#i know you're not a fan of chess but i'm sure you know that any move that threatens the king is called a check

[everydayyoulovemeless]

I know you've already done Nick and DiMA, but I'd love to see some fatherly Hancock headcanons if you're up to it. If not, no worries! Thanks for keeping us fallout fans fed with your writing.

Hancock As A Dad

➼ Word Count » 0.6k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ A/N » I'm loving all these father HCs !!

A part of him doesn't think he deserves to care for someone in a fatherly way. I mean, just look at where he lives- look at his life choices, does someone like that really deserve to have that much responsibility in someone else's life?

He shelters you a lot more than you'd think. Drugs? What are drugs? Papa just has a bit of schizophrenia and needs to take his meds. He can try can play it off as much as he wants, but the only people he's fooling are the ferals down the road. He can try to shield you from certain things from the outside world, but he partakes in too much of it himself for it to really be effective.

Sure, he's an addict, but he ain't a deadbeat. Hancock's the type to show up to anything important to you. You've decided to start up a new shop in Goodneighbor? Consider him your first customer! Just bought a new gun and want to test it out in an alley? He'll be right behind you, doing his best to help you aim! He's there to support in any way he can, no matter what it is.

He's always going around telling people that you're his kid. It's just a constant flow of, "You see that one? That's my kid! :)"

Despite how he feels toward McDonough, he'd never want to send too much ill intent his way. He tones down his hatred for his brother a lot when you're around, only because he feels that he's your uncle, whether the two of you are related or not. Family's important to him, and he rather you come up with your own opinion rather than him tell you how you should feel.

Ruffles your hair whenever you do something he's proud of.

He's not overprotective by any means, but if anyone ever were to start pushing you around, he'd gladly rough 'em up for you.

He loves it when you talk about your interests with him. It makes him all fuzzy inside and helps give him better ideas on how to involve himself with those activities more often. He loves being a part of your life, especially when it involves your passions.

Most of the residents in Goodneighbor will wave and greet you by name. It holds the same energy as if a family friend were to come over for dinner.

It might be slightly ironic, and he fully understands how it might seem, but you aren't allowed to do drugs till you're at least 30. He'd hate for you to ruin your life so early. Live a little, then he might reconsider.

He'll take you out to one of the settlements and teach you to throw knives. Just something fun for the two of you to do outside. He might even tell you tales of his own childhood.

He throws the best pity parties. If you're ever feeling depressed, he'll lock the doors leading to his room, and he and Fahrenheit will do everything they can to distract you. They'll play games (mostly chess), give you a bit of alcohol, or even just sit out on the balcony and people-watch.

He's one of the most gently honest people there is. He'd never lie to you, and he sure as hell wouldn't ever want anything he says to come off as rude, so you end up with these incredibly sincere statements laced with the sweetest tone.

Hype man?? Bro is always ready to spit compliments at you whenever you need them. It's almost impossible to feel insecure with a father figure like him constantly checking in on you.

Hancock loves you to bits and wouldn't know what to do with himself if you ever disappeared from his life. He wants the best for you and would do everything he can to ensure that you're happy.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

hey dude, love the writing! your characterizations are so on point for em :0 what do you reckon the merc's hobbies are in their downtime? like knitting, golfing, stuff like that.

TF2 Mercs and Their Hobbies!

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I'm glad people think I'm good because that justifies the fact that this is what I do with my spare time 😭 (kidding) Also again mandatory mutual appreciation, love ya for that 🫶🏻 and ty for loving my writing, I really appreciate it <3

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This one's definitely got me smiling and kicking my legs bc something about the idea of these guys being happy and doing normal human things makes me happy.

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Demo knits! He also sews and crochets. This man is just a little grandma (affectionate). His mom taught him, and he just always liked it. It's calming, has definitely given the other Mercs blankets, and just claimed, "Oh well, I found it somewhere." Like it isn't in their well-known favorite color or subtly customized to them. I think he'd also be into most art. Painting and wood carving are two I think he'd fine interesting.

Engie- This man loves Legos. He has at least ten finished sets and about six unfinished ones lying around. He buys the adult sets for himself but has bought Pyro smaller sets so they can build together. Also isn't opposed to going fishing.

Heavy- Did you know he likes rock climbing? Turns out it's a lot easier to get into that hobby if you're strong. He's also a fan of hiking and swimming. Also very good at chess, he and Madic play a lot.

Medic- He loves music! He's good at it too, (I've seen others hc that he plays violin and please I love that, I love violin.) Along with the violin he kills on piano. It's actually really nice to hear piano coming from the lab and not screaming. Who knew? THIS. MAN. LOVES. TO. DANCE. He knows how to and loves to teach people. He specifically likes ballroom dancing, he can waltz, he can swing, if you can think of a dance he probably learned how to do it at some point.

Scout- Sports are probably the most obvious hobby I could pick for Scout, with video games coming in second. But I am a man who deviates from the obvious. He likes to bake and cook! Like I've seen people say this man can't boil water, and that's an insane take to me. Sure, it's funny, but this man loves his mom. Do you think he didn't bake and cook with her to help her out? He has a box of recipes that have been in the family for years. This man is killer when it comes to food, and I will die on this hill. (When he's baking, though, Pyro comes out of nowhere to "help." If any fellow bakers know how annoying it is to have a partner in the kitchen, you'll know how patient Scout has become, but he aurally doesn't mind Pyro baking with him after a while.) Don't ask him to do paintball with you! He loves it a bit too much.

Sniper- My man loves plants. He loves to garden. He has a little windowsill planter in his van. He grows little fruit plants sometimes and has a few cacti scattered around. He also has a bonsai tree, which he is meticulous with. You'd think this man would take up these hobbies to relax, but no. He is also insanely good at poker.

Spy- Really in to calligraphy, origami, and wine tasting. (Also, not really a hobby, but I hc that he can bartend if need be). He's just really into the "fancier." Hobbies that can also show off his art skills, also he likes wine so yk.

Soldier- Like Sniper, he's a really good poker player. He's definitely more into it than the other guys. He hates losing. He also does the traditional suburban while dad hobbies. He watches football and likes to grill. He's just a silly little American man.

Pyro- For the most part, they don't have a singular hobby they really do by themself. Scout and Engie just tend to include them in theirs, so they've never really had to figure out what to do in their downtime. But that doesn't mean they didn't find one eventually. They get into collecting! Specifically, bugs! They have at least two orchid praying mantis and one normal green one in a shadow box. Plus, they have a small collection on honeybees and even some scorpions and spiders (I know they aren't bugs, but I feel like most bug collectors have them too.) Engie went into Pyros room once because Pyro wanted to show off their collection and nearly fainted when Pyro showed off their favorite spider, it was a camel spider. (Look them up if you want but good God, they're so gross 😭)

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One of my favorites to write, super cute and wholesome idea. I smiled the whole time writing this.

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[ocicat-n-nil]

Welcome to our account. :]

We are Ocicat and Nil, a couple of best friends in a QPR working in a project together.

In this blog we'll be posting stuff related to our in-progress webcomic, Cacophony of Solitude.

The story focuses on a struggling queer teenager named Cliff, trying to figure himself out and get back on his feet after the end of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The story deals with the aftermath of the quarantine. The loss of his social life, his self-esteem, and the psychological effects it had on him.

If it interests you, consider following us, and make sure to help us reach more people!!!

If you're searching for trans, aromantic, and QPR representation, this story is for you!!!

So anyways, we hope you accompany us through this journey.

Introduction

Hi I'm Ocicat!! :3 I'm the main artist of Cacophony of Solitude and one of the directors!

I'll post a lot of art, mainly original art because I love my ocs but there'll be fanart like every 6 months. I also really like cats.

Trans (he/him) and aro ace!!

Will Wood, Ghost and Pals, Bo Burnham, Sodikken and Lemon Demon listener

I'm from Mexico 🇲🇽

Currently VERY obsessed with Hamilton, my last obsession was Will Wood

Get scared is my favorite band :3

Hollow Knight is my favorite game, but I'm a Metroidvania lover overall

Other games I enjoy: Omori, Tboi, Undertale/Deltarune, Dark Souls, Minecraft

Chess enjoyer

Vegetarian!

I'm learning to code and aspire to make a game some day

Very anxious and awkward to put me out there but also interested in musical theatre and DnD

You'll know it's me when I use this (ᨐฅ) emoticon!! I try to interact as much as possible and I'll probably follow back anyone that follows us!!

Hello, my name is Nil. I'm one of the directors of Cacophony of Solitude and its main writer. Here's some stuff about me Ig:

I don't have a gender.

My preferred pronouns are "Void/It", but I go by any, Idrc.

I'm aromantic.

Voidpunk.

I'm an anarchist and I'm annoying about it.

I'm a vegetarian, tho I'd like becoming a vegan in the near future.

I'm from Chile. 🇨🇱

I like politics.

I'm a singer, I like doing covers when I have the time for it. I'm also trying to learn piano!!!

I love writing. I usually write scripts for stories, but I like writing poems too.

I like acting a lot, I'm still a beginner, but I like writing scripts and then performing them. My main passion is musical theater.

I also love dancing and learning choreographies. I go dancing through life.

I'm trying to learn how to get better at drawing thanks to Ocicat!!! I like it a lot too, but it's not my main form of expression.

I'm learning how to be a programmer.

I like Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, TBOI, Omori, Kirby, Minecraft, Undertale/Deltarune, chess, and other games!!!

I'm a Starkid fan, and also like other musicals like Heathers and Hamilton.

I like Batman a lot, and in general the DC universe. I also like Invincible.

Aside from musicals, I also listen to Will Wood, Bo Burnham, and OST from my favorite games.

I'm passionate about playing DnD, especially interested in becoming a DM.

I probably won't post a lot, since I'm still learning how to draw and I don't feel like uploading my other interests will help a lot to boost this account. However, I will keep putting all of my effort into writing Cacophony of Solitude, and making sure you have as much of a good time reading it as I do working on it. I will try to interact too, I like giving my opinions. You'll know I'm the one talking when you see this "👁".

Thank you for your support!!!

[cornerattic]

Anais' Attic- Balatro.

