#my mind is that of a goldfish swimming in a bowl

[thief-of-eggs]

Does anyone else who writes longfics struggle because they just… forget what they wrote in the past chapters? And it’s too long to reread each time before you update, so you just cross your fingers and hope you didn’t make a plot hole

[27paperlilies]

Insanity keeps me hopeful.

It's said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, all whilst expecting different results.

It's true that there is a sort of madness in repetition, and the first image that this notion brings to my mind is of a person half crazed with no reason or intuition, just trapped in a goldfish bowl because they only swim down.

But the next image is one of hope and blind faith in a better outcome. Sometimes hope has no logic, no real grounding but it keeps us fighting, it keeps us persevering even in the face of the impossible.

Insanity and hope go hand in hand. Maybe we are insane but at least we are not without hope.

[mochinomnoms]

Silly scenario, but imagine something goes wrong in Alchemy, which results in Riddle getting turned into a fish, specifically a goldfish like a legit goldfish, not a merman. If Floyd were to find out, depending on his mood, he would either laugh or annoyed that his goldfishy quite literally turned into a goldfish. Now imagine Floyd carrying goldfish Riddle around the campus in a small tank. This was funnier in my head, I swear.

I'm so sorry, Riddle, because Floyd has the impulsive decision-making of a 2-year-old who just discovered free will.

He's dropping Riddle into his mouth and just barely registers, “oh wait, I probably shouldn't eat him lol” before spitting him back into the bowl.

If you wanted to take it on a much sweeter, shipping note, this would be a great opportunity for Floyd to show a much softer side to Riddle. I'm assuming that Riddle is still very sentient and aware in this new form, but maybe the others aren't aware of that.

This includes Floyd, for plot purposes of course, as he takes to carrying Riddle in a little baggy. Riddle's not happy, as he's been snatched from Trey and Cater's very dependable hands and is now being jostled around in this stupid eel's hands.

Imagine his surprise when Floyd, upon entering an unfamiliar part of Octavinelle, carefully drops him in a pleasantly cool, refreshing tank. It's a freshwater one, too, which doesn't match the rest of the waters surrounding the dorm. It takes a moment for him to realize that it's probably one of Jade's terrariums, perhaps gifted to Floyd, if the random knick-knacks like a small bouncy ball and a still wrapped lollipop were any indicator.

I suppose he could be fascinated with freshwater marine life, being from the sea. Still, it's much more well-kept than I'd expect from Floyd, of all people.

There's a few other small freshwater fish swimming in the small tank as well. They looked remarkably healthy and lovely, despite being mostly gray and silver. The filtration system looked expensive too, was this all really Floyd's doing?

“Floyd, did you really put Riddle into my tank?” Ah, never mind, this makes more sense. “I thought I told you after the last time, stop added things into my tank. And when did you add that candy?”

Riddle had never heard Jade speak in such an irritated tone, it reminded him of how Cater would speak with his older sisters on the phone. Siblings don't always get along, he supposes.

“Aw it's fine, the little guys love my decorations! And besides,” Floyd leaned down to stare at Riddle with his bi-colored eyes. They looked quite pretty, he'd hate to admit.

“I gotta take care of my Riddle!” Huh, Floyd never, if ever, called him by his actual name. “Sea Turtle and Seabream probably would've kept him in that stupid bag until he turned back. That's no good!”

Riddle watched as Floyd rested his head on his arms, gazing at him with an expression he'd rather not name as Riddle swam around in the water. He had to admit, the water against his scales felt quite nice, Riddle wondered if being in a merform would be the same?

“And I gotta make sure he likes the water, that way he'll agree to move into our home after we get married.”

WHAT

Riddle was glad that he couldn't do more to express himself other than fan and flutter his fins and gills, as he's sure Floyd would rub his sudden embarrassment in his face.

“Please, you have to confess for that to even happen.” Jade scoffed as he reached his hand in to pick out the toys and trash Floyd had left in the tank. “And that's if you get him to not hate your guts.”

“Jaaaaaaade! You're being meeeeean!” Floyd turned back around to wrap his arms around his brother's waist, letting himself become deadweight for Jade to drag as he tried to walk to the trashcan by his desk.

“You can't say nothing! You're in the same boat with your mate!”

“I am most certainly not!” Jade's huff was almost amusing, if not unsettling coming from him. “My darling is just shy, I need to be careful—”

“You're a scared little bitch is what you are.”

Riddle watched as Floyd immediately ran out of the room, Jade following right after him. He thinks he could make out sounds of crashing, but it was muffled from the water and glass. It took all but of a few minutes for a disheveled Floyd with a blood nose to zoom back into the room, nearly smacking against the tank as he fell to his knees.

“Sorry Little Goldfishie, didn't mean to leave ya alone. I'll stay with ya for a while until you turn back into my Riddle. 'Kay?”

Perhaps delusional lovesickness ran in the Leech family. Perhaps Riddle was also a bit delusional, as the fond look in Floyd's eyes didn't completely turn him off.

[bigdumbbambieyes]

nobody asked but i named my Harringrove S2 rewrite fic ‘Guppy’ because i once read this story about a boy who had a pet goldfish that kept trying to die by going on its back and floating, but the boy didn’t want him to give up. so, he’d stick his hand into the bowl and flip the fish right-side up again and the goldfish would start swimming, but continued to flip upside down bc it wanted to just give up and die. but the boy kept poking it, kept encouraging it to swim, until the goldfish realized that the boy wasn’t going to stop so it kept swimming and stayed alive for a long time

and i felt like that was a great metaphor for Billy’s attitude towards Steve in S2. he wanted to befriend him and make him get over Nancy, he wanted to see the fire of King Steve, he wanted Steve to keep up with him and not give up. so i wrote the fic with that in mind.

[krysta-cross]

15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

tagged by @theelderhazelnut

1. Are you named after someone?

A saint. I was named so religiously when people hear my name they say "amen" (lol jk)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Can't remember, last December I guess.

3. Do you have kids?

If you count cats as kids then I have 3

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

An awful lot in my head but sometimes it slips out of my mouth.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Physically their eyes, the way they look at others. Gestures, how they act around certain people, the tone of their voice and what they say. It speaks more about their personalities.

6. What's your eye color?

Dark brown.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

I like both so it really depends on my mood.

8. Any special talents?

Strong instincts against fake and cheaters. I can also sense people's aura/energy and avoid those who clash with my own. If we're talking about normal special talents then drawing and writing.

9. Where were you born?

At home.

10. What are your hobbies?

Cosplaying, Watching anime, movies, series, documentaries etc., Drawing, Foodtrip, I like traveling too but my motion sickness says no lol so I do it sometimes and I am asleep during the whole trip 😴

11. Have you had any pets?

I had mostly cats since childhood, we also had dogs, chickens, ducks, birds, goldfishes but it's a family pet. Most pets I have that are mine is cats.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Basketball, Badminton, Bowling, Volleyball, Swimming-- most of these are school requirements

13. How tall are you?

152 cm/ 5 ft, just the right height to stare at abs straight without looking suspicious ಠ⁠‿⁠ಠ

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, Microbiology, Anatomy, Psychology, Chemistry.

15. Dream job?

If they pay me to sleep then that's a dream job lol

Srsly I want to be a Psychologist or a Psychiatrist but let's see if I would have a change of heart or mind again about this.

I don't have many mutuals but I'll tag a few @huepazu @darialovesstuff @tisaolin @zoetheneko @loverofthewindgod

[xdeusxmachinax]

Why I swim with the Pisces

I can’t be sure I’m manic depressive exactly. For a long time, my diagnosis was kept from me, and what I have exactly, I’m not sure. All I do know is that somewhere before I was ten, I began to have periods of intense panic, and sorrow. I’d break down crying if something I couldn’t immerse myself in wasn’t on TV. I’d burst into a sobbing mess if my mother was out of sight for two long. I remember deliberately wetting the bed to try and spend a little more time near her, and she called me out on it. I think I was seven, and it was shortly after being rescued from almost being molested. 

I remember not wanting to go out and catch bugs, or line my pokemon toys on the front steps, like elite four champions. I just wanted to sit and watch cartoons. I remember my mother nearly crying with frustration, because she was trying to wrangle my younger brother and I was still sitting staring at my school clothes, not dressed for the day. I was crying. It genuinely felt like I couldn’t move to put them on. And I didn’t know why. I didn’t know why I was being so bad.

 At some point, after talking to a lot of really friendly strangers in crisp offices filled with toys, I was given medicine. And it made me feel a little better. For a while.It’s a process, especially as a child, to find what medicine works for you. It’s even worse, as you couple it with puberty and adding on things like Birth Control. But overtime, I began to see two sides of myself.

