#get her some lessons STAT

[look-how-the-lights]

I recognize why Taylor Swift as Bombalurina was a poor casting choice but I do think if she was "Broadway trained" she wouldn't be a poor choice for the musical tbh

Would she be my first choice? Nooo

Would she be bad at it? Probably not

[longlivejemily]

After Office Hours

Part 2 here

Pairing: Professor! Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Reader goes to her favorite professor hoping to find ways to improve her grade. He has some unconventional extra credit opportunities in mind...

WC: 1.3k

Warning: Student/teacher relationship, slight sub/dom dynamics, semi public sex, thigh riding, use of y/n, use of “baby’ and “little girl” plz let me know if i’m missing any!

You’re running down the hallway of the law building at your university silently begging that your professor is still there. As you approach the door, he’s exiting, keys in hand. “Wait, Professor Reid! I’m here! Don’t go!” You call out to him closing the last yards of space between you. “Miss y/l/n you’re late, office hours are over.” “No Dr. Reid you don’t understand! My statistics professor wouldn’t let us leave until we finished the lesson on probability distributions! I told him I had office hours to get to and he didn’t care. Please Dr. Reid I really need to talk to you about my grade!” He puts his hands in his pockets and sighs while gears are turning in his head. “Fine, for you I’ll make an exception.” “Thank you thank you.” You try not to read too much into his comment as he opens the door, “after you.” You don’t notice that he locks the door after following you in. 

As he sits across from you at the desk, you pull out your physical midterm paper all marked up in red ink. “I thought I grasped this concept so well! I don’t understand how I got a C-.” “Y/N, you got a stressor and trigger backward. You failed to accurately explain the concept. The points you did get were from the passion in your writing. I appreciated the way you wrote, but I couldn’t give you a higher grade. I’m sorry.” 

“Professor, I have a 3.5 GPA and I can’t have that drop, especially not from my favorite class!” He clasps his hands under his chin with his elbows below him. “Miss y/l/n, it seems you have been struggling in this class for a while now. I see how hard you work but you have narrowly maintained a B-. If this is your favorite class, why didn’t you come to office hours sooner?” “I-” Your mind is moving too fast to form an answer. You look down at the ground and can’t help but press your thighs together. You’ve only had a few moments in such close proximity to Professor Reid before, and definitely not alone. His eyes seem to darken, “Do I make you nervous?” You just press your legs further together “Umm..” “Come here.” He says in a soft yet demanding tone while scooting his chair back. When you walk over to him he gestures towards his lap. “Sit.” You comply. You put your right hand on his shoulder as his left-hand reaches around you and grips your side. He can probably hear your heart beating out of your chest.

“You know how I knew you wanted this? When I guest lectured in your physics class you were wearing sweatpants. Out of anything you could have worn, sweatpants. You tried to hide it, but I saw your eyes widen when you saw me. You never dared to be caught dead in front of me clad from one of your tiny little skirts you love wearing to my class.” He takes the hand not at your side and squeezes above your knee. “Do you wear those skirts just for me? Tell me the truth.” You turn to him but avoid eye contact. In the quietest voice you say “Yes, just for you professor.” Knowing you were coming straight to his office hours after stats, you wore one of your shortest skirts and knee-high black boots. You hoped being alone in office hours on a dark fall night he wouldn’t be able to resist you. It was worth a shot, anyway. He smirks and before he has a chance to reply you say, “Now back to my grade, is there anything I can do to improve the grade I got on my midterm? Can I resubmit it with your notes taken into account?” “I’m sorry miss y/l/n but there's nothing I can do. The university policy states that once midterm grades are locked, any work done before can not be revised. My apologies.” 

“Is there anything I can do? Any extra credit opportunities this term?  I can help you grade papers or clean your classroom! Please I’ll do anything! I need to improve my grade, please!” He just stares at you while you beg. “Anything?” He says with a devilish smirk. “Yes sir.” You say back to him, smiling and batting your eyelashes. He takes a deep breath with his eyes closed and once he opens them he locks eyes with you and says, “Ride my thigh.” “Excuse me, Doctor?” His dick jumps at the honorific. “You said you’d do anything to improve your grade. I know you heard me, ride my thigh.” You cannot believe Dr. Reid just asked you for this. Since the first day of class, he has been the sole object of your fantasies. You’ve fallen asleep many nights imagining him bending you over his desk and fucking you until you scream.

 Without a second thought, you stand up to resituate yourself on his lap, straddling his left thigh. The moment you stand up he reaches for your wrist, “What are you doing?” You smile on the inside, those four simple words have shown you he wants this as badly as you do. “Don’t worry professor, I’m just turning around, I need something to grab onto.” You say as you sink down onto him. You put both hands on either side of his shoulders and begin to rock back and forth finding your rhythm. The roughness of his khakis against your ass and your thong pushed against your clit has you stifling your moans quickly. He grabs your chin to make you look at him, “I want to hear you, baby.” You let the moans leave your lips, still mindful of volume. He puts one hand on the small of your back and the other on your hip, gently guiding you. When he touches you, you are on cloud nine. Here you are, in your professor's office after hours riding his thigh as he speaks sweet praises to you. You swear you’ve died and gone to heaven. “That’s it baby keep going.” You are eyeing the member in his pants start to grow. Every time he speaks you get closer and closer to the edge. He can tell by the way you’re speeding up. “Come for me little girl, I want to hear how good you’re feeling.” The use of little girl sends you over the edge. 

Tightly gripping his shoulders as you ride out the rest of your orgasm, leaving dents in his shoulders through his dress shirt. Once you’re done cumming, you collapse onto his chest breathing heavily. Staring down at his lap you see his dick straining against his pants, and he’s huge. He gently rubs your back as you come down from your high. He kisses your head and lifts you by your shoulders facing him. You’re staring deep into his eyes. “You did so good for me, but it's getting late, you should get home.” “Right right, sorry. I’ll head out now.” As you stand up and adjust your skirt you notice the wet spot you left on his pants.

 He sees you staring and interrupts your thoughts, “Don’t worry about it. Can I plan to see you next week at office hours?” “Yes!” You say a little too enthusiastically. “Um I mean yeah, I’ll be here.” You say in a chiller tone. “Good, I have more extra credit opportunities in mind, I hope to see you in class on Monday. Next week, come to office hours once they're done, okay? Don’t show up before 7.” “Yes Dr. Reid, I look forward to improving my grade however you see fit.” You say with a wink heading towards the door. When you go to turn the knob it's locked. You unlock it and glance back at him. He’s still staring at you with a hungry look in his eyes. You have the biggest smile on your face walking back towards your dorm, next week's office hours can’t come soon enough.

a/n: this is the first fic I’ve written in about 10 years! Should I turn this into a mini series? I have more ideas for how this story could go! Any feedback is greatly appreciated <3

[0coffeeplease0]

YAN! FORSAKEN X DANDICUS DANCIFER GN READER

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Behind the stage

Prologue

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You were standing there impatiently on the damn box, and no one was buying, you even placed a medkit to get their attention so they could buy, but none of them approached. At this point you were being annoyed, you were getting angry.

You looked around to see if anyone would atleast take intriest in what you have, nobody was looking your way. You sigh and speak up.

"Aren't you guys interested in a medkit? I'm being very generous right now."

"And what makes you think we will waste our tapes in a mere medkit? We have Sprout to heal us and we also have cosmo."

You heard Vee say, her words made your blod boil, you just wanted to rip her apart...and you will.

"Fine, be that way..."

You said as you pull on the lever and descend as the elevator timer ran out, you were gonna teach them all a lesson, especially that damn TV.

You felt the ichor consume you. You felt yourself grow until your transformation was done. You start crawling around the area hearing your favorite lullaby play, you can hear the others panicked whispers.

Until you saw Vee doing a machine, you hurried up towards her, Vee panicked she was cornerd she didn't know what to do.

Just as you were about to end her, your vision went black.

After some time you had waken up, you felt the ground beneath you feel rough...you get up, you didn't feel like yourself anymore.

You walk straight and see a beach from the distance, you hurry your steps. Once you have arrived you look at the water to see you're a reflection, you aren't a toon anymore...you are human, like Delilah...thinking about her name made you angry, but you didn't bother.

You kept looking at yourself through the reflection, you didn't have your rainbow petals, you had hair, white hair. You also had two hairpins that looked like your face. You get away from where you were and look at your attire, it was a gardener's attire. You sighed, you look behind you and noticed some cabins not too far.

You hesitated, whether you should go or not. After some time of thinking you walk towards the biggest cabin, maybe there were more people there...

As you made your way to the cabin, you heard voices, multiple voices. You hesitated to knock but then got the courage and knocked.

You heard how all the voices quieted down, after that, you heard steps getting closer to the door, then you saw a tall man, with very pale skin who had blue hair and wore a military uniform open it.

He looked at you sternly and spoke.

"Who are you?

You froze whether to say your real name or just your nickname, without thinking you spoke.

"My name is Y/N"

The man moved aside and let you inside, you felt multiple eyes land on you, soon a man with yellow skin and a red attire speaks up.

"I'm guessing you were sent here aswell"

You nodded. After some time of introduction, you got to know everyone's name, Elliot, Noob, Guest 1337, Shedletsky, Builderman, Two Tim, Dusekkar...

Maybe you'll be entertained, maybe it won't take long until you wake up from this dream and be back home, you just want to hang out with Astro...

"Dandicus Dancifer?"

You heard a voice say your name, your FULL name, you snapped your head towards the voice it was Chance, he was wearing a fedora, a black suit with a black tie, and sunglasses with headphones?

You glare at him, then look at your shirt, you had your name tag on the shirt, your full name, this made you angry.

"Don't call me that, just call me Y/N"

Chance smirked he was gonna ask you again but then everything around you went black again. Once you opened your eyes, you were in some sort of park...what was going on???

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Stats

Stamina: 200

Abilities

Passive:

☆Showtime☆

A light will shine above them every time they finish a generator alone and this gives them a small speed boost.

○Active○

They can make a tulip grow from the ground, once the tulip opens it will reveal an item, bloxy cola, medkit or a slice of pizza, has a cooldown of 50 seconds.

□Active□

They can make petals fall from the sky making them get in the way of the killer to distract them and make a run, has a cooldown of 60.

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Ending note: RAHHHH IM ALIVE I was just sick the past few days and Dandys world was crawling back into my life, and I was busy playing dead rails a few times to see what was new anyways I'm gonna make this a fanfic :)

Also I am gonna do request people had sent me but they may take time so sry 😞

[tojiscrack]

𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋: 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑

summary: 13.6k words — you and your friends have returned from a vacation trip in italy! but it’s now time to go back to school and kick start your junior year of high school, but straight off the bat, megumi finds himself immersed in gossip he's usually never bothered by…

notes: welcome to the first ever main-plot-starting chapter of liar, liar! *cheers in the background* FINALLY! we’re here. isn’t it ironic how this time last year i was writing the first ever chapter of liar, liar, and now an entire year later, i’m kick starting the main plot? 😧 time flies… here's my halloween gift to you all! (it's easily my most favourite holiday EVER). and it's also been a week since my birthday, ty for the wishes, kind messages, dm's, asks, tips, etc!! now enjoy this chapter <3

tw: swearing, gossip, mention of violence, threats, and that’s it lmao

i do not own any of the characters of jjk, i only own the character of y/n and her mother. the other characters belong to gege akutami.

previous chapter :)

next chapter :)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

september 2019 - junior year

"everyone open theirs at the same time, got it?"

"but mine's got tape on it!"

"shut up, yuji."

"i already opened mine."

you dived across the table to snatch the paper out of megumi's hands, throwing him a look of irritation because of how he'd spoiled the entire thing. it only irked you further when he had the audacity to fix you with a glare himself.

"you just couldn't help yourself, could you?" you snapped, placing his timetable face down on the table, refraining from looking at it before he could despite the devil on your left shoulder whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

you gave in and flipped the sheet over. he ruined the order of things anyway, what was the point of adhering to the rules he never listened to to begin with?

"megumi!" you gasped, feeling enraged as you stared down at his timetable.

out of the nine classes you had, pre-calculus was the only one you shared with megumi. to your disbelief, you didn't even share homeroom, so the only other chances to see him were during study hall, break, and lunch, which felt far too short to make up for the overwhelming imbalance.

it didn't make sense, now that you analysed it further. with all the classes available, how was it that pre-calc was the only one you had in common? you felt a nagging frustration, trying to wrap your head around the fact that your paths would now cross so little this year despite the fact that you used to be attached to the hip before. every other subject offered countless opportunities to stick together, yet here you were, navigating a maze of schedules that kept you apart.

you caught yuji and nobara in your peripheral vision, both comparing their own timetables and bickering simultaneously.

megumi was a genius, extremely academically gifted, especially in stem. when it came to any branch of math, the kid aced every exam effortlessly.

and you weren't the worst at it, some would argue..?

the more you thought about it, the more bewildered you became — how could you end up sharing the one class that exposed all your weaknesses, the same one that he excelled in?

he flinched when your voice suddenly rose once more:

"you're taking ap stats?" you demanded, only just realising that he had one extra lesson than you, yuji, and nobara. it was at the very top of the table, labelled 'period 0'.

"don't give him an opportunity to act more pompous than he already is," scoffed nobara, looking uninterested. you did not comment on how she still peeked over the sheet when she thought you weren't looking.

"wow," yuji began, looking pleasantly in awe at megumi's hefty schedule. he leaned back in his seat, careful not to pull himself too far back in the event that he might fall off. you secretly wished that he would, if only to stifle your current shock. "so you'll start the day earlier... won't you be exhausted when we get to football practice?"

that was a good question. since coach yaga had stubbornly given both megumi and yuji spots on the school's football team, it had since been announced that practice would take place every day after school unless otherwise mentioned. with megumi's mornings starting earlier than the rest of you, and his days finishing later, he was bound to be torn down with exhaustion. although he acted like a robot all the time (eat, sleep, make a rude comment about you, repeat) he was still a human who needed rest. more school meant more social interaction. more social interaction meant a drained megumi. things would only go south from there.

he shrugged at the question.

"i'll be fine," he answered, unbothered.

you disagreed. "you'll die —"

"— revive me with your mermaid abilities then —"

you hoped you pinched him hard enough to bruise.

"wait," you said, halting your attack on him with a slow frown. he took the opportunity to rip your hands off his ribs and shuffled away from you. you ignored him, sliding down to sit hip-to-hip with him. "if you do ap stats in the morning, we can't walk to school together."

for the nth time that day, megumi snatched back his timetable from you.

"good luck," he said, eyes half-lidded with that ever-present air of indifference. "you cross the road like you have nine lives."

"you basically just told her that you wouldn't care if she died," yuji intervened, quick to jump to your defence despite the many times you would argue with him, too.

you glanced at him, eyes naturally drifting down to the obvious tan line on his neck from the vacation the four of you had attended with your family in the summer.

nobara scoffed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before pointing, accusatory, at megumi. "this is what happens when you hype him up," said nobara, her finger jabbed at him with enough aggression, any outsider would probably assume that he'd committed blasphemy — you liked to think he had.

"i'm surrounded by idiots," you thought you heard him mutter, his voice low enough to almost go unheard, though the faint tightening of his jaw gave him away.

waving his timetable at him, you unknowingly creased the smooth sheet. "speak up, porcupine."

"do you hate it when he mumbles, mother gothel?" said yuji, randomly turning on you instead.

your head might have had a fifty-fifty chance of snapping right off your neck with how fast you'd turned it to face yuji with a glare. of all the things he could have thrown at you, why did he pick a tangled reference, one that barely bit at your core?

"first of all, what the hell?" you responded, visibly and audibly startled. "secondly, you were supposed to be on my side —"

"yeah i know," he replied, breaking out of his character to speak to you in that usual, gentle and low voice of his, the one you were much familiar with, "but i just remembered that megumi might leave me behind after football practice, so i can't take any chances."

"you're a traitor!"

"it's every man for himself!"

to no one's surprise (except for yuji's), nobara, seizing the moment you had created, sent his head crashing forwards against the table. she'd apparently been waiting for the perfect opportunity for it, and you had handed it to her on a silver platter.

"y/n, swap," she said, sliding her timetable down and waiting for you to make the exchange, barely registering the groan of pain and annoyance yuji had followed her demand with.

you shrugged and complied, exchanging yours for hers with pursed lips.

as you scanned nobara's timetable, you found yourself pouting less, pleased. half of your classes aligned perfectly with hers, from pre-calc to english — even p.e and homeroom, matched. the thought of surviving junior year alongside nobara was a hopeful silver lining. leaving megumi behind wouldn't be too bad, you noted in your had, glancing at his unnecessary scowl.

maybe this was done for a reason. if you spent too much time with him, the grumpy attitude would probably become contagious and you'd be the unfortunate one to catch it.

you watched him glare at nothing.

yeah, you definitely didn't want to become that.

"but we all have gojo at some point, right?" said nobara, her voice drawing your mind away from the undiagnosed disease your mind had planted megumi with.

you lined each of your timetables at the centre of the white, circular table, flicking yuji's head away to create more room for it. he lifted himself back up, scowling when you flicked at his hands next.

"we're all in different classes with him," you commented idly, tilting yuji's timetable a little further to read it more accurately.

"oh, you and i have physics with him together," you informed him, content and satisfied.

"hmph," yuji grunted, rubbing his forehead and throwing dirty looks at nobara from the side. despite this, however, you could see the way his ears had straightened up at your comment, also seemingly pleased with the shared class — it reminded you off the ash-blonde puppy you had seen last year, when you were looking for totalityfor megumi's birthday.