Have you ever wanted to play Poker, but it's actually Yu-Gi-Oh, but it's Slay the Spire? Well that's what you'll get out of Balatro, the latest Deck-builder Roguelike to hit the market.

I'm a fan of roguelikes/lites, both Clo and I have been for a long time. Risk of Rain 2, Rogue Legacy 1 & 2, Hades, even Enter the Gungeon to a certain extent- and of course, Slay the Spire. Hell, even in Honkai Star Rail we ended up only playing through more of the game so we could unlock more Simulated Universe content.

There's just something about the addiction of “Just one more run, just one more run, cmon, can't end on a loss, just one more” that scratches the lizard brain’s itchy rash like freshly manicured nails, and Balatro definitely hits that urge. It's the prestigious winner of two of our personal rewards, one of which is that in an effort to not have to stop playing, we decided to purchase it on both Ps5 and switch. Sure it's only 15$, but that should tell you all you need to know about how good it really is.

But in case you'd like a full breakdown, here you go.

As stated Balatro is, in essence, another deck-builder roguelike. You win battles, earn money, and proceed to use said money to acquire new cards so you can win more battles to earn more money and so on. Same loop, new software. But one of Balatro's unique things is that it uses your standard 52-card deck as its base to build from. It's more complicated than that by the end of the average run, but that is where it starts. If you've seen a 52-card deck, you've seen every card in the starting deck. Where it gets wild is the different jokers you can use to build into getting all sorts of wild combinations, like turning all your cards into the same suit, or giving you a 4x multiplier for playing a four of a kind.

Because that's Balatro's other shtick- it's a poker game on top of everything else. You know all the memes you can find joking about Chess 2? Well this is Poker 2. If you know how to tell a three of a kind from a straight flush, you're a bit ahead of the curve, but you'll find your advantage means little when you need 300,000 points to beat the end boss of an ante, and you're barely making 30k with your hands. You're in Balatro's casino now, and you're gonna play by its rules.. But hey, at least it'll tell you the rules. That's more than you'd get in vegas.

Balatro is, however, all gameplay. Not so much as a scrap of an excuse plot. If you imagine a scale with “Roguelike storytelling” on it, then Balatro is far on the other end, about as far away from Hades as it gets. If that turns you off, no big deal, I don't judge. But I will tell you you're missing out.

Balatro has exploded in popularity, and it's been mostly to its benefit. I say mostly because while the game did manage to sell over 500k copies in two weeks, it didn't manage to escape without an 18+ Pegi rating, and an outright ban in South Korea as of the time of this writing. Banned and outrageously rated for the same reason there's no more game corner in the Pokémon games- it's too much like gambling, even when games that are essentially gambling and encourage gambling are not only allowed, they're shoved in your face.

If you're just looking for a thumbs up or down, let me answer that with a cautionary tale. Clover and I were told to give this one a try by a friend, and it proceeded to consume just over 30 hours of our sadly limited time on this earth over the span of a week. Given we work a dayjob, but have the ability to play for an hour at lunch, that's essentially nothing but Balatro in every spare moment. Which is why Balatro is the recipient of our other personal reward, being awarded the honor of getting deleted just so that we could get any work done.

After all, if the house always wins, then the only winning move is not to play at all. - 🌙

[evilisk]

Another year, another Touhou Popularity Poll.

My picks and reasoning below. (Wall of text warning)

= = =

Seiga / Miko / Mamizou: They're still my favorite characters in the series, though Miko had my favorite canon appearance this year in Lotus Eaters. Very impressive of Miko to, not only outsmart Mamizou, but to also immobilize Suika for a few days.

Oni lore in Touhou (until now) was that "oni are basically impossible to deal with, since the art of fighting/exterminating oni has been lost to time". Even Touhou's specialest girl couldn't do anything in WaHH's climax, so this is a pretty big glow up for Miko (yeah, I know Futo actually did that. But we all know who Futo takes orders from and stans.).

At this point, I believe that the only reason Foul Detective's nostalgia train only goes up to Touhou 12 is because if you go up to Touhou 13, you'd have to involve Miko, and between her hyper-competence AND her desire reading ability (which would be a hard counter to Mizuchi's possession) she'd have Mizuchi caught in under 10 minutes. /miko tangent over.

= = =

The other votes were a lot harder. I haven't gotten to play ANY new Touhou games, official or fanmade, since I was banished to MacBook. Seriously, almost nothing works. (Bless Chinese Touhou fangame developers for usually having Mac compatibility).

The other votes:

Nitori Kawashiro:

When I was first getting into Touhou, I was kind of a Nitori hater. It's not hard to understand why. She's basically that one money hand sign as a character. You know the one:

Though she's still not a character I find subjectively appealing, I have to admit she's a decently written Touhou character overall.

I still find her a bit annoying, but I realize now that's probably a bit intentional. Whenever Nitori appears, it's usually in conflict with other characters. (I'm going off memory here but) I don't think we ever really start with Nitori's perspective first. It's some other character, like Reimu, Marisa or even Mamizou, noticing a scheme and then learning later it was a Kappa conspiracy.

We only see her when she's in the middle of a scheme, and it feels like her schemes are consistently successful, so it's easy to see her as constantly getting her way. After re-reading a few chapters, I realize it's not that simple. Is she motivated by money? Sure. But she also does things that benefit her species. E.g. the Seven Wonders chapter in Forbidden Scrollery, where they just want to scare away humans so they can access one of their warehouses because of the weather. If ZUN ever did a full Kappa manga, and we got to see the highs and lows of Kappa society, I think we'd be more sympathetic to Nitori vs seeing her as a little money gremlin constantly "winning".

The one thing that's really unique to Nitori is that she's completely open to doing mercenary work. She's worked for both the Hakurei and Moriya Shrines, which the other youkai schemers don't usually do. She's collaborated with Reimu without any extra motives beyond "gimme a cut too". I actually respect how practical Nitori is in general. She's not a 4D chess master like Mamizou, Yukari or Miko. It's just "yeah, we don't need want any trouble, we just need to access our warehouse close to the Human Village".

I also think Nitori getting a *little* owned in Foul Detective Satori helped a lot too:

It's funny out of context and very cathartic if you're a Nitori hater. But if you're sympathetic to Nitori, it's actually humanizing to see that Nitori is a good enough leader for the regular Kappa to have this kind of reaction.

I don't think you need to like Nitori, and you certainly don't have to vote for her. But I do think you have to appreciate what she brings to the series. Because it's a lot more than most of Touhou's popular characters (seriously, who are these Momiji fans voting her so high in the Popularity Poll?!)

= = =

These other votes aren't going to be as in-depth but

Sannyo Komakusa

She's just a neat character.

We get a lot of extra worldbuilding from her (she has a Gambling Den on the Youkai Mountain, she's from a subspecies of Yamanaba that was introduced in Touhou 16), I like that she's joined the Lotus Eaters gang and Sannyo X Mamizou has become my favorite Mamizou ship.

Komachi Onozuka

This vote was carried by my Labyrinth of Touhou 1 playthrough. She's a very useful character in that game, and she's also useful in LOT2's main game, even though she falls off in both game (and is generally a lot worse in LOT2).

I've also really started to love her theme, Higan Riverside, specifically the mix on one of the Hifuu CDs.

Nemuno Sakata

My underrated fave from Touhou 16. Like Sannyo, we got some worldbuilding for the Youkai Mountain. I also just love her design. She looks like "a Cavewoman but Touhou", which is super unique and also really fits her backstory (she's from a very isolated youkai race). I also love the completely unnecessary ribbon on her knife.

It's crazy that I didn't vote for her once until now.

The Runner Ups?

I didn't really have any because of the Mac Gaming problem I mentioned earlier. The only games I've been able to play are Touhou Mystia's Izakaya (which is fine, but hasn't changed my opinion on specific characters), Touhou Lost Branch of Legend (same deal) and Labyrinth of Touhou 1 and 2 (thankfully able to emulate on Mac, but I've played those games to death).

I guess I could have voted Akyuu instead of Komachi, but then all the recent stuff hadn't happened. Call me a hipster, but I hate all the recent attention she's gotten. I know most of you didn't even know who Akyuu was before this week.

[minsarasarahair]

Scenes in the novel where LouZuo are making sure they understand each other. I love a ship without miscommunication. Not exact words but based on what I remember. Its a mix of ad and novel version.

Medicine arc LZ: See you around. Till next time? ZYQ: Wait, are you not going to ask anything to me? LZ: I do have one. ZYQ: Then ask? LZ: Why you must play a game of chess? You can just steal the naihe incense behind your father's back and be done with it. ZYQ: That won't work. My dad is stubborn and don't give up easily if he didn't see it get destroyed in front of his eyes. LZ: Is it Lin Kai's idea? ZYQ: No, its mine. LZ: You can go now. I'm done asking. ZYQ: I want to give you this gift. Smaller Naihe incense. You can sell it and make money from it. LZ: Young man, you're way of doing things is very Pangmen. ZYQ: I'm different from them. I'm a good person. Its also my payment to live here. LZ: Since when I agree you're living here? What if the emperor found out about this? He'll definitely kill me. ZYQ: I'll disguise and work for you. LZ: I don't lack servants. ZYQ: But you lack me? Who will talk to you about your past, present and future? You still haven't tell me about other transmigrators stuff? Who will play card games with you? One game eveyday would be great, right? LZ: Make it 3.

Tuo Huang's hideout arc ZYQ: Lou Zhu, there's something I want to confirm. Prince Yu said you know his failed revolt but the emperor doesn't know. Do you know why? LZ: Why? ZYQ: First, your intelligence network must been more powerful than the emperor's. Second, you decided to supress that information so it won't spread. Third, its because you're still an outsider after all. LZ: Yes, there are natives who treat us equally but there's also people who don't. How can I survive this far if I didn't do it? ZYQ: I stole the banned book. I hope its helpful to you. Will you report it to the emperor? LZ: No, we will keep it to ourselves. ZYQ: So this is your stance? LZ: My stance? My goal is to lie on my money until the day I die. If one day someone will take this pleasure of mine, I'll use the chips I saved and gamble all I got.

