#someplace someone else might also see them and be happy too

[maude-ivory]

Hi! My name is Sunny and this blog is simply a place I can collect things that make me happy, hiccup the odd poem, and reblog things I see that make me laugh or cry or think.

Crediting: I credit where I can, but my dumpster fire brain chemistry frequently renders me physically incapable of tracking down a source so if you see something uncredited or incorrectly credited and/that you know the correct/source of, please please please feel free to point me in the right direction.

Tagging: I tag everything I can think of, but I realize that is not saying very much. If you follow me and/but need something tagged a specific way to maintain your peace and mental health please please please feel free to let me know, I will oblige without argument.

[swordcreature]

hiii, I really love your writing and got super excited when I saw that you take requests.

could you possibly do headcanons or like, short scenarios for how the companions would react to: a Tav who's normally relentlessly positive just fucking snapping. like they get back to camp one night and Tav's whole facade just shatters?

thank you if you do!! ♡♡

ty ty ty you're too nice i'm here blushing <3

okay so i ended up writing the six origin companions, but if there was someone else you were specifically looking for like halsin or jahiera please let me know!!

i also wrote this from a romance pov for each companion taking place very very vaguely in the third act.

ngl i struggled trying to find a way to write this that i was satisfied with. i don't know that i have like an in depth conceptualization of every single companion given that there are so many changes to them throughout the story, some of which you can't possibly see in a single playthrough

but i think i found a happy medium between love and hate lol

i really hope you like it!!!!

Shadowheart, Astarion, Lae'zel, Wyll, Gale, & Karlach - When Tav Snaps

How the companions react to chronically positive Tav snapping

(Tav is GN in this)

Shadowheart: 

Secretly, Shadowheart is just the tiniest bit pleased to see their leader, normally sunshine and rainbows and just too damn chipper, sulk back into camp. But that feeling is quickly replaced by overwhelming guilt and worry as she realizes that something is very wrong with Tav. She tries to reach out, offering a hand to gently ask what's wrong. When Tav snaps, yelling and crying and breathing so hard that they look like they might puke, Shadowheart is frozen. She watches in terror, almost outside of her own body, as the one she loves most loses their composure until just raw embers remain. Shadowheart so desperately wants to do something, to say anything, but the reflexes learned from years under Shar’s stoic thumb kick in and she cannot move. Tav is the strong one, the person she turns to when the weight of the world is too much to bear, not the other way around! She’s supposed to be the emotionally stunted one, the broken one, godsdamnit! The only thing she can think to do in the moment is to borrow from Tav, to replicate what they have done for her so many times on this fucked up adventure they’re on. So, she sits Tav down and listens. Lets them cry and cry and cry until their eyes are so swollen they can’t open them very far. Shadowheart puts a hand on their knee to ground them and offers quiet, soft words of comfort. She doesn’t want to solve all the problems that led to this – she'd be stupid to think she could. No, she wants Tav to know that it’s okay to feel these heavy things. They don’t have to keep everything bottled up until they crack. If anything, Shadowheart wants them to know that they can be anything and everything with her, and she will still be there to listen and to love. 

Astarion: 

Astarion pretends that Tav is the most annoyingly optimistic, too happy, do-gooder to ever grace his presence, but deep down their relentless positivity enamors him in an odd way. He’d never say that aloud though. He has gotten used to Tav practically skipping back into camp, head high and smile bright. So, when they take one, heavy footstep close enough to camp for Astarion to hear, his hackles immediately rise. His eye trail Tav as they trudge back into camp, ignoring the calls of the other companions as they seem to blankly seek out their own tent. Astarion tries to offer a lusty quip, something to lighten the mood, and he hates the way his voice wavers with concern. When Tav doesn’t respond, he’s quick to take their shoulders, turning them away from camp, towards someplace more private. Tav doesn’t fight back or say a word which is like a knife to Astarion’s dead heart – he's never seen them without a grin, let alone so despondent. In private, he pushes for an answer as to what’s going on, pressing the matter to its breaking point because he doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know how to make them happy. And what use is he if he can’t even bring a smile to the face of the one person he cares about? Tav’s resolve breaks. They’re seething, angry at the world, sobbing and sneering and crumbling. Astarion stares, wide eyed. Part of him wants to slip back into old habits, acting as though he finds amusement in Tav’s breakdown. The happy-go-lucky leader finally snapping? How delightfully ironic! But that’s not him anymore. At least, he’s trying to not be that anymore. So, he pulls Tav towards him. His body instinctively tenses before reminding himself that this is Tav and the decision to hold them is his alone. Tav sobs harder into his chest. For a moment, Astarion thinks he’s done something wrong. But the longer he holds them there the lower their sobs get, until they’re left heaving in breath after breath, slowly calming down. Astarion hasn’t said a word since they left camp. He doesn’t need to. The unspoken language of touch tells Tav everything they needed to know: he’s here for them, he cares for them, they’re safe with him. And when Tav is calm and they walk back to camp, he’s not to be blamed for the sardonic joke he lets slip. 

Lae’zel: 

Lae’zel immediately notices that Tav’s demeanor has changed when they walk back into camp with clenched fists and nostrils flared. She can sense the difference a mile away, but to her that’s all it is. A change. She’s not incredibly well versed in the range of emotions that non-githyanki display, but she at least understands that this is not Tav’s normal. She watches from the corner of her eye as they make a beeline to their tent. It’s strange to say the least. Something tells Lae’zel that she should check on them, some small part of herself that never used to neg her before she met Tav. So, she tentatively steps towards their tent, hands awkwardly at her sides. She calls for them, and they pop their head out with puffy, red eyes. Lae’zel speaks and she’s confident she said the right words. Until Tav is back inside their tent muffling a scream into a pillow, making horrendously loud noises as they try to catch their breath. Lae’zel stands motionless, still outside the tent. She grits her teeth as she battles with her own mind. This kind of behavior is weak, their leader should not be displaying such things outwardly. But, this is Tav who has taught her so much in such a short time – like that it’s okay to show weakness, vulnerability, even if she struggles with it still. The part of her that cares for Tav more than it fears weakness wins over, and she steps through the threshold of Tav’s tent. They’re disheveled: hair a mess, nose snotty, eyes bloodshot. Lae’zel sits next to them as they stare at her. A moment passes before they return to sobbing into a pile of pillows. Lae’zel is truly out of her element, and out of sheer unease she starts to talk. She’s not really even saying anything of much importance, just tiny pieces of her life before the tadpole. The first time she wielded a sword, how she wanted to ride a red dragon as a child, the first time she saw a human in person. She just talks and talks and talks, never even looking at Tav until their breath evens out and their body slumps. They fell asleep. Lae’zel leaves quietly, but not before she pulls a blanket over Tav’s shoulders. 

Wyll: 

Wyll knew it was coming. Although Tav is an absolute delight, he's seen before how holding back all negativity can really break a person. It’s no surprise when one day he finds Tav in a destroyed building not far from camp, knees tucked against them, heaving as though they’d been kicked in the chest. The only thing keeping their wails quiet was the hand shoved in their mouth, biting down with a force that surely had drawn blood. Wyll kneels before them, pulling their face up with both of his hands, and commands them to look at him using the same voice his father would use on him as a child. Strong and assured. He takes a big breath in, urging Tav with his eyes to do the same. Tav mimics his actions again and again, little sobs and hiccups escaping every so often. They sit like that for a while until Wyll is sure that Tav is more controlled. He takes the space next to them, allowing them a moment to collect their thoughts. Wyll listens attentively and even relents when Tav asks to be alone, seeing the ghost of a smile on their face. When Tav gets back to camp, Wyll is waiting for them with a plate of warm food ready. The other companions are all in their tent – Wyll didn’t ask so much as forcefully suggested that they make themselves scarce – so the two have the fire all to themselves. The silence between them is easy. Wyll sits Tav between his legs and leans them back to his chest. His fingers run through their hair, undoing the knots that formed as they broke down against the harsh stone wall. When Tav falls asleep like that, he doesn’t move them. Instead, Wyll settles in and tries to make himself at least somehwat comfortable while his love gets their first good night's rest in a long time.  

Gale: 

Gale blabbers on and on about something so inane and stupid that most of the camp has retreated to their tents by now. Except for Tav who was returning from the Wyrm’s Rock. Letting go of poor Wyll, the only campmate too polite to leave Gale outright, he turns to Tav, walking in step beside them. He misses the way their eyes don’t lift from the ground, too busy waving his hands around to accentuate his point. They ask for a bit of space, but Gale is too enthralled in his speech to notice the way Tav’s eyes water when he doesn’t step away. And then they snap, tears spilling, hissing harshly for Gale to just shut up. He’s shocked, mouth hanging wide open in surprise. He doesn’t even chase after them when they walk past him, not stopping until they’re out of camp, over the road, and into the tree line. Gale’s not stupid though, he knows that Tav would never be so impolite normally. So, despite his pride being slightly wounded, he follows where they cut through the forest, hoping they didn’t go too far. When he finds them, they’re stomping around a clearing pulling at their hair, face contorted as they cry. Did he do this? Gale clears his throat to make himself known. Tav peers at him for a moment before turning around, holding their arms against their chest like they could fall apart in the breeze. Gale takes a hesitant step towards them, gauging his next best move. When they don’t protest, he closes the distance between them and puts a hand on their shoulder. They turn and immediately pull themself into his arms. Gale is quick to hold them there, resting his chin on their head, stroking their hair with his palm. He doesn’t know how to solve this, how to make them feel better, though something in him says to keep still. Keep holding Tav to his chest until they no longer shake. He idly wonders if a calming spell would work better than the little comfort his arms can provide. But Tav’s breath is slowing, their cries going silent. His voice is warm in their ear as he recites some poem that comes to memory of a man who thought he could hold the world on his shoulders. Tav only half listens but lets Gale cradle them against him until they look up and softly ask to go back to camp. 