"i wanted ieiri," said megumi, taking his timetable back and glancing down at it, then to yuji's, and back again, seemingly making a comparison in his head.

"we all have her for chem," said nobara, leaning the upper half of her body over the table to glance over his sheet. "don't you?"

"yeah," he confirmed, sounding displeased. "and satoru for every other science. ap bio first period — no one needs to hear his voice that early in the morning."

yuji beamed, taking his paper away from the line of your timetables you'd created with it and shoving it down towards megumi's side of the table.

"don't worry megumi!" he'd said, his pearly white teeth showcased as he grinned. "we have ap biology together!"

megumi's eyes slowly shifted from yuji's overly enthusiastic face to his timetable, and then back again, completely unamused. his expression didn't change, and no words were exchanged as he remained deadpanned, yuji patiently awaiting his response; the excited sparkle in his eye dimming as each second went by in silence.

megumi blinked twice, offering a dry, "great. just what i needed."

yuji took that personally.

"hey —"

"gojo might be incredibly annoying," said nobara, cutting through yuji without a care in the world; she was frowning down at her own timetable, brows furrowed, "but i've never failed a class of his. ever." she looked up at you all with a grim expression over her face. "don't tell him i said that."

"you've got a point," you added thoughtfully. "you think he pulled a couple strings to have us in his classes this year?"

"oh for sure," said nobara, her response quick and short. "we have — what — over twenty different science teachers in the whole school and somehow every year without fail we're in his classes? tell me that's a coincidence."

as your friends discussed the things that satoru must have done in order to have each and every one of you in his classes this year, you stared down at your timetable, eyes glued down as something suddenly hit you in your mind.

you were now going to be lonely in performing arts due to the fact that nobara had switched majors. her electives were now filled with fashion design courses, her dream ever since the end of sophomore year, and you were glad she had finally come to pick something she found genuine joy in, but it still stung a little.

you sighed, almost feeling silly for missing something so trivial, but the thought of no longer having those shared moments with her in drama class left a hollow ache. it wasn't as if she hadn't told you this would happen during your vacation in the summer, yet the reality was harder to digest than you had initially anticipated.

"fashion design," you stated, as yuji and megumi found themselves immersed in a pointless argument about satoru and his questionable teaching methods. "i think mai was saying something about that the other day."

"yeah," said nobara, her voice suddenly gloomy as she deflated in her seat, eyes half-lidded and lips in a pout. "there's a workshop in the first class. the seniors are helping us."

a small, amused smirk tugged at the corner of your lips as she sulked in her seat. her exaggerated pout and half-lidded eyes made it impossible not to find the whole situation a bit funny. you rested your chin on your hand, observing the way she dragged her finger absentmindedly across the table's surface, a clear sign of how unenthusiastic she was about the whole thing.

nobara's disdain for her was no secret — mai, with her sharp tongue and competitive attitude, grated on nobara's nerves like nails on a chalkboard. they'd crossed paths during seventh grade, and from that point on, nobara had made it clear she had no interest in mai's condescending remarks or constant need to outshine everyone, especially in the fashion design world. it didn't help that they were often compared to each other when shopping, fuelling the unspoken rivalry between them.

"y'know, she's not that bad," you commented thoughtfully. you had also grown to like mai a bit better throughout the years.

megumi thought it was appropriate to intervene and add his own unwanted input (during the middle of his stupid back and forth with yuji, too).

"you're only saying that 'cause she's your blackmail partner," he'd said, furrowing his brows at you with a look of obvious impatience.

you did not even turn your head to face him when you responded.

"it's not blackmail," you countered slowly, as nobara raised her brows at you expectantly. "it's... making someone do something... by using... pieces of information... as... leverage!"

"that's literally the definition of blackmail —"

"shut up," you smiled politely.

"megumi!" yuji interrupted, shoving his phone in megumi's face with such enthusiasm, you would have thought he just found out that he was the chosen one at camp rock. "look!" he shook his phone aggressively. "brazil likes tan lines! no you have to look, megumi! it says they associate it with beach culture!"

megumi grimaced at the screen, his nostrils flaring as he slapped yuji's hand away.

"yeah, 'cause nothing says 'beach culture' like looking like a poorly toasted sandwich," he retorted, scowling when someone on the other table had shot him a sharp look.

you laughed, met with the sight of yuji in a defensive stance, eyes wide and brows furrowed at the dark haired boy sitting next to you. he was pointing at himself, at the two shades of skin on his neck, his fist clenched which only emphasised the veins running up his hand.

"you keep saying that like i didn't wear sunscreen, but i did!" he snapped, drawing the attention of the people passing by your table. megumi pinched the bridge of his nose as yuji went on, uncaring of the fact that almost every eye in the cafeteria was drawn to the four of you, courtesy of yuji and his unnecessarily loud speech. "i wore the kids one, but it's still sunscreen!"

"what brand?" asked nobara.

"nivea!"

"didn't they run tests for that one and find that it's actually a leading cause for skin cancer in its consumers?" you said, watching his face comically pale as he glanced down at his own hands, a lot darker than what they used to be like before the trip to italy.

yuji's brows knitted together, and the corner of his mouth twitched as if struggling to maintain composure, but the fear creeping into his wide eyes betrayed him. you could see the panic in the way he darted glances between his hands, his arms, and even under the table where his legs were, as though expecting to see something awful already happening.

nobara had taken the opportunity to scare him a little further, making up random statistics about non-existent kids who had reached critical condition due to the sheer amount of the product they'd used, and as she continued, his expression grew more strained, the color slowly draining from his cheeks, leaving him looking almost as pale as the white cast left behind the sunscreen he'd used.

your phone vibrated on the table, the screen lighting up with a text notification. you pressed the button to read it properly.

coffee-hose victim: Check if final pay-check was received

mandy.

you'd check later. you were in no rush, you decided, as you stared at the message briefly, feeling a dull sense of finality wash over you.

both you and megumi had been made redundant after the café shut down over the summer — an abrupt closure that neither of you had seen coming. mandy, your old manager, had been sorting out the final payments for the staff, promising to get things wrapped up even after the little shop was cleared out. now that everything was nearly done, you'd finally be able to delete her number from your phone, erasing the last trace of that chaotic job, of her.

but it also meant finding new jobs, and you refused to work without megumi by your side.

"we need to apply for jobs this week," you told him, showing him your home-screen that had mandy's notification banner at the very top. his eyes followed each word smoothly before looking back up to meet your gaze. "probably not hospitality ever again."

"i'd work at miss B's if she ever let us," said megumi, as you placed your phone back down and silently nodded in agreement. "i like her."

"mind saying that again?" you grinned, lifting it back up and having it hover near his mouth that had been set in a straight line the second he saw your lip curl. "i want to make it my ringtone."

"shut up," he snapped, slapping your wrist away quite like he had done with yuji not even five minutes ago. you laughed but complied anyway. having megumi's voice as a ringtone would make it so that you would never actually pick up the calls. he frowned at you. "come over to mine and we'll apply then."

you threw him a sideways look. "no, you come over to mine."

he furrowed his brows at you.

"what difference does it make?" he asked, his eyes critiquing your every move. nothing out of the ordinary.

you sighed loudly; someone might have assumed you were in the middle of a chore.

"if i see toji, i'm going to be tempted to make fun of him. i'll get distracted," you explained, shaking your head at your friend as though it had been the most easiest thing, and he had failed to understand. "top of the class and yet you're not the exactly the brightest crayon in the box, are you?"

"shut up," he repeated for the second time in the very same minute.

nobara turned her head slowly, deliberately, her sharp eyes narrowing as they landed on megumi. there was a brief, almost theatrical pause before her lips curled slightly at the corners, (the way they did when she was about to say something cutting) as the dim light of the cafeteria above you all caught the sharp angle of her cheekbones.

"megumi, i can not argue with idiot number one," she began, lifting her chin to gesture at a pale yuji, "when you, idiot number two, keep telling someone to shut up. how about you shut up for a change, huh?"

megumi narrowed his eyes at her. "i'm the only one out of the four of us that only speaks when spoken to."

she gawked at him. "you calling us chatterboxes?"

"i'm saying that when either of your mouths open, the stuff that comes out of it is never relevant nor necessary."

the three of you sat in silence, each watching him with different expressions on your faces.

and megumi felt the need to clarify:

"none of your statements are of any substance —"

"we get it!" snapped nobara, her gaze cutting and sharp. she took enough care to kick him beneath the table, which only began the onslaught of physical attacks, one you joined in for the sole purpose of bullying megumi. you thought he deserved it this time.

as the assault continued, something clicked, and you pulled back from the friendly fire. watching megumi's face — strained and faintly exasperated — you remembered something nobara had mentioned weeks ago about the family's international dojo business, which was the zenin's main source of income and how they were so incredibly rich.

it was easy to forget sometimes; the quiet, slightly reserved megumi you knew now didn't quite fit the image of someone being groomed to run an international dojo and martial arts empire, but as he braced himself for nobara's next jab, you couldn't shake the thought: he was taking business classes, which only further supported your idea, and for a moment, you considered the irony of seeing him here, bickering with you all instead of learning the ropes of the large business awaiting him.

"hey," you said, tapping his shoulder and flinching when he turned to look down at you so suddenly.

"what?" he snapped, but only after swiping nobara's timetable off the table and onto the floor when she kicked him on his funny-bone. he was blinking hard at you, as though trying to clear his vision of the black spots contaminating his sight.

"oh excuse me for wanting to help mr dominant-alpha-wolf out," you shot back, hands raised mockingly. when he scowled at you and patiently (yet reluctantly) waited for you to continue, you went on. "talking about applying for jobs, why don't you just get some business experience at ten shadows?"

the zenin clan's dojo, ten shadows, specialised in jujutsu — a tradition they shared with the gojo's and, of course, the kamo clan too. it was where uncle ogi spent most of his time in, and where toji spent none of his time in.

megumi didn't seem to like that idea, regarding you with furrowed brows and a scrunched nose.

"so i can spend all day with uncle ogi?" he retorted, and despite your initial idea still standing tall in your mind, you had to silently admit to yourself that he raised a good point. uncle ogi was funny when he was angry (which tended to be ninety-nine percent of the time) but you could only take so much of that in one day. knowing him, he'd probably force you to work nightshifts with no breaks. "no thanks," megumi voiced, unimpressed with the suggestion.

"why don't you just lie on your application forms and stuff?" yuji suggested, his mouth in a straight line. it seemed that he had not got over the sunscreen scare just yet. "i did."

"you lied about working at ten shadows?" you asked, brows raised and eyes wide. "that's an international dojo. they go world-wide. global. your employers will find out."

yuji shook his head, raising his hand to wave it at you dismissively. "no, not there," he scoffed, smiling widely. "what do you think i am, huh? stupid?"

no one said anything; he sat up defensively.

"hey —"

"so what place did you lie about then?" nobara cut through him, literally pulling him out of his stance by his elbow.

he shrugged her off with a scowl, but answered nonetheless.

"gojo said i could say i worked at his family's pharmacy."

everyone around the table went still, eyes widening as they processed what yuji had just casually revealed. megumi blinked, caught off guard, while you tilted your head, brows raised at his unexpected response. it was only nobara, however, who looked thoroughly impressed, her lips curling as she nudged him with a newfound admiration and yuji, oblivious to the stir he'd just caused, seemed to enjoy the brief, astonished silence hanging over the table.

"it's cool, right?" he voiced loudly, grinning. "he said i should write that i worked at one of his biotechnology firms, but if the interviewer asked me questions about it, i'd never know how to answer 'em."

megumi shot him a look.

"what do you know about pharmacies?" he demanded, watching yuji shrug confidently.

"you gotta answer some calls, make requests. er... stock up on the medicine and stuff," he mumbled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and nodding. it looked like he was actually thinking hard about it. "deal with old ladies... and old men... er... yeah!"

"i'm putting that on my application too, then," said nobara, nodding. she made eye contact with a stoic megumi. "and you should too. only, with your family's business."

"no," the dark-haired boy responded, glowering at the three of you. "it's not genuine."

"oh here we go again," you sighed, rolling your eyes.

it had been the same situation two years ago with his easy position on the football team, when yaga offered him a vacant spot without the requirement of turning up to try-outs. megumi truly believed that if the offer was given solely to him, it was disingenuous and unfair, therefore accepting what was rightfully presented would also be disingenuous and unfair.

lying on an application form with security knowing that his family would definitely vouch for him if asked was where he drew the line.

"i'm not the serial liar here," he reminded you all, purposefully meeting your gaze to prove his point; you could have murdered him right there.

"maybe not, but you are the porcupine-hedgehog-sea-urchin breed here though —"

"you'dknow all about sea urchins, mermai—"

he left school that day with a small bump on the side of his head and a lesson still unlearned: do not mention the mermaid incident of two-thousand and eleven.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・��.・゜✭・.・

the hallway stretched ahead, brightly lit by fluorescent lights overhead that reflected off pale, polished floors. blue lockers lined either side, their surfaces a mix of chipped paint and stickers left from previous years, giving a lived-in look to the corridor's otherwise sterile presentation.

as you and megumi walked past several groups of people — some leaning against lockers, others conversing on the floor — you nudged him on his side.

"where do you usually sit?" you asked him, turning a corner to enter the corridor with the descending stairs. the two of you walked down them with ease, careful not to trip over that one step at the very bottom that always managed to catch your undone laces and have you stack in front of everyone.

megumi lagged a step behind, and before you could question it, you felt a slight tug on your bag, shifting it side to side. as you neared his homeroom, the faint sound of your zipper sliding into place caught your attention — he'd just fastened it for you without a word.

when he came back to your side to match your pace, you grinned up at his scowling face.

"thank you, porcupine!" you said brightly.

he adjusted the strap of his schoolbag, simple and black, and grunted, his form of acknowledgement.

you nudged him again, this time with your hip. "you didn't answer my question."

he shot you a sharp look, as though warning you not to test his patience. it wasn't like you'd ever heeded the warning in all the years you'd known him for, and yet you were still living and breathing and walking, alive and well.

"shouldn't matter to you," he responded, but only when it had become clear that you were not going to budge on it. megumi continued to face ahead, watching his steps as he spoke. "we're not in the same class and you won't be allowed in."

"ah, but if my memory serves me correctly," you beamed, sliding in between several seniors who were blocking the hallway to get to his class, and he shadowed you, right by the back of your heels, "you said the exact same thing in kindergarten and then they changed my name in the register so i was in your class permanently."

"set my fate with that dumb decision."

"hey," you frowned, looking at him from over your shoulder and furrowing your brows, lips set in a straight line. "that's rude."

megumi didn't grace you with a response to that, only following in your footsteps as you managed to squeeze past the groups of people huddled in the middle of the narrow corridor.

"besides," you began, once the two of you were walking side-by-side again, "if that decision wasn't made, you'd have a boring life, porcupine."

as the two of you neared megumi's classroom, the energy of the hallway shifted — voices grew louder, students lingered in clumps near the door, waiting to slip in just before the bell rang. it did tend to annoy you when they'd stand in a huddle and make it difficult to walk properly, but you'd gotten used to it after the first couple of weeks starting high school for the first time.

the sharp lines of megumi's face settled into something halfway between annoyance and resignation, his brows pinched, and his jaw clenched slightly as though he were biting back a retort. he shot you a sidelong glance, and for a moment, a split second in time, his expression softened — if you didn't know him that well, you might have thought you imagined it — almost as if he were mulling over what you'd said before huffing quietly, that familiar scowl reappearing on his face as he straightened his posture, ready to brush you off as he always did.

"you don't believe me?" you questioned, amused.

"it'd be stupid of me to believe someone who has a criminal history of lying," he grumbled, eyes half-lidded as though the answer had been obvious enough for a five year old to guess. arguably, you thought the five year old version of him probably would have said the exact same line, word for word. he had been too grown to actually be a kid.

"lying is part of my major," you reminded him, brows raised. "that's why i'm always the lead in the plays."

megumi averted his gaze, grumpy. "my bad. i thought you threatened everyone for the role —"

"i'm not a delinquent like you," you told him, smiling, and when he made a move to pinch you on your side, you dramatically flattened yourself against the lockers."i'll yell for help!" you hurriedly warned him, eyes cautiously wide as you followed where his pale hand was left outstretched near you.

he narrowed his own at you, contemplating. you could see the cogs turning in his head, thinking, deciding. you helped him make his decision faster by parting your lips, a silent threat. wisely, he retracted his hand, walking to his classroom which was at the end of the corridor, not looking back to see if you would catch up to him.

you did, in fact, catch up to him, if only to prove your initial point:

"if you weren't friends with me, what would you keep yourself entertained with, huh?" you asked, slapping his bag. he threw you a dirty look despite the fact that the hit wasn't enough to even make him stumble. "your non-fiction books? oh, i know a great non-fiction joke for you!"

"leave me alone," said megumi, glowering. "isn't your class down there?"

he gestured to the other end of the corridor.

you ignored him.

"why can't you trust an atom?" you asked, and when he refused to answer, instead choosing to duck under miss zaid's oustretched arm to go inside his class, you answered anyway, halting by the door because she stepped in front of you. "because they make up everythi— oh hey miss zaid!"

the teacher in question took back her arm and folded it over her chest, leaning against the door frame to block your entrance. you looked around, over your shoulder and around the corridor, before looking back up at her and smiling.

"who are you standing guard for?" you asked brightly. "can i help?"

"you can," she nodded, jutting her chin in the direction of the end of the hall, her expression half amused and half firm. "by making your way to mrs jenkins's class."

you shook your head firmly.