Public opnion war arc ZYQ: Let me be clear? What are you fighting for? What the Wulin alliance stands for? LZ: Pacifism. An era where natives and transmigrators live peacefully together. ZYQ: Then why are you not doing anything? LZ: I miss the opportunity. ZYQ: Make anti-war poems? LZ: Is there anyone in Wulin literate enough to write? ZYQ: No. We only have ruffians who barely know few phrases and characters here. LZ: !!! Thank you for the suggestion! *goes to Fan Aiguo and tell him to write a novel*

Stealing the crown prince arc ZYQ: What? You want me to kidnap the prince? LZ: Basically I want you to kidnap the crown prince and then- ZYQ: Shut up. Don't talk. To put it simply, you want the prince so in case Prince Yu or the emperor died you guys will benefit from it? You can turn him into a puppet emperor. LZ: Exactly. ZYQ: Ok. Got it. LZ: Any questions? ZYQ: None. I'll prepare my things. LZ: I have one. ZYQ: Ask? LZ: I-If you don't want to do it, I can just find someone to do it for me. There's possibility you'll meet your father. ZYQ: I'll do it. I can't hide from my father forever. I have to face him.

Interrogation to Tan Qinghuan arc LZ: *realized ZYQ is looking at him* Xiao Yunqi, what are you thinking of? ZYQ: I'm thinking about what I learned from Tan Qinghuan's story. LZ: What did you learn? ZYQ: Protecting someone is the best courtship and true love will make you stronger. LZ: Xiao Yunqi, do you like me? ZYQ: What are you saying? LZ: I'm beautiful, multitalented, and rich. I very much appreciate your protection. ZYQ: This is extorting. LZ: Then I'm wrong? I guess I have to try harder. ZYQ: I'm not strong enough to be your bodyguard. LZ: I can wait. Don't let me wait for long tho.

Last battle against Tuo Huang arc ZYQ: You know right? LZ: Waiting for me? ZYQ: Your plan won't work. Is there no other way? LZ: Xiao Yunqi, I'm not a god. I don't always have the solution to everything. ZYQ: You really can't think of anything? LZ: There is but I'll not say it until I'm sure of it. ZYQ: Just say it. LZ: We can use this snake to destroy the pillar of Best Tower. ZYQ: Use it under the Best Tower and use the airplane for the top as distraction! Then what are we waiting for? LZ: How to say this... I only have one snake. It will take years until its destroyed. You'll probably have a grandson by then. ZYQ: ... *later, figure out Naihe incense can make the snake bigger and so their plan worked*

No medicine. Last scene in main story. ZYQ: Are you sure you want to stay in this world? Its dangerous here. LZ: I know. ZYQ: Maybe I can't protect you. LZ: Don't take what i said seriously back then. ZYQ: i'm serious though. I'm going to take over Pangmen and slowly get stronger. After all, I still have unfulfilled wishes. LZ: You already made your decision so do whatever you think is right. You don't have to worry about me. I can protect myself. But remember, a medicine can hurt others and poison can save others. It just depends on the heart of the person who use it. ZYQ: All these years, there's no poison user who became a noble hero. LZ: You can be the first one. ZYQ: What if I became a villain like my father? LZ: Then, I'll have to kill you. ZYQ: We will meet again right? LZ: One day, we will meet again.

LouZuo after 5 years extra. LZ: Can't you stay with me? ZYQ: Lou Zhu, can you ask again what you asked me back then. I haven't reply properly. LZ: Xiao Yunqi, do you like me? ZYQ: I do. Very much. That's why I can't stay with you. I want to help you as long as I can and I refuse to be a burden. I made a promise and won't break it. LZ: Then just like the Qixi story, we'll wait. Forever loyal to each other and only reunite ocassionally.

Reverse isekai AU extra. (Modern setting/Lou Zhu's OG world) ZYQ: Don't you want to become CEO and avenge your death? I will not surrender to an enemy. I'll just investigate to find evidence and don't kill anyone. LZ: Before, you want to lead the Pangmen and now you want to be an undercover agent? You shouldn't have follow me in the first place! What will it do to you? Benefit? You're just seeking death. Those rich people will just squash you like an insect. Your life means nothing to them. Can we just move on and don't pursue it? Don't make me tie you up. ZYQ: *sighs* I confess. I'm late so I didn't get food poisoning unlike you. Its my choice to follow you. LZ: Why? You still have the Pangmen? ZYQ: First, I'm worried about you. Second, there's no point staying in Da Liang without you. Third, I prefer to be a sword that can unsheathe by you. My years in Pangmen as sect leader is very lonely. When I first arrived here and fought with my martial arts again, I was very happy. This new body is not the best but its better than my original body. Lou Zhu, I don't really care what will benefit me. I only care what's right and wrong because back then all my life I always do evil actions for justice but this time I can finally choose. You understand me, right? LZ: sighhsss <- lose the argument

[il3x]

Tagged by @vikugnavikugna!

coke or pepsi? beverage BITE miette?? beverage STING her tongue like the insect??? jail!!! jail for beverage for One Thousand Years!!!

disney or dreamworks? dreamworks did HTTYD, right? them.

coffee or tea? tea

books or movies? books hehe

windows or mac? never used mac so windows it is

dc or marvel? ok, exposing myself here, worm was like my 2nd superhero media ever. i haven't read either 🙈 i have seen a few marvel movies but i'm not sure whether that should count for or against them

x-box or playstation? mine crafdt on my laptop

dragon age or mass effect? mass effect bc incuriouscat on youtube makes sick ass fan PMVs

night owl or early riser? night owl

cards or chess? chess, you can narrate stories about the pieces and thoroughly annoy your opponent (sibling) even as you lose >:3

chocolate or vanilla? chocolate all the way!!

vans or converse? wgat

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? I can't tell if these are fantasy names or antidepressants

fluff or angst? uhhhhdfcgvhbjnk gonna have to say fluff

beach or forest? beach

dogs or cats? cats 100%! (or secret third option: fish...)

clear skies or rain? clear. god. please... 🙏🙏

cooking or eating out? cooking :P

spicy food or mild food? Mild by any sane standards, but spicy according to my family and/or BBC Food haha

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? chris mas :))

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? uuuhhhh .. hh. hard one here. gonna have to also go cold

if you could have a superpower, what would it be? SUPERSPEED!! Or time powers. My irl friend has convinced me of their usefulness.

animation or live action? animation

paragon or renegade? renegade, it's the name of my serial killer dark forest!hollyleaf fanfic (only half kidding...)

baths or showers? shower

team cap or team ironman? hm. remember when I said I watched a few marvel movies? yeah none of them were this one :(

fantasy or sci-fi? fantasy baybey!!! but I adore both

do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? oh god okay. hm... "Where did we learn it, this talent for insatiability?" from The Handmaid's Tale still Lives In My Head from high school english. If song lyrics count, then, "You don't know me / don't you question my love" from Berlin, Without Return. "Sometimes a hypocrite is just a man in the process of changing" (I don't recall the exact wording) from... Oathbringer? is my fav cliche cosmere pick. Oh! And I forget the episode or even who said it, but at some point during the s3 All Might/AFO fight in MHA, one of the side characters stuck on guard duty said "You're confusing difficulty with importance", and that changed my life.

youtube or netflix? youtube :) it has fun little AMVs

[REDACTED] [Clearance Level 9]

when do you feel accomplished? when I bake something! making concrete stuff is really fulfilling, especially if I'm baking for other people.

star wars or star trek? spaceballs (jk, star wars, but I haven't seen star trek so sw wins by default)

paperback books or hardcover books? paperback

to live in a world without literature or without music? [sad character song assigner noises]... without music.

who was the last person to make you laugh? that would be @ty-bayonet-betteridge with several lines in their riley fic hehe

city or countryside? city! much as I complain about missing nature :') ideally a city that's near the sea

favorite chips? anything plain sea salt and properly crunchy 🤌

pants or dresses? pants, though dresses are fun for fancy occasions!

libraries or museums? is it a natural history museum? pleamse?? if so museum! otherwise library all the way.

character driven stories or plot driven stories? I don't really have a preference ngl

bookmarks or folding pages? i was one of those heretical kids who just plonked their books face down open 🙈😭 and now I mostly read online so... idk? Probably bookmarks.

Dream job? honestly would love to be on the management council for a small nature conservancy. second choice would be ecological research, but data-based, not fieldwork (animals scare me >.<)

What gives you comfort? thinking about The Characters...

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? literally ANY pun or double meaning lyric by idkhow!! gonna go with "lose yourself inside the city / lose your mind inside a week".

favorite ice cream flavor ever? chocolate my beloved...

first fandom? warrior cats......

deep ocean or deep space? (personally, i gotta pick ocean, because theres fish in there 👍😊)

Your desert island band?

@thesternest @seroquelfan @chaoticrushu, but no pressure to answer, and anyone is welcome to join! add your own question at the end if you answer :]

[ootori-sibs]

The Candor of Youth

Part 9

tw: Abuse, kidnapping, torture

When he got to Kokomi's mansion, he was already a bit worn out from how much effort it took him to keep up with Yuzuru's antics, but he always had enough energy for his beloved. The door was answered by a maid, and he was led to one of the lounges. There, Kokomi had been waiting for him, in that beautiful black and white 50's style dress of hers, silk gloves, tights and dolly shoes, her hair pulled up into an updo. That dress of hers was one of Yoshio's favourites, he'd always been a fan of the 40s and 50s. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. 

She smiled back, putting her notebook down on the sofa and stepping over to him, cupping his face in her hands. "Oh happy birthday my darling!" She giggled, squishing his face a little as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. 

His cheeks flushed a light red as he swat her hands away, chuckling softly. "Thank you dear, but please don't squish me like that." 

Kokomi paused for a moment, before giggling and kissing his cheek. "My little imp saying no to me? What sort of things has Souh been filling your head with, huh?"

Yoshio chuckled at that, rolling his eyes a little. "Well all we really did was play chess. I got to speak to his father, though."

She gasps, "you did? oh that's wonderful! Did he like you? You'll be doing business with him soon, you should make sure he likes you."

"Well he was very nice to me, he even played a game of chess with me."

"That's good! Did you win?"

"No, but I got close?"

"Not good enough, impy," Kokomi smiled, hand on his cheek, "you need to be smarter than him and your father's other business partners by the time you take over, okay, pet?" 