Karlach: 

Karlach thinks she is the luckiest woman alive. Fresh out of the Hells for the first time in ten years and she meets someone who is sunshine incarnate, someone who has a good heart, someone who wants her as much as she wants them. Then, she gets to actually touch the person she loves? She’s sure she’s never been happier. Every time Tav strolls into camp with a spring in their step, Karlach’s heart could burst with love – and not hellfire. She knows Tav is due back and her heart flutters impatiently as she waits. But it quickly starts to sink, more like drops ten stories to the groun, as she sees Tav with their eyes glued to the ground, walking into camp as though they’ve been carrying the owl bear cub on their shoulders for the past hour. They try to walk past Karlach in a rush, but she sticks out an arm to clothesline them. Karlach is so much stronger than Tav, so it’s easy for her to pull them to stand in front of her even as they put up a small fight. She wants to know what’s wrong, something is very clearly wrong, but Tav doesn’t budge. They fight back tears and stare at the ground. This was going to take drastic measures. With no warning, Karlach grabs Tav’s hand, yanking them out of camp and into one of the alleyways that connect it to the lower city. She stops as she eyes her goal. The alley is littered with wooden crates and barrels, old vases and general garbage. Tav’s confusion temporarily surmounts their urge to cry though it’s short lived. They look up to Kalach searching for an answer. Karlach just smiles and removes the mace she keeps strapped to her back in case of emergencies. She hands it to Tav with a nod towards the debris. Tav understands, or at least they think they do – they've surely seen Karlach commit enough property damage in the heat of a breakdown to get the idea. A deafening crack bounces down the alley as Tav connects the mace to a standing wooden barrel. It explodes into shards of splinters, and with it so does Tav’s resolve. They scream as they swing the mace into their next victim, a crate filled with used glass bottles. It lets out a satisfying crunch. Karlach isn’t sure how long she stands there, letting Tav silence their sobs with the sound of destruction. They’re out of breath, their swings weaker as they try to continue. But Karlach catches the mace on its down swing, pulling it and Tav close. Tav tries in vain to catch their breath as Karlach squeezes it out of them in a hug so tight it could bruise. With a shaky voice, Tav thanks her, leaning their forehead against herchest and closing their eyes. Karlach doesn’t let go for a long, long time.  

[zodiactalks]

Zodiac Boyfriends and their FUN Scale

Humor is underrated. It can lift you up during the worst times, and make your happy times even more joyful. Is your man funny, though?

Here is a breakdown of all 12 of the Zodiac signs, with a score from 1 to 10, 1 being boring and 10 being extremely funny, with their strong suit.

Aries

Aries men have no boundaries when it comes to humor. If you don't mind someone making jokes about you or rather sensitive topics, then Aries men might be just for you.

He'll end up apologizing for his jokes more than any other sign, however. They often prioritize being funny over other people's feelings.

Strong suit: Quick comebacks

Level of Funny: 4/10

Taurus

Taurus men don't usually prioritize being funny. They would rather learn how to cook new recipes and good ways to invest their money. They are also a bit too stubborn and rigid for humor, which often requires to let loose and be open-minded.

Their strengths are often someplace else – reliability, good taste, good cooking. They will give you your space to shine as the funny one in the relationship and learn to appreciate your unique sense of humor.

Strong suit: Clever jokes

Level of Funny: 1/10

Gemini

Gemini men are among the funniest in the Zodiac. They have a way with words, which translates into their sense of humor, which is effortlessly clever. They are also really versatile when it comes to humor. They'll pick up on your preferred sense of humor quickly and adapt to it like it's the easiest thing in the world.

They are very witty and they come up with the best comebacks and punchlines pretty fast. They are simply hilarious; you'll spend hours laughing with them. They also don't take themselves too seriously, so even jokes at their expense are not off-limits.

Strong suit: Wit, puns

Level of Funny: 10/10

Cancer

A Cancer man will wait to be very comfortable with you before he shows you how funny he can be. His humor is particularly good because he will take into account what you like and don't like, and how to make you feel seen and heard.

He makes really goofy jokes and can make you laugh in a way that's also kind. He can be pretty sensitive when it comes to being teased, but he is generally among the most tolerant of the Water signs.

Strong suit: Dad jokes

Level of Funny: 7/10

Leo

Leo men appreciate humor as a necessary part of life. When they try to be funny, they try to be the funniest person you've ever met, and this can bring about excellent results.

He might not make as many jokes as men of the other signs, but the few jokes he does make are of premium quality. However, don't joke about him. He can get pretty sensitive when people laugh at him and his flaws.

Strong suit: Practical jokes

Level of Funny: 6/10

Virgo

Virgo men aren't often portrayed as funny. However, they need humor in order to survive, and they often use it subconsciously. They are fluent in sarcasm and they have a pretty acid sense of humor when things don't go their way.

A Virgo man who is stressed can make you laugh like no one else, and he isn't even trying. The rare Virgo man that pays attention to his humor turns his jokes into an art. He'll have the sense of humor of a stand-up comedian without the ego.

Strong suit: Sarcasm and acid humor

Level of Funny: 8/10

Libra

Libra men are quick-witted and enjoy a good laugh. If things are tense between you, he will make a joke so you both start to relax. However, he will mostly rely on you for humor.

You will definitely have the power to define what brand of humor is prioritized in the relationship, and that can be great! He will very rarely make jokes about others, and, if they do, they will be jokes that uplift them and display their best qualities. They might turn to self-deprecating humor.

Strong suit: Gentle humor

Level of Funny: 4/10

Scorpio

Scorpio men's trademark seriousness can go against them when it comes to humor. It's hard for them to see the world as a place that is comical and light. They do appreciate dark humor and humor based on taboo topics, and they will find even the darkest of jokes funny.

If you tend to get sensitive around certain topics, then Scorpio's sense of humor might not be for you – there are few things that are off-limits when it comes to a Scorpio man making jokes. He is strategic about it, though, and will only make controversial jokes when he knows his audience approves.

Strong suit: Dark humor

Level of Funny: 3/10

Sagittarius

Sagittarius men are among the funniest in the Zodiac. They are fluent in all types of humor, and they love to surprise you with an unexpected joke. They love to laugh about everything, even during tough times.

They might not have the greatest timing, and it can be hard for them to have a serious conversation, and they interject even the most serious things you say with jokes. If you simply love funny men, Sagittarius is your best bet.

Strong suit: All types of humor

Level of Funny: 10/10

Capricorn

Capricorn men also get a bad reputation when it comes to humor. However, they can pleasantly surprise you, especially if you have a dark humor.

They will probably get along very well with Scorpio natives when it comes to humor, but, in contrast to Scorpio, they can detach themselves from their usual serious way of seeing life and find the aspects of a situation that are comical.

Strong suit: Dark humor

Level of Funny: 6/10

Aquarius

Aquarius men like to experiment with humor. They make really unique jokes and can laugh at anything. They are also pretty open-minded about the kind of humor you bring to the table. They can find anything funny, from goofy jokes to really dark humor.

They usually don't cross any politically correct lines, as they are very socially conscious and don't want to offend minorities. They prefer clever jokes over cheap ones. As they see you as a friend, your dates will be full of laughter.

Strong suit: Unique jokes

Level of Funny: 9/10

Pisces

Pisces men can be pretty funny in a corny, cringey way. They like self-deprecating jokes. They will never hurt your feelings when joking. They are very considerate and like to put you first.

They prefer to laugh at themselves and encourage you to laugh at them, too. A Pisces man's sense of humor can be pretty out there and unique. They are never predictable, and might switch between different types of humor.

Strong suit: Self-deprecating humor

Level of Funny: 5/10

Who sounds like the best fit for you? Do you want your own stand-up comedian who is always joking, like a Sagittarius, or do you prefer the dark sense of humor of a serious Capricorn?

Do you agree that Taurus men are rather boring or did you meet someone who is an exception to the rule? Have you ever met a Pisces man who wasn't compassionate when making jokes? What about a Scorpio man who hated jokes about taboo topics?

Did we get your boyfriend right? Does he make you laugh a lot or is he rather serious? Tell us in the comments!

[nudevastate]

Hi, do you have any advice on practicing separatism?

sure!

1.) the very first thing you have to do is to cultivate a very strong relationship with yourself. i know that's a bit of a dumb thing to read, but it's true. as women, we have always had to play a role in a patriarchy. we are always just someone's daughter, someone's mother, someone's sister, someone's girlfriend, someone's wife, someone's concubine and so on, and never just us on our own. get to know yourself without needing the filter or having to live vicariously through your relations with other people. find yourself and find what it is that drives you. are you a creative soul? find something to create. do you have a lot of love to give? volunteer at a shelter, whether it's for battered women, the homeless, or animals. spend time in solitude and learn to listen to yourself.