"but mr gojo said i could stay here instead," you said, expression grave. satoru had said no such thing, but that didn't matter, not to you at least.

"okay," said miss zaid, letting out a long exhale through her nose. "and is mr gojo part of the student advisory?"

your eyes darted left and right, momentarily speechless.

"he owns the pharmacy down the block," you tried, smiling pleasantly.

"and what does that have to do with the school?"

"erm... the first aid stuff in the school —"

the more you blabbered, the more unconvinced she became. you raised your brows at her, stern and serious.

"but my timetable's changed," you informed her, watching as the crease between her brows began to deepen as you spoke. "yeah, it says i'm in this class now."

miss zaid stepped aside to let two other students through. you took the opportunity to try and follow in right after them, only to be stopped when she rapidly stood back in that defensive position again. you frowned — what were you, a danger to the class?

"does it say my name on your timetable?" she asked you, curious.

you nodded.

she extended her hand, making a come hither motion.

"show me your timetable," she'd said, and at that, you froze.

it had been a lie after all. you were hoping to gain entry without the necessary proof. it had, after all, worked last year.

you watched her brows unknit themselves, tilting her head at you expectantly.

you paused.

"miss i really like the colour of your hijab today —"

"go," she interrupted loudly, pointing at the room you were meant to be in, all the way on the other side of the country, "to class, y/n." she looked up and nodded. "hi, yuji — come inside."

you turned and looked over your shoulder. sure enough, yuji was right there, walking alongside junpei, a tall, skinny boy who you had met during middle school in one of yuji's classes. the two were close, and when neither you, megumi nor nobara wanted to watch the weird movies yuji was always invested in, junpei had always been his go-to.

junpei was also in your homeroom class with nobara.

"what're you doing here?" yuji asked you, nodding at junpei when he walked off in the direction you were meant to be going in.

"what am i—" you repeated with a scoff, looking around as though that had been the stupidest question ever asked. "this is my class!"

miss zaid sighed. "y/n," she uttered your name sternly.

"miss, i can knock her out and then carry her to her actual class," yuji offered seriously.

you turned slowly, fixing yuji with a look that could curdle milk, disgust etched across your face, brows pinched and lip curled as though you'd just been asked to eat a pile of socks.

without missing a beat, yuji assumed a playful but overly dramatic fighting stance, feet squared and fists up like he was in some action movie. he bounced lightly, eyes narrowing in mock seriousness as he sized you up. perhaps it would've been almost intimidating if he hadn't grinned halfway through, flashing his teeth in a way that revealed he was completely unserious, and only had you staring at him with that unmoving disgusted expression.

"i appreciate your efforts yuji, but that... won't be necessary," miss zaid added, stepping aside to let him go inside.

"you have a bunch of weirdos in your class," you told her, scowling at the top of his pink head as he ducked under her arm and waved enthusiastically at megumi, who was slouching in his seat at the back of the classroom. "that's why i'm not in it."

and before she could order you to leave again, you stood on your tiptoes and waved at your grumpy friend, blowing kisses and beaming at him.

"bye megumi elizabeth fushiguro!" you yelled, smiling from ear to ear, and bouncing on your toes excitedly. "i'll miss you megumi elizabeth! bye megumi! i love you megumi! i'll miss you megu—"

"all right, i think he heard you," miss zaid nodded, looking over her shoulder to be met with the sight of the dark-haired boy facing the board with such seriousness, it appeared as though the class had already started and he was listening attentively to the non-existent teacher. his eyes would dart back to meet yours, and each time they did, his gaze would harden and his scowl would deepen.

"did i tell you how much i'll miss you, megumi?" you added loudly.

"y/n, don't make me write you up and give you a detention," said miss zaid, watching as you waved a hand at her and walked off.

"all right, all right, i'm going," you grumbled, turning on your heel and strolling down the hallway.

as you moved farther away, miss zaid's voice echoed faintly behind you, catching you off guard as she questioned whether megumi's middle name was actually elizabeth, her tone somewhere between bemusement and scepticism.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

the boys' locker room was a space with rows of navy-blue metal lockers, their surfaces chipped and dented from years of use. megumi unlocked his and shoved his school pants inside, the overhead fluorescent lights casting a sharp, sterile glow over the room, bright enough to reflect off the scuffed tiled floor where several of his teammates were sitting, tying their shoelaces. other members of his team, including yuta, yuji, and toge, sat on the wooden benches that ran parallel to the lockers, worn and slightly uneven in places, each spot marked by countless cleats and gear bags left by players.

chad had been complaining about the faint smell of old sweat and disinfectant that clung to the air, mingling with the metallic scent of the lockers, and despite megumi not conversing with the rest, he silently agreed.

where the few hooks were attached along the walls (each draped with stray jerseys, hoodies, and extra uniforms) megumi glanced down at his own, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his lips. he would need to get a new one — he had outgrown the one he'd just got over the summer.

he didn't know whether he should be pleased or annoyed: perhaps both.

"yaga's gonna murder you if you don't have that game plan ready for today, todo," one of the guys — oliver martin, megumi realised — had said.

todo had been quick to retort:

"this was way more important!"

in the back corner where todo stood tall, a whiteboard was propped up with play diagrams still faintly visible from last practice, but the deep lining of blue marker that formed a surprisingly accurate drawing of nobuko takada (a japanese pop idol who todo had mentioned several times that he'd die for) took up the rest of the board.

he kicked a couple of duffel bags that slouched nearby, stuffed with tangled shin guards, socks, and forgotten water bottles, before speaking in that excessively loud voice of his.

"if any of you, except for my brother yuji, can give me your type of woman that's valid," he began, only warranting several groans and protests from every member in the room, "i'll come up with a game plan so you don't have to!"

kamo, who had been minding his own business up until now, slammed his locker door shut and stared up at the demanding team captain, eyes half-lidded.

"you did this last time and then tried to attack chad," he reminded him, and chad, who had been sitting on the bench slouched over, sat up and shook his head, disappointed.

"yeah, dude," he spoke breathily, visibly upset, "and that wasn't cool."

"YOUR TYPE ISN'T COOL —"

"relax," said kamo, which prompted everyone else to follow and agree.

todo's gaze snapped towards kamo, lingering a beat too long, his eyes narrowing in an expression that balanced somewhere between irritation and threat, his jaw clenching as he sized him up, lips pressing into a thin line, as though silently daring him to say more.

"what's your type then?" demanded todo, pointing at an unfazed kamo who simply raised a brow and turned away, seemingly uninterested in participating in this game todo enjoyed so much. "HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

kamo stared at him again, deadpanned. "sorry, didn't notice."

"every single one of us have said our type except for you, man," andre johnson added, momentarily shirtless just to speak before pulling his head through his blue jersey. "just say it."

"i actually wanna know what your type is," said yuji, interested. "i can't imagine you with anyone, kamo."

majority of the guys in the room collectively voiced their agreement. megumi silently agreed too — kamo never showed interest in anything other than his hobbies, like football. the hum of the vent overhead was steady as the low, animated chatter continued, todo waiting for an answer impatiently by the whiteboard.

"loner."

kamo placed one foot on the bench, bending down to tie his laces together. "liked you better when you were mute, toge," he said, though not unkindly.

"he likes a tall girl with a big ass, okay?" logan parker intervened, sighing audibly. "he told me, all right?"

kamo turned to logan, his expression deadpan, unimpressed by the sudden revelation. the lack of humour in his gaze spoke volumes, making it painfully obvious to megumi that kamo had never confided in logan about such a preference.

his straightforward nature, megumi had decided, left no room for such casual gossip, and it was hard to believe that he would ever engage in a conversation about his personal preferences with someone as prone to exaggeration as logan.

"is that true?" todo demanded almost immediately after logan had added his false input.

kamo tied his hair back, looking uncaring and tired. "no."

todo clenched his fists.

"your type can't be that bad," he said, looking around before his eyes landed on megumi, who was now sitting on the bench beside yuta, staring at nothing in particular. "bet it's not like fushiguro's — which is BORING,by the way!"

megumi looked up at the mention of his name and scowled.

everyone had immediately come to his defence, telling todo to 'cut it out' and to 'leave him alone', but it still didn't remove the absent sting he felt on the side of his head when todo had made an attempt to attack him (and had also been very nearly successful in doing so).

during freshman year of high school, when the football team had been formed and established, everyone was made to introduce themselves to each other, which was where the drama had begun. long story short: todo had asked for megumi's type in women, megumi answered unsatisfactorily ('i don't have a preference, so long as she's compassionate and has an unshakeable character') which resulted in a traumatic experience of attempted murder — as yuji had called it.

"todo, get over it!"

"yeah, dude, you literally pressured him for it!"

"it just wasn't cool, dude..."

"man, you a weirdo!"

"HIS TYPE IS BORING!" todo roared, throwing the marker he had in his hand somewhere behind himself. "NO IT'S STARTING TO PISS ME OFF! NO IT'S STARTING TO— I SHOULD —"

he rolled his sleeves up threateningly.

megumi furrowed his brows at him as everyone scrambled to stop the team captain from making a decision that would get him suspended from the school entirely.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH —"

"— TODO MAN —"

"— BRO CHILL —"

"— CALM DOWN —"

"stop, you're gonna make megumi sad!" yuji added fiercely, before extending an arm past both toge and yuta to grab his arm. todo had turned away, chest heaving and shoulders shaking as logan and chad patted his back as though trying to silence a wailing baby. "are you okay, megumi?"

the exaggerated, pouting look on yuji's face made megumi want to punch him.

"i'm fine," he grumbled, shrugging yuji's hand off of him, but yuji had remained persistent, forcefully gluing his palm on his front and deepening his look of pity. megumi glared down at his pesky hand.

"it's okay megumi," yuji sorrowfully informed him.

"i said i'm —"

"you don't have to be sad, megumi —"

megumi took his hand and twisted it; yuji yelped and snatched his hand back, frowning as he threw his grumpy friend a pained look.

"little harsh," yuta commented, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

megumi averted his gaze, half annoyed. "he deserved it."

when toge let out a small chuckle, megumi looked up at the scene before him, half-listening to todo's persistent questioning (he seemed to have got over megumi and his type), the chatter weaving through the room in an easy manner, almost as though megumi hadn't just been targeted for no apparent reason at all two seconds ago. his gaze drifted over to kamo, who, as usual, remained largely unfazed, his expression somewhere between calm and indifferent as todo's relentless interrogation continued.

watching them, megumi's mind wandered slightly — his teammates' voices ebbed and flowed, equal parts curiosity and exasperation filling the space. it was only towards the end of the conversation did megumi actually find something he believed he had mild interest in...

"what's it called when someone doesn't like anyone?" saidoliver, holding his helmet against his side, beneath his arm. "like, when a person just doesn't feel anything?"

"depression," megumi answered bluntly.

every head in the room turned to look at his, some were laughing and some looked unsurprised.

oliver furrowed his brows, disappointed. "dude."

"stop projecting, man."

"bro, you good?"

megumi ignored them, mentally cursing himself for participating in the stupid conversation to begin with. he silently reminded himself to never do so again. perhaps he would note it down somewhere when he got home.

"nah, i meant when like — y'know a guy or a girl — like when they've never liked someone. or had a crush," oliver continued, turning to kamo with a shrug. "maybe you're that. whatever the hell it's called."

"not good enough," todo shook his head, arms folded over his chest in another obvious attempt to look intimidating. "if all you PATHETIC excuses for men, EXCEPT MY BROTHER YUJI, won't give me a valid type right NOW —"

"i like someone," said kamo, pinching the bridge of his nose with an obvious scowl.

everyone froze, looking up at him as though the mere idea of kamo showing interest in anyone was foreign. megumi believed they all had a right to act shocked, not that it was any of their business to begin with.

because it wasn't.

and yet, even to him, it was surprising.

a few of the guys exchanged wide-eyed glances, eyebrows raised, and mouths slightly open, the disbelief clear in their expressions. even todo, typically unshakeable in his boldness, seemed momentarily thrown off balance, his stance faltering as he processed the unexpected confession. a hush seemed to settle over the group of boys, broken only by the quiet sound of kamo's gear as he slung it over his shoulder and moved towards the exit, leaving a wave of curiosity and shock in his wake.

"c'mon man, you can't just say something like that and then leave!" andre said, hurriedly collecting his own gear to follow the stoic boy out of the locker room.

"it's mai, isn't it?" said ethan miller, slamming his locker door shut and staring at the back of kamo's head.

yuji looked at megumi and then back up at ethan. "mai zenin?"

"there's only one mai in the entire school," said ethan, nodding. he called out to kamo again. "i saw you and her speaking like a week ago or somethin'."

kamo turned around, his back to the door as he furrowed his brows, seemingly offended by the accusation.

"no it's not —" he began, letting out a sigh of exhaustion before rolling his eyes. "it's not mai."

"give us SOMETHING, then, and i'll take it!" todo demanded, slamming his hand on the whiteboard with takada on it. uncoincidentally, it landed on her behind.

kamo considered the proposal for a moment, his eyes glancing over every face in the room, nearly all of whom seemed relieved at todo's statement, before he sighed again, muttering something under his breath.

"you know her pretty well," he said, glancing at yuji and then megumi. they barely had the time to register his response before he turned away, pulling open the door to leave. "and that's all you're getting out of me," he added calmly. "so don't bother trying for more."

he left without another word.

the entire room shifted their attention to megumi and yuji, eyes darting between the two as if expecting one of them to unravel kamo's cryptic hint. a few of the guys raised their eyebrows, curiosity and intrigue plastered across their faces. logan nudged chad with a knowing grin, while toge and yuta exchanged speculative glances.

megumi could feel their gazes like a weight, pressing him to acknowledge that he, along with yuji, might know the answer everyone was dying to hear.

he turned his head to face his friend: yuji simply blinked, apparently still wrapping his head around kamo's words. but megumi believed yuji had a better shot at guessing who the mystery girl was. yuji was, after all, a million times more social than him.

as the silence lingered, megumi found himself lost in thought, trying to recall any recent interaction that could hint at kamo's mystery interest. he sifted through memories, wondering if there had been any subtle clues he'd missed — any glances, moments, or lingering exchanges that might narrow it down. kamo's calm, almost detached nature made it hard to picture him in the throes of a crush, but megumi couldn't shake the curiosity that now gnawed at him.

he only knew two girls 'pretty well', and that was you and nobara, but he could not imagine either of you hanging off of kamo's arm. in fact, if anything, he imagined kamo hanging off of nobara's arm (which didn't make sense, seeing as that would be out of character of him). similarly, megumi couldn't imagine you willingly being held back by his arm, instead choosing to skip off into the distance which would surely annoy the serious, long-haired male.

but he was well aware of the fact that nobara and kamo had shared several classes together...

he could still feel everyone's gazes burning holes all over his face, and he scowled, unwilling to give anyone the satisfaction of entertaining the idea too openly.

but it seemed that the team captain did not happen to agree with this sentiment.

"right, new task!" todo called out, clapping his hands to draw everyone's attention away from an unwilling megumi and a confused yuji to himself instead. he had already rubbed out the takada drawing and had begun the game planning. megumi had not realised it until now. "FIND KAMO'S GIRL! and this time next week, we'll gather 'round and narrow it down!"

as everyone nodded and cheered, some making their way out of the room while others lingered and chatted, he called out to both yuji and megumi.

"BROTHER!" he bellowed, pointing at him with the blue marker. "i'm leaving it to you and fushiguro!"

a pause.

"mainly you because i don't trust fushiguro!"

yuji and megumi had already stood up by that point, and megumi's scowl had deepened. it wasn't as though he cared enough to be part of this operation anyway. it was something he'd most likely think about alone, where no one could put in their unintelligent claims and disrupt his wise way of thinking. what did todo know about that anyway?

he looks like a pineapple, megumi thought to himself as he watched him demand both himelf and yuji to deal with the stupid task. and he's about as smart as one too.

"UNDERSTAND?"

"yeah!"

"sure," megumi answered, but he hadn't been paying attention at all.

todo had left the changing room, followed by majority of the team. yuji was the only one left in the room with him.

"i think it's nobara," he said, placing his helmet on his head. "she's extra mean to him 'cause he acts like he knows everything. she hates guys like that."

"that... contradicts your point," said megumi, furrowing his brows.

"no, don't you know that girls act really mean to the guys they like?" yuji chuckled, shaking his head at him as if megumi had very little knowledge. it made the dark-haired boy want to attack his friend. "hey... maybe that's why all the girls on the cheer team are so mean to me! yeah!"

megumi did not remind him of the time yuji had accidentally flashed the cheer team, and that from then on, every member, including the substitutes, would be extra harsh towards him.

"yeah," he said, putting his own helmet on and following yuji out of the room. "that's the reason."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

exiting the theatre classroom, you caught sight of megumi waiting on one of the benches outside, still dressed in his football uniform, his untamed hair still findings ways to stand up on its own despite the fact that it must have been forced down during practice. you almost laughed out loud at the broad shoulder pads and the snug navy-blue jersey that made him look slightly out of place in the hallway, but it was the way his helmet balanced awkwardly on his lap as he stared down at it, clearly impatient, that had you grinning.

you couldn't help but laugh, your voice echoing lightly off the walls as you made your way towards him, amused by how tense he looked even off the field. he looked up at the sound, his eyes narrowing in mild annoyance as he rose to meet you, a faint crease forming between his brows.

"you look angry," you commented teasingly.