There was one, who felt a bit like a disney princess. She could sing, and clean, and make people’s days better by being friendly, and she made plans. Big plans, not always things she could finish, but she dreamed big. I thought of that as ‘the real me.’

Then, there was the other me. Who felt like she was made of toothpicks, created just to fall apart, and hurt everyone else, made to crumple and suffer at the slightest difficulty. During the teens and twenties, her teeth came in. I’d lash out when I was hurt, but always in private. online, or at my sweet, confused step-father. I’d spew all the vicious venomous things my mind could come up with, anything to get the hurt, and anger and frustration out of me and into someone else. I hurt a lot of my online friends then. Never to their face, of course, but to other friends, my then-boyfriend, people I know wouldn’t spread it. People who let me get the venom out.  I’m never going to forgive myself for the things I said. 

It’s easier now. If anyone else has a dynamic like this in their hearts, I swear to you, that it does get easier. I’m in my thirties now, and as the years pass it feels less and less like I’m two impossible contrasts pulling against each other, and more like I’m two halves together.

When I first met my now-husband, we would talk on the phone. And we would talk for hours, and when we talked, I’d walk in circles. Especially when I was feeling like my disney princess self.

“Like a goldfish in a bowl!” my husband chimed, cheerfully. And from then on, that was my nickname, Tinafish.

I’d never really had a name I liked. Tina always seemed clunky and unpleasant. And Kristina was my name when I was in trouble, or had to do something professional. Tinafish felt perfect. It felt like a nickname from a friend. And it stuck. I was doubly charmed, because my star sign was pisces.

I think, that sing, the Two fish, swimming in opposite directions, has sort of become something of a mantra to me. That just because I’m a little broken doesn’t mean I’m wrong, or unnatural. There’s always been a symbol for people with a mind like me. I’ve always been just a fish, moving the pebbles in her bowl best she can. and sometimes swimming in confused circles. And thats okay. I’ve reached a point where most days, I’m okay. More often than not even, I’m okay.

And I have cute little fish pins, as ballasts. A little cotton fish my sister-in-law hand knit for me. and I’m not a venemous creature or a disney princess. I’m just me. Just a fish. And I’m still swimming okay.  

[yumenosakiacademy]

my life does not Exist. i am a small goldfish in a glass bowl waiting 2 make my big leap n lay gasping 4 air upon the wooden table, worthless n flopping but free free free from swimming in the enclosed bowl 4ever more. from the expectations of its human owner. 4 it is jus a small creature, mindless, unassuming, n listless.

i am just a small fish, unlike the big bright fish of the ocean n the seas; i hav no wish 2 call my own. a worthless goldfish am i, with no need 4 seeing things like the ocean, or dancing wonderfully. other fish may see the wonderful little plastic castles in their bowl n dream of a life far bigger than it... a fish king, perhaps. a life of splendor. a wish 2 b in a place like an aquarium (unbeknownst 2 them. a place like tht 2 them is jus grandiose, not another cage, gilded as it is.) or a kingdom tht they cant fathom. but there r no aspirations in the small mind of a goldfish. it will die as it lived.

unceremoniously.

[cloudmakr]

I'm fine until I have a thought that I can't properly express because of my lack of skills or understanding and it just swims around my mind like a goldfish in a bowl and they pile up and take over my life but I have no outlet to divert them into.

[jingjingxuan]

Entry 11: Visit to MONA

My friends and I visited the most famous museum in Hobart, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) on 16th of April. A popular route to MONA was to take their ferry, however we did not followed that route as we found out that hailing a cab from our accommodations to MONA will be cheaper. 

MONA contains over 1900 pieces of artworks, all of them are collections of the founder of MONA, David Walsh. We started the museum tour on the lowest floor, Basement 3, most of the artworks located on that floor were about Nature. There was one artwork which I found scary yet amusing, the Webs of At-tent(s)ion, a recent worked by Tomás Saraceno, an Argentine artist based in Germany. He put one tiny spider into a big box, and the spider created a beautiful coweb within the box. According to the artist, these filaments were the spider’s ear, eyes and mouth; the spider receives and sends vibrations through the webs. I was afraid of spiders, but the artist managed to make spiders so magnificent and beautiful. 

Another artwork that I was awestruck by was Sounding the Air by the same artist. The sound was produced by the wind blowing on to only 5 spider threads, there’s no specific harmony produced, yet you could hear multiple pitches, it is similar to the overtune series which have multiple pitches in one sound. 

On the second floor, there was an interesting sector in the middle of the floor. It is called 4PM, where a composer will clock in at 10am and started composing anything the composer, Dean Stevenson had on his mind, and at 4pm, a quartet will perform whatever the composer had came out with even if it’s incomplete. The composer was given a blank piece of paper, and there is a big screen that showcase his manuscript, which we can see his work in progress and thoughts. 

I had to applaud him for having the courage to perform something he had to come up with within 6 hours, I can only imagine how overwhelming the process is; or on the contrary, the composer did not feel pressured at all, and was just simply notating whatever emotions or thoughts that came across his mind. Two quotes by Dean Stevenson was stated in the MONA application, “Beginnings are easy; finishing something is more difficult.” and “There’s no such thing as a blank page, only one’s resistance to writing on it.” 

My favourite artwork from MONA has to be the infamous Goldfish Bowl Knife Chair by Jannis Kounellis. Just like the title, it only consist four things- goldfish, bowl, knife and chair. I had read up that this artwork had created controversies around the globe, some argue that this is animal abuse. I did not think of it that way, I thought that this simple art is straightforwards yet it sends a deeper meaning to the spectators. You can see that the fish were trying to avoid the blade of the knife and were swimming to the other side of the bowl. Or, you can also see that the fish were unbothered and were just swimming around leisurely despite the threaten of the knife’s blade. Arts were subjective to begin with, there were never a right or wrong statement or answer to the art; it only depends on which perspective you view the art. 

[bluinary]

"Amy Adams holding a live fish in her mouth is animal abuse" like I think your concerns are misplaced buddy

[forgwater]

About Floyd’s nicknames

So I kinda want to analyze Floyd’s nicknames for the other characters, they got my attention ever since he called Riddle a goldfish (didn’t really think it suited him, but I’ve changed my mind) and us (mc) a shrimp, but what really got my attention was his nickname for Vil (betta) and now I’m kinda thinking about how observant Floyd is when it comes to peoples personalities. (or the creators wanted to do something)

So...

Part 1/? maybe

Anyway

Riddle’s nickname is goldfish. Goldfish are known to be messy, requiring a lot of space to swim and devouring anything that can fit in their mouth. Riddle’s “devouring” is his strict rule enforcement. Goldfish should also not be kept with aggressive fish, if I remember correctly Riddle doesn’t respond well to aggression (like Ace’s open rebellion against the more ridiculous rules and refusal to keep his mouth shut). Also goldfish are often kept in bowls that are far too constricting and lacking in enrichment, just like Riddle has been kept under tight supervision by his mother for most of his life.

Our (Mc’s/Yuu’s) nickname is shrimp. I’ve had shrimp for the past few months and let me tell you, I added them with two adult male bristlenose plecos and the size difference is quite something, but getting back on track, my shrimp couldn’t care less about the plecos (granted they’re algae eaters, but still!), they will chill right next to these (huge in comparison) fish and only move out of the way when the plecos start burring themselves in the substrate. Just like us/mc/yuu putting themselves in dangers way only to move out at the last second. Shrimp also molt, basically (kind of) changing themselves, just like mc not having a concrete appearance and/or gender. And shrimp are very sensitive to temperature/water/environment change (we/mc/yuu get thrust into a completely new world), but shrimp are also hardy creatures just like mc/yuu/us.

Vil’s nickname is betta. Although what I know about Vil has been mostly through the fandom’s eyes and interpretations (I mean that can kinda be said about most characters), I think this nickname suits him pretty well. Bettas are known for being aggressive fish the males of the species especially; though depending on the particular betta’s personality they could be kept together with other fish [usually guppies (Epel’s nickname) and shrimp (mc’s nickname)], but you still need to keep a second fishtank ready on hand in case the betta goes berserk. Bettas are also known as siamese fighting fish, they are kept as centerpieces in fishtanks, be it alone or in a community tank. Bettas, like goldfish, are often kept in fishbowls (which is not ideal, from what I know). The males of the species are considered to be more beautiful and showy than the females. I think this ties quite well into Vil’s character. I don’t know if I can elaborate more as of now.

I think this is all I got for now, it’s quite a bit. Might make a part 2.