He nods, sighing softly. "Yes dear, I know-"

Yoshio was interrupted by a maid coming to tell them both that dinner was ready to be served. Kokomi took his hand and led him through to the dining room. Kokomi's parents were already sitting there- that was something their families had in common; the entire family ate together, but because Kokomi was an only child, Yoshio always found it strange when he came to her house for a meal. He sat down opposite Kokomi, nodding politely to both of her parents. 

"Good evening."

Mr Igerashi responded with just a grunt and a curt nod, he never liked it when Yoshio came over but put up with him at least. Yoshio did wish he liked him more, the man was rather admirable. Kokomi's mother, on the other hand, adored him. Mrs Igerashi smiles brightly at Yoshio as he sits down, "oh hello Yoshio, it's your birthday today, isn't it?" 

Yoshio nodded, smiling back at her. "Yes ma'am, it is."

"Well happy birthday then, you're growing into such a handsome young man."

"Thank you ma'am, you're too kind."

Before long, dinner was served. It was some roast beef, with vegetables roasted in fat, it was all covered in a thick layer of gravy. Yoshio did enjoy European dishes like this, so he was quite happy to indulge in the juicy cut of meat, and the crispy yet somehow fluffy potatoes. The gravy was thicker than he expected, but he found himself quite enjoying it actually. 

The meal went on in silence, with what appeared to be a silent conversation between Kokomi's parents going on, as Yoshio and Kokomi both tried to figure out what they were thinking. Yoshio hoped it wasn't anything about him, but he did have to contend with the fact that it could definitely be a possibility. 

So, after the meal, when Mrs Igerashi pulled him aside, he wasn't too surprised. 

"Yoshio, sweetheart, is everything okay..? This is the second year in a row that your family forgot your birthday." She looked concerned, a gentle hand on his shoulder as her eyes filled with worry and pity.

Yoshio sighed, "it's fine, ma'am, I'm used to it."

"..." She was silent for a moment, before sighing gently, "there's a small...rumour going around, that your father...isn't the nicest towards you. Is any of that true?"

Freezing, Yoshio wasn't sure how to respond. He knew people often looked at him with pity, he knew they must see the bruises, and the injuries... but he'd always assumed they blamed his brothers. The thought that they realised his father was to blame was... oh Yoshio couldn't explain it but he felt this overwhelming sense of relief. That people understood, that people actually noticed him, that they saw him... oh he almost felt like crying for the second time today. 

Oh but if his father realised people knew the truth... Yoshio shuddered; he didn't want to think about that. He knew that if he told Mrs Igerashi the truth, then she'd try- and most likely fail, to do something about it. Which would lead to Yoshio's father finding out. So he took a breath, and responded. 

"Oh no ma'am, there's nothing to worry about." He smiled politely for good measure, hoping she'd drop the topic even if she could tell he was lying. 

Mrs Igerashi paused for a moment, before nodding and removing her hand from Yoshio's arm. "Alright, if you're sure. You can always come to me if you need help, alright?  Run along now, Yoshio, don't keep Kokomi waiting."

Yoshio did as he was told, trotting on after his fiancee- well trotting was an overstatement for the painful limping that occurred when Yoshio tried to speed up even a little. Kokomi had retreated to her room, she seemed very excited today. Opening the door to her room, Yoshio felt a sense of unease, just like he always did. He adored his fiancee, of course he did, her room however... it never failed to spook him a little. 

The walls were a dark green, with silver patterns. Her four-poster bed boasted purple velvet sheets and blackout curtains layered with white lace. She had posters on the wall of horror movies and romantic movies all the same, not to mention the little collage of photos featuring her and Yoshio. Her shelves were filled with strange artefacts and books about the occult- Yoshio didn't really believe in the occult but he had to support his darling, so that was the reason it made him feel uneasy.  

He took his shoes off so he wouldn't get dirt on her beautiful plush black carpet- he wasn't sure it was real fur or not, but he thought it was pretty cool either way. Sitting down in the little armchair in her room, he took a breath; it always took him a few minutes to adjust to the room's atmosphere, and he wanted to give it the respect it deserved. 

Kokomi, meanwhile, had flopped onto her bed and lay on her stomach, head resting in her hands as she kicked her legs behind her. This was her room, so of course she was so relaxed. Seeing her so laid back and comfortable in her room did help Yoshio feel a little more comfortable too, it always did.

"Impy!" She squeaked, clearly over the moon, "do you know why I'm excited?"

There it was, the uneasiness returned as if it had never left- perhaps it hadn't Yoshio knew that there was still one thing left unsaid. He didn't want to be the one to say it. 

Kokomi giggled a little sitting up and gazing at him, "I said I had a gift for you, didn't I, pet?" She picked at her tights a little, looking at him happily. Yoshio's eyes were drawn to the tights, he wondered if she was picking at them on purpose... she did look incredible in them.

She walked over, and gently took Yoshio's chin, moving his head to look at her. "Eyes up here, darling." Kokomi chuckled softly, causing Yoshio to go red. "I've got the perfect birthday present for you, Yoshio." 

Yoshio blinked at her; Kokomi always used pet names, so when she said his name, he took notice. She gently pulled him to his feet, "come on, impy." Giggling, Kokomi began to lead Yoshio out of the room. He didn't even consider putting his shoes back on as he followed her, able to keep pace as Kokomi had perfected the art of walking his speed. 

She was so beautiful, Yoshio couldn't help but admire her form as she pulled him along. He didn't care where she was taking him, as he was pretty sure he knew what his birthday gift would be... 

How did he deserve her? She was so gorgeous, so perfect and truly just... the perfect woman. He was honoured to just stand next to her, let alone to have that ring on his finger. If she was really about to let him get even closer than Yoshio was pretty sure he might just faint. 

They were headed down some stairs now, so Yoshio had to focus more on where he put his cane. It was painful to tear his eyes away from his beloved fiancee, but it was slightly more painful to descend stairs with his leg playing up the way it had been today. His mind was so filled with thoughts of her, it was hard to focus on not slipping. She was so perfect, so lovely... 

Getting to the bottom of the stairs meant he could look at her again. She winked at him before turning to unlock one of the doors. Yoshio had never been in the basement of this mansion before, but he was kind of hoping this wasn't the wine cellar- he was pretty sure that would detract from the fun. Kokomi opened the door and stepped through, beckoning for Yoshio to follow. 

and he did. 

and he wished he didn't.

In his excitement, he'd almost forgotten the elephant in the room, the thing left undiscussed. Now the elephant was staring right at him- both of them were. 

Fumihito and Yosuke... how could he have forgotten? Kokomi had been the one to kidnap them- what else had Yoshio been expecting in the basement? It did occur to him that now they knew what it had been like every time Yoshio was made to sleep in the cellar but no, that wasn't fair. 

He could hear screaming, he barely registered it before Kokomi covered his mouth and it stopped. The twins were both tied up in a chair, hands behind their back and a cloth in their mouths to gag them. Yoshio felt sick, but Kokomi gently stroked his hair, whispering sweet nothings in his ear- at least they were probably sweet nothings, Yoshio was failing to process her words. 

She took her hand off of his mouth, only for him to cover it with his own- he was going to be sick. He turned, leaning against a wall and gagging. Kokomi put a hand on his back, rubbing it and quietly reassuring him.  

Once he was sure he wouldn't throw up, he turned around to face Kokomi, only for her to thrust a tree branch in his hands. Yoshio's eyes widened, and he was sure his expression didn't look far off the twins' own. 

///////////

The year was 1964, and Yoshio was ten years old. He was outside, playing alone like he usually did. Today, the game was running between the tree in the garden, and the wall. He was pretty fast if he said so himself, although all that turning around did make him a little dizzy. He was pretty sure Yuuma had gone to ask Mommy for lemonade, so he figured he'd go and look. 

Jogging around the corner, he spotted Yuuma and Fumihito sitting at the picnic bench, with a pitcher of lemonade. Yoshio smiled, approaching them. "Can I have a glass?" He asked, and Yuuma nodded, pouring him one. 

Fumihito whined at that, "no fair, Yoshio shouldn't have any, he's gay!"

Yoshio blinked at him, "I'm not gay? I have a fiancee?"

"That's gay."

Yuuma interjected at that point, "you have a fiancee as well, Fumi. There's no arguing at the lemonade table, them's the rules." 

"Why do you get to make the rules?"

"I'm the eldest."

As far as Yoshio was concerned, that was perfectly reasonable, but Fumihito saw fit to continue to argue. Yoshio just listened quietly as he sipped his lemonade, it was fresh, and very tasty. Mommy told everyone that she made it, but Yoshio had seen her telling the maids to make it for her. He didn't mind, mommy had a lot on her plate- especially  since she was pregnant. 

"Hey Yoshio?" Yosuke appeared next to them now, covered in leaves, with his hair full of twigs. "You wanna play with me and Fumihito?"

Yoshio blinked, his brothers never wanted to play with him! This was new! Maybe they'd seen how fast he was and decided he was finally cool? Yeah, that must be it. He nodded excitedly, "sure!"

Both twins smiled, and Fumihito stood up, "come on then, we've got such a good game." 

He was happy to follow his brothers, they were a year older than them, so they must have much better games than Yoshio did. They lead him next to the tree he had been running next to- oh they **definitely** saw how fast he was. 

"Stand here for a moment," Yosuke instructed him, before climbing up the tree as fast as anything. Yoshio was very impressed, he definitely wouldn't have been able to climb a tree like that; his brothers were so cool. 

He watched as Yosuke broke off a tree branch, it must have been loose already. He turned to Fumihito to say as much, but Fumihito had moved. As Yosuke began to climb back down, Yoshio found out where Fumihito had gone when the boy grabbed his arms and forcing him to the ground where he held Yoshio there. 

Yoshio was confused, he didn't like this game very much, and decided to make this known to his brothers. "I...I don't like this game anymore..."

"oh come on!" Yosuke chuckled, testing the weight of the tree branch, "it's gonna be so good, and you're even gonna get out of school with it!" 

"Huh..?" Yoshio questioned, but before he could ask a follow up question, Yosuke raised the tree branch above his head, bringing it down on Yoshio's legs. 

Yoshio screamed. 

