#lunchtime robots

[joelletwo]

Armada Megops show up on the scene with grapplable beef on sight beautiful already... but whys he ourple

[junk-culture]

she pressing down my special key until i play a little melody

[call-mi-jinx]

Theodore Nott X Reader - What of it?

summary - you and theo were best friends. but when you both got accepted into hogwarts but sorted into different house. you made a promise to each other to stay together. after theo made new friends he broke his promise. now you and theo compete against each in quidditch and academically. until he badly hurts you in a match. will he change his ways? or stay the same person he now is?

warnings - the war did not happen, arguing, mentions of injury, mentions of hurting, slight hufflepuff hate, fluff

Main Masterlist Theodore Nott Masterlist

a/n - this is based off of this ask, hope y'all enjoy becos i LUV this idea. ta ta my lovelies! xx

theodore nott x fem!reader

Nott and I had a history. We used to be best friends. Our houses were very close to each other growing up. And we were both accepted into Hogwarts when we were 11. He had run to my house and banged on the door 'til somebody answered to see if I had gotten a letter as well. We were so excited to go to school together. We hoped, prayed and begged that the universe would put us into the same house as soon as we were in the castle.

When Nott was placed in Slytherin and I was placed in Ravenclaw, we both promised each other we'd still hang out together every chance we could.

We both kept our promise. Until he became close friends with Malfoy. That's when the time he'd spend with me began to fade into less and less amounts. Until we never saw each other outside of lesson.

Now, I'm glad he didn't keep his promise. He's turned into a right dickhead ever since he became friends with Malfoy. We're in 7th year now, he hangs out with Malfoy and his lot. And I'm friends with the Weasley twins, Luna Lovegood and Delilah Halifax from my Quidditch team, we also share a room along with Luna. Although I only have 4 friends, I'm fine with it. I like when my circle is small.

It's lunchtime in the Great Hall and all of us are sat together. Although we're only supposed to sit at our House tables, the twins sit with me, Luna and Delilah at the Ravenclaw table. Delilah couldn't have lunch with us today, she decided to get some extra practice before the game later today.

"So Y/N, you ready to get beat at our Quidditch match on Friday?" I shake my head and laugh at Fred's cocky behaviour.

"That's if we beat Slytherin today first. So you should be the ones getting ready to lose cause Slytherin is an easy obstacle to get over." Fred and George mock fear and huddle together. That's until they both had disgusted looks on their faces.

I turned to see who they were giving dirty looks to, and it was perfectly understandable. It was Nott, Malfoy and Zabini. Nott and Malfoy had disgusted looks on their faces while Zabini didn't show any emotion at all. Sometimes I wondered if he was a robot.

"You seriously think you can beat us? We're ten times better than you even if we had only three people on our team." Malfoy laughs at us, Nott along with him. God, they were so annoying.

"That's rich seeing as you got beaten by Hufflepuff last month, and not to be rude to them but we know how bad they are." Malfoy and Nott stopped laughing. Obviously struck a nerve there.

"They cheated, of course they were going to beat us if they were cheating." Hufflepuff did not cheat baring in mind. Nott looked me up and down with utter distaste all over his face. I put my middle finger up at him and turned back to Fred and George.

"It doesn't matter who wins, it's just a game." Luna says to the Slytherin boys, trying to diffuse the situation. They look at her and burst out laughing.

"Oh pipe down Loony Lovegood, go chase some fargles or whatever you call them." Nott's words make Luna look down in embarrassment.

I stand up from the bench and get toe to toe with Nott. I was pissed. I'm fine him picking on me but when he picks on Luna. That's when I get pissed off.

"You better walk away Nott, or I swear to God." I looked at him with pure hate. My nostrils were flared, jaw and fists clenched, my back rigid, shoulders pulled back. He smirked then scoffed at me. What a prick.

"Come on, wasting our time on freaks like them." And with that, they turned away from us and walked to their table. I sat back down with Luna and the twins, and fake gagged.

"Cannot believe I used to be mates with him." The twins laughed while Luna smiled and then continued reading The Quibble.

"I can't either, you're the complete opposite of him. He's a massive dickhead, and you're not." I laughed at George's statement. But when I actually thought about it. I always wondered how and why he became like this. I mean, a lot can happen in 7 years but he changed drastically in the first year and has stayed the same since.

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It was 5 minutes before the match started between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I was quite nervous, I really wanted to win this game. I had my broom in hand and was practicing my breathing techniques to calm me down. I felt a hand on my shoulder and it was Delilah, one of my closest friends on the Quidditch team.

"You're going to be amazing Y/N, don't freak out. You're literally one of our best players." I gave Delilah a tight lipped smile and that's when I heard the music, signaling for us all to come out and onto the pitch.

Ravenclaw flew up first and we all took positions, I was a beater. Then Slytherin followed and did the same, Nott was a beater as well. I just knew he'll try to pull the little trick he did our last match against each other.

Last match, he got one of the Slytherin girls to put a jinx on my broom, causing my broom to try and throw me off of it, but I had a firm grip and luckily I didn't go flying.

The whistle blew, starting the game. I still couldn't get control of my breathing, I don't know what was wrong with me today. I focused as much as I could.

The game was going quite well for us, the score was 50-30 to Ravenclaw. To put it simply we were winning. No one on our team had gotten hit by a bludger, pushed off their broomstick or anything like that. Yet.

I saw a bludger going straight towards Delilah so I flew over to her as fast as I could and successfully hit it in a different direction. She nodded her head at me with a smile but the smile soon turned to fear.

"Y/N! Look-" Before she could finish her sentence I was hit in the head very hard with something and was knocked clean out.

｡ ˚ ︶︶✩︶︶‌ ₊ ˚ ︶︶✩︶︶‌ ｡˚

I wake up in the medical wing, I had no idea how I got here and looked around to see if I could ask anyone what happened. Until I saw the twins, practically running to my bed.

"Blimey Y/N we thought you had died. Took a right hit didn't you?" Fred said, with that cheeky smile he and George always have on their faces.

"Did Ravenclaw win?" Was the first thing I said. God I sound like a right weirdo only caring about a game. Fred and George laughed.

"Jesus Y/N, that's the first thing you think about when you wake up?" I gave George a look and Fred elbowed him slightly while trying to hold back a grin.

"But yes, you did win. And Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor as well." I was confused. It's past Friday? How long have I been out for?

"Wait... What even happened? And how long have I been out?" I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and realised my arm was in a sling.

"Nott hit a bludger to the back of your head. You were out in seconds. Then you went falling and falling and then you hit the ground and you'd be able to hear the sound it made from Luna's house." George explained to me, my eyes widened. What the fuck? I get that Nott and I don't like each other but that is low, even for him.

"And you were out for about 2 weeks. You've never been hurt that long it was like a bloody coma." Fred piped up. He then paused, as if he wanted to say something.

"What? Tell me." George and Fred looked to each other, silently asking each other if they should tell me.

"Nott visited you every day after the match." They both answered in unison. I didn't know how to react. Why would he visit me?

"Did you ever ask him why?" They both shook their head 'no' in unison.

"Didn't want to get a bludger to the head like you did Trouble." Fred's words made me giggle. But the question always stuck in the back of my head for the rest of the day.

Why?

｡ ˚ ︶︶✩︶︶‌ ₊ ˚ ︶︶✩︶︶‌ ｡˚

It's been around three days since I woke up from my 'mini coma,' as the twins call it. Madame Pomfrey told me that I shouldn't go to Quidditch practice or move my arm until the potion she gave me wears off. Delilah checked up on me whenever she could though, she was very kind.

Luna has been by my side ever since I was allowed to go back to attending my lessons, said she "wanted to protect me." Bless her soul.

She was walking me to my potions lesson, which was second period, because she had a free period and had nothing else to do. While I was walking and checking my bag for everything I needed, she was skipping alongside me looking at the walls and everything around her. She was in her own little world.

When we finally got to the room I had to be in, dread filled my whole entire body. Snape had changed the seating plan and had placed me next to Nott. How wonderful.

I said bye to Luna and walked into the room, Nott was already there. And he was staring at me. God I really hope he doesn't take the piss cause after what he did I won't care that he visited me.

I sat down in my seat next to Nott and got my books and quill out. There was such an uncomfortable silence between us but I did not want to talk to him at all.

Snape began teaching his lesson like usual, until he said that we were making a potion. In the pairs we were placed in. Meaning I was paired with Nott. Could my day get any fucking worse?

We had to make a Wit-Sharpening potion. This is probably what I missed cause what the fuck even is that? And that is when I realised we had to talk to each other.

"You know what to do?" Nott finally piped up. Damn, didn't think he'd actually talk to me unless it was something rude.

"Not at all if I'm being honest." Nott nodded in response. I just stayed sat in my seat and let him make the potion, only passing him things if they were too far out of his reach.

The lesson went by quickly, thank God. And it was also break, so I'd be meeting the twins, Luna and Delilah in our usual spot at the courtyard.

When I reached the courtyard, all of them were already there and my usual seat on the bench was still vacant. Buzzing.

"Hey there girly." Delilah greeted me as she walked up to me and gave me a hug. We both pulled away at the same time.

"First day back going good?" My face answered her question. I looked exhausted and annoyed at the same time.

"Snape changed the seating plan so I have to sit next to the biggest dickhead I've ever had the displeasure of meeting." She immediately knew who it was and let out a slight chuckle.

We both then headed over to Luna and the twins and enjoyed our break. The twins were playing pranks on people, me and Delilah were talking about anything and everything, and Luna was reading an unnamed book. This is how we liked it. Although we were focused on different things, it was still spending time together.

Break then ended so we all had to go to our lessons. Luna and George had DAD, Delilah had Transfiguration, and me and Fred had a free period, luckily.

On our walk back to the courtyard, something popped into my head. And my first thought was to ask Fred.

"Why do you think Nott visited me? Do you think it's just because he felt bad?" Fred raised a brow at me, confused as to why I would even care.

"If you want to find that out, Trouble, you'll have to ask him for that. I groaned. I just wanted to find out without talking to him.

"Why do you want to know anyway? Think he likes you?" Fred gasped and put his hands on his mouth, when he finally took them off his mouth he asked, "Or do you like him?" I slapped Fred on the shoulder and gave him a dirty look. Of course I didn't like him, did I? All I think about is him, but only because he's a prick and all he does is be a dickhead towards me. That's what I told myself anyway.

"I don't know to be honest, it's just... In the past few years, he hasn't cared about a single thing I do. And now I find out he visited me every day while I was in the hospital wing." Fred nodded in understanding and we left it at that.

We finally made it back to the courtyard and sat down on our bench. But, as soon as me and Fred settled down in the courtyard after walking everyone to their lessons, Fred got called to Professor McGonagall's office. Great, he's going to be forever if it's McGonagall. Now I have to spend 2 hours on my own.

I thought I'd just walk around the castle and try and find a new place I haven't been to yet, but I've been everywhere we possibly could go when I used to skip lessons with the twins.

When I turned round a corner, I saw Nott, just leaning against a wall and smoking a cigarette. Gross. That's when Fred's words played back in my head. "You'll have to ask him for that." Maybe I should. Before I could even make a decision my feet were already walking me over to him.

He saw me, put out his cigarette, put his hands in his pockets then turned his body to face me fully.

"What? Want to argue with me bout some-" I cut him off before he could even say something snarky, which earned an annoyed look from him.

"Why did you visit me in the hospital wing?" His face went a shade lighter. He thought no one except Madame Pomfrey had seen him and he had asked her to keep it between them. Then he thought. The twins.

"What of it? It's a need to know basis anyway Y/L/N." With that he turned around and began to walk away. No. Now that I'm here, doing this, he is not walking away until I get an answer. I began to walk at a fast pace to keep up with him.

"Well I need to know, so tell me." It was hard trying to keep up with him, he had such big fucking strides it was hard to keep up.

"No. You don't." It went back and forth like this for around 3 minutes until I heard him groan and was then pushed into an empty classroom. He had locked the door when I had realised we were in a classroom and I was leaning against a desk.

"Why do you want to know so badly? This is the most you've talked to me in years and it's about me visiting you in the hospital wing?" I subconsciously scoffed. Why the fuck was he acting like I had been the cause for the end of our friendship?

"Well I'd have talked to you more if you had let me. But no, Theodore Nott is way too fucking good for me to speak to. You are the reason we stopped talking in 1st year. I tried and tried to keep our friendship, but you were too busy becoming bum buddies with fucking Malfoy. So just answer my fucking question so I can leave." Nott rolled his eyes at me, acting as if I had done something wrong.

"We are not bum buddies." I scoffed at him and raised a brow. I stepped away from the desk and took a step closer to him.

"That's all you got from what I said? God you really have fucking changed. Dickhead." Nott began to get pissed off. His eyebrows lowered and nostrils flared.

"Now just fucking tell me why you visited me." I kept repeating it to piss him off. He ran his hand over his face and looked like he was about to lose it.

"Fine!" His voice boomed throughout the classroom. I took a step back, my eyes wide. I had never heard him shout before.

"You want to know why I visited you? Because I care about you, more than you can imagine and I felt so fucking bad for hitting you with that bludger. I didn't even mean to! And before you ask how come I only just cared now I haven't stopped caring about you. Even when we weren't friends. And it's because I love you! I have ever since start of 1st year." What the fuck? My eyes widened even more and my jaw dropped. Well that was a bombshell and a half.

"I thought we hated each other. And why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Nott laughed, but had a sad look on his face. He took a few steps towards me, we were now toe to toe.

"Because I'd rather you hate me and talk to me, than for you to not talk to me or acknowledge me at all." I felt horrible. All these years. He hadn't hated me, but he had loved me instead. My heart shattered, I had never felt so horrible more than I do right now in my entire life.

"Oh Theo..." I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. I didn't know what else to do. He didn't reciprocate for a few seconds but then I felt him slowly start to hug me back. We stood like that for God knows how long.

We then both pulled away and just looked at each other. I had forgotten how beautiful he actually was. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue-grey. His hair fell perfectly on his face. His jawline had looked like it was carved by angels. He grew up to be bloody gorgeous.

"I'm sorry... Y/N..." Never in my whole entire life had I heard Theodore Nott apologise. Not once. And now the first time I hear it, it's to me.

"I wish you had told me sooner Theo..." My hands move from his neck to the sides of his face. He gave me a small smile and a slight chuckle.

"How could I have told you? I fucked it up for myself. Especially when I said all those things to your friends..." I rolled my eyes, he raised a brow at me in confusion.

"If you just apologise, and actually mean it, then I'm sure they'll forgive you. They don't hold grudges once someone has apologised and realised what they've done." Theo sighed with relief. He looked to the side, as if he was thinking proper hard.

"What?" His eyes come back straight to mine, his face looks like he wants to say something but doesn't know if he should or not.

"So what are we then?" The question took me aback. I didn't know how to answer that.

"Well... I don't know..." I paused, trying to make a plan in my head. "If anything can we just take it slow? Need to wrap my mind around all this." We both giggled. We both looked up to each other and just stared.

I felt myself moving closer to him, and I could see him doing the same. We both paused until our lips were centimetres apart.

"Fuck taking things slow." And with that our lips crashed together. His hands took place on my waist and he squeezed it. My hands were still on his face so I tried to pull him impossibly closer than he already was. My arm hurt slightly, even though Madame Pomfrey told me not to move it I ignored it anyway. The kiss was passionate, but soft at the same time. I think Theo couldn't decide whether to be gentle or not. We both pulled away for air, I opened my eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"I'm sorry Y/N/N, I mean it. I truly am." I hadn't heard that nickname in years. Only Theo used to call me that. It was reserved only for him, I told everyone else who used it the same.

"It's okay Theo, I was just as bad as you." We both laughed and then hugged each other.

Did not think my first day back would go like this.

[harukyuu2]

heyya !! Here to request a Rui x flirty!reader who really has rizz and maybe sometimes make Rui lowkey flustered basically the rizzler in their relationship/j but tbh I can see Rui flirting back to reader (?) lmao idk but hope you’ll see this ^_^ hcs and a mini scenario included will do! thank youu

₍^. .^₎⟆ (ominous cat is staring at your soul /insert Mizu5 picture)

LMAO ANYWAYS HAVE A GOOD DAYY ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

୨୧ "Soothing your heart up!" - Rui + Akito x Flirty!Reader ୨୧

!! - Fluff, scenario + headcanons! gn reader, cringy flirts because it was funny, reaaally cheesy since reader uses pickup rizz lines , use of petnames - Hope you dont mind i added Akito lmao

୨୧ ↷ Rui !! -

❥ Boy wont go down without a fight, seriously. You two have this thing of starting back and forths flirts until one blushes or doesnt know how to respond— thats a win!