( I wonder if the creators were trying to give us some hints with these nicknames)

part 2   part 3

[mariamakeslemons]

Under the Sea (Yandere!Merman!Risotto x Mermaid!Reader)

Before anyone comes at me about goldfish being in the ocean, I just wanted to have a huge size difference with a pretty fish that has flowing fins. Not many fish that I know live in the ocean meet both criteria. I’m sure there are other fish, but...

Warning: Breeding, mention of violence/death, size kink, hemipenis/double penetration in one hole

Swimming as fast as you can, you look for some form of shelter. All of the dens nearby are either occupied with mating couples or individuals who can’t mate anymore. Swallowing nervously, you take off again after a quick glance. You can’t let him catch you, you can’t. After all, he killed your chosen mate easily, he’s a predator to your prey.

“Come back here, goldfish,” the Great White merman growls, his black-red eyes staring at you when you glance over your shoulder. Squeaking, you swim faster, slipping between small crevices that your Goldfish size allows you to swim through. The merman snarls, clawing at the reef with strong talons while baring his rows of sharp teeth.

“Little goldfish,” he growls, his white hair floating around his face as he stares at you from between the crevice, “Come out to me.”

“No!” you shriek, continuing to swim until you get to the other side, shooting out into the open water with another burst of speed. You hear a furious roar at a distance, before a powerful tail swings through the water.

“MINE!!” the merman roars when he bowls into you, his tanned arms wrapping around your waist has his hands find your bare breast. You squirm in fear, trying to escape this merman who has blood on his hands, only to freeze when he growls against your throat, his sharp teeth brushing the delicate skin there.

“My pretty mate,” he rumbles, dragging you away from the open water, “You know all the good harvesting spots, and you take good care of the guppies. You’re going to be a perfect mother to our pups. A perfect mate for me.”

“N-no,” you weakly protest, your tail trying to drag as much as possible. The merman huffs and easily pulls you into a den. The dark colors and dim lighting make it hard to see, but the new chains make a shiver run up your spine. This is a merman with no fear, stealing the chains from a human ship or sinking the ship himself.

“Be good for me,” he orders, pushing you against the wall and clamping the chains on your wrists. Once he’s certain that you are securely fastened to the wall, he releases your hands and swims back. If you hadn’t seen him rip poor Torrone in half, you would have found the merman attractive with his strong muscles and handsome coloring, richly tanned skin with a dark grey and white tail makes his white hair and black-red eyes all the more striking. But then, you shake away your mating instincts to remember how the other goldfish had been shredded by this merman.

“You’re so much more beautiful up close,” he mumbles, his hands trailing across your breast and stomach, lightly tracing his nail along the meeting of your hips and tail. You squirm under his hands, feeling your womb start to inflate with eggs at the presence of a potential mate. He takes notice, as his hand finds your lower abdomen and massages the area. He purrs, “I’ll treat you like a queen, goldfish. You’ll never have to rifle through the human trash for food. You’ll never have to hunt for yourself. Just stay with me, have my pups, and be mine.”

“I... I don’t know you,” you manage to choke out. The merman hums, dipping his head to nip and kiss at your shoulder.

“Risotto Nero, your life mate,” he introduces himself, his fingers trailing over your slowly opening slit. You shudder, unable to resist bucking into his fingers as your heat starts to take over. He rumbles happily at your actions, pulling back and letting you see his huge cocks push out from his sheath.

“Oh,” you gasp, wiggling again. Although, you don’t know if you want to escape or if you want to fuck, your mind hazy from the heat of mating season.

“Good girl,” he purrs again, lining his cocks up with your slit before thrusting in. You scream in pain, breached for the first time by a huge predator. Risotto growls happily, beginning to fuck into you eagerly, especially as his cock bulges your stomach with each thrust.

“You’re so small, but you take me so well,” he moans as you continue to cry and whine in pain, “I knew you’d be perfect for me. Now, take my seed.” Just as quickly as he started, Risotto cums in you, fertilizing some of your eggs. You sob, glad that he’s finished, only to scream as he starts thrusting again.

“Wh-why?! You just finished!” you wail, as a spark of pleasure occasionally appears with every other thrust.

“I need to fertilize all your eggs,” Risotto growls, “I need to make sure you are bred.” Another flood of cum fills you as your pleasure slowly builds. Sobbing, you pray that he finishes soon, wishing to flee, even as your body eagerly gives in to his fucking.

[obey-me-rot]

You Shouldn't Be This Cool

A/N: Something purely self indulgent to kickstart this Obey Me writing blog. The idea mostly belongs to @warm-meelk because of how they drew their MC playing bass and then sprinkled in the fact that Levi would be the pianist and I just kinda...went from there q wq. And I also play bass so...all the more reason to write this!

Warnings: Levi trying to justify some of his more weird actions while MC seems to not only know...but enjoy the attention.

Levi wasn’t a creep, he was passionate.

He was passionate about TSL, he was passionate about anime, he was passionate about his idol groups and he was even passionate about learning new skills in order to better evolve himself into an ultimate fan.

So what he did today was not because he was a creep!

It was because he was passionate.

“Can you play that for me again, Levi?”

The third born tucks his feet on his chair, sipping up the noodles of his second cup of ramen as he watches the video feed from this afternoon. He smiles as the camera zooms in on your fingers, each one plucking the string of your bass absentmindedly while you listen to the melody he had composed.

As a TSL fan, he was ‘in the know’ of most TSL fan events whether they were held in the Devildom or in the human world. If they were worth the trouble he would attend and if it seemed like it was just a repeat fan event for one he already attended then he would just get the merch from the safety and comfort of his room.

Yet a completely new fan event had popped up on his radar one day, an online one.

One that challenged each and every TSL fan to create a song dedicated to their favourite lord.

Levi doesn’t remember much after that announcement, all he remembers is knocking on your door at devil knows what hours of the morning and shoving the music sheets in your face while pleading for you to help him out.

Your musical talent wasn’t hidden in the House of Lamentation. While most of the brothers could boast about having pretty decent singing voices or being ‘okay’ at certain instruments, your ‘weapon’ of choice was perhaps the most random but also well fitted instrument for someone like you.

You played the bass.

If he wanted to get specific, you played the TCB1006 Ibanez electric bass. You had mentioned in passing when you and him had met up to start ‘jamming’ out and Levi had retained that fact along with his hundreds of other facts that had to do with your particular interests and likes.

Again, because he was passionate...about your friendship.

The camera zooms out to film both of you, a happy giggle taking him over as he saw just how chill you looked.

How unfair was it that out of all the instruments you could play, you had to play the one that just made you look even cooler?

You were laying in his tub while he sat on the very chair he was sitting on now, plucking strings seemingly at random but humming some bars and trying to fit them with his melody. Your feet were propped up on the edge and the soft brown color of the guitar meshed so well with the glowing blue lights of his room that he is so glad he picked this spot for his hidden camera because you looked ethereal.

“I still can’t believe you composed this. It’s pro-level.”

“H--Ha! Of course! This is nothing but a piece of cake for me! If it's about the Third Lord and Henry then I’m all over it!”

Eyes take in the way you sit up and position your bass higher, fingers having a better reach as you start to ‘slap’ the strings in order to create a more wavy and deeper sound.

“Okay...I think I got it. Can you play the melody from the beginning?”

Oh here it was.

Sitting up, Levi puts his cup noodle down and grabs the nearby music sheets, pen already in hand as his attention on you becomes laser focused.

The beat you play is, well, playful. It is a high contrast to his almost operatic piano melody and he could almost hear himself playing a bit slower as if wondering if you had even heard what he was playing

“Uh MC…?"

“Trust me.”

Levi bites his lip as he feels his heart skip a beat, not even having to look at the screen to see that he was blushing. His past self was so predictable…

Although wasn’t his present self all the more pathetic for reacting to your words a second time?

He’d rather not think about it too much.

Your purpose had come shining through the moment Levi started to really hear the notes you were playing. It was almost as if you were mimicking Henry’s character with the bass. Cool, collected and eager to learn more about the world he had been thrusted into, your bass managed to capture the curiosity of Henry’s while his piano clearly symbolized the shy but deadly Third Lord.

The bass would go high, the piano would go low but as the melody started to harmonize so did the way your playing did with his. It was if he was the Third Lord, shyly peeking at the way Henry interacted with the world around them…

Only to turn around and invite him to join along.

His eyes go up to the screen.

You looked so happy, your fingers plucking away as he continued playing along with you. Your eyes turn to look at him and he almost wants to punch his past self in the face for not looking back. The camera had been perfectly placed to capture the way you tilt your head as you stare at him, chuckling as he clearly gets far too into the music for his own good.

To miss such an exclusive UR moment from you, he should be ashamed of himself.

“Haha. Thank the devil I came up with this camera idea!”

Levi blinks as he looks around, coming face to face with his beloved Henry as the fish stares at him from his bowl.

