#maybe you can already guess based on what IS here but i'm not yet willing to expose myself lmfao T_T cries

[kenobster]

For the WIP Game when you have time: Skin and Sores and Bones.

You have discovered the sequel to Five Peggats Each!! :D And it's also perfect you chose it because this will be the many words of recovery arcs I promised you XD Here is a taste:

Obi-Wan takes the flimsipad back. His hand trembles with a hint of pain as he writes, even though the penmanship remains immaculate. Many reasons, it says when he's done. Hadn’t decided yet. Probably wouldn’t have. The phrase not your fault is now underlined twice. For a long time, Anakin thinks about that—about the many reasons. He thinks about it as he stares around the medbay. When the lights are on, like they are now, the walls shine a burning, sterile white. The dull gray of the metal counter, cabinets, and exam table are the only accents of color. Even though Anakin stacked much of the room's contents onto the counter, bandages, bacta patches, and other nonlethal medical supplies remain scattered around the floor. It's a mess of reminders—of their injuries and, by extension, their injuries' source.  He thinks about it as he studies Obi-Wan’s makeshift bed. Though the colorless white blankets are warm and soft, the surface of the durasteel floor radiates an icy chill. The fabric of Obi-Wan’s trousers are caught in uncomfortable-looking clumps where they meet the bands of the brace Anakin printed for him. His robes reek of excrement, sweat, and urine—not because Anakin hasn’t thoroughly cleaned them, but because some stains get so woven into the fabric that they never wash away completely—and somehow, Obi-Wan has avoided every opportunity to change them. Anakin chews his lip.  Maybe this room was their best option days ago. They were exhausted. Could barely hold their eyes open. Gauze and antibiotics and painkillers and bacta patches and flesh glue were all in one place and within easy reach. The reality of opening their eyes to something that wasn’t fucking them was relief enough back then. Back then, sweaty, filthy, gummy robes were the least of their worries. Maybe this room is not their best option anymore. Maybe being able to sleep in peace isn't enough anymore.

I used to have a bad habit of injuring my characters (i.e. breaking their bones, etc.) and then promptly forgetting all about it (i.e. next scene, magically unbroken lmao). As a result, whenever I write anything, I keep an ongoing list of physical conditions so I can make sure they're continuously considered. The amount of injuries for this fic though is absolutely insane. The amount of medical research I have done to wrap my head around what is a livable injury, an at-home-treatable injury, a requires-surgical-attention injury, and/or can-be-scifi'd injury is insane.

Idk how I'm gonna pull it off, but one thing is for sure: there is no way we are getting Anakin's shoulder back into its socket without a doctor. which means we are not getting it back into its socket at all for a looooong time.

(Also someone needs to get Obi-Wan anti-depressants)

[longbobmckenzie]

Too Hot to Handle 3: Episodes 1-3 Thoughts

We're back, bitches.

And as always, I have thoughts.

First off, the customization. It was fine. I like the hair options and that there are additional prosthetics/CGMs, but the rest of it felt like the same thing all over again and it took me a good 10 minutes to come up with someone I was relatively happy with but not thrilled with. Also the smiles are still creepy but at least we get to preview them this time

I love being a bombshell as it adds something fresh and means I didn't have to sit through the opening where everyone comes in because that takes soooo long sometimes (maybe next time we're an OG we can be one of the last to arrive?)

FREE PASS!!! Buuut all we got was some kisses and making out? Like come on. They should've either said we get a free kiss on the date or at least let us be extra naughty

I also like that we got to customize the LI we took out on the date and the customizations were permanent instead of limited to during the date

I picked Taz. I gave him a beard and manbun, and now he looks like Marshall 🤣 I have a type, okay?

I typically like to whore around during my first playthrough but after picking Jirayu for the tour and Mattias for something else (clearly not memorable since I don't remember what it was), I just keep gravitating back to Taz. Him being stuck-up about the food on the date kinda sucked but then he said he liked that I wasn't just saying stuff based on what he likes and he relaxed and became a lot more fun and then we made out and I shared a bed with him and yeaaahhh I like him. So I've been picking him every option ever since

But that doesn't mean I'm not already dying to see who comes in as bombshells

As for the other LIs, the biggest disappointment to me is probably that... WHERE ARE THEY?!?! If you don't pick them for scenes, they're almost non-existent. I've seen Bear more than I've seen Carmen or Beatriz. I'd love for them to be more integrated into the storyline, which I think S2 did a great job of. That said, once we lock in to our LIs I'm sure we'll see more, but how am I supposed to get to know these people if I never see them and don't want to choose them over Taz?

That brings us to the non-romanceable (yet) characters. We know from the achievements that there are 3 achievements for a BFF-to-lovers route, so I guess 3 of them will be possible endgames (not sure if this also includes any future bombshells or if it's just from the 4 OGs). Anyway, so far... I'm not liking them. Victoria's a fugly bitch (spoiler: good riddance to her), Sean is cartoonishly annoying (he gives me Felix vibes but I also wonder if they're trying to make him like Hamish), and I'm just not vibing with Julian or Giselle as friends, let alone future love interests. And the problem with that is that they're the ones constantly being pushed in my face instead of the other LIs, which is just making me more annoyed with them. Again, I think S2 did really well with this, so hopefully it changes. But otherwise, ugh.

Back to Taz - I love that we have such amazing chemistry and he's willing to break rules with me, and it's all just purely physical at this point. Like yeah, we've talked a bit about ourselves too and expressed an interest in getting to know each other, but I don't feel like either of us are emotionally invested yet and I love that - because this is THTH, not Love Island. We're not here for love, we're here for sex. I don't wanna feel after a day that my LI is already half in love with me. There's plenty of time for that

Is it just me, or have there been a lot of potential rule breaks already? I've only been in there a couple days and I've already spent so much money - lots of heavy petting and manual gratification with Taz so far, plus kissing

I'm so getting kicked out 🤣

I'm intrigued to see more of Bad Lana and how that plays out - I've only seen the first episode of the new season of the show, so it'll be interesting to see how they do it in the game

another HUGE plus: less time in the beach hut!! They're not doing a full chapter of beach hut confessionals anymore, just tacking on a bit to the start of one of the chapters, and I LOVE that change. it also means we get more actual game time!

There's a threesome in the achievements. I'm ready.

Anyway, overall I think I preferred the start of S2 (I remember being pretty blown away by the potential and the branching), but this is still a good start and I'm excited for the season. I'm ready for bombshells, and I'm definitely gonna play a 2nd profile to see what Jirayu is all about because I'm intrigued by him. And I wanna be messy on one route and more loyal on another, because I love seeing all the branching when you play both ways!

[lurkingteapot]

thai language study update

It's been two years today since I first started watching a Thai show, the first time I wittingly exposed myself to the language at length. Two years ago, I'm pretty sure I would not have been able to pick Thai out of a line-up with other Southeast Asian languages. A few day from now, it'll be two years since I thought "I'll note down words I catch, phonetically, best I can. Just for fun." About a month from now, it'll be two years that I started to learn the language in earnest.

Where am I at?

Listening comprehension: I can follow most shows that are set in the present day without subtitles, provided they a) deal with everyday topics rather than specialised ones (Chaan's legalese is lost on me; I still don't fully follow the legal and ethical debates between the friends in Not Me, never mind the medical jargon in shows like Triage) and b) use modern-day Central Thai (you may have seen my crying about คำเมือง /kʰam mɯːaŋ/ here). Of course I don't understand even close to everything -- maybe 70% on a good day? but I tend to get enough not end up completely confused.

Reading comprehension: Handwriting and less common fonts still challenge me a lot, regular print fonts tend to be fine. Song lyrics tend to be fine unless they're very poetic (hi กีดกัน/Skyline). Tweets tend to be okay, but it heavily depends on the subject matter (politics or economics? help.), how much context I know, and how much slang or cute/funny spelling variants people use. I can read short news articles, but depending on the topic it'll be either slow or agonisingly slow and require extensive dictionary help, and I might still get things wrong. Not something I do for fun yet. I've started on the novel The Eclipse was based on (too difficult still) and a few short stories (somewhat easier) and realised that the big downside of mainly learning through shows and audio (interviews …) is that it leaves me sorely deficient when it comes to vocabulary that describes people or actions. Hardly anyone says "Getting frustrated, he tossed a book onto his desk, where a couple of other textbooks and notepads already formed a messy pile" or, idk, describes clothing at length in a show.

Writing: so-so. It's legible, I have the writing system down sufficiently to take notes at speed most of the time, but I second-guess myself too much. Should I be doing more of this for practice? probably.

Speaking: eeeeh. I do NOT have the vocabulary or grammatical knowledge to sound smart or coherent yet, and my pronunciation is middling at best. Speaking is also the area where I struggle most to get practice. That said, I can hold a conversation as long as my interlocutor is willing to help out a little (by helping out with vocab and/or accepting that sometimes we'll have to guess at what the other is saying). I can make myself understood on a good number of topics of daily interest in my daily life—often by going the long way around and trying to describe things or actions I don't have the words for.

I'm still really enjoying myself. I got to go to Thailand for a little over two weeks earlier this year and that was a huge boost, both in terms of confidence and in actual speaking ability. Main goal for the next 12 months is to expand vocabulary (both active and passive), and if everything goes my way I'll be going to Thailand for another two weeks or so to actually use my Thai. We'll see.

[alexagirlie]

January Omegaverse Challenge 2024

Day 24: Arguing (Masterlist) Fandom: The Last Kingdom Pairing: Finan/Sihtric Rating: M Summary: Sihtric is being sent to spy on yet another dane camp. Him and Finan argue about it. tags: sex to get out of an argument. anal sex. hard sex. begging.

When Finan walked into the home he shared with Sihtric and saw the Omega packing his saddle bag with his water skin, two extra tunics and a few other odds and ends, he knew immediately what had happened.

“No.” 

Sihtric kept packing, barely looking up from the dagger he was inspecting as he responded. “I'm to leave first thing tomorrow morning, I should arrive just after dark when the possibility of being seen is less.”

Finan strode across the room and pulled the dagger from his mate's hand and placed it back on the table. “Someone else can go, your heat is almost here.” Finan kept his voice firm but gentle as he reaffirmed his opinion on the whole matter. 

Sihtric met his gaze steadily. “Uhtred commands I go.” He replied, his tone just as firm, he wasn't willing to back down. He was a warrior and had a warrior's pride, Omega or not. “It's a Danish camp, I will have the best chance of blending in.”

“Damnit Sihtric, you never say no-”

Not wanting the bickering to escalate into a full blown argument Sihtric yanked Finan forward by the collar of his tunic and crashed their mouths together in a hungry, devouring kiss, tongues immediately seeking each other out and Finan’s hands grasped at Sihtric's neck and waist.

They pull apart gasping for breath. “You can't win every argument like that you know?” Finan pressed their foreheads together, fighting back a smile.

Sihtric smirked. “Maybe not, but would you rather be arguing or this?” And cupped his palm over the bulge in Finan breeches, the Alpha's cock already half hard.

Finan laughed and cupped the sides of Sihtric's face in both hands. “Brat.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

They all but attacked each other, two sets of weapon calloused hands pulled off clothing and once fully naked Finan shoved Sihtric back over the table. He slotted himself between the Omega's spread thighs, slipped two quick fingers inside him to test how wet and ready he was, then lined his cock up with his other hand and pushed. The head of his cock popped past Sihtric's wet rim and he bottomed out in one smooth lush. 

Sihtric moaned and arched his back as he was stretched out around his mate's hard cock. It filled him perfectly and he began begging for more. “Please Fin! Please fuck me!”

Finan obeyed the sweet plea of his Omega and fucked him hard and fast. He threw Sihtric’s legs over his shoulder allowing him to adjust the angle so that each deep thrust struck the bundle of nerves inside that drew out the most desperate and needy sounds from the Dane’s throat.

It also served to make Sihtric beg even louder and it was music to the Alpha’s ears.

“Please Finan!” 

“Please, I want your knot!”

“I want to cum!”

Each desperate plea served to push the Irishman closer and closer to the edge and as he felt his knot expand at the base of his cock he pushed it past Sihtric rim, locking them together and making Sihtric wail as he came untouched over his stomach and chest. The rhythmic clenching of his hole around Finans cock pushed the Alpha's over the edge and he filled his mate with his seed.

The table wasn't the most comfortable place to bask in the afterglow so Finan awkwardly gathered Sihtric in his arms, and carried him to their bed in the corner where they fell asleep, still locked together and sticky with their spilled seed.

When they awoke the next morning Sihtric was flushed pink with fever and his thighs and the bed were wet with slick, the scent filling the air with the smell of smoked honey. His heat had arrived early.

Finan carefully extracted himself from his mate and went to report to Uhtred. He grinned as he jogged through the chill morning air. Guess the Lord will have to send someone else to infiltrate the Dane camp after all.

taglist: @gemini-mama

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

hey hi hey, i feel like someone's already asked you this, (if so oops--) but what is your opinion on felices (and all of saras other friends. ex friends??) reaction to saras love confession? i was expecting felice to feel generally just sorry for sara because with her experiences and willes, august is not a nice guy. but instead she seemed..angry?? like sara did something horrible by falling for august, which, even though she may have been a bit blind sighted, isn't something she could control. and then all of felices friends and saras ex-friends (now) kept speaking about loyalty and how a good friend wouldn't do what sara did. i can understand if it was just felice being worried about saras safety or concerned about how the relationship would play out, and maybe also a bit angry because august was a genuine shithead to both her, wille, and simon, but instead it was this whole loyalty thing. it just seemed a bit weird to me i guess.

Hi my love! I don't think anyone's asked me this, actually, and I'm grateful for the brain food.

I think there's very much two sides of a story here. Because for Felice, her anger is completely and utterly justified. Because Sara confessed that she's known about the video since winter, which is when it was posted. So Sara fell in love with August despite knowing exactly what was going on, and having known the entire time. Notice how, at first, when Felice doesn't know Sara knows about the video, she's not angry. She's more panicked. "You can't be in love with August. He's the worst person in the world!" Felice is trying to talk her out of it. She's not angry yet. She does get angry after the shooting range and finding out Sara knew everything. That is justified. Because it means Sara actively ignored all the horrible things August had done to everyone. To Wilhelm, to Simon, and to her.

August hurt Felice. He did horrible things to her. He tried to cheat on her with Sara. So now, it stretches so far beyond "Sara fell in love with a bad guy" and now it's "Sara watched him hurt everyone she cared about and hooked up with him anyway."

But in the case of Stella and Fredrika, it's not justified. Their anger is unfounded. "Girl Code" is a thing they mention, but they're friends with Sara, too. So if they plan to follow "girl code," should they not defend their friend being in love, no matter who it is? They don't know the whole situation. All they know is that Sara hooked up with Felice's ex. An ex Felice didn't even like all that much. They're angry with her and they don't know why.

So Felice probably told them something about loyalty speaking of Wilhelm and Simon. Because Sara's loyalty to her brother had been completely destroyed. Sara betrayed Simon (and Wille) and Felice knows it. But Stella and Fredrika don't know about that. Felice mentions loyalty and they assume she's talking about August being her ex. They roll with what they know, which isn't a lot, and Felice isn't going to tell them the whole story. Felice isn't going to betray Simon and Wille like Sara did. She will never tell Stella and Fredrika the whole story.

It's two sides. Felice's anger is justified. Her feelings of betrayal are justified. The fact that she wants Sara gone is justified. But Stella and Fredrika aren't justified in that anger. Not at this point. They don't have all the facts. They're just going based on what Felice has said, and that's not great considering they were Sara's friends too.

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

I think you were right about Kubo releasing the drawing of OG Gotei 13 because they'll be in the anime! There was a leak of the next episode's ed and it included images of them. Also, did you have any predications about them? Like what squad each captain is the head of?

So I've been seeing on here! I won't get my hopes up yet regardless, it could just be they're featur din the ED at this time, but if they're really going to be in the anime, it'll one of the few times I guessed something! XD

As for predictions and theories, I do have a guesses for who is the head of each division. These are purely based on the vibes I get from each and a few theories I've already developed:

I'll get the obvious ones out of the way: Yamamaoto is captain of first division and Unohana is captain of eleventh division.