❥ You flirt with him on public? Yeah, no problem. Dont forget he can shamelessly perform without permission at a theme park and build a robot at school, so calling you a "cutie" in public is 0 issue for him

❥ Its kinda hard seeing him blush because he pretends reaaally well. Using subtle ways— averting his gaze or throwing the attention on you. But still, he'll fold eventually, he cant help it! youre too cute for him! and he likes seeing you pout when you arent able to see him blush

"Rui..." - You call him out while he fixes a small robot with you on his side. It was lunchtime and you two were on the rooftop passing the time after finishing the meal, starting to get bored— an idea camed to your mind!

"Hm?" - He mumbled curious on what was on your mind now, turning slightly to catch a glance at the smug smile you put before throwing a pick up line

You leaned toward him, resting your arm on his shoulder while talking pretty closely with a playful smile. You wanted to laugh, but it was a bit too early for that— just yet. - "You knooww... I always say math is really confusing because it talks about X and Y but not you and I..." You drawled the words, and at the cheesy pick-up line you just dropped, you couldnt help but let out a small laugh

Rui's eyes widen slightly amused by your pick up line, but quickly hides it with a sigh and his usual smirk, tilting his head slightly to meet your gaze— the distance between you two was lacking a lot. - "Ah, that time of the day already...? Well, there's nothing i can do about it though. You always attract me with those lines, sweetheart— almost like if you were a magnet."

You hummed in amusement, leaning slightly back since Rui was looking at you pretty intensely— he didnt seem eager to let you win today. Grabbing his chin for a moment, you made him look at you more closer than he already was. Your touch lingered on his jaw for a second before letting your hand fall and returning to the flirty game

"Oh, arent you a cutie, Rui? i wonder what you are then...maybe i could say a door? Because you kept slamming me with your beauty while i try to attract you into my arms" - You giggled seeing him averting his gaze almost like if he was looking out for flirts on the air, youre pretty proud that you managed to mix up his flirt with yours!

Rui tried to think of something quick to respond with, feeling your intense gaze pressuring him to fold. Youre always so good at this— its almost unfair. He sighed, finally letting the blush creep onto his face, even if he still maintained that signature smile of his. Shaking his head, he looked at you with a much softer gaze, a product of your relentless flirting and the way you looked at him so intensely.

"Alright, alright...you win this time, dear. Didnt expect you to be so flirty today" - Rui mumbles embarassed and your eyes light up at your win!

In the end, you let him return his attention to the small robot after a quick kiss to seal your win. The rest of the lunch happens in a comfortable silence that sometimes had the sound of Rui's tools while you used your phone, you two indeed fall for each other <3

୨୧ ↷ Akito !! -

❥ There's no way you fail to make this boy blush. At the first or second pick up line he is already all red and asking you to stop because he doesnt know how to respond back. He thinks youre gonna be the death of him literally— he isnt against the idea tho...

❥ OH, and if you flirt with him on public...Hell nah, he has to turn and walk away because he is a living tomato from head to feet, you'll have to apologize to the poor baby because you make him stop working on those moments. He isnt too fond of pda!

❥ In private or chat, he's a little more confident of flirting with you— but still he loses it the second you respond back. Probably leaves a swear and gives you a quick kiss so you stop teasing him

Akito camed to your house after his usual practice with vivid bad squad finished, deciding to stay the night since he missed you. Akito decided to help you wash the dishes after dinner with your family. He got a little grossed out when his hand touched some leftover food, so in the end, he focused on rinsing them. But the soap accidentally slipped from his hand— giving you the perfect opportunity to tease your boyfriend!

"Akito..." - You called him and the moment his eyes meet yours, your signature teasing smile that he feared appeared— it was too late for him... - "What's the difference between that soap and me...? The soap falled from your hands, while i falled for you!"

A blush started to appear in his cheeks while he furrowed his eyebrows, averting his gaze to make sure you didnt just throw that in front of your family. He leaved a sigh, scratching his neck while mumbling embarassed at your cheesy flirt -

"Youre so stupid...dont you have any better cheesy flirts than that?" - He tries to make you stop, but he knows that his comment only will fuel you more with that intense gaze he is feeling on himself— he is fucked up by now, sigh.

"Hey! im not stupid, i know the twenty letters in the alphabet! Oh- i forgot to count U - R - A - Q - T, silly meee" - You drawl and cant help but laugh at his grumpy face since youre managing to make him blush a lot, what if your family appears and sees him like this? thats what he thinks, probably

Akito huffs— cupping your cheeks before you throw another cheesy line or worst, a real flirt that makes him stop working. - "Fuck you..." - Akito simply murmurs and steals a quick kiss from you

As he leaned back, catching the small blush on your face from his bold move, an idea sparked in his mind! Deciding to be playful and imitate you, he took full advantage now that you two werent in public anymore - "You always wear makeup blush, right? but now i know youre really blushing..."

You let out a soft laugh at his stupid, cheesy flirt and smirk, rolling your eyes before grabbing his hand and leading him to the bedroom to finally get some sleep. It was getting late, and you knew how hard he usually went during practice. Still, you couldnt help but say something that— for some reason, made his heart feel warm and proud

"Well, thats...something, good job Akito! Lets go to sleep by now, wont tease you with pickup lines for the rest of the night"

i repeat it— youre gonna be the death of Akito, but he isnt against the idea <3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

How about Fellow and Gidel staying at the Ramshackle dorm? There's plenty of room, might as well let someone in need use it.

(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ As long as they behave and be nice, of course.

(If they do anything suspicious, our ghost buddies are here to help!)

(Who knows, maybe Fellow could even join ghosts on their "selling NRC's mandragoras" thing. His charisma sure is useful)

So tell me, do you wanna go?

“You guys can stay over as long as you behave and be nice!”

That was the one and only condition you had set. Surely they can follow a single rule, you thought. Right?

Well, things started gone south at around lunchtime. Prior to then, Fellow and Gidel had either been lounging on the sofa or sticking their noses into every possible room, nook, and cranny. “Nice place you got here,” Fellow had commented. “Be sure to take good care of it.”

Then noon arrived, and with it, lunch. You were busy finishing a homework assignment when a shrill hiss met your ears. Grim, you realized, and he’s upset.

You set your homework aside and rushed to the source of the sound: the kitchen. “What’s wrong?! What happened?”

You were met with Grim, Gidel, and Fellow, all to the floor. They tugged on the same tuna can, yanking it back and forth, one side to the other.

“Uh… guys?”

Fellow gasped and leapt onto his feet, hands slapped behind his back, as if to conceal evidence of his act. Grim careened back from his released, rocketing into a wall. He desperately clung to his tuna can, even as he slumped from the impact.

“Hey there, kiddo! Done with your schoolwork so soon?” Fellow asked with an anxious chuckle.

“What were you doing just now?”

“What, us? We were lookin’ to grab some grub! Right, Giddie?”

Gidel nodded.

“Th-They ganged up on me and tried to take my tuna can!!” Grim wheezed. “I had to defend it with my life, yanno!”

Fellow maintained his grin, but not-so-subtly grinding the heel of one foot on Grim’s pronged tail.

“Mee-OUCH!!” he howled.

You sighed and rubbed your temples. “Listen, fellas. I know you’re my guests, and I’d love to have you over for a meal. Really, I would. Problem is, the headmaster only allots us a certain budget every month for groceries, and it just about cover the necessities for me and Grim.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the resources to provide for two extra people. You can have a piece of fruit or bread or something, but I don’t know if I can do a full meal. I feel really bad, but the money’s tight this month.”

“Wh-What…!” Fellow caught his surprise and reeled it in. “Didn’t you say that you had three other roommates? What about them?”

“Oh, they’re…”

“Boo.”

There was a cold breath at his ear, the soft sound of an invader. A shiver radiated from Fellow’s neck, his fur standing on end. He robotically turned, stiffening when he saw a translucent hand grasping his shoulder and three pale faces returning his gaze.

“Heeheehee! Djdja call us?” the Ramshackle Ghosts chorused.

“H-HIIIIIIIIE!! G-G-GHOOOOOSTS!!!!” Fellow shrieked, jolting back in fear. (Gidel’s reaction was far more controlled, eyes swelling wide.)

“Myah?! H-He totally did a 180!” Grim gasped.

“Your new friend’s real jumpy,” Ghost B cackled. “Oh, this fella will be a hoot to have around.”

“Nice to meet ‘cha. Enjoy your stay, and don’t mind us!” Ghost A added. “We’ll just be floating around.”

“Hey. You guys finally decided to show up,” you said casually. “Heading out now?”

“Yup! Those mandrakes aren’t gonna harvest and sell themselves.” Ghost C exchanged a look with his spectral companions. “We’ll be back before dinner though.”

“Alright, see you then… Oh, wait. I have an idea.” You gestured to Fellow (who was still cowering) and Gidel (who stared at the ghosts curiously). “My guests could make do with some money too. Think they could join you for mandrake picking?”

They took one look at the shivering fur mound that was Fellow. Eerie grins crept onto their faces.

“Sure, why not?”

“O-Oi, oi, oi!!” Fellow hissed. “You’re not seriously gonna sell us out to your dead buddies, are you?“

“Gidel seems okay with it,” you noted, pointing. The cat boy had stumbled forward and was now trying to grasp onto Ghost C’s tail. “I guess he’ll go by himself then?”

His expression fell. “What!! No, he can’t…!”

“They’ll be good chaperones to him, promise.”

“That’s not the problem here! You can’t let a kid wander off with total strangers!! What kinda irresponsible adult does that?!”

Touché.

“Then sounds to me like you should go with him,” you suggested nonchalantly. “You know, as his guardian and all.”

“Grrrrr…! FINE!! L-Let’s get to pulling those screaming weeds then. I won’t say no to a job that pays!”

“Good, good. Happy to be workin’ with ya, fella.”

“It’s FELLOW Honest! Get it right, dammit!”

[youflowerr-youfeast]

Lavender Haze (NH13) - Chapter Two.

a/n: HIIII! I am so sorry it has taken so long - but!! Welcome to chapter two!!! I am so sorry if there are any mistakes - it was defs proofread after a few wines. and ALSO thank you so bloody much for all of your kind word and support! Inbox is always open!! Let me know what you think! Also - I know it's giving slow burn, but you gotta be patient with our Sofia, she's - healing -

** Content warning: death, grief. **

7.6k words

May 15th. 

The morning light streamed through her bedroom window as Sofia ran a hairbrush through her hair, the golden glow highlighting the stubborn baby hairs she couldn’t tame. Her thoughts drifted as she worked, fingers combing through her hair in an attempt to make it sit just right.

She hadn’t seen her neighbor in over a week.

It wasn’t like she’d been looking for him. But then again, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been looking for him either. His absence felt more noticeable, especially after the flowers. She’d left them on her counter for days, unsure what to do with them until the petals began to wilt.

Eventually, she’d come to terms with tossing them, though their soft lavender hue seemed to linger in her mind, along with all her unanswered questions. Was it normal for him to disappear like this? Where did he go? What did he do when he wasn’t here?

Sofia sighed, placing the hairbrush down with a soft clink. She caught her reflection in the mirror and tried to redirect her thoughts, focusing instead on the day ahead—anything but her tall, dark, and handsome neighbor, who had seemingly vanished.

She grabbed her bag from the chair by her dresser, double-checking it for her essentials: wallet, keys, and the stack of lesson plans she’d thrown together late last night. A stray folder stuck out awkwardly from the side pocket, and she tucked it in with a sigh, mentally adding “organize paperwork” to her ever-growing to-do list.

Her lunch sat waiting in the fridge, neatly packed in a reusable container. She plucked it from the shelf and dropped it into her bag before grabbing a banana for the road. As she moved through the small kitchen, her eyes drifted to the living room wall she now knew she shared with him—a habit she hadn’t quite shaken over the past week.

Sofia shook her lingering thoughts loose and sipped her coffee, the warm bitterness grounding her as she glanced at the clock. “Okay, ten minutes,” she muttered to herself, finishing her drink before setting the mug in the sink.

Shoes on, coat in hand, she made one last sweep of the apartment. Her gaze lingered on the lavender flowers in her trash bin, petals crumpled and faded, before she turned toward the door, ready to embark on the day ahead.

By lunchtime, Sofia had cycled through reading time, snack break, and a minor clean-up effort after someone decided their applesauce worked better as finger paint. She leaned against the edge of her desk, sipping lukewarm coffee while scanning the room to ensure no one was trying to sneak their uneaten carrots into the rubbish.

Amelia popped her head into the room with her signature grin having snuck across the hall from her classroom. 

“You surviving?”

“Barely,” Sofia replied, laughing. “If I have to broker another dinosaur versus robot treaty, I might lose it.”

“Oh, c’mon. There’s no debate. Dinosaurs every time,” Amelia quipped, her tone light but teasing as she stirred the pot.

Sofia rolled her eyes playfully. “Don’t let them hear you say that. The robot faction might stage a rebellion.”

Amelia laughed, “You’re probably right. Preschool politics are no joke.”

She leaned herself against the doorframe of Sofia’s classroom, arms crossed and a teasing smile on her face. “By the way, did you end up seeing your mysterious neighbor again? You know, the one you embarrassed yourself in front of?”

Sofia groaned, shooting her a look. “Why are you bringing that up now? I’m trying to forget about it.”

“Because it’s my job as your best friend,” she said with a smirk. “And let’s be honest, the mental image of you standing in his doorway, yelling at him for being loud - it’s too good to let go of.”

“I wasn’t yelling,” Sofia said, narrowing her eyes. “I was just being… firm.”

Amelia snorted. “Sure, firm. Whatever you say. So, have you run into him since then?”

“No,” Sofia admitted, letting out a little huff she didn’t mean to. “It’s been over a week, actually. I haven’t seen him at all.”

Amelia tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. “Weird. What do you think he’s up to?”

“No idea,” Sofia said with a shrug. “I mean we don’t know each other. He could be traveling for work or visiting family. Or maybe he just doesn’t spend much time at home.”

“Or,” Amelia said, smirking, “maybe he’s just hiding. Maybe he’s afraid after his big scary neighbour yelled at him to pipe down.”

Sofia rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s terrified of the girl who knocked on his door once and then burst into tears simultaneously.”

“You never know,” Amelia teased. “Anyway, I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually. Guys that leave your favorite flowers on your doorstep don’t just disappear into thin air.” With that, she smirked and made her way back across the hall to her classroom.

The day wound down in the usual blur of chaos—parents arriving, kids running out the door, and Sofia answering last-minute questions about forgotten lunchboxes and art projects. By the time the building emptied, her classroom was quiet again, except for the faint sound of a vacuum somewhere down the hall.

Sofia locked up her classroom and slung her bag over her shoulder, pausing for a moment to check she had all of her belongings before making her way down the hallway and out of the school. 

Stepping outside, she pulled her coat tighter against the crisp evening air. It wasn’t far to her apartment, just a few blocks, and she always enjoyed the quiet walk after work.

The fading sunlight painted the streets in warm amber tones as she strolled past rows of townhouses and small shops.

The familiar brick façade of her apartment building came into view as Sofia rounded the corner, her bag weighing heavier on her shoulder after a long day. She adjusted the strap and exhaled, savoring the quiet of the early evening. The streets were lined with parked cars, their windshields glinting faintly in the last of the daylight, and the faint scent of someone grilling dinner drifted through the air.

She climbed the front steps slowly, digging into her coat pocket for her keys as she pushed through the main door. 

As Sofia ascended the stairs to her floor, she let out a soft sigh, already anticipating the small comforts of home—kicking off her shoes, pouring a glass of wine, and pretending she didn’t have a million things to do before tomorrow.

But when she reached the landing, she froze.

Nico.

Her heart gave a small, unexpected jolt. He was standing in front of his apartment door, his shoulders tense and his hands fiddling with something in the lock. Around him was a chaotic pile of luggage.

She paused mid-step, her first instinct to retreat before he noticed her. But then he cursed under his breath, the sound carrying in the silence, and she realised he was struggling with his key.

“Everything okay?” Sofia asked, her voice cutting through the silence as she stepped closer.

Nico straightened, startled, and turned to face her. His expression was a mix of frustration and embarrassment as he held up the broken key. “Not exactly,” he admitted.

Sofia’s gaze flicked to the lock, where part of the key was still lodged. “Oh,” she said, wincing. “That’s not ideal.”

“You’re telling me,” Nico replied, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve been at this for fifteen minutes, and it’s not budging.”

She stepped closer, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked between the broken key and the lock. “Do you have a spare?”

“Inside,” Nico said with a dry laugh. “Which is just about as helpful as this.” He held up the useless half of the key in his hand.

Sofia smirked faintly. “Right. So, what’s the plan? Are you going to fight the door until it gives in?”

“That was my first idea,” Nico replied, leaning against the wall. “Plan B was to stare at it until it feels bad and opens itself.”

“Solid strategy,” she said, her tone wry as she reached for her phone. “Or—and hear me out—we could call a locksmith.”

“Probably smarter,” Nico admitted, crossing his arms. “But only slightly.”