“...don’t look at me like that, Henry…”

The fish blinks.

“I wasn’t doing it to be a creep! I just wanted to write down the notes MC played before I forgot them.”

Henry’s mouth opens and then closes.

“And see! I even missed such exclusive moments from them! Look!”

He pauses the video and turns the screen so his fish can take a better look.

“5:06. I even timestamped it. Right here, MC is smiling and looking at me so cutely that it would be almost a sin to not record it!”

His fingers tap a couple of keys as he goes back to another point of the video.

“3:58, they smile and do such a cool trick with their fingers that I didn’t even notice that they stick their tongue out whenever they get too into playing! Do you see that Henry?”

A couple more taps as he keeps the video playing, the goldfish swims close to the edge of the bowl.

“I missed so many great moments all because I was so lost in playing! And I just didn’t want to ask them if I could record them because then they might think I’m using the footage for some sort of weird purpose and I would never do something like that to them! My Henry is far too amazing for me to just watch them one time! I just wanted to make sure of the notes they were playing! This is all for passion--!”

“Levi?”

He stops talking as he looks back at the screen, Henry swimming away while Levi tuned into the video once again.

“Was that good? I don’t know why but having the bass go a bit higher as I mute the strings feels almost like--”

“Like a conversation! It’s like the instruments are talking!”

Okay maybe this camera idea wasn’t the greatest after all, that was such a stupid thing to say and if he could go back and just slap the words out of his very mouch, he would.

Yet once again, his MC showed just why they were at the top of their ‘favourites’ list.

“Yeah! Like a convo!”

The conversation dissolves into randomness as Levi sighs and looks down at his sheet music. He only got a few notes down. Devildom, what was the point of having perfect pitch if he didn’t use it all the time? He straightens his screen out as he grabs a pencil instead of a pen, knowing full well that if he wanted to get this done he would have to rely on listening to you play and not looking at the screen.

If he finished this quickly then he would be able to stare at yo--it...he would be able to stare at it the rest of the night.

He goes to rewind the video but stops when he notices the scenery has changed just a tiny bit. You were out of his bathtub and looking at his aquarium, tapping the wall twice as some of his other fishes came up to greet you.

They were already so accustomed to you that he was sure even Lotan would know who you were.

Your attention goes from his aquarium wall to his computer, looking at all of his figurines and other merch he proudly showed off. A few more steps to the right and you were looking at his bookshelf--

Only for your eyes to lock with his.

He rolls his chair back immediately, his heart dropping to his feet as you reach out to the camera and pluck it from its hiding place.

No. No no no nononononononono!

This was it. You were done with him. Levi didn’t have a lot of friends but he knew that this was probably a friendship ender. His pupils contract as he sees you look at the camera with a confused look, already guessing your thoughts before you could vocalize them.

This weirdo was filming me the entire time. And he was hiding the camera? Disgusting. I’ll make sure to never come by his place again. What an absolute creep.

“MC...I didn’t--”

His jaw clicks shut as small tears gather at the corners of his eyes, not yet falling down his cheeks as he sees you smile and wave at the camera.

What--?

“Levi. If you wanted to film you didn’t really have to hide it. I want something to remember this session too. Next time you can just ask~”

You wink and Levi can feel his heart going from the floor all the way to his throat.

“Oh and send me a text when you have the footage ready. We can watch it together.”

He lets out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding as you place the camera back before his voice rings out from the video, exclaiming about all the snacks he had brought. So that’s why he had found you standing up, and here he thought you were leaving…

Send you a text...the footage…?

His hands scramble to his phone as he quickly enters the passcode, blushing as he sees a new message from you.

“Mind if I come over again? I have a new bassline I want to show off.”

Levi puts the phone down slowly before getting up---

Only to immediately fall down, hands over his face as he curled up on the floor.

Of all the characters he thought he would be in a shoujo, the last one he thought he would end up as is the heroine.

Not that he was regretting it, this was perhaps the best outcome that had happened in his now not so miserable life.

[1-800-seo]

1-800-SEO presents: — What a Heavenly Way to Die

genre: fluff/royal au/arranged marriage/fantasy

song: what a heavenly way to die by troye sivan

pairing: Mark Lee/Gender Neutral Reader

warnings: descriptions of anxiety, nightmares

word count: 2140

in affiliation with: @treasuretaeil ‘s

strawberries and cigarettes collaboration

Mark turns the page of the crisp newspaper, opening it onto his desired page. He knows what article he is looking for, it’s on the first page, the headliner, of course it is. Those bold letters read: “Prince to Marry Southwestern Sovereign on Saturday!” He didn’t need reminding though, the tendrils of anxiety whipping away in his stomach. His eyes scanned the page for their name, his mind whirling when he saw those damned words once again. “Sovereign __ __ of the Southwestern Territory has been betrothed to Prince Minhyung ‘Mark’ Lee since their birth at the dawn of the century, now that many years have passed and the fledgling monarchs are of age to marry, the pair will unite this weekend. The union will follow the usual customs and traditions that are typical in the Northern Territory, and only the ceremony will be televised, the following honeymoon and greeting ritual will not be reported on as is customary.”

Ah, those familiar ‘customs.’ He’d learnt the ways of Northern marriage before he could even understand love as a concept. As far as he knew, a normal wedding ceremony will take place at the palace he calls home on the morning of Saturday, and he will meet his betrothed for the first time. He always thought it was weird that he never got to meet the person he would be spending his life with until the day of the wedding, but his life is full of following rules, and this was just another tradition one must abide by.

Deciding to push away his anxiety and get ample rest for the next day, he sets aside the newspaper and settles down for the night, thoughts swimming around in his brain like a goldfish in a small bowl.

Mark steps out into the enclosed room, the abundance of windows is the first thing he notices upon entering; tall floor-to-ceiling glass panels enclose the room, and Mark immediately feels like he’s stuck in a tank, an enclosure. He looks below to see swarms of the public, reporters and civilians alike all clamouring below.

Across from him, in the center of the room, is a long skinny table. Sat on the farthest chair is a shrouded figure, their face completely covered by a light blue almost translucent veil. His own veil only covers his eyes, but he can easily see through it since it’s made of ancient gold. He knows the family heirloom well, the same metallic veil being used through the generations.

Mark gathers up his strength as his heart beats in his chest rapidly, he motivates himself to move, and sits down in the chair closest to him - one directly across from the other figure. Once situated in his chair, he neatly folds his hands in his lap to avoid nervous movement and formulates a sentence as best as he can. “My grace, it is an honour to meet you. Did you arrive here smoothly?” He asks, wary of the tremor in his voice. The moments stretch out as he patiently waits for an answer, each second piling up, the silence uncomfortable.

“My betrothed?” He delicately asks, waiting for a word, anything, even a gesture. But yet, the figure stays eerily still, paused in the very same position he first witnessed it in. Mark recognises no motion in the veil, not even the small movements that would occur if someone was to breathe near the light and airy fabric. At that realisation, Mark rises and crosses the room, walking as he was taught in etiquette class all those years ago. He approaches the figure, but no gaze turns to meet his own; and to cure the stammer of his heart he emboldens himself and lifts the veil with a shaky hand.

He is not met with fair skin, or tanned skin, or dark skin; in fact, he’s not met with any skin at all. The sight he sees when lifting up the wispy veil is not what Mark expected in any circumstance. Ivory coloured bone displayed in front of his eyes, that’s what he sees. Twisted roots and dagger-like thorns all around the bare skull, no sign of life bar the nettles. Dark leaves make their way out of the eye sockets, and ropes of vines encircle the skeleton. The exhale Mark lets out is like something leaves him, a part of him, perhaps his sanity. He can’t bear it for not a moment longer, that violent sight in his mind, and so he turns and bolts out the door.

When Mark wakes, he feels sweat on his brow and the dampness of tears on his cheeks. His sheets are balled at the foot of his bed, his body must’ve thrashed some in the night. The previous eve of restless sleep and nightmares left him with an anxious stomach, and Mark sat up straight to find some relief from the churning. Leaning over to his bedside table, he pours himself a glass of water from the crystal decanter, and downs it. The old ticking clock across the room makes itself known, and Mark sees the hands read 7am. Thankfully, he hadn’t overslept, he doesn’t think he’d get over the embarrassment of being late to his own wedding.

After many attempts in self-motivation, Mark manages to pull himself out of bed, and crosses the room to the pull cord, the signal notifying his staff that he is awake and ready for them to perform their duties. Within a minute of him pulling the cord, staff begin to whirl around him, fulfilling their roles in a blur that Mark lets cloud his mind. His technique for pushing down nerves is purely just not thinking. He lets the maids ready him in his suit, lets the butler feed him pieces of toast as the makeup artist pats his cheeks with powder. Before he knows it, it’s time to make his way over to the chapel housed inside the grand palace, and he lets his mind wander as his ears focus on the clack of dress shoes against marble.

