#i just wanted to draw him when he was younger but then I got sidetracked

[quibbs126]

Okay, I originally started making this over 2 weeks ago, but I got sidetracked and never finished it, but I went back yesterday to draw more of it

Basically I just wanted to draw Dark Choco and his past relationships with other characters

First off I drew him with Caramel Arrow Cookie, with him mentoring her in how to use a bow. I’ve kind of already covered how I see their relationship in an older artwork, but basically I see them having a pseudo older brother/younger sister relationship, while Dark Choco also acted as sort of a mentor to her

Next we have Dark Choco and Royal Berry, whom I also see them having a sibling sort of relationship (basically Dark Choco went out and just collected siblings like Pokémon, intentionally or not). While Dark Choco is older, here they’re both at least teenagers, Royal Berry’s just short. Initially they met simply because their parents were friends (I imagine Hollyberry and Dark Cacao probably kept the most in touch out of the Ancients post-Dark Flour War, but that’s just going off what I can gather so far), with Royal Berry befriending the shy Dark Choco Cookie, and later on they remained close friends, despite Royal Berry not being very enthusiastic about fighting or going on dangerous adventures (though that didn’t stop Dark Choco from occasionally roping him into shenanigans). Dark Choco just liked his friend, and he also provided a different perspective, considering everyone he knows in the Dark Cacao Kingdom is a warrior just like him. Dark Choco also acted as a bit of a wingman for Royal Berry when it came to Jungleberry, a young knight in the Hollyberry Kingdom, helping hype Royal Berry up and give him the confidence to ask her out, to which she agreed. Unfortunately Dark Choco just stopped coming over, after an incident in the Dark Cacao Kingdom that Royal Berry never got the details of as his mother never really told him, so he’s not sure what happened to his old friend. As for Dark Choco he wonders how Royal Berry is doing now (he’s unaware that he and Jungleberry got married and they had kids, he was only there for the first and maybe second date)

Then last night I drew Dark Choco and Second Watcher, which I finished earlier today. For the sake of simplicity I’m gonna call Second Watcher here Toffee Cookie, though I’m not sure if that’s my final name for him? (Also side note I just learned today that toffee is essentially caramel (well not really but it’s similar). For some reason I always thought it tasted more like coffee or honey, and thus a flavor I didn’t like. But I do like caramel, so I might actually try it sometime)

So initially I didn’t think much of Second Watcher, other than the fact that I’ve seen his name pop up quite a bit on here, which was a bit odd for a minor NPC. But upon looking again at that loading screen with Dark Cacao Cookie and a freshly baked Dark Choco Cookie, I noticed that the random Cookie holding Dark Choco Cookie was first off a man given the stubble, but also looked uncannily similar to Second Watcher Cookie, to the point where they might be the same person, and the Wiki at least seems to think so too (I’m aware the Wiki isn’t official or anything, but it is an interesting thing to point out). And that intrigued me, because he doesn’t look like a soldier or anything, he looks more like a nursemaid. Now how on earth did he go from a nursemaid to the second in command of the Watchers, the guard of the kingdom? There’s clearly a story there, so I came up with one of my own

So Toffee Cookie here was initially indeed a nursemaid for the prince (which good for him for breaking gender roles), and was basically his primary caretaker in stead of Dark Cacao Cookie (I don’t think Dark Cacao was a neglectful or absent father, it’s just that he’s a king with important duties and he can’t spend all his time looking after his son, and in seeming lack of another parent, he needs someone else to take care of Dark Choco). Dark Choco Cookie saw Toffee Cookie as sort of a secondary parental figure, sort of like Lancer and Rouxls Kaard from Deltarune? Only Toffee sees Dark Choco like a son as well, even if he knows he isn’t

Anyways, so one particular night, when Dark Cacao Cookie was absent from the Citadel as he was dealing with matters in distant reaches of the kingdom, there was an assassination attempt on the prince. They created a ruckus with the Wall, causing the guards to focus their attention on whatever was attacking them outside, diverting and distracting them so that they could get to their target. Toffee Cookie went to Dark Choco’s room to make sure he was unharmed or he wasn’t scared by all this (keep in mind Dark Choco’s not very old here, he’s like 4-5 in Cookie terms), only to find assassins trying to attack him. Thankfully, Toffee had combat training, as is required of any Dark Cacaoian, and on instinct he pulled out a concealed dagger and attacked the assassin closest to Dark Choco, picking him up and fleeing the room. The assassins eventually cornered them and so Toffee stood his ground and fended off their attackers with his dagger until help might arrive. This is how Toffee Cookie lost his eye, as is evident in the picture. Eventually the soldiers realized the deception and after taking care of the threat to their Wall, went on a desperate search to find the prince, hoping they weren’t too late. They eventually found Toffee Cookie, stained with his own jam and the jam of the assassins, surrounded by dead or unconscious assassins, fighting off the ones still remaining. They were able to get rid of the final assassins, and the attack was finally over. They found the prince unscathed, though clearly terrified from everything, and he was clinging on to Toffee Cookie for dear life, refusing to leave his side, even after Toffee Cookie collapsed from exhaustion and his wounds, staying by his side as the healers worked on him and into the next morning. Dark Cacao quickly came back after hearing of the incident and was relieved to find his son unharmed. Toffee Cookie was praised for his tenacity and even offered a spot on the Watchers, but he declined due to his current loyalty being to the safety of the prince, even if he wanted to join them. This made Dark Choco determined to work twice as hard at his training, so that he’d be able to take care of himself and Toffee Cookie would be able to join the Watchers like he wanted, and some years later, when Dark Choco was older, Toffee Cookie joined the Watchers, and eventually became Second Watcher Cookie. Not sure if he was originally First Watcher but stepped down when Caramel Arrow Cookie got promoted or if he only got as far as Second Watcher

Also side note I like the idea of Second Watcher being Caramel Arrow’s father, whether biological or not, so there’s more fuel for Dark Choco and Caramel Arrow being siblings

Originally I was gonna draw the two after the incident, with Dark Choco promising to train even harder so that Toffee can join the Watchers, but that would have required dialogue, and also I wanted to draw this scene more

There were gonna be more, but I either don’t remember who they were gonna be with, or it just didn’t fit with the stuff I was drawing, mainly relationships from post Strawberry Jam Sword

For example, I was gonna draw him meeting Purple Yam Cookie during that tournament, only for me to stumble across my old post talking about Dark Choco’s connection to both Milk Cookie and Purple Yam Cookie, and I realized that based on what Purple Yam Cookie says (the fact that “the Dark Choco Cookie he met didn’t know how to smile”, despite the fact that Young Prince Dark Choco Cookie’s sprites almost all show him smiling, other than anger or defeat/exhaustion sprites, implying that he used to smile a lot, and that he “didn’t wear flimsy clean armor”, despite us knowing Dark Choco wore that armor even during his attack on Dark Cacao Cookie), Purple Yam Cookie must have only met Dark Choco Cookie after the Strawberry Jam Sword.

Edit: So I’ve been told that Purple Yam actually probably met Dark Choco before the Strawberry Jam Sword, for the reasons listed here (I’m trying to link it), so what I say here might be moot. Ah well, I still didn’t draw more than an unfinished sketch

But anyways yeah I ended up cropping the canvas short because I couldn’t think of any more and I just wanted to finish this piece

Writing this I think some other ones I was going to draw were Jungleberry (mutual respect as fighters) and his first encounter with Milk, but oh well

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

[arry-katt310]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

I'm gonna explain more on Maddie’s character bc she's my current obsession and I keep coming up with more for her.

Maddie is currently pansexual. She ends up with a cross dressing boyfriend who she gets married to in the future. That'll be another post tho.

She may not support the things her family does, but she supports their sexual preferences. So she wears pride stuff such as rubber band bracelets the colors of her brothers' sexuality flags on her wrists constantly.

Some other facts about her:

She has been in the pocket dimension of Hell for a year now.

Constantly exhausted.

Babysits Andrew when her brother is at work; she adores Andrew and tries not to get on his case about how crappy his father is.

Got shot 5 times before she moved in the pocket dimension.

People love to call her "a gift from the Gods".

She helps around the city and is a speaker for the church; the church is actually very terrible. The pastor is unhealthily obsessed with her, his logic is "she's a gift from the Gods, I'm the main pastor of the church, so therefore she was sent here for me" he hasn't told anyone this, but he has said it to her a couple times and holds it against her. This will be a different post later.

She acts a LOT like her dad. She's good at gaslighting ppl. Very good at it. And possibly one if the only ppl who can read her father; she can't always do it, but to Julius's @sanityshorror surprise, she has done it before.

She can fight powerful people, but she can't go against her dad. If she ever does get in a physical fight with him, she'd lose. It's bc I triggers her childhood trauma whenever her dad gets violent, so she'll easily let that get to her and it'll put her guard down.

Idk if this is something Killian @sanityshorror would actually do, but he wanted to see how good she was at fighting, so he asked her to show him by battling with him. Now if Julius was the one who asked her, she'd back down, but since she doesn't know Killian that well, she accepted. However this ended terribly. She got sidetracked and Killian cut her arm open with his weapon. He had no intention of hurting her, so he's very upset with himself bc of this incident.

Since Maddie is a vampire and can communicate with the dead, she talks to her mother’s ghost. Half of their conversations is just bashing her father. Emily doesn't really have anything against Julius and holds no grudge, but if Maddie wants to, they'll spend hours talking shit. Emily dies draw the line at bashing Octavian @sanityshorror and Devlin @scarfaxia. Bc those two are STILL her sons in her eyes, and they have been working hard just to get Maddie to trust them. So she will not let Maddie hurt her brothers.

When she was younger, she was so desperate for her father's attention, that she tried to make her own little designs for him to look at. She never had the confidence to show him, but when he was going through things at the old house, he found one of her designs and actually created it. Its on display at the dress shop. However this was so long ago that she does not know that that dress was one that she created. He's been trying to hint at it, but he's Julius so he doesn't do much and is too petty to do actually it.

Maddie doesn't have any friends. She's too busy to hang out a keep a friendship going. So her brothers are the only ones she hangs out with.

Maddie is only 16. She's a high school student, so she's busy with that.

Her worst subject is history while her best is English. Killian tutors her in history whenever he has the time. And since then, she's been getting higher grades.

She also is taking a psychology class. She has a pretty high grade in it.

The only reason she's IN the pocket dimension is bc when Julius killed Annabella, he had no idea that Maddie was living with her and when he found out, he was told by Satan to keep her bc he sees her as "good potential"

Maddie has no desire to join Julius. The second she graduates high-school, she's going to college. And probably moving out of state.

That's all! Bye! Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

[not-me-bye]

All for a reason Soowon x princess reader

"I hadn't thought anything was wrong with our relationship, oh what a fool I had been". "They were always so close".

.....

The day had started perfect, my boyfriend Hak and I had spent the morning together riding horses and just goofing around in general. I thankfully didn't have to be kept shielded in a glass box like my sister yona had too. She was never allowed to do anything or go anywhere unsupervised, otherwise father would scold her and her maids would have to keep her under intense watch. I was glad that I could do and roam as i please but sometimes I couldn't help but be hurt that our father cared so little about me, I get it I look nothing like yona and I don't look like father either. I had always thought it was because I resembled my mother and that's why he barely acknowledged me but.... It had to be something else it just had to be.

From what I could remember when i was little father barely visited me when I was with my mother, only visiting my mother and yona when she was born ,but would rarely speak to me or even look in my direction. My mother didn't say anything about it but she never referred to me as king ils daughter, she just referred to me as her daughter. It was one big mystery and beyond lonely.

Once I met hak and soowon it was like all had changed and I felt what it was like to be happy and no longer be lonely. Soowon had immediately taken to following me around and asking me all sorts of weird questions when we had first met all those years ago. He was a year younger than me yet he seemed to not care in the slightest. It was like he had just up and chose to befriend me, over the years we had gotten close and I had admired him for sometime, you could even say it was like a crush. Eventually though he only came around so often and my feelings fizzled out. That's when I fell for hak, he had been so bossy and a bit of an ass. We slowly began to hang out and gravitated to each other more and more, he also befriended and was close with yona too. I didn't at the time see the feelings he most definitely had for her. Instead as we got older I eventually confessed to hak and he had said he liked me back and we began a relationship, he was my first for a lot of things but I never expected it to end in my first heart break.

"I'm getting a bit sidetracked let me get back to the day at hand and what all had happened."

I had always heard the rumors that I wasn't king ils legitimate child and I didn't want to believe it being so young but now that I was older it was sounding more and more likely, the only way I would know is if I went and looked through my mothers things that were packed away in storage. I would have to be careful because of king il saw me he would be MAD. I crept into the part of the place that my mothers belongings were kept and went though her box of letters, drawings, and personal notes. If I wasn't his legitimate child then she might have wrote about it or atleast hinted about it in her journal. I looked through the pages finding nothing then I found the other one and looked through it and found something. My mother was recalling an incident that had happen where I had came to her crying and asking why father liked Tina so much but hated me. She wrote about the how it ached her heart and that she was glad I wouldn't struggle or be met with poverty thanks to "fathers" kindness but she was still sad I wouldn't ever know any real father figure il or "my biological father".... I knew it and yet I felt my heart stop.

I couldn't help the hurt that I felt despite knowing that this was the most likely outcome. All I could think about was going and finding hak. He would understand and he would comfort me. I quickly went Looking for hak hurriedly checking rooms. I went to yonas room and absentmindedly opened the door. Hak was indeed there but so was yona and they were kissing, not just a simple kiss but full on making out. I felt my heart drop. "How could you, either of you", I yelled. Hak cake close to me trying to explain himself, "y/n I'm sorry it's not like it looks, I didn't mean it like that". The audacity of him to try and act like it was some accident had me seeing red. I slapped hak and went to yona backhanding her as well. "You were supposed to be my sister, I trusted you YONA", I turned around walking out before either could say anything. I went back to my room and as soon as the door shut I cried and I cried, for my broken relationship and for the father daughter relationship I wouldn't ever know or have.

Weeks had passed and I wouldn't speak to yona or hak, I avoided them and refused to even look at them. What made it worse was they were already in a relationship a maid told me. I've never been more humiliated,sad, pissed. I could kill them both. Thankfully just the perfect timing Soowon had arrived and I had met him at his rooms. I had hugged him and he pulled me into his room and I told him everything from hak and yona too my not father. "I'm so sorry y/n" he said as he hugged me. We spent some time like that. "There is actually something I need to tell you". Soowon nervously continued, "I'm to be married soon and since king il doesn't want it too be yona he is arranging that I marry you, I wanted to tell you myself". "I'm sorry that all this is being pushed on you y/n". I was stunned to say the least, I sat quiet not saying anything for a longgg time. "Y/n" Soowon worriedly asked. "I'm just trying to process all this" I said with a sigh. I had always liked soowon and the crush had always lingered in my heart but I had thought i lost it. I had also thought I wouldn't move on from hak or be able to live but guess I was wrong again. Here goes nothing "soowon... I have to tell you something, I have liked you for a long time more than just friends." "I thought I had lost the feelings I held for you all that time ago when I developed feeling for hak, but the feelings I have for you are still very much here for you and I just..." Words couldn't describe what I felt so I pulled Soowon into a kiss. That went on for a hot second before I pulled back. Soowon sat there silently stunned, I thought he was gonna reject me since he didn't exactly kiss me back but her again he surprised me. "I've felt the same for you for so long, I never got the chance since you started dating hak but I'm happy to know now that you reciprocated my feelings all this time" Soowon states with a slight blush to his face as he leans in and kisses me. I'm glad he's kissing me so he can't see the goofy ass smile I have on my face. "So are we together now , before we were gonna be yknow together anyway" I ask. "Yes we are y/n" he laugh.

........

It's crazy how all that happened and now I'm with soowon my childhood love. Maybe things do happen for a reason. I'm loved and no longer alone and I have someone who stands up for me against king il, it feels nice to be loved.

Requested by anon on wattpad

This is short and not the best but I’m still new and working on my writing skills, pls be patient. I do take requests for my oneshot book on wattpad, my @ is @IzanasWhore444

[imagine-fight-write]

BANANA FISH REVIEW - Vol 1., PART 8

Hello, Everyone!

Banana Fish time!

#it's been too long

As always, remember Banana Fish has no real chapters, so who knows when this post will end. #it will be long

Also, I will get sidetracked. That is a given.