Sofia shot him a look with a small grin. She tapped the screen of her phone, looking up a number to dial. She put the phone to her ear. The conversation was quick, but as she listened to the locksmith on the other end, her brow furrowed. When she hung up, she turned back to Nico, her lips pressed together in a sympathetic line.

“Bad news,” she said with a sympathetic frown. “They can’t get here until tomorrow morning.”

Nico closed his eyes briefly and let out a slow breath, dragging a hand down his face. “Of course. Perfect.”

“Do you have anywhere else you can go?” she asked, hesitating slightly, her voice soft.

Nico let out a slow breath, his gaze flicking to his pile of luggage before meeting hers. “I mean, I could probably crash at a friend’s place, but…” He trailed off, dragging a hand down his face. “I’m exhausted. The thought of hauling all this around again tonight just… no.”

Sofia nodded, her chest tightening at the sight of his tired expression. She didn’t know him well, but it didn’t take much to see that he was drained—physically and probably mentally.

“Well,” Sofia started, her voice hesitant, “if you don’t mind a couch, you can… stay here.” She pointed towards her door. 

Nico blinked, clearly caught off guard. His tired gaze softened as he straightened slightly. “You’re serious?”

Sofia nodded quickly, though her cheeks flushed, and she fidgeted with the strap of her bag. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not ideal, but it’s better than staying out here with all your stuff. Unless you’d rather—”

“No, no,” he interrupted gently, a small, grateful smile tugging at his lips. “That’s… really nice of you. I just don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not,” she said, her words rushing out a little too fast. “I mean, it’s just for tonight, right? So it’s not a big deal. Totally fine.”

Nico chuckled softly, the sound low and warm. “You sure? You seem a little… unsure.”

Sofia swallowed, gripping the strap of her bag a little tighter. “No, it’s fine,” she said quickly, forcing a small smile. “Just, uh… unexpected, I guess.”

Her words felt clumsy, and she hated how self-conscious she sounded. But she wasn’t used to this—to being in close quarters with someone like him. Someone who's easy confidence felt foreign compared to the awkward, brittle experiences she’d had in the past.

Nico studied her for a moment, his expression softening. “I don’t want to put you out,” he said, his tone quieter now. “I can figure something else out if it’s too much.”

“No,” Sofia blurted, shaking her head quickly. “It’s not… I mean, it’s fine. Really.”

Her cheeks burned, and she turned toward the door, fumbling with her keys just to have something to do. “Let’s just get you inside before someone complains about your luggage blocking the hallway.”

“Alright,” Nico said gently, the hint of a smile returning. He picked up one of his bags and followed her into the apartment.

Sofia pushed open the door and stepped inside, holding it open for Nico. “It’s, uh, not much, but make yourself at home,” she said softly, her voice carrying the faintest edge of nervousness.

As Nico stepped through the threshold, his expression shifted. The hallway outside, dim and utilitarian, was immediately forgotten as he took in the space. It was small but radiated warmth, the kind of place that made you feel like you could sink into it and stay for hours.

The living room was the heart of the apartment, bathed in the soft glow of a few different antique lamps, their warm light casting a cozy ambiance over everything. The furniture was an eclectic mix that somehow worked together perfectly: a blush-pink armchair sat near the window, its velvet upholstery slightly faded but loved. The couch, a muted sage green, was piled with pastel cushions in different textures—knitted, embroidered, and quilted—each one seemingly chosen with care.

A coffee table, made from a repurposed vintage trunk, sat in the center of the room. Its surface bore the scuffs and scratches of a long history, now softened by the addition of a lace doily and a small collection of items: a few well-loved books, a glass vase holding dried lavender, and a half-burned candle in a ceramic holder.

The rug beneath it all was a faded blue with intricate floral patterns, worn just enough to feel soft underfoot. A stack of neatly folded blankets, all in muted tones, were piled in a small woven basket.

The walls were alive with art. A gallery of mismatched frames showcased botanical illustrations, photographs of places and people, and among them was a small canvas, tucked into a quieter corner, that Nico couldn’t help but think Sofia might have painted herself—soft brushstrokes of pastel pinks, blues, and yellows that looked like a sunrise or a dream.

Bookshelves flanked one side of the room, crammed with novels, cookbooks, and a few vinyl records stacked haphazardly next to a vintage record player. 

A pair of terracotta pots, each cradling leafy green plants, sat on the shelves, their vines trailing down like lazy rivers.

The kitchen, just visible through an arched doorway, was tiny but spotless. A small round table with two mismatched chairs, adorned with a floral tablecloth and a single candlestick. The counters were clutter-free, save for a light blue kettle and a ceramic jar labeled coffee.

Nico realized he was smiling, charmed in a way that was new to him. He had been expecting something ordinary—stark walls, a bland sofa—something similar to his apartment, but instead, he’d stepped into a place that felt soulfully lived-in. She had created an environment that whispered of patience, kindness, and quiet afternoons spent reading, painting, or just dreaming. It was a reflection of her, he realized: soft around the edges, graceful without trying, and utterly unpretentious.

He turned, and there was Sofia, standing a few steps away, her posture slightly hesitant, as if unsure what he’d think. In the lamplight, he saw her as part of this tapestry: someone who preferred faded pastels to bold statements, who gathered objects with sentimental value rather than uniform style. It made him want to know her better, to hear the stories behind the chipped teacup on the shelf or find out where she’d picked up the watercolor of that sleepy seaside town.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. A soft hum from the refrigerator filled the pause, and somewhere outside, a distant siren faded into the quiet. Nico finally turned fully toward her, letting the spell of the apartment settle into his voice as he said, “It’s really beautiful. Your place, I mean.” He kept his tone gentle, not wanting to spook the subtle, cautious energy she carried.

Sofia’s eyes briefly darted around, as if double-checking her own home through his gaze. “Thanks,” she managed, her voice a touch shy but steady enough. “I’ve collected things over time… just stuff that makes me happy.” She shrugged lightly, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from the front of her sweater. “I guess it’s a bit… cluttered.”

Nico took a careful step forward, scanning the layers of texture and color without judgment. He didn’t see chaos. He saw care. “I don’t think that’s the right word,” he said gently, taking in more of the room. “It feels more like it’s all been gathered here for a reason. Like every piece matters.” He paused, catching her eye. “It’s got your personality. I can tell you love what you’ve collected.”

Sofia’s cheeks warmed, and her shoulders lowered the tiniest bit. “That’s… nice of you to say,” she murmured, fingers grazing the arm of her pink armchair.

“I’m really glad you shared it with me.” Nico’s voice was quiet, almost as if he were worried about disturbing the calm warmth drifting through the room. 

Sofia swallowed gently, her throat tight with a blend of uncertainty and resolve. She wanted him to feel welcome—that was the point, wasn’t it? The sincerity in his voice, the way he held her gaze, it all worked at untying the knots inside her chest, one by one.

 “I’m… glad, too,” she managed, her voice softer than she expected. Her cheeks still felt warm, and the subtle scent drifting from the dried flowers on her coffee table seemed suddenly more pronounced. 

She took a step closer to the kitchen’s threshold, as if to anchor herself to something solid. “If you… need anything,” she began, then hesitated, her fingers twitching nervously at her side, “I mean—are you hungry? Or thirsty?” She added the questions in a gentle rush.

Nico took in the delicate pattern of the tablecloth he could glimpse beyond her shoulder, the mugs arranged in neat little rows. All of it spoke of care, of a certain softness she carried inside her.

“I could go for some water, if that’s okay,” he said, not wanting to overwhelm her with demands, not wanting to trample the careful peace she’d built here. He offered a reassuring half-smile. “Don’t go to any trouble.”

Sofia’s expression shifted, a slight frown of mild reproach crossing her features. “It’s really not trouble,” she insisted, her voice gentle but firm. The blush on her cheeks deepened as she realized she might sound a bit assertive, but she pressed on before the moment slipped away.

Moving toward the kitchen she flicked on the light and filled a tumbler with cool water from her fridge.

As she turned back, she caught the subtle lines of weariness on Nico’s face. He looked as though he’d been running on empty, and she found her heart softening at the thought of him standing in that hallway, unable to enter his own home. Offering the glass, she managed a slight smile. “Here you go.”

But before he could take a sip, a new question rose to her lips, surprising even herself with its directness. “Have you eaten?” she asked gently. “Dinner, I mean. I can put something together, or I think I have some leftover pasta?” 

Nico paused, the glass still hovering near his mouth. Her offer took him by surprise, and for a second he considered his options. He wasn’t starving, exactly—he’d grabbed a sandwich hours ago—but her tone was so earnest, so genuinely caring, that refusing outright seemed almost rude.

“Only if it’s not too much trouble,” he said softly, lowering the glass. A faint, playful smile touched his lips. “I mean, I’m not going to say no to leftover pasta.” 

She tipped her head just enough so he couldn’t see the small smile curving her lips, as if taking a moment to steady her nerves before speaking again. “Alright, leftover pasta coming right up,” she said, voice more assured than before. She moved back toward the kitchen and he slowly followed her so he could assist if she needed him to. The mint-green cabinets and mismatched plates on the open shelves had never seemed like a big deal to her, just part of her everyday life. But now, knowing he’d be eating something she’d prepared—even if it was just reheated dinner—made her notice every detail of her kitchen: the soft hum of the fridge, the subtle scent of basil lingering from the last time she cooked. As she opened the fridge, she cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Nico hadn’t moved much, his tall frame still near the counter, water glass in hand. He looked more at ease now, no longer quite so wary, and the smallest crease of a smile lingered around his mouth. Something about that eased her own nerves. He wasn’t here by choice, not exactly—locked out and stranded—but at least he didn’t look unhappy about how the night was unfolding.

She found the leftover container, popped it open, and transferred a portion into a small saucepan. A quiet hiss sounded as the burner clicked on and the metal warmed beneath her hand. With a wooden spoon, she stirred slowly, letting the sauce loosen with a bit of water and a drizzle of oil.

“Hope you don’t mind penne,” she said over her shoulder, her tone light, “It’s nothing gourmet, but it’s edible and a hot meal.” Her lips twitched at her own self-conscious joke, and she turned slightly so he could see the shy humor in her eyes.

“Edible and hot works for me,” he responded with a sweet smile, his dimple popping ever so slightly at her dry attempt of humour. The scent soon began to bloom—warm and herbaceous. It wasn’t much, just a leftover meal made modestly appetizing, but it felt meaningful in its own small way. After all, what was hospitality if not trying to make someone’s night a bit better than the hallway they’d been stuck in?

Nico shifted slightly, leaning a hip against the counter, his gaze skimming over her space as if trying to memorise the comforting details of her world.

She reached for a bowl—a shallow one with a faint floral pattern swirling around its edges—then spooned the pasta in, topping it with a whisper of grated cheese. Perfectly imperfect, she thought, cradling the bowl for a moment before passing it over. When Nico took it, their fingers didn’t quite touch, but the closeness felt charged all the same.

Their eyes met briefly and Sofia wondered if he could sense the quiet tremor beneath her calm exterior. The hush of the apartment stretched between them, filled not with awkwardness, but with a kind of gentle expectancy.

Nico lowered his gaze to the steaming pasta, then looked back up with a small, genuine smile. It wasn’t a grin of politeness or formality—rather, it carried the warmth of someone who truly appreciated her gesture. “This looks great,” he said softly, and the low timbre of his voice made her heart dip and rise in an odd, fluttery way.

“Not too fancy, I know,” she murmured, stepping back to let him settle. A touch of self-consciousness crept into her tone, but not enough to overshadow the earnest kindness she offered. “I hope it’s okay.”

“I’m pretty sure leftover pasta never looked this appealing,” he replied, lightness dancing in his eyes. His sincerity felt tangible—no forced compliments, just the honest appreciation of a man unexpectedly comforted by a stranger’s kitchen.

Sofia folded her hands together at her waist, then remembered her manners. “Feel free to sit,” she said, her voice a shade quieter. She gestured toward the small wooden table. A half-burned candle and a tiny succulent inhabited the tabletop, tiny guardians of many solitary evenings. To invite him to that table felt like offering him a glimpse of her routine—the place where she sipped tea and read after long days, where she planned lessons and wrote grocery lists.

Nico nodded, taking the few steps needed to reach it. He settled into one of the chairs, setting the bowl down carefully. When he lifted his gaze again, she was still watching him, her posture a delicate blend of readiness and uncertainty. There was a softness in her expression he found comforting—no demands, no assumptions, just a gentle willingness to make him feel at home.

“Thank you,” he said again, the words simple but weighted with more than just gratitude for a meal. His voice bridged something unspoken in the space between them, acknowledging the unusual nature of this encounter. He lifted the fork, tasted the pasta, and nodded with quiet approval. “It’s perfect.”

Sofia hovered near the counter a moment longer, watching him settle into the quiet rhythm of his meal. He didn’t seem uncomfortable; in fact, he appeared focused on the simple act of eating, as though savoring each bite. There was a contented look on his face, something close to relief. The sight made her smile softly, and for the first time since he stepped into her apartment, she felt less like a bundle of nerves and more like someone who could just… be.

Still, the energy of the day weighed on her shoulders and the back of her neck, and she was suddenly aware of how long it had been since she’d had a moment to herself. “I, um,” she began, catching her reflection in the window’s faint glass. The blush in her cheeks lingered, her hair a bit mussed from running her hands through it too many times. “I’m going to hop in the shower, if that’s okay,” she said, the words emerging in a gentle rush. “It’s been a long day, and I… well, I could use it.”

Nico looked up from the bowl, pausing mid-twirl of his fork. He nodded understandingly. “Of course,” he said. No questions, no odd glances, just the same calm acceptance he’d shown since entering her pastel world. “Take your time. I’m good here.”

She offered a timid half-smile, relieved he hadn’t found the request strange. “There’s more water in the fridge if you need it,” she murmured, gesturing with a slight tilt of her head toward the kitchen. “And I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything.”

Sofia slipped away, her footsteps quiet as she made her way down the short corridor. In her small bathroom, she flicked on the lights. They illuminated a delicate shower curtain—pale pink, patterned with subtle green leaves—and the neat row of bottles along the tile ledge. She turned on the water, testing it with her hand until it reached that perfect, soothing temperature. Her clothes came off and she stepped under the stream, letting the warmth and steam envelop her. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back, rinsing away the day’s tension.

Soon she emerged from the hallway in a set of pale blue pajamas scattered with tiny daisies, the soft cotton clinging gently to her fresh-from-the-shower warmth. Her hair, still damp, lay in loose waves around her shoulders, and though she tried to appear casual, there was a shy set to her posture—arms held close, hands lightly clasped. She paused near the doorway between the hall and the living area, as if double-checking the atmosphere before stepping fully into it.

Nico was on the couch, the now-clean bowl resting upside down on a folded dish towel he must have found beneath the sink. He’d taken the initiative to tidy up, and something about that small kindness made her heart beat a little faster. 

His gaze lifted when he sensed her presence, and for a brief moment, he struggled to keep it respectful and level. Her pajamas were cute, undeniably so, and seeing her in them brought an unexpected feeling to the moment. He refocused quickly on her face, noting the gentle flush in her cheeks that matched the faint rose hue of the lamp’s glow on the wall. Something about the way she carried herself—the timid half-step into the room—tugged at a protective feeling inside of him. 

“I, um… you all good?” Sofia asked softly, crossing the final steps into the living area. Her voice still held that careful politeness, but under it was a warmth that felt more natural now, as if layers of formality had been gently peeled back over the evening. She glanced at the cleaned bowl and then at him, eyes brightening with pleased surprise. “You cleaned up?” she noted, her tone both grateful and a little impressed.

Nico nodded, his own smile deepening. “Seemed fair,” he said quietly.

He wasn’t sure what else to say for a moment, so he let the silence stretch, comfortable enough not to fill it right away. Sofia took a cue from that silence and moved toward the armchair near his spot on the sofa, the lamplight catching on the subtle patterns of her pajama fabric. 

She tucked one leg under the other as she settled down, maintaining a careful grace. Nico kept his eyes anchored on her face, determined not to let his curiosity roam lower. It wasn’t that he was blind to the pretty picture she made—it was simply that he respected her too much, especially after all her quiet generosity.

“Do you want any help making the couch into a bed?” she asked, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes flicked to the cushions, then back to him. “I think I have a spare quilt and some blankets I can bring out.” She paused, chewing lightly on the inside of her cheek before adding, “And—um—if you’d like some tea… I’ve got peppermint, chamomile, or just regular black tea with honey.”

Nico’s heart gave a small, unexpected twist. It wasn’t that she’d asked anything extraordinary—it was her tone, the caring simplicity of her questions, and the way she sat there, folded softly into her armchair, that had him feeling as though he were seeing something delicate and lovely. She looked so at ease in this space, her space, making an offer that was both practical and undeniably kind. The scent of her shampoo still lingered faintly in the air, and he wondered how anyone could be so naturally gentle.