Some would be excited on a day like this, but Mark doesn’t know what to feel. A foolish person would get jittery at the thought of the ceremony, but Mark knows better, he knows that he won’t get to see his liege until his arrival at the honeymoon sector. And so, he turns off his brain, and lets himself flow with the programming he’s always known; the pleasant greetings, the tucked away hands and shallow bows.

By the time he is situated at the altar, on his allocated spot (the perfect camera angle), his palms are sweaty and his gaze is affixed on the shrouded figure directly adjacent to him. Just like his dream depicted, the person is covered by a light blue veil, the floaty fabric reaching almost to the floor. His own veil only slightly obscures his vision, so he can fully see his betrothed in all their glory. The figure carries a certain power in their stance, an aura of confidence. He can’t even see their face, but Mark feels it exude through their resolute being.

The entire ceremony is spent distanced from each other, not coming within 20 feet of the other, even when the vows are all over, even when departing the chapel. Mark and his grace are whisked away into seperate cars, the whole ride passing by in a blur. They don’t transport Mark home though, his bags are already packed and at his accommodation. They take him directly to the port, and shuffle him onto the grand boat waiting there for him. The boat is bigger than any boat he’d ever seen before. It’s practically a floating palace, large towers rising up and looming over him. Once aboard, he makes his way to his fitted out cabin, everything already there laid out for him, and the maids change his outfit again. Mark feels them tidy up his makeup, but the metal that wraps around his head doesn’t move once. It was the duty of his betrothed to remove that now.

Once everything was over, he was ushered into a room, the door shut immediately behind him, he’s left wiping the palms of his hands over the crisp material of his slacks and turning his whole body in the direction of what he knows awaits him.

His eyes meet the same skinny table from his dreams last night, the very same figure sitting awaiting him on the opposite end and already seated. This time he can see the tell tale sign of life, that being the way the veil moves as the person takes each breath. Just this information alone comforts Mark in some way, he’s praying this doesn’t go like his nightmare. The room he’s in is just like his dream though, large rising panels of glass surround him on one side, the other side is a wall painted in a pattern to imitate fluffy clouds.

Mark strides his way over to the figure now, a burst of confidence, he needs to come across strong - even if it’s just for his nation. The person’s head follows his course of direction, and meets him when he has reached his destination. The prince kneels into a deep bow, he outstretches a hand in the direction of the other and utters the words: “my betrothed.” He doesn’t actually expect the figure to giggle at him, even if he may be a little stiff in his actions.

“You’re so formal, my Prince.” The other says, now grasping his hand and gently tugging on it so he rises. “I’m ___ ___, but I’m sure you already know that. It’s a pleasure to meet you in the flesh at last.” The figure’s voice is even, no wavering at all. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, ___. I’m Minhyung, but you can call me Mark. I’m sure you knew that already too.” He says, a laugh bubbling up at the end of his sentence, his anxiousness slowly dissipating. He doesn’t know why he thought this would be so hard, but conversation is already flowing naturally enough.

“You can unveil me now if you wish.” His betrothed says, a hand toying with the translucent fabric. “Of course, my liege.” He reaches out his hand and slowly raises it, bit by bit features are revealed as he goes. Once the material is fully off, he sees the slightly messy hair underneath from the fabric, and he finds it oh so endearing, it’s a little tug at his heart.

Piercing eyes look back at him then, making his heart feel like it has stopped in his chest. He sucks in a breath, stunned beyond never before. “You are glowing, my dear.” He blurts out, he probably wouldn’t have said that if he had a strong grip on his mouth, but he’s running on pure adrenaline. They reach out a hand towards him, gently lifting off the twisted metal veiled crown and setting it on the table. “And so are you, dear one.” Those words, he did not expect them at all, he feels his eyes widen and goosebumps raise on his skin. “You don’t have to be so kind. Thank you though.” He replies.

“Shall we go find somewhere less stuffy? I heard there is a marvellous indoor beach here.” His spouse now says. They offer a hand to him, and as he takes it they leave the chair and make their way to the door. Mark is dragged along with them, and he supposes accepting their hand was as good to them as verbally agreeing.

Despite the ‘beach’ actually just being an extremely large room filled with exotic plants and real sand, flowing water and glowing heat, it is enjoyable nonetheless when Mark registers all of these features upon entering the room.

Mark takes off his socks and shoes as he gets to the sand and his liege does the same too. They’re braver than him though, and immediately run to the water to have a dip, uncaring of the long marriage garment that still hangs off of them. The water rushes around them and the light fabric floats on top of it before becoming saturated, flowing and moving with the liquid.

Despite his best instincts, Mark says to hell with them and runs into the water too, a coolness lapping at his calves as he enters. “Isn’t this great!” They exclaim, splashing about now. “I feel so free.” He says, half to himself, before sitting down in the water and enjoying its mental healing properties. He could easily spend eternity just letting all of his problems float away here. He could spend ample time getting to know his new spouse, finding out how they tick and all of their little intricacies. He might just do that, he thinks.

As he sits in the water that sways back and forth with the artificial tide, he lets his mind empty and prepares himself for the new chapter ahead.

hi guys!! thank you for reading :)) I’m sorry this fic is kinda short, I had so many ideas for endings but none of them I could execute correctly, and I’d rather deliver a finished fic than an unfinished one so I left the ending somewhat open. i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!! sending love <333

[cinnamon-bunni]

It's finally done!! I am so sorry that this took so long lol ^^;; but it's done! This is based off of @bgsdraws's post, which had inspired me a bit to write this little fic :)) Once again I am so sorry that this had taken forever, but I really hope you all enjoy this fic! <3

Relationship: (Pre-relationship) Soudam Word count: 3.2k Read it on Ao3!

Kazuichi, for as long as he could remember, always wanted a dog. What kid didn’t want some sort of pet? Dogs were just so cool, and it would be nice to have someone with him, even if it was just an animal. Dogs were man’s best friend after all, right? And in all of the cool action movies and comic books that he read, the main character almost always had a dog with him.

It didn’t even have to be a dog, Kazuichi told himself. He was young when he started thinking about wanting a pet, around seven or so, but he already knew that pets were expensive--something they, quite literally, couldn’t afford. Even at the young age that he was, he knew that his dad was struggling to make ends meet, the bike shop being the only source of income they had. But still, his little mind couldn’t help but imagine having a dog with him in the house.

One day, in the late evening while his dad was relaxing in front of the TV after a hard day’s work at the shop, Kazuichi hesitantly asked if they could have a dog. He was given a big smack on the head as an answer.

“Why the hell would we want a mutt runnin’ around this place?” his dad had asked while Kazuichi rubbed the sore spot on his head. “Who would be takin’ care of it, huh? You? Because I sure as hell won’t, and I doubt you’d do a good job of it.” He gave a loud huff, bringing his eyes back onto the TV. “‘Can we have a dog?’ Tch, as if we could even fuckin’ afford the thing.” He shook his head at the thought, continuing to grumble under his breath. Kazuichi kept quiet, not wanting to anger his father more.

Their home was petless for a while longer, until almost a year later or so, his father bought something for his son’s ninth birthday.

His father had, one day, brought home a little goldfish. It was inside of a small, tied plastic bag. It reminded Kazuichi of the one’s he would see at carnivals, where if he would win the game he would get one as a prize (he never won any of those games, though). His dad had also bought a place to keep the goldfish–a small, round glass fish bowl, which seemed to be plenty enough room for the fish to swim in.

When he gave it to Kazuichi as a gift, a smile on his face as he gave his son a pat on the head, his mood quickly soured when Kazuichi frowned, stating that he didn’t want a dumb fish, he wanted a dog.

“My god, you really are a brat, aren’t you?” he said, placing down the fish and the bowl he had bought. Kazuichi flinched at the loud and harsh words, eternally reprimanding himself for speaking out. “I give you something only for you to turn your nose away in disgust, as if we live in some rich fancy house with money to afford something that needs just about as much as we do combined. At least with this thing we’ll lose less money compared to any other pet.”

His father left, grumbling to himself. He needed to open the shop soon, anyway. But Kazuichi was left by himself, staring at the dumb fish his dad got for him. Yeah, he knew that he couldn’t get a dog, sure, but why the hell a fish? He’d rather get no pet than something as dumb as a goldfish. But still, knowing that he probably shouldn’t leave it in a plastic bag, Kazuichi opened it up and poured it into the small bowl. He watched with sudden curiosity as the small fish swam around, exploring the new surroundings it found itself in. He was already entranced by the small fish, who was just simply swimming around. After he ran some water from the tap to fill the bowl just a bit more (the fish deserved all of the swimming room it could get), he carried the bowl into his room. He had to push a few things off of his desk, but he was able to place the bowl onto the back corner of it, so he would be able to see it whenever he sat down and worked on whatever he had to be working on–usually homework.