Now from left to right starting with the front row:

Pale man: he gives me Third Division vibes, but I'm actually going to say he's with Fifth Division. I want to know this guy's story. He looks intriguing, from the little clouds that surround him to the garb he's wearing. The clouds could indicate he has an ice-type zanpakuto, and maybe even the black marks under his gloves could be mistaken for frostbite. Combined with his pale complexion and bony build, it's almost like he's a frozen corpse that's come back to life.

Orange scarf man: definitely thinking Second Division, and [like most other fans] that he's Yoruichi's ancestor.

Very old man: blink and you'll miss him! I'm going Thirteenth Division for him; no particular reason, mainly because I'd already decided on the divisions for the others before I came to him XD

Riruka's twin Magenta-haired woman: she seems to be the fan favourite! I'm thinking's she's the captain of Eighth Division (and no it's isn't because she's wearing an eyepatch I swear!). Also, her sword has me intrigued because the guard looks a lot like Hyourinmaru's. Hmmmm....

Glasses woman: Fourth Division, mainly Kubo seems to like women in charge of Fourth division, and she just based on her design and compure here, she would serve as a nice contrast to Unohana. Also, I saw a crazy (but interesting) theory that she's actually Byakuya's ancestor rather than Lisa or Nanao's. You can read it here.

Orange face paint man (or at least, I assume its face paint...): I want to say Twelfth based on his appearance (he looks like Mayuri's long lost relative/ancestor), but he also seems more battle hungry - if Unohana weren't in this shot or if I didn't know she was the original Kenpachi, I would've said it was this guy. I'm going with Ninth Division, in part because it would be an ironic contrast to Tosen's captaincy while also keeping in line with Kensei's captaincy (not that I'm saying he was battle-hungry or anything, but he seemed to be more willing to engage in battles than Tosen was).

Auburn haired man: Seventh Division. Something about him make me think of Sajin, but that's not why I went with Seventh for him. He also gives me Thirteenth Division vibes too though.

Gold teeth and glasses man: Twelfth Division, because he looks the type of person to start a weird, creepy research division.

Glasses man: Sixth division, and I'm guessing he's Byakuya's ancestor - it seems the fanbase is divided between him and the Strawhat man being Byakuya's ancestor, but the reason I'm picking this man is because his design is more similar to Byakuya and Ginrei's (just look at those eyebrows).

Strawhat man: Tenth Division, but also give me Ninth Division vibes. I don't know, maybe I'm thinking too much about the division's role in the Seireitei Communication, because for some reasons I get the vibe that he;s type of guy who would be into writing. However, there's a calmness to him that makes me think Tenth Division.

Long-haired man: Third Division. Maybe it's because he reminds me of Kira and Rose in design, but he gives me the same morbid vibe Third Division tends to have.

And that's it! If they do give more info about the captains, I'm sure I'd get one right at most! Still, it's fun to speculate and see what others think about these characters just based on the drawing Kubo released. I still of course hope they'll make an appearance in the anime, whether it's as a still of a group shot, or actual flashback scenes (fingers crossed!)

Thanks for sending this in! :D

[layer-bloody-sun]

Small Fic, Vilkas x Dovhakin oc

It was a normal day, the most normal they could get here in Skyrim anyway. For once Rim had nothing to do, a blessed day indeed. Not a single request from anyone in the entire country, nope, not one. It was sunny outside and everyone in the Companions had decided to either train or hunt, leaving her alone in the great hall. Almost alone. The dragonborn tried to ignore the fact that Vilkas was there as much as he did her. He hadn't liked her from the moment she had asked to join and it hadn't seem to get any better. She didn't know what his problem was, she hadn't antagonized him at all, in fact she had tried to be as friendly as she could. All she got from it was going from harsh words to simple dark stares. He still talked down to her every now and then, but it wasn't any worse than other older members taunting her. He was staring today too, which unerved her more than it needed to. She wasn't good with people, especially smart ones.

She was trying to read. Rim may have been good at fighting and crafting so far, but reading she still couldn't do well. All the letters were jumbling around and merging into an incoherent mess. Dragon speech was much easier even if she couldn't speak it out of combats, but the written language of Tamriel? A nightmare. And having Vilkas staring didn't help. She could hear, above the creakling of the fire, the soft sound of pages being regularly turned. She felt taunted yet again, like he was saying "I can read so much better than you even tho I'm still staring at you half the time". She hated it. Rim let out a heavy sigh, almost a groan, fists tightened against the sides of her head. If her brain was willing to kick in she'd be grateful: she had been stuck on the same page for a good 30 minutes. Were she younger she might have cried…

"Can you not read?"

Ah there it was. Vilkas had put his book down and was now hovering above her shoulder, peaking at what she was struggling on. The young woman just squinted her eyes shut and waited for the usual laughs and tease. Instead she felt the weight shift on the bench as he sat next to her

"If you have trouble reading, maybe you should start with something easier, that one's using weird old speech."

She just stared at him, mouth slightly agape. For once Vilkas seemed lost

"What?" "No I just… I expected you to mock me as usual is all" "What? I don't mock you? When did I do that?"

He seemed offended at the thought but Rim simply looked at him in disbelief.

"Do you seriously want me to give you a list of all the times you insulted me or tried to make me feel small? How about your favorite line, 'you're the weakest here' and any variation you come up with."

Vilkas seemed to have an awakening, panic flashing accross his eyes

"Rim I'm sorry I didn't mean…" "Whatever, she sighed, cutting him off. If you want to tell me what I should read, I guess I'll take it. But leave me alone."

The following silence was a bit awkward, Vilkas was squirming on the bench, trying to find something to say. The dragonborn tried to block him out of her mind, until he spoke again. His voice was softer than she had thought it could be

"Or I can…you know…help you?" "Help me?" "Yeah, teach you how to read? I mean Farkas said he saw you read dragonspeech so I'm guessing the problem is more with our system."

She looked at him, weighing the option.

"If I accept, you can't laugh or get angry at me." "I wouldn't…. I won't."

He genty took the book, sliding it so it was sitting between them rather than in front of Rim. He frowned at the words

"You sure you want to read this one?" "Yeah, it's about ruins I want to find later"

He nodded, already slightly absent, skimming the page to see where to start before looking up abruptly

"Rim do you even know your alphabet?" "Huh…" She grimaced. "I learned at some point?"

He stared at her, with what she would almost dare to call awe.

"Ok then… let's start with the bases, shall we?"

For the few hours they had before everyone started returning, they studied. Vilkas was much more patient then she had anticipated, and even though she was really struggling he kept his promise and didn't once mock or tease; a slight chuckle here and there but for some reason she didn't mind. They hadn't progressed much on the book itself but now Rim could actually understand what she was seeing. It felt kinda magical to be able to decipher words, and while she still had many troubles on big ones she felt very proud. She couldn't pretend Vilkad hadn't been a great help. Once more people were in and it became noisy, they stopped, otherwise rhe woman's brain would implode from overstimulation. Instead they just sat back and enjoyed the convivial athmosphere the place always had

"You know Rim, you're doing great for someone who was struggling a few hours ago" "Well I got myself a pretty great teacher so put it on that"

He chuckled again before falling silent, his head tilted down over his drink

"I huh… I'm sorry, for the way I was acting. Everyone here's a bit rough, I didn't realize it would affect you like that. I've also…okay I've outright been a dick, I recognize that. I'm sorry."

Rim put her drink down, contemplating his words for a minute.

"Well… I guess you did make an effort, considering you've been switching to just staring angrily at me. Honeslty I had fun today, you're not as bad as I thought. Peace?"

She offered her hand to him. He eyed it quickly before looking back at her face. The warrior opened his mouth but shut it down just as quick, probably stopping himself from saying something too witty.

"Peace." He simply answered, shaking her hand in his. "What was that about staring?"

"What do you mean? Everytime I spot you in the same room you'd be staring dagger at me. Sometimes it felt like you wanted to eat me whole…"

The last thing she expected was the mad blush coming onto her friend's face. He awkwardly laughed before abruptly standing up. 'Think I'm being called over there, see you', he said, or at least that's what she heard because he sputtered the words out so fast she wasn't sure. Weird. But she didn't have time to think about it because Aela jumped on her back, clearly drunk, asking for a showdown.

Rim laughed, loving being surrounded by all this energy. She liked these moments more, they fueled her, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to the next calm day where she could learn with Vilkas again. What a good day it had been.

[wanderinglotus7]

Restless Spirit

I'm not ashamed to say this, but I'm struggling. My emotions are all over the place. My mind & body are present, but my heart is missing. What I mean by this is that there are so many emotions building up inside of me it has become difficult trying to identify which ones I need to address first. I know for one thing; work is the last thing on my mind. I'm doing my clients a disservice if I cannot show up for myself. Also, I just don't want to deal with anyone else's problems right now.

My mind hasn't been able to rest itself. I find myself replaying the same songs over and over again. Memories of my previous relationship is stuck on replay too. It's like I'm stuck rehashing the past even though I'm focused on moving forward. I was thinking to myself last night on how the Universe can be funny at times. During those grayish times, the Universe always seemed to find a way to loop myself and my ex back together. It reminds me of something that I read recently that said something along the line of "you may have fallen in love with someone, but that doesn't mean that you both are meant to be together forever". I'm over here, again, trying to figure out if this holds true for me.

I guess what's really been rocking my world lately is the news I received about my ex. Mental illness is no joke. It's a matter that needs to be taken seriously. Maybe it was a coincidence, earlier that morning, God placed my ex on my mind. Then later that day it was shared with me that he tried to take his life. Sad, yes. Really tragic though. I'm happy that God intervene and he's still here. Yet, I wasn't shocked by this incident. I've been here with him before. It doesn't change the fact that he's been suffering so long that he believed that this option was his best way of getting rid of his pain. Even before this news was shared with me, I had a feeling something bad happened. When it comes to my ex, I tend to lean towards the worst-case scenarios. I wish I can be wrong at least once. What's really freaking me out is I'm afraid that the next call or text I receive is going to about his funeral if he doesn't get the proper help that he needs.

This is too much for one person to carry, but I should be used to it. Actually, I shouldn't be used to this. This shouldn't be my normal. This shouldn't be anyone's normal. I'm doing my best in keeping myself from being directly involved in this situation. I did everything I could during the five years we were involved in each other's lives. I have nothing more to say and nothing more to give. The only thing I can continue to offer is prayer because my ex's life is in God's hands. I told myself last week, that our life (love) story would make an interesting Netflix series. I thought This Is Us is overwhelmingly emotional. My experiences with my ex would pull the heartstrings too. Maybe that's why I found myself spending some of my downtime writing out our life story. I joked to myself that I could write a short story based on our experience. I could title it L&E Unlocked (lol).

I'm trying to find some humor among all of this crazy mess. I already bawled my eyes out, I'm not sure if I have any tears left. I'm not indicating that I want to go back to my ex. I'm just a caring person, and I want him to live a fulfilling life filled with everything he has ever hoped (dreamed) of. He deserves peace, stability, and joy like everyone else in this world. Right now, I cannot walk down this path with him. I'm not being selfish; I'm protecting my boundaries. I finally have peace and stability, I'm not willing to give those up for a tragic ending. I don't want to risk my mental & emotional well-being for a tragic ending. Whoever said this I guess s/he is right; it can be difficult getting over your first love. I hope putting all of this out into the vortex places my heart back in peace once I find it again. Pray, pray, pray, pray...

[fia-bonkginya]

Hi, long time, this is "Dorian's Real Name Anon", just had some CR thoughts, hope you don't mind. Thinking about how Dorian shutters himself off as he prepares for the ball. The way he almost viciously discards his chiffon clothing and mask into the chest instead of just putting it in his bag broke my heart a little bit. I loved how Robbie described the Brontë Wyvernwind costume as being stern, elegant, severe, with no flair. I just hope he doesn't lose himself. Any (dorym) thoughts on your end?

aaaa welcome back anon!!!!

okay so. so here's the thing right. is that i am still trying very hard to reconcile together the things we know and don't know, the things dorian says and doesn't say, about his childhood, and i'm gonna do my best speculating, but it feels like there's SO MUCH that dorian hasn't said, and my guess is that even he hasn't unpacked everything yet, and i'm hoping beyond all hope that we get a chance to go on that journey with him.

because here's the thing!! is that dorian tells us he had a good, happy childhood. and we have some evidence for that- a happy memory of him playing music with his mother. i think we can assume that his parents encouraged him to play music, or at least allowed him to do so, and we can also assume that they had nice times together sometimes!

but then we look at dorian and what do we see? we see a performer with social anxiety, someone who had zone of truth cast on him at a young age, someone who felt like he was always in his brother's shadow, someone who had a lot of pressure put on him, someone who chose to run away from home, someone who wanted to distance himself from that life so badly that he changed his name.

and here's what i get from that: dorian's parents were strict. i think we can all agree on that. and, honestly, i think the "bronte" outfit also supports that- it's severe, like you said. nothing fun about it. and dorian says that he had loving parents, and maybe he did. but... i don't think it was an unconditional love. i think it was the kind of love that says "i will love you when you do well. i will love you when you show me you deserve it. i will love you when you make me proud. i will love you based on what you do."

and then... where does that leave us on the dorym front?

dorian’s experience with love is with a love that is transactional, and from what i can tell, that is not orym’s experience with love. because he was in love, already, and that meant everything to him. and he knows what love feels like. and so when he falls in love with dorian, he’s going to do so in the way that he knows- unconditionally and with his whole entire heart. and dorian!! isn’t going to know how to handle that!!

because dorian thinks he has to earn love, and i don’t think.. dorian doesn’t think he’s earned that. dorian is going to feel like he doesn’t deserve that kind of love, and i think it is going to take time for him to learn. and i hope.. and i think.. that orym is willing to put in that time

[chosonore]

cynosure

cynosure [noun. one that serves to direct or guide; a center of attraction or attention]

pairing: sukuna/f!reader

summary: in which sukuna re-discovers being human one aspect at a time, through many lifetimes, at the price of losing you over and over.

wordcount: 8.7k

content/warnings: reincarnation au, slow burn but also not really because there's only hints of romance? language, it's not canon at all, just pretend sukuna was never sealed away, lowercase is intended

a/n: this is more self-indulgent tbh sukuna is probably uncharacteristically soft? sometimes i'm reminded of the fact that he used to be human and while we don't exactly know how he became a curse just yet, i kinda felt sad about it lol i'm too sympathetic with everything, it's gonna kill me one day fhuierhfa a lot of these moments are based on my own experiences, where i had to remind myself that even the small things in life are really good and important, especially during the pandemic. that being said, i hope you enjoy and stay safe everyone :) (and please don’t judge me too hard on this lol i haven’t written in like what. six years?)

001.

“oh,” you stared at the tall, pink-haired man in front of you. “i didn’t think anyone would be here around this time…” he stared back at you, not replying nor making any move to scoot over so that you could sit on your bench. it was only then that you noticed the black markings framing his face and adorning his wrists. you were a little dumbfounded - your mother had always said that you had a poor survival instinct. though you supposed that his pink hair eased your nerves a little; surely someone with pink hair couldn’t be as evil. but you couldn’t recall ever seeing someone like this around the proximity of your village. maybe he was a vagrant. 

“i don’t mean to be rude but… that’s my bench and i would appreciate if you could maybe… scooch over?” you asked gingerly, not wanting to upset the stranger. you approached him slowly, grasping your basket tightly. if he got a little rowdy, maybe you could just wack him with the basket, right? although it probably won’t hurt but it surely would stun him long enough for you to run.

“i don’t see why i should move just because it’s your bench,” the stranger answered gruffly, crossing his arms. were you naive or just stupid? “do you not know who you’re talking to, woman?” 

you cocked your head to the side, not sure what he meant. maybe he was one of those famous poets or musicians that your parents liked to talk about. you weren’t entirely sure. even though he sounded annoyed, the look in his eyes didn’t quite match the hostility - he looked rather bored, unamused even, but not hostile. maybe you could humour him a little. “am- am i supposed to know you? i’ve never been outside of the village so i don’t know much. only what the merchants tell me. i apologize if i’ve offended you,” you explained hastily, then pointing at your basket. “i just came here to enjoy the sunrise. um, today is my birthday, so i treated myself to some dessert!”