He had to remind himself to answer. Clearing his throat quietly, he leaned forward just a bit, willing himself to keep his eyes on hers and not let them wander, not get lost in how well the pastel hues complemented her skin, how her features were softened further by the soft glow of lamplight. “You don’t have to fuss,” he said, keeping his voice low so as not to break the hush they’d settled into. “Really. Just being inside, having a place to rest, that’s already more than enough.”

He watched her expression carefully. There was a sincerity in her face that made him want to accept everything she offered, no matter how small. “But… if you don’t mind,” he continued gently, “a cup of tea would actually be nice.” He almost smiled at how modest he sounded—him, who usually had no trouble asking for what he needed. But here, he wanted to tread lightly.

“Peppermint?” she asked softly, the corners of her mouth lifting.

“Peppermint sounds great,” he replied. He watched her unfold herself from the armchair, moving with that same gentle grace toward the kitchen. He let his eyes follow her only briefly, but quickly looked away once he realised he was staring. 

Sofia returned with two steaming mugs. Nico straightened a bit on the couch, watching her approach with quiet appreciation, and accepted one of the mugs with a grateful nod. She curled back into her armchair, legs tucked under her comfortably, her free hand stroking the armrest’s worn fabric.

“Thank you,” he said, taking a cautious sip. The warmth of the tea rose up to his face. “This will definitely hit the spot.”

She smiled, her shoulders relaxing. “Good. I’m glad.” A lull passed, not awkward, just a gentle pause in the rhythm of the evening.

“So,” Sofia ventured, cradling her mug close to her chest. She studied him a moment, noticing how he seemed more at ease now than when he first arrived. “You said work keeps you on the road a lot?” Her voice was soft, curious. She’d avoided prying too much before, but now it felt natural to learn a bit more about the unexpected guest in her home. 

Nico nodded, resting an ankle over his opposite knee. “Yeah, I travel pretty often,” he said, his tone thoughtful. “It comes with the job.”

She tilted her head, eyebrows lifting slightly. “What kind of work do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.” Her lips curved into a reassuring half-smile, as if to say: You don’t have to tell me, but I’d like to know.

He hesitated, not out of secrecy, but because he rarely had to explain himself to someone who didn’t already know. “I play hockey,” he answered simply. “Professionally.”

Sofia’s fingers tightened slightly around the mug of tea she’d just set in her lap. His answer—“I play hockey”—should have been simple enough, but those words nudged a memory she normally kept tucked away, pressed between the pages of her past. She swallowed, working to keep her expression neutral as she tilted her head and offered him a small, polite smile.

“Professionally,” she repeated softly. There was a hint of awe in her tone, but beneath it a subtle shift: something a bit more distant, as though her thoughts had taken her elsewhere. 

“So you’re traveling a lot, playing… what, in the NHL?” She asked it gently, her voice kept even, as if bracing for an answer that might sting more than it should.

Nico nodded, and something about his posture, the practiced humility in his eyes, suggested he was used to people knowing exactly who he was. But here, in front of Sofia, he had to explain. “Yeah,” he said, settling his tea on the coffee table. “I’m with the New Jersey Devils.”

He seemed poised, prepared for some reaction—recognition, excitement, maybe a flurry of questions about his fame. But Sofia’s reaction was subtle: her gaze dropped to her hands where she fiddled with the rim of her mug. She knew enough about hockey—more than she cared to remember—to understand how big that was. But the memories it stirred made her heart twist.

“My brother…” she began, voice almost too soft. She paused, forced herself to breathe. Nico’s eyes were on her, patient and curious. She lifted her gaze, offered a small, tight smile, the kind that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “He played hockey too. He was the captain of his college team.”

Saying it aloud brought an ache to the surface. She hadn’t expected to share this detail with him. 

Nico leaned forward slightly at her words, intrigued but slightly oblivious to the sadness pooling behind her eyes. “Really? That’s great,” he said gently, his tone warming with genuine interest.

Sofia pressed her lips together, fighting the familiar sting in her chest. She had said it so simply: he was the captain. She hadn’t explicitly said he was gone, and Nico’s calm, encouraging expression told her he’d taken the statement at face value—that her brother still walked somewhere under stadium lights, still taped his stick before every game, still pulled on a jersey with a “C” stitched into its fabric.

“That must’ve been amazing, growing up and watching him play,” Nico said, making a small gesture as if passing an invisible puck between them. He tried to imagine her in the stands, cheering with family, maybe wearing her brother’s college team colors.

Sofia’s hand tightened around her mug. She forced a weak smile to cover the jagged ache in her chest. How easily he assumed a living present tense—do you watch him, must’ve been proud—and how hard it would be to correct him. A shiver of memory moved through her: her brother’s last game, the way he’d grinned at her afterward and ruffled her hair like always, the stands emptying as he lingered on the ice, making excuses to savor every second. And then the accident that tore that future away.

She swallowed, the peppermint scent of her tea suddenly too sharp. Her voice, when it came, was quiet and carefully measured. “I used to go to all his home games,” she said softly, truth and omission twined together. “He loved playing. I think wearing that ‘C’ on his jersey meant everything to him. He wanted to go further…” Her eyes flickered down, as if searching the floor for some steady ground.

Nico nodded, his smile soft with admiration. “Captains usually do. A lot of them dream about going pro, just like I did.” He paused, considering her brother’s path. “Where is he playing now? Did he keep going with it after college?”

The question hung in the warm air. It was such a simple inquiry—an innocent assumption that the story moved forward, that her brother stepped from college hockey into some next phase. Nico’s earnest interest made it harder to respond, but she knew she had to clarify.

Her heart beat thickly in her throat. She pulled in a slow breath, mustering courage. “He… he didn’t get the chance,�� she managed. Her gaze lifted, meeting Nico’s eyes. The gentle lamplight caught unshed tears there, making them glisten, and Nico’s soft curiosity faltered into sudden concern.

Sofia cleared her throat, voice almost a whisper. “He passed away before he could try.” The words felt heavy on her tongue, and she offered them with as much calm as she could.

Nico stilled, the weight of her revelation settling immediately in the hush of the apartment. His breath caught, and his shoulders sagged slightly, as if absorbing the shock for her sake. He realized, with a pang of regret, that he’d pressed on too lightly, that his questions might have scraped at old wounds he didn’t know were there.

“I’m… I’m so sorry,” he said, voice low and full of quiet apology, understanding now the ache that underpinned her every word about her brother. He held her gaze, hoping to convey that he understood this was not just a story, but a piece of her heart that still hurt. He didn’t look away, offering no empty platitudes, just honest sorrow and respect for her loss.

Sofia’s tight smile trembled, then steadied. Her gaze drifted to the patterns on her rug.

“The night I, um…” She paused, took a careful breath. “The night I knocked on your door and yelled at all of you to keep it down—it was the anniversary of his death.”

Her words settled into the quiet space, their weight palpable. Nico’s eyes softened with understanding. He didn’t move, didn’t rush to fill the silence. Instead, he let her speak at her own pace, sensing that this was something she needed to say aloud.

“I’d been holding it together all day,” she continued, her fingers curling around the fabric of her pajama sleeve. “Trying to pretend everything was fine, going through the motions, doing my job, smiling for the kids at work. And then I came home to a silent apartment. And it felt so empty. I opened a bottle of wine, told myself I’d have just one glass.” She gave a shaky laugh, humorless and soft. “One turned into a few, and then the noise started next door. Loud voices, laughter… I just snapped. Something about all that life and sound and celebration was too much to bear that night.”

Nico’s heart twisted. He remembered that evening so clearly: her face flushed with anger, her words slurred slightly by the wine, but beneath the frustration and annoyance he now saw the grief. He wished he could have understood then what he knew now.

Sofia glanced up, meeting his gaze. The tears in her eyes didn’t fall, but they glistened, held in place by her quiet strength. “I’m not proud of it. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you or your friends. But I guess I was angry. Angry that the world keeps spinning, that people keep laughing and having fun, while he can’t. Angry that my life would never be the same.”

Nico leaned forward, setting his tea down, carefully trying not to break their fragile connection.

“I’m so sorry.” He wanted to say more, to tell her that her anger made sense, that anyone faced with such pain might lash out when confronted with reminders of what they’d lost. But he let the apology stand, simple and honest.

She offered a small nod, her expression distant for a moment as she wrestled with old memories and fresh regrets. “I remember thinking, after I went back to my apartment, that I’d embarrassed myself. But I was too raw to care that much. I just… I missed him. I still do, every day. The anniversary just makes it harder to pretend everything’s fine.”

The clock ticked softly, and the art covered walls seemed to hold them both in gentle sympathy. 

Nico finally spoke, voice low. “I can’t imagine what that must feel like,” he said. “But I get it now. Why you were upset. Why that night mattered so much.” He hesitated, wanting to reassure her without sounding trite. “Your brother—he mattered. He still does. It makes sense that losing him on that day would stir up everything.”

Sofia’s lips curved into the faintest, sad smile. “Thank you,” she whispered. It wasn’t just gratitude for his understanding words, but for the space he gave her to be honest, for not turning this into a moment of pity or awkward apologies. “I don’t usually talk about him with… well, with people I don’t know well. But something about tonight, and about you—I don’t know, it feels safe. Like I can share this without worrying you’ll judge me.”

Nico’s chest tightened again, that gentle pull of empathy and admiration he’d been feeling all evening. “You can,” he assured softly. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me.” He wanted to offer comfort, but he also knew she was strong on her own. Maybe just hearing her words, acknowledging her pain, was enough for now.

They fell quiet once more, letting the hush settle. Sofia’s eyes drifted to the picture frame on the shelf, the one containing her brother’s photograph. The memory still hurt, but tonight it hurt a little less—maybe because someone else knew and she wasn’t alone. 

“You probably don’t know much about me,” Sofia said, speaking up, her voice a touch steadier now. “I mean, beyond the fact that I had a rough night and a brother who meant a lot to me.” She offered a small, self-conscious smile, fingers brushing the rim of her mug. “I’m a preschool teacher, actually.”

Nico’s posture shifted slightly, interest lighting his features. “A preschool teacher?” he repeated, a note of admiration in his tone. He set his own mug down carefully, as if savoring this new piece of information. “I can imagine that takes incredible patience.”

Sofia allowed herself a genuine smile. “More patience than I ever thought I had,” she agreed, a soft laugh following the admission. It felt good to move into this gentler territory. “But I love it. The kids—oh, they’re amazing. They’re curious about everything, and each day feels like a chance to show them how wide and wonderful the world can be.” She paused, warmth creeping into her voice. “They remind me that there’s still so much hope out there, even when things are hard.”

Nico nodded, absorbing her words. He tried to picture her surrounded by small children, helping them tie their shoes, guiding them through finger-painting, reading stories with animated voices. He could imagine how that environment might offer a kind of healing—an antidote to the heaviness she carried. “I respect that,” he said softly. “Finding a path that lets you make a difference and feel connected… it’s not something everyone manages.”

She dipped her head slightly, touched by the sincerity in his voice. “Thank you. It wasn’t exactly planned,” she confessed. “I ended up teaching after a lot in my life changed. I guess I needed something that felt meaningful, something that helped me move forward rather than staying stuck in old pain.”

Nico’s gaze flicked to the photograph on the shelf, then back to her face. He knew enough now to understand the subtext without pressing. “It sounds like it’s given you that,” he said simply. “You have this calm energy that I’m sure helps them feel safe.”

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. There were many times she questioned her abilities—wondering if she was patient enough, kind enough, if she truly made a difference—but hearing it from someone who barely knew her gave it a unique weight. “I try,” she said, her tone modest.

After a few unhurried moments, Sofia shifted in her chair. The day’s emotions, along with the late hour, had settled into her muscles, reminding her that she needed rest. She gave a small, apologetic smile and rose to her feet, smoothing the front of her pajama top as she did so.

“I think I’m going to head to bed,” she said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peaceful mood they’d found. Her eyes found his across the modest space. “It’s getting late, and tomorrow morning will come too soon, as always.”

Nico nodded, understanding perfectly. He leaned back against the couch, his posture easy, trying his best to keep his gaze respectful. “Of course,” he said gently. “You’ve had a long day.”

She took a step toward the hallway, then paused, turning back as if remembering something important. “Before I go…” Sofia hesitated for a heartbeat, then gestured toward a small cupboard near the bathroom door. “There are fresh towels in there if you want to take a shower. Soap and shampoo are on the shelf inside. And, well, the couch is all yours. Make yourself at home, okay?”

Nico looked at her, gratitude flickering in his eyes. It amazed him how thoughtful she continued to be, even after all they’d shared tonight. “Thank you,” he replied, voice soft. “I appreciate everything. Really.”

Sofia nodded, accepting his thanks with a faint, genuine smile. She pressed her lips together as if holding onto a last piece of kindness and, finding it unnecessary to say more, offered him a quiet “Good night” that was warmer than any drawn-out farewell.

“Good night,” Nico echoed, his voice carrying through the hush as she retreated into the dim hallway.

The soft click of her bedroom door eased into the silence, and he let out a slow breath. He wouldn’t intrude on her space more than he needed to, but the invitation to shower and settle in was a kindness he didn’t take lightly. He rose from the sofa to find the towels, and perhaps, a small measure of peace in the quiet hours before morning.

@bratbarzal @xaexaesworld @lhughes43

[cheapshrimpysheep]

When Can I See You Again?

SUMMARY: After classes you go with Ortho to Ignihyde to play with Idia. You end up eating noodles with him for dinner, and before you leave is when your conversation warms up a bit.

CHARACTERS: Pairing with Idia. Ortho and other characters as secondary.

TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Flirting; Kissing

WARNING: Spoilers from: Book 6; The Phantom Bride; Twisted Halloween (1st and 2nd parts); The Harveston Sledathon; Camp Vargas 2: The Art of Survival.

WORD COUNT: 2.640

COMMENTS: This is for the @briarvalleyarchives “Anthems of Old” event. I was invited to join this twst writers network and this is the first thing I write for it. I took this more as a challenge to myself. I was happy with the result and I hope you like it too. And it wasn't until later that I realized that I chose a song from a movie about villains not really being villains.

Check out the Song I chose -> Owl City - When Can I See You Again? (From Wreck it Ralph)

You and Grim were having lunch with Ace and Deuce. Until Ortho showed up and asked if he could sit with you. He wasn't carrying a tray.

“We can arrange a sit for you on one condition.” Grim said “You don't eat because you're a robot, right?” Ortho confirms. "But now you're a student right? Aren't you entitled to a meal too?"

“Aaah, I think I know what Grim is getting at.” Ace comments.

“I think I know too.” Ortho says. “You want me to go get my meal and give it to you, correct?”

“Yah! If you do, you can sit with us.”

You tell Ortho he doesn't have to do that and Grim starts to protest.

“Ha ha. It's okay, prefect. As far as I know, the necessary amount of food is prepared for all students. If they do it with me as one of the students who will consume the food, that means at least one meal will be wasted. So maybe giving it to Grim is the best thing to do.”

Everyone approves of his point of view. Some for better reasons than others. He goes to get his meal to give to Grim and sits down with you.

You start chatting and, eventually, Ortho starts talking about a new game that Idia and him started to play and that a lot of people say it’s good. It was a cute and fun co-op game about a couple. And when you see some parts of the gameplay that he shows you, you show interest in playing too.

“So why don't you play with my brother? I'm sure he will enjoy playing with you.”

“Don't you want to play?” You ask.

“Hmm... yes, but I would like him to play in real life with someone else besides me. You know?” You do. “Why don't you come with me to Ignihyde after school to play? We can reset the game for you. We haven't made that much progress anyway, don’t worry.” he was clearly very happy about it.

“I pass.” Grim says with his mouth full.

“Hum? WHY?” Ortho asks.

“Because this guy always wants to treat me and pet me like I'm a cat! I'd rather take a long nap in Ramshackle Dorm with the ghosts.”

Ortho sighs, but he says it's okay. The truth he won't reveal is that it will even be better that way.

After school, Ortho accompany you to the Ramshackle Dorm to drop Grim off. And then, you two go to the Hall of Mirrors to go to Ignihyde.

When you arrive at the door of Idia's room, upon recognizing Ortho, the door opens without any problems and you two enter. Idia was sitting in the desk chair with his back to you at the door, with headphones in his ears. Ortho chuckles mischievously.

“Hey, (Y/N)?” he whispers to you. “Do you want to surprise him?” And you do! He gives you an idea and you execute it.

Idia was focused on the screen. You approach slowly, lean in beside him, and give him a quick peck on the cheek. He jumps off the chair and lands on the ground. And as soon as he sees you, the ends of his hair turn pink.

“WHAT? WHEN... W-when did you spaun here?”

You laugh. "Didn't Ortho tell you I was coming to play with you?"

He looks at his younger brother.

“Surprise!” Nope, Ortho didn't tell him. But now he tells him about your lunchtime conversation. And about you two playing from the beginning.

“But I like to play on hard mode.” Idia mutters, thinking you can't hear him. “In that case I'll have to beat the game on easy mode.”