He watched the fish with a smile on his face until his dad called him to help at the shop. Hee left, still with a small smile on his face. He found himself still thinking about the fish even when he left. Maybe that goldfish wasn’t a bad present after all.

~~~

The fish lasted longer than Kazuichi thought it would. Still though, it felt like it was too short of a time. Kazuichi didn’t really know how long fish normally lasted, but a few years or so sounded about right–but still, it was disappointing and upsetting for him to find his pet fish dead after a few weeks of his thirteenth birthday. His father scoffed and rolled his eyes when he saw a few tears being shed.

“Jesus, it was just a fish! I can’t believe my son is this much of a crybaby…” His father grumbled, and Kazuichi was left still working in the shop. Not that he minded, he always did sort of enjoy spending time there, but being so close to his fish caused a wound to appear after its death.

His father though, after a few days, bought a new one. It was identical to the last, yes, but it didn’t have the same feeling. It was hard to get attached to it, he missed his old pet fish.

It took a while, but after learning how to deal with death (by himself, mind you), he started to smile whenever he passed by the new fish. He started to talk to it just like he used to with his past fish, and he soon started to spend time with it, just like old times. As if nothing happened.

So it hit him hard once more when he was told a few weeks later, after school, that it had died.

It wasn’t his fault, nor did it die in its own means. Apparently his father was in his room (which was his own fault in all honesty, he should’ve known better than to keep equipment that his dad would need later), and accidentally knocked down the bowl. He was in a foul mood because of that, having to clean up the mess of glass and water. He didn’t even save it, which pissed Kazuichi off, but he didn’t say anything.

His dad just bought him a new one a few weeks later after that incident, and acted as if that made up for what had happened. And while it didn’t, he knew it was the best he was going to get out of his dad.

And so, he started to live with fish number three.

~~~

Kazuichi had originally gone to the library to do a bit of research for a school project. But of course he found himself wandering to the section with all the books about engineering and mechanics, where he picked up many books that piqued his interest and brought them back to his table. Then, he found himself looking through books about ocean life. That was soon narrowed down to specifically small fish, the type one would have as pets–he had one of his own, so why not do a bit of reading about them?

A bit of reading quickly turned into heavy research about keeping fish as pets. About housing for them, about how to take care of them. Proper care of them.

Kazuichi started to feel a bit guilty. He didn’t realize how badly he was treating his fish. They all deserved to have a huge tank, with much more room than he could provide or could afford. They deserved to have others with them too, instead of just being alone in a small, plain glass bowl for their whole lives. And they could’ve lived all for so long too, if he had just taken proper care of them.

By the time he had gotten home, it was in the evening. After a small scolding from his dad for skipping out his shift at their shop, and a lukewarm dinner, he headed back into his room and found himself staring at the third goldfish that he owned. He frowned as he watched it swim around in that small bowl it had, his heart aching from knowing the fact that he knew the fish that he had was suffering.

It wasn’t fair for the fish, but really, what could Kazuichi do? His dad would just keep buying fish, not caring about how the fish would feel, and Kazuichi didn’t have the money to buy his pet fish the proper equipment or even bowls to take care of them. He wasn’t sure what to do, but it wasn’t like there really was anything he could do.

