and I'm curious if any of his lines give any more clues to the situation on hand. Also would be interesting to see if he genuinely starts caring for mc besides wanting to like. Eat her for lunch lol.

It's no problem! And yeah that's part of why I wanna share them--getting the units to high enough affinity is a pain and to even see any of the home screen dialogues you need an SR or SSR, which means good luck with the gacha buckaroo.

YES TAIGA MY BELOVED. he's my favorite behind maybe Towa. Chances are if you've seen the one line you've seen the only one referring to that, although there is one more that may be related? But it might be general. As for caring for the PC, this is a joseimuke so. The characters will always love you more and more with time. And Taiga most certainly does haha doesn't prevent the hunger from rising up though. friendly reminder to feed your Taiga!

No affinity required:

"...Who're you? Don't pop up out of nowhere like that. Wouldn't want me to shoot you by mistake, would you?"

"What are you again? A middle school student? A transfer student? Got it, an honor student! Gyahaha! I'm never gonna remember that!"

"Playing with these morons is exhausting... Lulu gets all mad if I win too much..."

"That smells amazing... Shit, where's it coming from?"

please feed your taiga.

if you have messages:

"Huh? You got a letter. If it's for me just reply for me, yeah?"

Affinity 1:

"It's too early for your bleating. Shut your trap unless you wanna get abducted."

once again, welcome to sinostra's house of human trafficking--

Affinity 2:

"That dealer sucks. He's been here the longest? Why should I give a shit? Fire him."

Affinity 3:

"You wanna know what kinda meat this is? Anomaly meat. What else would it be? ...Who the fuck're you again?"

he recognizes you enough to ask 'again'! progress! also I guess he almost exclusively eats anomaly meat.

Affinity 4:

"Oops. I lost all the money Lulu gave me. Better make a run for it before he notices."

Affinity 5:

"I'm bored... Hey, you over there. Come play five finger filet with me. Gimme your left hand."

five finger fillet also called the knife game is when you put your hand on a table and stab the gaps between your fingers with a knife in a sequence! Obviously stabbing the hand being played with means you lose. Taiga's chibi plays it when he's idle!

Affinity 6:

"They nabbed one of ours? You guys aren't toddlers. Deal with it yourselves."

it's fascinating that there's such a faction divide within Sinostra that members of Taiga's side get abducted by Romeo's, and probably vice versa. And I bet Taiga doesn't care about any of this. Or at the very least it's not that serious to him.

Affinity 7:

"Gambling and shoot-outs are pretty much the same thing. Morons who panic mess up and get dead. Gyahaha!"

Affinity 8:

"None of you morons have any flair for the table. Lulu needs to raise the minimum bet already."

isn't it your casino too. . .can't

Affinity 9:

"You're a real smooth talker, huh? Don't remember anything you said though. Ciao!"

your seduction attempt didn't fail because of a bad roll, it failed because taiga failed a perception check lmao. . . .

Affinity 10:

"Can't sleep? Sit over there. I'll deal the cards."

He'll play with you until you fall asleep. . .or maybe he'll sit around making ASMR card shuffling noises until you doze off.

Affinity 11:

"...I'm not gonna play today. I'm sleeping. I don't care if the place is burning down— don't wake me up."

fun fact, he's making this face when he says this lol

Affinity 12:

"What's that guy's name again? You know, the one who's gonna become a judge or a cop or something. ...Whatever, I'll just forget it again."

at least he was interested in knowing for a second! maybe he'll give him a nickname.

Affinity 13:

"I spy, with my little eye, a tasty-looking kitty-cat.... Come over here so I can pat you. ...Nah, changed my mind. Scram."

maybe it's just my interpretation but I like to think he's hungry and he saw you and he mindlessly tried to lure you closer because he wanted to eat you, then came to his senses and told you to go away so he wouldn't do something stupid like trying to eat a human. . . .

Affinity 14:

"I'm starving... You, get my usual. It's breakfast time."

i wonder what his usual is.

Affinity 15:

"How does Lulu always have so much energy this early in the morning? It it 'cause of all that expensive water he drinks?"

Affinity 16:

"Stop talking. I don't care."

Affinity 17:

"You going to bed already? Aren't you a good little kitty-cat. Whatever, do what you want."

he'd rather you stay up with him but he's not attached enough to try and make you stay up. . .yet.

Affinity 18:

"You want a surefire way to win at the table? Doesn't exist. You just gotta keep playing."

Affinity 19:

"Hey, go warm up my bed for me. What do you mean how? Get in there, dumbass."

either you're gonna get fucked or you're gonna get disappointed when he really just wanted a warm spot that smells nice to lie in and he makes you leave after he gets in bed. Or maybe he'll let you sleep in the bed with him and use you as a little body pillow!

I'd also like to add that the expression he's using is called "using the "adult" face "adult" so uh. leaning more towards you're gonna get fucked here.

Affinity 20:

"Where you going, kitty-cat? Class? You don't need to go there. I got something more fun in mind for us."

the expression used here is once again simply labelled "adult" so. . . . No going to class and no going to sleep.

Affinity 21:

"That's it, kitty-cat. I feel like my luck'll change if you're around."

Affinity 22:

"I'm starving... This isn't enough... I want more... More..."

they've gotta stop letting him go so long without eating because he clearly loses his mind if he doesn't eat enough meat.

Affinity 23:

"I'm the only one who sees how fucked we are. But he won't believe me. So just let it all burn down—I don't give a shit anymore."

if Taiga sees the future or knows the future because of timeline/loop shit, then that Taiga doesn't seem to actively care much about being Captain or doing his job makes sense. He knows that if nothing changes everything's going to fall apart anyway so there's no point in trying. We don't really know what his stigma does either--in fact, his "good luck" could be that he can see and react to future events, so he knows things like what cards will be drawn and such. But he's getting tired of everything always going so bad no mater what he does in response to what he sees. And Romeo(? it doesn't say who he's telling about how bad things are getting) isn't helping to make changes. . .so he's just giving up. But now you're here, maybe you're different somehow. Maybe somehow you're an outlier in this timeline. Maybe injuring you was on purpose to change something in the future he saw. Maybe that's why he's telling you about the spy. . . .of course this is all speculation. Until we learn what his stigma does or what he means by 'ditch this future' then. . .all speculation. But there is a wickhive post that someone can see the future. And the more I think about it the more I wonder if it's Taiga. (also because i'm sure someone will point this out, the wording 'let it all burn down' is specific to the English dialogue, so it's not a callback to the pre-prequel sequence where the school is on fire.)

Affinity 24:

"If you don't like pain then quit flailing around. I'm getting a taste of you, so close your eyes and shut up."

welcome back to the torture chair! You're probably getting cut like a piece of good meat before he just sinks his teeth into you! Your hands and legs are bound and he's not going to let you get away without eating at least a little of your flesh, so suck it up. That or scream and hope somebody comes to rescue you. . .but the desire to eat the pc never goes away. Most likely because he just wants to eat fresh meat in general and the more he likes someone and the more they hang around him the more he wants to eat them. . .although I assume he unlearned it and now you're here and he just can't help himself. . .if they did consume demons to become ghouls, I bet you're the only thing short of maybe Romeo that'll taste anywhere near as good as that demon did.

Affinity 25(max):

"You're not getting away from me, kitten. You're here till death do us part, whether you like it or not."

oh and also you're married. y'know in case you wanted to do that. or even if you didn't. you don't have a choice in the matter.

Spring:

"(Yawn) Man, why am I so tired today... Someone spike my food?"

"What? Cherry blossoms? Is it that time of year already? Man, that snuck up on me."

"Fuck it, I'm taking a nap. Come over here and be my pillow."

"What's with that vacant look on your face? You need more excitement in your life? Come over here, I'll play with you."

Summer:

"Too hot... Hey, I want my breakfast on ice. They got tons of it over on Jin's turf, go nab some."

hey uh why do you remember Jin by name. like i know Jin's short enough of a name to not need a nickname but also you remember not only Jin but where he lives and how cold it is? Then again you started in the same year, maybe Taiga remembers all the third years since he's known them for two years?

"Why don't we make a giant pool in Sinostra? It's so hot here. I'll put up the cash... Wait no, I used it all yesterday."

YOU COULD HAVE A NICE POOL IF YOU WERE MORE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR MONEY.

"Quiz time—where's Lulu going all dolled up on a stinking hot day like this? Answer— he's cheating on me! Gyahaha!"

THEY ARE FEEDING MY SHIP WHAT DO YOU MEAN TAIGA JOKES THAT THEY'RE DATING. they have such awful married couple who hate each other but also love each other energy.

"Shower? I don't wanna... Shut up and strip me already then."

man he has no fucks to give that you'd be taking his clothes off and seeing him naked huh. . . .

Autumn:

"Good weather for sports? You get a lot more exercise fighting to the death. Gyahaha!"

how frequently do you think he fights to the death. . .probably a lot less than he used to. poor baby needs his deadly enrichment. Also the fact that he finds the idea of fighting to the death fun explains why he smiles when he takes damage in combat lol

"That looks tasty. Gimme a bite."

so given one of the most common autumn foods in japan is like sweet potatoes(and also the pc probably doesn't eat raw anomaly meat) I assume this means he does eat normal food, just prefers to eat raw meat especially from anomalies? Either way, i am once again remind you to feed your Taiga.

"We're going out. I've been eating more lately and these guys are too slow. Gonna go stock up."

you've been eating more lately? because it's autumn? what are you, a bear about to go into hibernation?? also he's taking you grocery shopping i guess. or anomaly hunting. . . .

"Watch your back. Way easier to jump people when it gets dark so early. Gyahaha!"

i'd like to think he stuck his gun under your chin and snuck up behind you from in the dark here lol

Winter:

"You trying to pull my covers off? Wanna die?"

my boy does NOT like being cold. Or getting up in the morning. So winter mornings? just leave him in bed.

"I wanna go nab some food from Harry's place, but it's too cold for that shit..."

"Oh, I got an idea. I just gotta use someone as a punching bag to warm up. Hey you guys, stand over there."

Taiga beating the shit out of his own men because the exercise will keep him warm. . .why do people side with you again?

"I don't like the cold... Come on, come be my hot water bottle! Let me cuddle up to you!"

Getting all tangled up with Taiga under his blankets while he shivers because Sinostra is in a desert and deserts in the winter can be FUCKING COLD especially at night. It gets cold and he's just the whiniest little meow-meow. Until he gets hungry.

His birthday:

"Huh? Whose birthday? Mine? Gyahaha! Totally forgot about it! Grazie!"

it's okay Taiga, I forget my birthday too most of the time.

Your birthday:

"Is it your birthday today? That little twerp told me. Okay, you can take one thing from my room."

Ritsu fuckin doxed you? is that legal? Doesn't Taiga's room have like a pile of coins in it. . .is one coin 'one thing' or is 'the pile of coins' one thing. . .then again the background is AI generated so. not really sensible and doesn't say much about him sadly. considering taiga's described as spending his money wastefully I assume he buys a lot of random things he doesn't need or use--then again he probably spends most of it on gambling. But considering he's offering you anything out of his room, I assume there's a lot of nice stuff in there.

New Years:

"You gonna go skipping off to a shrine together just to get your fortune told? That's dumb. Here, let me guess what it'll say—you'll have an okay year."

Valentine's Day:

"Is that for me? Sure I'll take it, but it better be edible."

i was gonna say 'has he never gotten valentine's day chocolates before?' but i remembered that he probably doesn't really remember if he has so. this is probably his general reaction to gifts lol 'is it money and if not can i eat it'

White Day:

"What's that expectant look on your face? Lulu was harping on about mimosas or something before. That what you want?"

of course he doesn't know what white day is lol but he does remember that Romeo had something tasty!

April Fool's Day:

"I'm gonna die soon, you know? And I'm taking Lulu with me. ...Gotcha! Gyahaha!"

wait you didn't remember white day but you remembered april fool's day? maybe someone tried to prank him first lol remember guys, suicide is not an appropriate april fool's prank!

Halloween:

"Trick or treat. Where you gonna put your chips, kitty-cat?"

I think if you're trick or treating then they're supposed to decide if you get the trick or the treat. . .but it seems more like Taiga to give you something that could be a trick or a treat lolol russian roulette is a totally acceptable halloween party game right? of course!

Christmas:

"Come on Santa kitty, tie a ribbon 'round yourself and get over here. Gyahaha!"

at least he knows what gift he wants! unfortunately you don't know what for but based on his expression you may not get eaten. . .depending on your definition--

Idle:

"...This is boring. I'm outta here."

"Are you done yet? I'm hungry over here."

Absent:

"Long time no see! You decide to ditch this future too? Sorry I'm not dead yet."

AND HERE"S THE LINE THAT'S CAUSING SO MUCH SPECULATION. . .what does that even mean Taiga. . .what do you know, what have you seen. . .and can we fix this future instead of leaving it to rot--

UH. YEAH. I THINK I'VE SAID ENOUGH HAHA. . .everything Taiga says is so. . . ./gestures weakly) IT REALLY DOES SEEM LIKE MORE IS HAPPENING THAN YOU REALIZE RIGHT??? The game's still so early on we probably won't learn for a very long time lol. . . . But, yeah. Taiga definitely loves you--and lusts after you. As his affinity goes up, he asks "who are you" a lot less, did you notice? He starts to remember and just say "kitty cat" and "kitten", because that's who you are and he can remember that. So far the only people he remembers are Romeo, Hyde, and Jin it seems. And you.

[octuscle]

Hey chronivac suppot. I got the app about a week ago, around the same time my targeted ads started recommending me custom wrestling singlets and gym shorts. I didn’t know why I would be getting these ads, but because it happened around the time I got the app I thought maybe it was connected. I haven’t even opened the app before I checked the ad settings, so I know I haven’t made any changes… but for some reason chronivac has permission to alter my browser history and recommend ads based on randomly assigned presets? Not gonna lie, I have been thinking about stocking up on some wrestling gear…

Gah, what am I saying? Can you help fix this problem? Thanks!

This is another one of those somewhat complicated cases. Although it is actually disabled by default, your app had "Allow Bluetooth communication with other users" set at least shortly after activation. And one of the users was obviously the coach of the wrestling team. And he gave you a preset over Bluetooth. I know Coach Wilson pretty well. We had a one-on-one training session once… Shit, I hope I still have his number somewhere, I wouldn't mind repeating that… But that doesn't belong here. Although Coach Wilson does have one hell of a hot ass. Anyway, you obviously, intentionally or accidentally, accepted and activated the preset.