And there's spoilers, I guess.

So last time, we found out who the poor, mysterious banana fish guy is who Ash found wayyy back at the beginning & kicked off the plot.

#reporting can be deadly kids

We also found out what banana fish is! (Mostly).

#that's from Batman: The Animated Series #it's the best

But not how banana fish got started, who made it, or what it was doing over in Vietnam & how Ash's poor brother Griffin got involved. Or even the full effects of what it does to you & how. #but maybe we don't want to know

#biting your nails is a terrible habit

Or why Dino #the murdering worst

# I'm not forgetting those kids he casually murdered #and they're prob. not the first #not to mention Ash

Ahem, or why Dino the murdering worst is involved & what he plans to do with banana fish #apart from something terrible, because he's the worst.

Also, I forgot to mention, on pg.75 when Charlie is like, "well, um, Max (your contact) is in jail." to Eiji & Ibe, he blushes in this adorable, totally related way.

#it's important

Now in the next scene, pg. 83, Eiji & Ibe enter the police station to talk about contacting a gang for their story about youth gangs.

#were they going to compare / contrast their own youth gangs?

#who I know exist because of Fruits Basket & YuYuHakusho.

Eiji fan-girls over being in an actual police station. Or maybe an American police station? #unclear #it's so cute

He quotes Kojak, (not this exact quote tho)

#It's true!

but don't smoke kids, it's bad for you #PSA announcement

#my boxing coach resembled this guy ; D

Eiji also thinks Inspector Jenkins looks like Columbo, another popular police detective story at the time.

#which I've also seen & it is glorious #so is Kojak

#we never see his wife but he talks about her all the time it's so adorable

I don't think Jenkins looks that much like Columbo tho, apart from untidiness. #must be the coat

On the next page we're introduced to Inspector Norris, who's not important except to point out, if you haven't noticed Yosida's tendency for face-sameness, you might notice it here.

#but who cares, I can't draw that well #tho I can draw

#I blame the manga industry which drives artists on terrible schedules #please give them more time

for their health & for better art!

Then I relate to Eiji so hard, because everyone thinks he's so much younger than he actually is (19). Inspector Jenkins thinks Eiji looks like he's in grade school.

I mean yes, he does look young, but not grade school young.

#did Jenkins mean high school? #translation questions

And Eiji lampshades it by thinking, "Okay, some surprise. Not that much."

He's annoyed by it #probably because people treat him like a kid

Everyone's expressions are great tho. Whenever anyone laughs they look so cheerful, it's great.

Maybe they're just really bad at telling people's ages in general. But they're cops! Isn't that sort of a requirement ? So you can look for criminals or describe them later based on their characteristics?

Ibe & Jenkins have an interesting discussion about how even Japanese think Eiji is younger than he is. Jenkins says, "It's hard to tell the age of Asians, isn't it?" which sounds racist?

Is it harder telling someone's age if they're from another country / race? #idk #why does it matter anyway

#this is the eagle from the movie Rescuer's Down Under

#I recommend

Anyway. Norris says Eiji looking young is actually good, because, I quote, pg. 85 "They don't trust adults. But with you they might just relax a little and open up. And they like to show off to people their own age." #because of course they do

Ibe asks if they're dangerous, and gets an Elvish "Yes, but also no" response. Violence is their life, because "they're younger, they're also more impulsive, more unpredictable." pg.86

But also, "The flip side is they take their honor seriously. Even absurdly. They feel it's what separates them from the . . . well, I guess you could say, the grown-ups in organized crime." pg.86

#grown-ups are the worst #sick burn

Then we get confirmation that Ash is the best #we know this already, but it's great to hear because he's a gang leader, which means he has to - rule isn't the correct word, I guess "keep order" is more what they're going for, but also not be afraid to lay down the law if necessary #as we saw. Of the aforementioned, violent but honorable & volatile kids & teenagers Norris just mentioned.

#sounds tough #they sound kinda like samurai but not as cultured

#or maybe Vikings

Jenkins has this great quote about Ash, top of pg.87,

"This kid Ash is smart as they come, tough as hell, but also full of presence."

Ibe asks if Ash is also a "young boy" which Jenkins confirms, and also mentions that he (Ash) is Caucasian. Which is supposed to be surprising for some reason? But also, in true 80s fashion, Ash has managed to unite some Black and Latino kids into his gangs, "racial harmony".

#I do like the inclusion of Black & Latino people in Banana Fish #tho they're not always drawn respectfully

#surprisngly the (few) ladies in Banana Fish are drawn respectfully

#but not always respected #Ash needs to apologize to the doctor's secretary, Ms.Brandish #secretaries have tough jobs

#go racial harmony #let's respect each other #but don't join gangs they're bad for you #Banana Fish is all about that

#also Caucasian has Asian in it #which is strange #also funny? #what is English

Eiji thinks, "Ash. I'm going to meet him soon." And we get a lovely picture of him wondering about Ash at the end of pg. 87

And then we cut to Ash talking to Dino #the murdering worst.

Duh duh duh!

Going to stop here, it's late.

Next time, a lovely convo battle of wits between Ash & Dino, I question Dino's dress choices, lots of lovely framing shots, 2 lowlifes plot terrible plots, and maybe we will finally get to when Ash & Eiji meet!

[rootplants]

poorly written bachira headcanons cause im bored

i got absolutely no art to post because UGHHHHH ART BLOCK UGHHHH WAAAA BOOOOOOOO

so ummm

heres some headcanons i have hahaaa..... sweating...

Bachira has ADHD lowkey... (this might be me projecting because I have adhd and kin him but shut up)

He was also like really into vocaloid when he was younger, his favorites are the kagamine twins or luka cause that mf knows the luka luka night fever dance by heart and you know it.

also he sings along to kikuo and maretu despite understanding the lyrics

like im laughing so hard rn cause im imagining isagi walking in as bachira is singing "you are a useless child 🎵 nananana🎵" and isagi's just staring as he's jamming out to these dark songs im projecting rn im not gonna lie so who wants to be my isagi amirite (im getting sidetracked)

OH AND BACHIRA IS GODLIKE AT RYTHM GAMES I AM SO SURE OF THIS project sekai? full combo. full perfect if he really tries tbh. project diva? PERFECT. DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION?? YOU KNOW THE ANSWER i dont cause ive never played ddr BUT YOU MIGHT.

i mentioned this earlier but he REALLY likes kikuo tbh... his favorite songs are (i only know the english titles forgive me) invitation from spooky, you became the moon (is that even the title i forgor), dont look at me in that way and misfortune seller girl. IM SO RIGHT

Bachira probably rewatches old cartoons he watched as a baby like "haha baby protagonist! thats so true! its so cool how you stay fresh and original after all these years!" "couldve sworn you were funnier when i was 7 though..."

he's either a really good cook, or will set the kitchen on fire while trying to make cereal. no in between.

i feel like he's really really good at swimming and that he likes swimming specifically in the ocean like imagine lil bachira begging his mom to go to the beach like awwwww

OH SPEAKING OF HIS MOM HE WAS DEFINITELY AN ART KID, or ATLEAST got really good grades in art class he liked to draw the weird way he saw the world so he made some pretty sick abstract stuff with his mom bachiras abstract art>>>>>

i cant think of any but if i do ill be making more of these stupid rambling type posts

if u actually want me to say more of my hcs just send me an ask mwah

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Six Strangers Walk Into a Bar: Part 7 (Severen x Fem!Reader) fic

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Warnings: sexual content, cursing, Homer is a canon compliant little creep

Word Count: 3662

Smut and fluff, ‘cause some people said they deserved it after that angst chapter, but man this took forever to write. Literally didn't edit this cause we die by our mistakes

It was harder than you thought to keep your mind clean. Severen didn't help you by fondling your ass every now and then, and you were uncomfortably riled up by the time you got to the motel. Severen only grinned and asked,

"Something wrong, darlin'? And you gave him an extra hard glare as he opened the door to the motel room. To your surprise, it was empty. Mae and Caleb had a habit of going off by themselves for reasons besides feeding, and you supposed that Jesse and Diamondback hadn't eaten yet. And Homer? Well, you set your food on the table and checked the bathroom, but he was nowhere to be found. Severen took off his leather jacket, arching a brow at you to ask, and you shook your head. The two of you stared at eachother for a moment, and then both of you fell onto your bed for the night. The kiss was all tongue and you yanked at Severens hair as he slid between your legs. The two of you could never expect to get far, even in these moments when no one was at the room. But you hoped, prayed, that you could at least get to third base. Severen didn't hesitate to touch you now, groping at your breasts through your shirt, rubbing and pinching at your clothed nipples. It made your breath hitch, and you nipped at his lips and urged him on with a roll of your hips. He groaned at the contact, rutting back and slipping his hands under your shirt. While you appreciated the foreplay, your time was limited. It's why you pulled your hands from his hair and reached to unbutton the button of your jeans, quickly begging him with the words,

"Please, Severen, please touch me." And Severen didn't need to be asked twice. His hand wormed its way down your pants and you let out a frustrated whine when he rubbed you through your panties. He was such a tease, and you yanked at the hair at the nape of his neck to show your frustration. He chuckled into your kiss, before tilting his head and deepening your kiss. You were already soaked, you could tell. You couldn't remember a time you'd been so pent up. But, well, you couldn't remember a time where you'd gone this long without consistent, if not unsatisfying sex. At least you'd had the privacy of your own home to masturbate, but you hadn't even had that. Severens hand finally slipped under your panties, rubbing through your folds and making you moan pathetically into his mouth. He ate it up, and you knew you were probably boosting his ego dangerously high. 

He used the calloused pad of his thumb to rub circles into your clit, nearly making you cry out at the attention and arch up into him. He started a fast pace, his thumb firmly pressing against the bundle of nerves. It made the fire roar inside your belly, and you felt his fingers gathering up your slick before traveling lower. He circled your entrance, not missing an opportunity to tease you, before he began to sink one inside. His hands were big and his fingers were thick, much thicker than yours. The feeling made you keen, and you thought that just a minute more of this and you'd be cumming around it.

Of course, he'd barely begun to pump the single digit inside of you before you heard a key in the door. You gasped, but he was ripping his hand away from your sex, and helping you button up your pants in a single second. You'd just zipped your zipper and Severen had just pushed himself off of you, deciding to pop his slick finger inside his mouth and suck your slick off, before the door opened. The two of you had sat up, but, it was clear from your flushed face that this wasn't all you'd been doing. In came Homer, a coke in his hand, and Severen glared at the younger vampire as he pulled a pillow over his crotch. He looked at the two of you, and a grin was quick to come to his face.

"Did I interrupt something?" And suddenly you understood why Severen was so mean to the kid sometimes. The pair of you sat with your backs against the headboard, as Homer had refused to leave to give you a few more minutes of privacy. He sat on the floor to watch TV, and you glared at the screen mourning your ruined orgasm. When the pair of you had not so subtly suggested, he'd replied, "Oh, go back to what you were doing. Pretend like I'm not even here." And it had earned him a pillow to the back of the head.

All hopes of him leaving were dashed when Jesse and Diamondback came back to the room, and you sunk into the bed completely defeated. Severen didn't look any better than you, and Diamondback had even asked,

"Did something happen?" As if the pair of you had a fight. You shook your head, and it wasn't long before all seven of you were back in the room. You leaned against Severens chest stared at the TV, zoning out more than anything as he combed his hands through your hair. Thought flashes through your mind. Replays of the feelings from only a little while earlier. Severen had definitely known what he was doing, and, even if you'd gotten close, you hadn't even began to touch him. Quickly, your images of Severen teasing you flipped. You replayed the groan you had earned from him, imagining being able to draw more sounds like that from him. How his skilled hands would tangle into your hair, similar to the way they were petting your head now. How he would guide your head, and, probably, hold you down to slip his dick down the rest of your throat. You imagined going further, how deep he'd be able to fit inside you. If you were honest, you didn't know truly how big he was. Well, you could arrange to figure out soon. But your thoughts continued. You mused about how easily he could pick you up, hold you down. Being whatever he was did have a few advantages. You bit your lip for a moment, a particularly tantalizing image of him pinning you down by your arms, no your throat, appearing in your mind.

You gulped at the thought. After a few more minutes of sulking and fantasizing, a thought occurred to you. While there was practically no hope of all of them leaving, that didn't mean that the pair of you had to stay. Usually, you weren't the type for anything as risque attempting to get off without four walls surrounding you, but desperate times called for desperate measures. You looked at the time, and bit your lip when you saw that it was 4 am. Dawn was still an hour or so away, and you looked towards the brunette sitting besides you. You leaned over to kiss his cheek, if only to catch his attention away from the TV.

"Wanna go for a walk?" You asked, and Severen arched a brow at you. Usually, you weren't one for walks at night, but he was quick to nod. Severen trailed after you everywhere, and you doubted he'd let you go out at this time of night without him. You hopped off the bed and tugged him by his hand, and Diamondback called after the pair of you,

"Watch the time." Even if you knew that was mostly for Severen. Once the door had shut behind you, you grinned and pulled him down the hall. The outside air was cool, and you giggled at the pure excitement running through you. Severen smiled along, trying to catch you by your waist as he asked,

"What's gotten into you?" And you turned around to stop and give him a grin. The pair of you had found the bottom of the stairwell. It was a small little room, but, just under the stairs, it was slightly secluded. Tucked away where no one could see. You flushed a little as you tried to think of your words, playing with his shirt as you tried to figure out how to phrase them. You were never good at flirting, and it was embarrassing what you were about to tell him. Instead, you decided to tug on his shirt and tug him back into the darkness, tip-toeing up to press kisses to his jaw. He followed you until you pushed his back against the wall, tilting his head down so he could capture your lips. His hands moved down your sides, and Severen was quick to recapture his fervor from earlier. He reached down to grip your ass, making you moan into his mouth before one of his hands moved to your front. He rubbed and cupped you through your jeans, and you arched your hips into the touch. But, before you could become completely sidetracked, you reached down to start undoing his jeans. He was quick to pull away from the kiss, his eyes swirling with lust, but he said,

"Wait, wait, not here- I wanted to do something nice-" And while you were flattered that he'd thought far ahead enough to want to plan something, you quickly shushed him. You placed a finger over his lips, before leaning up to peck them. When you fell back on your heels, you told him,

"Don't get ahead of yourself, cowboy." And you were surprised by the surge of confidence that ran through you. You didn't know why, but that was the boost you needed. He smiled down at you, grinning wickedly at the nickname before he watched you fall down to your knees. You unbuckled his belt, deciding that this was the best way to answer a few of your questions. You'd pushed his shirt up as you made work of his pants, sucking a hickey into his side, before you were reaching in to rub him through his underwear. He hardened under his fingertips, and you made work of trailing little red spots above his waistband. When you got to his happy-trail, you nosed along the line of hair before you were finally pulling his underwear down and letting his cock spring free.

It was long and thick, and slightly bigger than you'd expected. But, that didn't stop you from licking the side all the way to the tip, wrapping your lips around it and starting to massage it with your tongue. While you'd only really been with one guy, you had some practice. Even if Severens dick was bigger than what you were used to working with. You looked up, seeing that he'd leaned his head back against the wall. He was never one to stay quiet long, and he quickly began coaxing you through it. 

"Just like that, yeah. You can take a little bit more, can't you?" He asked, his hand finding its way to the back of your head. You'd started up a steady rhythm, and he lightly pushed you to take more and more of his length. Your jaw was already starting to ache, but you forced through it and took him down deeper. His voice had gone a little rough around the edges, and he said, "Good girl. Just like that." And, god, you were wet just from the sound of his voice. His hips moved with the rhythm you'd started, pushing himself further and further down your throat until he nudged the back of it. You did you best not to gag, but, soon, it seemed as thought he was no longer content to let you keep control. He paused your head, pushing it further down to earn a muffled whine and you quickly did your best to keep your throat relaxed. He grinned, and then said, "Keep that pretty mouth of yours open, darlin'." He said, reaching down to massage your jaw. He gripped you by your hair, keeping it so you couldn't move your head as he began thrusting into your mouth. His place started slow and nice, giving you a moment to get used to it before all you could do was let your mouth hang open as he pistoned himself inside your mouth. You could feel tears pricking in your eyes, the quick pace making it so drool was dribbling down your chin. You could feel his dick twitch inside your mouth, hear him as he whispered huskily, "Yeah, just a little bit more," and then- 

You heard heavy footsteps stomping down the stairwell and Severen ripped you off his dick. He was quick to tuck himself away and fix his pants, and he helped you up off of the ground. You did your best to wipe the drool off your chin as Severen fixed his belt, and the pair of you walked around the stairs to act as if the pair of you were heading back up. You passed a stranger, obviously one staying in the motel just like you, and you could hear Severen cursing under his breath. The only thing you could make out was,

"Fucking blueballs-" And you covered your mouth, stifling a laugh. He whipped his head towards you, and you quickly cleared your throat to cover it up. Still, you thought perhaps it was just a little funny. 