"shut up," he muttered, scowling as he lifted the helmet and carefully placed it over your head. it wobbled slightly, oversized and unsteady, making you nearly lose your balance when he gave it a firm pat on top — a solid thump, just hard enough to send a warning, though not enough to hurt.

"it's so uncomfortable," you said, as the two of you made your way to the school gates to leave. "how the hell do you football players wear this for hours on end?"

"with breaks," he answered, and you had to physically move your head upwards to actually be able to see his face, for the lines going over and under the front gap limited the scope of your vision. "you get used to it."

you hummed in response, looking over your shoulder and around the area with curiosity.

"where's yuji?" you asked casually.

"ran for his bus," said megumi, as the two of you had gone past the gates and onto the main road leading to your neighbourhood. "said he didn't wanna take the late one 'cause then he'd have to sit for most of it with todo."

"should've made him late so he'd have to take the late one," you tutted, nearly walking into a lamppost — it was megumi's quick actions that had saved you, tugging you away by your elbow.

"the hell's wrong with you?" he demanded harshly. "your vision isn't completely gone with that on. you're not blind."

"it takes a while to get used to!" you protested, rubbing the top of his helmet as though it were your own scalp. "you said so yourself!"

megumi's expression hardened, his brow furrowing as he shot you a look that seemed to question every life choice that led you to nearly walking into a lamppost. he didn't need to say a word; the look alone was enough to convey his frustration, his mouth set in a thin line as he continued to stare at you with a sort of weary patience that he seemed to reserve just for moments like this.

"stop acting drunk," he ordered, walking a step behind you now. it was as if he assumed that watching over you would prevent your free will from prevailing over his demands.

at some point during the walk home, the conversation had shifted from the limited vision with the helmet, to gossip you had heard during stage practice, to toji and the unethical ways he kept a steady income, to what his teammates were saying in the locker room earlier, something you found yourself quite fascinated with.

"i'd hate to be you, not gonna lie... but what would you have done if todo did attack you?" you asked him, drumming your fingers on the helmet which you still hadn't taken off despite how uncomfortable it felt wearing it. you turned your head (fully) to look at your own reflection in a car mirror by the crosswalk.

you thought you looked ridiculous.

you didn't care.

megumi placed a hand on the centre of his helmet and forced your head to face the front again.

"this is how you end up walking into lampposts," he lectured with a scowl, before placing his hand in the pocket of his shorts and answering your question. "i would've defended myself."

"against todo?" you gaped, stupefied. "no offence, but he'd crush you. he's — like — your dad of our generation."

"don't ever say that again," megumi had been quick to counter, and though you couldn't see it, you knew he was glaring down at you. despite the thick material of the helmet you were wearing, you felt the heat of his gaze, like lasers burning holes where they landed.

he did not like that comparison at all.

you apologised. "sorry. you're the only copy of your dad there is —"

"watch it."

"am i just not allowed to say anything then?" you snapped, your arms flailing about dramatically.

"it's a preference," megumi began, the tone of his voice sly in a way you were very much familiar with and did not like at all, "but i know you won't do it."

you raised a pointer finger defensively. "megumi, if i could see you right now —"

"— it's not that hard —"

"— and if i was as tall as you," you continued as though he hadn't interrupted, "i would head-butt you so bad, you'd wish todo was the one dealing with you."

as the two of you stepped up to the crosswalk, megumi reached out and firmly took hold of your hand, steering you with a purposeful grip so you'd follow his lead across the road. his hold was steady, guiding, yet the pointed glare he cast downwards made it clear he wasn't thrilled with the direction the conversation had taken. even as he glanced from you to the road ahead, his gaze lingered, sharp with irritation, and each time he looked back, it was as if he had been silently reminding you of the absurdity of comparing him to todo — or worse, his dad.

his hand stayed firmly around yours until you were safely on the other side of the street. he let go, only to hit you on the helmet again.

"ow!"

"shut up, that didn't hurt."

you ignored him.

"what happened next?" you queried as you tugged on his jersey and pointed at buttercup brew where miss B was waving at the two of you from behind the glass, entry doors.

you waved back, making sure megumi had too — he was much less enthusiastic, but it was still enough to please miss B, who went back to working, leaving the two of you to continue the short walk home.

megumi answered idly. "kamo said he likes someone."

your eyes widened, and if it hadn't been for his outstretched arm once again, you would have tripped over your own foot.

"WHAT?"

"for fu— be careful —"

"noritoshi kamo?" you gasped, walking alongside megumi in visible and audible shock.

the best way to describe noritoshi kamo, you decided, was a guy who had no care in the world for anything: he lost a shoe? he'd buy a new one. you lost his homework sheet you'd been copying from? he'd quickly make a new one. he lost a football game? the next one would be better.

noritoshi kamo was no optimist, but he was definitely not someone capable of romantic feelings for anyone.

or so you had thought...

"everyone just started guessing who," megumi added, frowning.

"and did they guess right?" you pressed, intrigued. "who is it?"

your dark-haired friend shrugged, which resulted in your shoulders deflating, immediately disappointed before he'd even said anything.

"that's the thing," megumi said, unbothered. "he didn't say anything about it."

"well that was anti-climactic," you mumbled, turning a corner and seeing both your houses in the distance.

the walk was nearly over, so you lifted the helmet off your head, shook your hair away from your face, and held it beneath your arm. you appreciated just how large your field of vision was now. the helmet had been pesky, hot, and annoying.

"and i'm out of gossip," you sighed, allowing the summer breeze to flow past your face, the air feeling nice against your skin. "wish nobara was here. she always has something to talk about."

"he said something in the end though. when todo forced him."

you were surprised your head hadn't popped right off your neck with how fast you'd turned it to look up and lock eyes with him. megumi needed to work on how he told and relayed stories — this was by far the worst one he'd ever done.

"well?" you prompted, stressed that the walk was shortening the closer you got to your houses.

"yuji and i know her pretty well," said megumi at last, brows furrowed as you handed him his helmet. when you raised a brow at him, visibly confused, he scowled. "his words, not mine."

the thought lingered, growing heavier as you replayed kamo's words in your mind: someone yuji and megumi know pretty well...

your brows knitted together as you tried to piece it together, replaying moments you'd seen kamo interact with people you that were close with both yuji and megumi. the issue here was that megumi's anti-social nature narrowed it down to two people:

you or nobara.

you knew with certainty it couldn't be you. you had had a fair few conversations with the male, but nothing that you could pick apart and decide that he had any interest in you. it was mostly just random, fun situations, like the time you had accidentally triggered malakai and requested kamo to support your statement that it hadn't been you, only to blame it on him (kamo) in the end.

that should make him dislike you, if anything. at the time, however, he didn't seem to care.

could nobara be the girl he liked?

that was something you'd have to ask her, though you highly doubted it. you knew her quite well, and no guy had caught her interest. at least, not at jujutsu high, where she mainly criticised the male gender and grew new icks every day that went by.

for the fun of it, you still asked megumi whether it could be possible that someone could have a crush on you.

his reaction, however, had you visibly startled.

he averted his gaze, his shoulders stiffening as though unsure of how to respond. you waited, but his silence lingered, and his eyes seemed to dart briefly to the ground, almost as if he'd been caught off guard by your question.

your brows raised as you bit back a smile. it was rare to see him hesitate like this — normally, he'd offer some blunt response or scowl and move on, but now, an uncharacteristic awkwardness settled over him, and it looked almost as if he was bracing himself, unable to fully meet your gaze.

"no," he finally settled on saying, walking you to your door as he always would when going home together.

"you hesitated," you informed him knowingly.

"i was thinking of how long it'd take for you to scare them off," megumi shot back, ringing the doorbell for you.

you watched him walk off the porch, hearing footsteps echo from behind the front door as you hummed, nodding.

"nice save," you told him, relishing in his scowl, the last thing you saw on his face before your mom had opened the door and allowed you in, closing it behind you after telling megumi to come inside — he had refused like the delinquent porcupine he was.

and as megumi made his way over to his own porch, he realised that for the first time ever, he couldn't help the feeling of relief after ending a conversation with you.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

bonus scene:

the helicopter incident of 2016...

"what the fuck?"

megumi staggered away from the three of you —yourself, yuji, and nobara — craning his neck in a desperate attempt to peer over his shoulder at his own backside. bewildered, he muttered to himself, trying to comprehend why his so-called friends had just collectively ambushed him, each having touched his bottom once before guffawing loudly. what had you all done to him?

he made his way to the back door (but not before throwing the three of you a menacing glare) using the reflection of the glass as a mirror.

he was left horrified at the sight of three different handprints made out of neon paint colours (bright yellow, vibrant pink, and an intense lime) on the most compromising part of his pants:

his ass.

"shit — look at his face," you gasped, chest heaving at his expression. "take a picture with — catch it! — my phone."

you tossed your phone to nobara, who, unlike you and yuji, had the least amount of paint coating her delicate hands. meanwhile megumi's had shot to cover his behind as he whipped around, fixing the three of you with a glare so fierce, it might have turned a lesser person to stone.

flash! flash! flash!

nobara had captured his expressions, postures, and stances before he had a chance to compose himself into something less revealing.

as you took your phone out of nobara's hands, your attention had been drawn to a growing commotion behind you, distant shouts and laughter cutting through the playful chaos around megumi. you tossed a quick, amused glance back at nobara and yuji, both of whom were doubled over in laughter, still entirely focused on your collective attack on megumi, before aiming the lens on your phone not at your porcupine's flustered face, but at the source of the noise in the distance, recording just in time to capture a particularly raucous burst of laughter that had echoed around the backyard.

toji, towering and muscular, stood with his arms flat against his sides, looking both impatient and exasperated as satoru (in front of him) and suguru (behind him) launched paint-filled balloons at him. each balloon splattered bright colours across his chest, only to be rebuffed by his broad, muscular torso in what seemed like a defiant bounce.

splashes of paint exploded across his 'man-tits,' as satoru had so eloquently called them, left bright patches on his shirt as he glared at the two childish men surrounding him, chest heaving and fists clenched.

"shit!"satoru took several steps back, looking down at his own chest where the balloon he'd thrown at toji had bounced back at himself instead, splattering his white shirt with bright blue. he looked up at suguru, eyes wide behind his glasses. "that one came from his right titty —"

suguru laughed, throwing a paint balloon up in the air, catching it, and then launching it at the oddly-silent toji.

only for it to bounce back, just as expected. he had stepped aside just in time. "and that one came from his left breast —"

the veins running up toji's hands and arms grew more prominent as the two continued.

"HA!" satoru pointed at his chest. "toji? more like titty —"

suguru shook his head with a sigh. "satoru, don't be childish," he said, and his best friend actually paused, brows raised in surprise. that was before suguru had clarified: "he's big titty toji —"

SPLAT!

when satoru swung his arm around in a dramatic manner while laughing, he had accidentally released another paint ballon straight at the ticking time bomb that was toji fushiguro.

he only laughed harder at that.

"look guys!" he called out to the rest of you. you zoomed in on the scene — satoru's arms were outstretched, presenting toji as if he was some special, endangered animal, rare and one-of-a-kind. "it's toji titty-guro—"

without warning, toji's arms shot out, his hands seizing both satoru and suguru by the collars of their shirts with effortless strength. you couldn't see his face, so you were unsure of whether he had been grinning, or neutral, or angry, etc, but you watched in both horror and amusement as he began to spin, dragging them with him in a rapid, dizzying circle.

every other commotion around the backyard had stopped, everyone turning to look at the odd scene, equal parts confused and terrified.

toji's feet dug into the ground, kicking up small clouds of dust, while satoru and suguru both flailed helplessly at his sides, their limbs whipping outwards as if they were rag dolls caught in a whirlwind.

a whirlwind...

"it's a tornado!" you yelled, looking around and trying hard to keep your phone steady, but the scene was so funny, your hands were shaking with the effort.

toji's powerful grip and force turned their attempts to wriggle free into nothing more than frantic gestures, their faces a mix of shock and a hint of terror as they were spun around faster and faster...

you zoomed out to capture mamaguro at the back, watching the scene with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows.

"are you gonna stop your... husband...?" you heard your mom question, sounding completely weirded out. and honestly — who could blame her?

what the hell was happening in the fushiguros' backyard?

"i... would," mamaguro muttered, carefully watching the scene continue to unfold before her, getting worse as time went on, "but... how?"

there was no opening for her to enter, you noticed. if she tried, she'd get caught up in the spinning andget severely injured too...

you couldn't believe what was happening before your eyes. you didn't know what was happening before your eyes. you didn't think you'd ever know what was happening before your eyes.

from your peripheral vision, you could see a stick of yellow just lingering awkwardly, and when you turned your head to glance at it, you nearly face palmed when you realised it was your father in his banana body-suit outfit. the only thing visible about him was the gap where his face rested. everything else, from his head, to his figure, to his shoulders, to his thighs, and to the majority of his legs, were all concealed by the thick material.

"that looks fun!" he commented brightly, a dopy smile over his face. he made an attempt to waddle over to the unnatural disaster. "i'm gonna join —"

"no, no," your mom was quick to hold him back by his banana-shaped body. she ushered him to the side, shaking her head violently. "no, honey, no. just... you're not going over there."

surprisingly, despite several minutes having gone by, the disaster was still going. in fact, everyone had believed it to be finished when toji had stopped (revealing the other dishevelled men stumbling over their own footsteps) only for the man to spin himself around only and charge at the duo again.

violently.

"round two!" you called out, startled. "round two or — or — er — round one point five since it never... it never finished, technically — oh my god —"

you focused your camera around the backyard, spotting mai climbing over the fence. her eyes met your phone, and she disappeared behind the wall without a second thought.

wise, you thought to yourself, wondering if mimiko and nanako had done the same, for despite several pans of the large area, your camera could not seem to find them.

a bellow erupted across the scene, stopping everything and everyone cold in their tracks. you turned, a jolt running down your spine at the sight of ogi and the sound of his voice thundering through the air — you fumbled to stop your recording in a panic, heart pounding.

a wave of silence blanketed the chaos.

toji froze mid-spin, his arms still outstretched, while satoru and suguru, dishevelled and breathless, stared up from the ground, shock and trauma wiping away their usual confidence. megumi, still clutching his rear, went pale, his expression stiffening as he shrank further into his hiding place. your dad, in his ridiculous banana costume, managed a sheepish, guilty smile, while mamaguro blinked, bewildered, glancing between her husband and the mess of people sprawled about. tsumiki giggled softly in the corner, the only one unfazed, her amusement uncontained. in the abrupt stillness, ogi's glare was sharp enough to cut through steel, as if daring anyone to make the next move.

"WHAT," he demanded, voice booming, "IS GOING ON HERE?"

there was only silence that followed his question as he slowly entered the backyard, paint and balloons all over the grass and fences, a mess.

"AN EVENT ORGANISED TO ENCOURAGE NORMALCY, AND THIS FAMILY CAN'T EVEN DO THAT!"

his eyes, cold and sharp, darted to megumi, whose back was flat against the fence.

"THE VERY PROGENY OF THE ZENIN CLAN — WITH RAINBOW HANDPRINTS ON HIS GODDAMN ASS!"

megumi's cheeks burned as he scowled. it didn't help that yuji and nobara were still holding back their laughter too.

"AND YOU!" ogi turned to a normal (now?) toji, looking him up and down with such disgust, you'd think he were staring at a homicide scene. it might have actually been one, to be fair. "I CANT EVEN SAY THAT YOU'RE PART OF MY BLOODLINE! WHAT WAS THIS, A RE-ENACTMENT OF KAMIKAZE?"

toji scoffed, throwing satoru a glare. "he was the pilot —"

satoru stood up almost immediately. "you were the helicopter —"

"SIT DOWN."

despite his obvious reluctance, satoru silently complied.

ogi took this as a sign to continue, glowering menacingly at the white-haired, dark-haired duo. now, literal partners in crime.

"WE GOT SPONGEBOB AND PATRICK OVER HERE, DOING GOD-KNOWS-WHAT. WHY IS YOUR HAIR A MESS AND WHY ARE YOUR GLASSES BROKEN?"

satoru reached up to take his glasses off, hanging in an odd, desperate position over the bridge of his nose, a pout on his face at the sight of the irreparable damage.

he glared at toji from over his shoulder. "HEY —"

"OI LEAVE HIM ALONE!" ogi was quick to add, irate. "IF YOU HADN'T BOTHERED HIM, MAYBE HE WOULDN'T HAVE MADE AN ATTEMPT TO ELIMINATE THE TWO OF YOU FROM EXISTENCE!"

he rubbed his hands over his wrinkled face, before starting at the two men again.

"NO, I'LL TELL YOU WHY THE BOTH OF YOU LOOK LIKE THIS, IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE BEHAVING LIKE MONKEYS — I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT GETO!" he added harshly, for suguru had an oddly deep hatred for the animal and whichever family it comes from, and had seemed particularly offended with ogi's comment. "I MEAN LOOK AT THE STATE OF YOU! YOU LOOK LIKE MAI'S FIRST GRADE ART PROJECT THAT I THREW IN THE TRASH —"

maki, who had been lingering at the back with your mom stepped forward despite your mom's silent actions not to.

"you threw that away?" she questioned, eyes narrowed behind her round, clear glasses. "she spent years attacking me for it —"

ogi's hardened expression had faltered slightly, a look of pain crossing his features. you were certain it was more about getting caught than the actual issue at hand.