Did you have any stress with any of the team beforehand? Or with Coach Wilson himself? Normally he only uses the setting when someone has made fun of one of his lads or of wrestling as a sport in general. In any case, the ads for wrestling gear are just the beginning. Haven't you noticed that you have posters of wrestlers hanging in your study? Or that you follow half the wrestling team on Instagram? And they follow you? And that you get a boner when you see the commercials. Fuck, now just try out how it feels to put on a singlet! Where to get one? Look in your closet, you stupid idiot!

When you get home, you want to call the police first. It doesn't necessarily look like someone broke in. But it looks like a bomb has gone off. Actually, you are a model of order and cleanliness. But the kitchen is full of dirty dishes. There are half-empty and empty cans of protein powder everywhere. It smells a bit like a locker room. You're about to go into your dressing room to see if there really is a singlet in your closet when Chuck yells at you to knock. Damn, where did you get the crazy idea that you had your own dressing room. The apartment has five rooms, which you share with three of your fellow students who are on the wrestling team with you. Wait, you've been out of university for a long time, you're a junior partner in a law firm. This is your apartment. You're about to go into your study and call the police from there when you see the sock on the doorknob. Hehehe, Mike managed to get the hot guy from the lacrosse team to come over.

Dude, your head is spinning. You go to your bedroom. Yeah, that's right, this is your room. Whew! It smells like a cougar cage. The bed is not made yet. You take the pillow and press it against your face. Fuck, you can still smell Coach Wilson's sweat. You can only hope that the other lads haven't noticed that Coach has been fucking you to the hilt. But they were still celebrating the tournament victory yesterday, Coach was long gone when the lads got home. Only his singlet he left here. Fuck, the stench is just brimming with masculinity. Sure, Coach is a size bigger than you, but you just have to try the singlet on.

Fuck, Coach's singlet fits you like a glove. You directly add some of your own to the stains from his precum. You can't help it, you have to jerk off here and now. You just manage to press one of the hankies from the floor to your cock before you cum the load into the singlet. Just at that moment your door flies open. Chuck probably doesn't knock in revenge for your " invasion" either. He stands grinning in the doorway with his gym bag and asks why you didn't ask him for help. He would have had time for a little wrestling and jerking off. But now you have to hurry, training is about to start. And Coach Wilson will show no mercy if you're late.

Fuck, then you have to go work out in Coach's singlet. It's a little small for you, but it'll do. You just quickly put on a tracksuit and hit the road with Chuck. Because if there's one thing you don't want, it's to fall out of favor with Coach.

Implementation inspired by a suggestion from @nexo-cuffs88 and by the hot picture of @wrestlingdominations

[antimatterz]

breathless

dan heng x gn!reader

what we all secretly wished for when dan heng was about to give us cpr. he's kinda ooc here but enyo is in her delulu phase tonight lol.

content under the cut | masterlist

and in a flash of light, the darkness was gone. your eyes flew open and a strangled sound left your locked-up lips. wait a second... what exactly was going on? you found a face dangerously close to yours, only seeing a pair of eyelashes and the raven strands of hair that tickled your forehead. but what shocked you the most was the fact that a set of soft lips was pressed against yours, and the dots connected. you lifted your hands and firmly pushed away the body that hovered over you.

the stranger shot back with a surprised yelp, grey eyes wide with shock as the male gazed at you. he was handsome, strikingly so. so much that your heart skipped a beat. but the shaken guy quickly regained his composure, exchanging his surprise with a level of calmness.

     "oh, you're awake," he commented.

     "yep," you nodded, eyeing him suspiciously. "say, do you always randomly kiss people you find knocked out somewhere?"

     "i figured you needed cpr," the raven-haired male explained dryly. "you weren't breathing when i found you."

you reached out, the pads of your fingertips grazing your lips. even though it was for the sake of keeping you alive, this handsome guy just kissed you. you were vaguely aware that you didn't know where in the world you were, or even knew as much as your name. your mind was blank, yet the only thing that concerned you was the so-called kiss.

     "in that case, thank you," you solemnly said. "i guess i owe you."

     "no you don't," the guy shook his head. "it's only natural that i did it."

a small idea formed in your mind, and you smiled slightly. okay, maybe it was important to figure out who and where you were, but with a handsome guy still halfway hovering over you, you couldn't help it. you blamed it on the fact that everyone else was erased from your mind, only the extremely soft and kisseable lips of this guy lingering among your thoughts.

     "so if i stopped breathing, would you do it again?" you asked innocently.

     "you're not even going to ask where you are and who i am?" the male asked in disbelief. "you just... ask me to do... that again?"

     "okay... who are you and where am i?" you questioned, only because he seemed like he wouldn't give in before you did so.

     "my name is dan heng," the male replied. "and you're aboard herta's space station. but again, are you asking me to..."

     "yes, dan heng, that's what i'm asking," you nodded.

to emphasize your words, you jokingly stopped breathing and gave the handsome guy a challenging look. would he fall for it? would he indulge in this moment you kinda shared? you had no idea, and the male was quite hard to read. but then he heaved out a small sigh, closing his eyes and getting rid of the distance between you once more. his lips touched yours, and you couldn't help but smile.

it was tentative and calculated, but it was much more a kiss and less cpr. the first one was brief, a chaste meeting of your lips. but the one that followed lingered, your still lips tasting each other before you decided to be brave and move against him. he went along with it, catching you by surprise once more. though it was still careful, the kiss you shared deepened, and butterflies erupted in your stomach. it didn't go any further than that, but that was okay. and aeons, dan heng was a good kisser. you had no idea what happened before the dark void of amnesia trapped you, but your first memory after waking up would be his lips on yours.

way too soon for your liking, he pulled back, raking a hand through his hair. you looked at him with wide eyes as you attempted to catch your breath, but it was obvious that this male's kissing skills had left you breathless. dan heng was obviously affected just as much, though he tried to maintain his stoic composure. still, he reached out his arm and offered you his hand in order to help you up.

you gladly took his offer and he pulled you to your feet. he caught your gaze and held it for a moment that felt like eternity. a lot was going on behind his eyes, and little did you know that all his current thoughts revolved around you. he cleared his throat, not letting go of your hand even as he spoke up again.

     "it's time to bring you to asta."

and with that, you two left the small room you were in, carrying with you a secret only the two of you would ever know about.

[maddipoof]

There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort 🌷- pick a character or a few and come up with a prompt and I’ll write a fluff blurb <3

omg giving steve a massage when he has knots in his back from work :((

I think we've discovered I don't know how to write a blurb; also that i’m living vicariously through R with how much they kiss and hold each other….i’m touch starved, gn!reader Cw: One mention of the stomach bug, suggestive language, allusions to spice cus I wrote this in a starbucks with my mom sitting across from me and YOLO, like, the fuck do you expect with a request like this (and also because he's a who're....Accidental prude!reader because that's how I felt while writing it. And like half of it deleted two separate times so you guys better like it. Not proofread <3

Today was rough, it was real rough. Robin was out sick and with no one else to cover, Steve worked both shifts and with the extra hours he'd been picking up recently, it's been a tough week. Even Keith took it easy on him and let him go home early. "And you're getting time and a half for tonight. Just– uh take it easy, yeah?" The pleasantries obviously didn't come easy, but Steve appreciated the slack he was cutting him, and the extra pay, especially the extra pay.

"Yeah. You take care, Keith."

On top of all that, they were reflooring the store, the last few nights were spent moving shelves full of tapes across the store. Why they couldn't take them out, move the shelves, then put them back, he had no clue. But who was he to argue.

And on top of that, his back was acting up from that time he landed flat on it one ruthless basketball game.

All he wanted was to get home, to you. And maybe a bath, if he could stay awake that long.

He never felt the same relief he did when he saw your car in the parking lot, somehow getting the irrational idea that for whatever reason, you wouldn't be there when he got back.

The flight up the stairs to your shared apartment was a feat. He was dragging his feet by the time he got to the door. You didn't even give him the chance to open the door since you flipped the stopper in the second you saw his car pull in. Just to give him one less thing to do. He kicked it open and found you finishing up putting the leftovers away.

You looked up with a smile that calmed his heart as soon as his keys jingled in the bowl, that you most certainly did not steal from his mother, next to the door. You said hello but forgot to make the sound come out, like you often did when you got too used to the quiet. "I missed you today. You were gone before I even woke up."

"Blame Robin, she's the one that called out." He hung his coat up then came to hold you. His arms around your shoulders while your hands slid under his shirt and up his back.

"So rude of her. Had to spend all day without you."

"I mean, she was throwing up her guts, but yeah, so rude of her."

"How was it?" you asked and he held you a little tighter, rubbing your shoulder and pressing a kiss to your crown. Though he did lead with his nose. The smell of your conditioner bringing him back to himself a little more.

"How was what?"

You pulled your head from his chest at the strange sensation of his voice on the top of your head. Only enough so you could look at him fully. "Work? Your day?"

"Hmm. It was work. It was alright."

You hummed like a question.

"It was hard. It was horrible. Apparently all the assholes who like to use cashiers as emotional punching bags come out on Fridays, which is the same day we just reset all the shelves.”

“Your back still hurts?” A kiss to his chest and the heel of your palm up and down his spine.

“Mhm, any more questions?” Not in an irritated way, just wanting to know what he’s in for.

You nodded and continued with your cheek pressed to his chest, “Did you eat? And are you still hungry?”

“I got something on my break, thank you though.” He kissed the top of your head again.

“Mhm, you want a bath?”

“With you?”

You snorted and pressed your forehead into his sternum, “No, with the bubbles and the salts you like. The ones that help your back.”

He drew you out of hiding with a finger hooked under your chin, a kiss to your nose. “I’d love one.”

"Go lay down, I'll get it ready."

"I'll fall asleep."

"Then don't." You didn't see the what? face he made since you were already halfway to the surprisingly nice full-bath. He swears that one room alone is half the rent, you swear it's worth it. He'll never say it out loud but after the week he's had, you know he agrees. "And stop staring," he forgets the eyes in the back of your head, or maybe he just forgets how well you know him by now.

"Hate to see you leave, love to watch you go." You said at the same time he did. "Ah, so you've heard that one before?" He asked as you came back out for the lighter, he caught you by the waist before you could reach the aptly named 'everything drawer'.

"Mm, I'm quite familiar."

"Really?"

"Mhm. Now, can you go get yourself out of this stupid vest and into the bath? It's gonna overflow by the time I finish getting everything together."

"You can't do it for me?" You rolled your eyes and pushed him towards the bedroom and yourself to the drawers.

"Insatiable."

"What do you expect when you're looking like that?"

You looked down at your sweatpants and old P.E shirt on your way back to the bathroom. Yeah, ok, maybe you'd grown a little since freshman year but nothing that tight. "I rephrase, delusional."

"Then I have one hell of an imagination." You looked up from the candle you were lighting to give him another tease but the sight of his back through the mirror was enough to shut you up. All you could manage was something close to a very pathetic whine, close! But not quite, an important distinction. Either way, you're grateful he couldn't hear over the running water. Once the bubbles were practically overflowing you shut off the faucet and swirled the salts around again for good measure.

"Is it ready?" Steve poked his head in, his voice betraying his exhaustion, but he was careful to keep it from annoyance.

"Mhm." You'd like to think the heat of your face was from the hot water, but you both knew that was a lie. You cleared your throat anyway. "Perfect temperature."

And of course he had to smirk at the way you tried so very hard at keeping your eyes on his face. "Perfect, thank you baby." He tried to catch you by the waist for a kiss of gratitude but you slipped past him and his devastatingly gorgeous and despicably tempting um heh collar bones, yeah, collar bones.

"Just leaving me here?" You scurried back into the kitchen and you could hear he left the door open by the sound of the water sloshing against him as he sank down into it.

"Yell when it gets cold!"

And not even 10 seconds later, "Sweetheart?!"

"Yeah?"

"It's a little chilly. You should come in and warm me up." You looked inside and found him with his head tossed back and his eyes closed. One knee sticking out from the foam and his arms steaming from where they rested on the sides of the tub. His shoulders relaxed already, but still too tense for your taste. He looked up at you once he heard the door squeak. "Honey, I'm freezin in here."

"You're neck is read with how hot it is, but I commend your efforts, love."

He groaned dramatically, "Don't pretend with me."

"What?" You said through a laugh.

"If you really loved me, you'd get in this bath."

"Compromise?" You didn't wait for him to nod, though he did anyway. "I'll stay in here with you, and then when you get out I'll give you a massage. Hmm?"

"God, you love me too much."

"Impossible." You were about to leave to grab your book but he called you back.

"Wait! Hold my hand?"

"Of course."

You spent the rest of his bath with your head on his arm while you read and he rested. "Is it not freezing by now?"

"S'alright," he hardly mumbled.

You slid your hand into the now almost chill water. "Frigid, honey. Here," you stood and held up the biggest, fluffiest towel you owned. He let you throw it over his shoulders and wrap him up tight like a baby; then push him off towards the bed where he face planted into the comforter. "You gotta work with me here, baby. Lemme see your back."

He grunted and grumbled but still managed to pull it down to his waist. "Thank you, my love."

"Thank you for this, mmmmph," your thumbs worked into that tight spot that'd been slowly getting worse the longer he let it go, "and the bath, oooohhh."

He stopped being self conscious about his noises after the third massage you gave him, the heavenly sensation building with every pass of your thumbs over that one spot, eventually he let out the loudest, longest, most pent up moan. He was mortified. So while he was pacing your old apartment's bathroom, you were on the phone fielding calls from nosey neighbors with "Thank you for your concern, yes, yes Thank you mrs. Harris, mhm, yep. Just a stubbed toe. Yes oh absolutely, I’ll keep it in mind. So great to know I have such caring neighbors, yep buh-bye now”

You worked your way down from his shoulders where the most tension was, to his hips where you knew it hurt the most. A whole week and a half of hearing the cracking and groans every time he stood. Also all the horror stories of high school sports injuries, Russian guard injuries, inter-dimensional monster injuries….lots of injuries. Some worse than others (some just from being dumb with the kids and Eddie…Max can be very persuasive, even if it’s just by a triple dog dare).