////////////

Was there blood on him? Yoshio wasn't sure. All he knew was that his heart was beating out of his chest and his breathing was heavy and laboured. He was pretty sure he had splinters in his hands and tears in his eyes, but the sobbing he heard wasn't his. 

He turned to look at Kokomi, only to see her smiling proudly back. 

"You did so well, impy, I'm so proud of you." 

That was the first time anyone had been proud of Yoshio.

and she hadn't even used his name.

[hypermania]

I can't tell if you liked Shadow and Bone or not and it's killing me lol

i also can't tell if i liked it! i know for sure i liked s1 a lot better than s2. s1 was an interesting viewing experience because i had to adjust to the fact that they really weren't following the books and i wasn't prepared for that. i think what they did with the grisha trilogy worked really well. pretty much every change was for the better. it made the characters more likable which serves the plot a lot better. the crows stuff, however, was more jarring both because i'm far more invested in them and because the changes were bigger and without any obvious payoff. but once i got over the hesitancy of the story being changed it was mostly fine. there were still a few things i didn't like but overall it was like okay i get it. we're moving chess pieces around because we're setting stuff up.

going into s2 i knew they weren't following the books closely so i went in with the mindset of "hey this is its own thing and you should judge it based on what it is, and not what it isn't." and then... they just shoehorned in a bunch of big Moments(tm) from the books that... have no relevancy in the story they're telling?

like what was the point of kaz bringing pekka to his knees begging? pekka still has a crap ton of people loyal to him. he's still running shit from hellgate. there was no emotional catharsis to it. and kaz hasn't built up the reputation of "When everyone knows you're a monster, you needn't waste time doing every monstrous thing" yet soooooooo it kinda just feels like kaz showed that yeah he can figure out what is most important to someone and push that button (figuratively, because he won't actually do the horrible thing) but it ultimately doesn't even matter because... ??? like i don't know why that mattered in the context of the story they're actually telling. it was just a big moment from the book plopped into the show. if they wanted to rearrange the pieces so that pekka would be in hellgate with matthias, they could have done that without using the alby storyline in a place where not only does it not fit, it completely undermines the point.

same with the "i will have you without armor" interaction. i'm not a big fan of that line in the books to begin with. it's fine. i just think there are way more *scream into my pillow about it* moments but i know it's a fan favorite and it feels like that's the only reason they included it. when it happens in the book, it's because kaz hasn't offered inej anything, really. he's asked her to stay in ketterdam but that's the most vulnerable he's allowed himself to be with her. so it serves as like a linchpin for him to do better, sort of? but in the show... he's already told her about jordie. he's already given her freedom from the menagerie and a lead on her family. he's already given her everything except physical skin to skin contact, and so that line just comes across as "you're not good enough because you're traumatized" instead of "we're both traumatized but i want to get better and i won't let you hold me back from that. you have to at least try" so it's... kinda gross?

the jesper and wylan changes are mostly fine but their relationship feels very rushed and i don't really understand what the point of doing that is. like jesper watching wylan play piano and having a moment about it felt like... nothing? because wlyan is just a guy he had a one night stand with. what new light is it shedding on a guy jesper doesn't really have any mis-formed preconceived notions on? and why are they already basically married? maybe this is just a personal preference but that's not fun to me. i am much more interested in watching them awkwardly fall for each other over time than having immediate confirmation that they're a couple.

(also i have a pretty big gripe with the way jesper being grisha is handled. but that's a whole other discussion.)

idk i guess the point i'm making is that s2 felt like a marvel movie. it had a lot of quippy one-liners and Big Emotional Beats that we knew were Big Emotional Beats because there was swelling music and lingering shots but there was no substance to any of it?? none of it mattered in the context of the story they were actually telling. it only matters if you already have a built-in connection to the story via the source material.

that being said: kaz bar brawl and nina spy competence = very sexy. and as much as i just talked a bunch of shit about jesper, he really is amazing. kit young continues to be an inspired stroke of jesper genius. almost everyone was perfectly cast, actually.

there were other things i liked and disliked about it but this is the general gist of where i'm at, i guess.

[drivelings]

There was once a time when Jing Yuan had a dream. A faraway dream that couldn't be realized through the harsh ravages of time which did not care for the stories of those its takes.

Jingliu was not his first master.

There was another.

"Are they stronger than you?" asks Yanqing, eyes wide and eager.

Jing Yuan smiles wordlessly, much to Yanqing's obvious frustration. He turns to the window, the sun forcing his eyes closed and the memories of long ago begin to resurface.

"Open your legs. Your stance is too narrow."

"But teacher--"

A much younger Jing Yuan saw the kick to his butt coming in slow motion and did nothing to stop your foot from connecting. It stung, but it didn't hurt.

"Tighten up and keep them open."

He did as you asked and widened his stance to an almost uncomfortable level. You then brought your heel swinging across the front of his ankle. There wasn't any strength, but the look you gave him forced him to move with you as you wished. His foot kept sliding back and back until he lost his balance and knelt onto the ground.

"It's too wide."

"I did as you said and widened my stance."

"I said to tighten your ass and widen your stance. You forgot to tighten."

Your nagging should get on his nerves, but he only smiled. You clicked your tongue.

"Cheeky brat." You also smiled, perfect and serene, eyes crinkled just so. He clenched his teeth, the sweet pounding of his heart caught him off guard. "Your smile needs more work than your footwork."

"If you say so, teacher."

Jing Yuan dusted himself off and returned to his stance, making sure to tense his glutes and that his stance was a finger wider than before. You nodded at him, tapping various parts of his body lightly with your fan.

Thighs. Calves. Shoulders. Lower back.

"Good. Arms out."

Obediently, he did so, heaving an inward sigh at what would inevitably come next.

With a grunt and tremendous effort, you precariously placed his glaive atop his outstretched arms. His body groaned at the unbalanced weight, but he dared not complain, not when your face looked it was going to burst from the exertion.

Instead, he grew his smile. "Thank you, teacher."

You tapped your fan against his cheek. "If you're thankful, fix that smile of yours. It will--"

"--become a weapon stronger than the mightiest sword, I know." He sighed and forced himself to smile again while holding his stance.

"Your eyes, child. Your eyes give you away. You must keep smiling especially when you don't want to. Sincerely." You matched his previous sigh, or did he imitate one of your previous ones? He didn't know. "All right. Forms. Go."

His upper body tipped forward, right foot slipped outward, drew a half circle, and slipped back. Left foot steady. Each step had the weight of his body. Each movement carried the power pushing at him from the earth beneath his bare feet. His arms were indisposed but not useless--they moved too. There was a steady pressure at his side; you were watching and pulling at him with your eyes, correcting his form silently.

You never did the forms with him. You couldn't. Even the standard glaive of the Cloud Knights were too much for you.

But still, he sought you out when no one else would.

Because, weak as you were, you had eyes and answers and wisdom, exactly what he needed to understand why he wasn't getting any stronger.

Only you laughed at his ambition, called him an "impatient child", and forced him into a life of basics, smiling lessons, and endless chess matches. So was his routine everyday once his work ended.

--

"Teacher."

"If you tell me this is boring one more time, I'm going to make you sweep the yard."

He watched you place a chess piece somewhere--he didn't understand the significance of the piece nor the move itself. It looked like a very defensive move to protect your general, but it is wide open to flanking from the side.

"This is boring."

He moved one of his pieces, devouring the piece you just laid down. Now your general was exposed on two sides. Victory was in sight.

Until you began to shift your pieces around, one after another, following a line of perfectly placed pawns straight to his general.

"Checkmate. Now go grab the broom. The yard needs cleaning." You yawned neatly behind your fan and got up.

"Wait, no--" He snatched the hem of your sleeve desperately. "How did you--? Did you plan this from--?"

Your eyes crinkled. "Cheeky brat. Ask yourself if I led you into a trap or if you fell into one first. Make sure you don't miss the edges near the fence."

Laughter echoed in his ears as he stared hard at the board, a mess of scattered pieces that he could not make heads or tails of. He couldn't even recall the last five moves that led him to this. Would he have been doomed if he moved differently?

It was no different than any other chess game he's played with you, but this time, the victory was too quick, too assured.

As frustrating as it was, he had to admit, it was still worthwhile being under your tutelage.

---

"Your teacher--there was an attack--"

Jing Yuan grabbed the gasping Cloud Knight by the shoulders, a forced smile on his face.

"Where?"

"Th-the apothecary. All the injured have been moved--"

"Thank you."

"Jing Yuan." The thundering voice behind him stopped him in his tracks. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To check on civilian casualties, sir."

"You are to stay here. Your team will be dispatched to the front lines."

"With all due respec--"

"Which means you have no respect, now shut up and get back to your squad."

The smile on his face tightened. "...Yes sir."

"You have a problem?"

As his teacher--probably dying because you're so weak and not actually fit for combat as you were for a battle of wits and chess--had told him many times, his smile definitely needed work.

---

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

He could say nothing. Your letter, long and meandering, lay across his lap.

"'I'm probably dead'," it read. "'I've written out my lessons for you, you cheeky brat. My ambitious and impatient Jing Yuan.'"

It detailed everything you wanted him to learn. It explained the reasons for each lesson and how it could be applied, though it often was written after large puddles of ink as though you hesitated to commit any of this to paper.

Rightfully so. Too much information at the wrong time is poison.

---

"Yes and no." Jing Yuan's smile grows wider. "My first teacher could barely lift a spear let alone spar anyone. But..."

"But?"

Looking at Yanqing, the breath of a laugh escapes him. "I never won against my teacher's smile and wits."

---

i love mentor-student dynamics. not the romantic type. if anything, it'd be a one sided romance. But god just imagine jing yuan pining after a teacher who is weaker than him or yanqing but was the one who taught him the art of speaking in riddles and enigmatic smiles and chess. just imagine.