“If this is so painful for you then why don't you just tell me you only play with pros?” You say, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Hep!” he genuinely hoped you hadn't heard. “No! That's not- I didn't- I wasn't-” he seems unable to finish a single sentence.

Seeing him so flustered is so funny to you, to the point of being a little cute. You can't hide the urge to laugh and that makes him revert to his gloomy self. And sulking a little bit that you're laughing at him.

“So... you're not upset?”

“Oh, I am. But seeing you panicking is revenge enough for now.”

“Oh yeah? Let's see who panics when we're playing.” he smirks evilly.

You turn serious all of a sudden and worn him: “Don't put it on-”

“I'm not putting it on hard mode.” he answers you slightly intimidated. One of the sides he likes most about you and something that he will never admit.

It's a co-op puzzle game. Which means he becomes a cocky bastard for solving puzzles in seconds. He annoys you with his arrogance and you annoy him by messing things up in the game. While you're playing, Ortho left you two alone and none of you noticed.

You were having so much fun that it wasn't until your bellies rumbled that you realized you hadn't eaten yet and it was past dinnertime. You start to worry about Grim. Not because you think he would have been starving without you, but because he could eat who knows what without you around.

“It’s been fun but now I’ve got to go.” you say and your belly growls again.

“It's still going to be a long time before you get to your dorm and still have to cook dinner.” He says “If you are as hungry as I am, you should eat as soon as possible.”

“I know. That's why you should go now.”

“I have a lot of instant noodles. And I would say your best strategy right now would be to make yourself a cup of them and eat before you go. If you leave now with your hunger bar that low you could collapse halfway through.”

“Thank you for showing me the worst case scenario.”

“Oh, believe me, this isn't the worst I can imagine.” he smiles in a slightly creepy way, like someone who prides himself on predicting the worst. But then it goes back to normal. “Hey, it's just an offer. I'm going to make myself a cup now. If you'd like to come.”

You accept his offer and follow him into the kitchen. He asks you what kind of noodles you like best. If you ask him what kind of noodles he has, he will reply: "All kinds. Meh heh heh... Take a shot!" You say which one is your favourite. “IN STOCK NOW!” He says in his best Sam impersonation. It was so good that it surprised you and made you laugh.

He takes out two cups of your favourite noodles, one for you and one for him. He places them on the table where you sit while he goes to prepare the water in the electric kettle. He starts talking about the game you were playing together, but you're paying more attention to his small gesture of "making dinner" for you.

When he turns to you and sees your face, he shuts up and then says: “W-why are you looking at me like that? Has my hair turned a weird colour?” You chuckle but say no. “Then why that look?”

“Cause I think you're cute.” His hair does a PUFF in surprise and the ends of his hair turn pink and his face a little flushed. “Now yes, your hair is in a funny colour.” And you keep smiling at him.

“Meh heh... I may be a noob at this game but I still know how to play it.” He says, with a smirk and that confidence you only see once in a while.

“What do you mean?”

He puts his hands behind his back and slowly walks towards you while smirking. And you feel yourself blushing a little. When he gets in front of you he leans in, his face so close to yours that you almost feel hypnotized by his strong yellow eyes.

“Heh heh, looks like we're both cute when we're flattered.” He's speaking in that deep voice of his. “What's the matter? Not so confident when it's my turn?” He takes one of his hands to your face, thumb on one cheek, three fingers on the other and pinky under your chin, because his hand is relatively big compared to you. He's not hurting you, but he manages to gently get you to form your lips into a kiss pose. “(Y/N), dear, hon, you know very well at this point on a PvP between the both of us, I win. He he he...” he whispers, as he gets even closer “...cute...”

POP! He jumps and straightens up when startled by the electric kettle's signal that the water is already hot. And you laugh. He sulks, but turns and goes to get the water to put in your noodle cups.

Meanwhile, other Ignihyde students started to enter the kitchen to also prepare their dinners and eat. So, you couldn't continue your "little game".

You finish eating and he walks you out of the dorm.

“When can we do this again?” You ask before you leave.

“Well, that depends.” He answers. “When can I see you again?” and then he starts talking very fast. “I mean, I'm always at my room. In the best case scenario. You're the one who's always busy solving the problems of an incompetent headmage. And having fun with those two single brain celled of friends. And having meeting and stuff with the other housewordens. So, hey, you're the one who should text me whenever your free.”

That sounded a little suspicious, didn't it? You look around. You don't see anyone else but you two.

“Idia?... Was that a jealous speech?”

“What? Jealous? No, of course not.” He's still speaking quickly “This is just the speed up speech I use to spit facts and vent in someone's face with the expectation that even if they hear me they won't understand what I say and will just be confused and think I'm weird enough to leave me alone.”

“You want me to leave you alone?”

“W-wha- NO! I-I-I-...” He sees you start to lift the corners of your mouth. In fact, it's funny to see him flustered. “*Sigh*... It's a blessing and a curse to have a weirdo who can understand me even when I speak in my turbo speech mode.”

“I'll take that "weirdo" as a compliment.” you say, smirking.

“As you should.” He says, a little lower and with that sweet little smile. You cherish that smile until you remember what you two were talking about.

“I wish you would go out more often. Ortho too. Wouldn't you like to take a walk with me one day?”

“Surrounded by normies who wouldn't take their eyes off us? No thanks.” He says and you sulk. “Oh, come on. You know very well I'm not saying I don't want to be with you. I will not continue to fall on your sulking face.”

“But you didn't like the other times you left Ignihyde?”

“Oh yes. Being kidnapped by ghosts into a forced marriage was the most romantic experience I've ever had. Getting kidnapped to a Halloween party in the Spectral Realm and being possessed? What an adrenaline rush! Go to a camp and get kidnapped by Couch Vargas and forced to squad until my legs are in agony? The outdoor exercise I've been needing. I just realized I have a problem with being serial kidnapped.”

Even his sarcasm makes you laugh. “Can't say you don't have a point there. But what about the Halloween before you were kidnapped? For example?”

“Ah, what delightful visitors Magical Monsters are.”

“First, what about the normal visitors? Wasn't it good to see them appreciate your work? And second, you're not going to tell me you didn't enjoy terrorizing Magicam Monsters, are you?” He answers you with his smug smile. “And what about that gaming afternoon at Ramshackle Dorm? Everyone was so impressed with your gaming skills.” his sweet smile comes back. “Aaaaand...” you were going to play your trump card and you tried to imitate him in his fanboy mode “Epel's grandma is the inspiration for the team leader os the show I'm obsessed about? DUUUDE. SHE'S BEST GIRL BY FAR! Would you autograph my guidebook? And can I take a picture with you?!”

“OKAY OKAY, I GOT IT!” He was so embarrassed, for both of you. Fortunately, no one was there to see it. “And BTW, the show is called Sled Over Heels, the team is called Beauties Sleeping and the character is called Ai. Thank you very much.”

“Did you regret leaving the dorm that time?” you ask, knowing the answer. But he doesn't answer, he doesn't like to give the other person reason so soon. “Would you regret taking a walk with me one day?”

“Maybe.” He says, you sulk. “Not because of you, because of everyone and everything else. Can't we take this getting me out of the room thing slowly?”

“That reminds me of a phrase. Life is way too short to take it slow. But in your case, yes, we can take it slow. What if you come to Ramshackle Dorm and play together then? Maybe you can pet Grim.”

“That's very appealing. You're good with deal, I must say. Perhaps you can compete with Azul.”

“So, is that an yes?”

“*Sigh* Fine, I will... try.”

“Just try? What if i buy some candy?”

“Damn, you really are persistent. But since you're raising the offer” he smirks “what if I try to see how far it goes?”

“Do you want a kiss?” your cheekiness makes his hair explode in pink, and he blushes a lot.

“I-i-i-is that an a-actual offer?”

“Perhaps. But with such a high offer, do you really think just going to my dorm is enough?”

“Hum...” he thinks for a second. “How about that walk with you? There are not many people on the beach at this time of year.”

“But don't you need permission to leave college?”

“Heh heh heh. You remember who my family is right? Do you really think I can't bribe the headmage? As if it were difficult.”

You two were smiling like partners in crime.

“We have a deal then.” you say “so... what kind of kiss would you like?”

“Any one I want?”

“Any one you want.”

He looks around again, there's no one there, but he still pulls you into a corner. Lift your chin with his fingers and bring his face closer to yours. You were lit by blue and pink fire lights.

“Then why don't we finish what we started in the kitchen?”

You kiss him as your answer. You feel the warm his hair emits and his delicate but passionate lips on yours. You just broke away from the kiss early, because you were in a place where someone could show up at any moment.

When you get to Ramshackle Dorm, you find Grim and Ortho sleeping on the couch in the Lounge. The ghosts tell you that Ortho showed up there to keep Grim company and feed him dinner. He got some cans of tuna for himself. They also say that Ortho commented that his batteries were running low when he went into sleep or economy mode.

You wake Ortho up gently. And asks if he wants to spend the night there. You can arrange a place for him.

“It's ok. I was saving my energies to have enough to go back to Ignihyde anyway.”

He really wants to ask how the afternoon went with his brother, but it's late and he can ask you the next day. Or simply see in what mood Idia is in when he gets to their bedroom.

If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX

ABOUT THE SONG: "When Can I See You Again?" is one of the 3 theme songs from Disney's 2012 animated feature film, Wreck-It Ralph. It is an uptempo dance-pop and synthpop song written and performed by Owl City.

The song is played during the credits showing Ralph, Felix, Vanellope, and Calhoun's game-jumping adventures.

The song is the main theme of the Paint the Night parade at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, and is played at the end of Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It!.

SOURCE

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Hello!! I love your Carmy fics and (if you are still taking requests) I would love to see anything fluffy with him! Maybe like a late night up with him or literally anything!

This is completely different. It's giving more like first time meeting slash cute cuteness but I hope it's still something...

Chicago rain

Carmen wasn't a lady man. The anxiety that crippled him made any interaction awkward and robot-like at times. Hence why he practically always avoided any outing. Too many stimulations. Too little capacity in his brain to deal with it all.

But then you had walked into the Bear one day. The weather in Chicago was brutal. The wet spell was without doubt trying to drown the city at this point. Carmy was busy in the kitchen. It was past the breakfast rush but still a good chunk of time till the madness of lunchtime hit. So everything seemed slow. The pre-prep that was done last night allowed everyone to take a needed breather. Carmen heard voices from the front. Surprisingly Richie's voice didn't sound bitchy. A laughter echoed and the door to the kitchen quickly opened.

"I need one of our best sellers and someone to start a big cup of tea", Carmy frowned slightly, no one ordered tea here. "Cousin, do we have towels without holes in them?", Richie raked through the drawers, making a mess of a somewhat organized place. "Man put that back as it was, I'll grab one for the back", Carmen huffed as he walked towards his office. "Bring it out front", Richie called from behind him.

If only he had known. If only he had known that his heart was going to leap out of his chest the moment he brought that stupid tower out, he would have done a double take. Here you were, drenched to the last fiber of your skin. Shivering so hard Carmen could practically feel his own teeth aching from the friction. "Shit", he muttered under his breath, your big eyes darted up to meet him. You two stilled a bit yet your composure came back way quicker. "Sorry, I'll clean the floor, I know I left quite a...", but your rant was cut with Carmen stepping forward as he wrapped the towel around your shoulders. "Forget about it", he said, "It's nothing, Richie will take care of it".

Your cold fingers brushed over Carmen's warm hands and he practically let out a hiss at how cold you felt. His brain was working so fast that he didn't even realize it as he said, "Come over to the back. I have spare clothes you can change into". You looked back at him, shaking your head, "It's all okay, I'll grab a cup and will head out", you pointed to the absolute miserable weather outside. You both looked at it for a while before you huffed, "Yeah, I probably won't go out...", your voice died down. "Then, after you", Carmen gestured towards the kitchen and this time you didn't fight it.

You were pretty much drowning in Carmen's hoodie but the warmth of it was much appreciated. Carmen as you had learned along the way had prepared a full three-course meal. Pouring second of the soup. "My brother used to say that it warmed both the body and the soul", you smiled at that, especially when Carmen had sat to eat beside you. You watched him work after that. The rush of the kitchen. The shouting. The clacking of the pans. The smells. It all felt like a dance of some sort. A rhythm that was so easy to get lost in. You watched it till your eyes grew heavy and sleep pulled you in.

Carmen had felt your eyes on him all night. But oddly enough they didn't make him feel uneasy. Quite the opposite. He wanted to carry himself higher. Show off the place. The things he did best. By the time he pulled enough courage to look back at you, he had found you sleeping with your head resting on his office desk. Even in the midst of the chaos he had stepped out. Quickly whipping his damp hands before he took a proper look at you.

Never had Carmen seen a girl so pretty in his life. Rarely did any girl awaken any reaction in him. But there was something about you. Something that called out to him. Carmen gently ran his hand up and down your arm, making you flinch as you quickly sat up. Nearly falling over with the chair.

"God, sorry, fuck", you steadied yourself, Carmen's hand falling over your shoulders. He met your tired eyes, smiling softly, "Why don't you lay down", he nodded towards the little couch. It wasn't anything fancy, but it did the job. "No, I've caused too much trouble already", you muttered but Carmen shook his head. "Nap for a bit, we should close in a couple of hours. I'll drive you home then", he offered, getting drawn in by your eyes once more. You quickly tucked your hair behind your ear, "I will never repay you for all of this", you mumbled. Carmen shrugged his shoulders, suddenly feeling bold, "Have dinner with me sometime. If you want, of course... you can say no. I would understand and it's...", he ranted on. You reached to touch his hand and his movements stalled, "I'd like that", you muttered, feeling your cheeks growing crimson. Carmy only nodded before once again motioning you towards the sofa.

You followed his lead, tucking your legs towards your chest for more warmth. Carmen quickly looked around, reaching for his big blazer as he carefully draped it over your frame. You smiled up at him and he was quick to follow your lead especially when a yawn slipped past your lips. He watched you for a moment. Tucking the image of you deep into his brain before he slowly turned around, carefully closing the door behind him as the chaos of the kitchen sucked him right back into action. Yet the feeling of something good looming right behind these closed doors didn't leave him all evening long.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for wanting to stay in an important team position?

(For reference: 🎮🎮🤖)

(Sorry for the long post and any bad grammar!!)

So i (16F) am in a robotics team at my school, we take part in a pretty big national and global competition called FIRST.

recently my team got through to national stages, which is a MASSIVE deal, not exactly an everyday occurrence.

Our robot requires two drivers, one for the main body, and one for the arm. The whole time we’ve had the robot working, i have been the arm driver (apart from a couple lunchtime sessions where other people tried it out briefly) and took part in the actual qualifying rounds. I’m also the CAD designer so i designed the claw part and know what i have to do to make it move in the correct fashion and not damage it. My friend Pen (not any real names ofc) is the main body driver and has spent so much time working on the robot no one is disputing her driving.

The problem comes in with two people - Plane and Bolt. I’ve never particularly gotten on with Plane, while ive been kind of neutral with Bolt. There’s no active hostile feelings with us at the moment, but they have been pretty aggressive to people in the past, gatekeeping roles and new people joining - they had a huge fight on the team group chat over it with my friend Keyboard. They also tried to stop Pen (who was originally doing software) and another person in our team (ill call her Remote) from being engineers, but im the end Plane and Bolt did none of the hard work, doing very easy things while Remote and Pen were left doing all the manual work on the body, while i attached the arm.

Both Plane and Bolt decided in the week before the qualifying event that they wanted to drive the arm, and that we should rotate at the event. Thankfully the supervising teacher got involved and told them no, i had put in the time, he guessed maybe they could try do some more practise before the national event. Me and Pen were drivers in that and are now in the top 19% of global drivers, which i am insanely happy about. Despite being ill the day of the event, Plane was the human player, which means you still get to be around the field while not directly touching the controllers or the robot, but can help.

The first session after the event, Plane comes up to me saying how badly she wanted to be the driver and she was going to put in the practise. I told her that I didn’t want to be mean, please don’t take this the wrong way, but it depends on what our teacher says, and really, it’s a matter of skill. Me and Pen have had the time practising together, it’s not a personal attack on you. The next event is only 8 weeks away (a lot of that is holiday) so im really sorry, but it’s not up to me. You’ll have to take it up with the teacher.

She was obviously not happy with this and walked out of the room without saying anything else. I’m panicking that I was too rude but she’s been far more aggressive to me before and I haven’t got super pissed at her for it?

The rest of the team apart from Plane and Bolt agree with me, and I really want to stay driver because honestly I enjoy it. It’s something im good enough at as well, and I don’t super enjoy just sitting in the audience feeling useless.

Tumblr, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[yoshi1517]

CHAPTER 3 : MORE STRANGE CHANGES AND A SUSPICIOUS BOY

"[...]

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Marco asked the group.