“if- if you scooch over a litte, i could share some with you…” you tried to bargain with him. now you were truly starting to sound desperate but this was your favourite spot and it was the first time in a while that you had a free day to relax. out of all days, just why did he have to be here now? you’d be damned if you let your day get ruined by this unfriendly stranger. 

“are you trying to bribe me?” the stranger narrowed his eyes at you and you thought this was it. he was going to kill you and bury your body in the forest and your parents would come look for you, only to find your empty basket and then start a huge search party to find you and- the pink haired man moved to the side, refusing to look you in the eyes. “sit.”

you let out a squeak in glee, quickly taking a seat beside him. he watched in silence as you unwrap your desserts, glancing at the objects in question. even though you’d offered to share with him, he didn’t actually expect you to give him some of your food. sukuna was surprised when you handed him a… round squishy thing? 

“what is that? how is that going to satiate me?” he asked, almost offended, which made you giggle. you didn’t reply, instead thrusting the mochi towards him until he begrudgingly took it, closely inspecting it in suspicion. 

“that’s a daifuku mochi. it’s made out of rice flour and filled with red bean paste. but come to think of it… do you even like sweets? i’m sorry if you don’t particularly enjoy it,” you explained and grabbed one as well. you were about to bite into your mochi when you saw the stranger opening his mouth, ready to devour the entire mochi in one go. in horror, you quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him, only to have him suddenly pin you down and tower over you.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” you hastily said, now suddenly aware of the dark, threatening aura that he was emitting. maybe he was a killer after all. “i just didn’t want you to eat it in one go! they’re kind of difficult to eat in one go… plus you’re supposed to savour and enjoy it, take your time eating it!” 

sukuna stared at the girl in disbelief, you’d grabbed him out of nowhere just to stop him from eating too fast? not only were you not aware of who he was, you apparently did not know how to be cautious around strangers. it irked him that you were acting like he was a harmless human being. so much so that he briefly contemplated killing you. “who are you to tell me how to eat?” he growled at you, not softening his grip. he saw the panic and fear in your eyes but for some reason, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it, it didn’t fill him with joy as it usually did.

“i’m just telling you how we usually eat mochi!” you harrumphed, now annoyed that he was acting like you just committed murder. “you didn’t know what these were, so i was just trying to explain! food is supposed to be enjoyed, not ravished all at once. you have to appreciate your food because there might be days where you won’t have any. and besides, enjoying and properly tasting your meal is the least you can do to show gratitude to the person who cooked it for you.” sukuna let up and sat back on his previous spot, seemingly accepting your answer. you sat up, adjusting your yukata and pouted at him. what a rude stranger! you at least expected an apology from him but seeing that he was already taking a bite from his mochi, you guessed you should just let it go. it wasn’t worth getting angry over anyways, not on this day.

“why are you looking at me like that, little girl?” sukuna questioned, taking another bite from his mochi. he did actually enjoy it and it took every bone in his body not to hastily eat more and to savour it like you’d told him to. maybe this wasn’t so bad after all, it made him think about his meals a little more. not eating for the sake of eating, but for enjoyment, he mused. sort of like living for enjoyment, not for the sake of living. 

“you never told me your name,” the girl replied innocently. sukuna sighed. so you really weren’t aware of who he was. “my name is y/n! now it’s only fair if you tell me, especially because i shared my food with you. please?”

before sukuna could reply, he sensed someone quickly approaching. they were hiding somewhere in the forest; it likely was a jujutsu sorcerer, trying to exorcise him. he could deal with them later, but not here, not with you around. the girl looked at him in disappointment when he abruptly stood up, turning towards the forest behind them. unfortunately, he had the inkling that you wouldn’t let it go until he answered: “my name is sukuna, king of curses.” your eyes widened in recognition but you didn’t immediately react or scramble away from him, most likely frozen in fear. 

“now go. someone is coming and you do not want to be in the crossfire.”

002.

as a seamstress, you’ve encountered all kinds of customers. ranging from rude and bratty to eternally grateful, you’ve seen it all. your supervisor had always told you to remain calm and polite, to just adhere to their wishes to not cause any ruckus. after all, people of status often assumed that they were untouchable and could treat others poorly. it wasn’t worth the hassle to start a fight with them, you could lose your job after all. there was moments you’d have to stand up for yourself but this wasn’t it. fortunately, your employer paid you well, enough for you to provide for your family. the customers were high-profile after all.

you looked at the clock on the wall, your next customer was supposed to come soon. it was a nobleman that apparently travelled here from far away, having heard that the store offered beautiful, one of a kind fabrics. you just hope that he wasn’t rude and that you could leave in time. you’d been working overtime for weeks now, taking every appointment and customer that you could get. your mother’s birthday was approaching and you’d been saving up to buy some of the soft and silky fabrics to sew her a new yukata. your mother had always sacrificed her own comfort to buy the best items she could afford for your siblings and you and now that you were older, you could finally treat her to something nice as well. your employer was even willing to give you a small discount and you gratefully took up on her offer.

the chime of the doorbell made you look up, the good feeling in your stomach slowly fading when you saw who entered. you were familiar with the customer after all; he was well known in the area, being a rather volatile and sometimes scary aristocrat who had the reputation to be particularly difficult and having outrageous demands. you hastily stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of your clothing and walking over to greet him. you bowed politely, taking the outerwear that he took off and placing it on a nearby armchair. “sir, i’ll bring you a few samples shortly. do you have any colour or pattern preferences?” you asked him, placing a pot of tea and a cup on the small side table for him to enjoy. you made note of his wishes and disappeared in the storage room to pick up the samples. the customer had made himself at home, eyeing you scrutinizingly. he made you queasy, looking so incredibly unfriendly and you could tell that you were not going home early tonight.

you showed each of the fabrics to him, explaining what materials they were made of and what occasions they were good for but with each explanation, he just looks more and more uninterested. not to mention the snarky remarks he made, seemingly not happy of the choices you presented him. you were running out of options and you didn’t know what else to do to please him when suddenly you heard someone enter the shop. both the customer and you looked over confused - you weren’t expecting any more customers today, it was already late after all. a tall, pink-haired man entered the shop, scowling at your customer. you jumped slightly; he looked scary and you were terrified, not sure what to do in this situation. not only were the black markings on his face and body terrifying, there was also a threatening aura surrounding him, dark and slowly spreading out, all your instincts were screaming at you to run. should you politely ask him to leave? he looked like he wouldn’t take it too well. before you could ask him whether he was looking for something, the stranger spoke up: “you know who i am, leave.”

your eyes widened, slowly inching back towards the back of the store. you were not aware of who this man was but by the looks of your pale-faced customer, he surely did. “this is outrageous!” he exclaimed indignantly, jumping out of his seat. “you can’t just burst in here and demand that i leave! i have an appointment! are you aware of how long the waiting list is? this is the finest shop in the entire prefecture and i would rather die than to give up my spot for a scoundrel like you.” the stranger raised his eyebrows at the shorter man, clicking his tongue in annoyance. you slowly reached out to grab your pair of scissors. they probably weren’t of much use but it made you feel more safe, knowing you could at least somehow defend yourself.

“oh? you would rather die? i’m sure that can be arranged,” the stranger threatened and it was with horror that you watched his fingernails, sharp and pointy, grow in size. he wasn’t human, you’d just encountered a monster. he would kill you and it wouldn’t take him much effort to do so, you were sure he could just stab you with those fingernails. your customer squeaked and left the store in panic, slamming the door in the process, while you quickly hid behind the counter. you hoped he would leave you alone, you didn’t want to get involved. this wasn’t your problem, you were innocent and it was an unfortunate coincidence for you to be here. 

“stop hiding,” the stranger commanded, slowly approaching the counter. you peeked from below the counter, holding your breath. what else could he possibly want from you? demons surely didn’t need money. oh god, was he going to kidnap you?

he swiftly rounded the corner and knelt down to take a closer look at you - you couldn’t react fast enough, he’d already grabbed your chin and made you look at him, turning your head from side to side as he examined you. his fingernails were slightly digging into your skin, making your face scrunch up in discomfort. “so it is you,” he exclaimed in a low voice, then abruptly standing back up. you were confused - what did he mean by that? at least he didn’t kill you, at least not yet. but what else could he possibly want from you? “i need a new kimono. that scumbag just left anyways, make one for me instead.”

a kimono? a simple kimono? you couldn’t believe what you just heard. this demon just came in here, threw a fit but all he wanted was a simple kimono? you couldn’t help but scoff at the situation though it probably was difficult to enter a store without people fleeing or refusing to serve him. while he did look human, the markings on his face made it difficult not to feel threatened. but why did he know you? you had never seen this man in your life before. not in passing, not on drawings, nowhere. no matter how hard you wracked your brain, you just couldn’t recall. “d- do you have any- any colour preference?” you questioned him, watching how he took a seat and grabbed himself the cup of tea. 

“white,” he answered curtly, taking a sip from the tea. “i’ll leave everything else up to you.”

you felt uncomfortable but there was nothing else you could do than follow his orders. you grabbed a few plain white fabric samples and slowly inched over to him, holding them out with your trembling hands. “what?” he deadpanned. you huffed in frustration. 

“sir, you should… you should choose the fabric. it’s your kimono after all, you might not like the feeling of the fabric or it might not be a good fit for your everyday life,” you explained.

“i don’t care, just choose whatever. i’m above the comfort you stupid mortals choose.”

“that’s stupid,” the words left your mouth quicker than you could stop yourself and you slapped your hands over your mouth. the stranger looked at you as equally shocked. “i mean- i mean there’s nothing wrong with indulging in comfortable clothes!” you explained quickly, pressing the samples into his hands. “see you wouldn’t like scratchy clothes, right? or fabric that quickly makes you sweat or feel too warm! i always talk to my customers about what kinds of fabrics they would prefer… i believe life is too short to wear ill-fitting clothes or ones that don’t feel comfortable! good clothing should make you feel like… like a warm hug.”

the stranger didn’t look like he understood what you meant, making you scoff again. some people really didn’t care about what they wore and how they looked like and it just bothered you. good quality fabrics and well tailored clothing could make you feel confident and safe, even in the worst situations. how could you possibly relax if your clothing was maybe scratchy or ill-fitting? “i’ll prove it to you!” you exclaimed and left the room to gather your supplies, then coming back to instruct him where and how to stand so you could take his measurements. now that he was towering over you, you were suddenly very aware of how tall and broad he was. you felt like a dwarf next to him. up close, you noticed more details about him. he was attractive, you couldn’t deny that - the long wispy eyelashes, the watchful ruby eyes and his soft-looking pink hair. if he picked up on your staring, he didn’t comment on it.

once you were done taking notes and choosing fabrics, you gave him a slip of paper, noting down time and date for him to come back to pick the kimono up. “as for payment-” you started but the stranger dropped a huge bag of coins on the counter. you gasped, pushing the bag back into his arms. “sir, that’s too much! i’ll calculate the exact price for you but-” 

“take it,” he insisted and pushed it back towards you. “i have enough. you need the money right? see it as a generous tip.” your face flushed, you didn’t even know what to say and instead only profusely thanked him. it was so much money, the tip was enough to cover your family’s expenses for a year.

when sukuna picked up his kimono weeks later, he still didn’t understand what a hassle you made about the choice of fabrics and why you were so diligent in taking the measurements. he was fine with everything as long as he had something to wear in the first place. he didn’t care, he wasn’t a measly human that whined about the mildest inconvenience. in the private of his abode, he tried the kimono on, abruptly halting his movements as soon as the fabric touched his skin. so the girl was right, the fabric did feel incredibly good on his skin. it was very smooth and silky, a little cool on his skin. very lightweight but not flimsy. the kimono wasn’t too short and fit his tall statue well, you really did a good job he supposed. he glanced at himself in the mirror. it did look good on him, even the matching colours and patterns were chosen well. you really were a good seamstress, no wonder everyone was flocking to the store.

now that sukuna wore the kimono, he suddenly didn’t want to take it off. it was comfortable and soft, reminding him of you.

003.

your favourite spot was one below a tree, on top of a hill where you could see everything. the small city below, the horizon, the stars in the sky. you often came here when you felt like your life came crashing down your shoulders. it didn’t feel like your own anymore, not with your future already laid out for you without you being able to control it. complaining had always felt redundant and ungrateful to you - you had everything you needed, a loving family, food on the table and your family was wealthy enough to not have to worry about money. but in return, they expected everything from you, their eldest daughter. sometimes, the pressure was too much for you but they expected you to do as they say. everything was well until they announced that you were to get married and they’d found a suitor for you. you couldn’t even protest, the decision had already been made behind your back and you couldn’t refuse. you sniffled quietly, wrapping the blanket tighter around you. you didn’t know this man; he might be a complete asshole and not treat you well at all.

the wind was biting at your skin, cold and unrelenting, and yet you felt safe here, away from all your worries. the starry sky made you feel like your worries were miniscule, reminding you that there was so much more out there for you to discover. you’d always liked the sight of stars, they always made you happy. on lucky days, you’d even get to see a few shooting stars. you’d close your eyes and clasp your hands, hopeful that whatever wish you made would come true. the crunch of leaves and twigs made you look up in alarm, scared that your parents had found out you left the estate and now found your secret hiding spot. you couldn’t quite make out the figure in the darkness, only being able to tell that a tall person was approaching you.

you were wary, inching towards the tree behind you to hide but froze when a voice rang out: “i know you’re there. i was looking for you all over the city, little one.” a man clad in a kimono was coming closer, stopping right in front of you and looking at you in disdain. your eyes lit up as you recognized him; you’d met sukuna a couple of times in the city before, mostly when you went to pick up some books to read. he’d been there one time when you were choosing your books and scoffed at your choice. you’d ask him about it, wondering why he thought that your choice was a bad one. he went on and on about how historically inaccurate the book was and that the information about curses was wrong and how an author like that should be ashamed to even publish it. you appreciated the dialogue, you liked having someone to discuss with you. your parents didn’t like that you read fantasy books and books that talked about supernatural events and beings, dubbing them as nonsense and that you should focus on your studies instead.

after your third meeting, sukuna had finally opened up and told you his name. your meetings became more frequent then but you’d never met anywhere other than the bookstore. you were surprised that he even found you here; you decided not to question him though, sukuna always seemed to know where you were, always sensing where you were headed. truthfully, you looked forward to spending time with him. he was attentive and always listened to you, barely ever talking. oddly enough, it made you feel like finally, someone was paying attention to your thoughts and needs. lately, a heavy feeling in your chest was always accompanying you when you met up with him. it was a dull ache, some kind of yearning that you couldn’t quite put a finger on. it didn’t help that you felt like you’d met him before, but you really couldn’t recall where you had met him before. “what are you doing here?” you questioned him, scooting to the side to offer him some space on the picnic blanket.

unceremoniously, he sat down and glanced over to you. he didn’t reply, simply shrugging. “why didn’t you bring a coat?” you asked another question instead, frowning at his choice of clothing. aside from his kimono, he wasn’t wearing anything else. “you’ll catch a cold!” you scolded him, swatting his arm before tugging on his sleeve and signalling him to move closer to you so you could wrap the blanket around his shoulders. you struggled a little to reach him, almost stumbling - sukuna’s arm immediately shot out to hold you so you wouldn’t fall. your cheeks flushed red and you were thankful that it was dark. you cleared your throat and sat back down, snuggling into the blanket and his side. 

“by the way, i read that book you disliked the other day,” you told him, rambling about the contents of the book and what you thought of it, all while sukuna simply listened to you. he only spoke up when he challenged your way of thinking or to agree, otherwise staying silent and just watching you.

suddenly you grasped his hand in excitement, pointing at the sky. “oh, oh! look!!” sukuna’s gaze followed the direction you pointed to, spotting some shooting stars flitting across the sky. “you have to wish for something!” you squeezed his hand and nudged him, then squeezing your eyes shut to prepare yourself to wish. 