Subtle revenge, you thought. Even if it hadn't been intentional. He scoffed, looking around and then backing you up against the wall. You squeaked, and one of his hands cupped your chin and squeezed your cheeks. His light eyes were shrouded in darkness, and he leaned down close to whisper,

"Laugh at me again and I'll fuck that mouth raw. Got it?" He asked, and you tried not to think about the heat pooling in your belly from his threat. You knew that Severen would never do anything you didn't want him to, but the idea of him being even less restrained? Of him taking control? It made your eyes hooded as you stared up at him. You gave him a quick nod, and he looked over your face for a moment before leaning down to recapture your lips. He sucked your bottom lip into his mouth, letting his teeth graze against it in a way that made you whimper. Your mouth was already sensitive, and his kiss was bruising. His hands wandered, groping whatever he pleased and making you arch into the touch. When his thumb rubbed over one of your nipples, you grabbed his hand and arched into his touch. You whimpered, the sound needy and pathetic, and, for a moment, you thought Severen was gonna hike you around his hips and take you right there. He didn't, and a wave of disappointment filled you. Instead, he swiped his thumb across your bottom lip and said, "Car?" And you thought he was a genius.

Your "clan" had picked a truck with a cap earlier that evening, one that Severen had taken straight off the lot. The first night you'd watched him do it, you'd been fascinated with how quick he was with a hanger. The second the doors were closed the pair of you were back on eachother. There was a semblance of privacy, one that let the pair of you slow down just the tiniest bit. He kissed you over and over until you were putty in his hands, and you heard him start to unfasten his own belt so you could finish what you had started. 

“How can I help you, pilgrim?” He asked, and the annoyance was clear in his voice. Whatever this intrusion was for, it wasn’t welcome. Caleb smiled, a tinge of knowing in his eyes, and he gave you a smile before he said,

A knock on the window of the truck nearly scared the shit out of both of you, and Severen looked through the darkened window to see the slightly dirty face of his brother. Caleb. Severen leaned back in the seat, cursing, before he began cranking the window down.

“Diamond’ wanted me to tell you that sun’s up in a half hour.” Caleb said, and Severen gave him a hard glare. Caleb was chewing a toothpick, and it was one of the first times you’d seen him without Mae. It seemed that cock-blocking the pair of you was a game that both of Severen’s brothers enjoyed.

“Tell her I said thank you.” Severen replied, and then went to close the conversation with a few rolls of the window. Before he could, Caleb piped up. From the look in Severen’s eye, you almost thought he was gonna give him a black eye.

“There’s a camera right there, y’know.” Caleb said, pointing towards a security camera neither of you had spotted before. Right under it was a sign telling them that the parking lot was under twenty-four hour surveillance. You blushed bright red, suddenly thankful for the intrusion. The brunette besides you gave you a look, and he seemed to be able to tell that if you were going to continue your earlier action, it wasn’t going to be here. Severen sighed and shook his head, then gave Caleb a grin as fake as canned cheese.

“Thank you, Caleb. You can leave now.” Severen said, his voice dripping with faux-kindness. Caleb must’ve enjoyed pulling on Severens chain, or at least he might’ve enjoyed brushes with death. Because Caleb had the gall to continue as he stepped back, saying,

“Oh, I might go for a walk. Isn’t that what y’all said you were gonna do? You two get far?” And Caleb’s double-meaning wasn’t lost on the two of you. Severen opened the door, as if he really was going to beat Calebs ass, and the light haired brunette laughed and jogged away from the silent threat of violence. Severen slammed the door closed and sighed, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed for a moment. You were still curled up next to him, and you gently pet at his chest before you laid his head on his shoulder. It seemed neither of you were getting far that night, and you opted to cuddle up to him instead. Softly, you told him,

“We’ll figure something out.” And he let out a soft grunt in response. He reached down to fix himself in his pants, giving his dick a squeeze to try to lessen the pressure. You leaned over, kissing at his jaw until he turned his head to press his lips against yours. After a quick slide of his lips, he offered,

“We could get in the back.” And you gave him a small glare in response. He sighed, and you could practically hear his train of thought. Swing and a miss. He leaned back in to give you another short, sweet kiss, and you ran your hand over his thigh, trying to find purchase. His breath hitched for a moment, and he said, “Don’t tease.” Before he leaned back in, deepening the kiss. 

You didn’t get to do much more than makeout in the truck, but you’d taken your extra bout of time with eachother to talk lightly. It was nice, just laying on his chest and listening to him speak. You’d gotten to ask a few questions, and you’d specifically asked about his age. He’d grinned for a moment as he laid his head back, and vaguely said,

“You know about the Chicago fire?” He asked, and you furrowed your brows. It didn’t take long to put together what he was telling you. They set fires each night, and you lifted your head off his chest.

“That was you?” You asked, poking his chest. He laughed, nodding and continued with,

“Me and Jesse. It was just me and Jesse back then.” You hummed, thinking about what he’d told you. You tried to remember what year that fire was, thinking back to your highschool classes. You wanted to say 1870-1872. It was the 80’s. The 1980’s. That meant that Severen was over a hundred years old, not including any time before that and the years he’d spent as a human. And Jesse, you assumed, was older. You propped your chin on his chest, staring at him for a moment. You smiled as you said,

“Homer was right.” You whispered, and he furrowed his brows and looked at you. “You are too old for me.” You clarified, laughing at the look that crossed his face. He rolled his eyes, before quickly grabbing you and tickling your side. You laughed, almost a little too loud, but he was pressing further, pressing you back until you fell back against the seat. He tickled you until you were crying for mercy, and he said,

“I guess I’ll just have to eat you then.” He teased, playfully growling and mouthing at your neck as he tickled your sides. It took several cries of uncle before he ceased his tickling and clamped his lips over yours. He’d climbed on top of you, settling between your legs and trying his best to fit in the cramped truck. You giggled into the kiss, the after-shocks of adrenaline still running through you. You combed your fingers through the back of his hair, letting him pull away from the kiss to trail kisses to the corner of your lips, and then up your jaw. 

“You won’t.” You told him, and you could feel that it was true to the core of your bones. “You like me too much.” You said with a giggle, and he kissed right under your ear before he was pulling away. He pulled so he could stare at you, brushing your hair away from your face and trailing his fingers over the exposed line of skin of your neck.

“Plus, I’d rather eat you out instead.” He teased, and you scoffed and pushed him away.

[draculcid]

PLS now i want more facebook!dads headcanons

- steve gets so attached to their daughter from day one. and he passionately rants about it when joyce takes her from his arms for a bit so that steve can take a break. he just starts hyperventilating, “this girl and her stupid little fucking baby fingers and her round little cheeks and did you see the way she looks. billy. I will literally never stop holding her–” (“baby, I know- calm down. joyce just wants you to go eat.”) “I WILL GLADLY STARVE JUST TO HOLD HER FOREVER.”

- billy holds her like she’s the most fragile thing on this planet. too careful. way too careful.

- they’re obnoxiously proud of literally everything their baby does. their 4-year-old scribbled on a piece of paper? they’re going to show that shit to everyone and make them praise their daughter’s drawing.

- steve doesn’t do baby talk. he talks to their daughter like she's a fully grown adult- which is probably why she’s verbally gifted for her age.

- billy is just constant baby talk though. even when his baby is no longer a baby and is a teenager.

- whenever their child does anything remotely cute, steve looks at billy like,, ‘okay i want more. i want another one. now.’

- billy’s bed time stories start wholesome and then they accidentally turn into a horror story and steve has to kick him out of their child’s bedroom

- steve, however, can’t tell a bedtime story to save his life. he ends up getting sidetracked and the story never ends.

- steve has an existential crisis when the kid gets to the ‘why???’ phase. because he doesn't know WHY. BILLY HELP-

- billy helps with homework, steve packs lunches (and he leaves cute motivational notes in there for both billy and the kid.)

- they cry at her kindergarten graduation.

- when their daughter is younger, billy is ‘daddy’ and steve is ‘dad.’ as she grows older, she starts calling both of them dad. billy misses ‘daddy’ but he loves 'dad’ too because everytime she yells out ‘DAD!!’, steve runs to her and she's like ‘no not you! the other one!!!’

- IM TELLING YOU THIS KID WILL NEVER HAVE ONE (1) BAD HAIR DAY. steve and billy have got hair down.

- billy makes sure his daughter has good music taste, “no no. don’t listen to the crap dad gives you- steve, you’ve corrupted her with pop music! POP MUSIC!”

- steve’s hair is full of pink glitter for a good week. its just- stuck there and refuses to come out no matter how many times he showers

- billy perfects the ‘hey dad look at this squint’™ 

-

ask me

more facebook dads (steve)

[mysticdragon3md3]

Ranma ½ is GENIUS. Here’s Why by  Bonsai Pop

The thing I really appreciated about Ranma ½ when I was younger, was that it was a discussion about gender without getting sidetracked by sex, the way most “sex comedies” did, especially at the time.  At the time, publishers tried to market Ranma ½ as a “sex comedy” in the vein of raunchy college-setting Hollywood movies or fanservicy Male Gaze series (compare “Futaba-kun Change” or the proceeding “harem genre” that Ranma ½ started).  But Ranma ½ felt more like a discussion about gender more than sex, or even more than sexuality.  And being an AroAce kid, who didn’t know what AroAce was at the time, but was very confused about my gender, I really appreciated Ranma ½’s focus on gender over sex, fanservice, and heterosexuals navigating (sexual) relationships—which, I *cannot* express enough, was the saturated majority of all anime/manga, that even came close to discussing gender, at the time.  I just wanted a discussion about gender, gender roles, complaining about presumed traditional ideas about gender, and how to define one’s own gender despite society’s pressures about gender.  I wanted a discussion about Strength, that the martial arts genre did so often, without an advocation for sexist ideals, toxic masculinity, stereotypes about “feminine” being weaker (even as warriors), fixated only on romance, or any number of female stereotypes, etc.  I feel like I can’t remind people enough of how it was back then, when not only were these toxic mysoginist ideas portrayed frequently, but they were also portrayed as good, true, “right”, or unquestioned.  At least when Ranma Saotome was being a sexist jerk, he was punished for that terrible thinking or eventually had to reconcile with his dissonance.  And Akane Tendo was revolutionary at that time too.  It used to be that on the Shonen genre side, we had only hyper fem, passive, romance-fixated, love interests, OR nagging, cold female characters that really felt like the author was conveying all their horrible views on women in general, OR sexy eye-candy that had close-ups on their boobs or butt so frequently, that it completely made their lack of focus on romance or anything else in their personalities, secondary.  Then on the Shoujo genre side, we had girls who were fixated on nothing but romance, constantly jealous and possessive—and often over guys who hadn’t even proven themselves worthwhile to pursue romantically.  Let’s face it: A lot of Shoujo leading men were often jerks, treated their female love interests badly, and for some reason, she was just supposed to play the devoted “Lady Murasaki” and be totally “in love” with him.  Whyyyyyyyyyy?????????????  Even worse on the Shonen genre side too, because he treats her badly, it doesn’t get portrayed as bad treatment, he doesn’t understand why she’s angry, so she just looks like a volatile nag all the time, often existing only to be objectified or serve as a flimsy motive for his character arcs and actions. It was a pretty bad time.  Not that now has eliminated those problems, but when Ranma ½ and Akane Tendo seem like the shining lights of something different, maybe then you can understand how much I sorely needed Ranma ½ and Akane Tendo at that time.  

Really surprised that this video essay didn’t mention Jackie Chan.  The thing that differentiated Ranma ½ from so many martial arts battle anime/manga at the time, was that Ranma ½’s style of martial arts was inspired by Jackie Chan.  Meanwhile, all the other Shonen martial arts manga/anime were so serious and based more on “cool”, “action” genre toned martial arts movies.  

I’m intrigued by this video essay’s idea that Ranma ½ the series isn’t sexist, but rather, characters within the series are sexist, and are so in order to make a point about how them being like that is messed up.  I need to grapple with this because one of my problems in looking back at Ranma ½ is that it can be a little transphobic and/or homophobic at times.  Like, I’ll never forget when Tsubasa Kurenai was introduced and, Akane, this character that we’re supposed to completely sympathize with during this series, just keeps screaming in Tsubasa’s face that they are a “pervert”, simply because it’s revealed that Tsubasa identifies as a boy but dresses as a girl.  I think the episode just ended like that, and that was supposed to be a joke, but I don’t know whether the reveal’s shock intended on the audience was supposed to be conveyed through Akane and we were expected to have the same reactions as her, or if we were supposed to be shocked at Akane’s reactions and her reactions being ridiculous were the joke.  I dunno; it was a long time ago, I don’t remember much context, and I really should look it back up.  But frankly, there’s a lot of Ranma ½ to sift through and that’s more time than I have, writing this post.  Akane does seem to repeatedly have instances of being perfectly nice to characters, but when she discovers they’re actually guys, she spends a lot of time yelling “pervert” in their faces.  Sometimes I don’t know if we’re meant to see how ridiculous Akane is being or if we’re meant to agree with her.  Again, I watched/read the series a long time ago, and maybe if I re-watched/re-read it now, it would be clear to older me.  Because, when it happens between Akane and Ranma, Ranma has a specific line, grummbling about how Akane was perfectly nice to him, up until she found out he was actually a boy.  And Ranma was a bit nice in his characterization up until that early line of dialogue, so maybe we were supposed to be on his side in that thought.  So maybe Akane spending the rest of the series yelling “pervert” at Ranma (repeated so often it’s essentially their running gag), is supposed to be a joke laughing at how irrational Akane is being.  o.o?  I’d hate to think we’re supposed to be on Akane’s side, repeatedly calling Ranma a “pervert” over a curse that he had no control over getting, and early on was portrayed as a misfortune that the audience was supposed to sympathize and pity him over.  Maybe the whole thing is supposed to point out Akane’s flaws, since everyone in the series is pretty messed up.  (Even Kasumi unsettled me a bit when I was younger, in that she dropped her entire life, to replace her mother’s role when she died.  For me, being a young girl who didn’t buy into those traditional female roles, that were still at the time, strongly pushed onto girls in society, that was a little unsettling.  Still love Kasumi as a person though.)  Akane did have reason to “hate boys”, as the series specifically states early on, but I’d like to think that she was given this flaw as a point to grow away from.  Just as this video essay calls to attention Ranma being sexist and, over the series, eventually growing out of it.  But back when I was young and initially into Ranma ½, I feared that some of these sexist or even homophobic ideas in Ranma ½ were actually reflective of thoughts that Rumiko Takahashi advocated.  After all, there’s a point in Maison  Ikkoku where Kyoko berates herself by saying all women are fools.  Maybe I was too young to see the nuance in a character berating her own mistakes in her love live, vs the implication that all women are “properly” stereotyped into being obsessed with love and end up acting foolish for it.  Nowadays, I can see how we can berate ourselves whenever our specific actions can slot us into generalized stereotypes, and we curse ourselves for falling into proving stereotypes true on occaision.  But back then, when I was younger and watching Ranma ½ for the first time and reading Maison Ikkoku for the first time, I was afraid that such lines were reflective of Takahashi believing such stereotypes as truth.  Which is why I was so happy when sometime after Ranma ½, Inuyasha had a canonically gay character, and instead of Inuyasha calling him a pervert the entire time, he just got exasperated with his non-stop flirting, the way that all the female characters from Ranma ½ are tired of guys who won’t take “no” for an answer.  At the time, I thought, “Yay!  Takahashi has evolved to a less homophobic stance!”  But maybe, all this time, she was always against such things, and merely portraying them, even through characters we were supposed to sympathize with, merely to show how messed up such ideas are.  I really like that thought which this video essay presented.  