"yeah, yeah, it was you that threw it," he mindlessly replied, before his jaw had clenched harder than before. "SPEAKING OF, WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR SISTER?"

maki sniffed, irritated. "i don't —"

"this has that luke kid written all over it," ogi interrupted, uncaring of maki. "GREAT! SO I'VE GOT A RUNAWAY BRIDE, AND TWEEDLE DEE AND TWEEDLE DUM ARE MISSING. PROBABLY AT THE ZOO ACTING LIKE THEIR FATHER — SHUT IT GETO."

he swivelled on the spot, his long hair whipping behind himself as his eyes zeroed in on your father, still in that banana costume of his.

"AND YOU — GET RID OF THAT RIDICULOUS COSTUME! THEY MIGHT WANNA EAT YOU NEXT — TRYNA JOIN THE HELICOPTER WITH HIS IDIOCY!"

your father frowned, but still made an attempt at trying to unzip himself. his arms, however, were much too short to go around the costume and reach the zipper.

"well it's kinda..." he murmured, bending his knees for a better angle, "stuck... i need some... help... here... honey?"

your mom turned away, drinking her lemonade with raised brows. "who's honey?"

uncle ogi had had enough. "G-GET BACK HERE AND TAKE HIS STUPID COSTUME OFF OF HIM!"

your mom turned back around, but her eyes were darting over the place as though ogi was speaking to anyone but her.

"IT'S YOUR CARELESS BEHAVIOUR THAT'S MADE HIM BELIEVE IT'S OKAY TO WEAR STUFF LIKE THAT. I'M GETTING A HEATSTROKE JUST LOOKING AT HIM!"

she glanced at her husband, watching him fall backwards due to his failed attempt at bending his knees to reach his own zipper.

she muttered under her breath: "you'd think that men would have a mind of their own..."

"YOU'RE NOT OFF THE HOOK EITHER TSUMIKI, I EXPECTED MORE FROM YOU. LAUGHING — ENCOURAGING THIS BEHAVIOUR?" he started, typically unusual, for tsumiki was never the one in trouble. today was full of surprises. he raised an accusatory pointer finger at her. "YOU WANNA BE A MOTHER SOMEDAY? YOU BETTER HOPE THEY DON'T TURN OUT LIKE THESE IDIOTS."

his eyes darted over you all in one massive circle, his mouth in a straight line.

"THIS FAMILY'S A DISGRACE TO THE ZENIN NAME —"

"not even a zenin," satoru grumbled to himself.

"yeah, neither am i," suguru agreed, blowing his bangs away from his face.

"i'm literally a l/n," you mumbled to yourself.

toji dusted himself off. "my son's not a zenin."

"THE POINT IS... YOU'VE SUMMONED THE WHOLE OF BIKINI BOTTOM TO RECORD US!" uncle ogi roared, pointing at the neighbours peeking over the fences with their phones at hand. you couldn't bring it in yourself to blame them. if you had seen the same scene happen elsewhere, you would have recorded it too.

you had recorded it, not that uncle ogi needed to know that...

"WHY ARE WE LETTING PEASANTS MAKE A LAUGHING STOCK OUT OF US?" he demanded loudly. he aggressively turned to mr smith, a white, bald man from just down the block. "OI YOU, GET RID OF THAT CAMERA BEFORE I GIVE YOU A REASON TO TAKE ME TO COURT!"

he turned to mamaguro, eyes widening at the sight of her.

"i nearly forgot about you..." he began, before taking everyone by surprise by the sheer volume of his voice, as though he hadn't been speaking that way for the past five minutes. "YOU WERE THE BRAINS BEHIND THIS ALL. WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT THIS FAMILY COULD DO ANY EVENT WITHIN THE REALM OF HOW NORMAL OR MESSY IT SHOULD BE? THAT THEY WOULDN'T PUT THEIR STUPID TOES OUT OF LINE? THAT THEY'D BE SENSIBLE —"

"now hang on a minute," said mamaguro, her kind voice shaky, "this is not my fault! my colleague recommended a —"

"WHAT DOES YOUR COLLEAGUE KNOW ABOUT THIS FAMILY?" ogi snapped harshly. "NO BETTER THAN YOU, CLEARLY!"

he let out a deep exhale, but the tension in his temple and shoulders remained as he slowly turned around to face you. you were stunned in place, unmoving, unsmiling, unsure of what to do with yourself, in fact.

you only carefully made sure the camera was out of his sight, hidden in your back pocket where he'd have no clue that you had been recording earlier.

"AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE-TIME, THIS ONE WASN'T INVOLVED IN ANY OF IT!"

you nodded proudly, mimicking his words silently behind him, pointing at satoru, pointing at suguru, even pointing at your mom.

"DIDNT EVEN START IT!" he continued loudly.

for this one, you specifically made sure to mouth the words to megumi, who you could tell, just from his cruel facial expressions, wanted nothing more than to out you right then and there, but for the first time ever, it was your word against his, and with the way things were going, you were bound to win, no difficulty.

"THIS WILL GO DOWN IN THE HISTORY BOOKS, I TELL YOU! how SHE became the role-model for you dimwits."

"role model," you mouthed, pointing at everyone. "for you, for you, and especially," you made sure to swivel your finger in a circle this time, "you."

toji gritted his teeth at you, but said nothing. you grinned confidently.

uncle ogi turned away again, eyes closed shut as he sighed audibly, a vein on his forehead threatening to burst. it only popped up again when he found yuji and nobara staring back at him.

"AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TWO?"

"damn... you'd think he'd know our names by now," yuji commented, rubbing his neck with shame.

"right," nodded nobara, shaking her head. "so rude."

"friends of yours?" uncle ogi turned to you, speaking in that gruff tone he usually had. but it was significantly different to the way he had been speaking to the rest of the family today. you mentally giggled to yourself as you nodded. "fine."

he glared down at satoru and suguru, eyes twitching at the mess of pain all over their white shirts, brows furrowing at the mess maid of their hairs, and lips pursing at the broken glasses satoru was still clinging onto.

"you two..." he began, voice rough and firm. "go to shoko, just go."

satoru sat up defiantly. "i don't need —"

"NOW."

satoru and suguru did their walk of shame out of the backyard.

everyone had done theirs at some point.

everyone, you noted with a pleasant smile, except for you.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・

notes: the scariest event for halloween imo, is the helicopter incident. the zenin-fushiguro-gojo-l/n-geto family would agree. wbu guys???

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© tojiscrack (previously ack4rwoman)

if you enjoyed my writing, i’d really appreciate it if you tipped me — tumblr no longer has the tip function, so maybe here in my tip jar :)

i do not own any of the characters of jjk, i only own the character of y/n and her mother. the other characters belong to gege akutami.

[ceesimz]

I Did It All.

"Alexia Putellas, what do you have to say about leaving the pitch for the final time?"

Twenty years done, not enough. Twenty years more, too much. A discrepancy far more complex than it needs to be.

Days spent treading the same grass that legends of the past had once done, winding and weaving fluidly through near faultless defences, roars of awe following as stars returned back to their rightful place in the sky with each jump of celebration.

Nights spent in clubs and restaurants, surrounded by people high on glory with medals around their necks, a privilege some may argue wasn't warranted. Though, when stadiums filled to their capacities chanted just one name over and over as if it was the holiest sacrament of Catalunya, fighting against that was as close to blasmephy as one could get.

To now slip off into the unknown, leaving behind only a name that no longer gave way to the presence of a figure the fields didn't deserve. The future would never know her, only her name, only her stats, only her achievements. Perhaps it was best to keep it that way.

Decades of critics speaking in such a way it was almost sacrilegious, months of shame in the media for purely being a human in the worst era of her life, weeks of slander and insults for fighting for rights in a system built to spite her, twisting her kindness into a weakness. But always, the rightful figure rises, pulling the sword from the stone and raising it to the skies in triumph. The crown could get heavy, but not once did it falter. Not once did it fall.

With the final few imprints of her boot studs as she stepped off of the turf, she simply relinquished the responsibility and handed the legacy over to the next generation, trusting them indefinitely to carry the honour in the same way she did. It wasn't just the handing over of a torch; it was the exchange of a rite of passage, a way of life, and a promise to uphold the standards of excellence and righteousness she had engraved into the sport she gave her life to. This passing of the baton wasn't solely focused on the end of something though, no, it was the beginning of something far more important than people could understand. It was time for the up-and-coming stars of the sport to take the pen and write their own chapters into the history books, encompassing the opportunity to build something even more empowering than those before them.

Allowing the armband she had worn with great pride to slip off her arm, she shed the weight of a thousand battles, all of the lessons she had learnt from each victory and each defeat now etched into every fibre of her being. The world watched as she exited the field for the last time, an understanding wordlessly divulged between millions at the recognition that this was a landmark moment.

Kaleidoscopes of nostalgia flitted past her eyes as if it were an old film roll, freeze-frames of time portraying unimaginably euphoric moments. Only for them to never be experienced again. Though every cheer, every chant, and every image of a shirt worn with her legacy stitched into the fabric of it, flooded through her veins, and would for evermore.

The high regard her peers held her to, whether she had come across them on the pitch time after time or never met them at all, was a testament to the irremovable mark she had left on the beautiful game. Other countless memorable figures that were desperate to meet her, brands desperate to work with her, all these examples of her undeniable impact.

Alexia Putellas never cared about being immortalised in her sport. She was just a girl from the outskirts of Barcelona, chasing a dream with her loved ones holding her hand along the journey. Some of those hands had slipped away as time went on, but that meant she only gained more guardian angels to watch over her. With a family as tight-knit as hers, each member past and present a constant reminder of her purpose, she never lost faith. Sure, there were moments where it faltered a little, but no matter how much people tried to make a mockery of her failures, she would step back up; each comeback better than the last.

Her longevity was unrivalled, performing to the highest standards near enough all the time, even when others didn't deserve to witness it. Still, she gave away every part of herself to a sport that tried to silence her and failed to give equity until the latest moment possible. Always undervalued and unappreciated in her place of work, but did that stop her? Dampen her spirits? No, of course it didn't. And she had ample evidence to prove it; awards, trophies, medals, and most importantly to her, an easier path paved for those following in her footsteps.

The final chapter was about to finish though, the book of a near flawless career soon to slam shut.

Football would feel the loss of her absence, but like the story of Ozymandias, the dust will blow over and erase her stature, the nature of the sport will run its course and she'll be a figment of the past. Her time had come, and she had done everything and more of what she needed to do.

She moved from an ever-present figure to just a silhouette with a few steps.

Here, now, at the crescendo of a note-worthy career run, there was only one way to answer such a question.

"I did it all."

[existence-is-a-pain87]

Since my ADHD brain is telling me "no writing" I offer yall this!

What's this? Well, first you need some context regarding my Dandy's World OC's lore.

So, basically, her lore is I die and get reincarnated as a Toon with no direct memories of my human life. She's a Toon created before any of the other Toons with the concept she'll be Dandy's best friend in the show. However, they decided she was too similar to Dandy and was scrapped, being replaced by Astro. She had no hard feelings as she was made to help out the employees and transfer items and such.

About two months after she was created, the idea for her to completely replace Dandy was brought up.

In canon, this idea was scrapped.

In this AU however, they decided to go through with it, essentially creating a whole new show.

This show is Endri's World. It's aimed for kids, like the original Dandy's World, and is focused on Endri and all of her friends!

Let's start off with the Main Toons in this AU (excluding Holiday Toons), before we talk about how gameplay would work.

Endri is the main character in this show. She's the one with her name on the title card and thus the most important.

Due to the fact she was created before she became the main character, her design couldn't be altered too much from her original form. They just gave her a bow and a flower in her tail and called it good.

She was designed to be a character most kids could relate to, clearly having flaws of anxiety and worrying a lot. She wouldn't be perfect, but was the perfect character to learn lessons and help kids learn how to better themselves!

She has several quirks and the fact she accidentally had ADHD and autism simply made her the perfect character for neurodivergent kids to relate to and learn it's okay to be different and you know what'll make you happy better than anyone else can!

Unfortunately, if this were to be a game, it wouldn't be possible to play as her unless you were a dev. Like Dandy, however, she'd have 5 star stats all around the board.

You can get her Trinket simply by grabbing an item from her storage 1000 times, due to the fact she doesn't have a Twisted state (that anyone except her knows about).

Trinket:

Doodle-Filled Notebook: Highlights all items on the floor every 10 seconds in a match (excludes capsules and tapes).

This Trinket is a reflection of Endri's role if this was a game. You'll get more elaboration later.

Rather than Astro being Endri's best friend, it was decided Shrimpo would be after the Toons became close friends in the real world.

Shrimpo is a redeemed bully in this AU, having learnt his lesson and- while still screaming about how he hates things- is much less prone to violence.

He's a loud, short-tempered Toon who's the main one learning lessons in the episodes, but he remains an ultimately good figure who teaches kids everyone can change for the better and to always stand up for themselves!

Since he's a main, he'd have two hearts. However, unlike his canon counterpart, his stats and abilities are much more friendly for players.

Skill Check: ☆☆

Movement Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆

Stamina: ☆☆☆☆

Stealth: ☆☆

Extraction Speed: ☆☆☆

Due to his competitive nature, he spent a lot of time exercising and running around, giving him high movement and stamina stats. Due to his loud nature, his stealth is lower. And for the other stats? Idk I just thought they fit him.

Abilities:

BACK OFF! (Active) - This Toon throws a punch at a Twisted, stunning them for 5 seconds (excludes Lethal Twisteds). Has a cooldown of 100.

I HATE TWISTEDS! (Passive) - All Twisteds on this floor will be highlighted for this Toon for the first ten seconds after the elevator opens.

Honestly guys, of course Shrimpo would have a stun ability. Have you seen the guy? And his passive is just to make the lives of distractors and for people who need to know what Twisteds are on a floor.

Trinket:

Friendship Locket: Decreases stealth by 25% but increases movement speed by 50%

Basically I took Shrimpo's brick, made it good for distractors, and gave it story impact as a locket that holds Shrimpo's favorite moment, eternally on his person.

Glisten replaces Vee in this AU. I also made him more slay.

He's close with Endri, though is usually busy running his gameshow (it has several differences from the canon Vee's gameshow) and unfortunately can't hang out with her all the time. However, he always takes the time to help Endri touch up on her makeup.

He's still maintaining his 'perfect' persona, but is much more flashy and performative, with Brightney and Vee as his assistants. He teaches kids how to be more confident and to take care of themselves.

As a main, he has two hearts. He's also going to be designed with an extractor design in mind.

Skill Check: ☆☆☆

Movement Speed: ☆☆☆

Stamina: ☆☆☆

Stealth: ☆☆

Extraction Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆

I decided to take his original stats and add that extra star to skill check as I thought it'd fit him well. Since he's so flashy, naturally his stealth would be low.

Abilities:

Reflection (Active) - This Toon travels through a mirror, instantly teleporting to a targetted Toon or machine (regardless of completion), regardless of line of sigh and inflicts Confused III on himself for 5 seconds. Has a cooldown of 100.

Perfectionistic (Passive) - This Toon manages to avoid alerting nearby Twisteds whenever he misses a Skill Check.

I just took Glisten's canon ability and just added a second ability that takes Blot's trinket and makes it a passive (Blot does get edits in this AU, just as all Toons do).

Trinket:

Makeup Set: Increases stealth when extracting from machines by 100%

I replaced Glisten's original trinket (why would a mirror have a mirror? He already had one in his room) with a makeup set. I also changed what it does to help extractors more, teehee.

Rather than Shelly being a main, it's Tisha instead (this choice caused me physical pain, just so you know). Tisha differs from the other Mains in this AU, as in Endri's canon AU Endri is closer with Shelly than she is with Tisha.

However, in this AU Tisha is the main Toon rather than Shelly, due to the fact test audiences with Shelly didn't end up well for her...

Tisha is similar in personality, but is calmer and takes up the role as the 'mom' friend. She teaches kids about cleanliness and to take care of their surroundings, especially the ones they live in!

As a main, she has two hearts. She's also designed to be more of a support Toon.

Skill Check: ☆☆☆

Movement Speed: ☆☆☆☆☆

Stamina: ☆☆

Stealth: ☆☆☆

Extraction Speed: ☆☆☆

I took her original stats and added that extra star to her movement speed so she can have a 5-star stat. I made that stat movement speed because it's only fair to assume she runs around cleaning things.

Abilities:

Tidy Up! (Active) - This Toon sweeps the ground and increases the movement speed and stamina regeneration of all Toons around her (plus herself) by 25%. Has a cooldown of 50.

Clean Freak (Passive) - This Toon recovers 25 stamina whenever she picks up an item or tapes (excludes capsules).

I just decided to take and boost Tisha's original ability plus make her passive her trinket as I go and make her trinket better cutely, mwehehe.

Trinket:

Feather Duster - Increases stamina and stamina regeneration by 50%

I just took the concept of Astro's trinket, made it better, and gave it to Tisha. Why? Why not?

Of course Endri has a pet rock! But instead of it being Pebble, it's Geo!

Geo was designed as a companion to Endri, originally being created as Pebble but changed to a geode in particular to fit Endri's draconic appearance better. (The reason his crystal interior is visible in his tail is because he once got so excited he wacked his tail into a counter and chipped his tail.)

Geo is a happy and friendly little guy, being a wonderful pet rock despite his slightly destructive tendancies. He's just there for the kids to be happy!

As a main, he has two hearts. He's also designed with a distractor concept in mind.

Skill Check: ☆☆

Movement Speed: ☆☆☆☆

Stamina: ☆☆☆☆☆

Stealth: ☆☆☆

Extraction Speed: ☆☆

I gave him a higher stamina than movement speed as I just feel like it suits him well as both Tisha and Shrimpo have high movement speed, and I don't wanna make three of the mains have 5-star movement speed.