He gave a sad sigh to himself, staring at the small fish in the smaller bowl. His dad wouldn’t listen to him–he never does, so why would now be a difference?–so there was no use in even trying. Kazuichi felt helpless, and his fish just swam around in the small enclosure.

~~~ Kazuichi stopped getting fish when he had started to live in Hope’s Peak Academy. It wasn’t like his dad was sending them anyway, and there wasn’t a reason to get one now. Besides, he was pretty sure that the academy had a strict “no pets” rule, but of course the Ultimate Breeder is the one exception to this. Kazuichi didn’t mind one bit though, because that meant less fish would suffer from his and his father’s hands. Maybe one day he would get a fish, but seeing as he was a broke highschool student, that would most likely be a day in the distant future.

Not that he cared though. He had more things on his plate that he had to handle, like school work. Never before did he really care about school, but at Hope’s Peak, they apparently really push for success for all of their students. He thought that since attending Hope’s Peak Academy automatically guarantees him success that it didn’t matter if he slacked off, but he turned out to be wrong. Which was a bit annoying for him, because he didn’t really excel in any sort of subject–unless it had got something to do with mechanics, he wasn’t really good at it.

“I can’t believe I’m gonna fail my classes,” Kazuichi whined the second Fuyuhiko sat down across from him. Lunch had started, and it was a weird feeling to have someone be willing to sit down next to him during their free time. It was rather that people didn’t sit down next to him, and if they did because they were curious about him (something that happened more after he had dyed his hair and sharpened his teeth), they tended to leave after a few days. He assumed that it was just his horrid personality and his tendency to be annoying. But his new friends from this new class (acquaintances? Peers? He still wasn’t too sure how to classify them yet) would sit with him and talk with him. They didn’t even seem to mind him, because half a school year had gone by and they were still hanging out with him. Even though he tended to complain and whine half the time, they still sat around with him. It was a nice feeling to see them around him.

Gundham gave a low hum at that as he fed his hamsters, who were sitting on his desk, sunflower seeds. Fuyuhiko, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes.

“You’re not gonna fail,” he said, “so shut up. I’m sure Nanami wouldn’t mind trying to tutor you or something. Maybe even Komaeda, who knows.”

“I don’t want Nagito as a tutor, and Chiaki is busy after school with Hajime,” he countered. He gave a loud groan and pulled his beanie over his eyes. “I’m gonna fail this school year!”

“Hush your whines,” Gundham said. “You are disturbing my Dark Devas during the time in which they need to regain their energy.”

This time, both of the other boys rolled their eyes.

“Sorry Gundham,” Kazuichi said, and gave a sigh. “I just don’t know what to do! It’s not like I’m good at anything other than engineering and shit. I just-ugh.” He pulled down his beanie farther, food left ignored. “Nevermind.”

“Huh? Is something wrong with Souda?” Nagito asked, who finally arrived and sat down at a nearby desk.

“Stressing about finals,” Fuyuhiko answered.

“Oh, I see,” he said. “Don’t worry Souda! I’m sure that you’ll be able to pass!” Kazuichi could hear the smile that the lucky student was probably wearing.

“Save the bullshit, he isn’t gonna listen,” Fuyuhiko said with a shake of his head. The conversation was interrupted though, by a chair that was being dragged over, scraping against the wood flooring. That made Kazuichi look up, lifting his beanie a bit to see who it was.

Ibuki sat down on the chair she had brought over, and scooted over just a bit closer. “Hey guys!” she greeted with a large smile. “How’re you all doing? Good? That’s nice to hear!” She turned over to Gundham. “Hey, Gundham! I have an animal-based question for you!” Gundham, who was wholly focused on his hamsters, looked over at her.

“Oh? And what type of inquiry do you have?” he asked her, as he petted one of the furry rodents.

“It’s about a fish!” she answered. “You see, I got this cool looking fish a few days ago from a friend! And I know that technically we aren’t allowed to have pets here, but I don’t think a small little fish is hurting anyone!”

He gave a low hum. “Hurting no one indeed,” he commented.

“And I was just wondering if you had any tips on taking care of the little guy! I’ve never had a pet before, not even a fish, so I thought ‘Hey! Why not ask the animal breeder for tips?’ and that’s when I showed up!”

“Well,” Gundham started, “an important factor is what species this aquatic fiend is.”

“Species?” Ibuki repeated. “Hmm…I think her name was like Betty or something. Does that help?”

“No, it does not.”

“Huh. Well, it was kinda small, but real pretty! Like, damn she could probably get it on with other fish, y’know? She has like a pretty big tail, real pretty! And she’s kind of blue, but purple too–so I guess she’s like an iridescent in color.”

Kazuchi was listening to the conversation. He had gotten interested when Ibuki first brought up the fish, but hadn’t stepped in. The question was directed to Gundham afterall. But of course he had always had poor self-restraint, and as Ibuki continued to describe the fish, he couldn’t help himself.

“You mean a betta fish?” he asked, stepping in.

“Yeah that’s the one!” she said. “So? Whaddya think Gundham? How do I take care of one?”

Gundham gave a hum. “Well, as of any rule of having a lesser being in your possession, it’s that you must have an adequate home for them. Aquatic life forms need to have a colossal amount of room, and many items and objects in said room, as to keep their attention and not let them be bored or lose interest in things.”

“But you need room on the top for some breathing space,” Kazuichi added, catching everyone by surprise. “Betta fish like to jump and stuff, and they also like to just breathe too.”

“That…is correct,” Gundham said, trying to move on from his confusion. “Along with that, you-”

“And you’ll also need a heater too! They live in more warmer waters, like around 26 degrees I think? The book said like 80 degrees fahrenheit, so whatever the conversion of that is. And also! You can’t have a lot of filtration either! They like little or no current, so you can only have a light filtration!”

“Wow Kazuichi! You sure know a lot,” Ibuki commented. “I didn’t know you knew so much!”

“And you need to check the water quality on a weekly basis!” he continued, Ibuki’s comment being left ignored. “And you’ll need to change a good portion of it if it’s unfiltered. Like maybe two-thirds of the tank. And don’t overfeed them either, that’ll make the water quality drop a lot faster. Any uneaten food should be taken out. And-”

“Woah, woah, slow down Kazuichi!” Ibuki said. “Ibuki can’t memorize all of this information being thrown at her!”

Kazuichi paused, and when he saw the stares he was receiving from Nagito, Fuyuhiko, and especially from Gundham, he became flustered. He had the urge to pull down his beanie once more to hide his face, but fought against it.

“S-sorry, I just got a bit excited,” he admitted. “I just really like fish.”

Gundham gave a small tilt of his head, his interest in the boy now peaked. “And why is it that a sharp-toothed fiend such as yourself have an interest in the aquatic world?”

He scratched at his cheek nervously. “I just really like fish, I guess. I grew up with them and I’ve done a lot of research about them.” Gundham closed his eyes, clearly in thought. “I mean, it’s been a while since I had one of my own, but I still remember everything that I read about them.”

“Well then,” the breeder started, “I myself, as much as I loathe to admit it, am not too familiar with the aquatic world or it’s inhabitants. So, if you wish, I wouldn’t mind bringing you over into my quarters so we can discuss this topic further.”

“Huh?” Kazuichi stared at him, heat rising to his face, although Gundham seemed unfazed. “O-oh yeah! I guess I wouldn’t mind coming over, to hang out and talking about it. I mean, I’m sure we could even find some useful books in the library as well, if you wanna hang out there sometime too.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Gundham answered.

“Aw, are my favorite love birds going to go on a date?” Ibuki said, with a smile. “Oh! Would the term ‘love fish’ be more fitting?” “Shut up already,” Fuyuhiko muttered, definitely not under his breath. “Is there ever going to be one day where we can eat in peace? Or will there always be something going on?” “I think that's what makes it fun though, Kuzuryuu!” Nagito answered. “Being surrounded by such amazing and interesting people–it’s no wonder something interesting is always going on!”

“Interesting is the wrong word for it,” he said. “I would say it’s more annoying.”

“But you still sit here with us, don’t you?”

Fuyuhiko almost seemed caught off guard by this, and sputtered a bit. “Shut up,” he said, ending the conversation.

“Would today after class be good with you?” Kazuichi asked, the side-conversations and comments being left ignored.

“Yes, this evening shall be a fine time,” he answered. “I look forward to gaining more information about the creatures who leave in the watery depths below.”

Kazuichi laughed at that, and gave a large, toothy smile. He was surprised that Gundham was so willing to hang out with him like that, but he wasn’t complaining. Any excuse to dump all of his information he had was a good excuse. At least he seemed to be gaining a friend from it, too.

[taetaespeaches]

“Thank you for not giving up three years ago.”

hoseok x reader (or oc) genre: fluff word count: 2.7K

a/n: I’m not even gonna lie, lovelies, this is a bit of a mess lol. But it’s hectic and so is moving into a new place, so I guess it’s fitting? This takes place pretty much where “Wherever we go, we’ll be home” left off. Hobi and Petal/reader are moved in to their new place but they are far from unpacked and yeah. It’s random but I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading! :)) 

(brief moments of kookie and poopsie in here as well.) 

p.s. holy shit this is the last fic of the two-week uploads for each member?! What the fuck?? Thanks to everyone who rode this out with and waited for every fic and supported me throughout and ugh I just love you all so much. Thank you, lovelies <3 

TAKING a moment to scan the piles of boxes scattered across the mostly unfurnished apartment, you lifted one of the box flaps before pulling a face of disgust, flipping it back shut. If only the cardboard cubes could unpack themselves.

“You look overwhelmed,” your boyfriend suddenly spoke just moments before his arms loosely wrapped around your shoulders. A kiss was pressed to your cheek bone as you turned to look at him, the man quickly pushing his lips to yours as you turned in his arms, wrapping yours around his waist.

“I think I have too many things,” you thought out loud, Hoseok smiling softly as he shook his head.

“Nah, you just have a lot of things,” he teased, you giggling as you pressed your lips to his once more.

“Remind me, why did we decide to do this to ourselves?” You jokingly complained about the task of unpacking and moving in.

“Mmm,” he hummed in thought. “I think it has something to do with you being obsessed with me and wanting me around all the time,” he smirked.

“Ohhh,” you responded, dragging the word out as you nodded. “Right,” you noted in an unconvinced tone. “Something like that,” you agreed, Hoseok giggling as he pecked your lips a few times quickly.

“We just about have it all unloaded, Jungkook should be able to haul the rest of it up,” he informed you, your eyes widening in surprise, though your response was contained to a simple nod. “I’m gonna go down and check on everything,” he told you, placing a sweet kiss to your nose before stepping away, you allowing him to slip out of your embrace as you watched him leave.

Moving may be an overwhelming task but goddamn that man made it all worth it. Looking around the apartment, with your mind stuck on Hoseok, you decided indefinitely that you would move a million times for him.

Having decided together to replace most of your old furniture with new stuff you picked out together, the space was rather empty, the carboard boxes being the only things filling the room. To make the living area feel more like home, more like you and Hoseok, you were hit with the sudden desire to set out a photo. One particular photo. The first photo you two had ever taken together, which was on your first date at a carnival. Searching the boxes, you tried to find the one that was labeled with ‘picture frames’.

Wandering around the entire living area, you couldn’t seem to find the box anywhere. “Well fuck,” you sighed to yourself, a sudden giggle sounding to the side of the room, your eyes darting to find Jungkook smiling in amusement.