2.) and then, go ahead and find your soulmates in other women. maybe that sounds overdramatic lol but definitely find your tribe with women exclusively. if there is a hobby you are into, find out if there is a club somewhere you can join where there are lots of women to get to know. make female friends exclusively. it's not to say that you should ignore men outright (might be too dangerous to do that), but you shouldn't rush to make them your friend. if anything, you should prevent making any male friends until and unless he proves himself to be trustworthy. (which may never happen, so whatever.)

3.) the obvious and the most debated portion of separatism is to, of course, abstain from dating, having relationships with, and having sex with men. i could pull up so many statistics and reports as to why being with men is horrible for women's health and livelihood, but i'm sure you can find those yourself. realize that the concept of heterosexual romance is made up in order to prop up the institution of "traditional marriage/family life" geared up by secular religious groups that are extremely misogynistic in nature. you can always take yourself out on dates; you can always go on "friend dates" with your gal pals. you can always masturbate or, if you do have same sex attraction, have sex with other women. you can always just date women. or just be single and thriving!

4.) a lot of the times, when women waste their time with men, they also end up missing out on some amazing opportunities. i know i missed out on some great milestones in my life back then because of this. now that you're single and by yourself, what do you want to do? what is it that you've always wanted to try, but didn't because a moid told you no? do you want to travel? get a tattoo? get a wild haircut? work on your body at the gym until you've got envious muscles? (men seem to hate muscles on women for some reason which is dumb.) now go ahead and DO THOSE THINGS, and realize how stupid the whole thing was when an ex-bf tried to prevent you from doing those things. it's because they make women happy. women are the most happy when they get to call the shots in their own lives. it's your turn now!

5.) find a community that accepts and even strongly encourages your separatist lifestyle. thank god for the internet. you can find likeminded women on here, on discord (there are loads of female exclusive discord groups to join out there now!), or other online spaces that you can find other women who are just like you. they will also give you tips on how to deal with emotions that comes with it, such as loneliness, and how to combat it. bonus tip: there ARE religious/spiritual groups that are female exclusive. dianic wicca is one of those, and they only let in women to join. practicing spirituality with women is so amazing and will also help you distance yourself further from men.

6.) request a woman. whether that's for your primary doctor, your gynecologist, a plumber, a driver, a teacher, an electrician, a photographer, whatever it is, try to check and see if you can request a female. if you can't, go someplace else. i understand that this is sometimes impossible in certain situations since men take up 50% of the world's population, but you have a voice and a mouth and you should use them. request a woman. hire women!

7.) not sure how old you are, but assuming you are in high school or about to graduate, see if you can go to an all women's college or university. if that's not possible, be sure to request going into classes that are run by female professors either all the time or the majority of the time. i can't tell you all the horror stories i've read and heard from female students when it comes to abusive and/or creepy male professors. be on the lookout for female professors on campus, and talk to them to help you out with your class schedules each semester. you deserve to be in a female only space.

8.) this is a hard one for me, but try to phase out your media consumption that was created by men. start watching movies and tv shows that are made from female directors. read books by female writers (you can start small with reading fanfics made by women lol and then go into actual books). buy products that was made by women, for women, and stop putting your money into corporations that are run by men who don't care about you. listen to music that was made by women. consume and purchase artwork made by women instead of men. watch videos made by women about topics you are passionate about.. these will normalize being in a world filled with female voices that may be similar or different than you. realize you don't have to keep listening to men if you don't want to.

9.) this one is also a little hard because of logistics, but try to see if you can work for a women-based company for employment. there may be resources out there especially for women who are in STEM and looking for work, and they can point to the appropriate companies that are either run by women, or are mostly female. it feels good to work in a place that has a lot of women in it rather than with a lot of men. i understand this might be difficult depending on the industry you are in, but try to make the most of it. if you are stuck in a career that has a lot of men in it, continue to practice separatism by keeping a strong emotional and mental distance from male colleagues, and physical if you can help it. (this is why remote work is amazing for women tbh!)

10.) this is more like a final boss thing lmao but if you can, if you have the means to do so, and if it is at all possible.. see if you can find an all female commune to visit at least once, and see for yourself how healing and amazing it is to live amongst women in everyday life. this is something i want to do in the long term, but i need to do some things in my life first before i can do so. but i would love to continue with and end my life in an all female commune, and die alongside with women, rather with a man.

and there you have it. there might be more, and maybe some others might chime in with their own tips, but these will help immensely. realize that perfection is not necessary, and you will stumble a few times before you can become 100% separatist, but it is possible so don't worry and take your time!

[madrasi]

Hi I know you didn’t mean any ill intentions, but that otter “pet” is an example of exotic wildlife pets. Otters aren’t domesticated or anything so they suffer a lot when they’re taken from their natural environments and trapped in a house. There’s also a lot of illegal trade that goes on to support the demand of exotic pets, such as stealing baby animals from their home environment. They don’t thrive and often are mistreated, not fed the correct diet, and die young. I know it seems really cute and happy, and even exotic pets are legal in a lot of places, but the animals are not thriving and doing well. Sharing media of exotic pets being cute just proliferates the idea and encourages others to try and get one. They’re just as cute in their natural environment. There are other ways we can support these animals other than trapping them all alone in an unnatural environment like a house. I don’t mean to flood your inbox or police you, just want to spread some info. I hope you can understand my POV. Thank you for taking the time to read this!!!

Hi Anon. Thank you for taking the time to compose and send me this message. I respect and value your concerns, particularly since I share your love and admiration for animals of all kinds.

I acknowledge and thank that you don’t believe I’m being hateful with intention. But I wonder if reblogging an otter in my personal space is necessarily promoting any idea that exotic animals should be adopted without regard to their basic needs. It might be the simpler alternative: otters are cute. I shared this content with that intention- that too, on the only platform where I’m not posting to necessarily reach an audience, as opposed to someplace more direct, like instagram or Facebook.

I’ve been on this platform for more than ten years. In this time I have, and continue to notice, the violently racist, misogynistic, abusive, and otherwise prejudiced content that is reblogged and shared specifically to promote hateful ideals. I wonder if you take the time to call out every nazi or violently abusive porn blog that uses this platform to promote and share abuse and hate? Because there are a lot.

In that respect, your call-out is policing of a certain kind. Do you flag YouTube blogs where people openly adopt, film, or mistreat exotic animals? Did you report Tiger King when it was aflame on Netflix? Have you reached out to your government to better the laws in your country regarding the adoption and treatment of animals within your country- including for cases of hoarding of domestic pets? And, are you questioning the 33 thousand other users who reblogged this post?

I’m responding and posting this message because I want your background alongside my opinion on the matter to be displayed side-by-side. Again, I respect that you reached out about this because I share your ideals. However, I don’t believe your message fairly reflects my intentions, actions, or the audience intent if someone were to see that post on my blog.

I’d like to add that my tag of choice is “baby”, rather than “pets”- or anything else that implies collectibility, tokenism, or abuse. Because this space is for me to share in my respect and love. Please note that this post is also tagged “baby” so that anyone who may peruse this tag understands my opinions on these matters

I hope this response assuages you, and sets my intentions clearly.

[weenwrites]

Whitty, Ruv, Agoti, and Pico with an s/o who takes lots of naps and loves stargazing? And maybe s/o has a habit of falling asleep on them I just need some softness in my life :]

Ty!

-🦈

Sure the city doesn’t have the best skies to stargaze at... (Due to the pollution you’ll hardly see anything more than a couple stars in the sky) but, Whitty knows some of the nice and quietest places to stargaze, and if you’ll let him, he’ll gladly take you there to look up at the stars. If you were up for it, he’d definitely start his own stargazing game with the two of you, where you make up your own constellations. Or maybe if you know about some constellations, you could tell him about it! If you happen to fall asleep against him while stargazing, he'll have to wake you up. He's sorry, really! He'd let you rest if he could, but seeing as he's a wanted anomaly he can't risk staying in one place for too long or else he might get caught.

If you’d like, Ruv could take you to the top of the church to stargaze—don’t worry you won’t slide off the roof, besides if you do, he’ll catch you before you’ll get hurt! Also he doesn’t really understand why someone would enjoy staring up at the stars in the night sky, but he’ll join you if it’ll make you happy. If you happen to fall asleep on him while the two of you are stargazing, he’ll quietly pick you up and go put you somewhere more comfortable.

Agoti initially doesn't understand the hype of stargazing—mainly because there aren't many stars to see in the night sky when you live in a city—but once you drag him outside and have him lay down to see some proper stars away from the city, he'll be amazed. If you do have some facts to share about the sky, the stars, and space, he'll jokingly call you a nerd, but he'll listen intently because he'll think it's cool. And if you were to fall asleep against him, he'd let you rest up until he gets too cold to stay outside any longer.

Pico enjoys stargazing with you—he enjoys the nice peace and the fact he gets to share a quiet, tender moment with you. He's pretty smart, so he'd definitely know some cool facts about space and the stars if you're willing to listen to him. If you happen to fall asleep against him, Pico may or may not wake you up. It mostly depends on where the two of you are stargazing and whether it's someplace safe or not.

[bby-deerling]

Hi! Congrats on 600!! This is my 1st time sending in smth like this n I got interested when I saw ur post pop up on my page so I’m trying out teehee

My name is Angel, I’m fem but I’m gender-fluid. I don’t care about pronouns or how people see me though, so if I’m perceived as another gender, I don’t mind.