“what would i even wish for?” sukuna frowned and pinched your cheek. “what do you wish for?”

“you’re not supposed to share wishes! if you do, they won’t come true,” you argued back and stuck your tongue out at him. sometimes, he really was too skeptical, never indulging in harmless fun. it might be childish to believe in these things but sometimes that little spark of hope was all you need to wait for better things. you sighed when the shooting stars disappeared and let go of his hand, screaming internally. did you really grab his hand like that? you sure hoped you didn’t unsettle him. 

“i don’t think i told you, but my parents have found a suitor for me,” you confided in him quietly, staring at the grass near your feet. “i’m supposed to marry him next year but… i don’t want to, i don’t know this person and i just want to live my life with no one controlling it.”

“i see. there’s still time to get to know him, isn’t there?” you knew sukuna was trying to console you but it wasn’t exactly working. your words frustrated you a little; subconsciously, you’d hoped that he shared the same opinion and maybe, just maybe, help you do something reckless. 

“i don’t want to get to know him,” you huffed and crossed your arms (sukuna thought you looked like a petulant child). “i… i already like someone.”

“you do?” sukuna looked at you surprised and that was the first time that he’d shown any other emotion than indifference. you nodded shyly, hoping that maybe he’d get the hint. you weren’t confident just yet to confess to him but maybe he’d get it from your description alone? 

“i recently met him and i really like that he makes me feel like, you know, important and always pays attention to me. he doesn’t talk a lot but i think that that’s okay, we still have a silent mutual understanding, i guess. and i also think he looks really handsome! although i-”

sukuna had enough of your rambling, he felt annoyed that you were telling him about your stupid crush. whatever boy you had a crush on, they would never amount to the likes of him. why would you look at someone else when he was right there? right here, with you. sukuna reached over and grabbed your cheeks to make you look at him before pressing his lips on yours. you froze for a short moment before returning the kiss, holding onto his kimono when he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer. why would you pay attention to someone else when he could be with you? for the first time in his existence as a curse, he briefly felt human again. maybe shooting stars were the key to wishes coming true after all; in this moment he wouldn’t mind being human again, being alone with her with only the stars as your witnesses.

004.

gradually you were really starting to dislike your night shifts. usually, you’d ask to cover them because it was quiet, there were no nosy customers and the only people that ever came in so late were sleep deprived students that pulled all nighters to write papers or study. well it used to be that way until a group of, presumably, freshmen started coming more and more frequently - they wouldn’t have been so annoying if it wasn’t for them talking and laughing obnoxiously loud. they would stay until late in the night and kept ordering drinks. the audacity to have oddly specific orders, to watch you like a hawk while you were preparing their drinks, it made your blood boil. to top it all off, one of the guys kept flirting with you, even when you’d already made it obvious that you were not interested at all. no matter how uninterested and abrasive you acted, the guy would not leave you alone and his friends would try to act as wingmen. clueless and horrible wingmen.

you were glad that you were never alone during your night shifts, depending on the weekday you’d work in a team of two or threes. whenever they could, they’d cover for you and you were thankful but also felt bad, which usually resulted in you taking over anyways. you placed the basket on the counter, grabbing a towel to dry the cups you’d just washed. the chime of the doorbell made you look up, your heartbeat speeding up at the sight of sukuna coming in. like the group of freshmen, sukuna had recently started to visit the café more and more. he usually only came late at night and he probably was your favourite regular. scratch that, he was your favourite, no one was as calm as him and he never caused trouble. yeah, maybe those night shifts weren’t all that bad, you thought to yourself. you looked forward to him visiting every time you had a night shift.

“hi sukuna,” you greeted him softly and gave him a smile, placing the cup on a shelf. “the usual?” he took a seat near the bar, placing his wallet on the counter and taking off his coat. sukuna was peculiar, not particularly in a bad way. you always thought that he was a little mysterious. he always wore the same kimono - who wears kimonos everyday in this day and age anyways - the same white kimono but maybe he just owned mulitple of them. you could never tell what he was thinking and he had never shown any emotions other than brief moments of bliss when he was having his usual order. his order had always and would probably always be a simple black coffee and some daifuku mochi. it was a weird combo, you mused, but somehow fit him. it was a sharp contrast, just like his tattoos and the soft pink hair. you finished up the order, pushing the cup of coffee and the plated mochi towards him - you’d sneaked another one in just for him, knowing how much he seemed to like them. sukuna looked up at you, ready to protest but you just brushed it off, telling him that it was okay.

out of the corner of your eye you saw your not so secret admirer approaching with an empty cup and you instantly knew you were bound to be annoyed again. you sighed, returning to the cash register to take his order. “so, when am i finally going to get to take you out?” the guy asked, leaning on the counter to get closer to you. you gritted your teeth, ignoring his question and instead took the empty cup, placing it in the kitchen sink behind you. 

“oh come on, don’t ignore me, baby,” he whined, not letting up until you answered. you were annoyed, so so annoyed. your co-workers were currently organizing the inventory so you were all by yourself - usually that would be fine but you’d had enough. this week has already been awful and you just wanted to be left alone. you glanced around, spotting sukuna on the side. suddenly a lightbulb went on in your head and you faced your admirer confidently. 

“i’m sorry but please stop flirting with me and trying to ask me out,” you started and pointed to sukuna who was innocently taking a bite from his mochi. “i already have a boyfriend and i don’t think he appreciates you cornering me like this. you being this persistent is really annoying, girls don’t like that.”

upon hearing his name, sukuna looked up and as if on cue, he glared at your admirer. “yeah, i suggest you fuck off. get a hint, you creep, she’s mine,” he snarled, making a move towards the other guy who was already scrambling to get away and profusely apologizing. mine, mine, mine. his words kept repeating in your head, your heart squeezing painfully. was he interested in you? would he ever come to see you more than just a barista? you sighed in both relief and affliction, trudging over to sukuna. 

“i’m sorry i dragged you into this,” you apologized embarrassed, shoulders drooping and you stared at the floor just so he wouldn’t see your reddened cheeks. “he’s been pestering me so much and i kind of thought that that was the only way to get him to back off.”

“i don’t mind,” sukuna replied curtly, resuming his seat. he didn’t say anything else and you slightly panicked, you wanted to keep talking to him, stay in his company for a little longer. 

“ah uhm sukuna, i want to thank you! if… if you don’t mind, i would like to treat you to another drink?” you suggested, your face now beet red. this was the most straightforward you had ever been with a guy, usually too shy to make a move. in distance you could hear the chime of the doorbell and the doors slamming, indicating that the group had left. you were alone. sukuna didn’t reply at first and you were sure you’d fucked up and got ready to backtrack and laugh it off when he nodded. 

“go ahead, little one,” he nodded towards the counter. “you choose the drink.”

you didn’t know why sukuna kept calling you little one but for some reason, you didn’t mind. it did however make your heart ache in what you could only describe as melancholy. you weren’t sure why. while you started brewing some green tea for the two of you, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. the pitter patter of raindrops against the glass front was the only sound audible in the entire café. sukuna hadn’t uttered another word, not even making a sound of acknowledgement when you handed him the cup of tea and sat next to him. 

“you didn’t bring an umbrella,” you noted, looking out of the window. it was raining heavily, with no signs of it stopping anytime soon. “i guess you’ll have to stay here for a little longer, otherwise you’ll get sick. i hope you aren’t sick of me though.”

sukuna took a sip of his tea. “i don’t mind your company,” he replied, looking at you. you couldn’t tell what he was thinking but you sincerely hoped he wasn’t joking. hearing that gave you a little hope. 

“i like moments like this,” you confessed to him, clutching the warm cup with your sweater paws. “having a warm cup of tea and watching the rain from the comfort of your home. or in this case, a café. the sound of rain is really calming, isn’t it? makes you forget about all your worries for a while, it’s just you and your cup of tea.”

again, sukuna didn’t reply for a while. you thought you’d bored him to death with your monologue until he spoke up: “i don’t see how it’s any different from having a cup at any time of the day.” your cup was placed back on the counter. you frowned, not sure how to explain it to him. in moments like these, sukuna seemed to be something of an old being that has seen everything, feelings now dull and locked away. 

“well, see it like this. making yourself a cup of tea or coffee everyday is a normal thing to do, right? it happens almost automatically because it’s just part of your daily routine, you like how it tastes, it makes you feel more awake or helps you sleep. but… but you never really take your time to enjoy it, right?”

sukuna was contemplating, you almost giggled at the little frown on his face. but you were glad that he was willing to listen to you and discuss it with you, instead of dismissing the topic entirely. “but what does that have to do with rain?” he finally asked. 

you pointed outside. “you wouldn’t really go out in this weather, right? not if you have any emergencies or urgent matters to attend to. and same goes for everyone else; it kind of… kind of forces you to stay inside, to fully enjoy your warm beverage. the sound of rain is pretty calming, it’s some kind of whitenoise that might block out intrusive thoughts, at least it does that for me. so it’s only you, the sound of rain and your cup of tea. for a few minutes, you can just relax and have a moment for yourself.”

sukuna still didn’t quite understand how humans worked. it’s been hundreds of years since he’s ceased to be human, he’s forgotten what is what like being human. what human emotions entailed. but he agreed, it has been a while since he’s felt at ease and peaceful even. it was a moment of bliss, a moment that caused a flare-up of old, buried feelings inside of him.

004.1

you still hadn’t mustered up the courage to actually ask sukuna out after you dragged him into that fake dating-situation. he did still come late at night, being the most loyal customer of the café at this point. it was almost… almost as if he’d seeked out your company. though he did tell you that he didn’t mind your company; your ego deflated a little. sukuna still wore his kimono but paired it with a thick winter coat - it was winter after all and the weather had been very extreme. the ground was covered in inches of snow and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. sukuna insisted on walking you home when your shift ended. you weren’t sure why because he’d never offered to do so before. you were thankful though since it was still snowing and the streets were completely empty; even though the snow looked beautiful, it was still a little eerie to walk home in this weather. especially since a lot of busses weren’t running anymore due blocked roads.

“sukuna, aren’t you cold?” you asked as you switched off the lights and fumbled with your keys. finally finding the right one, you closed up, shoving the keys back in your back and fishing out your gloves. “you don’t even wear gloves!” you gasped when you saw his bare hands, handing him one of yours. sukuna looked at you as if you were crazy.

he wasn’t cold but he couldn’t tell you that, couldn’t let you know that he was a curse. but handing him one of you gloves? you were too nice, always thinking of others first and never being selfish. sighing, he put on the glove that was uncomfortably small but he’d endure it for your sake.

“it’s been a while since we’ve had this much snow,” you mused and took a few steps around, giggling at the sound of crunching snow beneath your feet. sukuna simply followed you, looking comical with the bright yellow and tiny glove on his hand. you smiled at him, admiring how etheral he looked underneath the streetlights with the snowflakes flurrying around him and some getting stuck in his hair. your heart suddenly ached, a far away memory emerging. it was blurry and unclear, a cold night similar as this underneath the stars and a face staring at you. you couldn’t tell who it was nor were you sure whether it was just a case of déjà vu.

“you know, this kind of calls for a snowball fight,” you grinned at sukuna mischievously and grabbed some snow, beginning to form it into a ball. he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking at you defiantly. 

“i’m not going to indulge in childish business like th-” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as you hurled the snowball at him and giggled like a maniac as it hit his shoulder. you quickly hid behind a bush as you quickly tried to form another, enjoying the dumbfounded look on sukuna’s face. clearly, he didn’t expect you to follow through with your plan and was caught by surprise. “oh you’re on,” he growled after a moment and grabbed himself some snow as well. you quickly threw another snowball at him, this time only being able to hit his leg. eyes widening at the sight of sukuna raising his arm to throw his snowball at you, you let out a squeak and dove behind a tree - the snowball still hit you square on your back, making you yelp at the cold feeling.

for minutes you could only hear the crunches of snow, loud laughter and snowballs hitting objects. you sat on a bench, exhausted from running and ducking away and your belly was starting to hurt from all the laughter. sukuna caught up to you, juggling a snowball in his hands. “you gonna give up?” he asked, a smirk gracing his lips. clearly he was winning, being able to aim a lot better than you. you missed him most of the time but had fun regardless. 

“never!” you replied, holding out your arms to defend yourself from the incoming snowball. it never came and instead sukuna was inching closer with an evil look in his eyes. oh no. what was he up to? you yelped when you realized that he was aiming for your neck, jumping up to get away from him. sukuna was quick to react and grabbed your arm, pulling you back into his chest and holding you close, smushing the snow against your neck. “ew sukuna, stop!” you laughed and squirmed in his arms until he threw the snowball away, rubbing your back gently. 

“that was really cold, you know,” you pouted, burying your face in his chest. 

he wrapped his arms around you, sighing quietly. “i know, i know, sorry.”

you swore that you felt his lips on the crown of your head.

005.

you were, undoubtedly, lost. your phone was about to die and you were stranded in the middle of the city, not sure where to go. to be fair, it was very, very easy to get lost here and it was your first time visiting. your grandparents lived here and while you’ve visited before, you couldn’t quite remember anything anymore. you were a child back then. and the city had drastically changed too, making it difficult for you to navigate yourself around. though your poor sense of direction was probably at fault as well. you sighed, trying to call your grandparents again. no one was picking up. you turned your phone off to save some of the battery, maybe you could call them later.

luckily, you’d brought your cameras so you could at least keep yourself busy until someone freed you from this misery. you walked towards the nearby shrine; there didn’t seem to be any people here, it was very quiet aside from the sound of cicadas. you took a few photos before continuing your journey, soon finding yourself standing on top of the hill. the view from here was breathtaking, even more so because the sun was starting to set, painting the sky in a beautiful yellow and orange hue. you fumbled with your camera again, trying to take a photo when someone suddenly moved into your shot. you paused and looked at the person in front of you who was staring at you as well. considering they were wearing a kimono, you assumed that they must work here. did you make a mistake? maybe you weren’t supposed to take photos and this person came to tell you off.

“i’m sorry!” you said quickly, quickly shoving your camera in your bag. “am i allowed to take photos here?” 

the stranger frowned at you, clearing his voice before replying: “how am i supposed to know? i don’t work here.” 

you groaned, rubbing your face in embarrassment. of course you’d say something wrong, you always did. and now you probably annoyed him too - he looked really annoyed. but since he wasn’t working here and there was no one else around, you guessed you could take photos after all. there was no one to tell you off anyways. however, the stranger was still standing there, looking at you in what seemed like interest. you felt awkward just continuing your endeavors without acknowledging him, so you asked: “do you live here? i’m just visiting, so i’m not very familiar with the city.”

“you could say that,” the stranger simply replied. when he didn’t say anything else, you decided that it probably was okay if you just continued taking photos without acknowledging him. though it did make you queasy, knowing that he was just watching you. didn’t he have anything else to do? a few minutes passed. he sighed and walked over, pointing at your camera. “what are you doing?” you were surprised at how straightforward he was, not expecting to engage in a conversation with you. maybe people in this city were just extra talkative and you’d have to get used to it. your grandparents never told you about this though. 

“ah i’m visiting my grandparents here and i thought i’d document my stay here. so i can look at these photos whenever i want and just have the memories on photo,” you explained and rummaged in your bag to show him the polaroids you took earlier. “i particularly like polaroids because you can’t edit or change them… whatever moment you capture, it’s true to what you saw. there’s no need to make photos beautiful when they hold a special place in your heart and are tied to a specific memory.”

the stranger nodded, pointing to your polaroid camera. “and you take them with this device?” his choice of words startled you a little, he didn’t seem to be familiar with this type of camera which you found odd. everyone knew what these were nowadays, almost everyone owned them. but you didn’t want to judge him or make him feel stupid though, patiently explaining to him how the cameras worked and where he could purchase them. he seemed to be really interested, closely inspecting the camera, turning it around and fumbling with the buttons. only after you finished rambling, you realize how much time had passed - it was almost dark now and your grandparents were probably worried sick. your phone was turned off the entire time and you forgot to call them. 