But I will disagree with this video essay on 1 thing:  The manga is better.  I’m not trying to be elitist.  I realize that comedy has a very subjective sensibilities, and the anime leans into awkward silence type comedy, whereas I am sick of that type of comedy.  But so many visual gags and jokes in the manga, and Rumiko Takahashi’s style in general, involve panels that are almost completely re-drawn, with only 1 element changed—the gag element—suggesting that the eye is supposed to read from panel to panel quickly (since the human eyes/brain filters out a lack of change, and is hard-wired to focus on changes from previous conditions).  To me, this suggests quick punchlines, whose sudden oddity is supposed to shock, implying an intended fast pacing to the jokes.  And yeah, Takahashi will draw seemingly normal scenes, detailed with all the normalcies of a commonly recognizable environment, then suddenly the next panel is exactly the same except a character is contorted into a silly pose or an absolutely ridiculous creature with an intentionally nonsensical facial expression has suddenly appeared, amid that completely “normal” scene, with all its “normal” details _redrawn_.  It’s why the “evil oni” episode in Ranma ½ had a ridiculous face, despite its supposedly ominous background.  In fact, anywhere Takahashi can fit a gag face, especially if it contradicts the surrounding scene’s/story’s serious tone, she will do it.  She has even said in interviews that if scenes are too serious, she will try to put in a gag in the corner.  I remember reading Maison Ikkoku during a depressive episode (for both me and Godai) and suddenly Yotsuya had poked his head through a hole in the wall, into the scene, shining a flashlight onto his own face, like a kid telling a ghost story, all while he made funny faces and Takahashi’s typical gag with the sign language “I love you” gesture.  The woman cannot let things stay serious (except for Mermaid Saga, parts of Inuyasha, and some short stories), and I love her for it!  ^o^  But the way she suddenly injects ridiculousness into scenes and character designs, suggest, at least to me, an intended fast paced delivery with the jokes.  That sudden shock when you notice Yotsuya making faces in the corner of a depressing scene. That sudden shock, when Ranma is hiding from his mother, and is clinging to the ceiling or futons like Spiderman, and Akane is just supposed to act natural so Ranma’s mom won’t notice where he’s hiding.  To me, this suggests the punchline is supposed to come at you like a sudden punch, unlike awkwardness that hangs in the air.  So when the anime tries to make the joke linger, I just don’t enjoy it as much as when my brain can dictate the faster pacing I want (and believe better fits) while reading the Ranma ½ manga.  

Also, the manga is better because those manga filler episodes were not as well written as the manga.  Rumiko Takahashi is a master of short stories.  And that shows when you run into the less-effective filler anime episodes–even when you don’t know they’re filler episodes!  I remember watching the Ranma ½ anime before reading the manga, before there was even internet lists of which were the filler episodes, and coincidentally, all the filler episodes did not make me laugh out loud, whereas every episode up until that point, had made me uncontrollably laugh.  I feel like the anime thought that because Ranma ½ was an episodic, very silly series, they could just insert anything and it would fit.  But clearly, only  the manga-based episodes—and even individual scenes!—had the nuance of Takahashi’s writing and pacing, to make even an episodic, ridiculous series work.  

  Also, I love how this video essay just lavishes the love on Rumiko Takahashi.  ^o^  

Another thing this video essay pointed out that I appreciate about Ranma ½ is how indifferent Ranma is to all the advances of his suitors or even accidental fanservice.  All the consequential “harem genre” series that tried to emulate Ranma ½ always seemed to include male protagonists who were surrogates for the audiences’ intended horny reactions.  But Ranma was neither turned on, enticed, nor tantalized by even accidental fanservice falling into his lap.  (As Mother’s Basement has noted, harem genre protagonist have a penchant for accidentally falling and grabbing a girls’ boobs, or their face falling into her boobs, or accidentally put into a position to forcibly see up her skirt, etc.)  If anything, he’s more embarassed that he accidentally walked in on girls in undress, rather than enjoying the view OR reacting so long, that the scene drags on, fixating on the accidental nudity/groping/fanserivce.  And I was about to postulate that maybe because most harem genre and fanservice series are usually made by straight men for an audience with a Male Gaze.  But Takahashi wrote Maison Ikkoku’s Godai, right before she created Ranma ½, and he very much enjoyed the view, took peeks, and fixated on any accidental fanservice.  So it’s actually Ranma himself who had reactions and a perspective that were very agreeable to this asexual.  

I hadn’t noticed before this video essay said it, but Happosai really is condemned much more for being the “pervy old man” archetype, whereas other series are very permissive towards that same archetype, even when they’re being sexual predators.  I’d like to attribute this to Takahashi bringing a woman’s perspective, but Sailormoon was also written by a woman and (if I remember correctly) Rei’s grandpa’s pervy ways were reprimanded in only 1 episode then permitted as a running gag in the rest of the series (thankfully, not often).  Then again, lots of the Shoujo genre also advocated for many toxic traditional ideas about gender (like girls picking romantic partners who don’t respect them, and girls being fully devoted/invested in such guys, because they “once” meet the bare minimum for human decency by being nice to them once).  So maybe it was uniquely Takahashi’s prerogative to not let the “pervy old man” archetype slide as supposedly “endearing” silliness.

[jt-artsandfics]

//Hi! I saw your most recent posts on your Bad Batch ships and I'm low-key intrigued and interested. They all seem so wholesome and cute!! 😍 //If it's alright to ask for one, I'll give you my deets here: //Physically, I'm a little over 175 cm. I'm pretty tall, but I'm built kinda solidly and have enough curves in my body to pass as having the "hourglass" figure. I've got light-tanned skin, with a few moles dotted across my body. I had brunette shoulder length hair with faded red ombre highlights, hazel eyes, and I can switch from wearing glasses to contacts pretty easily. //I've been told I'm and extrovert, but I do sometimes have some introverted tendencies. I love taking with others, sometimes a bit too much, and I have a really bubbly personality. But I also can be pretty shy around new people, and can sometimes act a bit clumsy. Friends on here have come to me for advice or just to help cheer them up because I take the time to really listen and talk with them, while also knowing I can talk with them about things as well. I'm genuinely curious about things, from life, plants, and creatures to anything about space. I'm usually pretty adventurous, but that can occasionally lead to some recklessness on my part. I should mention I have inattentive ADHD, which means that sometimes I do get sidetracked and lose focus on things, but that doesn't mean I'm not smart or that I don't eventually come around, it just doesn't click initially and sometimes I either don't hear what's being said or I completely forget things unintentionally. //I'm a sucker for cuddles- like, if I could get cuddles, that would be like, the best thing ever. I've only ever been really affectionate with a few of my friends, but then again, I'm pretty socially awkward at times. I have a puppy and a younger brother who I get along with really well- we might fight, but siblings kinda do that, y'know? Nothing physical, just some goofing off and bickering on occasion.

// I love drawing. A lot. Like there ISN'T a time when I'm not at least doodling something. I also love singing- not that I'm the best out there, but I can definitely hold a tune and been told I got a good voice.

// I hope that's enough! Good luck, and thank you for being such an articulate and awesome writer!

Yooo finally a match up I know the for. Fun fact guys I use cms becuase I'm a crazy from down under and I don't have a clue how to use Feet. Haha. But I can do height well in cms.

I match you with... Hunter

There isn't much of a height difference with you and hunter with him being 180cm and you 175cm and that's kinda what brings you close. The constant short jokes becuase the other boys are all taller them the two to you.

Hunter can if he's on his tippy toes just rest his chin on your head but most times he prefers to rest it on your shoulders and press light kisses to your neck or cheek.

The pet names he has many for you and it's not something he ever really picked up it was wrecker who told he about how many different ones he calls you.

He nearly freaked out the first time you took your contacts out. You gave him a heart attack not to mention the screaming from Wrecker and disgusted look on Crosshairs face man wanted to vomit seeing you do that.

The bickering between you crosshair and Wrecker some times set hunter off becuase he just want some quite sometimes. But matter what he always apologises for going off.

After crosshair ends up with the empire he just need soemone to talk to he's feeling so much pain in his heart losing a brother. One that he is close with. Even if he isn't truly gone.

He loves your hair and loves just running his fingers thought it. It's just very hypnotising

He watches from afar as you talk with people and you somehow end up becoming the main go to for information missions.

He smiles when he sees you zoning out and physical touch is his main go to, to bring you back into a convosation.

He loves watching you doodle and draw. It doesn't have to be anything it's just calming watching and listening.

He understands getting side track after all his instincts and body are turned up to twenty on a to ten scale.

He does need alot of help here and there with getting overwhelmed and some times just needing a quite place to sit down and have everything just be quite.

After the electrocution his senses are burning everything feels like it's burning him. From smell, taste, sound and feeling everything hurts and he just want it to stop.

"Hunter! Hunter, helmet off, let me see you" the panic in your voice can be heard. You kneel down infornt of the Sergeant placing your hands on his helmet and slowly lifts it to relieve the man.

His eyes are diolated and shaking lightly. His breathing is uneven, body shaking with tremmers. " Hunter please look at me" your gentle with him softly placing a hand on his face not to startle him.

"Hunter tellnme what your feeling, I want to help but can't unless I knwo what to do" he can hear the whimper in your voice.

His arms shoot out pulling you to his chest his nose makes it's place in your hair as he holds you close. You can feel him clenching his jaw hard and he holds you.

Hunter's eyes are close as he tries to come down for the pain, adrenaline and shock that runs thought his veins but he needs you.

Just to be close to ground him to the now and pull him out of al the colours, sounds, taste and feelings that are causing his body to go haywire. "Please... just stay liek this" his voice sounds even gravelyer then normal.

You nod lightly hands wrapping around his shoulders as you press your face into his neck. Your fingers softly rake though his locks scratching his scalp gentle as you both sit there curled into each other.

He can feel and hear you heart beat as it hammers in your chest. He focuses on that the gentle beat.. beat.. beat.. It helps ground him.

"I love you, maker I love you and I'm so thankful for you" he whispers lightly pulling them closer and his breathing evens out a little.

"I love you too, but I hate seeing you in pain. Once everything calms down, we are going to bed. Then when you wake up in going to make those tiny fruit cakes you like and we are having a day off, ok?" You ask lightly.

Hunter nods a soft smile crossing his tense face. "If live that very much Cyar'ika" it's quite again until a soft shuffle and voice alerts Hunter of another presence. His eyes shoot up and meet with Omega's concerned face.

"Hunter... are you alright?" She ask looking at both you and Hunter curled in on each other. "Ill be alright Omega. Come em" He calls opening the other arm for her as she runs towards you both.

She smacks into his body making the three of you fall over on the ground as Hunter pulls the both of you to his chest. Eyes closed depeing calmer even if the burning sensations haven't ceased yet.

[cyberfairyblog]

First Meetings pt. 1

Plot: Vanessa meets the new proprietor to Whit's End who also happens to be Whittaker's son. She's put off by his eagerness to modernize the homely estate - and his devastatingly good looks. But there's something more to him than at first glance, and soon she and the rest of Odyssey find themselves in the middle of international intrigue! Set in the Cartoon continuity.

Early that Saturday morning, Vanessa biked to the Victorian house to prepare the shop for lunch hour. The first thing she noticed was a red sports car parked in the driveway. "That's strange, I haven't seen anyone round here with that kind of car," she mused, wondering who was inside the house. When she got ti the parlor she noticed a ton of boxes strewn all over the floor and bar. She heard muttering behind the counter and spoke up. "Uh hi?"

Hearing her voice the person got up - hitting his head on the bottom of the counter in the process!

"Ow!"

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Vanessa exclaimed as she went over to help him. "I didn't mean to startle you!"

"No don't worry I'm fine," said the man as he got to his feet - all six-plus of it. Almost immediately Vanessa felt her cheeks burn. He looked a good decade older, cheeks and chin that only a Renaissance artist could dream of carving. Chestnut hair parted in bangs and the rest of it brushed back in a mullet kind of style. The sleeves of his green shirt were pulled up revealing unshaven arms - man he had been working out she mused as she saw the muscles bulging every time he rubbed the sore spot on his head. He walked straight of a romance novel, he looked that handsome.

"D-do you want ice or anything," she stammered hoping he wouldn't think she was checking him out.

"No, I have a hard head," he spoke. He stared at her for a moment then grinned. "You must be Vanessa! Dad talks a lot about you."

For a second Vanessa was a confused. "Dad?

"Ah right, I guess he forgot to tell you I was coming," he said rubbing his head again. He reached his other hand out to shake. "Jason, I'm Whit's son."

Vanessa took it gently and hitched feeling the warm strength of his palm. Please don't tell me I'm getting turned on by a guy I just met! Then it clicked - his hair specially the bangs looked a lot like her boss's signature hairstyle, only messier and not as gelled up. She should have known having seen all the pictures Whit showed of his daughter and grandkids - they all had similar looking bangs as well! She kinda remembered him mentioning he had a son once.

"So um what brings you to Odyssey?"

"I was supposed to come on Tuesday but I got sidetracked with some, uh, personal problems back home," replied Jason averting her eyes a second.

"Well he did say something about someone coming here this week," Vanessa added tapping her chin. "I guess I know who now!"

"Yep! Say do you think you can help me unpack I've been here for hours and I think I brought to much."

Vanessa's heart kicked up. His eyes were two chlorinated pools - awkward description but they were that clear - and stammered. "Ok!"

As she began taking items out, she analyzed them. "Rapid the Donkey, Myth of Esther, Mega Solomon Sibs," she read the titles. "What are these?"

"Oh those? These are game cartridges, I'm gonna install some consoles in that corner so that the kids could have something to do!"

"Um, I don't think your dad wants these here," she said. "The most he has is a tv and radio but they're kinda old. For aesthetics."

"Outdated aesthetics," Jason mildly scoffed. "Hopefully these games draw in more of the younger crowd."

Vanessa nodded. "I see, and did you talk with Jack about it?"

"No, and don't you tell him either! It's a surprise!" He winked playfully at her before going back to his work.

Uncertainty began to fester inside Vanessa. Mr. Whittaker never allowed an arcade since he believed it distracted patrons from meaningful interactions and relaxation. But maybe it wasn't her place to tell him what to do with his own family property. She just hoped he wouldn't erase all the charm and comfort she grew fond of.

By the time 10 o' clock rolled in the arcade machines were plugged in and most of the stuff were put up. As Vanessa sanitized the tables Jason said he needed to get something out of his car. He got to his car and looked around for a moment before pressing something in his ear.

"Who was that lady?" He heard someone ask.

"Just one of my dad's employees, she's clear," answered the tall man. "Any sign of him yet?"

"No, It's like a game of hide and seek," said the other person. "One minute he appears in public the next it's like he's not even there!"

Jason sighed. "Okay, I'll keepwatch over this area, you go try the farm since that's where he might strike."

"You mean where the other candidate lives? Alright I'll check it out, over."

"Over." After the line cut off Jason sighed again. So much for an easy transition. But he needed to do finish this. He had to. The townsfolk seemed nice enough but even so, he had to remain cautious. Thankfully his father's store was safe, though a small part of him wondered how long that would last.

Since I'm more familiar with the Cartoon than the radio show this story will take place in that continuity. I will bring over elements from the radio show; treat this as an mixed AU or a new season of the Cartoon, only more serialized and with more action moments. Here Tom is running for mayor and his rivalry with Blackgaard still occurs. Yes Jason will be paired up with an S/I if it hadn't been obvious already but I hope to give her some entertaining qualities without veering into Mary Sue territory! Anyways I hope you liked this chapter - don't want to spoil but next we might get more insight on what Personal Business Jason has to deal with, and introducing the other characters.

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Heat | Bakugo x Dragon!Reader

Synopsis: Due to black magic, you’re slowly turning into a mindless dragon. Bakugo has to help care for you until a cure is available and that includes dealing with your new sexual appetite. [request]

Content warning: NOT SFW, Fantasy!AU, Interspecies, rough sex

“I hate sleeping outside!”

You complained and threw another branch of dry wood onto the fire pit that centered your little camp for the night. Katsuki scoffed at your grievances as you paced in circles around the campfire.

“Well, we could have stayed in town if someone didn’t decide to steal from the fucking merchants’ guild.”

You stopped your pacing and your eyes narrowed at him. “I couldn’t help it! You know that,” you grumbled.