I swing both ways (bisexual) and I tend to fall in love only when a close connection is formed, so love in first sight doesn’t really apply to me… (demiromantic) (I DO, however, have those small mini-crushes when I see someone cool or wearing some style I really like at a mall or someplace else. Like it’s not romantic, it’s more like aesthetically appealing to me and I go “omg they’re so cool”)

UM if appearance is needed then I have black chest-length hair and brown eyes (I look so basic so its fine if this info goes out) 5’4”, kinda slim, but kinda thick?? HELP IDK HOW TO DESCRIBE IT

I LOVEEEE milk tea with the boba. I physically cannot drink milk tea without smth to chew on. I like sleep, night/late afternoon walks or drives, drizzly rain, cold and moody mornings, pineapples, kiwis, grapes, TARTS. TARTS >>>>. Esp the blueberry n strawberry ones AAAAAAHH they make me go CRAZY. (I like fall and winter seasons too)

I hate when things don’t go my way. I can’t even defend this. I get cranky. (But it’s easy for me to forget about it all)

I also dislike attention beggars and ppl who put down other ppl just bc of their insecurities,, uhhh I hate being waked up from sleep when I’m all snuggled and cozied already, and I also hate sm1 when a close friend of mine hates that person. Idc if idk them, I’m a “hate-on-your-behalf” gal

Some of my hobbies are writing, reading, dancing & singing (for fun, not professionally), or just hanging out with my friends

I think that’s it?? I am SO sorry if this isn’t enough info 😭💔 but tysm for taking the time to read this n stay happy and healthy!!

hi angel!!! <3 you sound like a total sweetie pie

i think you'd have a spark with...

ace!

you would take tons of nice naps together! his sleep schedule is a bit unpredictable, and chances are you'll end up stargazing late at night together quite often.

he's down to go anywhere and do anything, whether it's taking a walk somewhere new or trying out a new restaurant or food! watch your sweet treats around him—they might be gone faster than you blink if you leave them unattended!

ace has a few insecurities, and appreciates being accepted as he is, as well as you standing up for those who are being targeted for things beyond their control—it's one of the many things he adores about you!

that being said, you two will definitely end up engaging in harmless gossip together... even if you haven't met the person he's telling you about he loves that you're so vehemently ride-or-die for him that you'll take his side no matter what!

loves to dance and sing with you! he's not very good at either, but he's passionate and will leave you dizzy and swept off your feat regardless!

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One: The Delicacies of Time

Chapter 44: A Happy Ending

"There are details!" she breathlessly exclaimed when she pulled away from him. The reality of a wedding tonight was settling in, romantic as he knew she'd find it, the planner within her was starting to overwhelm. "There are things that need done…people, announcements, at this hour-"

"I'll take care of all that," he promised with a shake of his head. "Marry me."

Her smile spread once more as she nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Prepare your vows? Meet me in an hour? I'll do the rest."

"Where?"

"The well," he answered without thinking. To him it was as normal as answering with "in a church" in this realm, but the more he thought about it…

It might have been a cheesy tradition in his old village, but it worked for them. The well was someplace special for them even here.

"The place we first kissed after the curse broke, after you came back to me. Give me a chance to make a promise to you there that I'll keep for the rest of our lives."

She beamed. Then nodded her head as her eyes glazed over with tears. "In an hour then," she answered, her voice choked with an emotion that he no longer thought was from grief but rather joy.

It was appropriate. He felt the shift too.

Quickly he leaned forward to kiss her, then moved away the second he managed to tear himself free, and left her in the library, knowing he'd see her soon. As much as he hated to do it without giving her the ring in his pocket, parting was necessary. The truth was that there were things that needed to be done if they intended to do this today, but not nearly as much as she thought.

People and announcements…those were wants. Not needs.

Needs for a marriage were quite simple.

They needed a place. And they had one. The well.

They needed an officiant, someone who could pronounce them officially husband and wife. He wasn't one for a Holy Man, but being who he was, he knew there was someone in town who was licensed in an official and legal capacity, who might not mind doing the deed.

He found Archie still at Granny's with the others. The man went pale when he pulled him aside to speak with him privately, not that he could blame him. Not only was he the Dark One, but he was also Mr. Gold, a man who never smiled unless something sinister was afoot, and yet he couldn't keep himself from smiling even now. But color returned to the man's cheeks as he explained the situation, as he told him that he knew he was friends with Belle and couldn't think of anyone else who might not only consider performing the wedding but might actually enjoy it. He expected a lecture from the cricket who prided himself on being a conscious to people who were acting against their own, but instead, he'd nodded his head and said, "I'd be honored."

A place secured, Archie preparing, the details given, a ring in his pocket already that he simply couldn't wait to give away, he realized that the list of "needs" had been fulfilled. Thirty minutes remaining didn't give him a lot of time to fulfill many "wants," but it allowed for some. He drove home quickly, changed suits, selected a steal gray tie and pocket square, then added a scarf for a bit of extra flair, and summoned a fresh white flower to fix to his lapel. Eighteen minutes to spare, he took the car and headed up into the back woods of the forest, where he knew of a spot to park his car for the well.

Archie was already there, Pongo in the backseat, he leaned against his car with a flashlight in hand. "Bit dark for a midnight wedding…I don't think there's any lighting at the well."

He couldn't be annoyed at the nitpicking. It was impossible. So instead, he answered that it wouldn't be a problem when they arrived, and the two of them began the short hike up to the well.

Another want he could accomplish…setting the mood.

With a sweep of his hands, he covered the well with glowing white candles that even made Archie gasp. "Ah…yes…well…that will work just fine."

Between the candles and the moon, it would indeed work just fine.

Seven minutes to spare.

If he knew Belle, she'd be right on time.

There was time enough to do something more, he knew. Time enough to fulfill another "want," but for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything that would be appropriate. His mind felt hazy. There was a lump that was somehow managing to swell in his throat. Concentration was beginning to feel impossible. But when he heard a branch break at four minutes to go and turned to see her step out of the clearing…

He couldn't think at all.

He could barely breathe looking at her.

Time slowed to a crawl as she walked toward him, a vision in white…in every single literal way he knew of.

It was true. That vision that he'd seen so long ago in the castle when he'd caught her after she'd fallen from the ladder, the vision that produced so many small little glimpses of a future he wasn't sure or hadn't wanted to believe were real…one of those visions had shown him this. Had shown him her. Dressed exactly like that.

On their wedding day.

It hadn't shown him Archie. It hadn't shown him Belle clinging to her father's arm, only her as she made her way to him, eyes fixed and nearly in tears already.

She was gorgeous. And he wasn't sure this was the best idea he'd ever had, or the worst because he'd taken so damn long to get to this place.

"It is my great honor to officiate this most lovely union," Archie began when they were toe to toe, and her father had stepped away. The shock of his voice had him glancing over at him, reminding him that they weren't alone at the moment. His mind seemed to keep forgetting that. It kept blocking out everyone and everything except her and that gaze of hers. "If you'd like to begin, your vows…" Archie prompted, glancing at her first as he realized…

A need that he'd forgotten…his vows.

"Rumpelstiltskin…" she began with a swallow. "This thing we have it's…it's never been easy. I've…I've lost you so many times," she cried, struggling to breathe through her emotions. Oh, he wanted to take her in his arms even then. "I've lost you to…to darkness, to weakness, and-and finally…to death. But now I realized…I realize that I have not spent my life losing you…I've spent my life finding you!"

Beautiful vows. Simple and elegant, just as she was. Just as he had difficulty being, especially when he went into something entirely unplanned and unprepared. How was he supposed to say anything half as good as that?

But then again…

There was nothing he could tell her she didn't already know. What had he said to her in the library? He wanted to make a promise to her that he'd actually keep. What was a vow if not a promise?

"Belle…" he began, doing his best to look at her and go back to that place where Archie and her father didn't exist. The things he wanted to tell her now were things he had only ever uttered to her in the privacy of their bedroom or the back of the shop. He blushed to think others might be witness to it, but that was the point after all. He just needed to block the others out so he could get them out of his mouth. It was just the two of them here at this well. It was the two of them making these promises. "When we met, I wasn't just unloved and unloving. I was an enemy of love. Love had only brought me pain. My walls were up, but you brought them down. You brought me home." He swallowed hard and tried not to be distracted as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You brought life into my life and chased away all the darkness. And I vow to you, I will never forget the distance between what I was and what I am."

That was it…the "want" he had time to provide for her. He wanted to do right by her, wanted to be everything that she wanted him to be. That was a vow, a promise that he wanted to keep. A gift that he could give…plus one other she didn't yet know about.

He glanced at Archie as he pulled the ring out of his pocket, more to let the cricket know he had it than to seek his permission, but he was happy when he nodded all the same. Her jaw dropped as she stared at it, and he reached for her hand to slip it over her finger.

"I owe more to you than I can ever say," he explained, settling it into place and feeling the magic solidify. "How you can see the man behind the monster…I will never know."

"But that monster's gone," she argued with absolute certainty. "And the man beneath him may be flawed…but we all are. And I love you for it," she insisted, squeezing his hands tighter in her own. "Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes the best teacup…is chipped!"

A small laugh spread over her face, taking him right back to one of their earliest interactions, when she'd dropped that cup, chipping it forever, and he'd made a not-so-funny joke that she'd still laughed at all the same. It was strange how a moment like that could evolve, the places it could lead to the challenges that would arrive to dismantle it. They'd conquered their demons, climbed their mountains, and come through the other side. And now there was only one thing left he could think to do.