Abilities:

Speak! (Active) - This Toon lets out a loud bark, drastically decreases stealth by -40 and alerting any Twisteds to his location. Has a cooldown of 60.

Good Boy (Passive) - This Toon, due to his small size, can avoid being hit by a Twisted easier.

I changed Geo's passive to give him a tiny hitbox to make life for those who use him to distract easier, teehee!

Trinket:

Rainbow Collar - Increases walk and run speed by 15%

I took the Running Shoes and made them exponentially better. Yippee!

Cosmo is the main in this, rather than Sprout. They just thought a cake roll embodied baking better than a strawberry (don't worry, Sprout is still a Toon on the show!).

Cosmo, despite his more sensitive nature, is still a polite and almost stern figure, making sweet treats for all his friends. He's always willing to try cooking and baking new things, however. He helps kids learn how to cook and new things and always share!

As a main, he has two hearts. Also I hate his pitiful skill check and thus fixed it, and he's a healer.

Skill Check: ☆☆☆☆☆

Movement Speed: ☆☆☆

Stamina: ☆☆

Stealth: ☆☆☆☆

Extraction Speed: ☆☆

I hate his canon skill check. Never again. He gets a 5-star skill check and we are all dealing with it.

Abilities:

Sharing is Caring (Active) - This Toon consumes 100 tapes to heal another Toon. Has a cooldown of 60.

Generous (Passive) - This Toon has tapes highlighted for him every 10 seconds during matches.

Basically, I gave Cosmo Sprout's ability and gave him a passive so tapes are easy to go gather. Teehee.

Trinket:

Sweet Charm - Increases speed by 10% for 10 seconds whenever ability, Active or Passive.

I just took the Sweet Charm and made it helpful for Toons who would have lower movement speed or for Cosmo to run around and snatch tapes.

--☆☆☆--

Okay! Now onto how the gameplay concept!

Essentially, the main concept is similar. Toons still need to go down the floors, doing machines and avoiding Twisteds. What really changes is the shop in the elevator.

Endri runs a supply shop, where she doesn't take any tapes and just hands out items she finds on the lower floors she searches on for items. However, she has a limited number of each item and will carry less of rarer items.

As the number of floors you survive increases, Endri will start finding rarer items and start offering more of said rarer items.

However, there's still an incentive to collect tapes, due to a certain flower having a chance to spawn on floors and wanting tapes in exchange for some items, and getting quite pissy if you ignore or don't buy from him...

Oh, also, just to add, yeah the Toons and Twisteds are yandere for Endri. (She can never be free.) Plus, this story concept could work similarly for if Endri was instead the MC from my yandere Dandy's World AUs, hehe.

--☆☆☆--

Okay! That's the basis for the AU. There's more alternate variants of the Toons and other things, but I'm done for now! Hope you enjoyed!

(And yeah, I'll make sure to write soon. I also have Twisted concepts for my Halloween Toon OCs I'll show yall soon!)

[luciacaminoz]

what was Soledad like before she met Julian? :3c has she changed a lot since her Embrace? if she could give advice to her past self, what would Sol say?

hi wiz <3 thank you so much for asking about sol and im sorry this one took me a while! some of this is CRINGE but im free

Sol was a pretty normal kid growing up in most ways, easy-going and lively and maybe a little too mischievous for her own good – not to be purposefully troublesome, just innately craving excitement and too many experiences at once (as much as she tries to dampen that down later). She has an older brother, Tiago (@/kentuckycaverats asked me more about him but I want to read over a couple things before I publish the ask aghh) that she idolized — they were kids born to Filipino-Mexican immigrants and had moved around several places between Soledad, California and Sierra Vista, Arizona while growing up, and were essentially each other’s entertainment during the multiple interims of not having other close friends. Sol was definitely a little tomboy, probably average-to-low grades in school and eventually would drop out to apprentice under her dad and brother at her dad’s mechanical workshop once they settle permanently in Sierra Vista. This is how she’d end up getting her scar – freak accident with equipment.

The main issues in Sol’s life during her teens and twenties were lack of purpose and direction, which manifested as an excessive restlessness. After her Embrace, it mutated into a sort of mania – like all negative aspects of her new condition simply wouldn’t sink in. A bit of daredevil edge developing here – often would give that impression of someone at a party who is yeah, great company, but also making you nervous about how far they’re taking some things. Julian was a very young sire and he also has a manic energy to him – I think they got carried away more than a few times despite a lot of the lessons he tried to instil. That sounds a bit dark and at times it was, but for ten years it was akin to a bizarre undead honeymoon period. Lots of disconnect – again not fully registering that she was clinically dead and that Julian had killed her. On that note btw, Sol asked for the Kiss. I’m not victim blaming LOL – I know she wouldn’t have realized fully what she was getting into (in fact she was flirting and mostly thought Julian was funny and a little crazy when he slipped up on the vampire thing and rolled with it) — just a part of the backstory fanfic. She was also the one to first initiate intimacy and the blood bond (yet again without taking it seriously, but Julian had only been kindred 5 years longer and I honestly don’t think even he at that time would’ve understood the full extent of the situation they’d find themselves in because of her rampant carelessness either, in his defense lol).

During this period… nothing Sol loved more than cutting Julian’s idealistic prattling short with a suggestive touch and watching his thoughts go off road like the geotracker for a split second. Kisses to slow down or silence; if he’s still trying to put together a sentence afterward, she’d redouble efforts until, for once, he’s the one looking to her wondering what happens next. Intimacy is where dynamics get switched between them, but I don’t think he minds. Julian’s not as physical as Sol is (tbh she is very needy for a kindred but I think even with the sexual desire present, it’s still more of an emotional/comfort thing for her she won’t let go of – she can be intense in that regard) but he is more than happy to go along with anything that’s got her showering him with attention. All fodder for his novels in the meantime :p

In the later 2000s, when he becomes a lot more serious about Changing The World, and after Sol’s diablerie of Aila (which is where things get distant, cold, and honestly kind of spiteful between them for a few months of early 2010), Julian makes use of his crazy ass willpower stat to cut contact and leave — for his vision, for the fact that it had already begun what with an Elder’s essence now present in Sol, and to sever their bond. Man needs full use of his obsessive tendencies to build a tech empire yknow – not having Sol constantly in the back of his mind and her clinging to him. Likewise she has the opportunity to come into her own without that same weight and influence – how he thinks of it at least. He does keep tabs on her during those ten years, making sure she’s alright and staying afloat, sometimes sending work her brother’s way in Sierra Vista too, etc.

Sol is not doing well here and it’s where she changes the most. The separation also initially has Julian a little emotionally ragged due to the nature of the bond, but past the artificial I do think he actually cares deeply about Sol in his own weird way. He believes he’s doing what is the best (frankly only option in his mind) for the sake of the future of the Masquerade with Project 2100; maybe having her be at the center of his work is part of it.

Anyway – out of trauma, Sol develops the bulimia derangement after diablerizing Aila, which strains everythingggg twice over. Despite not getting along at this time, Julian leaving without warning still grossly exacerbates how often it would trigger due to a kaleidoscopic meltdown of too many messy feelings on top of the strain of their bond breaking down over the course of the first year. Really just fucks her up good and hard struggling to get it all under control while figuring out what the fuck she’s going to do with herself. Lots of accidental hunger frenzies, lots of suicidal ideation — there’s this snippet from last year where she’s immediately like boohoo I’m gonna walk into a sunrise (also my fav Julian meme). I imagine she lost humanity during this period until finally getting her shit together as a courier and learning to shut off and distance herself from the intensity of her feelings (while still not giving into the callousness and mindlessness of the Beast).

She doesn’t engage in her predator type as a precaution and instead drinks from bags, which leaves her feeling perpetually unsatisfied and wanting (Sol™), but she pushes that down – goes pro at pushing shit down over the course of the next few years. Selfishly, in her mind, she would rather drain a blood bank than kill someone, which is stupid because she’s hurting more people the other way, but it’s the distance and disconnect. Doesn’t stop guilt from eating away at her when she thinks too hard, but again: push that shit down.

And hey, she got the lime green geotracker in the divorce 🥴

For advice, I was thinking for a while because as her mama I wouldn’t want her to look out for herself or heal or anything to change LMAO. Even in character and before her personality 180, Sol had such a restless spirit and was prone to depression and impulse, I don’t think she would’ve lived or chosen to live a long mortal life as it was, or if she did it would not have been fulfilling to her. Unsatisfied as always! As much as she resents Julian for what he did to her in the name of Project 2100, buried way down deep and unbeknownst to herself (maybe she just refuses to acknowledge it…), there’s twisted excitement in being this catalyst – in having purpose. This is why she still subconsciously leans towards Julian’s suggestions during Night Road, and why she keeps the 2100X serum in her veins once infected. Also, she does just love him too 😭

BUUUT, considering all that, I think if Sol knew she would be Embraced and have to leave everything behind, she might advise her younger self to cherish that time she had. Like a lot of teenagers she was distant from her parents, not even out of dislike because her family was very loving. She was very close to her brother Tiago (and that’s one thing that hurt a lot on top of no longer having Julian from 2010-2020 – that she couldn’t simply go home and see her brother; that her heart was broken, that she was dead, and that she was left with no one). She wasn’t as close to her parents and often clashed with what her mother out of differing views and opinions. Mom and Dad worked extremely hard to prop Sol and Tiago up for their futures but of course Sol wouldn’t have cared about that much at the time… so looking back she would appreciate them more — and maybe developing a better relationship with her parents and going along with what her mother wanted for her would’ve changed her request that night she met and got to know Julian. Maybe he would’ve done it anyway.

Her parents are dead by the events of Night Road, so it remains one of her biggest regrets, not saying goodbye. She keeps an heirloom topaz and mahogany rosary and in lonelier moments of confusion or despair or guilt will apologize and pray to/for them. Sol was never as religious as her parents (devout Catholics) wanted growing up and before her Embrace, but with the absolute desolation she felt after things came crashing down and actually processing her situation, she takes comfort in what she watched them take comfort in during her childhood. More than anything I think she is agnostic — but she feels this is her only connection to them, and as silly or futile as it might seem to her sometimes, the only way she can reach out to them after leaving without a word – to keep them with her even after their passing. Her courier alias of Soledad is in part of where she was born, and an homage to her mom and her mom’s reverence for María de la Soledad (which was also a mural painted on her dad’s workshop)… and it works with having the same nickname as her real name: Solona :)

AND A WIP!

whew!!! thank you so much for asking and letting me ramble!!! you are a gift wiz, i got so excited seeing your ask<3 thank you for always being so nice about my art in the tags too, you make it a joy to share T_T <3

[aristocratic-otter]

Thank you for tagging me, @monbons, @rimeswithpurple, @nausikaaa, @artsyunderstudy, @prettygoododds,

@ileadacharmedlife, @alexalexinii, @best--dress,  @j-nipper-95, @roomwithanopenfire, 

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe, and @whatevertheweather

It's been another lovely year of getting to know you all and making new friends in this amazing fandom.

Some 2024 stats from AO3:

Number of works posted: 11

Number of events participated in: 6

Number of works completed: 3

Number of words written: 156,000

Seems pretty decent, right? But compare that to 2023:

Number of works posted: 12

Number of events participated in: 7

Number of works completed: 10

Number of words written: 294,445

So, what the fuck happened that cut my productivity literally in half? (Though I worked on nearly the same amount of fics, lol. Methinks my ambition doth outstrip my ability.)

Well, that’s a story, and one that’s unfortunately too common, from what I’ve learned. If you don’t want to listen to me ramble, feel free to jump down to the monthly list, because this is going to be entirely self-indulgent. Story and Fic timeline under the cut:

Part 1: 

Sometime around the beginning of last year, I began suffering a series of muscle and joint injuries…or so I thought. I was diagnosed with so many things. Arthritis. Bursitis. Muscle Strain. I was given physical therapy. I stopped going to physical therapy when the simplest exercise my therapist gave me left me crying in pain. I was given muscle relaxants and pain meds. Nothing had any long term effect. All I knew was, my body was slowly giving up on me. 

It affected my job. I went from being a teacher who was constantly buzzing around the classroom, checking on students and giving assistance, to a teacher who seldom could manage to leave her chair. My students struggled and my classroom grew messier by the day, because I couldn’t check that the students were cleaning up, nor could I clean up after them myself. 

It affected my home life. By the time I’d get home from work, the pain and stiffness were always at a high. I’d end up rotting in a recliner all evening, every evening. My mind grew foggier, my concentration worse, and it started taking me three to four times the usual amount of time to simply prep my lesson for the next day. I had next to nothing left to spare for my family or my hobbies.

So writing? On a work night, I was lucky to write a paragraph. Real progress on my WIPs started only happening on weekends. 

Finally, near the beginning of last summer, I went to my doctor, desperate for something, anything. At that point, I was beginning to believe I’d have to take (very) early retirement and go on disability, because I couldn’t even walk around a grocery store, and I refused to have another year where I didn’t serve my students as they deserved to be served. 

I blurted out all of this to my doctor, and she frowned at me and asked me to describe where my pain was. 

Hips, spine, knees, ankles, elbows, I told her. 

Then she said the words that changed everything. “It sounds like you have Fibromyalgia.”

Part 2

Can you believe, educated as I am, especially in the sciences, I’d never heard of it? I’ve learned a lot since. Fibro mainly afflicts women, mainly affects people in their prime or slightly older. And, until recently, it was considered an unprovable disease, like chronic fatigue syndrome. There were no medical tests for it, and most victims were treated like they were imagining things. There were no medicines for it. No therapies. There was no explanation for the disparate cluster of symptoms associated with it.  As far as the medical profession was concerned, it didn’t exist. 

I’m lucky. Things started changing for Fibro patients just a few years before my diagnosis. Three years ago, two drugs were approved for it. There is now a diagnostic test for it. And there’s plenty of research outlining a causal pathway for the disease. 

Turns out, it’s a brain disease. The brain affects every part of the body, and in the case of fibro, it also affects how we perceive our bodies. Because that’s what happens in fibromyalgia: your brain misreads pain signals from the body. It’s like my pain sensitivities are always dialed up to eleven. Something that causes a twinge for a non-Fibro sufferer can cause a Fibro patient to scream in agony. 

When I went to a specialist, she told me I hit every single diagnostic criteria for Fibromyalgia. So, I got meds. I got referrals to a rheumatologist and physical therapy again. This time, the physical therapist was able to focus my work on things that were within my capabilities and were meant to improve my symptoms. My rheumatologist is testing out different meds and dosages on me to see what gets the most useful result. 

I still have Fibro. Maybe I always will, there’s disagreement on whether a cure is even possible. But the meds and therapy help manage the pain and reverse some of the brain fog. I’m able to circulate and help my students again, though I have to be cautious of overexertion, which can trigger a high-pain episode. I can interact with my family and actually do some chores and work in the evenings, though, again, I have to take it easy (I’m not good at taking it easy, it’s a learning curve). I’m writing more. Usually a page or more a night. 

My journey is hopefully back on track, and I hope to finish all of my current WIPs in the next year. But I figured that this is the one night a year that people use to reflect on the past and look forward to the future, so that’s what I’m doing. And maybe my story will help someone. If you’re struggling with any aspect of your health, I hope you find answers and help in 2025. 

Happy New Year!

My Year In Fic

January

Nothing new posted or finished. As I recall, I was mostly working on The Heart in the Well and Cupid's Shield.

February

Posted (republished after release in the Lady Ruth Charity Zine)

The Bother About Brownies (art by @hgari)

4845 Words, Rated T

Baz is tasked with creating a dessert for the triplets' school cake sale. Brownies are such an easy recipe. What could go wrong?

Lemon Blueberry Shortbread, art by @letraspal

2912 Words, Rated G

Two afternoons of learning to cook a family recipe, thirty years apart.

Posted as part of Erotic Gropefest (WIP)

Cupid’s Shield, WIP

Currently 10,122 words, Rated E

I used to think that Valentine’s Day was bollocks invented by greeting card companies.

That was before I started at Watford and learned that it was deadly serious.

March

Nothing posted (possibly some chapters of WIPs, there's no way to check). But I was definitely working on nearly all of my fics that are still WIPs and The Heart in the Well, which is finished.

April

First Posting of:

Stars, Flowers, and Children (WIP)

Currently 20,005 words, Rated E

To Simon, Baz is a stuck up brat he has to put up with in between his duties as Cabin boy on the SS Watford.

To Baz, Simon is the chavvy, illiterate savage of a boy who won't bow and scrape the way he's supposed to.

Marooned together because of a disaster at sea, they'll have to come together as allies in order to survive. But they're destined to become so much more than that.

May

More work on posting chapters of in-progress WIPs.

June

Finished final chapter of:

The Heart In The Well

14326 Words, Rated T

Carry On Reverse Bang 2023 Collaboration with @alexalexinii, 

Simon Snow should have known better than to chase after the Hobgoblin Horde. Now he's trapped at the bottom of a well with no food or water, and a vampire who's only going to get thirstier as time passes.

Baz Pitch doesn't know why the Hobgoblins abducted him from the Wavering wood. He just knows that Snow was stupid enough to get caught too, and now they're trapped together, and Baz hasn't had blood in three days...

July

First chapter posted of Carry On Big Bang Collaboration with @cutestkilla

The Rat and the River, (WIP)

Currently 10550 words, Rated E

Simon Snow is an epidemiologist working for the UKHSA He's a cocky field scientist who goes to hotspots all over the world, helping to track down the causes of the outbreaks and put an end to the cycle of death and disease.