[thoughts-reasons]

Twitter

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || unlocked voice lines

series masterlist characters: albedo, diluc, xiao genre: fluff summary: the more they play, the more they get to hear you speak! out of all of the lines they've heard, which one is their favorite? notes: ahh back to reader impact! i'm working on the other requests i've gotten i promise <33

about us: assistant (albedo) -

albedo loves any and all of your voice lines that address him the traveler.

his little artist brain goes haywire whenever he listens to your voice lines.

every time he unlocks new ones, he'll do a stream where he draws his favorite ones.

he's definitely gotten asked if he'll do the same with other characters.

he's definitely said maybe.

and he's definitely meant no.

anyway, sometimes he'll sell some of the art as prints for his fans :D

however, there is one print that he never made for sale.

he's the only one who has it :)

"would you mind joining me as my assistant? i'm sure you must know a great deal about alchemy by now. ah, relax, we will work together. i don't see you having any problems. i have faith in my ability to instruct you, and even more faith in your exceptional talents."

this man lives for your praise :)

your voice is so calm and soothing to listen to and you're praising him????

he's fallen even more in love <3

bonus: albedo's second favorite (and klee's absolute favorite) voice line is the one where you talk about your "little sibling"

more about (name): v (diluc) -

diluc enjoys how your voice lines are so soft and calming.

he'd honestly pay just to listen to you talk about nonsense.

and, just like albedo, that includes hearing you praise him :D

his favorite voice line from you was the final about (name) section.

"not bad. be it chess or combat, you somehow always manage to surprise me. working with you is quite the novelty. so... i look forward to working with you, partner."

YOU'RE SO SWEET!!!!

he'll love working with you as well (even if you're just a video game character).

you just sound so genuine about the fact that you enjoy his, or rather his character's, company and he just really likes that thought.

he also really liked the story that took place over your voice lines where both of you played chess :D

even though it was all in voice lines, he could imagine sitting there across from you and playing chess.

a viewer definitely made an art piece for him based on that mini storyline.

bonus: a close second for his favorite would be your final ascension voice line because it's just really emotional thinking back on your journey together :)

birthday (xiao) -

despite your cold exterior, you have some adorable habits.

his favorite voice line that he's seen from you is the one he received on his birthday :D

he'll do a big birthday stream where he's doing all of his favorite games and activities with his viewers.

he'll save playing genshin for last because he wants to end stream with you <3

as always, you're the first character in his party.

after collecting his birthday cake he sees his chat just going wild.

everyone is yelling at him to check your voice lines.

and obviously he does, even though he was planning on checking it out near the end of the stream.

he sees a new notification in your voice lines

and he's kinda confused.

i mean, he goes through your voice lines all the time, so there shouldn't be one he missed, right?

"commemorating the day of your birth really is redundant. i don't understand why you mortals make such a big deal about it... ah, hold on. take this. it's a butterfly i made from leaves. don't... don't think too much of it. it's just an adepti amulet to stave off evil."

WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE?!?!?!??

you're normally so tough and here you are giving him a cute butterfly as a gift???

you've broken him.

please he just wants to hold you :))

bonus: if someone sends him fanart of you with the leaf butterfly he will actually combust.

[elles-archives]

Ransom Drysdale x Wife!Reader

In for a Penny Part: Seven

Word Count: 1240

Series Warnings: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Spoilers for Knives Out, Talks of pregnancy, Murder, Swearing, Potentially dark themes (but not really), Death, Nausea, Anxiety. (I may add more as the series progresses)

Part Warnings: Language.

Series Summary: When Harlan Thrombey is found dead, the last person you would think is responsible is. The only problem is how far do you go to protect the ones you love the most.

(A/N: I appreciate how much interest I have received for this series. If you add yourself to the taglist for In for a Penny then can you please make sure that your age is in your bio as this is an 18+ story. Thank you - Ellen)

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Everyone gathered into the library. Alan sitting at his table with a young woman by his side, helping him arrange the papers. The tension from the living room was still there but it was masked with excitement. Linda and Richard wanted the house. Most likely just for show, as they will keep their Boston place. Joni wanted the money. That way she could pay for her extravagant lifestyle and for Meg’s school tuition. Walt and Donna wanted the publishing company. It was hardly a secret that Walt felt that it was his company. All he did was publish the books, Harlan wrote them, he did the hard work and Walt wanted to sell them to Netflix. Something Harlan was against.

Obviously, mine and Ransom’s excitement came from knowing that no one would be getting what they wanted. They all deserved to be cut out anyway. None of them were very nice people and the idea that all their plans for their inheritance were about to be thwarted was something I couldn’t wait to see.

Knowing that shit was about to hit the fan, me and Ransom made our way over to the back corner of the library, Ransom pulling me into his lap again. Linda noticed this action and rolled her eyes at us. Sitting quietly at the back, Ransom was playing with the chess pieces in one hand, and I was playing with his fingers on his other, twisting his wedding ring around. I loved to feel his ring, knowing that it was the thing that connected us together. that and the matching one on my left hand.

It didn’t take long for Alan to begin.

“Well. Thank you all for getting together like this, it isn't legally necessary, but I thought because you're all in town and some of you are leaving soon, it would be best…” Alan began before being interrupted by Blanc.

“Excuse me Mr. Stevens. As to that, ladies, and gentlemen, I'd like to gently request you all remain in town until the investigation is completed. Shouldn't be more than two days.” This time Lieutenant Elliott cut in.

“He's gently requesting, I'm ordering. Nobody move until we figure this out.” This caused everyone to become upset. As far as the family were concerned, Harlan’s death was a suicide, and they had no idea why the police believed otherwise.

“What.” Linda asked confused.

“Can we asked why? Has something changed?” Joni chimed in.

“No.” Blanc answered her vaguely.

“No, it hasn’t changed or no we can’t ask?”

“Mr. Steven’s please continue.” Blanc motioned to Alan, completely ignoring Joni.

“Right. Well, the other reason I thought this gathering would be, uh, beneficial is that as I told Walt, Harlan altered his will one week ago. He sealed it and asked me not to submit it to the courts for probate until after his death. So, in case there's any confusion about anything we're all together, we can talk. I can't imagine any of it will be that complicated, Harlan's assets included um…”

“…the house.” Sally, chimed in.

“The house which he owned outright, um…”

“…sixty million.”

“Right in various cash accounts and investments, yes and of course the real assets are sole ownership of um…”

“…Blood Like Wine.”

“Blood Like Wine publishing, his publishing company. Ok.” Alan finished listing Harlan’s assets. The look on everyone’s faces was hilarious and it was getting extremely hard for me to contain my laughter. Ransom saw this; he put his hand on my thigh and squeezed gently gaining my attention before covering my mouth with his own.

“Shh Kitten, don’t let on.” He whispered, barely audible to me, making sure the rest of his family didn’t hear him. I still saw the amused glint in his eye. I nodded my head in agreement to him before pecking his lips once more then turning my head back to watch the show.

“Um, he did write up a statement when he made the recent changes, he wanted it read first, so:” Alan opens up the letter and begins to read it. "Some of you may be surprised by the choice I've made here. No pleasure was taken in the exclusion, and its purpose was not to sow greater discord in the family, quite the opposite. Please accept it with grace and without bitterness. But do accept it. It's for the best."

Carrying on, Alan then opens up the envelope containing the will, reading it to himself first before reading it aloud. “Ok. So - oh wow, yeah, not complex at all. This'll be quick. "I Harlan Thrombey, being of sound mind and body, yada yada, my assets both liquid and otherwise, I leave in their entirety to Marta Cabrera. My entire ownership of Blood Like Wine publishing I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabrera. The copyright of its catalogue likewise I leave in its entirety to Marta Cabrera.”

Everyone turned to look at Marta, and I swear that I saw steam come out of my in-laws ears. I felt bad for Marta who was standing in shock, not really absorbing the rage going on around her. Walt went and snatched the will from Alan and had a look at it, both him and Linda chanting ‘no.’

Ransom and I were unable to understand what everyone was saying. It was all mixed together. However, soon Ransom moved me gently off of his lap and grabbed my hand instead as he left the room laughing loudly. I couldn’t help but quietly giggle along with his. Both of us pushed past Marta, who was frozen in the doorway, as we walked out.

“So, that went well.” Ransom laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m sorry but I thought your mother was going to combust.” I wheezed as we continued to hear the commotion inside.

“Shit’s about to happen.” Ransom murmured as he dipped his head o kiss me before gesturing for me to go to my car. “Meet me at our restaurant.”

I automatically knew exactly where he meant.

As I got in my car I noticed at the entire family were following Marta out of the house. Marta panicked as she went to her car, but it failed to start. I watched with an amused smirk as Marta eventually made a break for my husband’s car, still trying to avoid everyone surrounding her.

“This could be the best thing to happen to all of you!” I heard Ransom shout before he drove off. I quickly followed him to the restaurant. I knew what Ransom was going to do. Although, I wasn’t sure if backing her into a corner was the most effective way to do things, I knew better then to try and change Ransom’s mind once he had it set on something.

Eventually we got to the restaurant, and I took a deep breath before exiting my car. I don’t know what Ransom said to Marta in their car on the way, but I would have to follow his lead in whatever he went with.

Getting out, I confidently walked into the restaurant and straight to the corner where me and Ransom usually sat. Just as I thought, both of them were sitting at the table. I approached them with a smile. I quickly kissed Ransom before he stood up and allowed me to slide in next to the wall before he followed placing his arm around me.

“So, shall we?”

**

Taglist: (Crossed out didn't tag.)

@bval-1

@dietmountainhoneydew

@cevansgurl

@ttae-yong

@princess-baby18

@ccmarvelxx

@tenaciousperfectionunkown

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@mechixx

@booklover2622

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Both of the android cyborg couple going shopping for fun upgrades together? Maybe online for safety.

Yes!

More Nanny/Gardner and Ineffable interactions!

On with the fic!

--

"Francis," Aziraphale started, walking into the room with an e-pad in hand, "I think it's time a massive upgrade."

"Oh dear." Francis frowned, but that didn't stop him from knocking Crowley's knight off the chess board between them, much to the younger android's annoyance. "Are you sure?"

"I'm afraid so. I went over your schematics, your system checks, and you really need to get a few new parts because, frankly, even I can't work miracles on your bad knees."

"Course you can." Crowley said, moving another of his pieces. "You're an angel, it's your job."

Aziraphale smiled at that before sitting down on the couch next to Ashtoreth, who was in the middle of repairing a tear in one of Francis' shirts. "That's sweet of you, darling, but we need to get him new parts. The originals he has are damaged and the parts are..."