Vows said, ring given, he stepped forward in front of that well, and the few there to witness it, and kissed her, proclaiming to all the world they were now and forever, finally, husband and wife.

[stitchthesewords]

Hello friend it is me, only a few days late with some thoughts about the latest The End of the Dream chapter.

first thought I would like to share is: yesyyesyesyes yessyes. Very extremely good.

I am obsessed with what Mumbo and Scar have in this AU. So much so that I am going to have to mention all of my favourite Them moments, in fact.

“Mumbo chuckled […] “Hundreds of years, [….] He never gets tired of it. Human stories.”” It's so good. That fondness. Seeing someone you care about being happy about something and just quietly enjoying it is one of my favourite relationship tropes actually. And also: hundreds of years. I am looking at that and thinking about it not just in relation to how well they know each other, but also their roles in the community of Hermit Town. How long have they been there? How long have they been running their less-than-legal business? I am turning it in my head Stitch.

“When Scar says home he means – someplace else” Oh? Lore? I am eyeing this very much. I am looking at rift!Scar and rift!Mumbo like I want to know his backstory I want to know his backstory I want to know how they met pls [honorific of choice] author tell me more.

“I got Mumbo his wings, too! Don’t they suit him?” Scar voice: compliment my boyfriend.

The whole "Mumbo is flammable" saga. The mix of care and teasing. It's so perfectly in character for them.

“You’re really going big with this” “we need big” we. Stitch. He’s building a home for them Stitch. Yes I know he's building a vault but… he's building a home for him and his husband (and the guy staying in his husband's house who will also one day be his husband <3)

I love the little detail of Grian trying to work out how elytras would work. It's so in character for him to want to understand something like that.

I am turning the memory snippets over and over to try to find any kind of clue about the Grian mystery. Is the fact that he is having these glimpses near the rift significant? (Almost certainly). Grian recalled the kids were wearing school uniforms but did not mention that to Scar and Mumbo. Was that significant? Water runs through the pillars… Bubblewators leading to something beyond that Grian hasn't remembered yet? It is an important pillar but what makes it that? Is it linked to the inscriptions? Why does Grian question whether or not it was an accident… and was it? I love it! Getting one answer only to be confronted with a dozen new questions.

Also? World lore! I love it. I am eating it up and taking notes. The fact that there are tunnels indicates that the rift might have been opened before? or maybe even that someone put it there in some way. I am Scared and Worried and also very excited to find out the answer.

“And it is our vault – If there’s something dangerous underneath it, I think we should probably know, right?” Please have my immediate reaction notes to this quote: 'Oh no nono. Fool me ONCE. There's something creepy going on below that vault you mark my word.' AND THEN THERE WAS! HHHHHHH that scene Stitch. I read it three times in a row. I just love how you used the perspective here! Grian being compelled to go to the Rift the same way you as a reader feel compelled to keep reading to find out what is up with the rift while also going 'oh no. this is gonna go wrong for him… Please keep walking I want to see what happens.' And the way you know there is a lot more going on than Grian is noticing. I think it marks a well written scene when you as a reader look at it and go 'oh I wonder what that would have looked like from another character's perspective.'

And the Rift! I know I already said it before but I really did just read that part three times in a row because it's so well-written. The horror elements of the compulsion are so well handled. And again there are more questions. Why does the rift want people to pass through it? Is the rift sentient enough to want anything? GAH it's so good I love it.

12/10 chapter, it does indeed fuck. Everyone, please go read Rift AU!

Hello friend it is I, only a few days late to responding. It’s fine. ADHD is gripping my head in a vice. Everything’s fine.

YEEEES I love the redscape in this fic I am. They make me vibrate out of my skin I love them. The deserve only more Redscape moments.

SCAR’S TENDERENESS FOR HUMANS!!! Look – Look. One of these days, one of the Rift AU fics is just going to be a very thinny veiled essay about how much I love people. Lkhadkgl Especially in this world where I imagine some level of humanity has existed for thousands of years. AND HMMMM Isn’t that a fun question. What came first – Scar’s black market dealing or King ren hm hm hm.

[the honorific I us is Ms] MMM LORE I AM VIBRATING I WANNA JUST DUMP IT SO BAD BUT I MUST RESTRAIN MYSELF!!! I broke everything about it down to Atherix a while ago and I need to dig through our discord and compile all my Rift Notes into one document. Also I uh. I still need to actually give Mumbo lore whoopsie

YES!!!! He’s like almost literally preening over Mumbo come on. They’re so gay.

I love how you’re like ‘this is so heartwarming and cute’ and Atherix was 5 seconds from strangling me over the flammable saga.

HES BUILDING A HOME FOR THEEEEEEEEEEEM HES DOING IT FOR THEEEEEEEEEM Sure he claims its just for him but he certainly uses We a lot if that’s the case. 😉

Grian’s bird brain is working so hard I’m pretty sure you can hear the gears grinding in his skull. I also really wanted to give Mumbo a big ole cape that’s actually secretly wings bc. I mean. Come on. The vampire conundrum possibilities.

Yeeees I love all these questions. I obviously can’t answer them for you because Grian will answer them one way or another eventually [or will he] but it’s good to see that memory section is really generating the kind of questions I hoped it would. I have A Lot of Thoughts about what’s going on inside The Rift [Or on the other side of it hm hm]. I WANNA JUST LIKE. Dump them so bad but I also want to actually write them well so alas, they stay in my head for now. Even Atherix doesn’t know whats going on over there.

World looooooooooooooooore!!! World lore world lore world lore!! My beloved world lore. I actually need to go in and make a document that keeps track of all the world lore for me because I uh. I need to keep track of it. But! I wonder why those tunnels and such are there indeed.

HHHHHHHHHHHH YES!!!! Something dangerous indeed. Sometimes writing doesn’t need to be subtle, sometimes I need you to Know What Is About To Happen without Actually Knowing. Isn’t that fun.

And yes! I really love the way the whole Rift Scene came out tbh. I wanted it to feel confusing and disorienting because it was That for Grian. It’s like being at the head of a rollercoaster peeking over the edge of the first drop and seeing what you have in store for yourself. I love it. I’m also excited because I have started writing out the next chapter which means we all get a peek at what it looked like as they relive and try to figure out what just happened and I am. Vibrating in my seat.

Yeees the Rift my beloved. I have a document of different ‘test’ descriptions for it and I think I’m going to play around with it some more because I really love how it came out in this chapter. God. Imagine just being mumbo or Scar and SEEING that, the way it awakened and dragged Grian towards it. This supposedly nonsentient light in a cave wall. I love how fucked up it is.

‘it does indeed fuck’ is the funniest way you could have ended this but you know what I appreciate it. Thank you for reading and enjoying it!!! Sorry it took me so long to reply OTL

[siswritesyanderes]

I see your yandere!Drukkari and raise you, what would Gilgamesh and Thena be like as yanderes? either together or apart, I feel like as far as things go they might be the most domestic out of everyone, but also the most combative

and i second that other anon, i’m always down for seeing your thoughts on any character even if it’s something random (but especially I wanna know your thoughts on the eternals)

I feel like the best yandere scenario for them would be if (SPOILER) Gilgamesh didn't die, because I think it would be most fun with Thena at full confidence, and that happens later in the story. So I'm going to go ahead and make one alteration to the plot of Eternals to say Gilgamesh is alive, which I don't expect too much resistance about, lol.

Gilgamesh would be super loving and protective. He would learn your favorite foods and learn to make his own versions. Despite being one of the most impressive people alive, he is always impressed by you. He calls you strong when you carry a lot of shopping bags at once, despite you not being particularly strong compared to other humans, let alone him. He's good at making you feel good about yourself; he says a lot of "Very good," and "Great idea." He trusts his own strength, shields, and fighting prowess to keep you safe, so he'd be willing to take you out in public. Any threat to your life would be easily dispatched. That "Stay here" moment with Thena in the movie would be a regular move with you; the moment something strikes him as unsafe, he'd sweetly tell you to stay someplace out of the way and then he'd go and get rid of the thing. Most likely, you'd be with Thena during that time.

Thena would be both protective and possessive. Like, Thena might actually have you on a literal leash or harness, depending on how things go. If anyone walks close to you, she'll instantly have a blade to their throat, saying something like, "Don't touch. In fact, don't even look." She's probably not the most outwardly sentimental yandere; she isn't great at giving compliments. A lot of the time, she shows love by bullying others in your defense. Like, she might throw a sword to impale someone's radio if she suspects the noise is bothering you. If someone's car splashes water on you as they drive past, she would silently hand your leash off to Gilgamesh (if a leash is part of the equation) and chase down the car. Gilgamesh has learned not to send her grocery shopping, because if somebody else grabbed the last box of your favorite cereal, or anything of the sort, she would be willing to physically fight them for it. Though she fortunately doesn't normally have to, as her just asking them for it can be very intimidating. She doesn't believe you need anyone else in your life besides her and Gilgamesh, and arguing otherwise annoys her.

Gilgamesh can temper her a little; he can convince her to let you, for example, hug your mom. He's also probably the reason you're allowed to visit people you know in the first place. But even for Gilgamesh, your relationships with other people are considered secondary; letting you visit family is on the same level as letting you watch a movie- it's a nice thing to do, and it's good that it makes you happy, but it's not essential. When it comes down to it, those other people can love you, but they can't love you forever. They're like mayflies.