“excuse me, i really need to call my grandparents!” you looked at him apologetically, leaving him with your photos and camera. normally, you would be very wary; normally, you wouldn’t even show anyone your photos, rather keeping them to yourself because they were your precious memories. but something about him resonated with you, he seemed familiar and yet he didn’t.

you found a spot a few meters away from him calling your grandparents and profusely apologizing to them for not calling sooner. you promised them to wait at a popular and well known spot nearby so they could come to pick you up since it was already getting late, then hung up. to your relief, the stranger was still standing there, watching you intently. “thank you,” you smiled as he handed you your belongings. “my grandparents are picking me up soon, thank you for keeping me company. won’t you be going home soon?” 

suddenly his face expression turned rather… sad? somewhat melancholic and you feared you’d said something wrong until he shook his head. “i have to go somewhere later. let me walk you for a bit, it is dark after all.” you looked at him a little dumbfounded, not expecting him to suggest something like that.

“oh you don’t have to! i’ll totally be fine, i-” “i want to. let’s go,” he interrupted you, already beginning to move. you hastily followed him, clutching your bag in your hands. the entire walk was rather silent, none of you saying a word. it wasn’t a tense and uncomfortable silence though - you very much enjoyed his presence. it made you feel safe too, even though you’d told him earlier that you didn’t mind walking by yourself, it was comforting to know that he was by your side. you were in an unfamiliar city after all. hell you even got lost, so who were you kidding. you wondered who the stranger was, what his story was, what his personality was like. this was a one time meeting though, so you didn’t really have any hope of meeting him again. that was very unlikely.

“okay this is the spot. my grandparents are going to pick me up here, so it’s okay if you go,” you pointed at a café and gave him a reassuring smile. he didn’t look impressed. “o-oh wait, i need to thank you somehow.” you held a finger up to signal him to wait for a bit and fished out a polaroid you’d taken earlier. it was a simple shot, only the temple, bits of the trees and the sunset in the background. but you thought it was appropriate, the two of you had shared this moment after all. 

“here, this is for you. it’s not a lot but i guess… it’s a really nice photo and maybe the start of your collection, if you decide to get a polaroid camera?” he took the photo from you, inspecting it before nodding and thanking you. he looked like he was about to say something else but was interrupted by some bright car lights and the sound of honks.

“ah, i have to go! it was nice meeting you,” you bid farewell to him and waved, running towards the car. sukuna watched your figure retreat, arms dropping to his sides.

006.

it was so cold, so incredibly cold. you really hated disliked these long winters, the sky was constantly dull and grey, the days were short and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. it made you feel sluggish and unmotivated, you were just hoping that spring was coming earlier this year. you yearned for sunshine and warmth, to be able to go outside without freezing and just spend more time outside. regardless, you held onto your daily walks because they gave you some peace of mind in your hectic life. you were approaching the last year of your studies and the amount of exams, assignments and your looming thesis were just suffocating you. but soon, soon you were done and could finally take a breather, until then, the only moments of relaxation you’d have were your walks.

despite the cold, there were a lot of people near the park; children who were engaging in snowball fights, elderly who were walking their dogs and some joggers too. your eyes were wandering around, watching all the busy people around. too absorbed in your task, you didn’t notice the man in front of you until you bumped into him. you quickly removed your earbuds and apologized to him, about to continue walking when he suddenly grabbed your arm, holding you back. you were confused, did you maybe accidently hurt him when you bumped into him? you looked him up and down to make sure that he was okay; there really wasn’t anything wrong. he let go of your arm. “is something wrong?” you asked concerned and turned to him. 

“y/n?” 

you froze at the mention of your name. how did he know you?

“who are you? i’ve never met you before.”

in all your past lifetimes, you’d taught him how to be human again, how there was value and joy in even the littlest of things. with each iteration of your existence, sukuna thinks that he’s learned to love you more than the last. when he sees how at ease you are spending time with him, a curse that is feared by everyone, he contemplates confessing to you. but something holds him back, it’s the fear; the fear that you won’t return his feelings. he’s seen you be with someone else, see you fall in love countless of times. he yearns for it to be him, hoping that you do choose him, love him. for thousands of years, he’s spent his time finding you - your reincarnations don’t recognize him and it pains him to get to know you anew each time but nothing pains him as much as his existence. he wants to hold you, be yours, grow old with you.

for the first time in thousands of years, sukuna wishes to be human again.

ps.: i am so sorry if i hurt your heart there omg

[lumine-blight]

LDK ― a thoma imagine.

inspired by LDK but thoma isn't an asshole like shuusei, and y/n isn't that much of an idiot as aoi. pretty much the only part i'm basing off of, is how they end up living together (and satsuki's appearance (?) for the latter part.) part two to be linked [here] pairing: thoma x fem!reader tags: fluff, maybe a tiny little bit of angst but not in this part yet, high school au, thoma from monstadt who lived in inazuma left for studies in sumeru this was supposed to be just a one shot but i just have this thing about writing long expositions and building foundation so you might feel like the story is slow paced but i swear, you'll get there at one point. ... As the class representative, it has always been your responsibility to guide your fellow classmates, to coordinate with the teachers and the student council, and more tasks of the same nature. Of course, you were also the one assigned to give tours to transferees/late enrollees when there are—and speaking of, there is. It's something you're actually more willing to do so, but the only thing is that you were never that well versed in one-on-one conversations unless they're official business. Being someone's tour guide meant that you had to be friendly and approachable, because if not then there's just no use of being the navigator. You're supposed to be the one to provide answers to your tourist's questions, and give them info about the ins and outs of the place. Luckily enough, Thoma isn't as socially awkward as you are. Well, you could still hold conversations quite well yourself but it just doesn't feel right, if that made any sense. It's even as if the tables are turning; you're slowly becoming the guest and he's accommodating you. Still, you'd answer if he asks anything about the library, or the home economics club, or other matters that are better known by the insider. “Here's the H.E. room, but it's not really accessible for everyone. You either have to be a part of the club, or have a cookery or Home EC class. I mean, I think if you're close enough with the home EC teacher he might give you the key if you ask for it,” you explained, stopping in front of a locked door with a wooden sign hanging on it, reading “Home Economics.” Thoma wasn't really thinking of getting close to the teacher for teacher's pet privileges, so he thought of just joining the club. Besides, he'd love to be a part of their future activities. “Well, I guess I'd have to sign up for the H.E. club. Why is there still a one when Home EC /itself/ is a class already anyway?” said Thoma. “Ah, I don't know either. This place has a thing for doubling shit up. I mean, we literally already have math and science as major classes but there's still a club for those certain subjects. Actually, there's a club for all subjects. And mind you, students can't start their own orgs—nothing here is student-driven, pretty much.” “Ah, I see, I see.” he nodded. “Well, on the brighter side, at least all the decision-making isn't left for the students. It can get tough sometimes, especially since we all have different preferences. There's the faculty to guide you, at least.” You figured Thoma was simply just an optimist. He did make his point, but you still felt somehow unsatisfied with the way things are run in your school. But then again, what can you do about it? You glanced at the screen of your phone, noticing how much time has passed already. “It's 4PM already. You should go home. We can continue the tour tomorrow—curse this school for having way too many buildings. I can also introduce you to the H.E. club if you want,” you said, which you followed with a wave of goodbye. And just as you were about leave, rapid steps and shoes creaking against the floor grew louder before you could even realize it. Then, there came a familiar shade of orange (or ginger) who zoomed past you and Thoma. With you and Thoma currently facing each other, he was nudged (more like redirected with much force) by Tartaglia, who was chasing Scaramouche down the hallway. The bastard didn't even bother saying his apologies,

and continued to run after the

shorter boy as soon after he regained his composure. So, there you were, stuck on the wall with a dangerously close distance between you and Thoma. You were sure you heard a crack before that—or maybe it was simply the sound of Thoma having to support himself against the wall. You weren't quite sure, because there was no room for coherent thinking when Thoma was only a few inches away from you. Years. It felt like years when you were holding your breath. Of course you didn't make it too obvious when you gasped for air, but boy did you feel so cramped up and suffocated. After you regained yourself (which was pathetic because you could still feel heat all over your very being) you have come to realize that Thoma was rotating and massaging his wrist, wincing as if he was in pain. “Are you okay? I'm sorry for earlier, they're just really a bunch of troublemakers. Don't worry, Tartaglia will soon come to his senses and find you to apologize. Probably--he'll have to, anyway.” “Oh, no, no. It's fine, really. I did injure myself earlier in my P.E. class so it wouldn't be his fault entirely,” said Thoma. You noticed he had a habit of laughing and scratching his neck, which is pretty cute, you thought. At first you simply found it endearing in a platonic way, because that's totally possible. But now that your heart rate still hasn't recovered, it's like you can feel yourself starting to crush on this guy. Well, it's just a crush anyway. Nothing too deep, nothing further than that. It would disappear quickly, you thought. Especially since it was started too abruptly. “Couldn't you have just skipped? You know, since you're still new and all.” “I'm still a student, so that wouldn't be an excuse. It's just a little cramp, don't worry too much. I'll get going now, see you tomorrow!” With that, Thoma bid his goodbyes and headed down the stairs, almost tripping on his own foothold, which caused your reflexes to act up on their own. Though, the accident was easily prevented by himself luckily grabbing onto the rail fast enough to regain his balance. You sighed. “Be careful on your way home! Don't get run over by a truck or something!” “Don't worry, it won't be a truck!” ... Somehow, you're in the same bus stop as Thoma. “Oh, you ride the same bus? I guess we can be buddies then,” Thoma chuckled. “Yeah, I've been taking this one since three years ago. You live in the same direction?” “Yes. I live alone though, since everyone I used to know is in Monstadt and Inazuma. I've only gone here to Sumeru for the studies, and it's my first time too.” You noticed with his tone that he seemed a little...sad? Nostalgic? Reminiscent? You weren't exactly sure what it was, but somehow you could relate. Speaking of, you haven't seen your sister for a long while now...But you shrugged off the thought. Throughout the years, you've learn to control your feelings and thoughts better. “Oh, I see. That must've been nice, y'know? Having been into many different places? I'm Sumeru born and raised, and has never left the country ever since,” you said. “Well I guess one could say that. But at least you won't have to say your goodbyes too often.” “You always find a way to bring a situation to a brighter side, you know that?” “Not the first time I've been told.” You both entered the bus as soon as it pulled up, settling on a seat somewhere in the middle. Thoma made you sit first, next to the window, then he followed sitting next to you. He even asked if it was okay, which /is/ polite of him but you also thought was a little too much. You were already talking, so it's only natural if you sit together. But then again, maybe it's just because you've not known each other for too long yet. Or maybe you're just overthinking—right, that's it, your brain loves to overcomplicate simple things. You sat comfortably in silence for a minute or so, before you decided you felt like sparking another conversation. Sure, small talk isn't your forte, but you wanted to talk. And so, you will. “I noticed you're also a vision wielder. I guess you got yours

pretty early on, huh?” “Oh—this? Yeah. I wield pyro, though I can't use it much on my hobbies. Maybe except for cooking and other fire related things. But for the most part, not really. It still holds my ambitions though, so the god's eye is one to be treasured.” “Well...you never struck me as someone who's very into combat, so I understand why you don't use it much. I have mine too, Electro.” You pointed at the necklace that hung around your neck. Sometimes, you'd wear it as a keychain of some sort, or attach it do a different accessory depending on your outfit. Today though, you decided to wear it around your neck but hid it under your uniform, which felt a little uncomfortable but it still worked somehow. ... Walking to your place has never felt so suffocating before. Despite the blow of the cool breeze, you still found yourself with a lack of air and the need to fake cough just so you can inhale a sufficient amount of it. “Y/N, are you okay? You've been coughing a lot, did you catch a cold on our way? Oh—I just got mine a week ago...perhaps there's still residue and I passed them onto you? I apologize.” “Ah—no, no, don't worry about me. I'm totally fine, just some allergy probably,” you brushed it off, and made a mental note to just breathe and stop fake coughing to breathe. “Anyway, do we really live so close by? I mean, I didn't expect you'd be my neighbor—not that I mind it, of course,” you laughed, soon getting closer to your dorm. “I mean, who knows? We could even go to school together—but only if you're fine with that. Don't feel pressured to do so, really.” He put his hands in defense, as if to take back what he just said out of embarrassment. Again, your stupid brain decided that it was cute—and your heart started beating faster again. You let out a laugh, then waved it off: “I'd love to. But anyway, this is where I live. Yours must be close by, too. See you tom—” “But /this/ is where I also live!” “Wait, we have a new tenant? And it's you?” “I thought you lived with your family...who knew we practically live under the same roof now?” “I had to move here since my home is too far from the school, so there's that,” you shrugged. “Ah! You've helped me a lot today.” He clasped his hands. Thoma proceeded to invite you in. “So how about I cook you dinner for tonight? That sound good?” “No, no, it's fine, really! Besides...your wrist is still injured, I don't wanna trouble you.” “Oh, this?” he held out his hand and started shaking it on the air, attempting to prove that he's fine but a crack was heard and a wince was visible from his face. “I'm fine...promise,” he chuckled, nervously. “Come on! It'll be my pleasure. Think of this as rice cakes—that's what we do in Inazuma. When you're new to the place, you give rice cakes to your neighbors. But in this case, I can treat you dinner instead!” You sigh, giving in. It didn't seem like he would let go of it any sooner, anyway. “Okay, but I'll help you cook—” “Alright! What do you wanna have tonight? Hm...I think I still have a lot of ingredients since I recently went grocery shopping. Oh, and also goods from Inazuma!” ... Thoma's room was pretty much the same as yours—living, dining, and kitchen in one studio sized room. True LDK, indeed. The kitchen is to the left of the door as you entered, and to the right is the bathroom. In front of you, of course, is the living and dining area. There were still packed bags and only a few things around, like the folded futon and blankets. “Sorry, it's still kind of messy. Since y'know, I just moved in a few days ago.” Again, there he goes scratching the back of his neck. You still found it quite endearing. “It's fine, you're treating me dinner anyway. Speaking of, let me see what ingredients you have...” You began to check out the fridge and the cupboards. This guy surely does have enough ingredients to start a restaurant--probably even more skills for it. Your eyes caught a certain bottle of transparent golden liquid which you guessed /could/ be alcohol, basing on the bottle. "Heyyyy, what is this