Baz is a microbiologist, who, until now, has never left the UK. He works on Simon’s samples sent from overseas, but that’s the closest he gets to danger and excitement. He’s a reservist, meaning he’s available for deployment in the event of a large-scale event, but he’s never been called up.

Simon does his best to stir him up whenever he’s in town because he believes that Baz's life lacks excitement. One day, Simon is sent into action again, this time to South America. Down a microbiologist, Simon decides to pick Baz. In his mind, it’s to show him “the real world” but he really just wants a chance to work side by side with the reserved scientist.

Of course, in the rainforest tracking a disease of unknown origin and deadliness, that may just be spreading out of control, is maybe not the best place for a flirtation.

But when has Simon ever done things the easy way?

August

Most recent update of: 

Saving Simon Snow (WIP)

Currently 47,078 Words, Rated E

What if Simon had never gone to Baz's gothic manor over the Christmas holidays? What if the war between the old families and the Mage started while Simon confronted the Mage in the White Chapel?

The Mage is dead. The Humdrum defeated. The old families have control of Watford and the Coven. And nobody will tell Baz where Simon Snow is.

September

First month of school. Needless to say, nothing got done.

October

First Posting of

Tiktok Dancer (WIP)

Currently 11,133 words, Rated E

Snow has never known a world outside his father's realm in the ocean. Until he comes across a group of dancers performing on the beach, and finds a dream he'd never thought to have.

November

2024 Carry On Reverse Bang Entries. 

The Stoves Come On At Night, (WIP), collaboration with @ebbpettier:

Currently 4895 words, Rated M

Fresh out of a break-up, Simon is desperate for work. He takes on a caretaking job for the elderly Mordelia Grimm. It's a pretty slick gig: fully-stocked pantry, big beautiful house, nobody to bother him. Nobody around, for miles.

But at night, Simon swears that he hears footsteps in empty rooms.

He starts finding puddles of lake water, footprints, doors open when he knows he left them closed. At night, he hears the sound of wet, rattling breathing from his pitch-black doorway.

Most concerning of all, the stoves keep turning on at night, even if he switches them off and tapes down the dials.

There's something very wrong at Pitch Manor.

Baby Mine (WIP), collaboration with @argumentativeantitheticalg

Currently 3590 words, Rated M

Four years ago, Basilton Pitch teamed up with Simon Snow to solve the mystery of who murdered Baz's mother. Now, they'll need to join forces again, after an unexpected delivery is left on Baz's doorstep.

December

Most recent update of my 2023 fic for COTTA

The Snow Fox (WIP)

Currently 27,344 Words, Rated E

Simon "Snow" Salisbury is the most wanted patriot in the American Revolution. Wanted by the British army, who want to see him hanged. Wanted by the Tories, who'd shoot him on sight, given the chance.

And wanted by Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch.

I also participated in the Secret Snowflake Exchange on the Carry On Discord, but it looks like I'll be finishing that fic after midnight my time, so it'll end up being the first fic of 2025!

I'm probably the last to do this. But in case I'm not, here's tags for anyone on my tag list who didn't tag me, so anyone who wants to has a chance to do this.

@thewholelemon, @bookish-bogwitch, @chen-chen-chen-again-chen, @bazzybelle, @dragoneggos,

@erzbethluna, @palimpsessed,  @frjsti, @fatalfangirl, @melodysmash,

@moments-au-crayon22, @moodandmist,  @mostlymaudlin, @onepintobean, @raenestee,

@tea-brigade, @upuntil6am, @whogaveyoupermission, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @krisrix,

@shemakesmeforget, @confused-bi-queer, @nightimedreamersghost, @mooncello, @shrekgogurt,

@cosmicalart,  @theearlgreymage, @Iamamythologicalcreature, @thehoneyedhufflepuff, @facewithoutheart,

@martsonmars, @skeedelvee, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @messofthejess, @noblecorgi,

@hushed-chorus,  @blackberrysummerblog, @cutestkilla,@letraspal, @ic3-que3n,

@emeryhall, @larkral, @youarenevertooold

[dilfl0v3rss]

tutor

summary: you were struggling with understanding you latest lesson and you had a big crush on yelena. so to help you out your best friend, who also happened to be her roomate, got her to “tutor” you….

cw: wxw, smut

word count: 1.2k

you never expected your night to go like this. you were struggling horribly with grasping the concept the different tailed tests, and you needed to understand them if you wanted to pass your stats exam. you were nearly crying in your room with your friend ony on the phone. “y/n i swear to god it’s not that hard. you jus gotta listen” you whined out loud, already mad that you keep getting the answer wrong, but now that he was trying to say you weren’t listening when you were clearly trying made you very upset. “ony i am tryingggg. it’s too harddd”

an idea popped up in his head. ony knew how big of a crush you had on his roommate so he decided to kill two birds with one stone. “aight ion got the patience f’this, but i know who do. come over and i’ll have lena help you since she passed that class with an A.” your eyes widened at his words, thighs already clenching together at the thought of the tall blonde girl being anywhere near you. ony could practically feel your shyness through the phone, already setting it up quickly before you could say no. “lena you mind if suge comes over and you help her wit her stats work? she right here”

before you knew it yelena had the phone in her hand. neck tattoos dancing along her bright skin as she looked down at the phone with low red eyes. “what lesson is it?” she mumbled, a bored expression on her face as she awaited your response. “t-tests of hypo…hypotheses” she nodded her head, a small “hmm” leaving her throat at she thought about something. “yea i still got my notes f’that. i can help you” your face lit up before the phone was given back to ony. he gave you a knowing look before hanging up to let you get ready.

you changed into something more presentable before heading straight to their apartment. “got here quick suge, you excited for sum?” ony teased, earning him a punch on the shoulder before you walked deeper into their apartment. you plopped down on the couch, taking your books and stuff out your bag before pulling out your phone. you figured yelena was in her room, towel on her shoulders as she dried her hair. the thought of it making your thighs clench again before you were snapped out of your daze by the sound of the door opening.

“where you going” you asked as you watched ony look turn towards you from the front door. “where you think i’m going” you rolled your eyes as he left, probably to go get his dick wet by some random in his phone or his little fuck buddy connie. your attention was brought back to your phone. thumbs tapping quickly as you sent ony a text to be safe.

“you ready?” deep voice startling you as you quickly turned your head around towards her. yelena laughed at your frightened state, lifting her hands up in surrender as she spoke. “my bad my bad. ian know you was scary like that” you rolled your eyes, giggling too as you turned back around and waited for her to join you on the couch. as she sat down you found yourself getting put in a little trance. her black t shirt contrasting the silver chain around her neck while her grey sweats sat a little baggy on her thighs. tattoos gracing her hands and arms all the way to her neck as she nonchalantly scrolled on her phone.

“s’rude to stare” she mumbled, making you quickly move your gaze to your books. “my bad, let’s get started. i need t’pass this test or my moms gonna take my car” and smirk planted on yelena’s pink lips as she raised an eyebrow. her gaze never leaving her screen as she spoke. “ain’t you in college? why mommy and daddy still running your life” you shrugged your shoulders, taking a long sigh before turning back towards her. “they’re just…protective. they like t’know everything i got going on” her gaze finally met yours, lips still in that pretty smirk as her low red eyes raked up and down your body. “do mommy and daddy know y’like girls?” her question making a low gasp fly from your lips, your eyes instantly looking away from her intoxicated ones before you shook your head. “n-no”

before you knew it yelena’s hand was bringing your face back towards hers. her dark grey eyes staring into your pretty brown ones as if she were searching for something. “y’know i know you like me right? ony been told me so why you tryna hide it” you were stunned, of course ony’s big mouthed ass would snitch on you, but now that she knows what happens now? does she feel the same? does she already have a girlfriend? does she have a type? your mind was asking a million questions a minute. all being shut down from her next words. “c’mere” yelena mumbled, her big hand patting her lap for you to crawl into.

your body moved on its own, eagerly straddling her while she kept her hands gripped on your waist. “say i did like you…how would that work? you ever fucked a girl before?” you shook your head, making her chuckle as she took in your ashamed face. “that’s fine i guess. i can make you my little slut” you gasped at her crude words, averting your gaze to her chain as you spoke. “i can learn tho” yelena brought your chin up with her inked hand, staring into your eyes with a sexy grin. “lemme show you how i do it first”

“aaughhh lena yo-your fingers….s’too muchhh” you whined, tears all over your cheeks as you pulled on the blonde hair between your thighs. yelena was hard at work sucking, slurping, licking, and occasionally slapping the best parts of you. it was all great at first, the feeling of her long fingers fucking you to two orgasms in less than thirty minutes. but everything went downhill when she brought her mouth into the mix, the extra stimulation making your cute body tremble as you tried your best you push her head and inch away from her on the soaked couch.

“how you gon learn if you don’t let me teach you baby? you gotta let me work or you can’t be my slut” her deep voice brought a tingle to your spine as you watched her slowly lick from your entrance to your clit. dark grey eyes sexily looking into yours as yelena watched each of your expressions as she devoured your pussy. there was no way you could hold it any longer, your essence flying out of you and onto the bottom of her face as you let out a loud scream. yelena just continued fingering you quickly with one hand and rubbing quickly on your clit with the other so more of your juices could fly. “there you go pretty girl, bet you never did that before” she mumbled. you didn’t get the chance to tell her she was right before you were thrown over her shoulder. her 6’3 figure holding you high above the ground as she walked to her room.

“now ima show you how t’really use a vibrator”

[stars-in-a-jam-jar]

I loved Buddy this episode. Exactly the energy I love to see. He remains Completely Mostly-Deliberately Fanatical, but to the point where even the people who coerced him into joining their new religion are like 'You're!!! Doing it wrong!!!!' And Buddy's just like 'I have faith in Bakarath :)' I love him, I love that for him, I love Buddy Dawn so much, please don't die, Buddy, I just wanna have you floatin' around being a silly little uses-his-high-wis-stat-to-deliberately-fail-all-insight-checks-on-himself guy forever.

I wanna see Buddy at the end of this approach Fig like a little lost puppy asking her about Ankarna, but not in the soft explorative way that Bucky is curious about Kristen's relationship with Cassandra, in a way that's like 'I've been in a right tumble dryer lately and was wondering what exactly The Correct Worldview to attach my entire soul and sense of self to is.'

Want him to be a complete mess most of senior year as he keeps looking for new things to attach himself to. Every few weeks he changes his style to reflect the new thing he's trying on as a replacement for developing an independent sense of self.

Want him to be three quarters of the way through senior year before he even thinks to talk to Jawbone. That or they've been having mandatory councilor sessions all fall, and it's only as the Moonar Yulenear is coming up that Bucky starts Acting Like A Person for little flashes, where his entire attitude and personality is not some ironclad manifestation of what he believes The Correct Person To Be is, and instead he just. Genuinely loudly laughs at a joke that a few months ago he would've simply given a polite sensible chuckle to and said 'Oh, that's a good one'. He lets his face fall into a bored exhaustion in a class and the teacher asks him if something's wrong and he snaps back to, but it still happened. The omnipresent 'Good God Fearing Boy' persona slipped and he was a bored teen for a second. He tries a heavily caffeinated drink in the same way one might try a beer for the first time and suddenly he's being a little silly twirling his staff around and stumbling over his sentences a little more as his brain whirrs.

He cries and he breaks something and there's this icky complicated cocktail of emotions because getting angry is bad and being upset is bad; he was taught that all his life and then it was proven correct when he was resurrected by a false manifestation of a dead goddess worshipped in her true form by the archdevil of rebellion who spent the entire school year playing mindgames with the bard in Buddy's party who were using him.

But Jawbone keeps saying it's important to feel your feelings, which is a very silly thing of Jawbone to keep emphasizing, because Buddy always feels his feelings, it's not like he just unilaterally fends every emotion off as if it'll be his inevitable downfall. There's The Good Feelings and The Bad Feelings, and The Good Feelings come from The Good Things and The Bad Feelings are temptations into evil he must not indulge. He chooses to identify with the Correct Feelings To Be Feeling, obviously. Because you're supposed to do that. And anger and upset are never correct. It was a lesson he had to learn the hard, painful way because he was a stupid, flimsy kid who needed to see the real truth up close and personal. That's why all that stuff happened to him. Why the Rat Griders were so dismissive of him. Why Kristen was trying to build bridges with him.

So why did he just shatter the mug his grandfather gifted him after his baptism when he remembered how Oisin and Ivy seemingly constantly side-eyed him every time he spoke. At least it felt that way. Buddy's very used to constantly feeling observed, he probably just imagined that.

They're not exactly alive to ask anymore.

What do you MEAN my silly post about how I think Buddy's insistence that Bakarath is For Sure The Name You Guys is cute and funny turned into ANOTHER Buddy Dawn fanfic???

[lagomoz]

playing baldur's gate 3 while rejecting all romance paths is actually hilarious because you get a harem all gunning for the least eligible bachelorette in all the lands

-caught off guard by Gale's magic lesson turning into yearning eye contact. I just wanted to learn about magic. I would give him a fist bump if I could

-Shadowheart asks to share a drink at the party in her tent. I go hell yeah pour up!, excited to party with my buddy, and my (real life, who's watching me play) brother has to tell me she was hitting on me

-Lae'zel asks to smash right in the middle of slaughtering a bunch of goblins. we're both covered in blood. there's several dead bodies right there. the rest of the party can 100% hear and see this. I tell her no thanks and continue killing goblins. nobody brings it up again

-wasn’t entirely sure if she meant “taste me” in a sex way or a cannibalism way at first. I would’ve been more likely to say yes to the cannibalism

-I ignore the weird S&M whipping guy until my brother suggests there might be a mechanical benefit to doing it. I hadn't thought of that, I just thought the game had a random weirdo for no reason. the rest of the party watches me turn down the clearly insane sadomasochist lurking in a shady dungeon until I remember stat boosts and run off to get whipped for combat advantage

-after knocking Minthara out, I accidentally steal her underwear. I apologize and sheepishly put it back in her inventory. everything else is still stolen without remorse

-Withers tells me not to get distracted by my bosom buddy. I have to inform him that not only do I have no goddamn clue who he's referring to but that he should be far more worried about me getting distracted by literally anything else

-Gale talks about the suspension bridge effect in the shadow lands. I excitedly agree that yes, I do know about that, isn't it interesting? psychology is so cool! the fact he might be trying to imply something by bringing that up is irrelevant in the face of fun trivia. this probably makes me more attractive to him honestly

-every time Astarion casually flirts in his dialogue I ask if he means it in a bro way. I suspect he wants to kill me

-Halsin asks to hit. I stare at him, go nope! and walk off. neither of us bring it up again

-world’s most awkward brothel scene. I’m most excited about the cat

-Orin replaces the circus dryad and tries to get information from a love test. I go oh well I have nobody to do this with and carry on to gleefully enjoy the circus without ever realizing it was her

-I make Gale lick the dead spider laced with aphrodisiacs because I'm scared of spiders. he agrees to lick the dead spider. Shadowheart judges him heavily

-after refusing Mizora I continue my hobby of trying new ways to harming her. explosions, magic, whacking her over the head, biting, etc. it doesn't stick but it's about the message

-I tell off creepy blood lady for trying to pressure Astarion and then cheerfully accept her creepy offer because someone experimenting on my blood sounds perfectly fine to me. her fetish is none of my business

-Astarion’s character arc around being only valued for his sex appeal derailed by the weirdo who’s second most prevalent thought after seeing him shirtless after the rune scars is wondering what kind of undead have nipples

-Withers. Withers do you have nipples. it’s for science Withers. hey wait where are you going-

-I meet an incubus. I politely ask him to put some pants on and then if he has any tips on murdering the guy I'm here to rob

-emperor asks to smash. I bluescreen for a good minute and tell it no thanks. neither of us bring it up again

-completely missed the implication Ansur and the Emperor were a thing. I would have nuked that squid idiot so much harder if I'd known. how'd you fumble an actual dragon that bad? I'd treat Ansur right

-I’m like 90% I’ve missed some other romantic implications because I’m focused on trying to loot every single tin cup

I haven’t bathed in a month. I collect body parts. I’m dense as fuck. I never have any idea what’s going on. I forget names, directions and what we were supposed to be doing constantly. I enjoy blowing people up. everyone wants me carnally

[inell]

I'm on a high after that episode!!

The Buddie scenes, the flirty wink (was there any need for that? Really?) *swoons*

Eddie standing up to his parents and getting Chris out of there! All confident and sassy! Buck won't know what's hit him!

Now, I really hope Eddie can fix up that house and haul their asses back to LA stat!!

Hey Nonnie. I had an entire reply written to this that Tumblr decided to eat. This one won’t be nearly as good, sadly.

It was a great episode! As it’s going, I’m enjoying 8b more than any other season since 5B. I like the mix of calls and character interactions along with the themes that seem to be coming back a little.

Eddie’s arc has been so wonderful to see. Him finding his confidence again in being a dad was chefs kiss. 💋 The flirty little wink was something, too! Almost like chatting over FaceTime versus in person lowers some inhibitions that he might not even realize he has when it comes to Buck. Hmm.

I loved the new ballroom dancing and trophy winning lore for Eddie, too! They could have easily gone for baseball or football as the comparison to reenforce a “straight macho Texas teenager” thing but they chose dancing. Such an interesting decision. Hmmm part two.

So happy that Chris is back with Eddie. I actually liked the way they handled Eddie’s confrontation with his parents because he isn’t a loud argumentative guy really. He got to turn Helena’s tactics back on her in a way that was delightful, and he was confident, firm, and knew he’s what Chris needs. He set boundaries back that I can’t wait to see being strengthened now that Chris is beside him where he belongs.