As for Thena's soft side, she enjoys brushing your hair, before bed. In the dimness of a candle-lit room, she combs the tangles out and quietly says "Pretty." She likes it when you sit beneath her. She likes to kiss your forehead. (Gilgamesh usually goes for the cheek.)

[nobodyfamousposts]

Dolls AU: Swap Day

It was a great plan. In theory.

Chaton had been with Marinette since he was created. And Littlebug had literally been made for Adrien.

And while they had many days where they spent time together all four of them, or both dolls went with one of the two heroes, usually they found themselves falling back to that routine.

It wasn’t that Marinette didn’t care about Littlebug. Or that Adrien didn’t care about Chaton. They both did care, and very much in fact! But they had spent so long with one doll each and had gotten used to it, that it hadn’t really struck them to spend some individual time with the other doll.

That was why they would be doing this now.

This weekend, they would each be spending a day with the other’s doll for bonding time! Adrien was excited. Marinette was nervously anticipating. Tikki was worried. And Plagg was...well...Plagg, so other than making sure to stockpile cheese and a place to hide from what he deemed the “sappiness”, he didn’t care.

And thus, they planned for a free full day of bonding and fun! Guaranteed!

______________________

Littlebug was not having a good time.

It wasn’t Mama’s fault. Mama was wonderful. She didn’t want her or anyone to think otherwise.

But…

She wasn’t often away from Papa.

And she certainly wasn’t away from Chaton AND Papa.

She couldn’t help but think about them. And worry. Were they okay? Were they having fun? Was Papa’s Father needing another night in the big trash bin again?

She looked out the window at the stormy dark skies and her own sad reflection. She was trying not to think about them, but couldn’t not think about them. And the raininess was only making it worse since the two left in the wet and ickiness and she couldn’t go with them to protect them or make them feel better. It was making her sad and worried.

Marinette, for her part, was also worried. This bonding day wasn’t really off to a great start. First with the rainstorm, which made the day somewhat dreary and kept them from being able to spend time outside. Then with Littlebug seeming rather distant.

She bit her lip, feeling uncertain. She glanced to Tikki in hopes of some suggestion, but even the kwami didn’t seem to have any ideas as she simply shrugged.

Littlebug only continued to look out the window, almost wistfully.

“Hey, Littlebug.” Marinette said as she approached the doll. “Are you feeling all right?”

A moment passed as Littlebug thought it over before she looked up at Marinette with a frown.

“I guess you miss Adrien and Chaton, too, huh?” Marinette ventured.

The doll nodded.

“Well, you and I can spend the day together doing just about anything—within reason, of course.” Marinette smiled. “So how would you like it if we made something for them that you could give when we see them next? Would that make you feel better?”

Littlebug paused at that, looking up at Marinette in surprise and a bit of enthusiasm.

Really? Would it be okay?

“Of course!” Marinette replied. “This is your day with me. If you want to make something, we certainly can do that!”

This seemed to brighten Littlebug’s mood as she nodded eagerly.

The hope was that she could spend time with Littlebug that was just between them. But for now, Littlebug was still focused on Adrien and Chaton.

At the very least, they could turn that focus into something productive!

So Marinette showed Littlebug some of her crochet supplies and helped her learn some basic stitching. Littlebug took to it quite happily...at least at first.

But Littlebug was getting frustrated with each mistake she made.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect.” Marinette assured her.

Littlebug frowned up at her, clearly unimpressed.

Because it had to be perfect! It’s for Papa!

Marinette smiled. Littlebug was so much like herself. They both had that same sense of determination and perfectionist tendencies.

...given Marinette’s issues, it’d probably be best to nip that in the bud.

“He’ll love anything you make.”

Littlebug pouted. It seemed she still wasn’t convinced.

Marinette hugged her. “You know, there may be mistakes in what you make, but those are just indicators that it was made by you with love.” She gave Littlebug a squeeze. “Adrien will see that. And it’ll matter all the more to him because you made it for him out of love.”

Littlebug stared up at Marinette as if in awe. Her eyes almost seemed to shine.

“Adrien doesn’t get many things. So he appreciates what he’s given. The little mistakes show the effort you put into your gifts and that you were thinking of him.

Okay.

Littlebug nodded resolutely, determined to see this through.

Then she would be sure to make tons of mistakes to let Papa know she loved him!

“Wait—that’s not what I meant!” Marinette cried.

Tikki giggled.

Still, it made Littlebug feel more at ease and the two worked together on their projects in easy companionship.

“I wonder how the boys are doing…”

Littlebug looked up at that. She tilted her head in curiosity.

Marinette smiled down at Littlebug.

“I’m sure they’re okay.”

Littlebug smiled back up at her and nodded.

________________________

Adrien was not okay.

“Chaton! Chaton, buddy? Where are you?”

It was his day to spend one on one time with Chaton, but sure enough, his ever-dreaded schedule had inconveniently intervened at the worst time, dragging him away from his room and from Chaton for over an hour. Now that he returned, Chaton was nowhere to be seen. It hadn’t even been an hour since Marinette had entrusted him to her care and he had lost him.

Marinette was going to kill him.

“Kid?” Plagg questioned after having watched Adrien tearing up his room for a good 15 minutes.

“I messed up, Plagg. I completely messed up!” Adrien moaned as he slumped onto his bed. “Now I can’t find Chaton! He could be anywhere!”

He gasped, starting to panic.

“What if he got out? What if he’s outside? It’s RAINING outside, Plagg!”

“I can see that.”

“What if he thought I abandoned him and left?! What if he’s all alone? WHAT IF SOMEONE KIDNAPPED HIM?!”

“Kid.”

“What do I do?! Where do I even start looking?!”

“Kid.”

“What if he’s hurt? Or scared? Oh my god, Plagg, what if he’s injured and crying and needing me to find him?!”

“ADRIEN!”

Adrien spun around immediately to see a floating and very unimpressed Plagg staring flatly at him.

“What?!”

“It’s raining.”

Adrien blinked. “Okay?”

Plagg sighed. “Where do little kitties like to go when it rains?”

Adrien frowned at that. “I don’t know…someplace dark and dry?”

Plagg sighed and rolled his eyes.

“When it’s wet and humid and I don’t feel well, where do I like to go?”

Adrien thought for a moment. “Well, you go to my sock draw...oh.”

He stood and headed for his drawer, which he only now noticed was slightly open. Not all the way, but just enough to provide some cover.

And sure enough, there laid a particularly tired Chaton nestled among Adrien’s socks.

________________________

Chaton didn’t like rainy days.

They were icky. They smelled bad and came with a dampness that got everywhere. Especially when he had to go out in the rain for any length of time. It was as if the mugginess clung to him even once he was inside. It was bad and it made him feel bad. Like he was smothered in a wetness that wasn’t really wet and he couldn’t wipe away.

It hadn’t helped that he and Papa had to go out in the rain to get from Mama’s home to Papa’s house. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t stay completely dry. And the rain just seemed to follow them.

When they had gotten to Papa’s room, they both worked to dry off. Even so, the unpleasant feeling remained.

His day with Papa had just started and Chaton was already not happy.

Then the Cold Lady called. Papa had to leave, so it was just Chaton and the ickiness.

Normally, he would have played and waited.

But it was wet. It was wet and miserable and Chaton was miserable and now he was alone.

Papa was gone and even Kitty was gone, too.

That just left Chaton to find some comfort for himself. A nice dry place. A place that can take the ickiness away.

He couldn’t go to the Fort. Littlebug and the King and Queen weren’t there and he didn’t want to get the walls damp or icky.

The bed might work, but it was too big and open. It just wasn’t enough.

He missed Mama. When it was rainy and icky, he could lay on her lap and she would pet him till he felt better.

He wanted to curl up. He wanted a dry small comforting place. Like his bed. Or his Box. But those were at Mama’s home and he was here.

There was only one place he could think of.

It took some effort to pull out the drawer. Chaton was tired by the end and he had only managed to pull it out maybe a third of the way. Fortunately, it was enough for him to slip inside. He’d gotten through thinner openings and hidden in smaller boxes before.

If I fits I sits, Mama had said.

He didn’t know what it meant, but if it got him where he wanted to be, it was good enough.

He was able to climb up and over, landing inside the drawer and on top of the soft sockies. They were smaller than the bedsheets and able to be moved much more easily, so he curled up and shuffled around until a little nest of sockies buffered him on all sides to protect him from the ickiness outside.

It wasn’t as good as Mama’s home. But it was comforting.

Chaton slept.

Suddenly there was noise.

Footsteps.

Papa’s voice. He sounded upset. Chaton felt bad and wanted to check on him, but that required moving.

It came closer.

Then it went away.

Then there were sounds outside his hiding place. Sounds of things being moved or shuffled around.

Footsteps came back.

Suddenly there were hands.

Warm hands.

Hands that were trying to take him from his nice dry place.

Nooooo

Wet. Icky. Rainy. Sleepy. Cold.

Cold.

Warm hands. Cold everything else.

He didn’t like it.

He fussed.

“Hang on a second.”

But it was icky!

A sound of cloth moving.

The hands were putting him down. The warm hands. The only warm and dry thing! He clutched them desperately.

Suddenly—soft below him. Warm everywhere else.

He opened his eyes. Pillow below him. Soft fluffy nice feeling. Blankets hanging around him. Enclosing him in warm dry comfy-ness.

Chaton sighed in contentment and nuzzled into the nest of pillows and blankets, surrounded by even more blankets to keep out the icky feeling. He was feeling sleepy now—but a good sleepy! Not the icky sleepy. What was this? What had Papa done?