huh? I mean, you did say you're from Monstadt..." you picked the bottle up and settled it on the counter. That's when you realized it was actually white wine and not champagne. Either way, it's alcohol. "Oh--that? Just a little ingredient for cooking. I'm not very good at alcohol, don't laugh. And before you say, yes, I've wondered what this says as my identity as a Monstadter. But, y'know, too much alcohol is bad for you anyway. So, not drinking is a good thing." (a/n: thank you mhy for this voice line^) "Just say you're lightweight and go," you joked and proceeded to get yourself a glass. "Well, if you won't be drinking this anyway, better to make myself at home..." you poured yourself a glass, settling it down on the counter. "Okay, okay, now. Enough drinking, you were here for a dinner and not an alcoholic beverage--besides aren't you also underaged?" "Doesn't stop me from wanting a sip. But anyway! I'll go get the ingredients ready, you wash them and I'll take care of the rest." You said, taking out meat from the fridge and some other vegetables and seasoning. Thoma started to wash them under running water, and you kept taking small sips of your wine. Maybe it's the alcohol, or Thoma just looked good washing vegetables...? You we're kind of checking him out, and also kind of thinking that he's a boyfriend material. You wouldn't say you can be blamed--anyone would probably feel this way if they had the chance to witness Thoma in the kitchen. Soon, you realized your thoughts, which made you put down your glass in the counter. You took another one and filled it with water. Thoma was quite aware you were looking at him, though unsure what for. He decided you were probably just looking if he's doing his job properly. He's gotten used of people doing that, especially as a Monstadter in Inazuma—his descent has had this derogatory stigma surrounding it for a long while now. While he didn't mind that back then, he wondered if you had that mindset too. Maybe he's overthinking it, or simply just trying to get his mind off of that idea that you are, indeed, checking him out. You've only met this week, and so it would be weird to immediately have those thoughts. Thoma told himself that he was just getting carried away, especially since he's far away from home and all alone. And you're here, accommodating, seems to have a good heart, friendly, and quite possibly checking him out. He cleared his throat. “Here, they're all washed. I'll go get changed real quick,” he said, and almost rushed to the bathroom. You nodded, then started to heat the pan. You got a little confused at the beginning, and also scared you might turn something the wrong way and burn the whole kitchen down. Thoma had a gasoline tank attached to the stove, whereas you're accustomed to the electric one. Perhaps, the last time you've probably operated a gasoline tank was back at home. Fortunately, you were able to set it up without catching something in fire. You tired your hair with the elastic on your wrist before then turning the stove on, to the left. There's a snap, then blue flame followed. You lowered the heat and put the pan on top of it. While waiting for the pan to heat up a little more, you grabbed the glass of wine once more. It's really been a while since you had a taste of alcohol—you used to sneak out some of your dad's wine along with your sister. Usually, you'd get caught but always manage to find a way out. You put your palm over the pan with just the right amount of distance to test the heat. Once you knew it was alright, you grabbed the bottle of oil near the stove. Thoma came out fully changed with some house clothes. “Oh man, I wanna change now too. This uniform is fucking hell,” you said in envy, then decided you'd take off your outer layer at least. He was a little shocked with your wording--and air caught to his lungs as you took off your jacket but that's irrelevant--mostly because he hasn't heard anyone speak in such a vulgar manner the whole time he was in Inazuma. “You can go change then. I'll take care of the

kitchen and you change in your room,” Thoma suggested to which you denied: “No, it's alright. I'll get changed later after I cook. If I change now I'm gonna smell like meat and oil.” “Meat smells nice anyway, just sayin'” he chimed, and for that you looked at him weird. He laughed and claimed it was a joke—only to say that fishes smelled better. At this point you just let it go, and poured a tiny bit of oil in the pan. Something made the flame react differently, making the color shift to red-orange, then the fire grew bigger, surrounding the pan. It was impossible to touch the stove to turn it off now, you thought. Now you just remembered why you only used electric stoves. Panicking, the first thing you could grab was a glass of water, pouring it all over the pan—but why did the fire grow even bigger? That's when you felt Thoma move you away from the stove, but you still ended up sticking yourself to the corner, so close to the fire as your heart pumped wildly of fear. You could see Thoma picking something up from the floor. A fire extinguisher. Though, before he could learn exactly how to operate it, the fire alarm has already started blaring. With how low the ceiling is, it set the sprinkler off. Well, at least the fire's out. Your dinner is ruined and so is the whole kitchen, along with the whole room. Your sauteed vegetable turned into tasteless veggie soup. You immediately felt guilty and embarrassed of what you've just caused. Really? Setting your new neighbor and classmate's house on fire? What a way for an introductory meal, is it? Thoma probably had nowhere else to go, and you had to ruin the only place he could go home to right now. You cursed yourself under your breath, and all Thoma did was immediately rush to your side, asking if you're okay. He disappeared quick and came back with a towel, handing it to you. “Are you okay? You didn't burn yourself or anything, did you?” he asked. You shook your head. “I'm sorry,” you apologized, pursing your lips in utter embarrassment as you finally looked at him. There came knocking on the door. You sighed, probably the landlady. You got yourself ready for scolding as Thoma opened the door, letting her in. The floor is flooded all over with water, and Thoma's things are all wet now, too. You hoped that his bags were at least waterproof. That would put you at ease at this moment for at least the tiniest bit. Thoma and the landlady talked, and you stayed silent. They said the fire control also had some problems which made the sprinkler set off too early, and Thoma also claimed that the pan you used earlier actually was broken and leaked some the oil; the fire got bigger because instead of water, you poured the wrong glass with wine. It almost felt as of Thoma was defending you and putting the blame in something else which, admittedly, made you feel better and less guilty. You didn't notice the hole in the pan though, but maybe it was just really small enough to be seen from afar.

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

Hi Sarah! I hope it’s ok to ask this; I generally love your advice. How did you know when you found your life partner that they were the one you wanted to be with? And did/has/does anything ever made you seriously doubt that? I am 30 and in a long-term relationship that is not progressing. We argue every weekend now, it’s so sad. We love each deeply and have been together almost a decade, but I have grown up and want a lifelong commitment. He (older) wants to do what he always has. I’m so torn.

Part two of partner question: basically, I am just wondering what your experience of finding your life partner was, how (and how often?) you deal with doubts, and how to know if you should be thankful for what you have or that you do deserve more. Anything you are willing to share, basically. Thank you, Sarah 💗

---

Hi! Wow! Big feelings, big thoughts, big big questions.

I guess the short of it is: Do you feel your life is enhanced by this person.

I'm always going to be the proponent that your relationship with your self is the most important one in your life (but maybe I'm letting my "only child" cards show a little too much here lol). And it takes so much love and work and care to nurture that relationship with you. Do you treat yourself with all the kindness and patience and understanding of a friend? Do you know your own likes and dislikes and what brings you joy? Do you cultivate a life based on knowing what is going to bring you the most amount of happiness because you hold those keys to yourself?

And when you know that, do you know that you are with (or that you can find) a person who enhances your happiness? Who contributes to your happiness but is not the singular source of your happiness?

I think wanting the same things out of life is a baseline to a relationship. It's natural to have doubts (every person I know has had them - it's normal). It's natural to grow and change your priorities and what you want out of life. The hope is that you're with someone you can grow together with not against.

Imo, being in a relationship should add significant value to your life. And not be seen as an acceptable alternative to avoid being alone. And that's a key differentiator.

I hope this helps. I'm thinking of you! I know it's a big tough thing that you're thinking about and I don't want to sway you in either direction. Hopefully am just here to offer my thoughts and perspective that gives you permission and grace to feel what you feel and commit to a decision that is probably already in your heart (whether that's finding something new or doubling down) you just can't speak it yet.

[twistedmusings]

What Are You Writing?

A/N: JOKES ON YOU GUYS, I'M AN OBEY ME WRITERS BLOG NOW. Nah not really, I mean maybe I might start thinking about making one in the future but I see all these awesome writers in that fandom and I get i n t i m i d a t e d. Nevertheless, I did want to pull a harmless prank on my readers so...enjoy a labor of love and possible regret as I now have to work on other requests ó uò

How would the brothers act with a Writer MC?

-He almost jumps when you walk into the room, practically shouting his name as you go to stand next to his desk and take a peek at what he is working on.

“Can I help you? “You certainly can.”

-You place a notebook next to his stack of paperwork and take a pen out, opening it up to a blank page before staring at him and building up your courage to ask the next question.

“What would you do if I suddenly asked you to be my fake boyfriend for a day?”

-You certainly were keeping up with your role in being the one human he isn’t able to pin down, huh?

-He asks what in the world you are talking about and you squat near him so that you can explain what you were doing. RAD proved to be a lot more stressful than you thought and you didn’t need to remind him that you were playing therapist to seven demons so you needed some sort of break.

-You tell him that in the human world you had a habit of writing ideas, snippets and even random bits of dialogue when you got stressed so you had asked Satan to lend you a notebook and a pen so you could unwind but you had gotten stuck in one scene.

-The character you were writing was loosely based on Lucifer so you decided why not ask him what he would do in order to get some inspiration!

“So here I am! I don’t need an entire synopsis I just want to know because maybe that will spark something inside of me.”

-Pen to paper, you look up at Lucifer ready to write anything down and even though you were looking him straight in the eye you were not paying attention to just how hard Lucifer was staring at you.

-You really had no idea how he felt about you, did you?

-Even with the pact making, the Hellfire Newt Syrup incident, the countless of times he had tried to flirt with you to the point that anyone without eyes could tell how he felt about you, your human brain did not seem to accept the fact that the eldest of the seven demon lords had fallen for you.

-Was this just another way of torturing him? Who would have thought that you would be such a cruel master?

-If only he wasn’t bound to you by the pact. Not that he regretted it but without the pact the ‘need’ to submit to you wasn’t as strong, all he would have to do is grab your chin, turn your face towards his so that he could tell you explicitly what was going through his head every time he saw you--

“...I would walk you to class, first and foremost. We would leave the House of Lamentation together and arrive together as well. Maybe some impromptu dates. Free tutoring as well.” “That’s tempting~ Would you let me hang around in your study?” “You are already welcome to do that.” “Aw, when did you get so soft?”

-Get the hint already!

-Your hand is scribbling down every idea he says, making quips here and there as you both talk extensively about your fake dates would play out. The idea of having you all to himself without his brothers around was already so tempting yet here you were talking about it like it was just a passing thought.

-That wouldn’t do.

-He grabs the top of your pen and smiles when you look up at him in confusion.

“At end of the day, I want to make you feel like the most important person in my world. I don’t want there to be a single doubt in your mind that you belong with me. Pact or no pact, you changed me in ways I couldn’t even fathom, MC, and I am doing everything in my power so that you will see just how important you are to me.”

-Your eyes are staring up at him, wide and with surprise as he dares to cup your cheek.

-He did it. He had gotten through to you! All he had to do was lean in and--!

“Can you repeat that one more time?! Oh my god Luci that was so good! I’m showing this to Satan when I’m done! Thank you so much!”

-Lucifer’s hand drops to his lap as he watches you pick yourself up and run out of his study, his fist clenching in his hand as he thought of just how blind you could be for not seeing what he had tried to convey with those cliched words! Of all the humans--!

-He stops as he hears your giggles outside of the hallway, unclenching his fist and sighing as he tries to look at the positives.

-There had been a flush on your cheeks, of that he was sure. Which meant that in some way...his words had made an impact. He hoped it would take just a few more cheesy lines for you to fall for him.

”Mammon!!!!”

-From the top of his head to the tip of his toes, Mammon could feel himself shiver as you called out his name. Ever since he made that pact the way you would call out his name would send a pleasant shiver down his spine as he turned to greet you.

-Levi told him that you had been looking for him and he had practiced his greeting at least five times to make him look as cool as possible.

“Yo MC! I heard you were looking for the Great Mammon!”

-See? Wasn’t he cool?

-The brothers watched as you didn’t even greet Mammon, you just grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the living room telling everybody that you needed to talk to him privately.

-Privately? As in you two alone? Together?

-Well of course you wanted to talk to him alone! His awesome ways had probably finally gotten through to you and you were about to confess to him. Suck on THAT Lucifer!

-You push him into your room before closing the door and turning to look at him.

“I have something I need to ask you. Do you think you can help?”

-The words escape him before he even thinks them.

“Anything.”

“I want to go out with you. Tonight. Almost like a pretend date.”

-Fireworks go off inside his head as he feels tears prickle at the corners of his eyes. This was real, you were asking him out! You had picked him out of all his brothers despite how many messes he got you in and how much trouble tended to follow him--

-Wait, pretend?

-You proceed to show off your little book of writings, explaining to him that you had gotten stuck in trying to describe a hidden date between the protagonist and the love interest.

“They are trying to hide the fact they are dating from everybody so that they won’t get in trouble. I figured that a human and a demon going on a date is already somewhat of stigma as it is so I just want to see how it feels so I can describe it better.”

-He can’t really describe the sadness that he feels when you tell him it would all be pretend. Too much for dropping Grimm on wishing wells. He was going to go back and fish them all out tomorrow. What a letdown!

-Here he was, the GREAT Mammon letting a human toy with his heart like this!

“You won’t get in too much trouble if we do this...right?”

-The worry in your voice is what makes him look into your eyes. Your hand was on his as you looked for any signs of discomfort from the Avatar of Greed. Your eyes were entirely on him.

-Mammon’s subconscious: More of that please.

-You looked so worried for his well-being. Mammon had no idea who had told you that humans and demons were not allowed to date but they had clearly lied to you. There was no stigma whatsoever. And in retrospect he should reveal that to you now so that there would be no misinformation on how much he wanted to take you on a not pretend date.

-But all your attention was on him. Your body was facing his way, your hands on his as you licked your lips nervously. More, more, more, more he needed for you to look at him more--!

“Tch. Making such a complicated request. You could really get me in trouble for this, MC!” “You’re right, I shouldn’t push it--” “But I guess if you are asking me, I could spare a couple hours...for you.”

-You both share a smile as you hug him close, his arms wrapping around you tight as he tries to keep his smile from breaking out into full blown giggles.

-This worked out for him as well! He was going to give you the best date of your human life so you would have no choice but to fall for him! You better get ready!

-You wrote some fiction, he wrote TSL fanfiction, Levi was probably already aware of your talent once he asked to beta one of his other works and you came back not just with some beta but with some actual USEFUL feedback unlike Satan going on about his spelling mistakes. -So you are already in his room when you ask for his help, grinning as you hold up the small ideas that you had written for your proper introduction into the TSL fandom.

“I want to write an AU about Henry and the Lord of Shadows in an arranged marriage!”

-The premise was simple. You wanted to write about the Lord of Shadows and his Henry having to marry each other in order to bring peace to both of their kingdoms. The marriage proposition was sudden and each of the seven brothers was against it but you wanted to show just how much Henry was willing to sacrifice to help the people who he cared about the most.

-And you loved drama like this.

-You hold up your book as you keep ranting to Levi, the other caught up in your plot as he closed his eyes in order to better imagine it.

“And I want a moment where the Lord of Shadows tells Henry that he doesn’t have to do this. That he wants him to be happy and doesn’t want him to be stuck with a reclusive Lord for all his life.”

-Of course, of course. The Lord of Shadows had always hoped for Henry’s happiness and he had also sacrificed a great many of his previous ways in order to gain his best friend’s praise! Levi was proud, you understood these characters so well! So he pipes in with his own thoughts.

“I bet Henry turns to him and asks why he is so against the idea! It would push the Lord of Shadows to confess that he has secretly longed for Henry’s affection and attention all this time!”

-You both grin before you stand up, putting on a fake sad face as you take Levi’s hand in yours before pressing them to your chest.

“Am I not worthy to be your spouse? Do you hate the idea of marrying me that much?”

-Levi is caught up in the moment that he doesn’t even notice how close you two are, instead moving even closer as he cupped your cheek.

“You? Not worthy? It is I who is not worthy of you. After all you have done...can I be selfish enough to call you mine?”

-Oh this was practically writing itself! You really hoped that Levi remembered some of these lines. You pull away from his touch dramatically before sighing as you decide that this scene would be a good catalyst moment for a confession.

“Have you ever thought of me that way? More than what we have now? I’m embarrassed to admit it but...I have on many occasions longed for something more.”

-Levi’s expression softens in a way you haven’t seen before, keeping a hold on your hands as he follows up with you seamlessly.

“If I told you about my fantasies...about the deep need I feel to keep you away from prying eyes and hoping that yours would remain on me despite the others who so badly wish for your hand. Would you still see me in such high regard?”

-Shit he was good. The prying eyes bit was perfect! Now to end it with a bang! You feel Levi pull you by your waist so you are pressed against his chest, eyes looking down at you as if begging for your reply. So you do what you have read in many other books and take his face in your hands.

“Keep me. Forever.”

-You both stay that way for a few seconds before you pull away and let out a giddy squeal, rushing over to your book and writing down the lines that you could remember, gushing about how Levi had just given you the best ending ever.

-What you didn’t see was the poor demon standing there, arms still pretending to hold someone as the spell broke for him slowly. He needed to process just what the hell just happened.

-He had held your hands, touched you, had you close enough that he could feel you against him and you hadn’t even moved away! Levi could still see how warm your hands were on his cheeks and the words that you had said to him were now slowly coming back to him as he remembered his embarrassing replies!

-You jump and turn when you hear a clatter behind you, turning around to see that Levi had fainted and was now slumped against one of his many manga bookshelves, face all red and a dopey smile on his lips as he repeated your words over and over.

-If you had a writing buddy in Levi, then you got a plot bunny buddy with Satan.