"No longer in production." Francis sighed. "Ah, I like my ol' knees, they've served me well all these years."

"Love, you had to have Crowley hoist you off the ground this morning." Ashtoreth stated, not looking up from her careful sewing.

Francis pouted. "Aye, true, true. Well, whatcha have in mind, Az?"

"I... found some things online that are in a similar category to what you'll need for your knees, and your wrist joints, if you'd like to take a look. Rather difficult to get, but I know the right shops." Of course Aziraphale did, he repaired out-of-date androids, robots, and cyborgs all the time.

Francis got himself up from the chair he was sitting at, but not before taking Crowley's king, and looked at the e-pad. Crowley got up as well, wanting to take a look.

He himself didn't need parts, but he was a curious duck, Aziraphale knew that from experience. "Alright, see, these are from a model about three generations younger than your own, Francis." The cyborg said. "They have better shock absorbing in them, and you can work for hours without needing a bit of oil to get them working again after being in the same position for too long."

"Could be helpful in the bedroom." Ashtoreth commented, a coy smirk on her lips that had Aziraphale coughing, Crowley snickering, and Francis' inner systems kicking up loud enough for them all to hear.

"D-dandelion, please...!" The gardener pleaded as Ash leaned over and looked at the screen.

"Oh, how lovely, they even have them in a bronze coating. Get those for him, dearie, I'll pay you back. And see if you can find a matching set for his wrists. Ah, and his neck joint could use a little tweaking, he had trouble moving his head sometimes."

Francis' fans were kicking into overdrive and he mumbled something about getting them drinks. Crowley burst into laughter about this, sitting down on the couch to take a look.

"Do I need any upgrades, angel? Or am I still good?" He asked.

"Your systems are all fine, you're still very new, according to your files. Francis is much older and very obsolete in terms of parts. But, uh, Ash, he's still in good condition, don't worry..!"

She scoffed. "Don't worry, I take good care of him, he just gets himself into little messes. We're not as young as we used to be." She glanced at the shirt in her hands. "Maybe we can do a little clothes shopping as well, he's wearing out his shirts and pants again."

This got Crowley's attention. "I can help! I've got the keenest eye! Unlike angel here." He tugged at the knitted sweater vest Aziraphale was wearing.

The blond pouted a little. "I think I dress just fine, dear boy."

"You're wearing striped socks with an argyle sweater."

"There's nothing wrong with that, they're the same colors. And besides, Francis often dresses like me as well."

"Which is why I'm gonna find him something fitting, yet still fashionable and..." Mismatched eyes looked Aziraphale up and down as he took the e-pad out of Aziraphale's hands. "Coordinated."

"Cheek!"

Crowley grinned and started to tap quickly at the screen. Ashtoreth giggled softly, leaning back. "You picked him, dearie."

"I know, I know." Aziraphale sighed, but looked at Crowley, smiling at him as he seemed to be going over choices to throw into the cart of whatever site he was on. "Do be a dear and purchase those parts for me, darling, with two day delivery, I've got the money."

"Already did it." Crowley commented, eyes on the screen. "Does Francis like bow ties?"

"I love 'em!" Francis called from the other room.

"Of course you do..." The younger android mumbled, still quickly tapping the screen. "Angel, I'm getting you some new things too."

"No, you don't have to-" Aziraphale started, but Ashtoreth reached across him, gently taking the e-pad from Crowley.

"I'll do it, since you're getting for Francis." She said, looking amused, just as Crowley did.

Aziraphale had a feeling if he tried to argue with either of the two redheads, it would be a losing battle. "Please keep within my usual style and colors."

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises." Ashtoreth teased and Crowley cackled, moving over to sit on the couch arm next to her to take a look at what she was picking out.

"Francis, I do believe we're outmatched here." Aziraphale called to the kitchen.

"Did ya only just now figure that out?" Francis replied back.

--

I tried to figure out an upgrade for Crowley, but he's still a very new model so he doesn't need anything (unless if he can find a way to fly), so I included him and Ash being little shits and doing upgrades of their own for their men (Aziraphale dresses like an librarian and Francis dresses like a grandpa, someone help them).

[shihalyfie]

The detail about Juri apparently becoming Impmon's Tamer in that controversial stage play both saddened and amused me. It was like they went "Ai and Makoto who?"

My apologies for the rant I'm about to spill into, but even your ask aside I've been feeling like I had to get this out of my system at some point. I know everything related to that event in question has caused a lot of trauma for people, so I'm not sure what I should be tagging this as in order to catch filters (please tell me if there's a way I could have handled it better). But what I want to say is that even if you (somehow) managed to remove all of the controversial political elements from the stage reading, it wasn't even good. There were so many elements of it that made me wonder if the writer in question even understood his own series anymore (probably not helped by my existing bias due to the other circumstances, but also the fact that I was casually following his blog beforehand and getting increasingly disturbed at how poor of a grasp he seemed to have of all the parts people actually cared about).

The following is purely my personal opinion and way of seeing it, and is more emotionally charged than usual. Please take it with a grain of salt.

At this point my impression of what Konaka wanted to achieve with that stage reading (and, by extension, Digimon Tamers 2018) is that he really doesn't seem to mind moving the characters around like pieces on a chess board as long as they accomplish what he wants of them. I don't know whether he was always like this, and by his own admission it seems like something did change between 2001 and 2010 or so and now, but the way he talks about the plot elements compared to what the other writers were specifically responsible for, everything I've read about his statements is really starting to give off that vibe (again, it's very tainted by bias from recent events where I'm less inclined to be forgiving, but I was also starting to think this even before this entire situation started happening, only refraining because Tamers fans tended to want you dead if you dared to say anything critical about it or Konaka). The part that really drives it home for me is where he outright admitted to backpedaling Yamaki's characterization in order to make him into his self-insert, and by extension the fact that he'd earlier admitted he wasn't the one who intended to humanize Yamaki in the first place, that was all the other staff. Or the fact that he also seemed to have this obsession with arranging the plot in such a way that accommodated for the voice actors that were missing, to the point he thinks that something that any other writer would have made a mild but respectful workaround should be addressed by sending a whole character MIA and another character outright turned evil. Look, man, it's just voice actors. It's great you respect them so much, but please consider what kind of hill you're dying on right now.

I don't know. Tamers had always been somewhat of a mixed-messaging series for me, because it felt like it was much more difficult to find a cohesive overarching theme out of it (especially compared to Adventure, 02, and Frontier) rather than a string of thought experiments with sub-themes, or things that could easily be attributed to other Digimon series as well ("overcoming fate/destiny" is really, really vague...), but of course I could hardly come out with too much against it despite that because there were definitely a lot of valuable things to take out of it that had deep and intimate heart to it, and of course characters to love. But once those other writers were taken out of the picture, and everything left seemed to be all the thought experiments and moving characters around on a chess board, I really do wonder if he as the head writer had that much of a clear message he wanted to send in the first place and whether the other writers weren't actually the ones carrying it the whole time (but, again, this is a very uncharitable view of this situation based on my own biases and recent events, so take it with a grain of salt). It's also not helped that while his statements about it aren't nearly as bad as some other parties taking this sort of attitude, the fact that the thing he's most proud of is permakilling Digimon (let alone his attitude that apparently we're supposed to see Takato as worse than Beelzebumon in that situation, which I have so many words about) and how he also seemed to have a similar attitude about Juri nearly strangling herself, I just...wonder how much of this was really to make a meaningful point of kindness and how much of it seems to be informed by glorifying horror and trauma for the sake of it.

So when I look at some of the plot decisions in that stage reading, I'm just mystified. There was one hardcore Ruki fan who was upset that Ruki had basically become a "Renamon bot" content to sit around and cry Renamon's name endlessly instead of doing something about it like the girl of action she was during the series, which I'm inclined to agree with (in general the treatment of Ruki during the second half of Tamers is still a topic that stings me and made me lose a lot of goodwill towards her characterization in the first half), and moreover the fact that her job has mysteriously changed to bouldering after it was mysteriously made into motorcross biking back into 2018, seemingly for the sheer purpose of making it for "these times" as if to proudly self-style how relevant we are in 2021 now. (I was able to take motorcross biking in 2018 because unusual as it was, it was still rather in-character, but while bouldering isn't out of character either per se, the drastic shift for a character who wasn't treated as this flighty back in Tamers makes me think he really is just putting her in any role he considers appropriate at the moment.) Or the aforementioned bizarre choices with characters just to accommodate voice actors. Or, as you said, the whole thing with Juri and Impmon, which not only is incredibly disrespectful to Ai and Makoto and their part in his reconciliation, but really has a horrifically flippant attitude of the fact that this is apparently a proper way to "make things up" in light of the fact he murdered her partner. Even Message in the Packet, which dangerously toed that line, at least acknowledged the fact that it would be unusual for Juri to forgive him this quickly and took a properly forward-thinking stance about it (fairly similar to 02′s take on the situation, and in line with the franchise as a whole), but for this to be treated as some kind of symbolic repentance is horribly shallow and reductive to the actual things they went through -- and, again, coupled next to the prior statements regarding how permakilling Digimon should be considered a pride point and Takato’s actions should be considered worse, are just mind-bogglingly disrespectful.

I don't know. Again, maybe I'm being horribly uncharitable and unfair and letting my biases taint me too much, but it really just feels like he was doing whatever he wanted to put cushy-sounding things strung in a line without consideration for what this would mean for each character and the smaller themes of his own series, as if he were playing around carelessly with them, and (political issues aside) I might have been more forgiving if he actually treated this as sufficiently playful or something -- it's not like "eh, just roll with it and don't think about it too hard" isn't a respectable writing philosophy -- but no, it had to be drenched in Even More Needless Suffering and his constant insistence that we had to know what went on in the drama CD from 2018 and not, like, some normal skit set within the middle of the series (especially since, by his own admission, this wasn't supposed to be canon anyway?). Really, half the time I can't tell how seriously he wants to take this, and he's clearly trying to pass 2018 and 2021 as oh-so-intelligent when in reality it's all for a bunch of this. But I suppose at least I can be relieved it's not meant to be taken as canon (and to be honest, I'm starting to have doubts about how much I want to retain 2018 too, in light of all my mixed and negative feelings about all of this).

Sorry. This went a bit overboard, I think.