By the time you worked your way down to kneading the muscles about his waist he. was. out. “Hmmmmff, god, you’re perfect.” “Fuck, I love you.”

“Ok, so you’re never allowed to get a massage.”

“Hmm?” He couldn’t even pretend, that was the most pathetic sound he’d made all day.

“You’re gonna start babbling to the massage therapist telling them to just marry you already or something, you’ll scare them away.”

“Mph, don’t care. Only want yours. You’re too good, oohhh, too good to me, you angel.” Everything he said was some sort of groan, lost in the feelings of being so tired and so relaxed and so so taken care of.

You got to the base of his spine and he was making the softest, sweetest little sounds. After gracing every inch of his skin, you leaned forward and kissed his shoulder. His eyes still closed and your hand in his hair, you moved up his neck to the spot just under his ear. "Stevie?"......"Honey?"......"Are you awake?"

He hummed something close to No in response.

"You wanna sleep?"

“Hmm”

Tomorrow then

“I love you.”

“‘uv you.”

Tags:@new-romqntics @sw34terw34ther @beezywriting @haydipoof @avipoof @steveharringtonlovesme @manyfandomsfanvergent @loving-and-dreaming@esperisdrunkinwonderlandwonderland @puppy-coded @babyrunsforfanfic @sp1rit-realm @nyxxxxxxxx @innerloverpainter @munsonsreputation@twl1ghtdollz@honeymunson@steveharringtonsleftshoe

(because I love you, and since I can't pull my usual schtick of giving you butter, my fics will have to suffice)

[lovecore-fics]

The Frenemy

C!sapnap x AFAB!reader

smut

warnings: pet names, degrading, breeding

a/n: this doesn’t go with lore characters but had the nations/kingdoms in it! (mentions of las Nevadas) 

You and dream had been “enemies” ONLY because dream is a sore loser.

For context: you and dream were gambling at las nevadas after hours because quackity let you guys occasionally. Dream ran out of diamonds so instead of diamonds he offered his sword. Nightmare. Obviously like every other round won and took his sword home. 

Ever since then he wouldn't let sapnap or george talk to you and he himself wouldn't talk to you.

Which is why you're sitting here looking at the text from sapnap.

Sapnap: y/n please come over. I need a favor

Why was this man texting YOU behind his bestfriends back for one little favor- 

You were thinking of so many things he would ask you to do for him you zoned out.

Apparently you're not allowed to think for a moment because a couple seconds later you got another notification.

Sapnap: y/n hurry tf up- its important!

While you were walking to the best friend's shared house you started wondering if it was a trap.

your mind was racing with the possibilities of what's gonna happen when you arrive, some possibilities were even dirty…

When you got to the house you noticed only sapnaps horse was there which made you less terrified.

You walked in the house since it was just sapnap but when you looked up nobody was there.

“Sapnap?” you called out. 

The minute you yelled his name you heard a thud come from his room. 

Sapnap suddenly appeared in front of you; he seemed to be in some sort of pain.

“y/n i really trust you please promise me you wont judge what i'm about to say.” the texan said it surprised you that he let his guard down for a favor- he's usually “tough” and “masculine” but he's here right now asking, no. begging you not to judge him for a favor. 

“I won't sapnap what was so urgent?” you said hoping it was important enough to interrupt your time off from being security at quackity’s casino. 

 “I can't…undo something” he said looking down which made you look down but you didn't make it to the floor, you found something more interesting in sapnaps shorts.

“Sapnap-” you didn't mean to come off as scared but the look on sapnaps face made you realize that you looked scared- 

Sapnap looked like he had just seen a ghost. He looked more scared than i could possibly look-

“Im sorry” he kept repeating after the 3rd one i cut him off.

“It's ok sap- Calm down-” you said, getting closer to the man freaking out in front of you. 

He looked at you, also taking a step closer, looking down at you. you guys were now close enough you could feel his breath against your cheeks. 

“y/n can i-” he was cut off by you pressing your lips against his.

He put his hands on your hips pulling you closer to the point you could feel his boner through his pants and your skirt. 

“You look like such a whore” he said after pulling away from the kiss

“Says the one who texted me bc he didnt wanna jerk himself off” you said rolling your eyes and looking up at the taller man. 

The man caught you by surprise when he went after your neck. You could feel the heat from the blaze hybrids lips. 

Getting lost in the feeling of his lips on your neck made you let out a moan immediately covering your mouth right after. 

“No sweetheart i wanna hear you scream my name” he said dragging you over to the kitchen and bending you over the counter pulling up your skirt.

You heard the hybrid's pants drop to the floor and you arched your back to tease the man behind  you.

Your lighthearted teasing was interrupted when you felt a sting on your ass. He just SPANKED you. You didn't mind tho it felt good. Too good, you accidentally let out another moan. 

“Yeah i bet you like that you fucking slut.” his dick entered your pussy without any prep or warning. 

“Fuck! Sapnap-” you moaned and continued making lewd sounds while the male fucked you. 

“That's right scream my name baby” his thrusts got faster and deeper making more lewd sounds come out of you. 

“f-f-f-!” you couldn't ask him to go faster you could only moan, you were unable to talk. 

“Words darling” he slowed down his pace letting you speak.

“Faster please sir.” you finally were able to say.

“Anything for my pretty little slut” the man sped up his pace again going faster than before. 

You were lost in pleasure until you felt the male pull your hair making your back hit his chest. 

“Open your mouth darling” he looked into your eyes with nothing but lust. 

You did as you were told in fear of being denied an orgasm later on. So you opened your mouth and he spit in your mouth. 

“Swallow.” he told you and you did so smiling after. 

“breed me please” you mumbled not meaning to. 

“What was that sweetheart?” he cooed knowing exactly what you said. 

“Breed me!” you screamed out, the entire smp could probably hear. 

Sapnap went feral after those 2 words left your mouth. 

He fucked you faster and deeper than you could’ve imagined then you felt it. A knot in yout stomach ready to come undone. 

“C-cum” you moaned, closing your eyes. 

“Do it princess” he whispered in your ear

You came undone on his cock babbling random things even you didn't understand.

Quickly after sapnap came inside of you with one last thrust he pulled out. 

All of you and sapnaps thoughts were interrupted when the front door opened and there dream stood. 

[unbrcakablc-hcart]

What even happened? Who did what?

God, okay, so. This might sound pretty stupid. The first thing I think I should say is that this happened in a group chat off of Tumblr; I don't think many of these people have blogs. It was run/created by... uh. Someone I thought was a friend but I guess ain't anymore. Anyway.

Secondly is that this truly started off in such a dumbass way.

Like. Talking about some real mundane shit. I was essentially going "I wanna swim I've only done that like 3 times tops in my life because I don't want to dirty the water that other people where I'm from could be drinking" because. You know. I live in a desert.

This gets long so. Be ready for that.

tl;dr: lady wants to study my sisters and therefore me by proxy. I don't take kindly to that. She calls me weak and stupid and naive for not keeping my mouth shut in a place where I had originally felt reasonably comfortable with people. Only 4-5 people argue with her and everyone else just tries to act like nothing happened, and one person insisted that I should just try to find common ground and get along. She doubles down on her bullshit and I decide this is a load of shit and leave.

This person whose name I still don't know, so I guess I'm going to just call her Ox because that's the emoji she was using. She pointed out that I can't really be dirtying the water any more than any other creature that gets in it, which... like, yeah, fair, except the point is that I live(d) on a desert planet with very little water and there really ISN'T that much in the way of wildlife on No Man's Land.

Which I know she wouldn't know, because just as I know nothing about her, she knows nothing about me. So anyway. I explain that. And I also make the dumbass decision to mention that my sisters are generally responsible for producing a vast majority of the potable water on the planet.

Because by this point I've been pretty open about being a Plant, right? I don't really talk about it frequently because it's just not something that comes up often, but I'm not hiding it on purpose or anything either. It gets kind of tiring trying to explain the whole thing anyway.

I realize I've made a mistake because Ox talks about how sentient beings producing water is fascinating, and I'm a little on edge, so I go, ahahaha, I guess I probably shouldn't really talk about my sisters.

And Ox is like, "That's not the wrong way to go about it. If you want to protect something, it's best to keep it hidden. Lock it away, never to see the light of day. It's like the advice I'd given to that girl and her Aubade."

Don't know what the hell she's talking about, and I probably overreacted a bit by going okay, noted, won't share anything about myself again, because I literally did not ask for that advice, and do not care for it.

She replies, "It's foolish to announce you have something unique, don't you understand. Unwanted attention, conflict. If you're not cut out for defending it, you should simply lock it away and keep your head down."

Which, again, sure, except it's not like I'm entirely fucking braindead, I know that. That's how I've lived my whole life so far! But I don't care for the implication that I should also be locked away and keep my head down and hold my tongue, because, you know, like my sisters. I Am A Plant.

And this guy I was talking to, I'll call him Columbi, he also picks up pretty quick that this is fucked up and he's like. "People aren't possessions you can cage." Like a decent person, you know?

So Ox tells him that's a naive way of thinking.

Which pisses me 'n Columbi off. Obviously.

And she goes on to say, "It's simple to "lock away" a person. Downplay their capabilities, have them keep their heads down too. Strict rules about who they can and can't talk to, what they can or can't talk about. An open prison. Even if you don't lock them in a room by themselves, you can still keep them sheltered away from harm. The more open you are about their uniqueness, the more they become exposed, the more likely you are to draw unwanted attention. And if they're particularly important or special… you simply run the risk of losing them altogether, if you're not strong enough to protect them."

Which Columbi points out is abuse. Which I recognize pretty quickly as something Nai wanted to do to me to keep me safe, which wasn't what I wanted at all, because ultimately he and I both would ideally like to live without having to pretend that we're something we're not for our own safety, and I thought in a group chat full of people from other universes, I wouldn't have to worry so much about this shit.

I point out that it's real easy to be cruel and that I love (sarcasm) how she thinks the non-naive thing is to be an abusive shithead.

Ox says, "Of course. It's simplicity itself. But if you're powerless to take care of your most precious attachments, you scarcely have little other choice."

Which I disagree with. Of course. I think there are PLENTY of other choices that don't involve that kind of cruelty. And I snark that oh, I see, you're just as powerless yourself, aren't you?

And she goes, "You seem to believe I'm speaking from a place of experience. Which, you may have been right so many decades ago."

So what I get from this is that she's basically talkin' out her ass.

She goes on to say, "I'm quite proud of the strength I've cultivated. I simply cannot condone the actions of those who would brag about their unique abilities or their special treasures without the capability to back them up. Truthfully, your reaction may have been the right one. If you think you're simply too weak to protect your attachments, your possessions, you're simply better off keeping them to yourself and locking them away."

For the record, my reaction has nothing to do with whether I'm too weak to protect the people I care about or not. In my opinion, that's missing the point entirely, which is that I shouldn't fucking HAVE to. Which I guess makes me stupid, weak, and naive.

I'm also pretty sure that I could hand her ass to her, but again, not my point, and it's another thing I feel like I shouldn't have to prove to anyone. But I do tell her that if she gets close to me or anyone else that I care about, that I'll put her out of all of our miseries.

And this is when things start to, in my opinion, get worse.

To summarize at this point: random stranger tells me I'm stupid, weak, and naive for sharing information about myself and being uncomfortable with the response she gave me, after quite a few people pointed out that's just Not Something You Should Say To Someone.

Only three people - two of whom are friends of mine that I know in person, one of whom is a stranger - stand up for me and go this is fucked up. A fourth person is saying this is fucked up but I think she's missing the point but she's also a friend of mine and I guess right now she's okay.

I leave to try to cool off. It's not really that successful but whatever. Everyone just acts like this lady didn't just say some fucked up shit.

Two 'n a half hours later this other gal(?) named Roon says, "While we're all together like this, wouldn't it be best if we tried to get along?"

One of my friends asks how she suggests that to happen, given the circumstances.

Roon answers, "Hmm... I suppose I'm not the best person to ask about this. But it might work to establish some common ground, at least. That might be a little difficult in a space like this, but I'm sure it's possible."

Which I take to mean as, "I don't understand what the problem is, why don't you just be the bigger person and be understanding?"

Because like. How else am I supposed to interpret that.

And because I feel like no one is really understanding why I'm so damn upset, I try to spell it out, and I explain, "All I really wanted was to feel like I could be open about myself and try to make connections with people, only to be in no uncertain terms that I am weak, stupid, and naive for doing so. Right now it feels like my options are to either leave, or to stay and say nothing and lie and lie and lie and say nothing of any real substance and pretend that's fine with me. Given my options, I'd rather tell y'all that it's been real, and that I'm going to spend my time with people I know give a shit about me and don't want me to hide everything about myself. I shouldn't have to fucking prove a goddamn thing to be worthy of the luxury of comfort. Because at the moment, I don't particularly want to be open and establish common ground when it'll be seen as stupid and naive."

Roon says, "I can't stop you from doing that instead, and neither should I. I just wanted to float a second opinion~"

Which. Again. Kind of pisses me off because again, the way I'm reading this, I feel kind of like she thinks I'm overreacting, and that I should just accept the way I've been spoken to by someone who is a stranger to me, who expressed some interest in studying/experimenting on my sisters and by proxy me.

Three hours later, Ox comes back, and instead of even just apologizing insincerely to me, she says, "Apologizing doesn't undo the fact that it's been said, nor do I mean to act like I didn't mean it. If you're strong enough to protect the things and people you care about, by all means. But backing down the second someone makes a comment about it implies to me that you're uncertain if you could. Of course, I even think you're being defensive about it for naught. You are but lines of words upon this relic's slab. I can't even guarantee you're real, or if you're just a fabrication by the relic to amuse me."

The fact that she doubled down on all of her bullshit was the final straw for me, especially with being told that I should try to find common ground and "just get along", so I decide that I've had enough of all this shit, that I don't have to deal with this and that I'm under no obligation whatsoever to prove myself, and I have no interest in trying to convince someone who isn't even sure I'm a real person to give me basic decency, so I left the group chat pretty much immediately after that.

And now everything just really fuckin' hurts emotionally and it's intense enough that it's affecting me physically in a lot of ways and while I could have been kinder and more polite in the beginning, I really do not think that would have improved anything, and I still am under the opinion that I did nothing wrong and definitely did nothing to warrant being treated like that, and finding that a lot of people I considered close friends didn't even want to say anything! Fucking sucked!