It wasn’t entirely your fault that you found yourself attracted to things like shiny rocks, gold, and jewels lately. When you saw such things, you couldn’t help but collect it. You told yourself it was to sell for money, but that was nowhere near the case as you kept them for yourself. You were starting to accumulate (read: hoard) quite a little treasure pile in your satchel actually. The trinket you stole wasn’t an exception.

“Besides you think he got that talisman through legal means--give me a freaking break.”

“It doesn’t matter! You don’t take it.”

You huffed and sat down in a clear spot that you finally thought good enough to settle and turned on your side. “It’s not like I want to be this way.”

With those words, Katsuki finally stopped grumbling and went to completely ignoring you. As the air filled with silence, you sighed at your unusual predicament and curled your tail around yourself.

Katsuki and you were all you’ve known ever since you were children. Orphaned by the civil war, the two of you had to rely on one another. Being forced to flee your village after another battle made that true now more than ever. When Katsuki’s new goal became to take over the country himself by following his own rule of “whoever survives makes the rules”, you knew there would be hardships, but you also knew he’d get himself killed or worse without your help.

That almost turned true when you had your first scuffle with the King’s royal enchanter. Katsuki almost ended up on the end of a spell that would chain his mind to the body of a beast had you not pushed him out the way. The asshole didn’t even say “thank you” but yelled at you for getting in the way. Thus, your adventure to take over the country sidetracked into a side quest to turn you back into a human before you completely transformed into one of the giant reptiles known as a dragon. The quicker the better, too.

Your head kept hurting with every small sound that you could never hear as a human now that your ears turned to elf-like points and your skin itched with layers of blue scales lining the front of your forearms and going up the side and back of your neck. You didn’t really mind the tiny wings fluttering at your back as much as the beginning of a slowly thickening whip-like tail and the pure white horns sticking out at your temples and curling to the back of your head like a mountain goat, the weight of which hurt your neck no matter how much you tried to whittle them down against tree trunks. Though, the worst is the strain on your and Bakugo’s relationship as he gets angrier with each passing day and added appendage you grow. He doesn’t know how much pain you’re in every time your scales spread or your teeth sharpen. You made sure to keep it a secret to keep him from worrying.

You turned back to him, already asleep with his same resting bitch face and arms crossed. Well, you hoped he was at least a little worried under all the aggression and annoyance.

You weren’t really sure what you wanted to do with your life yet since all you had focused on before was survival, but you couldn’t imagine not spending it without him once everything settled down, no matter how much you fight. He was kind when his mood was calm, and he would often show care for you and protect you. Plus, you’re sure he wouldn’t make such a bad father. You had taken care of the younger orphans before, so you were already like a mom and dad back then.

You paused, wondering where that thought came from. You squirmed, feeling warm as you thought deeper on the subject without real direction since you’re not entirely sure why you suddenly thought about that now. You only ever gave little thought to having children, but you couldn’t break the chain of knowledge that he’d probably give you handsome children, strong ones too, and it’s not like you haven’t thought about taking a spin on his cock a few times. You sat on your hands and knees, crawling as quietly as you could over to him.

Perfectly pleased you were when you gazed at him. Muscles ripping and free to gaze at thanks to his open fur cloak, fine blond spikes scattered and framing a smooth jawline and pouted pink lips. You took the dive and listened to everything that told you to touch him.

Katsuki jolted from his sleep with a groan and a hoarse curse leaving his parched throat. His moan escalated with the intense pressure on his hardened cock, and the situation made him snap his eyes open when the weight felt too real to be a dream. The sight of spiked teeth and unnaturally goldened eyes peering down on him almost earned you a punch to the throat if he hadn’t stopped his instincts from taking over. You had almost fooled him into thinking a dragon got him, the saving grace being your remaining human features calling out to him and his dick as you jerk your hips and your hooked ivory claws dig and pierce into his shoulder to draw blood.

Katsuki shoved his hand to your forehead and roughly attempted to push you away. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Get off me, (Name)!’

“Katsuki,” you huffed, frayed layers of smoke following your words, as your face sweats and creases with another weak moan. You dropped your hands and frantically go for one of his many twisting and crossing belts and cords. “I-I need to feel your cum inside me.”

His face lit red, and you felt yourself flung off in an instant, but that didn’t deter you before you hopped back into a kneeling position and attempted to climb back on top of him like an animal who tried despite their owner demanding them to stop. “I’m not about to fuck you!” Katsuki growled and shook you off again before forcing you onto your stomach and pushing his knee on your back. You whimpered with the bone digging between your shoulder blades, and Katsuki didn’t want to be rough but you kept squirming and trying to buck him back off with snarls of disapproval. “Calm down, damn it.”

Katsuki unhooked the cord around his waist and quickly used it to tie your hands together behind your back before getting off of you. You whined, violently kicking in debris as tears began to stream down your face. You heaved, wailed out, and flipped side to side like a fish out of water. Finally, you got too exhausted to keep up your violent thrashing but not before popping a few scales, breaking the tip off one of your horns, and coating yourself in red dirt and small bleeding scratches from tiny branches and rocks under you.

Katsuki gripped at his hair, panting as he watched the end of your sudden distress. He had no idea what just happened, but it was clear you needed to speed up your trip to the healer. He tied off your items to his waist and heaved you up to journey through the night.

Another four days had passed with you having your little spouts of desperate pleading for him to come over and ravage you senseless and breed with you and tantrums of aggression and violence towards him when he’d reject. He couldn’t say he wouldn’t mind being able to have sex with you; but in that state, it wasn’t anytime likely that he was going to stick his dick in you so you could revenge murder him in his sleep once you’re healed and coherent.

Katsuki finally reached the edge of your old village where he had known the healer to live when you were younger. The old healer had long passed away, but his apprentice still lived there. Any healer was better than none no matter how many times the finicky half-elf made Katsuki roll his eyes.

“Amajiki!”

There was a yelp immediately followed by the crashing of a potion vial to the floor as Katsuki kicked the door open and hauled your sleeping body onto the nearest chair. Finally, the healer turned around, tired eyes falling on Katsuki. He sighed, scratching his head through blue hair.

“Oh, it’s only you two again,” he monotonously drawled, and Katsuki glared. Then, dark eyes widened upon noticing you in the corner, and he moved to you with a speed Katsuki had never seen the halfling move. “What did you do?”

“We got into a fight with that damned Shigaraki, and it was for, never mind! It doesn’t matter,” Katsuki exhaled deeply. “I fucked up all right. Just…please fix her.”

“You don’t need to beg,” Amajiki mumbled, beginning to undo your restraints before moving you to rest on top of his work station. “How long has she been like this?”

“Almost two weeks, she was fine mentally for the first week, but lately she’s been going crazy, and I can’t get her to fucking snap out of it.”

“She’s closer to dragon than human, right now. You’re lucky she has high magic tolerance, or she would’ve turned by now,” Amajiki explained, looking over the progression of your metamorphosis.

Katsuki grimaced. He always knew he had a lack of magical ability or tolerance, not like you who used magic like it was child's play.

“Can’t you do anything for her?”

He nodded and turned to Katsuki. “I’ll give her something to slow down her change until I can make something to remove the curse, but it’s going to take a few week-ah—”

Amajiki gasped as you suddenly lifted up and pulled him down against you. Your lips immediately went to his neck, nipping and biting with a satisfied growl. Bakugo was quick to let his protectiveness and jealousy take over. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t touch her, bastard!”

“It’s not me!” Tamaki whined and tried to push you away as you passionately pressed your lips to blushing cheeks. “Please, please, g-get her off of me!”

Katsuki moved to yank you off. It was unnecessary since you instantly changed your target once you noticed Katsuki was there. You threw the healer onto the floor without a second thought and bolted yourself to Katsuki’s arm. “Katsuki,” you half cooed and half growled into his ear.

“Son of a—why the hell is she like this,” he scowled as you wrapped your arms around him and tried to hold him against your own body.

Tamaki smoothed out his clothes and wobbly stood back on to his feet. “Mating season started, and she’s in heat right now. I can give her something to calm her down a little, but you…well…someone needs to take “care” of it soon.”

Katsuki scoffed, tossing that idea. “Just tell her to do it herself,” he demanded as he held you at arm’s length.

“She’s not really in a state of mind right now. Dragons need to be induced or they stay in heat like ferrets. If her heat is extended too long, it can kill her before I finish the recipe.”

Dropping his arm, Katsuki’s lips trembled into a scowl, then he asked you, “Do you really need me to fuck you that badly?” You seemed to pick up on the idea, clung him tighter, and seductively crooned at him with a lightly rumbling purr. “Then, just don’t be pissed at me afterward!”

You blinked at him and nod flippantly.

“I’ll get started in here, you can use the room in the back,” Amajiki offered, inwardly drowning in the despair at the thought of having to burn the sheets afterward.

Katsuki dragged you to the room in question the entire way repeating, “Just for healing…just for healing…” Fuck. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding. He didn’t know if it was because he really wanted to have sex with you or because he suspected you would avoid him after. Probably both.

When you got in the room, you pushed him down on the bed without any restraint. Your lips instantly melded to his in a sloppily passionate kiss that made him groan from deep in his throat at you mounted on top of him. Sharp teeth pulled at the delicate curves of his lips, drawing blood that you happily slid your tongue over to taste before moving to his neck with as much fervor and need highlighting every kiss over his bobbing Adam’s apple. He tilted his head up, letting you have free reign to mark and litter his skin with deep purpling bruises as he wrapped his arms around the small of your back.

Despite the scales lining around your back, your stomach and underbelly remained fairly soft and fleshy, leaving your breasts softly hugging to his own firm chest, but it was the eager grinding on his lap that had him moaning.

“Damn, you’re already this excited,” he choked out as you pressed down on his budding boner. Katsuki was beginning to wonder how much of this was you because you didn’t nearly go after Amajiki this compulsively. You seemed extra obsessed on attaching to him. “You really want me to breed you, huh?” You moaned in agreement, a smile drawing against him. Suddenly, he grasped onto your horns and pulled your head back towards your back as he sat up. “You ready to take my cock, aren’t ya? You’ve been begging for it all damn week, but you wanted it before then, haven’t you?”

Katsuki yanked your head back and kissed your collar with rough lips and down the center of your upper chest, stopping only where your clothes didn’t allow him to feel the warmth of your skin. He released your horns and grasped your neck with both hands, dragging his palms down.

“Katsuki, hah, hah,” you whined as your scales prickled and pulled with the strokes of his fingers over the tiny edges. “inside, it’s hot,” you barely strung together the words, but he could pick up on what you meant as you whimpered for his cum to douse the heat built inside you.

“My cock is loaded with cum for you. It’s more than enough to fill your womb.”

Katsuki pulled at his belts, never breaking eye contact with you as you hungrily waited for him to get undressed while snatching off your own robes. Smallclothes were already out for you because of your tail, so you were completely bare and ready as your impatiently watched him finally tug down his pants and his thick cock sprung free, ready and dripping with the first beginning of fresh precum dripping down his rounded head.

“If you want it, you’ll get on your hands and knees," he said to reduce the chance of you clawing him and nudged you to flip you over. He shoved your tail up and out of the way and cup your engorged pussy. He could feel the intense heat radiating from you. He slid his fingers inside your, curling them along your slick saturated inner walls. His fingers nearly slipped out at first go with how wet you were, and a waterfall of wetness oozed out and down his hand as he stretched his fingers inside of you. Katsuki added a third and fourth then begins to move his palm inside you, stopping at the junction of his thumb and pointer fingers, and you take it all with a pleased growl as he twisted his palm in your needy core.

Katsuki moves his hand, replacing it with his cock. He slid his tip against your opening, and you jerked back towards him, desperate to have it inside of you and spraying your insides with his seed.

He chuckled at your whine. “I’ll give it to you, just wait,” he teased and stroked his head in and out of your entrance, teasing the nerves around it with the plump tip of his member.

“Katsuki, ngh, put it in,” you grumbled, smoke coming from your mouth, and he swallowed hard before giving in to your demands before you really got pissed.

He thrusted into you once then pulled all the way out and thrusted again. Katsuki held in his moan as your velvet walls slid around him and enveloped him. Your body was on fire, more so than anything he’s felt. He gripped your waist, thrusting into you with increased speed, his lap bouncing against your rounded ass.

Your nail dugs into the mattress, ripping through the fabric and revealing fluffy down and strands of cloth as your body jerked with his pumps and the room filled with wet slaps and your own growls and low blowing of tiny flickering flames and smoke from your mouth with each pant. It wasn’t until Katsuki gripped your horns, pulled your head and pumped into your innermost wall with an aggressive rut of his hips that you roared in complete pleasure and pain as the pain echoed through your head with the straining of your neck and scalp.

Your tail kept swooping, hitting on the side of his hip, and he hissed with the sting of scales slapping his skin and leaving red welts along his muscular thighs. Katsuki returned your hits with a sharp upward thrust that made you whine and your pussy clench.

It was with a loud mewl that you came around his cock, your fluids escaping in droves down your legs and staining the sheets with the ever-rushed drive of throbbing meat taking your body. It was when he released inside, and his semen coated you inside and out that coolness finally rushed through you, and you dropped your head to the pillow as he stilled deep inside of you before pulling out with a slime trail of cum seeping from your cunt.

You collapsed onto your side with a drawn out, “mm” before cuddling into ripped sheets and piles of cotton. Katsuki shook his head and petted your own. “Feeling better?”

Opening your eyes, you turned to face Katsuki and tackled him to the bed again.

“Fuck, wait damn it, it’s not ready!” he griped as you straddled him and clawed at his chest. You wrapped your hand around his cock and your mouth around his nipple.

With the growl you released, he knew you didn’t particularly care and that he wasn’t leaving any time soon.

—————————extended ending————————

Katsuki hissed as Tamaki slathered his back wounds with healing salve. You had dug all the way into his shoulders and dragged your hands down to the small of his back this time around. They left zigzagging patterns down his back and flared bright red like a beacon on his back, and now it kept hurting every time he stood straight.

“Why hasn’t she changed back yet?” Katsuki demanded to know because at this rate you were going to bleed him dead if not make his dick fall off from soreness and chafing. It had been another two weeks, and Tamaki had given you the potion over two days ago.

“The potion only strips the curse. It doesn’t reverse what’s already happened. She’s going to look like that from now on, but you won’t have to worry about her turning into a dragon completely. Other than having some behaviours like what you’ve seen, she’ll be fine,” Amajiki explained as he finished patching Katsuki’s wounds.

Katsuki sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned to face the healer. “When is this heat going to end then so I can tell her?”

Amajiki paused, quirking his head. “I already told her, she said it’s fine.”

Katsuki scowled.

“What are you talking about? Have you not seen these fucking claw marks! She’s still loopy as hell.”

Amajiki shook his head. “Mating season ended a few days ago, and she seemed coherent when I talked to her the other day.”

Katsuki blinked owlishly at him before scrunching his face with annoyance. You heard the echoes of his scream from your comfortable, relaxed position in bed, and your eyes widened with the knowledge you were caught. “(Name), you fucking faker!”

[flying-nightwing]

Act IV: The Finale

Hi people! Finally the last part of this short serie! Honestly I had no expactation for it but I think it might slither into my all time favourite things I’ve written. I won’t lie, I think I’m in love with this last chapter. I feel like it’s the part we really understand both characters and their motivations in relation to each other. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

Edit: I realize I have kept this gender neutral! so I change it on the infos on the first part and this one

Parts 1-3 in Masterlist!

Pairing: Tim Drake x gender neutral reader

Word count: 3456

Warnings: language, mention of violence (non-graphic)

“... And this is why I have taken the decision to repeal the vigilante act. All measures taken by the city and GCPD to collaborate with vigilantes on the matters listed are to be repelled at this instant. We will no longer tolerate criminals telling us how to protect our city and all arrest mandates out for vigilantes are to be reactivated--”

Tim passed a hand in his face after Bruce turned off the TV. There was some serious tensions going on in the batcave, especially after this gruesome live tape of the mayor, visibly held hostage in some kind of basement, delivered the new order to cancel all the work they had achieved to at least stop the cops from trying to hunt them down instead of focusing on actual crime. 

The first thing he had done once he came back to the cave was to research you in any database he could hack into. He started in the state registry, knowing you had told him you had been an orphan. He had no idea what was a lie and what wasn’t in what you had told him, but that was apparently true. The picture attached was a younger version of you, that was clear, but any update on your whereabouts stopped at age 11. Then, he tried to look for a driver’s license, passeport, any ID documents you could have. He also hit a dead end with that too, so he looked into less savory types of repertories. 