“All good?” He asked, you nodding with a faint smile.

“Have you seen a box with the words ‘picture frames’ on it?” You asked, the man squinting as he thought to himself.

“Uh, no,” he concluded apologetically, still carrying the box in his arms that looked increasingly heavy. “I’m assuming it has picture frames in it,” he smirked, you widening your eyes to feign impression.

“How did you kn-”

“Kookie, are you carrying dishes right now?” Jin’s girlfriend asked him as she stepped into the room from another area of the apartment. Jungkook looked at her with a guilty smile making you giggle lightly. Apparently, he and his accomplice Taehyung had broken almost all of her dishes when helping her to move into her new apartment a few years ago and she was making it her mission to keep the same thing from happening to your own kitchenware.

“Have you been in here this whole time?” You asked her in confusion, the girl looking at you with a serious expression.

“Yeah? You and Hobi are cute,” she noted nonchalantly, you staring at her in disbelief. “I banned you from carrying those,” she reminded Jungkook, the man shooting her a mischievous grin as he walked to the kitchen to place the box on the counter gently.

“I’m redeeming myself,” he informed her before gesturing to the untainted box with a wave of his arm. “Consider me redeemed,” he joked, you lightly chuckling as you looked back to the room, searching for that one specific box among the disarray.

“Is there more to bring up?” The girl asked, you looking back to them to see Jungkook shake his head.

“No, that should be it,” he noted. “Pretty much everyone is gone already. And when I left them your freak and my weirdo were stealing the moving truck keys from Yoongi and threatening to drop it back off at the garage themselves,” he giggled, Jin’s girlfriend smiling as she shook her head.

“Why are they like this?” She asked as you laughed lightly at the thought of them tossing the keys over Yoongi’s head, including him in unwanted game of monkey in the middle.

“Is Hobi down there?” You asked Jungkook, the man shaking his head.

“He went to get you guys dinner,” he informed you, you pulling your eyebrows together in perplexity.

“He did?” You questioned. “We should be buying you all dinner,” you told them guiltily, feeling bad that they had used up most of their day helping you and Hoseok to move. However, both of your friends instantly shook their heads as they started negating your comment in a back and forth that would have seemed rehearsed if you didn’t know better.

“Absolutely not,” the girl told you.

“That’s ridiculous,” Jungkook spoke.

“You already bought lunch,” she said.

“Don’t be silly,” Jungkook finished.

Smiling in amusement at the two, you rolled your eyes. “Ok, well Hobi and I are having you over for dinner soon,” you reminded them as they began making their way to your new front door. “As soon as this place is put together,” you gestured to the mess of yours and Hoseok’s belongings.

“Looking forward to it,” the girl said sweetly as they prepared to exit the apartment. “You’re sure you don’t need help with anything else?” She asked, you shaking your head as you shooed them out.

“You’ve done enough, just go and enjoy your evening.” Looking to Jungkook, you found him smirking, making you eye him skeptically.

“Your dishes should be in good shape, I only dropped them once,” he joked, you instantly laughing at him as Jin’s girlfriend groaned.

“Jungkook,” she warned as he began jogging down the hallway away from her, an adorable but bratty giggle leaving his lips. “Oh, that picture frame box is in your guys’ bedroom,” she informed you, and maybe you should have been surprised by her random intuition and knowledge, but you’d known the girl long enough to know not to question her. Without another word she began running after Jungkook, leaving you as you called out one last thank you.

Shutting the door, you smiled to yourself, a sincere sense of gratitude and happiness settling in as you took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. This was your home. You lived with Hoseok. This was your life.

Hauling a bag stuffed full of blankets, you made your way to the living room as the front door opened, Hoseok stepping inside, his hands full with a pizza box and a… fish bowl?

Cocking your head at him, you set the bag and blanket you pulled out on the floor before slowly walking toward him.

“Petal,” he greeted cheerfully, “I’m home! With food,” he added, nodding his chin down toward the pizza box. “Whoah, home,” he realized the words he spoke as he looked around the room, his eyes landing on you, his gaze full of love and contentment.

“Uh, are we having fish with our pizza?” You asked jokingly, though the man appeared lost in thought as he stared at you fondly.

“I can’t believe we live here together,” he spoke softly, your lips curving up at how cute he was.

“Hoseok,” you called out to pull him from his thoughts, his eyes widening to show his responsiveness. “The fish.”

Your boyfriend followed your gaze downward to the fish bowl with a little gold fish swimming around it. Chuckling at himself, a bashful glow meeting his cheeks, he nodded at it for you to take off the pizza box.

“Well,” he started, you stifling a smile as you held the bowl in your hands in front of your face, looking at the little fish swimming around energetically. “It’s your housewarming gift,” he told you, an endeared laugh leaving your lips.  

“You got me another fish?” You asked, cooing at how fucking cute he was. The combination of his disbelief over the new state of your relationship and living arrangement, along with getting you a new pet goldfish had you wanting to reach out and pepper kisses all across his face.

“I just thought, you know, you loved Luna,” he explained shyly. “I don’t know, a new home, new family member,” he shrugged, you pouting at him as you peered at him from around the fish bowl.

“I did love Luna,” you told him, the man smiling more fondly than ever at you. He won you a fish in a carnival game during that damn first date and it ended up being your flat mate for a year before its eventual passing. You smiled shyly as you thought back to day Hobi came over to visit you only to find you crying at the discovery that your little fish Luna had died while you were at class.

“Why are you so thoughtful?” You asked him, walking to the kitchen counter to set the fish tank down, bending down to continue looking inside the tank. Setting the pizza box on the counterspace next to the fish bowl, Hoseok crouched down with you, both of you peering at the new ‘family member’. So fucking cute.

“What are you thinking for a name?” He asked, you turning toward him as you smiled.

“Maybe,” you thought for a moment, “Yue? Like in Avatar,” you suggested, referring to the princess who sacrificed her life, becoming the spirit of the moon. Looking back to the fish, your boyfriend continued staring at you lovingly.

Leaning toward you, he left a kiss to your cheek, you leaning into the simple gesture of affection. “Is that paying homage to Luna?” He asked, you smiling without looking at him as you stood up, Hoseok looking up at you for a moment. “God, you’re fucking cute,” he told you.

Standing up straight, he grabbed your face between his hands gently, bringing his lips to yours as he kissed you sweetly, the touch lingering as he pulled away. Clasping your hands over his wrists, you ensured he didn’t move his hands away from your face as you looked at him fondly.

“Thank you for this,” you pouted. “I love it,” you referred to the fish. “And you,” you informed him, Hoseok leaning forward once more to kiss your lips slowly and sweetly. “You know, I got you a housewarming present too,” you told him, piquing the man’s interest as his eyes widened. “It’s a bit different than this though,” you gestured to the fish, Hoseok smiling in amusement. Pulling his hands from your face, you left a sweet kiss to the inside of one of his wrists before leaving him to go to the bedroom to retrieve your gift. “We can eat on the rollout mattress,” you called out as you disappeared momentarily into the the bedroom, Hoseok’s eyes landing on the living room floor where you had set out a sleeping pad.

By the time you reentered the living room, Hoseok was seated on the mattress with the box of pizza, his gaze directed to the side of the temporary bed where you had placed the framed photo of you both on your first date. His eyes slowly left the picture to look at you standing a few feet away with a bottle of champagne in one and and a gift bag in the other.

“I figured we should celebrate,” you smiled, Hoseok chuckling as he nodded. “I don’t know where our champagne flutes are, but we can just drink it from the bottle,” you decided as you admired your boyfriend’s stunning smile.

Gesturing to the picture frame sitting on the hardwood floor, he beamed at you. “Do you know how much I love you?” He asked you, you smiling with a nod.

“Yes, Sunshine,” you confirmed, “I do know.” Holding his hands out to gesture for you to join him on the mattress, you handed him the bag. He raised it to his eye level, curious of its contents.  

“Good,” he said simply, lowering the gift to the mattress. “Also, this set up is cute, it feels like a sleepover,” he added, you giggling fondly at the comment. “Except we live here,” he realized once again, both of you smiling excitedly over the fact that you actually lived together.

“Your family is dropping Mickey off tomorrow, right?” You asked suddenly, the man nodding as you took the hand he offered you, allowing him to help you onto your knees, you kneeling next to him. “Good, I miss him,” you said, Hoseok smiling widely.

“I know, me too,” he agreed. “Do you want me to open this?” He asked you, gesturing to the bag, you humming in confirmation. The man wasted no time in pulling the tissue paper out of the way, reaching inside to feel the soft, sheer material. Cocking his head, he lifted his hand out of the bag, the brand-new lingerie set slowly appearing as he held it between his fingertips.

“Oh,” he breathed out, his eyes glued to the pretty white material, embroidered with flowers, the set a lot cuter and daintier than your typical choice. “My god.”

“I thought we could break the place in,” you told him softly before biting your bottom lip.

“This is different,” he noted dumbly, pointing out the stray in your typical choice of sexy undergarments.

“I know,” you smiled. “I thought you’d like it,” you noted, leaning in to place a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Fuck,” he breathed out, causing you to giggle as you kissed his cheek.

“Do you want to eat first?” You teasingly asked, the man giving you an incredulous look as he shoved the pizza box off the mattress until it landed on the wooden floorboards, you laughing as he then rolled atop you, kissing you deeply. Your fingers found themselves tangled up in Hobi’s hair as you kissed him back passionately.

The lingerie didn’t even touch your skin that night, both of you too eager and excited and so fucking in love to bother with getting all dressed up. But each round was perfect as you made love throughout the apartment, taking pizza and champagne breaks between climaxes. And the beautiful thing was that you had endless opportunities to wear that lingerie for Hoseok. Because you actually lived together.

You had a lifetime of possibilities together. Without a single doubt in your mind, you knew moving in together at that exact point in time was the right move to make in your relationship. Three years earlier, you would never have believed a single soul who told you that you would be living with Hoseok. But there you were, celebrating your new home with him, the love of your life, feeling beyond thankful for him and his persistence three years prior.

Exhausted on the rollout mattress, bottle of champagne pressed to your lips as you eyed Hoseok’s nude form, glistening with the sweat of several rounds with you, you chuckled to yourself. The man’s eyes found your own, his hand moving to take the bottle from you.

“What are you laughing at?” He asked fondly before bringing the bottle to his own mouth.

Shaking your head, you moved to straddle the man, his free hand easily wrapping around your lower back. “Just thinking,” you told him just before placing a kiss to his forehead. “Thank you for not giving up three years ago,” you told him, Hobi’s lips slowly curving up into a fond grin.

“Well,” he chuckled bashfully. “The displeasure’s been mine,” he teased, you scrunching your nose as you took the bottle from him again. “You’re still mean, but fuck, I love you,” he playfully told you.

Taking a drink from the bottle, you nodded. “And you’re still obnoxious, but I love you too,” you replied. “So much, Sunshine.”

A lifetime of possibilities with Hoseok was something you’d never take for granted, and you would forever be thanking him for winning you over; for allowing you to fall in love with him.