Adrien knelt in the enclosed space, looking rather pleased with himself.

“There we go! One blanket fort for a rainy day! What do you think, Chaton?”

He liked it.

Chaton purred.

Papa curled up next to him inside the enclosure.

“The storm should pass in an hour or two. I think we can do with a nap until then.”

Chaton liked that idea.

The warmth before was nice but this was better.

Then Papa started to purr.

Chaton shifted to get closer to the vibrations. It was nice. Soothing.

Papa’s arm curled around him, making Chaton feel even more nice and good sleepy.

“I don’t know why you were panicking so much, kid. Cats are easy to please.”

“I just don’t want to mess up, Plagg.”

Papa was silly. He wasn’t messing up at all.

Chaton loved Papa bunches. Bunches and bunches!

Before he completely nodded off, Chaton’s tail curled over Papa’s arm.

In a couple hours, they could play. But for now, Chaton liked spending his time with Papa just fine like this.

[lovely-angst]

Hi I saw your post can I request a scenario with dabi and female reader having an argument vut with fluff ending, thank you so much 💗

a/n: this took so long bc i couldn’t sit and write for more than like 10 minutes a day. but this fic is  l e n g t h y  bc this is the kinda of angst I like hehe. also, it’s hard writing for dabi! his character is so complicated!

tw: arguing

genre: fluff and angst

pairing: dabi x reader

summary: you and dabi get into a heated argument and trying to fix the relationship is harder than it seems.

word count: 3.5k

03.09.2021

-

It was probably a bad idea that you ran out of the house at night, but you felt as if you had no other choice. You and Dabi had just gotten into a heated argument—the most heated argument the two of you had ever had actually.

It might have been over something stupid, but it had been running through your mind for the past few weeks, so it couldn’t have been that stupid. Not to you at least.

Your eyes were stained red from all of the crying you had done prior, but every time you thought back to the words the two of you threw at each other, you couldn’t help the blurriness of the tears that filled your eyes.

“If you’re so miserable with me, why don’t you just leave!” Dabi shot at you as anger filled your entire body. 

“I can’t!” you shouted back before sadness washed over you, tears quickly rising to your eyes as you stared over at your boyfriend. “I have nowhere else to go anymore because I left everything behind for you!” 

“I never asked you to! Maybe you should’ve thought about that when you decided to mess around with someone like me.”

“You didn’t have to ask! I did it because I love you! But you wouldn’t understand because you don’t care about me!” You shouted angrily at Dabi, who was fuming at you with clenched fists, 

“You’re right, I don’t care. Get out of my fucking place.” 

Staring down at your hands, you let out a sigh. You were starting to miss Dabi. Even after everything that had just happened, your heart was still full of love for him. There was no way he meant it, right?

It wasn’t that you were miserable with Dabi, you loved him with all your heart. You had just wanted him to put more effort into the relationship, into you. He was always away doing whatever work he had to do and you missed him—Dabi was all you had left.

Reaching into the pockets of your light jacket, you frowned upon only finding a few napkins and empty wrappers from whatever treat you had snacked on. In a rush to leave the apartment, you had forgotten to take your phone and wallet, leaving you with nothing.

Sniffling, you glanced around at the empty streets, trying to find a warm place to stay at. It wasn’t terribly cold, but cold enough where you would love to be someplace warm. Going home wasn’t an option, seeing how Dabi had just kicked you out, but going back to your parents was an even worse option. They had given you an earful about Dabi and you were practically disowned when you left with him.

It was just like any other day. The two of you were on his roughed-up couch that so happened to fit the two of you perfectly. Dabi sat behind you as you sat in between his slender legs in a comfortable silence. 

He had this place for himself when he didn’t feel like staying overnight at the league and it used to feel so big when it was him alone. But recently, you’ve been occupying this space with him which made everything feel so much warmer. 

And he told you. “You should move in with me,” he said, earning a small smile from you. 

But you knew it couldn’t be that simple. 

“My parents don’t want me around you anymore,” you told him softly in his arms. “They said you’re not a person I should be spending my time with.” 

“Well, you’re old enough to be making your own decisions,” he huffed and you couldn’t help but chuckle. “I am,” you told him, finding his hands and gently running your fingers along them.

“But if I decided to move in with you, they’ll disown me. Cut me off from the family,” a heavy sigh escapes your lips, slumping back on your boyfriend’s chest. 

“Yeah, but we can be our own family,” he said before a small wave of silence fell upon the two of you. Turning around to face him, you couldn’t help the sad smile on your face, “Could we really though? I mean, you’re busy and if I’m no longer with my family, I’d be alone.” 

“Trust me, doll,” he starts with a smirk, pushing hair away from your face, “we will make it work.”

You stared up into his blue eyes hesitantly. Dabi was no family guy. He wasn’t even the type of guy to settle with someone, yet here he was asking you to move in with him to be his family. 

But you loved him too much. 

Placing a gentle hand on his chest, you lean forward to press a kiss onto his lips before slightly pulling away, “Promise me you’ll take care of me?”

Dabi let out a small chuckle, grinning before pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Promise.”

You were really alone now.

-

Panting heavily, Dabi stared at the door you had just slammed shut as you fled from the apartment the two of you shared. Good riddance, he thought, storming over toward the bedroom to cool himself down—his flames were about to burst out any minute now with how angry and irritated he was.

He had already told you that he couldn’t be that perfect boyfriend who could do all these amazing things for you. You knew this and you had told him it was alright because you love him. So what was that back then?

Roughly running his hands through his hair, he sat back against the bed before letting out a heavy sigh and rubbing his eyes out of frustration. Maybe telling you to get out of the apartment was a bit much, but Dabi knew you’d eventually find your way back. You always did.

Grabbing his phone from beside him, Dabi decided to shoot you a text telling you to come back because it would be a hassle to take care of you if you got sick—his way of telling you he cared.

It was late in the night already and Dabi was tired from everything. He wished that you could’ve been there for him to hold when he drifted off into a dreamless slumber, but you weren’t because of him.

Walking over to the front door, Dabi made sure the door was unlocked if you had decided to sneak your way back in. Which he secretly hoped you would.

Upon opening the fridge, Dabi’s heart clenched once he saw all of the food you had cooked and stored away for him with little notes written on them.

‘I know you hate fish, so this doesn’t contain any fish!’

‘This dish has a lot of meat so eat up to get all your protein in because you’ve been working so hard <3′ 

‘This one is my favorite, so try it out and see if you like it just as much as me :^)’

Did you have to be so stupidly cute?

Dabi was weak against you, and he knew it too. Heating up the dish you deemed your favorite, he walked over towards the small dinner table that would fit the two of you perfectly.

Staring down at the dish, Dabi let out a chuckle—of course this dish was your favorite. And it tasted like home too, something he seemed to enjoy more of when you were here too. 

He really did miss you too.

It had been a week since you moved in with Dabi. He enjoyed coming home to you sharing the space with him and making it more homely and warm. Dabi was quite ecstatic that you agreed to live with him, but there was only one problem.

You didn’t seem so...happy. 

Dabi would often catch you staring off into space or constantly staring out the window as you let your thoughts run wild. And when he would finally build up the courage to ask, you’d respond with a smile.

“No, I am happy to be here with you,” you’d remind him softly, “I just kinda miss my family.”

And though Dabi knew that, he couldn’t help but want to be selfish and keep you here to himself. You were his family now and you chose to be his a part of this family when you agreed to live with him. 

“But we’re our own family now and we’ll take care of each other,” you told him with a smile despite your sadness.

You seemed to always find the right words to soothe Dabi’s thoughts. You were great at helping him—even when he couldn’t seem to help you at all.

Twitching awake, Dabi glanced around confused. When did he fall asleep? His discarded dish was still on the table right where he left it. He must’ve fallen asleep when his thoughts consumed him.

Glancing over at his phone, Dabi frowned when two hours had passed and there was no response from you. You didn’t even bother looking at his text. Were you seriously that upset? Letting out a sigh, Dabi decided to call you instead, hoping to get you home safe.

It wasn’t until he heard your familiar ringtone playing from the living room that Dabi had realized that you left your phone. Which meant you were out somewhere alone and defenseless in this sketchy neighborhood. It had already been two hours. Who knows what could have happened to you.

He always felt as if you were so small and so fragile that it would be so easy to break you.

“Fuck,” Dabi mumbled as he ran into the bedroom to grab his hoodie and a mask before taking off searching for you. Even with most of his skin covered, he could still feel the chill of the late night.

Where could you be at a time like this?

As he ran through the quiet neighborhood, he was glad to see that no one was out and about doing whatever shady business they had going on. But to Dabi’s surprise, there you were, just a few feet away from the apartment.

You sat crouched into a tiny ball as you hid your face in your knees, looking extra small and extra fragile.

Dabi let out a relieved sigh before gently walking towards you, his feet tapping against the concrete gently before stopping in front of you.

“(Name),” he called as gently as he could, “It’s cold out. Let’s go back,” but you didn’t budge. “Stop being stubborn and let’s go back,” Dabi’s voice was laced with irritation before you finally moved, which should have been a great sign. But seeing how you shifted away from him, bothered him more than he liked to admit.

“I don’t want to go back,” you say weakly, curling in on yourself. Dabi scoffed, “Then are you going to stay out here in the cold? I know you have nowhere else to go.”