He finally found you in the mercenary databases, with a clear, recent picture and your… Impressive record. As he scrolled down your list of confirmed hits, he felt his stomach sink further and further. Marco Rizzo, the philanthropist, the kidnapped mayor, and it went on and on. What truly put him on the floor, however, was to see your credentials. You were Falcone’s main gun and you had trained under various mentors including Slade Wilson, out of all people.

You were the real deal and he had let himself fall for you, hard.

He felt stupid now. Did you even know who he was at night? Had you gone to him to throw him off your scent? Even after discovering all of this about you, a part of him still hoped you had no clue. It would hurt less to know it was a coincidence you bumped into each other rather than a calculated move from you. 

“So… Your date uh?”

Tim cringed when Bruce spoke up. It was even worse to hear it out loud. 

“I don’t wanna hear it” He mumbled, keeping his eyes dead set on the wall. He knew he had acted irresponsibly, he knew he should have seen the signs sooner, he knew he should have remained alert and not let himself be charmed by you, or let himself be sidetracked from his mission. It was a rookie mistake. 

“Talk about sleeping with the enemy” Damian snorted from behind them. Tim turned around, glaring at him. He was sitting in a computer chair, casually eating noodles with chopsticks and watching the exchange like it was a movie. Of course, the demon had spied on the conversation.

“Damian!”

“What?” He looked at Bruce, shrugging nonchalantly.

Bruce sighed, shaking his head. He returned his attention to Tim again. “What do you want to do now?”

Tim didn’t reply straight away. He was conflicted, angry, sad, disappointed; he had rarely felt such a cocktail of emotions like that. On one hand, he wanted to wallow in self pity. It seemed like the one thing left to do, as life finally sent someone he could see himself get with but made them the exact opposite of what he stood for. But he couldn’t, he had to put a stop to this madness. He had to confront you. 

“We’ll need to set a trap” He finally spoke, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “A contract that can’t be refused, draw them out. I’ll take care of it, it’ll be better that way”

“Are you sure you’ll be up to it?”

“Yes” Tim snapped, and Bruce took a careful step back. “I won’t be fooled twice. I can do it”

“Alright, just making sure” Bruce wasn’t convinced, but he still trusted his son. He knew he'd do the right thing if push came to shove. “What did you have in mind?”

Tim took a deep breath. “50 millions for a bullet in Bruce Wayne’s head”

---

It was too good to be true, and your suspicions of foul play were confirmed when your eyes spotted the red and black sticking out of the grim portrait of Gotham’s roof tops.

You knew something was up when you were offered a 50 millions solo contract. You usually went out for 15 millions for high profile targets, but curiosity got the best of you. The only thought of potentially pocketing that much money was enough of a motivation for you to at least find out what was up. But now, it was clear it was a set up as Red Robin himself was waiting for you. It was too bad for the money, but the prospect of facing a real Gotham vigilante for the first time was exciting. 

“I’ve beaten you twice already” You smirked. “You called me for a third?”

A scowl set on his masked face. “Trust me, there won’t be a third” He spoke up in a gravelling voice. “Either you come with me here and now, or we do this the hard way”

“Oh, now you’ve got me interested” You teased as you circled him. “Do tell me more about this hard way of yours”

He deployed his staff. Your eyebrows raised at his challenge. “You’re arrogant” He stated. He wasn’t wrong. “It’s gonna be your downfall”

“... Or not” You shrugged, not stopping your assessment of him. “Still waiting on the monologue detailing your plan to stop me, by the way”

“There isn’t one”

He lunged. He did it so quickly and smoothly you almost didn’t see him move. Your reflexes allowed you to roll out of the way just in time, and the way the staff collided with the cement told you it wouldn’t have been a long fight if that had hit its intended target: you. You looked at him and you regained your footing, reevaluating the situation. You were skilled, but you doubted it would be enough to go toes to toes with Red Robin, now that you had had a glimpse of what he could actually do.

You raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Catch me if you can”

Before he could process your world, you turned around and jumped off the building, landing on the roof a dozens of feet lower. You didn’t waste time taking off, knowing he would be right behind you. You ran across the rooftop and leaped off the ledge and above the alley to grab onto the fire exit on the next building over. You hurried to climb it, ending up on yet another rooftop. You ran alongside the pool and jumped over the tables, kicking them back to try and slow down Red Robin, who was little by little gaining on you. Fuck, he’s fast, you thought. You weren’t even tempting to look back, but you knew with the sound of his footsteps alone. 

You hadn’t planned on him being able to follow you that easily, not even cursing behind you as you took another jump over a considerable gap between buildings. You were fast, faster than most. Making exits had always been your strong suit, whether it was on foot, by car or otherwise. However, the only times you had faced him were when you had a rocket launcher as a deterrent or when you were driving an actual race car. Now that the field was levelled, you didn’t have the advantage anymore. You knew you wouldn’t be able to outrun him if you kept going on that way, so you had to change your strategy.

You took a sharp turn to the left and grabbed a clothesline, pulling out a knife from your belt and severing in behind your grip. You took a good running start and let yourself fall on the building on the other side of the street, pausing to glance at Red Robin standing where you had just been seconds ago. He was trying to find another way to cross, but there was none and even he couldn’t make that jump. You gave him a wave and a wink before taking off again. However, on the corner of your eyes, you still could see him tracking you relentlessly, not letting you get away so easily. 

You jumped over an alley, and instead of landing on the next roof, you aimed for the first balcony from the top. With your shoulder first and your head tucked in, you went straight through the sliding door window and rolled on the landing to smooth your fall. You glanced beside you at the terrified man in his underwear who was cowering on the couch and looked behind you, shrugging.

“Sorry for the mess” You didn’t wait until he replied to walk out the apartment. You jogged down the stairs, knowing Red Robin would have lost your trace now. Or so you thought.

You halted your steps when you noticed him waiting at the bottom of the staircase and leaning on the rail with a nonchalant expression, like it had been easy to predict you would come out that way. He returned the little sarcastic wave you had given him minutes earlier, making your face fall. You turned around and climbed back the steps back to the first floor, barging in and running across the hallway until you reached the window at the end. You took the time to open this one, seeing as he had not yet reached the floor. You slipped through it and climbed down the wall to land into the back alley. You were about to head for the streets when an already too familiar red and black figure blocked your way.

You took off in the opposite direction, well, until you came face to face with a brick wall. There was nothing to climb onto, no fire exit to use, no way to get away. You closed your eyes and cursed under your breath as footsteps reached you. He wasn’t in a hurry, his pace was tauntingly slow and confident he had you trapped. You recomposed yourself before turning around to face him.

“You forced me to make a mistake” You stated with a sigh. “Impressive”

“Told you” He said, taking a step toward you. “Arrogance did end up being your downfall”

“I don’t suppose we could have a rematch, uh?” You tried, smiling coyly. “That staff didn’t seem such a bad idea in hindsight”

“If you thought you could win then, you wouldn’t have dragged me into this pointless chase” He scoffed, and your eyebrows raised. He was right, but damn. “Unless you want a beating at that too”

“Ouch” You chuckled. “That really hurts my pride”

“Good” He smirked. “Now that you know you won’t get away from this one, just do the logical thing and surrender. There’s nowhere to go”

You held eye contact for a moment before slowly raising your hands. “Alright” You complied with a nod. “You earned that one”

He took careful steps toward you, alert to whatever quick move you would do. But you could recognize when you were beaten, so you didn’t plan any surprise move. Getting caught by a vigilante was an eventuality, even you knew you wouldn’t escape them forever. You just didn’t think it would have been this soon. He grabbed your wrists, and once he was sure he had you solidly enough, he twisted your arm behind you and pushed you rather roughly into the brick wall.

“Woah there champion” You coughed out in surprise. “I feel that spark between us, I really do, and I admit I am partially to blame for it, but I’m kinda seeing someone? And I’m really into him so if you could just. Stop manhandling me that way, that’d be great”

You felt him take a considerable step backward, and his grip on your arm dropped. You frowned, carefully turning around to face him. You didn’t understand why he had let you go, and his blush combined with his bewildered expression only made you more confused.

“Okay, what is going on, now?” You asked, not taking your eyes off him. It was like he was a completely different person now, and you couldn’t point out exactly why it was suddenly so familiar. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, jeez”

“I’m not” He defended too quickly, his voice wavering. Your eyes squinted even more as you took one step forward. He didn’t move, it was like he was frozen in place. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over for you”

“Uh” You took another step, and he squared up, trying to cover the fact he had totally lost his edge over you. You could have made a run for it, you knew it would have been ridiculously easy at that moment to evade him, but something held you back. You scrutinized him, your head tilting to the side. He gulped, and suddenly it all pieced together. That reaction to your flirting, you knew it all too well. Your eyes widened, before you gave him a sympathetic smile. “You know, while this mask does suit you, I prefer to see your eyes, handsome”

His muscles tensed for a second or two, but his shoulder sagged soon after. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “How long have you known?”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean, how long?” You asked. “Thirty five seconds ago”

“You didn’t know before?”

“Uh, no” You replied. “What does it matter?”

“You… You didn’t go on a date with me to distract me from your trail?”

“No, I went on a date with you because I like you?” You raised an eyebrow. “I would have been way more careful with my lies if I had known, fuck I was so obvious, no wonder you figured it out. Besides, I just told you I’m really into you--”

You were surprised by the sudden movement of his arm that sneaked behind your neck and brought you flush against his lips. Okay then. You returned the kiss without hesitation holding on to his shoulders under the sheer force he was applying against you. It was a lot different from the shy boy you had met at the racetrack, but then again, he was Red Robin right now, more so than Tim Drake. You could have never connected the two if it hadn’t been from your flirting from up close. Before you knew, he tore himself from you and jumped back like you were actual fire, cursing under his breath. You blinked slowly at his sudden absence from your immediate vicinity, then rolled your eyes. Dramatic much?

“What is it now?”

“You’re still a criminal” Now he refused to meet your eyes. 

“Are you-- Is this because of what happened in the alley the other day?” You sighed, throwing your hands up before letting them fall back and slap on the side of your thighs. “I’m sorry, okay? I wouldn’t have ran you into the garbage pile if I had known it was you. And I wouldn’t have threatened you with a rocket launcher either-- Shit okay I see your point, I’m really sorry about that too”

“No!” He yelled. “I mean, yeah, kind of. But you kill people for a living, I can’t--”

“What does it change?” You asked. “You liked me before you found out. You were about to hand me to the police, I still like you! In fact, if you could ram me into the wall once again like you just did, I wouldn’t--”

“Please stop talking”

You grinned. “Does it turn you on?”

“Y-No” He replied, correcting himself last second. You raised a subjective eyebrow. “Stop that”

“Stop what?” You asked innocently. “I’m just saying it’s on the table. If I had known it was you when you did it, I would have enjoyed it so you’re welcome to do it again”

“Do you ever stop flirting?” He deadpanned. He crossed his arms against his chest, but it definitely didn’t have the intended effect. Instead, you just checked him out even more, since his muscles were very well defined in that suit. You liked it.

“With you? Not a chance, handsome”

And here came the blush again. He looked away and gulped, ignoring your self satisfied smile. You could do that all day and never get bored of it. Still, you regained a somewhat serious expression for the conversation that was inevitably coming.

“So now what?” You spoke up. “You give me to the cops? We pretend nothing happened between us? Because I’ll be honest with you, I don’t want that. I meant it when I said I liked you”

“My job is to stop crime, and the people who commit it” He began with a sigh. “I just can’t ignore the fact that you are one of the bad guy”

“That’s valid” You nodded slowly. “But this is just a job. I don’t do it for the power trip of taking people out, I do it because I’m good at it, and because I like the money that comes with it. Although, I’ll admit I do enjoy making dramatic exits from time to time--all the time”

Tim snorted. Of course you liked your exit, that had been obvious from the start. But even if he did not agree with your job, or with the lack of morals that came with it, he had to recognize the difference between you and the typical Gotham criminal. From what he had found out so far about you, you never caused casualties in any of your contracts. You always kept the mess to a minimum. You were a far cry from the Joker or Poison Ivy, for that matter.

Even if you couldn’t see his eyes clearly, you could just see the gears turning in his head. Would it be so bad if he let you go? What if he kept seeing you? He could agree with you on one thing: behind his reluctance because of your job, he really didn’t want to pretend nothing happened. He liked you a lot, and it absolutely frustrated him that the one god sent person he instantly clicked with was on the other side of his moral spectrum. 

“Tell me” You said softly, bringing back his attention to you. “If you had never found out about my job, would you have asked me on a second date?”

“Yes” He didn’t hesitate in his answer. It was like you could read his mind, reminding him of how well you fit together. He wanted both to scream and to kiss you again. 

You took a deep breath, letting him think some more. You could very much suspect the news of your activities was harder on him than his were on you, so you understood the need to let him a little space while he figured it all out. You had half expected him to go ahead with his initial plan though, so you prepared yourself mentally for him eventually binding your wrists and dragging you to the nearest precinct. 

That’s probably why you were surprised when he took a step aside, no longer blocking you from leaving. You didn’t move, only stared at him.

“I won’t give you a free pass if I catch you doing shady stuff” He sighed, gesturing to the exit of the alley. “ But for this time, I guess I’ll see you next time you do something stupid”

“Not before?” You raised an eyebrow. The corner of his lips slightly lifted.

“Maybe before”

“Is that a yes on the second date?” You asked, hopeful. “7:30 next Friday at that lobster place you mentioned?”

“Will you be working that night?”

“I won’t!” You hurried to confirm. “I swear I won’t”

He let out a long sigh like he was reconsidering his entire life. “What the hell, sure”

“Great!” You grinned wide, stealing a quick kiss on his lips. 

“Go, now” He ordered, gaining back his more authoritative vigilante voice. Oof, that was hot, you thought, but you kept it to yourself for once. “Before I change my mind”

“See you on Friday, handsome!”

He watched you run out of the alley, finding himself suddenly excited at the prospect of seeing you again, whether it would be as Red Robin or as himself on a date with you.

[the-evil-authoress]

GX Month Day 25: “For The Glory of Academia!”

We got to see Asuka/Alexis and Edo/Aster over in Fusion Dimension, but what about the rest of the cast? Show us some Fusion counterparts today! What are these dorks up to and what part do they play in the war?

I forgot to post this yesterday! Got sidetracked by an unrelated project.

Zane would tots remember his other life before the OP dipshits went and broke reality.

“I can’t believe I’m hunting my own sister.”

He says it quietly. Atticus doesn’t use his usual volume or dramatic flare; he says it quietly, furiously, for only Zane’s ear to hear. So Zane doesn’t respond or look at him or give any other indication to the rest of their party that Atticus is speaking to him. Because he could have said aloud, he could have said it angrily too, and no one but Zane would have been the wiser.

“What gives them the right to call her a traitor?” Atticus hisses, still furious. “Why is it so wrong to not want to participate in a war?”

War. Genocide. Because that’s what this is no matter how many pretty words Academia spouts about creating a utopia. The sickening thing? There are people who’ve been on the front lines that still believe that farce.

‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us’ as far as Academia is concerned, but Zane doesn’t need to tell Atticus that. The two of them only stuck around because they still have younger siblings to think about. Or had. Zane chances at glance at his friend and already sees the decision on his face.

“Go,” he says just as quietly, and Atticus tenses but doesn’t react further. “Go after her. Just you. Don’t come back.” From the corner of his eye, Zane sees his friend start to protest and cuts him off. “We’ll stage it. Give them a reason to think you aren’t coming back.”

He waits for it to click. Then a tiny, breathless little laugh. “Yeah. Okay.” Atticus eyes roam their surroundings with renewed focus, not looking for dissenters but anything that will help them put on a show.

They get lucky when they corner a resistance member away from prying eyes. The building comes down and only Zane walks out.

Academia buys it. Officially, Atticus dies in the line of duty.

Weeks later, a new resistance leader calling himself ‘Nightshroud’ makes a persistent nuisance of himself and Zane nearly chokes at the sight of Atticus in that damn mask.

They might need to have a conversation.

Where did he even get that thing?