I know I shouldn't really be surprised, but I am, because I thought things could be different. Better. And... well. Guess things weren't as good as I thought they were.

So. Super cool. Loved that.

[puhpandas]

I once saw someone say that Gregory being called a “story destroyer” by Tony was also figurative for how Gregory came into FNAF and ruined a lot of people’s lives indirectly, resulting in his impact on the current story. I mean, dunno how much I agree with that comparison/analysis or if it was intentional on Scott’s behalf while writing GGY, but it was kind of interesting to think about.

They did bring up an actual good point though; that the FNAF rules seemingly never apply to him and only him, which also might be why he’s so disliked, it’s because we never get to see the consequences of his actions like every other character but instead a “happy ending” that seems like it hadn’t been worked for.

I don't really get how he'd ruin multiple peoples lives indirectly in any other way than ggy, which vanessa is in the same boat and did the same things, so it's not even only him. I know the elevator ending exists but theres a very good chance Gregory didnt even do that and it isn't confirmed at all. I understand if they mean the animatronics since they're sentient, but at that point both vanessa and Freddy would also be guilty and it wouldn't be fair to blame only gregory for their situation, especially when he with his own power has mostly helped people by freeing vanessa and showing Freddy that theres more than Fazbear entertainment, plus comforting cassie on her birthday

I'm guessing the fnaf rules would be that hes a child and isnt dead?? which idk why hes hated for that lol it's a super interesting first for the series.

this isnt meant to be aggressive or anything I'm just sharing my thoughts for this ask and continuing the discussion :) thinking deeper into the story destroyer line is super interesting!! and I also understand that you're repeating what someone else said so this isnt directed at you

I just dont think a lot of Gregory's actions are fair to get angry at him for when he was mind controlled exactly how vanessa was and the other bad thing he did isnt even confirmed that he did at all lol. and the other things at that point would be the blame of other people alongside him also, and not fair to single him out for

I'm not even trying to fully 100% vouch for Gregory's total innocence here I'm just trying to say that it wouldnt be fair to make him out to be the only bad guy who did these things. the animatronics in ruin are such a strange situation because vanessa and Gregory and Freddy all clearly and obviously came back throughout the pizzaplex post-collapse and didnt bother trying to help the other glamrocks. it's so weird. but like I said that's all of 3 star fam not just Gregory. I know it's off topic but I'd love to see insight on that decision from 3 star fam to never help them bc theres clearly some nuance to it

[dragonprincequotesimadeup]

Question and answers from the Offical Q&A's in The Dragon Prince Discord Server: Character Questions

Q: "Was Callum's in episode 9: "I'm so glad that you're come back!" Actually, the reaction to her coming back a second time now (meaning how she left again in episode 9). So the reaction to her second comeback?"

DG: Yes, it was written this way to have a double meaning! Great catch. This was an opportunity for Callum to say and do the thing he should have done the first time he saw Rayla in Episode 402 (“Fallen Stars”): Hug her and tell her he's glad she came back!

Q: "Callum and Rayla are understandably awkward in season 4, and Callum is understandably angry with her; however, his behavior in particular often seems intended to antagonize her. To what extent is he just so mad around her that he can't think straight, or is his behavior calculated to get back at her for hurting him?"

DG: In Season 4, we get to see Callum struggling with a lotof difficult feelings. This is in part because he’s a teenager—and that on its own is ROUGH—but it’s also because someone who hurt him deeply (a person whom he still loves deeply) has now come back into his life. He expresses some of this struggle to Ezran—that he's both angry and happy that Rayla has returned, and that it’s hard to sort out. Callum definitely does intentionally antagonize Rayla a little, which is obviously not the healthiest response to everything that's happened between them. I wouldn't call it calculated, though, just him emotionally lashing out. By the end of the season, though, Callum does come to realize that his happiness in having Rayla back in his life very easily wins over his anger at her—which we get to see with the "I'm so glad you're back" hug reunion at the season's end.

Q: "will we get a longer callum & rayla conversation and apology about how much she hurt him by only saying goodbye through letter, leaving for 2 years, and suddenly coming back?"

DG: This kind of growth and healing between Callum and Rayla happens gradually. In future seasons, they'll have some discussions about trust—and what to share with each other vs. what they keep to themselves. It's an important part of the dynamic of their relationship going forward. They have so much to work through!

Q: "Obviously you can't spoil too much, but can you give any hints about what Callum and Rayla's relationship dynamic will be like going forward?"

DG: The line between deep friendship and romantic love is a complicated one, isn't it?

Q: "We’ve seen that Callum is definitely upset with Rayla for leaving, but are others upset too? Are they holding back their emotions for the sake of her and Callums feelings?"

DG: Of course they’re upset, but in a very different way than Callum. I think it was a little easier for Soren, for example, to reconnect to Rayla after so much time had passed—even though he was probably at least a little bummed out to learn she’d left, especially because they’d only just started to become friends. When she returns, Soren sees it as a happy occasion: another chance to connect with this strong, respectable elf he’d only just gotten to know before! Another chance for Team Good Guys! Ezran is an almost endless well of empathy. He was also hurt by Rayla’s leaving, but did his best to understand her reasons, and is the type of person who can put hurt aside and express his joy at Rayla’s return up front. (It takes Callum all season to do this, in contrast.)

Q: "Rayla's gift speech heavily implies that she is still ghosted and hasn't been in Silvergrove. If this is correct, is this because she still technically abandoned her assassination mission or because they are unaware or willfully ignorant that it was her who returned Zym?"

DG: Unfortunately, yes. The Ghosting spell still stands. Returning Zym to the Dragon Queen does not erase or make amends for what is considered by the Silvergrove to be the reason for the Ghosting in the first place: The fact that Rayla betrayed her oath and abandoned her mission, and that these choices led to the deaths of Ram, Skor, Callisto, Andromeda, and (presumably) Runaan—elves who all had friends and family who cared about them. One grand, sweeping gesture of goodness and progress does not resolve the very real pain in the lives of the Moonshadow elves who are still suffering. While Ethari may have forgiven Rayla, others in the Silvergrove have not.

Q: "Now that Rayla has the coins containing Runaan, Tiadrin and Lain will she go on a quest to release them or will someone else break them free?"

JR: That’s the question, isn’t it? The fate of the entire world on one side vs. the very real chance to potentially see your parents and mentor/adoptive father again. Rayla has a lot to think about!

Q: “Did Callum know that Earthblood Elves say “Trees to meet you.” or was that just coincidence?"

DG: He’s a nerd, and he read it in a book somewhere. He’s lucky it was a real greeting in the book and not a joke he absolutely beefed.

Q: "In season 4 Ezran called Callum “the first human primal mage in centuries.” Does this mean there have been others?"

JR: There have been a (very) few other human primal mages in the ancient past, but they are exceedingly rare and far between. So rare, in fact, that nearly all information about them has been lost to history. Callum is alone in trying to figure out his path through magic.

Q: “This is concerning Callum and his quest in learning how to use magic. What all spells has he learned since we see him use a few new spells in the new season, has he learned a few or all the available Wind spells? And will he learn spells from the other elements?”

DG: Callum has learned a TON of Sky spells, both practical (his lil’ umbrella spell) and powerful (blanketing the forest in fog to slow down the Drakeriders was no simple feat). There’s still plenty he doesn’t know, though. He’s definitely interested in learning magic from some of the other primal sources, and HAS spent some time studying them, but—as we saw before—cracking an arcanum isn’t something you can just pick up out of a book. For Callum to master another type of primal magic will require challenges and experiences and realizations about himself that don’t come easily.

AE: Yes, I would add that with Rayla gone the past two years, Callum has obsessively dived into studying magic as a coping mechanism… not the greatest emotional tactic, but side effect is he has leveled up A LOT.

Q: "How did aaravos feel during and after he was locked away? Was it a painful experience for him, emotionally and physically?"

DG: I think the experience of being imprisoned has been more painful for Aaravos emotionally than physically. His pride was wounded, his plans interrupted and delayed, and he was cut off from the world entirely…or so was the intent. (You can see some of his resentment and the deep churn of his loathing in the short story "Patience", as well as the little birthday note we wrote for him a few years ago.) Aaravos has had a long, long time for all of his anger to fester into something even more dangerous than it was before he was imprisoned.

Q: "Aaravos shatters the mirror after possesing Callum which i assume means that they can no longer spy on aaravos through the mirror and vice versa. My question is why did he choose to shatter it then? (assuming he could shatter it whenever he wanted to). Personally my theory is that it has something to do with his startouch elf powers and "seeing into the beyond", so maybe he had all of this planned from the very beggining. even before he was put in jail."

DG: In some ways, Aaravos is very arrogant. He’s extremely confident that the things he’s set in motion—perhaps more than what is immediately obvious to us, the viewers—will all play out in his favor. He does not need the mirror anymore; thus, he shatters it. Now, Aaravos is waiting for all of his puppets to play their parts.

AE: Aaravos is showing them he will not be contained—and letting them know his power can reach them. It’s a warning, a threat, and a flourish…

Q: "I’ve been really curious about this - was Aaravos able to posess Callum because he’s used dark magic before or simply because he’s a mage?”

R: Mages, especially human ones, do seem to be drawn to Aaravos across history. However, simply being a mage isn't enough. Callum was indeed able to be possessed because he used Dark Magic before. (Dark Magic, Not Even Once.) Aaravos is very specific about what he does and what he chooses not to do. Simply because he can do something, doesn't mean he always will. For him, everything is according to keikaku plan.

Q: "When Claudia tells Soren that the elves and dragons are taking advantage of him, and that "to them, you'll always be just a human" — how does she reconcile that belief with the relationship she has with Terry? Does she think he thinks less of her? Does she see their relationship one of mutual use rather than love?"

DG: Personally, I think Claudia is just so taken with Terry as a person and not an elf that she hasn’t quite begun to apply how she feels about him regarding “dragons and elves” as a whole. He’s different—so much so that, by her measure, he almost “doesn’t count” towards her deeply hostile and hateful feelings towards the rest of Xadia. She sort of sees him as an exception to the rule: “Dragons and elves are my enemy, except THIS one, who is unique and special in a way that only I could possibly understand.”

AE: I think Terry agrees with Claudia that the elves and dragons were wrong to divide Xadia and drive the humans out. This doesn’t mean either of them universally hate all elves and dragons, but it means they have a belief about history and how humans were treated in the past.

Q: "How is Terry so cool with the idea of dark magic? So far all the elves and dragons we've seen are superbly against it, but Terry just rolls with it, even though it involves killing creatures from his homeland."

DG: In the same way that humans in the real world are comfortable with various degrees of, say, eating meat or consuming natural resources, Xadia has layers of complexity, too. Terry sees a bigger picture than the black and white of "it is inherently evil to do dark magic," especially in regards to Claudia, who does a lot of what she does out of love for her father—which Terry finds beautiful and admirable. He has a line, though: he won’t stand for it when Claudia does something to just be cruel instead of as a means to an end.

Q: "In the upcoming seasons, will there be more emotional scenes regarding relationships and things that happened in seasons 1-3? Especially involving Viren’s family, it felt like all of the betrayal and conflict were ignored and not payed attention to at all this season. For example, Viren gaslit and manipulated Soren constantly in previous seasons, Soren actually KILLED the illusion of Viren IN FRONT of Claudia last season, and it felt like all of that tension and weight of the situation was discarded this season."

DG: Yes, we will absolutely revisit this. Trauma, its impact, and the different ways we deal with it is a central theme for “Mystery of Aaravos,” and the relationship Viren has and has had with his children—as well as the relationship Claudia and Soren have with each other— is one of the core journeys we’ll take across the next three seasons. It’s something we want to unpack bit by bit, though, not at all once. AE: I think Terry agrees with Claudia that the elves and dragons were wrong to divide Xadia and drive the humans out. This doesn’t mean either of them universally hate all elves and dragons, but it means they have a belief about history and how humans were treated in the past.

Q: “Will Viren ever have a moment to really think about the things he's caused? Over his son turning against him and his friend being killed (other than about Claudia being used by Aaravos). Or maybe not in the show but in another graphic novel? I would get that in a heartbeat.”

AE: When Viren fell from the Storm Spire to his death, many of his life choices raced through his mind. And, in Season 4, as he grapples with his second chance at life, we see more self-reflection. Now, he’s been swept away on a quest with Claudia to find Aaravos and, in doing so, save his own life. At the end of Season 4, after hesitating and avoiding it the entire season, Viren uses dark magic once again… Do you think he will return to his old ways, full force now? Or is this a bump on his inner journey?

Q: "Why was there no reunion scene or any dialog between Soren and Viren ? Will there be any flash-back on this?"

AE: I think it's fair to want to know what happened after Soren and Viren reunite in Episode 407, but the truth is: It's not a very visually satisfying moment. Viren is too caught up in his own head to say much to his now-estranged son, and Soren is (both uncharacteristically and understandably) relatively silent as well. What I think you may be asking is: Do Soren and Viren have an opportunity to confront each other, after what happened between them at the Battle for the Storm Spire? And the answer is yes. We will see more of their relationship play out in the future. I think their most meaningful interactions are yet to come.

Q: "How does Viren feel about Soren at the moment?"

DG: Distant. Cold. Viren is very much trying to shut down the swell of regrets and doubts he felt upon his resurrection to follow Claudia and help her complete the spell by finding Aaravos. Soren’s presence introduces a lot of complicated feelings that he just can’t stomach right now as he’s tunnel-visioning on trusting Claudia and Aaravos to keep him alive. I think, in his mind, “there will be time for Soren later”—whether that means reconciliation or further estrangement, though, well… he can’t think about that yet. It’s a well so deep he’ll drown in it.

Q: "i loved janai & amaya in season 4, but is there any chance that they'll join our main heroes?"

DG: If you recall how the journey of Amaya and Janai eventually collided with the journey of Rayla, Callum, and Ezran in Season 3 for the Battle of the Storm Spire, I think you’ll have a good idea of what we’re aiming for here (“here” being Seasons 4-7) structurally. Everyone will have their parts to play, and yes! They will all meet again.

Q: "What can we expect for Ezran moving forward? Will he ever learn how to fight? Will we ever explore a darker side of Ezran? Can we expect him to participate in fight scenes in future seasons?"