-With the amount of books that he has read and the number of genres he is into, you are surprised that he finds your ideas mildly interesting. They were all just cliches and purely for your enjoyment so when he asked you if he could read some of what you had written you were too shocked to notice that he had already taken the book from your backpack.

“A love story...interesting.”

-You two were in the library, looking for a certain book about black magic casting as well as some examples of ritual circles that you needed to complete for your next assignment. Or rather you were looking for the books, he was just following close behind you as he read your latest entry.

“How are you stuck in this scene?” “Huh?” “How the main character meets the second love interest. It’s pretty obvious.”

-Well excuse you for having writer’s block. You know that he was trying to be helpful but his help always came with some sort of sarcastic twinge that, while endearing during some situations, was incredibly annoying when he was criticizing your writings. You turn back to look at him as you stop at the spot the book was supposed to be in.

“I haven’t necessarily fallen in love with anyone lately, you know! It’s too specific a feeling!”

-Satan’s eyes take in the way you tip-toe to try and reach the book, cursing under your breath as you struggled to get it from the highest shelf. Devildom libraries were notoriously famous for having ridiculously large bookshelves and only a ghost attendant would be able to help you. He looks down at your book and then back at the small scene before smiling as he snaps the book shut.

-Surely a bit of inspiration is all you needed, correct?

-You feel a hand on your lower back, another brushing the hand reaching out for the book and grabbing it for you. Satan smiles as he holds out the book to you.

“Black magic casting...and you needed something about ritual circles, right? It seems the perfect book is right next to you.”

-He ‘accidentally’ brushes your cheek when reaching out for the book behind you, humming for a moment before he puts it back and looks down at you without moving his arm out of the way. Satan had just effectively trapped you in a rather flawlessly executed Kabedon.

“...Satan...the book…” “It wasn’t the right one. Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to get you in this position.”

-Your eyes were shining, the book was pressed right against your chest, he could even see the small blush adorning your face as the situation became quite clear to you. Now he wouldn’t tell you that he had practiced this sort of scenario by himself in his room just in case you ever asked him for help finding a book, better for you to believe that this had all been just a ‘happy’ accident.

“You are looking at me so seriously, MC.” “I know what you are doing.”

-He dares to move closer, his shadow casting over you as if to hide you from prying eyes. If you made the first move, there would be no one stopping him.

“Yeah?” “This would be perfect! A library setting! Gives me a chance to make the character like a cool librarian type!”

-Satan stays silent as you grab the books you need and snatch your notebook from his hand, stating that you were going to check these out immediately and then head home. He turns back to look at the place you were just standing at, the place where you had been completely at his mercy.

-Dammit, he should have blocked the other side too.

-Asmo was ecstatic when you asked him for his book collection.

-It annoyed him to no end when people thought that the only way he consumed his erotica was through personal experience and porn. In his opinion, after personal experience, the best way to enjoy his usual favourite activity was reading erotica. The descriptions, to get into the thoughts of the inner characters and seeing how they essentially lose their minds to the pleasure. It was thrilling.

-So when you come knocking at his door one night and ask for one of the books you usually catch him reading, he is both excited and curious.

“Which one do you want darling? I have the first volume of ‘Eternal Dom Love’, ‘Baring My Soul to a Demon’, ‘Captive Human’--” “You have anything like...with dirty talk?

-Oh now he is really excited and curious.

-He looks around his small library and pulls out the book he thinks is best for what you desired, holding it out for you to take but pulling it back quickly with a grin. Asmo wasn’t going to just let you walk away after telling him something so interesting~

“I’m a bit possessive about my books, MC~ What are you going to use it for? Recreational reasons?”

-You blush and cover your face with your hands, not really embarrassed for asking but instead embarrassed that you were about to tell him what you were going to do with it. But you steel yourself, you had heard Asmo flirt in the club before and from how quickly his dates had insisted on taking it to a more ‘private’ area, you knew he had the thing that you desperately needed.

“I…” “Yes?” “I’m-trying-to-write-the-prelude-to-a-sex-scene-in-one-of-my-stories-but-I-have-no-idea where-to-start-so-I-need-material!”

-Asmo blinks before grinning as he got in your face, pushing the book into your hands as he asked you what the story was about, who were the characters, had you based them off of anybody and just what kind of sex scene where you planning?

-He had no idea you had that kind of talent, where had you been hiding that all this time?

-You slowly explain the plot to him, getting a bit more into it as you see how much attention Asmo is paying to your every word. Out of all of the brothers you didn’t expect him to be so interested in one of your stories! The scene you have in mind is somewhat clear to you so you try to explain to him just what you think is missing.

“It is a demon and a human. They are clearly not supposed to be doing this. Yet that is--” “What makes it all the more appealing.”

-Asmo had played this out perfectly given the little time he had to work with. The more you talked, the closer he got to you. The closer he got, the more you moved away subconsciously. Your body instinctively wanted to make room for him and give him his space but you let out a small ‘meep’ when the back of your knees hit the side of his hanging chair and you find yourself sitting down as he kneels in front of you.

“They both know that if they take such a intimate step with one another they might not be able to go back to how they used to be before. Everything will change.”

-You nod as Asmo touches your leg, hand moving towards your thigh as he rests his chin on your knees.

“But what is so wrong with change? You said the demon is a charmer so they would want to charm them throughout the whole thing. It would start out slow, teasing even, probably testing out the waters as they see what their human likes and doesn’t like."

-He scoots closer and traces your fingers, the digits wrapped tightly around his book as he continues..

“They would eventually lose control, wouldn’t they? The passion would be too much for them to handle and they both would lose themselves to their lust. Although it wouldn’t be just lust…”

-Asmo looks up to meet your eyes, straightening out as he leans in closer to the point that you are shutting your eyes and leaning in as well--it’s not that you haven’t had experience with kisses but surely the demon of lust’s kiss would spark something inside your head--!

-You open your eyes when you feel the book leaving your hands.

“I changed my mind. I think this would be a much better title for what you are looking for, Sweetie.”

-He holds out your hand for you to stand up and you almost want to ask Solomon to cast some sort of spell that would make you forget everything that happened in these moments. You closed your eyes like some highschooler waiting for their first kiss--you were better than that!

-You thank him and make your way out of his room, running back to yours as fast as you can without noticing Asmo’s mischievous smile as he waved goodbye. It was always good to play the long game~

-You two had stopped at Madame’s Scream because Beel had complained about being hungry yet again. Besides you both had done rather well on an examination so--why not celebrate?

-You only had a small fizzy drink while Beel had ordered himself something called ‘The Herculean Parfait’, something about it holding 25 scoops of ice cream plus whip cream, nuts and some waffle cones at the bottom. Now the waiter had brought out two spoons but it was clear that Beel would only be needing one.

-This was rather normal for you two, Beel eating his fill while you stared at the blank page of your small notebook. You were trying to write a cute scene with a couple sharing a dessert at a coffee shop where they first met but you were struggling to think of a fluffy scenario.

-Was feeding your partner considered cheesy nowadays? You tap your page twice before looking at Beel. The second spoon remained untouched, some ice cream specks stuck to the shiny, concave surface as the Demon of Gluttony continued his ice cream carnage. You grab the spoon and take some from the side that had yet to be eaten.

“Hey Beel”

-The demon stops eating and looks at you as you hold out the spoon to him, his hunger suddenly stopping as he looks at the sugary contents stacked high on the spoon you were holding out for him.

“Say aah!”

-Beel blinks but doesn’t think twice the moment you give him the command, opening his mouth and eating the sugary confection off the spoon, his smile growing as you let out a small giggle.

“Did it taste good?" “Mmm~!" “I’m glad.”

-He abandoned his own spoon as you scooped up some more, opening his mouth as you kept on feeding him. Beel had no idea what had brought this on or why you were suddenly feeding him. It wasn’t like he was complaining, however. Yes your pace was slow and such a giant parfait would surely melt with how slow you were going but he didn’t care, instead opening his mouth wide as you kept on feeding him.

“So Beel…” “Mmm?" “Does it feel any different when I feed you?”

-Beel frowns when the spoon stops but decides to answer your question so that he could go back to eating. Why would it feel any different? Well, it somewhat did? He didn’t know how to describe it but he does feel a lot fuller than before. He is actually tasting the food as you take your time scooping up some more. He had picked out so many different flavors and he could taste almost every single one.

“I wouldn’t say different...but food certainly tastes better when you give it to me.”

-You immediately stop and put the spoon down, smiling as you start to writing down what Beel had just said. You could essentially build an entire scene around that! What a good idea coming here--

“MC?”

-Your pen stops as you look at Beel, your pen falling from your hands as you see the puppy dog look he was giving you. He looks at your hand and then at the spoon.

“Why did you stop?”

-Beel smiles happily as you go right back to what you were doing, the notebook forgotten as you continue to spoil your demon. You had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time you were doing this.

-Belphie yawned as he cuddled you closer, your hands moving so they would be wrapped around his neck but still holding onto your phone. He closes his eyes and tries to drift off but frowns when he hears your fingers tapping on your screen. He could probably sleep through the sound but he didn’t want to.

“Turn around.” “Huh?” “Just turn around.”

-You do as he says, now pressed against his chest as you continue to type. Belphegor was close to falling asleep, pressing his nose against your shoulder as he breathes you in---

Tap tap tap tap

“Fuck this.”

-He grabs your phone and drops it off the bed, your protests being muffled as he wraps his arms around your neck to pull you close. You tap his arms twice before wiggling out of his hold, sitting up on the bed and looking at him while he glared back at you.

-What did you think you were doing typing away on your phone? Belphegor never really asked you for much but when it was cuddle time it was cuddle time. You weren’t supposed to do anything *but* cuddle during cuddle time so you clearly needed to stop being distracted.

“What do you think you are doing?” “Taking care of your distraction.”

-You both stare at each other as he sits up as well, clearly letting you know that if you were to go and dig for your phone he wasn’t going to let you. At this point, it really was useless to argue with Belphegor. As the youngest, he was used to getting what he wanted with little setback. So you lay back down, ignoring the triumphant smile Belphegor gave you as he went right back to cuddling you.

“I was writing something.” “It can wait till later…”

-Belphegor yawns and wraps his leg around you, ignoring the little ‘hmphs’ you were giving him as well as the words you were muttering to yourself. But what good would it be if you weren’t cuddling up to him as well so he decided to give in as well.

“What were you writing about?”

-Oh this was new. You turn to face him, talking about the scene you were working on. This couple had just had an exhausting day and they were eager to lay in bed together but their work or other responsibilities were keeping them from cuddling at night. You explained how you wanted to describe the exhaustion one was feeling from not having their partner with them.

-The demon of Sloth hummed when you mentioned how tired the character was and speaking up about how he knew how they felt. You chuckle and mention that it seemed that everything made Belphegor exhausted nowadays. He shakes his head, opening his eyes so he could look at you.

“No. I mean that everything gets heavier when you’re not with me.”

-You try to cut it in and ask him what he is talking about but he beats you to it.

“I get more energy when you are around. I actually want to do things aside from sleeping. “Are you saying you like hanging out with me more than sleeping?” “Don’t push it, MC.”

-Both of you laugh, your body cuddling closer to the demon as you yawn. A part of you was still annoyed that Belphegor had shoved your phone to the floor because now would have been a prime time to write that he had just said but as your eyes grew heavier you just hoped that you would remember it by the time you woke up.

-Belphegor opens his eyes once he feels your breathing evening out, smiling as he leans in close and presses a kiss to your forehead.

“You weren’t far off...I do like you more than sleeping...sometimes…”

-He yawns and wraps an arm around your waist. What a good idea it was to lock the door so none of his brothers would bother you two. Your nights were his, after all.

[mindmeltonabun-blog]

Doom At Your Service: Analysis & Theories for EPs 9-10

Anyone mentally exhausted from watching DAYS? Well, you’ve come to the right place where I do the thinking for you, so you don’t have to! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to click on the ask question button! Happy Readings !

The Contract Revisited

While reviewing the contract, I realized there was something major that I had completely missed! Anyways let’s go over the contract again to clear up some confusion.

The Contract is as follows:

1) Dong Kyung must ask for Myul Mang to destroy the world before she dies (It could be rephrased as Dong Kyung must ask for Myul Mang to destroy the world before her tentative expiration date)

2) During Dong Kyung’s last 100 days, Myul Mang will prevent her from feeling any pain

3) Myul Mang has to grant her one real wish

4) If Dong Kyung breaks the contract (does not wish for the world to be destroyed) then the person she loves the most will die

If Dong Kyung does not violate the contract as in she wishes for the world to be destroyed, the person she loves dies anyways because you know.... the world is non existent. If Dong Kyung does violate the contract, meaning she does not wish for the world to be destroyed, the person she loves dies too because her doom is transferred to them. Some have also wondered whether she can has to ask for the world to be destroyed in order to get her one real wish to be granted. In my opinion, I don't think so. I think she can still get her one real wish to be granted regardless of whether she wishes for doom upon the world or not. Other things to note is that nothing will happen to Myul Mang if he does not stick to the terms of the contract (i.e keeps Dong Kyung pain free and granting her one real wish) because as Dong Kyung said "If I violate" not "If either you or I violate".

Now something to pay close attention to is #4. In Ep 2, Myul Mang had said he would take Dong Kyung’s doom (brain cancer) and transfer it to someone she loves. This is the part I missed! I’d thought that all Myul Mang was doing was transferring the death that was meant for her, not that he was actually removing her source of death which was her brain cancer. Therefore, if Dong Kyung breaks the contract, she will live because her brain cancer is removed and is subsequently transferred into the person she loves, causing them to die instead. I feel incredibly stupid for missing this important piece of info. In light of this new info, I will therefore retract my previous theory that Dong Kyung’s one wish will be to cure her brain cancer.

For those who were confused by that scene of Dong Kyung going to the beach and staying away from everyone, here are my thoughts on that. Dong Kyung was trying to find a loophole. The loophole was that she was planning on violating the contract while protecting the people she loves. This means that Dong Kyung was planning on ending herself at the beach (you can't wish for doom upon the world if you're already dead) and accepting her doom (her doom can't be transferred to anyone else because she accepts it in herself).

Who’s Going to Get Dong Kyung’s Brain Cancer and Die?

I recently had a eureka moment a few days ago before Eps 9-10 aired that led me to formulating a new theory -- it's actually Dora who will inherit Dong Kyung’s brain cancer and die. Let’s think through some things first, “the person you love the most will die”. The most obvious choice is Myul Mang. However, if you think about that statement in a more abstract way, you can see that if Dong Kyung loves her life, then the person who will die is Dora. Remember that Dora is basically the personification of life.

To further add evidence that supports this theory, I present to you Exhibit A, Dora’s massive nosebleed. We know Dong Kyung has a rare type of brain cancer and it’s located in her frontal lobe. As days pass, the brain tumor is growing or metastasizing. In theory, the tumor could grow into nearby areas such as her nasal cavity and cause Dong Kyung to have nose bleeds (FYI: In real life, I’m a scientist with experience in the field of oncology and most of the time brain tumors don’t grow outside of the brain. It can happen, but it is very rare!). Now, think about the events that occurred before Dora's nose bleed. For example, Dong Kyung was out and about enjoying her time with Myul Mang and her family and friends. Essentially, Dong Kyung was beginning to love her life. This causes Dora to suffer because she is taking in Dong Kyung's illness into herself. Subsequently, this leads to Dora experiencing some of the symptoms of Dong Kyung's brain cancer (e.g nose bleed). Thus, as Dong Kyung is beginning to live, Dora is beginning to die.

Exhibit B: Adventures of Pinocchio. At the end of the story, the Fairy (Dora) heals an ailing Geppetto (Dong Kyung) as a reward for Pinocchio (Myul Mang) becoming a good boy. Following this, we don’t hear much about what happens to the Fairy except that she’s in laying in a hospital on the verge of death. It is implied that in order to heal Geppetto, the Fairy had to take his illness into herself. Afterall, nothing is without consequences, someone must pay so that others can be happy. Much like the story of Pinocchio, Dora is doing the same thing as the Fairy. Dora is taking in Dong Kyung’s illness so that Dong Kyung can freely love her son, Myul Mang, without consequences (e.g Myul Mang dying).