[paradox-psyc-hoe-sis]

Remus Lupin dating a hufflepuff would include...

Remus lupin x hufflepuff!reader, the marauders x platonic reader

Word count: 2.2k

Warnings: no smut but talk of sexy times (sfw)

A/N: I'm back, babey! Recently took a smol hiatus but I'm back and better than ever. Here are some headcanons of what life would be like dating young Remus Lupin as a hufflepuff; I might do something similar with the different houses and the other marauders, but idk yet. As per usual, if you want a request then by all means shoot me a message! I write for the umbrella academy, marvel and Harry Potter so feel free to request anything :)) - Aphrodite

(Also I'm sorry I didn't spell check this, please forgive me)

• Every moment between you two was adorable!

• Being the semi-traditionalists that you were, it was a mutual agreement to take things slow and steady. But Remus was so infatuated with you - and you with him - that neither could deny the ever growing spark you shared.

• He'd always invite you on study dates in the library every Saturday, but most of the time it was just an excuse to see more of you.

• You'd always bring along a snack from the kitchens to the library, a different pastry or bake every week.

• "Guess who brought muffins!!!"

• When you aren't looking, he likes to leave cute messages on post it notes and hide them in your bag or throughout your books.

• "The only thing sweeter than those muffins is you, my love"

• You totally know when he does it, you've caught him a few times.

• However, you like to return the favour.

• "Maybe next time we 'study', you can let me Slytherin to your arms for cuddles"

• He loves the puns you make. Despite always being followed by an eye roll, he really does love them.

• He keeps all his notes from you in his bedside table and will read them after a particularly rough full moon 🥺

• Obviously, Remus was terrified to tell you his secret, but it went less dramatically than he thought it would.

• When you acted so truly selfless and reassured him that you'd be there for him no matter what, it really made him tear up. You promised to always be there after every full moon.

• You two can always be found cuddling in the gryffindor dormitories, 24/7.

• When you have a free period or a day free from studying, Remus will sneak you past the common room and into the dorms, where you'll just lay in his bed. All day.

• He's definitely the big spoon, he loves to hold you as tight as he can. But sometimes you'll lay your head on his chest, facing the ceiling, and he'll run his fingers through your hair.

• The boy is a human radiator, so you could practically hug him and his warmth all day long.

• One time you slept over with the rest of the marauders, and upon waking up, realised you had started your period. On Remus's sheets.

• "Hey, it's alright. I know this stuff happens, let's get you cleaned up."

• He was so mature about it all that you probably fell in love there and then.

• While you had a shower and changed the sheets, he went to Hogsmeade with James to get you some pads and snacks.

• Not needing a heating pad because he's just so damn warm gosh darn it

• While you and Remus were growing closer, you had an unexpected friendship with Sirius.

• I say unexpected, as when you first met you were positive he'd be trouble.

• "Moony, you never told me you were dating a hufflepuff! What a cute little cupcake she is." (Delivered with a wink)

• Let's just say, you may or may not have threatened to "shave off your pretty little locks if you call me a cupcake again."

• Although, this rivalry soon turned into friendship when you realised your senses of humour were identical.

• When Remus is busy and can't hang out with you, Sirius will take you to hogsmeade or play a game of chess to pass the time.

• Funnily enough, Sirius became oddly protective of you, letting Remus know that if he ever hurt you he'd be dead.

• Remus was always calling you a cute name, despite the circumstance.

• His favourite things to call you were babe, sweetheart, love, and snickerdoodle.

• You just stuck with calling him Remy, Moony, or honey (he'd never admit it, but he loves when you call him 'honeybuns')

• Remus is smart, and so are you. But when you're together, you share half a braincell.

• He's literally such a dumbass.

• "Babe, do you think toads can sense fear?"

• Cue you looking into the camera like Jim in the office.

• Whenever somebody tries to make any comments about Remus being a werewolf you are the first person to defend him.

• Nobody was afraid of you lashing out because you're "just a harmless hufflepuff". Their opinions changed when you punched a Slytherin prefect in the face for calling Remus a monster.

• At night, you'll both sneak out of the common rooms and meet in the kitchens for midnight snacks.

• You making some tea, and him eating some chocolate while talking to the house elves.

• You were always the best in your year at herbology, Remus however didn't stand a chance. He wasn't terrible at it, but certainly needed your help during lessons.

• "Y/n...what in God's name is that!?"

"...babe that's a celery."

• The summer between fourth and fifth year, he had the worlds biggest growth spurt.

• He was a little bit taller than you before, but when you returned to school for fifth year, he towered over you like a half-giant.

• This means that you could steal his fuzzy jumpers with them falling down to your knees.

• Sleepovers at the gryffindor dorms were a common occasion, but sometimes Remus would come to your common room late at night to have a dance party.

• Quietly playing the mixtape he made for you while you both danced around the area.

• You both had your first kiss towards the middle of fifth year, almost a year and a half after you first started dating.

• Remus came top of the class on an important DADA test. When he told you, you instinctively kissed him.

• You pulled away almost straight after, apologising for not asking for consent. Before you could say another word, he pulled you closer to him and placed another kiss on your lips, running a hand through the back of you hair.

• When you broke apart, you rested your forehead in the crook of his neck as he whispered in your ear.

• "I love you, y/n."

"I love you more, Remus."

• He wasn't really a big fan of PDA, but would happily do whatever you wanted.

• When the marauders were planning a prank, Remus made sure you were as far away from the action as possible.

• "What if we get y/n to be the bait? She could get-"

"James, there is no way y/n is going to jump into the great lake with weights ties to her ankles."

• You both did it for the first time near Christmas of sixth year.

• Peter was long gone home. James and Sirius had both left that morning to go back to the Potter's, offering you both a place to stay for the holidays. However, you were both happy to get some alone time.

• In the evening, he lit candles in the dorm and did cute stuff like that.

• He was so so nervous, but was still a gentlemen through and through, always asking if you're comfortable and making sure what he's doing is okay.

• It was really sweet, and both of you were really happy afterwards.

• Sometimes you'd share a bath with him in the prefects bathroom. The rest of the marauders always joked about how there'd be a bit more than bathing involved, but they were wrong.

• When you would share a bath, Remus would bring a book and read to you, doing silly voices for each of the characters just to see you smile. Neither of you ever did the Devil's Tango in the prefects bath, as it was always just for a nice relax.

• Speaking of books, Remus was always reading one. Sometimes you'd cuddle up next to him while he read, and he'd quietly read each line.

• Sometimes you'd do the same, reciting small poems from muggle books.

• He never told you, but after you had your first kiss his boggart changed. It changed from the moon to himself as a werewolf, holding your dead body.

• Gruesome, he knew, but it was significant to him.

• Along with his boggart changing, your patronus changed. In your third year you learned how to conjure a patronus, and yours was a porcupine. Yet in your sixth year, you discovered it to be a werewolf.

• Remus full on cried happy tears when he found out.

• After the worst full moon yet, Remus ended up in the hospital wing for 5 days. He was found unconscious, and woke up 2 days later to see you and Madam Pomfrey by his side.

• You took notes for him in class, brought him a few new books and bars of chocolate, and spent every free moment in the hospital wing with him.

• He had three long slashes across his face when you found him in the shrieking shack, yet he looked so calmly asleep.

• "When you told me you wanted to start having lie-ins, I didn't think you'd sleep for two days straight."

• You were the first person he wanted to see after such a terrible night, and despite your jokes, he was so grateful to have you next to him.

• "I hope you're not going to break up with me now that I'm ugly."

"You? Ugly? How could you ever think such a thing?"

• On valentines day, he enlisted the help of the marauders to make things perfect.

• After a date at Madam Puddifoots, you returned to Remus's dorm to a beautiful view.

• Fairy lights were strung along the bed frames, rose petals in a trail along the floor, your favourite scented candles burning on the bedside tables, and a teddy bear bigger than your entire body sat on Remus's bed.

• Turning around to face your boyfriend, you saw that he held 3 boxes wrapped in red paper.

• "Happy valentines day, m'love"

• Placing the gifts on the bed closest to him, he picked you up and wrapped you in a bear hug.

• You crocheted him a jumper in his house colours and got him a leather bound copy of his favourite book.

• He made you a bar of chocolate with your favourite flavours, bought you a chunky cardigan that he knew you wanted, and placed a painted, small wooden box in your hands.

• "Open the box, love." He stated with a smile. He seemed a little nervous, but eased up as he saw you smile.

• Inside the box was two aeroplane tickets to Paris.

• "It's not much, but I was wondering if you'd come with me this summer?"

• This was followed by a lot of happy screams, to say the least.

• When quidditch season came around, you both loved to support the other's house.

• You'd sport Remus's red and yellow jumpers when gryffindor was playing, and he would go all out with yellow and black spirit when it was a hufflepuff match.

• However, when it was hufflepuff against gryffindor things got way too competitive.

• You didn't speak to Remus for a week after gryffindor won.

• "Come on babe, just talk to me! I didn't mean it when I said that hufflepuffs are as good at quidditch as they are at their owls!"

• Professor Mcgonagall didn't really know much about you, being from a different house and all, but she saw how much Remus changed being with you.

• He seemed really well taken care of, and for once he was unconditionally happy.

• After dinner one night, Mcgonagall asked to see you in her office.

• "I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of Mr Lupin. It may be unprofessional for me to see him as a son, but I do, and I'm grateful that he has someone like you to support him."

• From that moment forward, she saw you as a daughter, and invited you to have tea with her every week.

• You didn't know it, but every full moon she'd add 50 points to hufflepuff, she could never thank you enough for looking after Remus.

• After you both graduated, you almost immediately moved in with each other.

• With the help of James and Lily, you bought a small cottage a few hours away from hogwarts.

• Every other wednesday, Sirius and Lily come around for a girls night while Remus and James catch up.

• A few months after you moved in together, Remus realised what he wanted, and for once he wasn't afraid to ask for it.

• It was a beautiful Saturday evening, the sky was purple from the sunset. Both of you were sat on the porch swing in your back garden, surrounded by magical plants and flowers, when he got down on one knee.

• "Y/n y/l/n, I've loved you since the day we met. I couldn't wish for anyone better than you, and it would be my dream to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"