DG: Ezran is well-intentioned, but ultimately…his good heart still has a lot of naivety in it. We started to see some of this in Season 4: his good-feelings visit from Zubeia didn’t go exactly as planned, and his attempt to make a heartfelt speech at Rex Igneous didn’t really land, either. Maybe good feelings and heartfelt speeches aren’t going to be enough to break the complicated cycles of hatred and violence that have dominated Xadia for hundreds of years? Ezran has a lot to grow into, and it won’t all be easy.

Q: "How does ezran and Zym communicate also how does ezran understand zym?"

JR: Ezran connects to animals on an instinctual, mind-to-mind level. This is much deeper with Zym, and the longer they spend together the more connected they become. It’s a true mind meld, where they aren’t talking; they are directly sharing feelings and emotions. They are able to intuit what the other’s state is, even if they aren’t next to one another—and this includes Ez being able to see “through” Zym’s eyes.

Q: "Will Zym get a voice like the other dragons as he grows or will he stay like his adorable puppy-self?"

AE: Archdragons eventually talk… when they are a bit older!

Q: "Why is Bait primary with Callum instead of Ezran now?"

DG: Bait's a great friend to both Callum and Ezran! But he definitely bonded with Callum over the first three seasons—like on Villads' boat, specifically, while Ezran was busy taking care of Zym—so now he splits his time a little bit more evenly between the two brothers.

Q: "That big door only started moving when Bait helped. Is Bait confirmed as the strongest and most powerful character in the whole show?"

JR: Bait is the most powerful creature in Xadia…in his own mind. While Bait is strong, in this case he’s the straw that broke the camel’s back, giving the final bit of effort needed to push open the door and get everyone to safety. That being said, you don’t want to arm-wrestle with Bait—glow toads pack a mean punch for their size.

Q: “Will we see how rayla and Stella met? If not do you guys have any funny stories/head canons regarding them?”

DG: I can’t say much about how Rayla and Stella met right now, but as a funny story: Our storyboard artists and animators decided to start putting in these little background details where Stella just… steals stuff. She’s unrepentant. An absolutely shameless criminal. Please keep an eye out for her heinous crimes in upcoming seasons.

Q: “Can we get official birthdays for some of the newer characters like Stella and Terry? Also one for Zym I don’t think he has one yet!"

SJ: We absolutely love that you love celebrating our characters’ birthdays! Canonical birth dates for more characters are coming (including Terry, Stella, and Zym), and we’ll be sure to include them in our official party posts starting next year.

Q: “Why does the creature that guides Claudia Viren and Terry know that they have to go to Umber Tor? I understood that Aaravos doesn't know where he is locked up, and the creature that is guiding them was the one that came out of the mirror so that Aaravos could communicate with Viren, therefore he shouldn't know that Rex Ignious can help them or know something about where he is Aaravos prison.”

DG: Aaravos does not know WHERE he is imprisoned—or even the very nature of his prison—but he does know WHO imprisoned him. He also knows that Avizandum is dead. So, the creature born from the chrysalis (which is infused with at least some of Aaravos’ will, I’d say) guides Claudia, Terry, and Viren to Rex Igneous as a functional first step in seeking out answers.

Q: “Will we get to see more about the key of Aaravos and how it works?”

DG: Yes, you will learn more about the Key of Aaravos! But, it may not be what you think it is…

Q: “As far as we know, there are four coins with people in them, and we know who's in 3 of them. Are we eventually going to see who's in the last coin? Is it a character we've already met? I'm sure you can't, but could you give us a hint about who it is?”

DG: Will you eventually find out who’s in the fourth coin? Absolutely yes. Is it a character you’ve already met? Technically, no. Will we give you a hint about who it is? Absolutely no. For now, you’ll just have to speculate. (Got any good theories?)

Q: "What happened to the rest of the dragonguard?"

DG: We know some of them fled – but did they all flee? Or did Viren do something so horrible to some of the Dragonguard on the front lines of the Storm Spire that most of the others could only run in terror, abandoning their posts? We at least know that Rayla’s parents, Tiadrin and Lain, stayed behind to fight and, well…we now know how well that turned out.

“Who is this?"

AE: Justin and I just talked about her recently in an interview with Cartoon Universe! We call her The Jailer. She is a human mage who is a sort of mastermind of prisons and puzzles.

[rebelrayne]

hi hello love 💛 I went to Suzi with a Youcef question and she deferred to our resident Youcef stan. if Jessie’s Husband™ wants to offer input as well, we will not complain.

can you tell us about his in-villa relationships, canon or headcanon? aside from Bruno and Najuma, I feel like his friendships were pretty unexplored. who do you think he was close with during the show? do you think he had any spats or grief with the other islanders? depending on your route, he couples up with almost half of the girls at some point - do you think sparks flew with anybody other than Najuma/MC?

Okay so I know we didn't want Bruno and Najuma buuuuuut I did them too lol I think it's safe to say that Youcef would be difficult to remain friends with after the Villa, there are very few I feel like he would keep up with and stay close with. I tried to hit everything in the list by talking about their relationship then added another part for romance if I thought it was applicable.

Who was Youcef closest to?

Bruno, Thabi, Najuma and Valentina (explained further below)

Who was Youcef not close to at all?

Hazeem, James, Tom, Kobi and Dylan (obviously there)

Who was Youcef most compatible with?

MC — Thabi — Najuma

Angie 🤝🔥

They seem like an odd pair of friends but do I think they were? Yes. Angie and Youcef are pretty similar in humor. I can totally see them bonding over sarcastic remarks or snarky comments. I think Angie probably did get a bit fed up with his overconfident act though. She would most likely take him down a peg or two and Youcef definitely respects her enough to take a step back and hear it. Even if he continued to act the same way afterwards. I see them being close during their time in the Villa (or at least friends who share the same humor) but after the show ends, they would part ways.

Okay now for if they had a spark. No way. They didn't even kiss when they were coupled up. I think Youcef probably finds her attractive because Angie is gorgeous. I think Angie thinks Youcef is a good enough looking guy but she's turned off by his cocky attitude. They most certainly keep it friendly while coupled (if they are coupled at all during your game).

Bruno 🤝

So I think we know canon that Bruno is Youcef's best friend but... I really don't think that's accurate. Bruno is silly and goofy which is the complete opposite to Youcef's dry and witty humor. We see Youcef get frustrated with him in 36, too. I think he and Bruno were friends because they came in at the same time but are they best friends? No. Maybe on Bruno's end but not on Youcef's. I could see Bruno reaching out to him after the Villa though! They might become better friends afterwards because Bruno makes a huge effort to stay friends and eventually, this leads to their closeness after the show ends.

Cora 🤝

They went on one date and it was such friendship vibes that they just never brought it up again. I think, similar to Angie, Youcef would be friends with Cora in the Villa. They don't have too much in common that would help them keep up outside the Villa but they also don't have enough in common to be super close in the Villa either. They talk, they chat, they laugh a bit but that's as far as it goes. I don't think Youcef would rush to go sit next to her at the dinner table or anything.

Dylan 😒

Dylan doesn't get the handshake emoji because we all know Youcef hates him. He can't stand Dylan from the moment he hops down from the box challenge. Youcef isn't intimidated by Dylan, he just thinks he's a disgusting and vile human being. Youcef is definitely a one strike, you're out type when it comes to people as toxic as Dylan. He wouldn't give him another chance after the Villa. He'd always be wary, he'd always give him cold and menacing glares. I do think Dylan acted as a wake-up call for Youcef though. Without Dylan, we would not get Youcef confessing his feelings. Dylan made him see that MC deserved better and he wanted to be the person to give it to her.

Hazeem 🤝

Oh poor, poor Hazeem. Okay yeah, they're not really friends. At all. Only because Youcef comes in and I really think he wants to win the game. He's very determined to be able to stay in the Villa and unfortunately for Hazeem, Najuma is Youcef's best bet for that. These two are acquaintances. Nothing more, nothing less. There's no hard feelings I'm sure, but they're not calling each other up to see how things are going in the real world any time soon.

James 🤝

James is probably so intimidated by Youcef. Youcef is like this cool, suave and charming guy who makes women swoon so easily and then James flounders like a fish to get any words out because he's nervous. They're friendly in the Villa. James has definitely said a few witty remarks that made Youcef snort laugh. I could see James modeling a character after Youcef though, like as the guy that the girl chases after even though the right option has been in front of her all along. Also, I don't think Youcef has forgiven James for the stupid Musical that he was tricked into so there's also that.

Juliet 🤝🔥

Yeah, he isn't friends with her in the Villa. These two are miles apart. Youcef is a dramatic man but Juliet's type of drama? No, he's not about it. He stays away from it. He loved it when MC tears into her, he thought it was about time someone shoved it back at Juliet. She redeems herself a bit when she's leaving with him, but he's still not really keeping up with her outside the Villa. He might meet up with her if he's in the area for work out of politeness but that's about it.

Oh God, no, no. These two as a couple? Nope. Youcef is into fashion, he can be a bit snobby at times but Juliet's type of posh and snobby? Nope. He's not a fan. I could see Juliet flaunting money, dropping designer names in a conversation and Youcef's internally rolling his eyes and groaning. He would not enter a relationship with her even though she would probably be interested in being in one with him.

Kelly 🤝

I think Youcef thinks Kelly is attractive. She's a gorgeous girl but ultimately, he thinks this until she opens her mouth. I just don't see him being interested romantically at all. I think he'd be nice while she was there in the Villa but he doesn't have much to talk to her about except, um, baking cakes I guess? He wouldn't go out of his way outside the Villa but, similar to Juliet, maybe if he's in the neighborhood, he'll stop by her bakery or something. As long as she knows it's platonic.

Kobi 🤝

I think Kobi can actually be a bit immature. I don't know how much Youcef would be able to tolerate it. He might have a conversation with him here and there but ultimately... There's really not much for them to talk about. I think Youcef is friendly with Kobi but probably doesn't think of him as a friend.

Lexi 🤝🔥

Youcef and Lexi have a lot in common I think. Under other circumstances, I think they may have actually gotten along to an extent. I'll be exploring their dynamic in my upcoming story, too! As far as the game goes, I think Youcef is a pretty intuitive guy and he can probably tell that the way Lexi is runs deeper than it seems (especially when she finally brings up her sister). If it's between her and him, he does try to console her and tell her to stop. I think Lexi in the game is too self-absorbed even for Youcef. Maybe after she starts to calm down, I could see them chatting about fashion or something but other than that, whatever kind of relationship they had ends when she walks out the door. Neither of them care to keep up with one another outside the Villa.

Oh and these two? Romantically, yeah okay maybe not long-term the way Lexi is now. But if you think they didn't make-out in a dark corner the night Lexi left? Open your mind up. They most definitely had a passionate make-out session fueled by hate. Youcef was probably a little sad by her departure but literally only because that kiss is going to be hard for him to forget. He obviously gets over it but he was definitely into that hate-kissing.

Najuma 🤝🔥

As far as friendship goes, they have a bond. They'll definitely be friends outside the Villa. They'll chat every now and again, text or visit one another. They're literally only friends because of the experience they shared though. I do see him actually trying to keep the friendship, which he probably wouldn't do for the vast majority of other Islanders. Would they have been friends had they met outside the Villa? Probably not. But I do think they care about one another's wellbeing (at least by the end of the season).

Romantically... Youcef is a player, guys. He is willing to charm or flirt with whoever it is to keep him in the Villa and in the game. This isn't a reflection on her, no, this 1000% on him. I think he genuinely cares at the end of the season but they were never truly well-matched for the long-haul, which I think most of us can agree with. He flirts with other people openly in front of her the first half of the season, he has no problem doing it which tells you that he's not completely in it with her. If MC isn't with Youcef, him and Najuma probably wouldn't continue their relationship. They live very different lives but they would remain friends.

Oliver 🤝

Okay so I just don't see how Oliver doesn't end up friends with everyone in the Villa (outside of Dylan, of course). I think Youcef probably think Oliver is a nice guy and granted, he doesn't get to know him very well since he came in late but I could see Youcef staying friends with Oliver outside the Villa. Oliver is very laid back. I could see Youcef vibing with that energy. Oliver might be someone that Youcef keeps up with on the outside. This friendship is variant obviously depending on you couple with in 41 but regardless, I think Youcef is friends Oliver.

Thabi 🤝🔥

I think Thabi is just a sweetheart and it's hard for anyone to not be friends with her! Her and Youcef have a bit in common, I think. They're both pretty reserved and think similarly in how to handle tough situations. The two of them were friends for sure. I think Youcef would try to keep up a bit outside the Villa, too. Just check in, see how she's doing. I think Thabi is also one of the people in the Villa that Youcef was able to have intellectual conversations with so he most certainly thought she was lovely.

Oh Thabi is soooo attracted to Youcef. He knows it, too. He knows she's so nervous around him. He probably enjoys the way he makes her so timid, I'm not even going to lie to you. He finds her attractive, too. They may have shared a kiss, but it was extremely PG. He's just way too intimidating for it to work but I do think they're compatible. Had he just been a philosophy professor... Thabi would have been a bit more confident but I think his job would have freaked her out. But they definitely had a connection. It was more intellectual and genuine than the one he had with Najuma, but it wasn't as strong as the one he has with MC.

Tiffany 🤝

I know that they could be coupled if you're with Will at some point, okay but... I don't see it. They give off friend vibes. They're not romantic at all. I mean I think Youcef respects her but we don't get to know Tiffany that well so this one was a tough call for me. Here's my opinion: he's cordial with her, he thinks she's stunning but... She's ultimately just an acquaintance at the end of the day. I think she rubbed him the wrong way with her joke about foodies, for one. Two, they seem to have some things in common and maybe he may laugh at a few jokes she tells, but again, I just see them having disagreements a lot (about whose job is harder, about honesty, etc.). He would go to a show of hers but he's not really going out of his way to stay friends and keep up with her life.

Tom 🤝

I'm sorry but Youcef does not like Tom. Let's talk about why: Tom is literally the only other male Islander who seems a bit more reserved, mature, etc. He's competition for Youcef and Youcef is pretty competitive (at least in my opinion). He helps Tom, yes, but probably because he just wanted an excuse to do a makeover. I think that as the season went, Tom grows on him. I think they might keep up outside the Villa but not as much as he would with Bruno, Thabi, and Najuma. Tom is quite a bit younger than Youcef, too, so I think Youcef is actually happy for Tom when he finds himself and feels comfortable to be himself. I think that's one thing Youcef admires in someone: just being comfortable and confident being you.