They do have a conversation, several in fact, because Zane starts feeding the resistance information. Between ‘Nightshroud’ on the front lines and Zane playing double agent behind the scenes, the resistance gains ground and rises from being a nuisance to an actual threat.

But good things don’t last. Good things have never lasted in either of Zane’s lives. Aster is a hard ass on a good day, and Zane’s never liked him on principle. He gives Zane the stink eye but never goes beyond that. Bastion is tolerable, but Bastion is also smart, so it was probably inevitable that he would eventually look at the communications logs and realize two plus two does not equal five.

“Zane, I don’t want to believe this,” - and Zane believes that much, Bastion has a horrible poker face - “but the evidence would suggest...perhaps someone is trying to frame you.”

A copout. Zane almost snorts. “You’re reading too much into this,” he says and walks away. Maybe he could have taken the copout and found someone else to take the fall. Maybe pride kept him from doing so. Maybe he was sick of this place and looking for a reason to make an explosive exit.

Bastion goes to Aster with his findings.

Zane makes a very explosive exit.

He only regrets not being able to take Syrus with him.

*

“WHAT?” Chazz sputters, nearly jerking straight off his chair. “Zane fucking Marufuji spilt on Academia?!”

Atticus grimaces. Word travels fast around here, and he’s not surprised Zane’s defection is talk of the town considering how flashy it was. Honestly, he’s more concerned how this will affect the resistance; they’ve been operating on Zane’s intel for months. Catching Alexis’ gaze, he sends her a grin, unsure how reassuring it actually comes across.

“Huh.” Chazz leans back in his seat, already recomposing from his outburst. “Guess we’ll be seeing him around here before long. Weird.”

“I doubt it.” Atticus rubs his thumb against the mask in his hands. If he knows Zane half as well as he thinks he does, Zane will steer clear of the resistance altogether and draw Academia’s attention away as well. He’ll be a ‘high priority target’ after all and, unlike Atticus, everyone knows he’s still alive.

Just don’t die.

*

Syrus skirts down the hall, head down. He’s long used to the scornful looks and whispers that follow him as if they expect ‘Marufuji’s little brother’ to turn tail just like Zane did. The worst part is that Syrus doesn’t even understand why Zane did it. One day Zane was spearholding the entire movement, and the next... The next Cyber End Dragon tore a hole through the south wing that took months to repair. Syrus was yanked off field duty training and reduced to a mere errand boy.

It’s not fair. He wanted the chance to prove himself. He wanted to help build the Professor’s utopia with his own hands. But Zane had to go and ruin that too. No one will ever see Syrus as anything more than ‘Marufuji’s little brother’ and now he’s ‘the traitor’s brother’ to top it off.

It’d be different if he were here.

‘He’ who?

Syrus stops dead in his tracks, staring at the floor through wavering vision.

Someone...someone important. Someone who saw Syrus not ‘Marufuji’s little brother’. Someone who believed in him and wouldn’t let him wallow in self pity.

He isn’t here.

It hits him all at once, that realization, and Syrus breaks down crying over a person whose name he can’t even remember.

[kisarastrife]

Howdy! I read paper roses years ago and I was uber excited when I read you were updating it! I loved the fic when it first came out and I literally cannot wait for when you find the time to upload a new chapter but omg i love the rewritten chapters!!!

Hello!

Awwww thank you so much for this lovely message! Like I said previously, I’m working on a new chapter parallel to rewriting the older ones because it helps me get into the same head-space I was in when writing the story waaaaaay back when it was first published.

Which was 2009. Paper Roses turns 12 years old this year. Which I’m appalled and amazed and gobsmacked by. I was in Ireland’s version of high-school when the little plotbunny marched into my head. I was 17. I’m now terrifyingly drawing close to 30 and I think having had more life experiences has allowed me to look back on Paper Roses and tackle its themes through a more mature lens.

I love the ideas I had/have, but I can recognise that I was writing a story that was at times too big for me.

I didn’t have the means through which to explore darker and heavier themes with the emphasis and weight they deserved. And I got sidetracked and distracted. I didn’t have Kaiba sounding as Kaiba-esque as he should have. There are themes in Seto’s childhood I glossed over that could be sooooo interesting to delve into and link to his adult behaviour, so I plan to do that. On the flip-side, the same could be said for Kisara. I gave her a certain domestic background, but the setting-up of that trauma was absent in the earlier chapters. I’m gonna rectify that.

So I’m hoping that this rewrite will streamline that? Some chapters will have little changes such as integrating the dialogue and movement paragraphs to be more natural instead of the broken dialogue-and-prose style I previously used. But some chapters may be overhauled to delete needless parts or reference future aspects. When I’m eventually done, I want to be able to re-read Paper Roses and see there was a plot at work from the earliest chapters. Hopefully.

But thank you so much, if it wasn’t for the amazingly loyal readers and the constant lovely messages I’ve received over the years, there’s no way I would still be committed to and writing the same story over a twelve year span. Paper Roses has been my best friend and worst enemy for twelve years. It’s my escapism from life, from the pandemic, from work and I love the little world I made and the friends who have connected with me because of this story.

I love you guys and I owe you all so much.

In an attempt to show some tiny sliver of the gratitude I feel towards you guys, under the cut here is just a little excerpt of what I’m working on at the moment:

The opening of eastern Domino's new Business Centre was a grand day. Basked in the summer sun with countless news crews in attendance.

Finding herself at Mokuba’s side for most of the day, she was in awe of Seto’s younger brother - the teenager just had such an affable way with people, it was no wonder he was the driving force behind KaibaCorp’s renewed social-media presence. He’d even managed to convince her to appear in a handful of pictures and videos, though Seto still only responded with a glower when asked to join in by his younger brother. Kisara could honestly say her cheeks ached from laughing by the end of the opening ceremony.

But she had also forgotten that life had a way of giving things a little shake when the atmosphere became too relaxed, too calm and happy.

It started at the launch itself. Dressed to perfection by her team of stylists and without even a summer breeze daring to interfere with her dress or strategically-pinned hair, Kisara had the distinct feeling she was being watched. It was a ludicrous thought at first – of course she was being watched; there were countless cameras and journalists present, along with the eyes of the KaibaCorp security team watching the goings-on. But this was different. Turning on the spot as Mokuba answered a journalist, Kisara looked into the calling banks of reporters and flashing cameras. Through the unfamiliar faces and people calling her name, she saw him at the heart of the crowd. The noise of the crowd dimmed and faded away and in a frozen moment Kisara felt her heart plummet to the ground and her blood run cold: it was her uncle. He was here. But he couldn’t be. Fear bolted through her and her heartbeat raced. It made no sense. He looked different; older, thinner and dirtier … a robe around him and one eye covered by lank grey hair. “- what do you think, Kisara?”

Mokuba’s voice barely registered with her, but it was his hand tapping her elbow that made her blink back to the here and now. Her uncle’s face was gone from the crowd and a glance to the closest security member showed no hint they had seen anything either. Searching the crowd for another second, she tried to push away the terrible shiver running up and down her spine. He couldn’t be here. It was tiredness and the flashing of cameras having an effect on her, or the ever-present worry about her family’s Estates. “S-sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

She offered a small smile in lieu of an apology to the polite lady reporter; she recognised her from the Domino nightly news station. Kisara fidgeted with her engagement ring and looked back up at Mokuba, who was already back to charming the lady with his grin. “Kinda hard to hear one question when everyone wants to be heard, huh?”

[mcfanely]

Nightowls

Deception (noun), an act or statement which misguides or hides the truth. 

Chapter 08 - Behind the Mask, 2541 words

The pulse of music was quickly becoming deafening. Or maybe that was the pounding feeling Cole could feel in his chest? He was a deer in headlights, and he must have looked the part too. Eyes wide, face frozen as he went through a range of emotions just to find whichever one fitted with this situation. It was something he hadn't even thought about.

It hadn't even crossed his mind for a sheer second, even with all the times he'd snuck out, all the close calls and half-baked excuses he'd had to come up with on the fly for being up really early in the morning, or sleeping in really late. 

Sure, saying he was tired and needed the sleep was the truth, but there was background. Cole was keeping so much from everyone and the idea of getting caught out and having to actually explain it all… Well, whether he'd avoided thinking about it, or it had just not occurred to him, he was now caught out and floundering. 

"... Lloyd. Hey..?" He spluttered out uselessly, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. He was nervous. He didn't know what to do. There was the oppressive feeling of awkwardness in his own skin as he took stock of himself. Lloyd had been there, and he'd seen. "I-- Uh, you know, it's not really what it looks like, you know? I mean, it's late," Cole trailed off after a second, one foot tapping heavily against the floor. Any sound was drowned out by the next song beginning. 

Lloyd was still standing there, right in front of him, his eyes slowly flicking over Cole for a second before they moved to glance over the Earth Master's shoulder, presumably to the new dancer that was now performing. 

He just looked calm, and extremely interested in what was going on. The guy may have looked a bit odd, dancer wasn't anyone first thought when looking at Lloyd, mainly because the left feet that the kid possessed was probably the worst case Cole had ever seen. He was fairly lanky, bobbing slightly off beat to the music, but Cole wasn't going to correct him. He was too busy freaking out. 

"Woah, those guys are good!" Lloyd said after a second, with a wide grin as he moved closer to the open area. There was a pair in the centre, both seamlessly blending a clear ballet style with swing. The song was upbeat too, and the guys were definitely brimming with talent. 

On any other night, Cole could just stand there and watch. 

"Lloyd," He stared, stepping just a bit more in front of him. 

The Green Ninja looked over to him after a second, though Cole knew he didn't really have the kid's attention. 

So he went silent. He stepped back, crossed his arms over his chest tightly, tried to force the tenseness out of his shoulders to no clear avail and waited. Waited the agonising few minutes until the dancing stopped. This was worse than everything he'd been going through before his performance. He'd go through it again, if he had a choice. He wouldn't even think twice, if it meant Lloyd not having been there. 

So as the dancers took their bows and exited the floor, Cole had one hand carding through his hair and the other gripping the fabric of his jumper just for something to do to keep them busy. 

Then Lloyd turned back around, and Cole didn't even know where to begin. 

Or he did. 

"You can't tell anyone." He said quickly. 

Lloyd's reaction was a slight frown, "What?" 

"You can't tell the guys. I know that you saw me dance, and you can't tell them."

"Cole--"

Cole tugged on his hair lightly, then blew a heavy breath out of his nose. He needed to take a moment, to just breathe and think. 

Why didn't Lloyd seem as bothered by this as he was? 

"You were great." He said plainly, 

"I-- what." 

"You were awesome." There was a slight laugh to Lloyd's voice, but it wasn't anything mocking. It was light, brief, as if he was impressed. "Like, I knew you could dance. You dance in the kitchen all the time."

"No, I don't--"

"You do." Lloyd stated. "You really do."

At that, Lloyd started edging from the crowd, pausing for a second to make sure Cole was following before continuing on his way. They ended up standing at the mirrored wall of the studio. 

He spared a glance at himself. At all the neon paint and dishevelled hair, and an expression that looked torn between excitement of getting his routine done, to a physical depiction of the amalgamation of feelings he was experiencing due to Lloyd also being there. 

Lloyd who was awake at what was now probably three in the morning, looking as alert as if it was the middle of the day and not pitch black outside. Lloyd who'd said that what he'd done was awesome and then the conversation had dropped out. 

"You look like the physical embodiment of 'pacing a hole into the floor'." the silence was now broken, deep green eyes floating over the built up crowd before going back to Cole. 

Who just wiped a hand down his face, "What're you doing here?" A solid place to start. 

"I followed you." It was said plainly, so easily. It was obvious, but Cole didn't want to believe he'd been caught out. 

"And here I was thinking I was getting good at sneaking out." Cole sighed, shoving his hands into his pocket. Though a small smile sprung up in the corner of his mouth, blatant sarcasm never failed to lighten the mood. "It's past your bedtime, squirt,"

"Past yours too, old-timer."

There was a brief pause, before the both of them let out a laugh. It wasn't forced, it came out easily, even around the clogging sensation he could feel in his throat. So he was still nervous. 

Cole sighed and leant against the mirror. Lloyd had seen him, so what? It wasn't as if he could take it back or delete it from anyone's memory, what happened had happened, and that was that. 

Lloyd knew, and that was that. 

"So," He started slowly, elbowing the younger ninja's arm just a little harder than necessary, then shot him a grin as compensation. "You thought I was good?" 

Lloyd nodded for a moment, before he seemed to realise he wasn't actually saying anything, just letting his body speak for the thoughts that seemed to be going through his head. "Yeah. Just… Yeah," He grinned, "I have to be honest, I didn't realise it was you at first."

Small victories. 

"I followed you in here and then I sort of, you know," He waves his hands around for a second, as if gesturing to everything, "Got sidetracked. I was watching people dance and I realised I had no idea where you'd gotten to, and I looked a little but I couldn't find you, so I just, you know?" 

"Went back to watching?" Cole finished, tilting his head. "This place draws you in, doesn't it?" 

There was a quiet him of acknowledgement, barely audible over the music. Then, "It drew you in, didn't it?" It sounded like a statement as much as a question. 

Cole just nodded. 

Lloyd took a moment, shifting onto his toes as if he could see the current dancers better from where he was, even though he was clear on the other side of the room and he wasn't the tallest anyway. Though he seemed to find a point where he could see, because he stopped shifting about and held his position for a good minute before actually moving again.

Cole took the break to gather his thoughts. Lloyd knew everything; he was here, he was enjoying himself but that also meant there were currently two vacant beds back at the monastery. Something which greatly increased the chance that their absence would be noticed by a tenfold. That was if someone decided to do a random room inspection in the dead of night. Weirder things had happened. Was it worth risking it, or should he be dragging Lloyd out at that moment so they could start the walk back home? 

He must have been staring, because the next moment Lloyd was just in front of him, holding something in his hands and turning it over slowly.

"I didn't recognise you until around half way into the song. The mask threw me off to be honest, and the paint." He made a loose gesture to the neon glow that he was still emitting. The lines were crisp, bright, though some areas of the paint had cracked with movement. 

Then Cole realised that the thing that Lloyd was holding was his mask. The conniving colour coded nightmare must have snagged it off his belt.

Yet, he just watched, and made no immediate move to take it back. It wasn't like he was worried Lloyd would break it, it wasn't like he'd not dropped it or sat on it himself in the past couple weeks. Lloyd had seen him dance, what was one mask in comparison to that? 

Then he paused, the mask face up. 

"Is this design based on--?" 

"Yeah. It is." Cole confirmed. Now, he reached over and took it into his hands. Lloyd didn't seem put about by it, even with all the negative connotations around the look. Deep orange, sharp grey and white marks framing the eyes, teeth painted abstractly with the same orange neon paint that Cole had marked on his chin to complete the look. It was illuminated, eye catching, and worked as a way to draw attention from the person that was beneath it. 

Apparently, it seemed to do its job. 

"Why'd you pick that? Why not something else, like a dragon, or a serpentine?" The question wasn't accusatory, just full of curiosity. Lloyd was digging for details, reasoning, an explanation even. 

"It's a funny story, actually." Cole turned the mask over in his hands, tugging at the elastic strap on the back. Honestly, the thing was overall impractical. It was tight and always left a ridge on his nose where it rested, the elastic made his hair stick up on end. But it served a purpose, it separated him from the guy that walked into the middle of the floor. It hid his face so the only thing people would know about him was his ability to dance, not that he was the Elemental Master of Earth or one of the ninja that had saved Ninjago multiple times over, or the son of a Royal Blacksmith. 

He was just someone who could dance.

It was also a slight joke. An internal and personal way of handling a traumatic event. 

He'd fallen from the Bounty, somehow survived and avoided being affected by the darkness that had descended, he'd made it back to the monastery in time for the final fight and eventual victory. Then he relieved that fear and horror, the sensation of falling with no one there to catch him but the earth that was racing up towards nearly every night when he closed his eyes. 

The Oni Mask of Deception, created in the visage of an Oni. The same Oni species that hadn't been able to take Cole's life even when he'd been so close to death. The Oni who had been prevented from taking over Ninjago by a combined family that stood against them and didn't give up against all odds. 

He'd suffered from nightmares for so long. But now, he wore the mask and had fun. He wore it because in doing so, it was proof he survived and he was still going. 