"I have no idea. Ever since he met with Professor Russo, he hasn’t been the same. And he keeps scratching his neck. I told him to go to the infirmary, but he insists it’s nothing" another cadet replied.

"We all agree that something strange is happening here" Paolo said firmly.

"So what do you suggest?" someone asked.

"Well, we can’t just stand by and watch while everyone around us changes. This could be some kind of virus, or something worse" Paolo said.

"I agree. We should start by figuring out who else has had a sudden change in behavior" Antonio suggested.

As they talked, another name came up, Gio.

"Who?" Antonio asked.

"The guy from the first day. Remember? The one who was always lost in his own world" Paolo said.

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it... I only saw him in class during the first week. Then he just disappeared."

The realization spread through the group, none of them had seen Gio in class for weeks.

"Wait, do any of you actually know him?" Antonio asked.

"Not really," one cadet replied. "He was assigned to my room with Davide, but after the first week, he moved out. I barely ever spoke to him, he was always glued to his computer, working on something. Looked like some kind of project."

"Has anyone seen him around?" Paolo asked.

Someone mentioned that he was always at the cafeteria for meals but disappeared afterward.

Another cadet recalled spotting him exiting a room in the corridor where the upperclassmen stayed.

Throughout the next lesson, the students continued whispering about what was happening.

By lunchtime, Antonio, Marco, and Paolo had come to the same conclusion, Gio was their prime suspect.

"Do you really think he has something to do with this?" Marco asked skeptically.

"He’s the most suspicious person so far. He skips class, stays in the senior dorms… and he talks to Davide" Paolo said.

Antonio and Marco frowned at the last part, until they saw what Paolo was pointing at.

At a table near the edge of the cafeteria, Davide sat upright, eating with perfect posture. Across from him sat Gio. Unlike Davide, who still wore his formal uniform shirt, Gio was dressed in the standard academy uniform like the rest of them. The two seemed to be having a conversation, but something about it felt off. Every so often, Gio would say something, and Davide would absentmindedly scratch his neck before turning his attention back to the computer screen in front of Gio.

"Tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this is weird" Marco muttered. "They don’t look like friends, they look like… like a cadet reporting to a superior."

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"Look at Davide, his posture, his hands on the table. It’s like he’s in a formal meeting, not a casual chat" Marco pointed out.

Antonio and Paolo studied the scene more closely. Marco was right. Davide’s behavior wasn’t natural, it was disciplined, almost robotic. And then things got even stranger.

Davide finished his meal, stood up, and before leaving, snapped to attention and saluted Gio, just like he would to a commanding officer.

Gio stiffened, quickly scanning the room, as if hoping no one had noticed. Most of the cadets were too busy with their meals to care. But Antonio, Marco, and Paolo had seen everything.

"What the hell did he do to him? Brainwash him?" Marco whispered, alarmed.

"I doubt it" Paolo said. "I mean, from what I’ve seen in movies, brainwashing takes time, right?"

"Unless he’s not working alone" Antonio suggested. "If he’s behind all these changes, he couldn’t have done it alone. No way he could’ve changed a professor on his own."

"There’s only one way to find out" Paolo said. "We need to check out his room, see if we can find anything about this ‘project’ he’s working on."

Antonio and Marco exchanged glances before nodding.

"When do we go?" Antonio asked.

"Maybe right now" Marco said, motioning toward Gio. [...]"

"Remember! Subscribe to read the entire chapter and all the other stories pusblished. here a summary"

[joelletwo]

[galvs tauntingly to ops: are you suppressing your hatred of me, or do you actually like me?]

armada dub [<- might be my problem] megops the most incoherent and yet tantalizingly fascinating version. of megops

[olympusgenius]

*Me(disguise as puroland hello kitty)and jutaro(disguise as puroland dear daniel) came back to the workshop panting and tired after managing to escape from perun,ahura,temujin,fuxi,smoky god,shiva,etc."in sanrio puroland

Phew okay that was close jutaro too close*taking out hello kitty mascot head off my head**then drinking water*

Jutaro care to explain to heph and talos pls.Im to tired to talk about what happened.talos pls locked all doors and windows and check the cctvs.

Talos receives a message from other vigilant robots about a group getting close to the workshop

"Creator! Invaders' guild is coming to the gates!"

"Activate Troy's Wall Protocol right now! And put defensive armory in stand by!"

"ROGER!! Initiating Troy's Wall Protocol and Hot Gates Defense!"

The lab and the workshop starts to become a panic room while hidden weaponry starts to appear pointing to the gates

The Invaders starts to appear in front reclaiming Jutaro as their property, the weapons starts to shoot not bullets but non-lethal ammo, like odor bombs, taser darts and sleeping bombs.

Meanwhile, Hephaestus talks with Jutaro about what happened...

"So, Mama...would you care to explain what happened?"

"Fine...I was working at Puroland to get some money for my guild, we were making a meet and greet event and our boss let us take our lunchtime, it results Smoky and Fuxi are associates of Puroland's executives, and when they saw us without the heads of our costumes, both went crazy to take me as their personal doll, fortunately my workmate and I escaped, but they called reinforcements...we tried to evade them all day, I must admit they have a really good physical performance to keep chasing at us to this place...I'm sorry for this...mess..."

Both crafters listened and were silent, suddenly, they see an elephant charging to the workshop's entrance...

"Maybe...I should go and-"

But Jutaro is stopped by Hephaestus' hand, and proceeds to reveal a new defense device...he opens the workshop's gates...

"Surrender now and leave or face the consequences, you bunch of cunts!! NOBODY WILL TAKE MY MAMA!!"

His new weapon shoots a strange ammo that opens and catch all targets trapping them with metallic bandages to immobilize them, even muzzle them.

Then, Talos grabs all Invaders one for one to throw them far from the workshop.

You and Jutaro saw all that show, you ask Jutaro who really are both crafters, Jutaro responds with only some simple words...

"They...are my boys"

[zenkor123]

Katniss slowly becomes lonely and isolated as a result of Coin's resource Allocations

Initial unPeeta'd social time

Odesta in squad 451 gets Peeta'd when Peeta is assigned to Squad 452, lunchtime, of course is also Peeta'd. They are also Johanna'd.

Prim is even busier then usual but is the most stable relationship even Prim is a friend of Peeta.

Haymitch has hated being sober and when he joins the cartel he makes up for his sobriety and gorges himself on morphling. He is also Peeta'd.

Haymitch gives up on the old Peeta coming back and fought back tears when he told Katniss of Peeta's reactions to Delly's outburst and the resource allocations. But he does not want Peeta to leave him he does everything possible to continue being friends with Peeta and support him in his new life in 13. When Katniss told Coin that she has no connection to Peeta Katniss doomed any chances of reversing the resource allocations. Haymitch told her this and was so angry that he said that Coin was right. He does not do the thing that he says in canonical squad 451 becuase Katniss just blew any chance of Peeta returning to himself.

Haymitch privately wants to stay in 13 after the war.

4. Katniss is jealous of Johanna's closeness with Peeta and is feeling bad so insults Johanna. Johanna insults her back. In addition to Katniss's connections being Peeta'd they are also Johanna'd.

5. Gale is busy and Distances himself from Katniss since the depression is about Peeta. Gale is in squad 451 but outside work does not interact with Katniss much.

She tries to talk to Delly but finds she is addicted to morphling, is miserable and is robotically doing her work as a therapist then collapsing when her work is done. From Delly she finds out that Prim is at risk of being sent like Arthur Cartwright.

Katniss is dealing with the mental issues largely alone and nobody can help her with the core of her problem which is Peeta.

Odesta, Prim and Delly tell her to befriend Peeta because he's the cause of her loneliness problems. If Peeta was not referring to her in his notes with a red X and shutting her out then her social interactions with all her mutuals would be alot easier. Delly tells her that Peeta is merely treating her the same way she treats him, and Peeta thinks this whole memory restoration was done for Katniss he heard what she said to Coin and treated it as permission, otherwise she could just try befriending other people but Katniss isn't good with friends. Delly concludes "if you were Peeta, trying to bury your old self you wrote off, would you want to have anything to do with Katniss? If the answer is no you have no right to complain about how he treats you, as a matter a fact if you asked him he would tell you he's doing you a favor"

When Katniss calls Delly a hypocrite Delly says "I regret what I said we both gave Peeta the shovel needed to bury himself at a deep level he needed your consent to do this even with my comments if you hadn't said those things to Coin he probably would have suaght you out hoping you would call him a mutt. Yet you did and now he is gone forever.

Just one last thing, Has he thanked you yet?"

And Katniss storms off, even Delly agrees with Peeta. "Thanks alot Delly!" Katniss says

This is also clearly what Peeta wants when he tries to be polite Katniss just barbs him so the girl known as X can fuck off. The more she antagonizes him in training the more she is afraid he will shoot her because Katniss is making Peeta more afraid that she will shoot him.

Katniss used to go in the veins when Peeta was being destroyed in the capitol that's how she knew where the den was(also she could just follow the scent of morphling)

Katniss will have to see Peeta taking her place with all her friends and Peeta will continue twisting the knife every day in the rotation. That's half her day. And it will look like Peeta is doing better then her. How is she going to focus on making friends when Peeta has a loaded gun. She finds her shifts emotionally exhausting and is tired afterwards then she is all alone. And then Johanna comes to her room, sleeps and ignores her, she smokes morphling cigars with decorations that Katniss recognizes as painted by Peeta. The Peeta shaped hole in her heart follows her. She then goes to the veins of d13 thinking its more remote then the closet and sobs but Peeta passes by her and is freaked out by the exploding pearl she has. Johanna invites Peeta in and after panicking he goes back and visits Johanna. Katniss instead goes to her closet crumples in a ball and endures the smell of morphling while Peeta and Johanna hang out. Johanna asks Peeta what the panic was about and he tells Jo about the pearl that explodes when he touches it, he sometimes sees it in random places in his head and he hates that pearl, he thought he was having an episode so he panicked. Katniss thinks about how this further underlines that this Mutt isn't Peeta and kisses the pearl, then a smog of morphling smoke enters her closet. They stay for hours and it's at night and she stays the whole time in the closet refusing to come out. Katniss was determined not to cry. Afterwards she is angry with Jo and refuses any of her attempts to rekindle her friendship with her.

Her social connections begin to crumble on the first days after the resource allocations then Peeta takes away her remaining social connections. A day later Peeta gives her death stares and references cannibalism implying he will eat her amputated legs(that was a joke implication behind his comments). Katniss does begin eating with Odesta and Peeta who stops shutting her out after he tries to thank Gale for his role in his rescue and says Katniss isn't doing so well. Gale says that he is the one hurting Katniss and tries to punch him in the face but gets curb-stomped by Peeta. Katniss is then exposed to Peeta's time in the capitol. It gets better she at least has Odesta and Peeta who is sorry for her and wants to help, but she is exposed to more suffering.

Gale agrees to help her get Peeta back and Katniss has Johanna, and Haymitch taken off morphling. Peeta also is constant company.

Katniss is less lonely in the hospital.

[b-blushes]

actually remembered to put my compression socks on for cooking him Sunday (day which usually results in me walking like a robot by lunchtime due to pain and other leg maladies) let’s see if this helps!!!!!

[gunplotato]

Japan travel - Gunpla recap (2/2)

Back again to report the other half of the travel.

One of the days was dedicated completly to Akihabara shopping. We decided to follow Gundampixel guide to Akihabara (he upload a lot of Gundam content to bluesky!) and it was a loooong day full of Gundam shopping.

Most of the stores have a lot of kits on display, which make it a really nice visit even if you don't buy any kits. My favourite stop? Otachu. The store's decoration it's amazing (all pictures here are from Otachu) and many different kits (I found a 7eleven Nu with a great price). The pricing can be a little weird, but you can find cool things.

Sad thing about the day? We were unable to buy paint due to traveling by plane (not even water based), but at least we could buy some gundam markers.

We also visited the Gundam GQuuuux pop up store (a bit small and no kits, but we bought some gatcha)

One of the best days was the trip to Fukuoka to visit Side-F! We took a bullet train from Osaka and spent the night there (due to very little time and terrible weather we wouldn't do tourism in Fukuoka, I guess we will need to return :D ).

We were lucky to arrive to the store at lunchtime when there were hardly any people around.

There were a lot of the exclusive kits (sad thing: The RG Nu was sold out) and different merchant. There were also a lot of kits on display to make your visit even nicer.

We decided to spent the day on the Lalaport due to the rain, which allowed us to see one of the Nu night shows where they project a video on the facade of the Lalaport and there is a light show. (you can find the schedule near the Nu). Seen a night lights show with a video of Amuro and Char fighting on the LalaPort while Lala is dancing and recording a Tiktok is something I didn't expect but enjoyed like a kid on christmas day

Trip to Side-F: totally worth it. It will consume at least two days of your travel (we needed half day to return to Tokyo) but if you are into gigant robots it is something you will enjoy.

Most of the Japan haul (it is both my housband and mine). The only disaponting thing is that I couldn't find more Haro for my collection, but the three kits I found are perfect! (and impossible to find from my home)

(We also bought some action base and markers, not in pictures because this post is getting long lol)

This is all from the Gundam part of my travel! Being both into Gundam it was something we needed to include in our first Japan trip.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Komaru Naegi VS Katie Mitchell [Danganronpa Survivor VS The Mitchell's VS The Machines]

Leona: Komaru Naegi!

Hifumi: Katie Mitchell!

Leona: The world is under attack and the robot invaders are taking over! But don't worry! These two unlikely teenage heroes are going to step up, fight for and with their families, and take back humanities world!

Hifumi: But when the odds collide, which one of these average teenage girls is gonna come out on top?

Leona: He's Hifumi and I'm Leona!

Hifumi: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, talents and skills, to see who will win a DEATH BATTLE!

Hifumi: Komaru Naegi's life was completely ordinary in every way. Average home, average family, average education...

Leona: Other than the fact that she could see ghosts, but we don't care about that...

Hifumi: In a typical day with Komaru and her family, her mother would always watch the same talk show at lunchtime, and her dad wouldn't shave his beard on Saturday when he didn't have to work. Her brother was a Hope's Peak student and life was as casual as it could be...

Leona: But then everything changed the day the world she knew...crumbled! Starting with a mutual killing between students of her brothers school, the chaos and tragedy spread until the people around her started disappearing.

Hifumi: She kept telling herself that everything would be okay, but when she was still in middle school and a group of unidentified men broke into her home, took her away from her parents, and imprisoned her in an apartment building in Towa City, she realized how hopeless it all was.

Leona: For one and a half years, Komaru remained confined in her apartment, with no interaction with the outside world besides the food given to her every day by her kidnappers. "Defying" her captors and pounding on the door was her morning ritual. Clearly she didn't learn the first time...

Hifumi: The Future Foundation came to rescue the captives, but on the day they did, Towa City got swept into an apocalypse, and Komaru ended up right at the center of the problem. The Demon Hunting Game hosted by the villainous Monaca Towa, Junko Enoshima's protégé, and her posse of vengeful children began, beginning a war between the abused kids and the egregious rebellion of adults. 

Leona: After falling out of the Warriors of Hope's airship, Komaru landed on the rooftop of a hospital building. She saw Monokumas coming after her and cowered, hoping someone would help her. Her prayers were answered in the form of an unlikely ally, and an even more unlikely new best friend.

Hifumi: That would be none other than Toko Fukawa, AKA the Murderous Fiend, Genocide Jack, who snuck into the city and teamed up with Komaru to survive and fight the Warriors with the intention of rescuing Byakuya Togami, whom they had captured. 

Leona: Together they explored and fought their way through armies of Monokuma's, with Toko armed with her taser and her serial killer alter ego armed with scissors...and Komaru armed with what would become her signature weapon: The Future Foundation Hacking Gun.

Hifumi: Developed by the Future Foundation with the intention of destroying the sentry Monokuma's plaguing the world. Shaped like a Megaphone, the Hacking Gun fires electromagnetic waves that contain programming codes that hack the target mechanism upon contact. Because of this, the Hacking Gun is limited to using on Machines, like Monokuma or the Warriors of Hope Robots. While it is demonstrated that objects like Toko's taser can also be hacked, most of the Gun's effects are not applicable to non-machines.

Leona: But Komaru since the events of Ultra Despair Girls discovered a way around it. The Future Foundation developed a piece of tech called the Synchro-Discs, which automatically snap onto opponents when they make contact, and make biotic lifeforms susceptible to the Hacking Guns effects...Yowch!

Hifumi: Yowch is right! Because Mrs Komaru is capable of doing more than just shooting and destroying this tech. Provided she has the ammunition, the Hacking Gun can do a variety of things with a variety of different bullets; it's most basic offensive feature being the Break Bullet. Komaru launches a blue orb that explodes when it comes into contact with an enemy.

Leona: Then there's the Burn Bullet, another offensive function that does less damage than the Break Bullet but can be fire at a mush faster rate, and gives the opponents the sensation of...well...burning!