Valentina 🤝🔥

I know that Bruno is Youcef's canon best friend in the Villa (at least that's how it seems on a Bruno route) but I absolutely think that Valentina is his best friend in the Villa. They have so much common ground, they balance each other well. If you noticed in Most Likely To (23 I believe), he gives her advice. They're also together when preparing for the talent show in 32, then again in 40 when Dylan is getting his ass handed to him. Youcef and Valentina are best friends, it's canon. That's that. He's asking her about his outfits, she's asking him about what shade lipstick to wear. They definitely keep up outside the Villa, too. They talk about fashion, beauty. Youcef probably does things with Valentina for her blog/videos. I won't budge on this one, guys. Valentina and Youcef: best friends forever.

Although it's implied that Valentina was getting on well with Youcef before the recoupling in 17, I don't think they ever had a big spark. I think it was always friendly. She even said he just seemed nice and she wasn't sure. It was always platonic between these two. If they couple, it's a friendship couple.

Will 🤝🔥

So Will and Youcef being friends… Yes, they were. They’re both more artistic, I think they would have bonded over that. As the season goes, I think continue their friendship but I think they were closer with other Islanders (like Will was really close with Najuma for example, Youcef is close with Valentina). They keep up outside the show, they’re still friends and call/text. They’re definitely only platonic though, I think in the Villa they were able to quickly gage it wouldn’t work.

Will and Youcef were flirtatious, for sure. But that’s as far as it went. I don’t think there was anything past flirty banter between them. Outside the Villa, that might be a different story. But I still don’t think they would last long term either way. They think the other is attractive, however.

Youcef's Relationships According to Jessie's Husband:

He has no friends. He's a loser. His only friend is Jessie.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! Hoping you can help explain something. Ash is aro in the canon and I understand what aro is (though maybe not, if I'm asking haha). I'm struggling to really understand what's termed "romantic attraction" since I see what Ash is doing as being friendly but sometimes I feel like it's what I should expect as being romantic. I did look up the definition of romantic attraction but it left me with more questions. It's such a vague definition! I guess, how does Ash explain it, if asked?

Aro anon, forgot to finish. I looked up signs up of how to tell when you're in love or feeling romantic attraction and even those just seemed like regular friend things. Thinking about a person often, feeling happy around them, wanting to do things with them. But I guess it's really the intent that matters or something along those lines? Thanks for letting me ramble on about this, it's been eating at my thoughts for months.

-

Hi anon

With this kind of stuff, you might not like the answer, but it's self defined.

You can look up as many definitions as you want, but ultimately the final arbiter of what is and feels like a romantic act, is you.

As an example, the guy I live with takes all of his friends out to one-on-one dinners at nice restaurants or cafes. He's aromantic as fuck, and he would take all of his friends - guys, girls, nonbinary - to cafes and restaurants for long chats, delicious meals, and that kind of conversational intimacy.

Some people might think that's romantic. He doesn't. His definition for the difference is: 'I would do that for/with any of my friends.'

On the other hand, he doesn't tend to care about or remember anniversaries, think flowers are important, care about receiving gifts at important events from a partner etc. For him, these things are romantically loaded a lot of the time, and while he'll do them for a romantic partner, he won't get any romantic satisfaction personally from performing these acts. To him, these are the acts that he feels are romantic: Celebrating and marking anniversaries, Valentine's Day, giving presents at 'expected' times of the year, particular kinds of presents.

To him, being expected to share a bed with the person you live with is 'romantic' - so he doesn't do that. It doesn't fit who he is as a person, and he doesn't think it adds anything meaningful or special to a relationship and can even detract from it. He can spend the night with a partner, but he wouldn't want that to be a defining aspect of a relationship. I.e. if a partner demanded it, that would be a dealbreaker for him.

It's up to you to define what you think of as romantic, and why. And it will be different for each person, and it can be strongly influenced by culture. It can even change from person to person. I'm gray-aromantic. So I like being in romantic friendships, but I usually prefer (not always) aromantic / queerplatonic relationships.

Sometimes the question 'would I do this for a friend, or do I only expect to do this for a partner' can help (but not always, obviously what we do for some friends is not what we'd do for all of them), sometimes the question 'do I want to engage in this romantic social ritual / does this feel meaningful to me / does this give me the ick' can help. Sometimes the question 'what feels romantic to me, and do I want that in my life' can help.

I can't answer this from Ash's perspective because he hates labels, and so he wouldn't call himself romantic or aromantic or any of those things. He just knows what he likes. But I know he's aromantic, so you're getting my response, lmao.

Also a lot of it comes down to what Ash feels is romantic. Ash would hug and cuddle all of his friends. (And strangers, let's admit it). He'd also fuck and kiss them. To him, all of those things aren't romantic. They're intimate, but that's not the same. And they're expressions of love, but that's also not the same.

If you feel like those things are romantic, then like, that's your definition for you, and that's awesome.

Romantic orientation is self-defined, because we decide what is romantic as we grow up, and we decide our feelings about it when it's time to form (or not form) relationships. It can be fluid, like all of the orientations.

[barry-j-blupjeans]

"Lup," Davenport called from the hallway, and Lup was sweaty and gross and in desperate need of a shower, but something in his tone made her pause anyway. "Could I speak with you in my office for like, half a second?"

She shared a glance with Barry, who was sitting against the wall by the bathroom door. Whoever had designed this ship with one bathroom for seven people was an asshole, but Taako was taking advantage of it, spending his leisurely time in the shower. Barry shrugged at her, obviously not having a clue about what Davenport wanted, either.

"Be right there, Cap!" Lup called. "You can take the next shower, Barry."

"Well, I was gonna wai-"

"You smell awful," Lup stressed. "Take the next one."

"Yeah, alright."

They had been on this mission for three months so far and it hadn't been too awful. Barry, Taako, and Lup were making good work with decoding the animal language. If she was being honest, Lup didn't know what in the fresh hell everyone else was doing, but no one had died yet, so it was all good. She stepped into Davenport's office and shut the door behind her.

The office was small and cramped and mostly sized for a gnome. There were a few bigger chairs for other crew members, so Lup took one of those. Davenport wasn't even sitting behind his desk, he had just dragged his chair around to met her. Probably to make her feel less intimidated. Davenport liked to pretend he was a fun boss but Lup personally thought he'd be a lot more fun if he took off the boss and just did the fun.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Well, uh, I just wanted to check in with you, I guess. It's been a while longer than we thought we'd be out here, so. How're you doing?" Davenport looked extremely awkward asking this. Lup couldn't blame him, this was an extremely awkward situation already. "Like, are you struggling with anyone, any, uh, interpersonal conflicts with the other crew members...?"

"No, I'm- I'm good, actually," Lup said, leaning back in her chair a bit. "Are you good?"

"I'm fine!" Davenport said, only sounding halfway fine. This was not the time to deal with that, Lup decided. "I just sorta had a question for you, actually. Again, no- no interpersonal conflicts with anyone right?"

"No," Lup said slowly. "Not that I know of. If someone's got a problem with me, then I really haven't noticed."

"You and Taako just don't-" Davenport made hand motions like he was trying to physically grasp for words. "You don't interact with the rest of the crew very much? Like, baseline level interactions. I was wondering why."

"Oh," Lup said. She hadn't noticed they were doing that. "Well, I can't really speak for Taako, but uh. I don't know, Dav. They've gotta do something more interesting if they want me to interact with them."

"Alright," Davenport said. He was fiddling with his hands now. Davenport was a very fidgety person, she had noticed. "Uhm, well. Listen, I'm not gonna beat around the bush, but I'm pretty sure Magnus thinks you guys hate him. And at first, I was like, no of course not, but like. You're not actively avoiding Magnus, but you don't really stick around him. Or anyone. Or me, even. Except for Barry. So I wanted to ask what we can do to make you... trust us more? Is that weird to ask?"

"A little," Lup admitted. "Look, Cap, I don't know. Like, I didn't even realize we were doing that, so. Try being more like Barry, I guess."

"Try being like... Barry," Davenport repeated slowly.

"Yeah, like," Lup shrugged. "Non-threatening? Like, I could kick Barry's ass if I needed to and probably win. Not saying I wouldn't feel bad for it. But like, Magnus, for example, would be a little tougher 'cus he's so big. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"You like being around Barry because he's... small?"

"He's compatible," Lup said, snapping her fingers. "Like cheetahs and golden retrievers, y'know? He'd be the golden retriever, obvs. I almost trust him not to kill me in my sleep. Not as much as I trust Taako not to kill me in my sleep, but, y'know."

"Do you think the rest of us are gonna do that?" Davenport asked, a little horrified.

"Can't be too careful, Cap," Lup said. She stood up, very much done with this conversation. "Is that all?"

"I- I guess? But-"

"Great," Lup said. "Maybe Taako's out of the shower by now. Maybe Barry's out of the shower by now, because he's mindful of other people's time unlike some dipshits- not you, Cap, you're great."

"Uhm-"

"Stew for dinner!" Lup announced, opening the door back up. "See ya there, Dav!"

"Uhm-" Davenport said again, but Lup had already shut the door.

(Taako was still very much in the shower.)

[randomshyperson]

LEFT BEHIND - WANDA MAXIMOFF X READER - #02 "R.I.P to My Youth"

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

A/N: So, chapter two is here. Honestly, this story is a mess in my head haha but somehow people are enjoying so i'm sharing. Good reading!

Dictionary for this chapter: dvornyaga - mutt || chuma - plague/brat || Prostite, mem - sorry, ma'm || Vor - thief || printsessa - princess || skuchnyy - annoying ||

Series Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses. Chapter warnings: Underage kissing, violence.

Words: 3.268 K

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Part One || Series Masterlist

//-//

Chapter Two - R.I.P to My Youth

Sokovia, 7 years ago.

You ducked quickly when you noticed the punch coming toward you.

"Stand still, dvornyaga!" Said the teenager trying to hold you by the shoulders, but you slipped out of his hands, dodging under his arms and starting to run.

The boy rushed to catch up with you, but you were smaller, and fit into places he couldn't get into. Rolling into a crevice in one of the abandoned factories, you laughed as the boy and his friends shouted angrily at you, unable to follow.

Your joy died the second you turned the corner. The nursemaid from the orphanage waiting for you with her arms folded.

"Running away from chores again, chuma?" The woman asked angrily. You ducked your head, walking over to her. As soon as you reached her, she pinned your ear between her fingers, causing you to grumble in pain as you were dragged into the building.

"Prostite, mem." You tried to apologize, but the woman would not listen, and then pushed you inside.

"No dinner for you." She informed you by throwing a broom into your hands. "Get upstairs and go clean the roofs now!

You climbed onto the rooftops with a grimace, softly cursing all the sisters as witches.

When you arrived, you noticed that there were already other orphans there.

"Good afternoon, Vor." Pietro greeted wryly. You approached him to help him carry one of the tiles.

"Stop calling me that." You retorted, but Pietro just laughed, thanking you for your help afterwards. "Why are you here?"

"I broke Nikolai's nose." He told you, and you looked at him reproachfully.

"And you let them catch you?" You asked. "You used to be smarter than that."

"Shut up." He grumbled humorously, waiting for you to finish sweeping the area you were in to return the tile to its place. "And what did you do this time? Are you going to tell me that Madame Pavlova caught you robbing the church again?"

You laughed, finishing sweeping and going back to helping Pietro lift another tile.

"Church money is for the poor." You retort. "I'm poor, how can I steal what's mine?"

"Keep this up and you'll be in jail as soon as you get out of here." A voice spoke behind you, startling you a little.

"You're so nosy aren't you, Wanda?" You teased the girl, and she grimaced at you before looking at her brother.

"What are you doing up here?" Pietro asked before Wanda could speak again. The girl crossed her arms, watching you guys work.

"I brought food for you two. But with this hostility, I think I'll stay downstairs."

You and Pietro exchanged giggles.

"Sorry, Wanda." You asked in unison, making the girl smile. She looked around to check if there were no priests, or nuns, or orphans staring at you from the window pane below before taking some bagels and bread from a wrapper inside her blouse pocket.

"Is there any possibility that you will stop stealing and behave yourselves?" Wanda asked slightly irritated, and you exchanged a look with Pietro.

"Unlikely." You replied, making him laugh. Wanda looked at you reproachfully. "Don't make that face, printsessa. This is stealing too.”

"Don't call me that." Wanda complained between teeth. But you smiled, because you noticed the slight reddening of her cheeks. "And I wouldn't have to steal if you two would stop causing trouble."

"Or maybe you could let us starve next time." Pietro retorted wryly, and ended up getting slapped on the shoulder by his sister, making you laugh. "Sorry, that was stupid."

"You two are so ungrateful." She grumbled turning to leave. You and Pietro exchanged a look, worried that Wanda was angry. But she gave you two one last look before turning away. "Tomorrow, wake up early. I want to show something."

Wanda went down the roof next, and you exchanged a smile with Pietro before turning back to work.

//-//

Wanda poked you in the ribs and you turned your head quickly. You, she and Pietro were ducking behind a car, breaking curfew, and probably some passing law, since you were in an abandoned building.

"They arrived last week." Wanda said to the two of you, looking in the direction of the back door of the building. There were three men in suits talking in the doorway, and casually looking around to see if they were alone. "They stay there all day."

"What's suspicious about that?" Pietro asked.

"Do you guys remember those kids who disappeared last week?" Wanda asked and waited for you and Pietro to confirm before continuing. "I found the orphanage uniform in the dumpster from the building. What if they are picking up the orphans?"

"You said they speak german, right?" You retorted with a question. When Wanda confirmed, you made a thoughtful face. "What if they are Nazi doctors? They could be trying that supremacist shit again."

"I think we should leave." Pietro said next. "Before they see us here."

"Yeah, come on." Wanda agreed before taking one last look at the door meters away from you, the men were entering. Neither you or Pietro notice that one of them looked directly at the girl before closing the door.

//-//

Pietro advanced against you with his fists raised, but you ducked and shoved him in the ribs.

"Well done, Vor!" He spoke contentedly, sounding surprised. He took two more steps toward you, but you dodged, and threw your arms against his waist. You both laughed as you both fell back onto the grass. Pietro rolled you on the ground to get on top. "You can't let them knock you down, little one."