"I deceived death." Cole gave a quiet laugh after a second. Lloyd just watched. "When everyone thought I was gone, I came back. And me being here," He gestured to the crowd, to the speakers and the now pulsing music that he had to raise his voice slightly to talk over, even on the quieter side of the room, "It's like a 'screw you'. I'm having fun and here I can just be me. I can stop worrying and stop thinking and just feel." He grinned, probably the widest and most honest one he'd done so in a while. 

It was freeing, dance was freeing. 

"I can dance, and I can do it without caring what anyone thinks of me." Cole concluded slowly, his eyes watching Lloyd, expression relaxed and gentle. "I get to be both myself, and someone entirely new."

"Do you think you can't be yourself and a dancer?" 

He paused, his brow furrowed lightly. "It's not that, it's just, it makes it all easier, hiding behind a mask. You nearly didn't recognise me."

That made the younger ninja duck his head, letting out a slight laugh, "Yeah, I should have recognised the worn shoes and bad fashion sense."

Cole gaped. 

"Bad--? I swear, training tomorrow--" 

"You mean later today?" 

"Whatever. I'm going to kick your ass."

"Cole!" Cole's attention shot up in an instant, away from any murderous intent he had towards Lloyd and shifted over to the walking neon collage heading towards them. 

"Chamille?" Lloyd questioned after a second of staring, his eyes squinted as if it had taken a second for him to place her. 

She simply made her way forwards, shot Lloyd a quick and wide smile, along with a wave. "Hey, look at you! You've grown."

"Uh…"

"Anyway, I'm here to borrow Cole." She took his wrist and started pulling lightly. "You don't mind, right? He'll be gone four minutes tops."

Lloyd took a moment before he leant back against the mirrored wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't mind." It was clear he was enjoying what was happening far too much, and Cole noticed the second he clocked his expression, because a smirk soon settled on Lloyd's mouth. "Dancing?" 

"Yep." Chamille popped the P and pulled harder until Cole finally gave and took a step. 

"Don't I get a say in this?" He questioned. 

The simultaneous "No." from both parties made him do a double take, then just sigh. Lloyd and Chamille shared a look; they were clearly on the same page. One that benefited the both of them and not the earth ninja stuck in the middle of their escapade. Sometimes it was just like babysitting, especially when he seemed to be stuck with the position of 'dad friend' in the group. It didn't help that Lloyd acted serious, but when push came to shove he was as immature as Kai on a good day. 

"Dance competition, Cole." She said, as if that was all the reasoning she needed to get him moving faster, "Tyler says winners get bragging rights and free drinks."

"Free drinks?"

"Lloyd," Cole rolled his eyes, "You're underage."

"Dancing, bragging rights! Come on," Chamille pulled harder, before Cole eventually gave up and followed along behind her towards the centre of the floor. 

He could hear Lloyd's laugh behind him, along with a shouted, "I'll find you afterwards!" 

Cole just rolled his eyes, and followed Chamille through the crowd, pulling his mask on as he went.

-

From the beginning

Ch 07 > Ch 08 > Ch 09

AO3

[hollenka99]

The One Where Jackie Meets The Others

Summary: Chapter 4. Jackie enjoys a couple trips out with Marvin.

Warnings: death and blood mentions

@bupine @badlypostedeverything

Things don't smoothly transition back to the way they were following that morning. However, they both agreed it was clear Anti's intentions were to divide them. Therefore, it would be dumb to give him that satisfaction. When Marvin asks, out of pure curiosity, about the mullet, Jackie doesn't really have an answer. He'd simply liked the style. But maybe it was time to move on. The chances of him returning to the '80s were particularly slim. With the green having faded weeks ago, he has it cut so it now only reaches his ears. The style is nice but he does miss his old look. He supposes Marvin was pleased with this development. He definitely got a lot of joy from teasing Jackie about how much curlier his shorter hair became following showers. The only quip he has in response is that the hero's hair wasn't much better when wet either. The next thing on the agenda was the excursion to Pizza Hut. The four of them agree to meet on Thursday. In preparation, Marvin offers Jackie a copy of the restaurant's document on allergy information. Marvin faces falls when he learns just how many items he loved posed a certain risk to Jackie's health. Nope, no pepperoni for him. No garlic breadsticks or cheesy fries either. Fried items were a contamination risk too, apparently. He lies when his friend asks about stuffed crust. Jackie trying the crust option was one of the main reasons they'd agreed to visit the establishment. Besides, it wasn't guaranteed it would trigger a reaction. He could possibly get away with sampling a little of Marvin's crust if he didn't push his luck. It is comforting to learn Henrik, the friend who made educational videos for others, had coeliac's disease and therefore had to be wary when eating as well. Jameson was Marvin's cousin of sorts. Their grandmothers had been sisters. Then their mothers were friends, leading to their sons to develop a good relationship while growing up. Jameson was a performer who used his control over time and sound for entertainment purposes. He and Marvin frustratingly run late due to the hero misplacing his wallet. They are apologetic to Henrik and Jameson who have already found a table and ordered drinks for themselves. Jameson has neat brown hair that extends down his face to his jawline and closely surrounds his mouth. Henrik, on the other hand, has black hair which has been swept back as well as glasses. The two of them promise they don't mind the delay. They haven't been here for ages anyway. In time, four pizzas are delivered to the table. There is the pan BBQ americano, gluten free Hawaiian, cheesy bites pepperoni and stuffed crust BBQ beef and onion. Marvin suggests he and Jackie trade a slice. His friend makes a supposedly humourous comment about how he identifies as Jackie's pizza base but it's lost on the former drummer. How someone can deeply relate to dough that's been baked in a pan, Jackie has no clue. He allows Marvin to take a slice regardless. However, when it comes to him returning the gesture, Jackie insists he only wants a little bit of his friend's crust. Half a slice's worth of stuffed crust is placed on top of his own pizza. Jackie regrets it as soon as it enters his mouth. God damn it, it was actually really tasty. He could see why Marvin was so enthusiastic about it. His expression remains neutral as he chews, well aware he has an audience. He hates how disappointed Marvin looks when Jackie gives a bullshit review about the cheese within being too chewy. Allergies and cross-contamination risks fucking sucked. Screw his body for being an asshole who overreacted to a commonly used spice. "Oh well, more for me." Marvin winks as he recovers from the blow before stealing a piece of chicken from Jackie plate. Alright, maybe letting one small inconvenience ruin tonight in his mind was stupid. Marvin had said he'd act as translator. Which was a lovely gesture. Jackie was grateful he was prepared to sacrifice part of his evening to play the middleman so he and Jameson could communicate. Except Marvin got sidetracked at one point and had delved into a whole conversation with his cousin, spoke entirely in BSL. It looked like a funny one too. Jackie was glad the pair were enjoying their evening. He stuck to conversing with Henrik instead. It's a struggle as they don't seem to have much in common. That is until Jackie absentmindedly asked what sort of food Henrik enjoyed. This in turn triggered the German man sitting opposite him to enthuse about fried potato slices with pieces of bacon and onion. Jackie himself launches into a story about how his mother used to work with a woman who had family in West Germany. Then this German colleague would sometimes write down a recipe or two to give to them. In no uncertain terms, those foreign dishes beat jacket potatoes or beans on toast any day. The four men give their stomachs a chance to settle a little while they chat as a group. Then it was time to finish off the night with ice cream shakes. Two strawberries, an oreo and a chocoholic are brought to the table. Although there had been several mentions of what Jameson did for a living, it is only at this point that a proper conversation about is initiated. "Jameson's doing a show on the 4th. I think we should go. What do you say?" Jackie's response is delayed due to Marvin making the suggestion just as he takes a long sip of his strawberry shake. "Oh uh, yeah, sure. What exactly will be in the show? Time stuff, right?" Jameson taps the side of his nose with a wry smile. The younger of the cousins translates this as "I believe he's saying that's for him to know and for you to find out." The performer signs something. "Expect the unexpected." Marvin rolls his eyes with a smile remaining on his face. "Oh yeah, like when you get a younger member of the audience to volunteer for your sound tricks. I once heard Hacker T Dog from CBBC sing Thinking Out Loud, you know. That was an experience." Jameson makes a comment. "I haven't seen the weirdest combinations? Well yeah, I sure hope I haven't. Kids' minds can come up with bizarre things. Henrik, especially, should know that." Henrik nods to this with a sense that this was a profound understatement. The banter carries on and Jackie soon feels like less of an outsider. The ice creams shakes eventually get drained as the evening draws to a close. Once all the goodbyes and "It was nice to meet you"s are over, the tow of them hop into Marvin's car to head home. Bohemian Rhapsody happens to begin playing on the radio as they set off. Jackie doesn't even have to ask before he's turning the volume up for both their benefits. They haphazardly fall into a duet. Jackie's heard Marvin singing absentmindedly to himself before this. He therefore already knows he has a good voice. But it isn't until tonight that he's able to hear it out loud. "I need you to do me a favour. Do you mind headbanging like in Wayne's World?" "What?" "Wayne's World. Never seen the film myself but there's a pretty well known scene where a bunch of them are in the car while this song is playing. Then during the instrumental that's coming up, they really rock out. I've always wanted to do it while in a car but I always seem to be the driver when I get the chance. So do you mind rocking out in a minute on my behalf?" Jackie chuckles. "Sure. My pleasure." As Freddie finishes claiming Beelzebub has a devil put aside for him, Jackie springs into action. He moves his head back and forth in rapid succession to the music. The pair follow along with the next verse as loudly as possible. At least, they attempt to. It isn't long before they have both descended into raucous laughter. "Thanks!" Marvin manages in between breaths when it calms. "We should do that again. With us stationary next time so you can do it too." "Deal." Marvin bursts into laughter once more and Jackie thinks he's growing particularly fond of it. --- Another crime scene, another person fighting to remain alive while bleeding from the neck. Cat is only able to stand by while the paramedics do their job. He'd like to beg them to not take this guy to hospital, to not risk history repeating itself. But it's not like he can ask anyone to skip properly treating the victim. He's sure everyone here knows this situation is a catch 22. However, they can't do anything other than perform their jobs. It takes great deal of convincing but Cat is allowed to stay outside the patient's room for the night. He's been standing guard for a good while when midnight passes. A doctor comes along on her rounds. She speaks to Cat and the other member of security he's been spending the night with. While she's talking, Anti's latest victim begins coding. Any and all resuscitation efforts prove futile. The guy is gone. So is the doctor. If she even existed in the first place. And Cat suspects Anti himself is long gone too. The day afterwards, he catches some reporting of the murder while flicking through channels. The victim has an identity now. There's a name, age and grieving loved ones. The television is bitterly switched off as Marvin searches for his notebook instead. Joining the countless other entries is 27/4/19 - Nick Shaw, 34, wife + 2 little kids The next time he sees Anti, he's not fucking around. Enough was enough. Marvin was putting a stop to this once and for all, by whatever method was necessary. --- The first Saturday of May is a cloudy one. That doesn't stop a crowd from flocking to the Jolly Gentleman's show. Chase is still getting out of the car when Niamh races out, the name Oscar having barely left her mouth before doing so. It is with great relief that Chase witnesses his daughter collide with a familiar man. The pair of single fathers briefly kiss as a part of a greeting while the five year old girl is returned. Her twin sister and older brother hover around as the greetings continue. Eventually, Fletcher drifts into his own group with both of Oscar's boys. The seven of them make their way inside. "So where is this friend of yours?" Oscar asks as they take their seats. "Do you see him?" "Not yet. He should be bringing his new roommate with him." His scanning of the tent is halted. "Speak of the devil." Chase spots Marvin entering the area, along with another man whom his best assumptions identified as Jackie. They seat themselves in the same row as the fathers. The children sit directly in front of the adults. Marvin introduces him to Jackie as Dr Chase Brody, emphasising the title. "I'm just spending the day out with my kids, there's no need to be throwing my doctorate around. Chase." He offers his hand for Jackie to shake. "And this is Fletcher, Ciera and Niamh." Oscar carries on the round of greetings by introducing himself, Milo and Max. They spend a full minute going through the mundane pleasantries before Marvin and Jackie finally stay seated. As the performance begins, Chase relaxes. They'd filled the wait time with small talk and chatter amongst themselves, however, he had intended for today to be a chance to spend time with his partner. He gives Marvin the benefit of the doubt. The thing is, Jackie came across as a decent enough guy. He also understandably seemed a little overwhelmed by the amount of people in the group. If the chit chat served as a distraction, then fine by him. Besides, he only looked like he was in his late teens anyway. They did share a history of drumming when they were younger though which was a nice surprise. That certainly allowed for a whole avenue of conversation. As soon as Jameson emerged to start his performance, the auditory atmosphere changed. There were speakers around the place and at certain points of the show it almost felt as if the sound was travelling around the space as a physical thing. He also seemingly teleported to a different spot than moments before. A woman was completely flabbergasted when she discovered a small thank you card in her handbag that certainly hadn't been there when she arrived with no easy explanation for how it got there. Throughout the performance, one of his colleagues acted as his commentator. Among his other tricks, the Jolly Gentleman sets a row of plants on fire with an elongated lighter. One of his colleagues dramatically shows up with a bucket of water to extinguish it. The performer stops him with a raised hand. He then holds the lighter, still producing a flame, up for the audience. It trails across the plants, erasing any evidence that there had been any combustion taking places. Not a single scorch mark or hint of smoke in sight. A little girl is summoned from the audience. She's about the twins' age, maybe slightly younger. After being asked what her favourite character was (Daddy Pig, of all things) she was encouraged to sing a song she really liked (I'm a Little Teapot). Already familiar with work stories his friend had, he knew what to expect. The crowd was treated to Daddy Pig's rendition of I'm a Little Teapot, complete with actions. Or at least, they were partially treated to it as the volunteer kept giggling into the microphone throughout her performance. It is evident that Jackie is too enthralled by the show to notice the barely subtle yet fond glances in his direction from the one sitting next to him. Ah, so it was like that, huh? Good for them. Chase catches Marvin's arm as they head out, taking advantage of Jackie going to speak with Jameson. It would be more discreet if Marvin's friend wasn't in earshot. With a wink, he teases his friend. "And they were roommates." "Hey, shut up. It's not like that." "Sure. And Oscar is nothing more than my buddy." "Chase-" "Seriously, what have you got to lose? If he's straight then it might get a little awkward for a moment. But I feel like he would be reasonable and appreciate the honesty. Well, you know him better than I do. You tell me." "You sure?" "Listen, I was already married to a woman when I started being cool with liking dudes. But since the split I've been around the block a few times. It is going to be fine." Marvin moves towards his car as Jackie re-emerges from backstage. It's clear he's still very much skeptical about it all. "If you say so, Chase." ---- Joel makes the judgement that Jackie would probably be fine to travel through his portals a week later. His apartment is pleasant. The ledge of one of his windows has a cushion to improve comfort. Jackie notices remnants of blu tack on the wall where something had clear been removed, which was odd. He almost makes a joke about it but decides against it. "Well... fáilte!" Joel spreads his arms to gesture to the whole room. "Wait, you know some Irish?" "Yep. Had an Irish grandmother who got me conversational." "Really? Nice. In that case, go raibh maith agat." Jackie chuckles. "So... anyway, you going to tell me how you know I'm from '86 or not?" "Okay, so you already know about my portals." "Are you trying to tell me you portalled me through time?" "What?! No, of course not. Bold of you to assume I have any control over the 4th dimension. I meant, I have powers and therefore I inherited the ability to have them." "So how then?" "One of my dads has a time based power and I guess, that trickled down to me a little. Stuff like that happens sometimes. I think Jameson might have an unusually strong immune system because his mother has enhanced immunity. Either way, I just have a sixth sense for time stuff." "...Right." Joel huffs in annoyance. "Alright, believe me or don't. The point is I want to help you go back to your own time if that's what you want." Ah. That's where that elephant was hiding. He was slowly getting used to the future but there was an inexplicable longing to return to where he came from. He was never meant to be 20 in 2019. There was no denying that fact. And as much as he enjoyed hanging out with Marvin and the rest of his new friends, it felt wrong somehow. That said, he was particularly good at going with the flow where necessary. If he was stuck in this century for good, then he'd deal with that. But if there was a chance he could be returned to 1986, there was no way he wouldn't take it. "How?" A sly smile appears on Joel's face. "Ah, for that, we will need Jameson and Henrik's help. All we have to do is wait for the right moment to ask for it. And seeing as it's now May, I don't think we'll have to wait that long."