Hifumi: A mid-range electric field fired by the Paralyze Bullet has the ability to shock enemies upon contact. Additionally, it can spread if a foe is on the water. If Mrs. Komaru isn't careful, though, this could even include her.

Leona: The Knockback Bullet is an offensive function that has little range and damage, but with enough power to blow enemies and projectiles a good distance away from Komaru. She can also use it to FLY ROBIN FLYYY~

Hifumi: Not "fly" more like propel herself in the air. Then there's the Dance Bullet. An assist feature that renders the opponent defenseless and unable to fight by making them dance.

Leona: The Link Bullet is an assist function that allows Komaru to temporarily gain control of a single enemy. The Bullet looks like a rainbow colored heart, and THAT...is adorable!

Hifumi: The Move Bullet is the Hacking Gun's most basic assist feature. In addition to using it to activate machinery, Komaru can use it to weaponize her surroundings by activating things like a car that collides with her adversaries.

Leona: And last but not least is the Detect Bullet, which works like a flashlight that Komaru can use to look through walls and highlight important objects.

Hifumi: Many a Monokuma and many a machine have fallen to the hands of Komaru Naegi and her itchy trigger finger, and with many an obstacle in her way, Komaru and her partner fought through Towa City, experiencing much trauma and death until they finally reached the mastermind herself. And it was here that many truths came to light...

Leona: The abductors, Ultimate Despair, planned for her and the other hostages to commit suicide together. The 78th Class students, including Komaru's brother Makoto would then see this and use it to persuade them to murder one another. This did not happen, however, because the Mutual Killing Game ended before the motive could be used due to Junko Enoshima's execution.

Hifumi: During the Tragedy, the Towa Group's Monokuma Units were employed as killing machines. In addition, Monaca started producing helmets with Monokuma themes that had the power to brainwash their wearers into becoming submissive slaves for her schemes; by distributing these to different kids, she established the Monokuma Kids.

Leona: And all of the chaos...The Despair...The Murder...The Death...Destruction...Every horrible, terrible thing the sidekick of the Ultimate Despair did...was for one...twisted purpose...

Hifumi: As it turns out, her REAL intention was to send Komaru into a state of such insurmountable Despair and force her to murder every Monokuma Kid that served under her, in order to transform Komaru into "Junko Enoshima II". A war between Future Foundation and Towa City would also result from the murder of the Monokuma Kids, and Monaca very nearly succeeded. Komaru chose to smash the controller and put an end to the madness after Monaca played a video of her parents' deaths in a torture chamber.

Leona: Luckily, Toko was not only able to take the controller off of Komaru, but managed to snap her out of her despairing chance with a loving whack to the face! But in the midst of all this moral chaos, things took a terrible turn, when Big Bang Monokuma attacked!

Hifumi: Towa Group created Big Bang Monokuma, a massive Monokuma kaiju, as a covert weapon to protect the city. But the robot Shirokuma controlled by Junko Enoshima's AI reactivated it to try and kill EVERYBODY. It was in this standoff that Toko Fukawa asked Komaru the big question. Who did she want to save between the adults and the kids?

Leona: To which Komaru told her that she wanted to stop the fighting altogether, and protect and save both from the tyranny of the Towa leaders. Komaru then wiped her tears and confidently battled the giant robot with Toko, eventually taking it down after a long, drawn-out battle. After defeating it, the Big Bang Monokuma's head blasted off into the sky, splitting a large cloud formation and landed upside down on the body!

Hifumi: Let's analyze this feat very quickly just so we can get a scale of how incredible this feat is. Danganronpa Survivor confirms that the energy contained within Big Bang Monokuma is tantamount to about 2 Nuclear Fusion Reactors. It can smash people around with it's giant scepter, blast bolts of lightning, charge and smash it's way through skyscrapers and drop down a Mega Monokuma Bomb that wipe out anything near it! And with their powers combined, and using their special combination attack, the Hope Bullet, Mrs Fukawa and Mrs Komaru were able to take down this tyrant, by themselves, and destroyed it!

Leona: So how strong was the Hope Bullet that was created with the combination of Komaru's hacking gun and Toko's taser? 

Hifumi: When the size of the sky split is compared to the size of the head, and the kinetic energy required to displace so much water vapor in a split second is calculated, the energy exerted here equals around 2.3 megatons of TNT, which is comparable to the yield of a hydrogen bomb.

Leona: However, as impressive as that is, and while Komaru and Toko have used this ability since, it doesn't actually work without BOTH of them being present. And since we're only allowing minimal outside help for both sides, Toko won't be present for this fight. Which means that at the most, Komaru would only be yielding about half the power on her own.

Leona: After the battle was over and Byakuya had been saved, Komaru told Toko and the Future Foundation that she decided to stay at the city, having finally gained confidence in herself after she made her first decision by herself on protecting both the adults and the children, and remained a hostage as to not spark a war involving the Remnants of Despair. And from then on, the Super Dangerous Sisters would get into a lot more hijinks and battles!

Hifumi: They would go on to take on even more opponents, facing down Monaca Towa again, then later her brother Haiji Towa, as well as Organization Zetsubou's Narumi Osone. All the fighting caused Komaru to lose her left leg through torture, and a lot of her sanity and patience, but also her cowardice.

Leona: And hey! She married Toko and adopted a badass little girl too! Never say life is ALL bad! But to round this off, let's go over some physical feats and abilities!

Hifumi: Komaru can keep up with and tag Mrs Fukawa, who can keep up with Sakura Ogami, who can travel from Japan to Prague in an instant. Komaru may have been faster than light from the start, as she was able to avoid a point-blank shot from the hacking gun when Mr Togami fired it. Even if she's not AS fast, and these calculations are an exaggeration, she was also able to dodge lightning from Big Bang Monokuma's attacks, and her reaction speeds are parallel to that of Narumi Osone, as the two fought while falling down an elevator shaft.

Leona: Not to mention she's also escaped a collapsing subway station, can easily outspeed Monokuma units, has dodged shots from a sniper rifle, and used her hacking gun to deflect incoming missiles!

Hifumi: In terms of physical capability, she's not experienced in hand to hand combat and isn't the most powerful puncher, but she is able to hold her own in a physical brawl with her brother, Makoto, who we've already scaled, and the same applies to Narumi Osone.

Leona: In general though, without her hacking gun and gear, she's in a pretty rough spot, especially since Komaru herself isn't the brightest bulb in the box, at least compared to her fellow protags. Her intelligence is average at best and she's not great at coming up with complex plans on her own, even 

Hifumi: But what might be her most impressive feats are her incredible durability and survivability skills. Despite claiming to be a pretty average girl, even before her current peak, Komaru Naegi has taken hits from Big Bang Monokuma, several very powerful Monokuma units, and the Warriors of Hope's robots, as well as surviving Narumi Osone's rocket-powered attacks.

Leona: She's also survived a pretty visceral helicopter crash with not many scratches, and has tanked a train crash, missiles, sniper shots AND the collective explosion of ALL of Monaca Towa's Monokuma's, which was strong enough to completely collapse the top of the little shit's tower!

Hifumi: Assuming that the top of the tower is high as the average storey, the explosion took place in a room the height of about 4.3 meters. And based on our calculations and observations, the diameter of the explosion was around 14.35 meters, making the total mass of the explosion around 26.943 Kilograms of TNT.

Leona: With Toko by her side, Komaru has taken on every enemy that's come her way. She defeated all of the Warriors of Hope, aided in the rescue of many adults and children alike and saved Towa City time and time again. Guess heroism and the power of an average person saving the world runs in the family, huh?

Hifumi: I wouldn't be so lenient. Makoto is Makoto...and Komaru...is Komaru.

Leona: Katie Mitchell's life was completely ordinary in every way. Average home, average-Wait a second...!?"

Hifumi: But certainly a NOT-so average family life.

Leona: Katie Mitchell is a quirky, aspiring, talented young filmmaker from Kentwood, Michigan, who had just been accepted into film school in California at the time the story begins. But despite being a mostly average, slightly kooky family, home life wasn't all it was cut out to be.

Hifumi: Rick Mitchell, Katie's technophobic and nature-obsessed father, did not see eye to eye with her and her dreams. The family feared their relationship would be permanently strained after Rick broke Katie's laptop the night before she left, following an argument over one of her earlier short films. In an effort to stop this, Rick chose, much to Katie's chagrin, to cancel her flight to California and instead take her, her gregarious and loving mother Linda, her dinosaur-loving, socially anxious younger brother Aaron, and the family dog/pig/loaf of bread, Monchi, on a cross-country road trip to her college as a final experience together.

Leona: Dang, things really are tense around here; it'd be a miracle to believe that a simple road trip would fix all of it...It needs something a little bit more...Some sort of trial that the family can work together and bond over like a...like a...!

Shows scenes of the PAL MAX robots crashing down and tearing up the town and kidnapping people.

Leona: Robot revolution!? Yeah, that works!

Hifumi: Unfortunately for the Mitchell's, the psychotic and deranged AI interface PAL had other plans for them, as well as the rest of humanity. Declared obsolete by her creator, technology entrepreneur Mark Bowman, and ready to be replaced by a line of helper robots, PAL commandeered all of the company robots in order to abduct people all over the world and launch them into space!

Leona: After avoiding capture at a roadstop café in Kansas, and allying themselves with two adorably awkward defective totally-humans Eric and Deborahbot 5000, the quirky, dysfunctional Mitchell family suddenly became humanity's unlikeliest last hope.

Hifumi: But with the rogue AI being able to take control of any piece of tech that was synced with her, the Mitchell's were going to have a hard time. Fortunately, Katie was able to snag herself the arm cannon of one of the PAL MAX robots, and gained all of it's abilities.

Leona: Aside from a very potent laser blaster that's predominantly used to destroy infrastructure, the Robot Arm Cannon is also equiped with a tractor beam that can grab objects, keep them in stasis, and levitate them in the air! Like the GMod Phys Gun! And when one of these robots like Eric or Deborahbot are by her size, Katie can ride on the back of them like a surfboard, allowing her to fly up to several thousand feet in the air!

Hifumi: Speaking of which, we should probably clarify something here. During the Mitchell's final battle where Eric and Deborahbot helped them against PAL's army, they themselves did not fight the robots, only serving as transportation. Thus, for this fight, we will be allowing Katie to use the robots for this purpose, not counting it as outside help or assistance. They naturally won't be able to fight with her, but it's really not that different from how Courage the Cowardly Dog was able to use his Computer in his fight against Scooby Doo.

Leona: Katie, very much unlike her father, is also a computer genius! She's shown to be incredibly smart, strategic and intelligent, and she was able to figure out that Eric and Deborahbot were defective as soon as she got even the slightest hint. She can work out tech very easily, like how she was able to use the functions of the robot arm seconds after attaining it. She's also capable of...minor toon force I guess?

Hifumi: More specifically, Katie as a filmmaker and somewhat conscious of her own world being a film, is capable of Entertainment and Digital Materialization. She can bring to life and wield the worlds created by various forms of entertainment, films in her case, into reality. However, these powers are limited by Katie's own imagination/creativity, and...she can't really use these to fight, only to make dramatic scenes way funnier.

Leona: The Mitchell's plan was to use a kill code embedded in the PAL MAX robots memory to shut down PAL and all her robots, so they headed to a mall in eastern Colorado to upload it, but...SURPRISE! The mall was FILLED with PAL chip-enabled appliances that tried to stop them...including this GIANT! FUCKING! FURBBYYYY!

Hifumi: The battle was hard fought, and during it, Katie was able to show off that she was more of a badass than anyone gave her credit for. She was able to dodge drink cans moving at the speed of bullets, strong enough to break reinforced glass, and she moved with such strength and accuracy, she snared a speeding drone with a fishing rod and threw it directly into a small microwave. She also dodged a laser blast fired by the Elder Furby...Because...Furby's can...fire lasers...Yeah...

Cut to scene of Katie screaming "Why would someone build that!?" as her family are attacked by the Elder Furby.

Leona: Yeah, don't think about it too hard. I mean...It's a giant-ass furby. That much makes the realism clear.

Hifumi: While trapping and defeating the Elder Furby, the Mitchells accidentally destroyed a PAL router, rendering the hostile devices inoperable but preventing the upload of the kill code. While traveling to Silicon Valley to upload the kill code straight to PAL, Linda told Katie that she and Rick had once lived in a mountain cabin with Katie, because Rick had always wanted to live there, but had given up on the idea.

Leona: Only after PAL manipulated the Mitchell's and kidnapped Rick and Linda did Katie find out why. After watching some recordings on her camera that Rick had filmed when she was a child, she realized that Rick gave up on his dreams so that Katie could live a normal life as a normal kid. Meanwhile, Rick reflected on his own actions after watching one of Katie's videos that reflected his strained relationship with his daughter.

Hifumi: Reenergized, Katie and Aaron crashed back into PAL Labs headquarters, only to be apprehended themselves. Katie defended the idea of saving humanity by pointing out to PAL that despite their differences, her family would always be connected, despite their hardships.

Leona: PAL didn't accept this reasoning and proceeded to drop Katie from the top of her lair, really high up, but Katie was saved by Rick and the robots, and the two were able to put their differences aside and KICK TOTAL ASS!

Hifumi: Despite being what would basically be several thousand feet in the sky, both Katie and Rick were able to keep pace with and avoid PAL's upgraded security robots, which were far stronger and far more deadly. The young movie geek was able to dodge lasers, blades that moved lightning fast, and react in time to snare them with her arm cannon and destroy them one by one!

Leona: These robots were able to move from one side of the screen to the other in what we calculated was 180 milliseconds, or 0.18 seconds, and assuming the close relative distance is right (we're honestly getting a bit metaphysical with this) that should but them at speeds of about 246.212 miles per hour

Hifumi: As the Mitchells banded together to fight the rest of the robots, Katie ultimately destroyed PAL by tossing her into a glass of water...and somehow managing to survive, for the most part, the entire collapse of the floating laboratory. The humans were freed and the robots were all deactivated, with the exception of Eric and Deborahbot thanks to their malfunction.

Leona: Hooray! A few months after the uprising, Katie and her family arrived at her college as she shared one last goodbye with them, finally coming to terms and accepting her weird home for what it was. 

Hifumi: Later, she went to Washington, D.C. with them on another road trip, accepting the Congressional Gold Medal from the government to express their gratitude to the eccentric girl and her equally eccentric family, for stopping the robot apocalypse and sparing humanity a life of torment.

Leona: Oh...She's not JUST some eccentric girl...SHE's a MITCHELL!

Hifumi: Alright, the combatants are set! Let's end this debate once and for all!

Leona: IT'S TIME FOR A DEEAAATH BAAATTLLLLLLEEE!

The setting sun serves as the background of a destroyed city, as a girl clad in a red jacket rides atop a flying robot, high above the wreckage. Katie Mitchell, in one hand, holds a replica of the robots arm like a weapon.

Eric: Slovenly Girl. May I ask what it is we're doing here? I believe this path takes us towards the robot oppressors, not away from them.

Katie: I told Aaron I'd come back to get his favorite dinosaur doll. 

Eric: We are going back for a doll? Is that really worth it?

Katie: So worth it. That thing's important to him. He won't be able to sleep without it, and even then, it-

*POWW!*

Eric: ERROR! ERROR!

Katie: ERIC!?

Katie's speech to her robot ride is interrupted as Eric suddenly gets blasted in the face by a flash of blue code! It doesn't immediately destroy him, but he and Katie fall to the ground, with Katie having to drop and roll along the top of a building, while Eric faceplants and collapses on the edge of the building, just barely falling off.

Katie: Who da what da wha!?

Katie lifts her head and sees Komaru Naegi propels herself to the rooftop parallel, coming to a sliding stop. Katie immediately zeroes in on her metal leg.

Katie: Woah...! Winter Soldier girl...!

Komaru: Winter Soldier's got a metal arm, not a metal leg. Whatever! This area was supposed to be evacuated of civilians hours ago! Those guys are coming back, so get the hell out of here!

Katie: Ma'am, I'm not trying to be rude, but I've been through this before with way worse odds. I appreciate the help, but I just gotta go grab something and I'll be on my-

Katie tries to hurry to the edge of the roof to retrieve Eric, but Komaru propels herself onto the rooftop with her hacking gun and stands in her way, holding her arms out and blocking Katie from advancing.

Komaru: Are you deaf!? If you stay here, you're going to diiiiiiAAAGH!?

Komaru feels her body freeze in place, leaving her immobile. When she looks up, she sees Katie snaking her up and using the arm cannon to keep her still and lift her up. Katie tosses Komaru away, her face displaying discontent.

When Komaru lands on a nearby roof, he sees that Katie has picked Eric back up and is now riding on him.

Komaru: Why can't it ever be easy!? HAGH!

Katie: Huh!? GUAGH!

Komaru launches herself forward for a high-speed kick with her hacking gun, but Katie is able to block and raise her arm to deflect her back. Katie believes she has warded off the Little Sister of Hope when she lands back on the rooftops of the skyscrapers, but then she feels something hit her in the back.