"I'm the one who knocked you down, asshole." You retort humorously, trying to get up. But Pietro is heavy on you.

"I'm letting you win, obviously." The boy says with a smile. You hate that Pietro has grown so big as to win in fights, but at least he helps you learn to fight with the kids on the street. Which was funny, since Wanda always told you to run.

"Oh, really?" You hit back and then raise your knee hard, hitting him in the balls. Pietro lets out an exclamation of pain and falls beside you to the floor, whimpering. You feel bad at the same moment. "Shit, I'm sorry, Piet." You ask, but let out a giggle, watching him gasp in pain.

"What are you two doing here?" A voice suddenly asked, and you looked forward to find the high school monitor looking at you two reproachfully.

"Shit." You grumbled already hurrying to get up and lift Pietro quickly, who seemed to fight the pain to follow you.

"Maximoff! I should know." The woman spoke annoyed, hurrying to cross the railing. You and Pietro were skipping calculus class in the usually empty area behind the gym. But before she finished crossing, you and Pietro were already running away, laughing at the curses the woman yelled at you, and something about detention for a month.

By the time you stopped running, you were in the city, in the alleyways of suburban Sokovia.

Pietro punched you under the shoulder the moment you stopped, and when you grumbled he said it was for the kick.

"Are you hungry?" You asked as you massaged the spot of the punch.

"Yes." He replied looking around. Some people looked curiously at you two, probably because you came to the scene running, but you ignored it.

"I'll get us some food." You let him know and then you are already walking away to the fair area a few meters ahead. Pietro rolls his eyes at the smug expression you cast at him before you put the cap of your jacket over your head.

//-//

"What have you two gotten yourselves into?" Wanda asked angrily, throwing her backpack on top of the torn armchair. You and Pietro took your eyes off the card game to look at her.

The little crib you set up in one of Sokovia's condemned buildings was cold and damp, but it was the closest thing to a home where no one cursed, or order any of you to clean and do any tasks, so it was your favorite place.

Usually the three of you would run away from the orphanage and school as much as possible to stay around here, but then Wanda started actually studying and you and Pietro didn't.

"Sorry, Wands, calculus isn't really our thing." You grumbled to the girl. Wanda approached you with her arms crossed.

"But athletics it is, I believe." She retorted. "If you keep skipping class, you'll get kicked off the team. The guidance counselor told me to warn you two, and she talked for half an hour, so thanks for that." Wanda grumbled ironically, and you kicked Pietro lightly to get him to stop laughing.

You reached out for the paper package you left in the corner of one of the armchairs.

"Maybe this will improve your mood, printsessa." You said as you handed the item to Wanda. She looked tired, and grimaced, grudgingly thanking you. She smiled weakly when she realized it was food. "I saved some bread for you too."

"You two need to stop stealing." She warned, but took a bite of her food. You shrugged, and returned your attention to the game.

"If we had enough food, I wouldn't need to steal anything." You retorted, and Pietro murmured in agreement, while Wanda frowned slightly.

"You could get some work, too." Wanda argues and you laugh, rolling your eyes.

"We've had this conversation a million times, printsessa."

"Stop calling me that." She asks annoyed.

You rolled your eyes again, and made a move. Pietro sighed slightly, since he was losing.

"I can call you skuchnyy, if you prefer." You retort humorously, and Wanda slaps you on the arm, making you and Pietro laugh.

"If you keep stealing, you'll end up in jail! Or worse, killed." She then adds, and you exchange a look with Pietro.

"Only if we get caught." The boy says and you hold back a laugh, seeing Wanda's disapproving look.

She lets out an impatient exclamation, and starts eating in silence. You focus on the game again, knowing that this discussion would happen again. Wanda would always complain that you were stealing, out of pure concern, and you and Pietro would continue to ignore it, out of necessity.

//-//

Sokovia, 6 years ago.

Gasping and out of breath, you kept running.

"I'm going to win." You heard Pietro shout excitedly beside you, running as fast as you.

"Shut up." You shouted back, but Pietro actually reached the finish line first. You laughed, though, trying to normalize your breathing as you sat on the ground.

Coach walked over to the two of you next, past the small crowd of students who were watching the race celebrating Pietro's victory.

"That was excellent, Maximoff." Congratulated the coach with a handshake. Pietro smiled embarrassed, and you laughed at his face.

"Come on, I'll buy you lunch to celebrate." You told the boy as soon as you stood up, and the coach had left. Pietro threw his arm around you, and you pushed him away. "Get off, you're sweaty."

He laughed, and you parted your ways in the locker room. After taking a shower, you found Pietro already wearing his regular clothes instead of his athletic clothes, but he was not alone. There was a man in a suit talking to him.

As you approached, the man looked at you and waved his hat before turning and leaving.

"What was that?" You asked curiously, but Pietro had a grim expression on his face. "Piete, are you okay?"

"Yeah." He says looking away from yours to the paper in your hands. He puts it away in his pocket before you can read it. "I need to talk to Wanda. Rain check on our lunch later."

"Okay." You mumble confusedly, watching Pietro walk away quickly.

//-//

"Pay attention, no one must see you. Go in quietly, place the packages, and leave without being seen." Warned the man in front of you. You swallowed dryly, but nodded in agreement.

You exchanged a glance with Pietro and Wanda before turning to enter through the small gap in the railing, one of the new commercial buildings on the other side.

Now that you were older, the protest groups accepted you at the marches. You and the twins had been participating for a few months now, and they were usually peaceful walks. But then one of the leaders learned that you could fit in small places, and here you were, sneaking into one of the new buildings that took the place of one of the apartment complexes, looking for the exact spot to place the packages that the group handed you.

Even though you were nervous, you made it. And it was only when you were outside that you heard an explosion much bigger than you expected.

When you saw one of the security guards with a bloody head, shouting in Sokovian for the vandals to be stopped while the rest of the protesters shouted and held up their placards, everything seemed to get a little muffled for you, and you could only focus on the powder marks on your fingers. Stumbling away, you ran.

//-//

Sokovia, 5 years ago.

"You two have lost your minds!" You exclaim in surprise and irritation, taking yourself off the wooden bench you were sitting on. Pietro and Wanda look at you with confusion.

"I told you she wouldn't understand." Pietro grumbles and you look at him with indignation.

"Really?" You retort. "Of course I don't understand, Pietro! You've both gone crazy for good!"

"Keep your voice down!" Pietro retorted angrily, getting up as he looked around. No lights had come on downstairs, so no one from the orphanage was awake. "We're doing this for Sokovia."

"Tell me how offering yourself as an experiment for German Nazis helps Sokovia?" You retorted angrily and Pietro sighed impatiently. "I can't believe you two are actually thinking of doing this."

"What do you think will happen next week when we turn eighteen, heh?" Pietro asked aggressively, and you clenched your jaw. "We'll be kicked out of the orphanage, and we'll be on the street. If we didn't have food before, imagine after that!"

"I can get us food!" You exclaim with tear-filled eyes, but Wanda gives a dry laugh.

"You're not going with us." Wanda retorts and you look at her wide-eyed. "You're going to stay here, where you have a roof and a meal, and we're not going to waste the opportunity to change things in Sokovia."

You looked at them incredulously.

"I can't believe you are going to die for your ambition."

Pietro crossed his arms, looking at you seriously. You looked at Wanda, but she looked away to the floor. Shaking your head, you ran your hands through your hair.

"We are doing this for our country." Pietro stated seriously. You disagreed with your head, feeling your throat close up from emotion. But you did not cry. "Some of us are willing to risk whatever it takes."

You give a dry laugh at the provocation. Pietro was only saying that because you stopped participating in the rallies, ever since the protests got more violent and your colleagues started damaging property, stealing, and there were even rumors of fighting that ended in killing.

"Yeah, Piete, you're right." You retorted upset. "You and Wanda want to die in a cell with needles in your arms, lying that this is for Sokovia and not to get revenge for your parents. But don't expect me to stay and watch."

You accuse bitterly before turning and walking off the roof, your tears flowing as you reach the floor below, but you don't stop walking.

//-//

"What are you doing here?" You asked as soon as you raised your head, your gaze shifting from the vegetables at your feet to the girl in front of you. It had been a few days since you had argued with the Maximoffs, and you hadn't spoken to any of them since.

"I came to say goodbye." Wanda said simply, and you rolled your eyes, getting up from the ground and shaking some of the dirt on your fingers.

"When are you two leaving?"

"Now."

Ignoring the feeling that has formed in your stomach, you just grumble in agreement, turning your back on Wanda, because you don't want her to see you cry.

"And what's this now?" You retort as you sit on the edge of the roof, looking out over the city. "Did you come to tell me that you guys are going to remember me or some sentimental shit?"

Wanda laughs softly, and you hear her footsteps approaching, until she is sitting next to you.

"Well, we've been friends for eight years, I thought I should say goodbye." She says looking forward. You want to swallow the urge to cry, because you don't want them to go. But there is nothing you can do.

"Okay, Wanda. Goodbye then." You retort bitterly, looking down at your hands.

"I wanted to give you something before I go." Wanda adds softly, and you turn your head to her to ask what it is, but as soon as you do, Wanda breaks the distance, her lips meeting yours in a sweet kiss.

You sigh in surprise, and Wanda pulls away.

"S-sorry." She says breathlessly. "I shouldn't..."

But you kiss her again. Properly this time. She is grateful that you hold her around the waist, because then she doesn't fall off the roof when she completely melts from the touch of your tongues together.

You pull away to take a breath, leaving your foreheads together. The urge to tell her not to go anywhere is stuck on the tip of your tongue, and before you can let the words escape, someone is clearing their throat behind you.

"I can't believe you kissed my sister." Pietro complains in a mixed tone of teasing and annoyance. But there is no anger in his gaze. You and Wanda move away embarrassed. "We have to go."

Wanda nods in agreement, and looks at you one last time before standing up, walking over to Pietro.

The boy nods to you before leaving. And when the roof is empty, you let the tears stream down your face.

//-//

As soon as the twins left, you joined the protests again. It kept you distracted now that you were alone. And since you hated so much free time without your friends, you ignored the way that you now always ended up with bruised hands and sore throats after every march.

You got some of your fellow protesters to help you keep an eye on the building that Wanda and Pietro were staying in, and when they stopped coming out of there, you knew something was wrong.

Two weeks without hearing about the twins, you could no longer sleep from worry. You imagined that whatever those men were doing to them would take time. But you also didn't expect that your friends would disappear.

So here you were, sneaking around the abandoned floors to find some clue to where the hell they were. You knew you shouldn't be here. It was their choice, and they knew the consequences. But you kept walking.

Hearing a metal noise, you felt your heart race and quickly hid behind a wall. But no other sound came, so you thought it was safe to move.

Another noise, and a sharp pain in your neck a second later. And then you blacked out.

//-//-//-//

Tag list> @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia

@mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @justagaypanicking / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @myperfectlovepoem // @HELLOALYCIA // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS // @drpepperobsessed // @sighsam // @olsensnpm

// @sxfwap // @table57 // @madamevirgo // @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo // @emptysince18x // @xastrydx

[broijuswannareadsmut]

Amor Manchado: (1) Shinichiro Sano x Fem Hispanic Reader

Summary: You and Shinchiro met in hs and have always had an on and off liking towards each other despite being close friends and sharing many moments together. You're now in your twenties and are still trying to navigate your life with him.

Series Masterlist

Content warnings: None

wc: 2189

Your Abuelita had always had a knack in making even a grain of rice something magnificent. So naturally she would start an empire of restaurants in her home country. She would later on go international. Although you moved to North America when you were 6 and had already grown fluently bilingual your parents thought it would be a good opportunity for you to finish the last 3 yrs in high school in Tokyo then go to university there. You didn't like the idea of leaving all your friends or having to learn a new language, but you being 14 didn't give you much room to argue with your hispanic ass parents.

In less than 6 months you were already enrolled in the Shibuya Junior & Senior High School, you and your grandmother lived in a condo with her restaurant below you two, she said that for after school you'd work in the restaurant, you wouldn't have THAT much of a problem with it if you had gotten paid like a regular minimum wage worker, but your grandmother said "Ya te estoy dando donde quedarte, para comer, y para dormir, eso es tu puto meeneemum wage". Her words not yours.

School was sort of difficult the first few months, but you soon picked up on the Japanese language to then communicate with your peers and make some friends. You were given a few strange looks here and there from students at school only because your features weren't exactly the norm. With your dark brown (h/l) hair, tan light skinned skin, and a fat fucking ass. Your friend group as some would call it was the "popular" pretty girls. It consisted of 3 other girls, Akane (a girl who was envied by many girls in all grades, chased after by both boys and girls, and she was just as intelligent to go along with her nurturing personality), Kaiya (a girl who really just wanted to fuck around and do anything to keep her out of her house), and Nagisa (the DUFF of the group tbh...). Your grades were exceptional, you knew you had to give it x10 the amount of effort than other students considering that many of your sensei's thought you were lazy since you were an English speaking foreigner.

It was a Friday and you were excited about what was happening tomorrow. A party was being thrown at a gang's trap house and it was open invitation, although Kaiya knew some of the members of said gang so they had more leverage in having a better time. You were staying over at Nagisa's house, your Abuelita obviously wouldn't let you go out to a party that would begin at 9 and end till the early dawn, she'd kill you, since she knows what kinda shit goes down at those parties. Therefore you lied and played it off as a sleepover/study night, she believed you, she still thinks you're this perfect child.

"Alright, imma catch you guys tomorrow, I have work in like 25 minutes and my Abuelita finna be on my ass if I'm not there in 15." You announced unironically to your group of friends. "_____ we still have a hour left in the school day." Akane said worriedly not wanting you to jeopardize your school rep. "Haha don't worry Kane it's just an hour left and either way I don't wanna be here any longer, this fucking lesson will make me wanna kill myself soon if I don't leave in 5 seconds."

You stuck to your word because you immediately told your teacher that you had to go to the bathroom, he let you go no problem. You dashed out of that classroom and went down the halls to get to your locker, grabbing your sweater, backpack, and swiftly locking the lock. You had to get to the area where everyone would leave their outdoor shoes at the front of the school. As you were slipping on your red Chuck Taylor High Tops, you checked the clock and realized you had 10 minutes to get to the restaurant.