And leaving Ramon in Lubbock for the bus seat was so petty and hot of Eddie! 😂 I live in North Texas, and I’ve done the drive west through El Paso dozens of times. The stretch between Lubbock and El Paso is so long and boring (unless you stop off in Pecos to see Clay Allison’s grave or get a cantaloupe), and that’s when you’re in a car with comfortable seats and music. Definitely a little lesson that Ramon will feel in his butt and back for days. Lol

I’m looking forward to seeing how things happen to get our Diaz boys back to LA. I really would like for the choice to be theirs, not due to some huge emergency or death but because they know they belong there with their Buck and their family.

[crucifixaudit]

Saw @mosseroleplay and @ambicutiebutt do this and wanted to give it a go ;w; (including in game stats and impressions because I think they're neat)

How Crucifix feels about DoL NPCs

Love💗 Lust💋

LOVE INTERESTS:

Robin the Orphan (F) loves you (100%💗 22%💋 39%💙): Couldn't leave her to suffer and not help, but not comfortable with being in a relationship with her. Not sure how to let her down at this point.

Whitney the Bully (M) owns you (100%💗 20%💋 100%😈): Genuinely affection, finds him kind of sweet and endearing. Likes that he's dominant but gets flustered easily, sees him as kind of a baby dom. (The main reason Crucifix is considering staying longer than a year.)

Kylar the Loner (M) is imprisoned (57%💗 81%💋 99%🤢): Did not appreciate the jealousy or possessiveness, nor the kidnapping.

Sydney the Faithful (M) can't think of anything but you (100%💗 65%💋 100%😇) Oh wee lamb. Wants to be supportive of his purity if that's his choice, but worried that it comes from a place of external rigid enforcement rather than genuine self-expression, reluctant to try and tempt him.

Avery the Businessman (M) prizes you (100%💗) A business arrangement and an avenue to uncovering some of the town's darker secrets. Easy money, just smile and nod.

Great Hawk the Terror (F) wants you to stay forever (50%😈) What. What? No.

Alex the Farmhand (M) is in charge (100%💗 6%💋 52%😈) The farm is a nice way to make money, and Alex is... fine. Wish he would drink less, but better an alcoholic than some of the other things in town.

Black Wolf, Eden: hasn't met

SCHOOL STAFF

Doren the English Teacher thinks you're delightful (11%💗) Seems nice enough.

Leighton the Headmaster (M) has no strong opinion of you (1%💗 30%💋) Hates that he takes pictures of his students, worried there's more to him. Might need to start seeking him out to get his attention.

Mason the Swimming Teacher has no strong opinion of you. Seems nice enough.

Sirris the Science Teacher thinks you're delightful (30%💗) Seems nice enough.

Winter the History Teacher thinks you're delightful (76%💗) The history lessons have been helpful, and he seems nice enough.

EMPLOYMENT

Briar the Brothel Owner (M) thinks you're delightful (13%💗) Shady as hell, but he's kept his word so far. Cautious.

Charlie the Dance Coach (M) thinks you're delightful (54%💗) Sweet and affectionate, seems genuine.

Darryl the Club Owner (M) thinks you're delightful (100%💗) How... have you survived in this business this long. Soft but well meaning. What is going on between him and Briar?

Sam the Cafe Owner (M) thinks you're delightful (24%💗) Not great at protecting his employees, but c'est la vie. Just... don't come in the back while I'm making cream puffs.

Niki the Photographer (F) thinks you're delightful (38%💗) Easy money, probably won't step in if something happens during one of the photoshoots. Don't count on for help.

CRIMINALS

Landry the Criminal (M) has no strong opinion of you Reliable sort for his line of work. Doesn't seem as bad as some of the others in town.

Mickey the Hacker ??? Glad to have gotten them out of the orphanage and out from under Bailey and Leighton. Maybe able to help get other orphans out in the future...?

Wren the Smuggler (M) thinks you're delightful (34%💗) What a guy, strips me naked and comes all over himself after groping me. Love getting him naked and watching him squirm, then making him wreck Remy's shit.

Zephyr: hasn't met

AUTHORITY

Bailey the Caretaker (M) has no strong opinion of you (2%💗 20%💋) Do you think you're the lesser of evils? Do you think your hands are clean because you step out of the way of others? Do you think that will save you? Do you think about how you have no real memories of me before I walked into your office that first day? Do you know what it means that I'm here? Do you think just because I've been giving you enough money to keep your punishments at bay that I don't see your sins branded into the souls of everyone else? What do you think will happen to you when He comes to collect?

Harper the Doctor (M) looks up to you Absolute untrustworthy perve- hang on sorry he what.

Quinn the Mayor (F) has no strong opinion of you (6%💗 10%💋) Oh I am sending you directly to Hell first chance I get.

OTHER

Gwylan the Shopkeeper has no strong opinion of you ??? Don't know how they keep in business selling costumes out in the forest but good for them I guess.

Morgan the Sewer Dweller (M) has no strong opinion of you Weird homeless guy in the sewers I have to kick the shit out of whenever Landry loses a black box down there.

Remy the Farmer (M) has no strong opinion of you Stop fucking attacking the farm you absolute fuck-

Riley the MMA Coach (M) thinks you're delightful (20%💗) Good coach, seems nice enough.

Pale Wraith ??? Stop fucking possessing me-

[wynnefic]

reading roundup

I am delighted to announce that I have read more this month than any month since September 2020 🥳 Absolutely wild to consider! I track my reading on Goodreads, which creates cool graphs of your reading stats, and I beat out April 2021 by just a few pages. None of my books this month were book club books, which I've been meaning to get back to, but they were all fun in their own right.

The Tomb of Dragons rounds off the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy in a way that leaves me hoping that perhaps the author has changed her mind and extended the series. There's so much opportunity for more 🥺 I will miss the adventures of Thara Celehar. This quickly became one of my very favorite series. I didn't love everything about the last book, but overall, I'm a big fan of the trilogy. In this one, the ghost of a dragon sends Thara off on a quest to help put the wrongs of the past to right.

A Deadly Education is the first in Naomi Novik's Scholomance trilogy. A friend mentioned starting the series and I picked up the first book to share the opening lines with another friend. And then what do you know, it's a few days later and I've finished my reread of the trilogy. Fabulous fabulous stuff. A spooky boarding school with monsters crawling out of every vent and no professors in sight, a main character determined not to be the evil prophesied destroyer of magical society, the friendships that build over the course of the series, the unyielding hope for a better future for the magical children of the world.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop was an impulse read, having picked it up at the library based on the cute cover. It's a quick read about three characters who have hit a roadblock in life and stumble across a coffee shop run by cats. The cats serve them a drink and read their astrology charts and give them advice. Sweet and poignant, I was tearing up near the end. Just a gentle read about good-hearted people who need a little nudge in the right direction.

It's been a mostly book reading month, but I've read some great fics, too. I particularly enjoyed:

On Freedom and Other Formalities by iaso, an OFC/Genma/Kakashi fic in which the main character ropes in a near stranger for a marriage of convenience and ends up developing feelings. Also a great mission fic.

Lessons Learned (Lessons Relearned) by cywscross, a Percy Weasley time travel fic and an utter delight. I had a moment of pure glee when I saw this story notification in my inbox and started reading immediately.

Now Entering Incognito Mode! by travelingneuritis, in which SQQ, now a rogue cultivator, meets the perfect wife for Binghe. She knows a bit too much and reminds him strongly of a certain someone, but that's just how you know they're perfect for each other!

What have you been reading?

[loversfms]

[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed atlas shephard walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who he is ? they kind of look like michael cimino and i could be wrong but i think that they might be twenty-five years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last three years. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of chandler bing from friends. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at heights community center as an event coordinator. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the robin of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty circumspect at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty allocentric to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that two bedroom apartment beside me over in mango bay. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you! 

STATS:

full name :       atlas orion shephard nickname(s) :       n / a birthplace :       ranchos palos verdes, california date of birth :       august 30, 1999 parentage :       david shephard ii & giulia shephard sibling(s) :      marco shephard-yang (36), sadie shephard (32), david shephard iii (29), scout shephard (27) relationship status :       single gender identity :       cis man ( he/him ) sexual orientation :       heterosexual faceclaim :  michael cimino

BACKGROUND: (tw: adoption, mentions of neglect)

alejandro maldonado is six months old when the state of california deems his parents unfit to take care of their son. the social worker in charge of his case knows a family looking to add a member to their family. a baby, no less.

so, alejandro luis maldonado guzman becomes little atlas orion shephard ( the shephards feel as though they're honoring his birth family by keeping his first initial a ).

however, joining a family with two other kids is no easy feat -- especially when the parents have no intention of actually caring for their children.

the shephards are well off business people, which is how they get away with being such absent parents. they live in a big house, they take elaborate christmas cards, and they attend a school event here and there when it's convenient for them.

it wasn't all bad, though. as they grew up, sadie would read her assigned chapter books to him and clark would allow him to scribble on a sheet of paper next to him while he was making his own sketch.

there were a few nannies in the picture, but that all went away when the shephards decided the oldest (sadie and marco, now that he'd joined the family) were old enough to start taking care of the rest of them.

the shephards were trying to craft the perfect kid, which means they all got wildly different extra curriculars assigned to them. atlas had originally gotten soccer, but after his first game where he cried because he got hit with a ball, his dad was too embarrassed to take him back. they enrolled him in piano lessons shortly after ( because at least then he could entertain their friends ).

he loved all of his siblings, but in a young atlas' eyes, marco and sadie were not his siblings. all of his earliest memories include marco playing outside with him and sadie helping him with his homework. they were very much surrogate parents, while clark and scout were actually his siblings. it was every day the oldest two were mediating a fight between any combination of the youngest three.

being the youngest of five made it very hard to find himself outside of the shadow of the other four. it was a lot to live up to. who was atlas shephard ?

atlas, to put it nicely, had a very needy personality. he needed a lot of attention and reassurance, and he was not getting that from his parents. he'd get it from his siblings when they had it to give, but sometimes they just didn't.

living in the shadow of his siblings just made him awkward. he mumbles, he second guesses himself, he frequently puts his foot in his mouth… if he couldn’t even navigate his household, how was he going to navigate the world?

marco and sadie did the best they could, but atlas could just never understand why the parents who went through all the trouble of adopting him couldn't just spend a day with him. insecurity grew within him, and he was constantly changing his personality to see what would get him the most attention. he'd tried succeeding academically like sadie, rebelling ( in the best way atlas could ) like clark, and talking their ear off like scout. at the end of the day, his parents were simply not interested in it. and, even if they were, they had FIVE CHILDREN -- they had so many people to give attention to.

he wonders why the people who give birth to him hadn't been interested in working to keep him, why the people who supposedly wanted him didn't want him.

he's thirteen years old when marco moves away, and it shakes him a bit. he feels himself shrink without the man who helped shape who he was. beginning middle school around the same time was kind of a nightmare for atlas.

still, it's around that time he finds a little bit of himself. he realizes people care less about you when you make them laugh. he wasn't exactly gunning for class clown or anything, but the jokes and sarcasm come out easily enough when you hate yourself don't take yourself too seriously.

for the most part, he coasts through school. gets decent grades ( and has access to good tutors when he doesn't ), continues to play the piano ( but has no interest in composing his own music ), and makes enough jokes to distract outsiders from the insanity that is his family.

when it’s time for college, he asks himself: what is the best form of revenge for a family who only cares about appearances? actually caring for those with less. he’d never understood his parents obsession with raising money to LOOK GOOD and not actually caring about those who needed the help.

he goes to school for business, just to buy himself time. worse comes to worse, he starts his own business to help others.

he's nineteen when sadie leaves for florida, and it's yet another hit to his core. he still lives at home and is commuting to school, so he notices as each sibling leaves the nest. well, everyone but him.

and, even as one of the last to leave the shephard house, it still isn't enough to bring him much attention. there's small talk with his parents over coffee in the morning, but that's really the extent of it. they pay for his education, and he goes. it's transactional for all of them.

once he graduates, he makes his way to palmview ( definitely following sadie ). during his tour of the town, he makes a point to stop by the community center and sees they need an event coordinator. it seems like the perfect gig, and although he’s young, it doesn’t seem like many were jumping at the chance for the job.

he’s three years into the job, and he’s loved getting to meet the people in his town– kids and adults alike. he doesn’t often participate in his events, but he’s always there to see how others are enjoying them ( and to make sure everything runs smoothly ).

PERSONALITY:

as stated above, he’s quite awkward !!! either doesn’t think before he speaks or thinks too hard before he speaks … no in between

lowkey loves attention ( was obvs deprived of it ) but he’ll never admit thattttttt

can be a bit of an emo boy when the topic of family is brought up -- he sees the good in all of his siblings and loves them each for who they are, but that didn't make their situation any less difficult.

has a love / hate relationship with the winter months … has fond memories of the holidays growing up, but also knows they were jus for show … but also loves how busy the holiday season is !!!

has kind of settled into the “normal guy” role … He’s Just A Guy

very caring, though… has definitely lost a lot of money replacing jackets / hoodies he’s just handing out to people ….. quite literally giving the jacket off his back …..

he’s not a confident speaker in general … not the thoughts he shares … not the volume he speaks at … is always mumbling your chara will have to tell him to SPEAK UP !!!

[captonite]

Operation Razor: Extraction Protocol

Genre: Fluff / Humor / Brotherly Unhinged Overprotection™ Summary: To teach Sam and Dean a lesson about trusting her, Chubs invents a fake bad boyfriend named Razor. She expected confusion. What she gets is: background checks, an FBI file, and the boys planning a full-on military-grade rescue. She didn’t think they'd take it this seriously.

It started with a joke. One little joke.

“You’re not seriously leaving the bunker in that, are you?” Dean asked, horrified, as Chubs adjusted her leather jacket.

Chubs: “Why not? Razor says I look hot.”

Dean blinked. “What.”

Chubs, sipping her iced coffee: “My boyfriend. Razor.”

Sam looked up from his laptop like he just had a vision. “You’re dating a guy named Razor?”

Chubs shrugged. “What, you wanted me to go for a Brad?”

“BRAD WOULD BE SAFER.” Dean screamed.

She thought they’d forget about it.

Spoiler: they did not.

By the time she came back from her solo Target run (Razor may or may not have paid for the Starbucks), she was greeted with an interrogation board.

Sam had red strings pinned between photos of motorcycles and tattoo parlors.

Dean was on the phone.

“I don’t care if it’s illegal, Frank. I need a trace on the name Razor. Description? I dunno—leather-wearing heartbreak with too much eyeliner and maybe a switchblade?!”

Chubs stood in the doorway, frozen. “Are you guys… okay?”

Dean hung up. “WE’RE FINE. YOU’RE THE ONE DATING AN ANARCHIST.”

---

The next day?

Sam showed her a slideshow.

“Now, I know you think you like Razor, but here are the stats. According to the FBI, 62% of people named Razor are statistically linked to felony charges—”

Chubs: “SAMUEL, HIS NAME ISN’T EVEN REAL.”

Sam: “So he’s lying about his identity too?!”

Day 3 of The Razor Saga:

They staged an intervention.

Dean held a bat.

Cas had holy water and a knife.

Sam brought popcorn.

Dean: “If you bring him home, we’re exorcising him just in case.”

Chubs: “HE’S NOT A DEMON.”

Cas: “Unclear. The name suggests dark omens.”

Chubs: “IT WAS A JOKE!”

Dean, turning slowly: “…A what.”

Chubs: “I made him up. You guys were annoying. I needed a break.”

Sam: “…So there’s no Razor?”

Chubs: “No Razor.”

Dean lowered his bat. “So… we don’t have to hunt him down.”

Cas poured the holy water back into his flask. “Pity. I was prepared to neutralize.”

But it didn’t stop there.

Oh no.

Now that they knew Razor was fake, they still didn’t calm down.

In fact?

They made a new rule: Razor Protocol.

Rule #1: If she leaves the bunker, they get live updates.

Rule #2: Any new man she talks to must be vetted via FBI-lite checklist (Sam wrote it).

Rule #3: Cas is allowed to read the aura of anyone who gets too close.

---

So Chubs did what any chaotic baby sister would do:

She made Razor real.

Okay, not real real. She paid Jack twenty bucks and a Monster energy drink to play the part.

Jack wore sunglasses inside, slicked his hair back, and said things like “I don’t believe in government ID” and “I prefer the term ‘emotional outlaw.’”

Dean passed out.

Sam ran a background check on Jack even though he LIVES WITH THEM.

Cas called this "the darkest timeline."

Chubs? She laughed so hard she almost cried.

Eventually, she came clean. Again.

“Guys. Seriously. Razor’s not real. Jack isn’t Razor. I’m single. I’m fine. You need to relax.”

Dean sulked for a full day.

Sam sighed and said, “Sorry for assuming you couldn’t take care of yourself.”

Dean: “Yeah. I guess if some loser named Razor ever tried anything, you’d kill him before we even showed up.”

Chubs smiled. “Exactly.”

Cas nodded solemnly. “But if Razor ever does appear, I’m smiting him first.”

---

A Month Later

Dean’s phone buzzed.

Text from Chubs: “Hey, grabbing dinner with a guy I met at the bookstore. Be home by 9 <3”

Dean’s eyes widened. He immediately typed back:

“IS HIS NAME RAZOR.”

Chubs replied:

“Worse. His name is Topher.”

Dean had to sit down.

Sam: “You okay?”

Dean, quietly: “Razor would’ve been better.”