Komaru: KNOCKBACK!

Katie: WOAAGGH!?

Komaru leaps off the building and hurtles forward, hitting Katie with a knockback bullet that propels her and her craft skyward. Katie looks behind her back to see the synchro-discs stuck to her.

Katie: Discs...? Wait...did she put those on me so she could shoot me with that gun of hers?

Komaru: HYAGH!

Katie: Gagh!

*BOOOM!*

Komaru: HRGH!?

Komaru tries to attack Katie from behind while she is preoccupied, but Katie spins around and shoots her with the blaster on the robot arm. Komaru uses her hacking gun to avoid the blast in time, rolling onto the roof. After that, Katie aims with the blaster and starts firing at Komaru, who deflects the bullets with her own before moving closer, blasting herself up into the air as Katie starts to gain altitude.

Katie: Make sure you catch me!

Katie disconnects from Eric and lets herself fall back to the ground far far below, with Komaru giving chase. The two girls show their skills at shooting and dodging each other's shots as they engage in a shootout. 

Komaru: Dangit...! I'm trying to HELP!

Katie: And I APPRECIATE that! But I've got a family to look out for!

Komaru charges again after being pushed back, only to be caught in Katie's tractor beam once more. Then, she is launched straight toward the ground after being whirled around in midair. The overlay shows dramatic hand-drawn explosion effects to emphasize Katie's hit, despite the fact the damage on the Ultra Despair Girl is fairly minimal. Katie laughs and lands carefully back on Eric's back as they start flying away.

Komaru: Gah...Why is it ALWAYS kids!?

Komaru huffs out this dialogue as she reloads her Hacking Gun and blasts herself into the air again, running on the rooftops after Katie. The moviemaker only notices Komaru catching up when she's right on top of her.

Komaru: PARALYZE!

Katie: gUaAgHaGhAaGhAhGhAgHaGhAgH!

Komaru approaches Katie from behind and uses a Paralyze Bullet to shock her at point blank range. As Katie is jittering about in pain while her muscles tense up, the screen suddenly freezes to focus in on her petrified face.

Katie (internally): You know what this scene kind of reminds me of?

The scene switches to a YouTube video of a gibbon monkey screaming hysterically. With "Youtube Poop"-style editing, the scene quickly cuts back and forth between Katie and the monkey screaming. Then, Katie's face is superimposed on that of the gibbon, and vice versa. It's the kind of video that could only be made by an artistic teenager who has recently purchased editing software.

Katie (internally): Yeah, it's not as funny when it's happening to me...

The fight resumes abruptly as Komaru leaps in legs first, attempting to smash Katie into the wall. However, now that she is certain of what the discs do, Katie flings off her jacket and overcomes her paralysis. With a quick thinking move, she grabs hold of Komaru with her Tractor Beam and throws her through the wall, with both girls flying into the building and flailing around like cartoon characters as they navigate the obstacles inside until they emerge on the other side.

Komaru grabs onto the edge of the building while Katie grabs Eric's hand, and the two girls spin around to blast each other, when all of a sudden, the sound of a phone ringing interrupts them.

Komaru: Huh? Oh! S-Sorry, I've gotta take this!

Katie: Huh!?

Komaru: Yeah-uh-hold on, I'll be just a minute...

Katie pulls herself up onto Eric, crossing her arms as she sits down and patiently waits for Komaru to finish her phone call.

Komaru: Toko? Yeah, it's ok, I'll be back soon...This random kid is messing with me...No, she's NOT kicking my ass...No...Yes...Huh? Wait, I thought YOU said you were gonna go pick her up? The city's KIND of being destroyed you know?

Katie: ...

Komaru: No, no, it's ok, don't worry. I'll pick her up and take her home, then I'll get back to work...What? Yeah, no problem. Yes...Low fat milk? Yeah, sure. Okay, love you too. Bye~"

She hangs up.

Katie: You have a kid?

Komaru: Family, am I right?

Katie: Being an adult sounds like it sucks...

Komaru: It REALLY does...I'm good now though!

Komaru gives Katie a thumbs up and the two immediately get back to fighting. After dodging her opponent and running around her, Komaru leaps to try to shoot Katie once more. Katie ducks and tries to snare Komaru yet again, but this time the Naegi anticipates her move and turns in midair to block Katie's Tractor Beam with a Link Bullet.

Katie is given a fright as Komaru's hacking gun syncs with her weapon, and causes it's beam to fire on Katie herself. Katie becomes immobilized, causing her to fall off Eric's back and onto the destroyed road below.

Katie: Ugh...HEY!

Komaru: DANCE!

*POW!*

Eric: Huh!? Oh...Oh dear...! Oh no...! My hands are in the air like I just do not care!

Katie: Ah...Ahaha...AGH!?

Eric tries to land on the road to grab Katie as she gets back up, but Komaru jumps in and shoots Eric with a Dance Bullet. Eric starts dancing uncontrollably and reacts to it about how you'd expect, unable to control his own movements as he boogies down. Katie gives a slight grin of amusement at it, but immediately snaps back to the moment when Komaru shoots at her again.

With Katie's transport out of commission, she's forced to run along the pavements and dodge Komaru's shots while firing back some of her own. Komaru and Katie keep exchanging gunfire and dodging the other's blasts as they dash across the city between the buildings. Komaru slows down as they turn a corner and realizes they've arrived in the parking lot of a supermall. This gives her an idea. But Katie also receives one of her own.

Katie: GRRAAGGH!

Komaru: YAGH!? 

*CRAAASH!*

Hrugh!

*POOW!*

Katie: Woah!? Phew...WAAGH!?

The first to move is Katie, who uses her Tractor Beam to lift and toss a parked car at Komaru. Komaru, however, falls and slides beneath the incoming car, narrowly avoiding being crushed into dust! Then she takes aim at two of the cars in the lot and fires a Move Bullet. As Katie leaps to avoid the first one, the second one hits hard, propelling her in the direction of Komaru, who catches her by the collar of her shirt and applies another Synchro-disc to her forehead. However, Katie raises her cannon and tries to shoot Komaru in the stomach before the girl has a chance to react. But then...

Komaru: You won't be needing THIS anymore!

*POW!* *BOOOM!*

Komaru & Katie: GUGH!

Before Katie can shoot Komaru, Komaru raises her Hacking Gun and shoots Katie's cannon with a Break Bullet, which completely destroys it. There's an explosion which results in Komaru being thrown onto the bonnet of a car, and Katie being thrown through the supermall window. Katie is slightly pained, but ignores the feeling and begins to panic, as she is now defenseless...Or so she thinks...

Katie notices a tool store out of the corner of her eye as she considers her next move. In the overlay, hurriedly drawn arrows labeled "CONVINIENT" point in the direction of the store, while a hand-animated lightbulb dings above Katie's head. While Komaru gets to her feet and trudges into the store holding her weapon, she flees inside to hide.

Komaru hurries through the mall until she comes into the main area, seeing no sign of Katie around her.

Komaru: Ok kid, you can come out! Your tech's been wrecked and now you're out of options! Just give up!

Katie: HYAAAAGGH!

Komaru: Huh!?

*YOINK!* *WHIIIIRR!*

Komaru: NO!

Katie: Hyagh!

*KERBONK!* *BEEP!* *BOOOOOOOOOOMM!*

Katie drops down from the level above brandishing a fishing rod, and to Komaru's horror, the moviemaker throws the line forward and snags Komaru's Hacking Gun! She then flings the Hacking Gun into an abandoned kitchen appliance store, where it lands inside a microwave, and subsequently EXPLODES, taking the store with it! Katie smugly drops the rod and dusts off her hands.

Katie: Who's out of options NOW? -AGH!?

And just like that, the shootout becomes a FIST FIGHT! However, both girls' limited knowledge of hand to hand starts to show. Katie ducks under Komaru's uncomfortably heavy right hook attempt to punch her. Katie then begins repeatedly hitting Komaru with her hands, but the Ultra Despair Girl is able to evade her blows.

Komaru: GRRRR!

Katie: GRRRR!

The two girls keep punching and kicking each other in an endless cycle until all of a sudden Katie enters from the left and begins to punch Komaru in the shoulder. After blocking, she begins to strike repeatedly with her elbow, knocking Katie out of her reach.

Komaru: ENOUGH-DUHUGH!?

When Komaru tries to rush in for a follow-up, Katie hurls her shoe at her face.

Katie: HAHAGH! DOH!?

Komaru retaliates, hurling her metal leg in her face.

Thus...this random cartoonish back and forth continues until Komaru and Katie are both completely debilitated. Their punches and kicks slowly devolve into the two of them just brainlessly slapping each other. 

Komaru: Huuaagh...Huuaagh...Huuaaaaagh...

Katie: Haaaah...Haaaah...Haaaaaah...UGH...! GRAAGH

Komaru: AHAGH...! GRAAGH!

Komaru & Katie (slow-motion): OOOOOOOOOOOOGGGHHH!

An hand-drawn animated overlay pops up again as Komaru and Katie land possibly the weakest final punches on each other as they can, featuring several stock image explosions that slowly fill the screen until it's covered entirely, reinforcing the lazy hits as SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than they actually are. Komaru and Katie then both fall backwards, lying flat on the ground. Both of them are gasping for breath, completely exhausted.

Komaru: This...is the stupidest...thing...ever...!

Katie: I've...seen...stupider...! Haah...Oh!

Katie hangs her head back and as she does, she suddenly sees a familiar looking dinosaur plushy sitting on top of a bin.

Katie: Oh, so THAT'S where he left it...

Still devoid of strength, Katie gets up and approaches the dinosaur doll, grabbing it and picking it up. Komaru also pulls herself to her feet, but then the ground around them starts to quake. The girls' screams are barely audible as they use their last bits of strength to avoid the falling debris as the mall's roof collapses. When the camera pans out, a massive Monokuma and a number of PAL MAX robots can be seen hovering over them.

Komaru: SEE!? THIS was what I was trying to warn you about!? You seriously flew all the way back into the jaws of death just to get a stuffed animal!?

Katie: Wouldn't you do the same for your family if they left something precious behind?

Komaru: ...

Katie: ...

Komaru: Touché Capitano...I guess we're both losers here...

Katie: I've learned that it's ok to be that way. 

Just as things look bleak, Komaru and Katie suddenly hear some shouting above them as the sound of a helicopter draws near. Some familiar faces of the Future Foundation poke their heads out and drop down two packages, with each of the girls catching one. Komaru gets a new Hacking Gun and Katie gets a new Robot Arm Cannon. At the same time, Eric returns, accompanied by Deborahbot5000, and the two land next to the Mitchell and the Naegi.

Komaru: We can pick this up another time...How about whoever takes out the most robots wins?

Katie: Bet!

Katie and Komaru jump on top of Eric and Deborahbot5000 respectively, and the two robots launch both girls into the fray!

Leona: Wait...what? Wait...HUH!? But...WHAT!? But you-!? But she-!? WHAAAT!?

Hifumi: Let's...break this down...

Hifumi: Let's start by talking about both geeky girls innate powers and abilities, to which they...don't have much. Katie does have her overlay editing, but that has never been used in a combative scenario and is really just a figment of her imagination. Similarly, Komaru may have mechanical limbs and implants, but the leg has been stated numerous times to just be a really well-made prosthetic, with no special abilities.

Leona: Yeah, they're both a bit weird and geeky, but they're also both basically total normies that don't stick out on their own. So in a situation like this, the battle would come down to tech and weaponry.

Hifumi: Between the Hacking Gun and the Arm Cannon, their respective weapons, Katie Mitchell's was the more deadly of the two. The Arm Cannon CAN fire off super-powered energy blasts that blow up buildings and create huge explosions and property damage.

Leona: With that being said, the cannons are specifically designed to destroy infrastructure to help the robots TRAP humans. The robots never actually fire their weapons AT their human victims, and instead capture them using their Tractor Beams. And even putting that aside, assuming they DID fire at humans, it's unlikely that even with it's power, it would be able to stop Komaru!

Hifumi: Komaru has survived explosions and energy blasts from Narumi Osone's gauntlets, which DEFINITELY STRONGER than Katie's cannon, and she's tanked explosions stronger than even that. If Komaru was hit dead on with the cannon, it would hardly hurt her, much less kill her.

Leona: But Katie had more than one option of putting Komaru down, like using the cannon's Tractor Beam to hold Komaru in place, and toss her around like a human ragdoll until she succumbs.

Hifumi: But therein lies Katie's biggest setback, being the Hacking Gun's abilities to destroy and disable tech with it's various truth bullets. Basically, most of Katie Mitchell's arsenal could be countered with Komaru's bullets alone. Even if destroying them was a tedious possibility, she could use the Dance and Link Bullets to render her robot transport inoperable for a while, and could use the Synchro-Discs to damage Katie directly herself.

Leona: But in a normal situation, this wouldn't be a surefire way to win EITHER. Katie is very adept when it comes to tech, and if she was able to figure out that Deborahbot and Eric were defective through one interaction, it wouldn't take her long to figure out what the purpose of the Synchro-Discs are and how they function, which would give her multiple ways to counter them. And while Katie possesses an arsenal of tech-related equipment and weapons, Komaru really just has the Hacking Gun and Synchro-Discs. If Katie could disarm or destroy Komaru's weapon, which was very possible with her own tools, she could render Komaru mostly vulnerable, earning her the win.

Hifumi: Therefore, fight really comes down to their own stats, and whose are greater, but as it turns out...They're BASICALLY the same with only a few minor exceptions! The first is that of the two, Komaru is the more physically capable and experienced fighter of the two. If it came down to a physical brawl, Komaru outmatches Katie in terms of confrontation fisticuffs.

Leona: BUT not enough that it would give her a clear advantage! Komaru is adept with handling a Hacking Gun, but isn't physically powerful enough to match someone like Genocide Jill, so without some sort of hacking tech at her disposal, she's kind of a sitting duck. Katie on the other hand, despite not having as much experience, is FAR more intelligent and FAR more calculating and cunning than Dekomaru over here. She's fought against armies of robots that are far stronger than she is with little guidance, so with that in mind, physical prowess didn't hold much of a sway over her.

Hifumi: In terms of physical stats like strength and speed, the two characters who Komaru and Katie can be compared most closely to are Toko Fukawa and Linda Mitchell respectively, but in the end, it can really only be done so in terms of speed. While Ms Fukawa has been training to cancel it out, each character's inner strength is only brought out through external circumstances. Fukawa is only heavily dangerous when she switches into Genocide Jill, and Linda Mitchell only goes on a rampage when Aaron's safety is put in danger.

Leona: Speaking of speed, in a confrontation like this, it's probably the most important thing to bring up. If Komaru and Katie's tech can counter and destroy each other, the fight really comes down to who can win a quick draw.

Hifumi: Both Komaru AND Katie have fought and battled HUNDREDS of enemy machines at once, being able to avoid their attacks and keep pace despite their opponent's incredible speed, and both have shown an unmatched reactionary feats that go into the realm of above relativistic. 

Leona: Like how both are capable of dodging objects that fly at bullet-speed, and how both have taken on giant opponents with faster than light attacks, which they were able to dodge; Big Bang Monokuma for Komaru and the Elder Furby for Katie. Komaru was also able to react so quickly and accurately that she could dodge and counter Narumi Osone's rocket-like blasts, and Katie could perfectly snare a speeding drone mid-flight with a fishing rod. Effectively, this quick-draw scenario...doesn't have a definitive victor either.

Hifumi: Lastly is durability. Komaru can take hits from Big Bang Monokuma and the robots used by the Warriors of Hope, survived a helicopter crash, AND the collective explosion of all of Monaca's robots.

Leona: And KATIE has ALSO tanked a giant explosion that blew up a car park, survived being tackled by PAL MAX robots, and withstood the destruction following the collapse of the PAL Labs headquarters!

Hifumi: Even if it's shocking to think about, it seems that with a few tiny exceptions for BOTH SIDES, in every single way, Komaru Naegi and Katie Mitchell can match each other blow for blow for BLOW!

Leona: Which essentially means that if we were to put them against each other about 100 times, their final win/lose score ratio would be almost exactly 50:50!

Hifumi: All in all, Komaru and Katie were both incredibly tough opponents with tech-savvy skills and strong family values. They were both strong, fast, powerful, and yet had no means of ever sweeping the rug out from under the other.

Leona: I guess you could say they both girls had a ferocious bark and an even more ferocious "byte!" ...Get it? Like...Like terabyte?

Hifumi: Yes, YES...! Ugh...I get it...!

THIS BATTLE IS A DRAW!

Next Time:

Sometimes, the most unassuming young lady can make for a great hero. Even the youth have the power to inspire others and give them the determination they need to push through the most trying times. These two mysterious, fervently adorable cuties with amazing skills, always keep fighting, despite the inevitable and certain stare of death right in their faces!