"Fuck..." You muttered under your breath while finishing tying up your other shoe.

Thankfully the bus that takes you home was just pulling up at the stop. You rushed over to it and just went in and gave a smile to the busdriver who already knew your face by heart so didn't even bother asking for a fee.

You got off the bus and ran the 2 blocks from your condo/business. You bursted through the restaurant store huffing in some air and pecking your Abuelita who was looking at you with a bitchy confused ass look. "Olle porque estas corriendo como loca por el restaurante?" She asked loudly while you went into the back to grab your work uniform and change into it. "Perdoname Abuelita but you said I had to be here at 4 and I had to rush to get here on time." You yelled behind the door whilst slipping on the colorful shirt of your home country's flag. "Tan boba usted. Y por esto perdiste una hora del colegio." She scoffed. "Pues Abuela ya estoy aca, and anyways it's okay you'll need the extra help cause kids are always wandering into the restaurant around this hour to catch some food." You explained once you came out of the room. She simply rolled her eyes (a sign to show that she knew you were right but would never admit to it), she went back to the kitchen areas to ready the specialties of the day. You were ensuring that all the tables and decor were ready and sanitary for any customers.

One of your grandmother's employees walk through the door to clock in for their shift. "Hi _____ how's your day goin?" He asked while giving you a friendly smile.

"Hi Benjiro I'm fine how about you?" You asked just for the sake of being polite, tbh you never really liked Benjiro considering that he was usually lacking when working, the only reason Abuelita kept him around was because he was fine with being paid $4.32 less than that of other workers in the restaurant. He gave you a thumbs up and turned to say hi to his boss.

Half an hour into your shift many regulars had come in and it was going fine with you and Benjiro splitting the workload.

As you were finishing up tallying up the bill for another customer, 3 boys who looked like they were around your age walked in, they were obviously new and they looked curious about this place as though they were mesmerized by how vibrant the outside of the restaurant looked.

One of the boys had cornrows and a beautiful dark mocha complexion, mf looked 6'4 kinda intimidating, the other boy was the typical definition of pretty boy, lazy hazy eyes, a lazy grin with a piece of straw hanging from his lips, and a pretty long earring on his left lobe, the last boy immediately made you stop for a second of what you were doing, he had ruffled messy jet black hair, black eyes, and a silver chain exposed on his collarbone because of his unbuttoned button down. Actually you noticed that all 3 boys were in a sort of beat up shape, as though they'd been in a few fights just a few hours ago.

a/n: This is reference photo

You quickly finished saying your goodbyes to the people you were just attending before you quickly went to seat the boys.

"Hi guys! I'm _____ I'll be your server for today, here let me properly seat you." You said in your waitress voice. The boys all smiled at you and followed you to the booth fit for 4 people.

"Okay so as you may or may not know this is an ethnic (h/c/n) restaurant, so if you're unfamiliar with our food we have list of of specialties for the day we'd be happy to serve to you" You explained to the boys in a cheerful manner.

The boy with the lazy grin spoke up, "ok sure what do you guys have for the specials?"

"We have ajiaco which is a pretty basic soup with shredded chicken, chickpeas, a corn cob, heavy cream, and other seasonings, it's served alongside a serving of white rice and avocado. We also have empanadas that it like say a pizza pop but better, and it is filled with, pork,chicken,or beef, as a salsa you can use our homemade aji which is jus a tad spicy. Last thing we have is arepa rellena which is a cornbread filled with melted cheese inside." You over explained.

"Yeah I'll get an ajii-a-co." Spoke up the cornrows boy with a funny pronunciation.

"I'll get 2 pork and 3 empanadas please and thank you pretty." The lazy eyed boy said to you with a lazy smirk. You slightly stiffen and blush at the sudden pet name from the boy but quickly brush it off and take the last boy's order. "And for you sir?" You looked at the boy with jet black hair and held eye contact with him. "O-oh, um, I think I'll get that last thing you said." He stuttered as he looked away from your nonchalant gaze, a light hue of red blessing the tips of his ears.

"Arepa rellena, got it." You smile at them all and turn on your heel to ring up their orders. As you turn you hear them snicker.

20 minutes later and all the boys have begun to eat. "Hi boys are you guys enjoying your food?" "Hahaha thanks for asking, yes it's great I never knew there was such a good restaurant around this area." The cornrows boy said while stuffing his face with the ajiaco. The other two boys nod along with him.

"My name is Wakasa by the way." The blond boy said while gulping down the rest of his empanada.

You smiled awkwardly at him with your hands fiddling behind your back, not knowing what to do with that information. "Oh yeah and I'm Arashi." The boy with cornrows said while scooping some rice and putting it into the soup.  Both the boys then looked at the lanky silver chained boy, who at first glance looked like he was full of the arepa after 4 bites.

He realized you were all staring at him, specifically you. He drily gulped down the piece he was chewing and started lightly coughing. He drank some of his lulo juice, and took a deep breath. In all honesty you found it amusing how nervous and clumsy he was compared to his intimidating and confident friends. "Um, I- I'm Shinichiro." He smiled softly without looking your way that familiar hue of red returning to his face.

"It's nice to meet you guys, and I'm glad you guys like the food, it's all thanks to my Abuelita." You confessed.

"I'm glad that we got a server as gorgeous as you, what school do you go to by the way?" Wakasa stated.

You giggled at the comment and quickly responded. "The one in Shibuya you know."

"Yo we go to that school too, we're in grade 11." Arashi chimed in already having been finished his soup long ago.

"Oh that makes sense, I've never seen you guys around, I'm in grade 10." You inquired.

At this point all but Shinichiro have finished their food and were just making conversation with you.

"Can I get your number?" Wakasa asked.

You were a little surprised at the sudden question. "Oh, um sure I guess." You fished the notepad from your apron pocket and scribbled down your cell number. You handed it to the blond.

"Thank you pretty." He grinned at you.

"We should get going guys. Um _____ can we get the bill please?" Shinichiro shyly asked.

"Oh I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting! Yes of course." You apologized while running quickly to the counter to bring the machine.

"Sheesh Sano why're you in such a hurry." Wakasa scoffed.

"Okay guys so your total comes to 5444.04 Yen." You said.

They all split the bill 3 ways.

"Thank you guys for coming here to eat, it was nice meeting you all." You said genuinely.

"Bye _____ I hope we can see each other soon again." Wakasa said while Arashi was waving goodbye to you and Shinichiro was already out of the restaurant.

As you were cleaning up their table you realized that under Shinichiro's plate there was 3000 yen with a small note attached to it "You're really beautiful, I hope the tip is enough :) - Shin."  You were surprised at the large tip but then smiled like a lovesick puppy at the note. Maybe you would meet those mysterious boys again...  

[songmingisthighs]

Hooked

introduction pt. i | pt. ii | pt. iii

ch. lxiii - weeping

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??? × reader, ateez × reader

A freshman hookup rekindled into something new. With an incentive, of course. But what would happen if your 'relationship' led you somewhere you never thought would happen to you ?

It took Seonghwa a while to work up his courage and knock at your door. True, he was the one who contacted you first but truth to be told, he wasn't thinking when he chatted you up. But he had already said that he was coming so he had to do it.

You called out from inside with a shaky voice, very noticeable to Seonghwa. Before he walked in, he took a deep breath to calm his mind and stabilize himself. When he felt he was ready, he opened the door and peeked in.

"Hi (Y/N)," he greeted. You were sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, initially staring at your bed before snapping your head to look at Seonghwa. From your bed, you forced a smile at him. The use of your name was rather... hurtful but you couldn't complain after what you've done. Yeosang's words kept replaying in your head nonstop

"Hey, Hwa, I'm sorry," you said, your gaze dropped to your intertwined hands on your lap.

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow at you and walked towards your bed after closing the door behind him. He took a seat by your side, rather awkwardly if he had to admit.

"Why are you saying sorry for?" he asked. He had an idea as to why you said sorry. But to him, it wasn't that important at the moment, he was honestly just glad that you were unscathed.

You couldn't look at Seonghwa directly, the shame and fear were eating you alive and it made you uncomfortable. You wanted to tell him how you felt, how sorry you are, and what drove you to wordlessly disappear like you did.

But you don't know how to start.

So you sat silently as tears began to drop from your eyes.

Seeing this, Seonghwa's heart broke and he immediately enveloped you in a hug. "Honey, why are you crying? Did I said something wrong?" he asked as he started to rub your arms, chuckling slightly. You couldn't let any words out, you could only let out pitiful sobs as you bury your face in his chest, your arms slowly wrapped themselves around his slim waist.

Due to the uncomfortable position, Seonghwa slowly leaned back onto the headboard with you so you could be snug in his arms.

As per usual, Seonghwa's arms felt like home, you felt completely protected and cared for. Which was annoying since you were supposed to be at odds with them all.

You both stayed in that position, completely disregarding everything else. As you sobbed, Seonghwa kept rubbing your back soothingly. sure, you both liked the silence and the calmness of the situation. But there were just a lot of things left unsaid and the both of you realized that there were things that you needed to talk about.

"We really do miss you, you know?" Seonghwa said, breaking the silence. You looked up through your tears to see him smiling softly at you. One of his hands reached forward to wipe the tears off your cheeks, "We were really useless without you, you know?" he told you with a pout. You couldn't help but giggle at him, "Yeah? I was miserable too, you know? I couldn't tell any of you guys where I was and I had to hide at Haknyeon's apartment that he shared with his roommates," you told him.

Just as you were about to get comfortable again, Seonghwa pulled you back slightly to look at your face. He had his eyebrows furrowed whilst looking at you with a weird expression.

"You weren't with your parents?" he asked. It was your turn to be confused. You furrowed your eyebrows back at him, "Well, yeah, I couldn't stay at home," you told him.

It was true. You were tormented knowing that Sunhee, Jinhee, and Gaho knew about things going on at the frat. So much so that it made you paranoid.

In the end, you turned to the one person you knew could protect you, your cousin Haknyeon. Sadly, he had recently moved in with three other men in a nearby apartment which his other seven friends were staying on different floors. The plus side was you had sure security and you were never lonely.

"Why couldn't you stay at- did your parents knew that you were staying somewhere else?" he asked.

Confused at the sudden change of tone in his voice, you sat up and turn to face him with crossed legs, "No, they don't know. Why are you making a big deal out of this? It's not like Haknyeon and his friends are bad guys," you tried to reason with him.

But at the mention of 'guys', Seonghwa's eyes bulged out and he immediately sat up straight, "Guys?? His roommates are guys??" he asked in disbelief.

A bad feeling crept up in you and you suddenly felt like you don't wanna say anything anymore. But you know you had to answer him if you don't want the situation to become worse.

"How many people were there?" he asked. His once soft expression turned hard, his jaw clenching and his fists balled up. "There were three roommates in his apartment, so there were five of us," "Was Haknyeon always there with you?" "N-no, there were times when Haknyeon had to go out to deal with things and his roommates stayed behind, at least two of them were always around,"

You were being honest, so you didn't have to feel nervous. But somehow you do. With how Seonghwa was staring at you, your brain was blaring the danger alarm.

As his fists unclench and his gaze faltered to a softer one, you began to relax slightly. Seonghwa let out a sigh as he looked to the side, seemingly thinking about something.

But then something flashed in his eyes, it was as if he made a sudden realization.

"What did you meant by 'three in his apartment'? Why did you have to specify that there were three roommates in HIS apartment?" he pressed.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. You didn't even realize that you said that. With the way he asked the question, you just knew that the conversation was not going to end well.

"What I meant... Was... That... Uh..." your voice turned softer as you tried to think about the perfect way to explain to him. But the intensity of his stare messed your brain up, "Haknyeon's other friends also lived in that apartment on different floors, so sometimes all twelve of us hung out together,"

At the mention of the actual number of guys there, Seonghwa jumped off the bed to stand towering over you with his hands on his waist, "So eleven!? There were eleven men around you in which three were always with you during the night!?" he exclaimed.

"W-well, if you put it like that-"

"How else am I supposed to put it, (Y/N)!? You LEFT us for whatever reason there were only to go to an apartment with more guys?? What the fuck, (Y/N)!?" he spat out.

His insinuation that you were out whoring yourself hurt. It hurt so much.

As you tried to speak, your voice cracked, "Y-you think I re-really went out to other guys?" you asked, obviously brokenhearted at the insinuation.

If Seonghwa realized how much you were hurt because of his words, he definitely didn't show it. He let out an exasperated and sharp sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know what to think, okay? But Yeosang made a good point earlier; you DID leave us with no explanation and without telling anyone, and now you told me you were staying with other guys? How am I supposed to think!?"

Tears began to drop from your eyes once again, "Hwa, I was with my cousin," your voice was so small, that you were sure Seonghwa couldn't hear you.

Especially with how emotional he got.

"We're not mere options, (Y/N). The fact that I had to tell you that is just infuriating, you know!? We were worried sick about you, and where were you? Having fun with your cousin and his guy friends," he stopped himself when he felt like he was getting overwhelmed. He took a couple of deep breaths with closed eyes, trying to not blow up. As best as he could at least.

After calming himself down, he spoke up again, "I know we were never official, but we told you we loved you and we were genuine about it. If options were what you were looking for, you're with the wrong guys. You're free to make your own choices, but don't play with someone's feelings if you were never sure to begin with," he said before turning around and leave the room.

Feeling hopeless, you broke down and cried out. Tears streamed down your face like a waterfall as your breath became uneven. Your head pounded from the overwhelming emotion and lack of oxygen that tried to enter your lungs through your pitiful sobs.

You tried your best to not cry too loud by covering your mouth and folding yourself into a fetal position on the bed.

The boys really hated you. They all think you were just playing with them and that you left to pursue something more. You considered Yeosang's and Seonghwa's words, how you didn't even try to communicate with them. For whatever reason you had, you just HAD to make a choice alone. A choice that affected nine people.

Maybe it was best to really leave them.

They deserved someone better than you, someone, who would be able to be there with them and be honest and open. Someone who wouldn't just bring shit to them. That someone could've been you, but maybe you hurt them too much to the point that it was all too late.

So you grab your phone from the nightstand after sitting up to dial a number.

The call connected and the person at the other line picked up almost immediately.

"Hello? Yeah, it's me. I-I know it's late and I-I h-have no right to bother you again after everything, but do you think you can help me?"

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