Exhibit C: Dong Kyung walking around like she didn’t have brain cancer while in seclusion. You would think that since she didn’t see Myul Mang to recharge, she would be experiencing some severe symptoms, but nope she was walking around as if she was cured! I wonder where her cancer went.......DORA!

Exhibit D: Dora telling Dong Kyung to be madly in love and live. Basically Dora saying, "Love my son and live, don't worry about your brain cancer or him dying because I'm taking care of it."

Why Dora Didn't Want Myul Mang To See Her

For those wondering why Dora didn’t want Myul Mang to see her, here are my two cents. One explanation is that Dora probably didn’t want him to figure out that she was inheriting Dong Kyung’s brain cancer. It would’ve made him feel guilty to see that his mother was willing to take on even more pain just so he could be happy. Another explanation is that Myul Mang still has a lot of growing up to do (to become human). Dora didn’t want him to get the idea that he’s out of the clear just yet. Meaning if Myul Mang had found out that Dora was doing this for him then he would’ve thought life was a breeze now and have no further motivations to want to grow, thus ruining Dora’s plan for him (to grow up to become a good human). There’s no better motivation to make someone grow than the thought of their love ones dying.

Final Theory on Dong Kyung’s Wish

In my previous post, I had discussed that without knowing the limits of what one could or could not wish for, it was difficult for me to accurately predict what Dong Kyung’s wish would be. However, in this week’s episode, I was finally given the limits: the wish must be a wish that is doom in nature. I thought to myself, what could be a good thing to end? Oh, that’s right, Myul Mang’s immorality. Dong Kyung must say “I wish for your immortal life to end” or something along those lines. The combination of Dong Kyung’s wish + Myul Mang’s willingness to sacrifice himself for her + Dora’s plant = the rebirth of Myul Mang into a real boy....oops I mean real hu-man.

The Ending of DAYS

So, what kind of ending will DAYS have? Prepare yourselves. I think it’s going to be a bittersweet ending because it goes with the one of the main themes DAYS which is dualism. I think Myul Mang will be reborn as a human, but still have his doom responsibilities (so more like a fake human). He will probably end up becoming like Dora in the sense that he gets to experience the cycle of life and death over an infinite amount of time. Dong Kyung won’t be reborn in his next life cycle (remember Myul Mang tells that crazy lady there’s no afterlife; humans only have this one life). I guess the notion that the love he and Dong Kyung share will always be with him and forever serve as a shining beacon even in his loneliest days is sweet, but still I want a happy ending!!!

Now excuse my language, but to hell with dualism and what is logical! I want a happy ending where Myul Mang becomes human, lives with Dong Kyung, and when he dies that’s it. No coming back to doing his doom job in a different life. Dora can create another herald of doom. Dora did it once before and she could do it again lol. Or if Myul Mang must come back in a different life, at least allow Dong Kyung to be reborn at the same time. I mean you can grow the same plant again…. EVER HEARD OF PROPROGATION DORA?!! Metaphorically speaking, if Dong Kyung is a sunflower, then wait until she dies, harvest her seeds and grow her again…. it’s that simple Dora!!!

Some Thoughts on the Writer of DAYS

The writer (Im Meari) of DAYS is at best, pretentious and at worst, derivative. She’s more or less just rehashing the works of other great philosophers (Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Deleuze, etc). She presents DAYS as a collection of major philosophical concepts with the intention to differentiate herself from that of other kdramas writers. She goes onto placing great stress on the idea that in order to innovate or bring about a new beginning, one must deviate from the norm, yet she herself does not diverge from the ideas of other philosophers. She does not present any philosophy of her own. In this aspect, she is a hypocrite to the very ideas she tries to preach. Oh well, to each their own. Who knows, maybe my opinion of Im Meari will change by the end of the series. Anyways, I’m still here for the romance between the actors and actresses and solving mysteries!

Ep 11 Preview Predictions

Here are my predictions for Ep 11 based off of the preview, they may or may not be correct !

Dong Kyung takes back the bracelet from Myul Mang after their conversation on the beach. Honestly, I’m growing tired of this whole giving/taking the bracelet type situation lol.

Dong Kyung enjoys a nice vacation with Myul Mang on Jeju island.

Dong Kyung returns from the vacation because she finds out that her aunt is sick (probably from worrying about Dong Kyung). Dong Kyung beats herself up about it.

Dong Kyung is sick again (probably from hating life...remember that I had theorized that the more Dong Kyung loves her life, the sicker Dora will be become) and Myul Mang in his desperation pleads with Dora to help him, but Dora’s version of helping him is to …. surprise surprise… teach him another lesson. The lesson is that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and that Myul Mang and Dong Kyung complete each other for the better. Dora shows Myul Mang what their lives would've been like if they had never existed in each other’s lives.

Dong Kyung having never experience any kind of suffering would live a healthy life but become the most unappreciative and spoiled person ever. She may go on to finding that life was pretty meaningless and would want to put an end to it all. And Myul Mang having never met Dong Kyung wouldn't have any motivation or desire to grow as a person and so he would remain stagnant. And who knows… maybe at some point, that Myul would’ve became so angry with humans that he would personally go around killing every last one of them.

[nexyra]

RWBY's Love Language - Part 2

Hello friend ! I'm back at it with a second part and whatever character I can think of ! (Among which best boy Oscar because he deserves it, and also more adults)

Let's go !

***

Oscar Pine

So ! While I love Oscar with my whole heart, honestly guessing his Love Language is no easy feat. One thing for sure : touch isn't is thing even if it's how everyone else chose to communicate their love.

I saw a post a while back detailing how Oscar is always putting his hands up as a barrier when he's scared or uncomfortable and that makes me cry a little instead but it's true TT. Anyway...

In the latest volumes we've got quite a bit of comforting Oscar-talks but I have to wonder how much of that is due to Ozpin's influence really. As a result I've decided to settle on... Acts of Service or Quality Time ! This is based on a few details : when people are upset with him in one shape or form, Oscar was always very eager to prove himself useful, give some aspect of concrete help (such as cooking a Casserole, ringing any bell ?). Plus I imagine that's the exact brand of help his Aunt would have needed most on a farm. Added to that, he always seems fairly happy to be included, be with the others no matter what's going on. Training ? Yay ! A movie with Jaune & Weiss ? Smiling puppy look. Fancy party ? Shenanigans together ! So yea, I love seeing my boy loved and hugged but please everyone settle for the loving he's most comfortable with <3

“She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for me, apparently.”

“No, it's okay. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Ozpin

For our favorite immortal wizard aka not quite dead Headmaster... I think the answer is rather obvious. When you're so careful with your words, but also so fiercely devoted to humanity, Words of Affirmation is a must. Ozpin constantly does his best to calm, to reassure. He's good at controlling the conversation and getting people where he wants... Except he more often than not use it to make them think and help them reach an healing ore motivating conclusion. This man is so insisten on giving and cultivating hope, so painfully aware of just how much words can change... There's no doubt in my mind that it's through these very same words that he tries to fight the darkness in others' mind, even when they don't want to let themselves be persuaded. And with some help from the farmboi, Ozpin is gaining in honesty and earnestness. And that can only help in giving comfort.

But to be honest... If you offer him a hug I doubt he'd refuse, and he definitely deserves one. Also therapy. For Oscar too. Everyone in therapy 2k21.

“Ruby. I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them. Do you?”

“It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget.”

“Don't worry, Mr. Arc. Your journey is far from over, and the same might be said for all of you. Unlocking your Semblance isn't the end. It can still grow and evolve. Providing you are willing to put in the work, who knows what could happen?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Emerald Sustrai

Now here I'm gonna go ahead and say that the way Emerald has been taught to express her love and the way SHE would rather preffered to be loved most likely do not align. At the side of someone like Cinder, and even Mercury who isn't exactly the most emotionally vulnerable person; the only brand of love that gets an easy pass is Acts of Service, and that's probably what Emerald is the most used to. I can go on a mission with you. I can help. We go right back to the "I can be useful" mentality and I'm not sure she's been shown any other way honestly. Let's be real though : if someone offered a hug or some gentle words ? She'd probably pout & fuss but I hardly doubt she'd object.

“I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything. You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest.”

“I just... Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things... But without her here, I don't know if what we're doing--”

“I've been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won't tell anybody.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Pyrrha Nikos

What's with everyone and dedicating their whole love toward just helping their teammates anyway they can ?! Stop ! But any way, you guessed it. I'm pretty sure one of Pyrrha's top way of showing love is Acts of Service, and nothing means quite as much to her as Quality Time. For someone who's been put on a pedestal and has a hard time relating to people; both touch and words can be a bit awkward. But if they're wrapped up neatly in a training session or semblance explanations ? Well that's already a more familiar area. Pyrrha gives her whole to her friends and those she cares about. And in exchange, if anyone can simply... be there and spend time with her... May it be at the ball or simply sitting in the courtyard... I'm sure our girl would be delighted.

“Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask.”

“I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise; but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. But thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.”

“I'll do it. If you believe this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Qrow Branwen

If I say Gift Giving for the corvid, is someone gonna hit me ? Come on it's fun ! Okay, more seriously... I think this kind of love conversation is kind of a necessity for Qrow. With a semblance such as Bad Luck, making everything complicated... Qrow tries to keep his distance from those he cares about. And since he's an emotionally repressed (but caring) asshole on top of it... Well that kinda narrows down his option. You know what DOESN'T put anyone at risk but can still bring smiles on their face ? GIFTS. Shiny things, souvenirs from his missions all over the world to give to 2 smol nieces. Sounds safe right ? That said, as any good emotionally unavailable character in this show, I gotta say Qrow probably has a thing for helping out and making himself useful in relation to Oz, Tai or the rest of the inner circle. So you know what that means *whisper* Acts of Service.

That said ! When it comes to receiving some love back... Qrow probably likes everything he doesn't allow himself to have. Soft touches, loving & comforting words, spending time with a friend without his semblance making everything complicated... We know that's all he wants.

“You idiot. I know you didn't do this.”

“Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone.”

“No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good...”

- - - - - - - - - -

Clover Ebi

And among our newbies (and gone too soon) friends we have Clover ! Clover was a very good contrast to our dusty old crow but also a great help. Kind-hearted, perceptive and honest; he knew just how to put Qrow's self-loathing in his place and push him to give himself some credit. He always had a nice word or a joke for everyone, and visibly the rock of the Ace Ops : an expert a keeping the moral up and the mood companiable. Evidently, Words of Affirmation was his expertise. Had things gone differently, I'm sure we'd have had time for many more earnest and helpful conversations with this teal-eyed fisherman.

“It's a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky.”

“I meant deflect a compliment. Those kids wouldn't be where they are without you. You've had more of an effect on them than you realize.”

“We don't have to fight, friend.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Winter Schnee

And today in the "emotionally unavailable" category we have... Winter Schnee ! TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS PEOPLE ! Just - I would say look at Ruby but even she doesn't talk about her bad vibes... Nor does any of the "Words of Affirmation" peeps. Honestly what's wrong with y'all people ? Anyway Winter cares so much. Is it hidden behind professionalism and a stern *big sister* demeanour ? Sure. But it doesn't negate just how much she loves her closed ones. She's fiercely loyal, and even if she doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way of her duty and doing what needs to be done, no one is allowed to say she doesn't care. Countrary to Weiss, Winter doesn't seem as good nor as aware of the love that exists in simply *being* with people. Rather, she's dutiful and ready to help any way she can when given the chance. You guessed it, yet another Acts of Service kind of love... Maybe I'm doing this wrong XD. I'm on the fence about Words of Affirmation as well. Despite her standoffish looks, Winter has always been very open & reassuring during her discussions with Penny. But she's more stern when it comes to Weiss so I dunno x)

“I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?”

“You've grown up a bit, haven't you? You're not the little girl clinging to the family name anymore.”

“You can't just buy trust like everything else! You have to earn it!”

And that's it for Part 2 ! I might do some other characters if people suggest some but I don't have a pressing need to right now. I have many ideas of songs to apply to various characters however so that's prob what my next posts will consist of (or fun templates)

If anyone has tips to create RWBY gifs or links to download the eps in good quality I'll take it ! Good day everyone !

[erintoknow]

what other media, if any (literally anything; interactive fiction, Bioware- or Bethesda-esque RPGs, etc) do you think Ari would be a good fit for?

what other media? hmmm

well i guess in a way i've already decided the answer to this because i picked out ari and a few other character concepts and are reworking them to fit into an original fiction narrative.

it's been incredibly invigorating to get back into a writing project again after spending the last two years tossing around different ideas and concepts - this one seems to be the one that's sticking so far.

oh dear, i've ended up writing quite a bit more then i originally intended for this, but here we go:

i can't really imagine ari as a character being that good a fit for a video game or even like a tv show or something like (despite having spent a non-small amount of time imagining different such scenarios haha) at the same time though, fiction is fiction - what you consider a good fit is going to depend on what specifically you consider essential to the character, so let's see...

fiction, or i suppose potentially interactive fiction as well, is kind of the one medium that allows the closeness to a character's interior narrative that feels core to making ari stand out in my mind.

i don't think she could support being a lead character without that close lens. dropped into a video game or movie or some other medium, i think you'd get wildly different impressions of her depending on if she was part of the central cast and afforded space (at least in a narrative sense) to drop her guard, or if she was limited to specific section or like 'side quest.' It'd be the difference between seeing a stoic 'action hero' esque figure, a fragile emotional mess underneath that, or a character desperate for love yet utterly afraid of it underneath that.

of course, this is true for all characters in fiction isn't it? the amount of space the narrative affords them determines how well they can be examined or well, characterized, within the core text. different character concepts are better suited for different roles, and which roles those may be can also be dependent on the medium at hand

so then, i'd say - if you want to lean into ariadne's interior psyche drama you want the close perspective only really possible in written fiction imo; if you want more emphasis on action, on ari's outside world relationship, a more visual-based medium like a tv show might be suitable.

hmm actually, a graphic novel in particular would be very hit or miss i think, a traditional approach i think would be pretty boring, but if you had someone willing to get really experimental with page layout and visuals to convey experience through nonverbal means... that could be interesting?

jumping back to video games for a second because now i'm in full on 8am ramble mode and i am going to make 0 effort to edit or clean this up – video games are pretty unique in our forms of media in their ability to use audience interaction to further draw them into the fantasy of the story being told - i mean, really this the whole appeal that otherwise extremely weak narrative series like bioware rpgs right? they manage to have such a profound emotional effect on us as player/audience because we allow ourselves to be drawn into the fantasy that we aren't just watching or reading events unfold but are actively participating in them ourselves. there's absolutely ways you could work with that for ariadne's character concept, i think? i still think she'd be better utilized as not a main character in such a conceit, but a character you have to choose to work to get to know, maybe? probably in some way that ideally comes back later in the game to have repercussions either in revealed information or character actions to represent / respect the work that was or wasn't put into befriending the character.

so uh, to summarize, i think you could take this character and jam her into just about anything with a bit of work and she'd still be mostly recognizable - but it's really only with the close pov of written narrative that she stands out (with the visual element of graphic fiction making it a potential runner up here if you got someone willing to go nuts with it)

an interactive fiction story feels a little too close to her origin as a FHR fanfic character for me to feel comfortable going that route - but objectively i suppose that could work pretty well too? it's just not an angle i'm interested in exploring with the character - if i were to write an interactive fiction story, i already know which concept i'd want to roll with for that. the Grey Painter by William Loman (which is a fantastic piece of horror fiction imo and deserves more love) is a great example of the kind of direction i was already thinking of going with: a character with several preset characteristics in a preexisting relationship with another character, navigating a situation --- i'm digressing now though

considering i am a writer and prefer written narrative (books are so good!!! please check out Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White or The Girls I've Been by Tessa Sharpe), am actively writing one rn, and developed the original version of the character as part of a written narrative fan fiction, i can't say i'm surprised at my own conclusion haha