Your head raised slowly to glance up at him, a heartbroken look on your face before you stood up to face him. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to come back. You promised me you’d take care of me, but look where we are now.”

Turning away from him, you let out a sigh, “I think this relationship is too much for you right now, Dabi. You’re not ready to have another person in your life.”

And your words seem to hurt Dabi more than he had expected. It was just an argument. Things like this always happen in relationships, right? So how come things were turning for the worse?

“You’re dramatic, (Name),” Dabi chuckled. “Just come back and it will be better in the morning.”

He didn’t know how to fix this anymore.

“We can’t act like that argument didn’t happen, Dabi. That was the worst argument we’ve had, and it really hurt me,” you continued, lips quivering as you blinked rapidly, trying to hold back your tears.

“Just come back to the apartment,” Dabi tried once more, but with a surprising calm. “It’s not safe out here and it’s warmer.”

You hated how he could crumble your resolve with a few simple words—you were head over heels for this man. Stuffing your hands in your pockets, you dig your shoes into the ground, “Only for tonight. If things don’t work out, then I’ll find a new place to stay at.”

And though your words carried a heavyweight, Dabi was just glad you agreed to come back. Maybe if he snuggled up into you when the two of you went to bed, you’d forgive him.

But when he saw you setting up your bed on the couch, he realized that this was a bigger problem than he had discovered.

“What are you doing?” Watching you fluff out your pillow, you quietly got into your makeshift bed, bringing the covers towards your cheeks, “I’m going to bed,” you replied, shutting your eyes as you turned into the couch.

“But why are you on the couch?” 

“Because I don’t want to be around you right now,” you mumble into the blankets, hiding your face from your boyfriend as he stood there irritated.

“You’re being such a baby right now,” Dabi responds angrily, but you only replied with a hum, further irking the male as he trudged towards the bedroom and thankfully, shutting off the lights for you on his way.

It hurt to see that Dabi wasn’t as upset as you were about this problem the two of you were having. You wanted to fix this because you love and care for him, but you couldn’t say the same about him. Snuggling deeper into your blanket, you hoped that this night “apart” would help the two of you sleep on the problem and be able to face each other the next day.

-

Your constant stirring had woken you up from your sleep, though you weren’t able to get much sleep anyways. Every time you closed your eyes, all you could see was the fight that you and Dabi had gotten into.

Anything you dreamt of seemed to be a replay of what had led to now. You couldn’t escape.

Sighing, you let your arm hang off the couch only to have the back of your hand bump into something. Gently, your hand brushes against the foreign object before your eyes widen when your fingers brush across something soft.

Dabi?

Gently turning, your eyes land on Dabi, who asleep on the floor beside you with a small blanket covering his taller frame. Your fingers that landed themselves in his hair gently ran across down to his face, brushing along his scars as he slept peacefully beneath your hand.

Watching Dabi sleep was something you could never get tired of. He always looked so at peace, so relaxed and so carefree and you couldn’t help but wish for him to always have a restful sleep. You just wanted him to be happy.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t notice the hand coming up to brush across your own before they gently held your smaller one in yours. 

Words weren’t exchanged as the two of you laid there in silence as Dabi gently caressed the back of your hand with his thumb. A small but very comforting affection for the two of you—something you didn’t know you were craving.

“Did I wake you?” your words finally cut the silence as you laid there, basking in the feel of his hand in yours. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“It didn’t feel right sleeping in the bed alone,” A strange confession coming from the man who seemed to strive alone, but it was sweet hearing it from him, feeling how his hand gently caressed yours.

Gently prying your hand from his, you noticed how he tensed slightly before you brought your fingers back to his face gently, running across his scars once more.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

His words cut the thick silence that filled the space between the two of you. Your hand stopped right above his eyes before your brows arched sadly as you listened to him. “We’re our own family now. We’re all we’ve got.”

A sigh escaped your lips as you laid flat against the cushions of the couch, staring up at the dark ceiling above you, “I love you, Dabi, but this isn’t what a family is supposed to feel like. You promised you’d take care of me, but...I just feel like I’ve been doing it all on my own.”

Your eyes stung with tears that began to surface as your emotions came crashing back down on you.

You love Dabi, you really do, but you deserved to be treated better.

“I’m not miserable with you Dabi, I love being with you. It’s just hard when you’re all that I have left and you’re not here too,” you reminded gently, trying not to upset him. But even now, he remained silent.

“If we want things to work, I need you to talk to me,” you were met with silence and you had thought Dabi had fallen asleep but when you turned to glance at him and saw his blue eyes staring off into the distance, you knew it couldn’t work.

Turning back into the couch, you pulled your blankets up towards your cheek once more, letting your tears run freely, “I’ll be gone by the morning. Thanks for everything.”

Dabi laid there listening to your quiet sobs as you cried yourself to sleep on the couch beside him. And to be short, Dabi was freaking the fuck out.

He wanted to say something, anything, but his voice was stuck in his throat. Everything he wanted to tell you was caught and shoved back instead of flowing from his lips.

Sitting up after hearing your breathing even out, Dabi hovered over your, watching how your tears glistened with the faint moonlight and the way your breath would hitch every so often.

He really did love you, even when he couldn’t express himself to you.

Letting the back of his fingers glide across your skin gently, Dabi allowed himself to relax as he watched your peaceful state. You really did deserve so much better than a villain like him.

But he wanted to be selfish.

“You deserve so much more than this,” Dabi’s fingers run across your delicate features as he watched the way your chest rises and falls, “but I can’t give you anything.

“I can’t do anything for you like you do for me. All I do is get upset at you because you just want me to show you a little bit of love when you give me unconditional love.”

“I won’t get mad at you for leaving. I wish I could’ve given you a better family, but I don’t even know what a real family is.” Quietly standing, Dabi leans down to kiss your temple gently before giving you one last glance.

“You were the best thing to have happened to me.” his footsteps fade into the distance as he walked back into the empty bedroom.

Your eyes open once Dabi left, leaving you in the living room as your heart clenched with every word and emotion he managed to squeeze out from his conflicted heart.

You just couldn’t leave him.

-

The birds were chirping freely outside beyond the walls of his small apartment, which meant you had already left. 

With an arm over his eyes, Dabi tried not to think about it—about you, but how could he not when he was so in love with you? 

“ugh, fuck,” he grumbled as he tried sitting up in his bed, only to feel something restricting him. Peeling his arm from his eyes, Dabi glanced down only to be surprised to see you clinging onto his waist as you hid your face in the side of his chest. “(Name)?”

A sleepy whine left your lips as you moved your head around before adjusting yourself beside him, breath evening out once more as you continued to doze off.

He wasn’t sure when or how you got into the bed with him, but he thought maybe this was God’s last gift to him—allowing him to have you in his arms once more before his world would continue to drag him along the ends of the Earth. 

And once Dabi intertwined his limbs with yours, he fell asleep just as fast as he woke up. 

It wasn’t until he felt something weaving in his hair that he woke up for the second time that morning. His tired eyes slowly opened before he turned his head towards the body beside him, eyes catching onto yours before a fragile why fell from his lips. 

“I know it’s hard for you to tell me how you feel and I’m sorry for pressuring you into doing it. But I heard everything you said last night. Thank you.” You place a gentle hand on his chest before lifting yourself onto his chest, your eyes focused on his vulnerable expression.

“It’s hard for the both of us, but if you’re willing to give a little bit more into this small family of ours, we’ll be just fine.”

Dabi couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips as he brought his hands to the back of your head, bringing your forehead to his, enjoying the way your breaths mingled, “anything for you, doll.”

[unknownwriting]

I love your blog, so if you don't mind can I request a one shot with monkey d luffy x female reader where the reader has a habit of giving luffy butterfly kisses. I'm dying for lots of fluff. Thank you!

Butterfly kisses

Summary- ^^ requested

Character(s)- Monkey D. Luffy

Warnings- none :)

Word count- 1.9k

Notes- butterfly kisses are literally the cutest thing in the whole world 🥺💕 I got a big carried away, this was honestly so cute to write, I hope you enjoy. Also happy Valentine’s Day

━━☆⌒*.

Butterfly kissed- soft kisses made from fluttering one's lashes against their lover's skin. An innocent act yet one filled with so much passion. The perfect kissed for (Y/n) and her captain, Luffy, to share. A soft and airy kiss making their relationship all the better. Ever since their relationship had started a while ago, (Y/n) continued to pamper Luffy with those kisses to this day. At first, the kisses were occasional, only happening when they split up to explore an island or after Luffy got into a fight. However, throughout their relationship, the kisses began to grow more frequent. Every night before they go to bed when they wake up, and whenever the 2 leave each other sides.

Although Luffy doesn’t think too much of the gentle kisses, they mean so much to (Y/n). Those simple kisses represent so much between the 2. The kisses show that the 2 of them have a very unique way of showing their love. And even though those kisses mean so much to her, and probably mean the same to Luffy, she couldn’t help that little voice that echoed in the back of her head.

What if Luffy’s getting tired of the kisses?

It was a pointless thing to worry about. It really was but that didn’t stop (Y/n). She continued to think about it, letting it consume her thoughts.

Letting out a small groan, (Y/n) learned over the railing and watched the dolphins swimming in the wake of Sunny. She didn’t mean to get the attention of the others seeing how her worrying is pointless, however, her groan seemed to grab the attention of the crew's archeologist. At least she was lucky to catch her attention and not someone else's, Robin seems like she would know a bit about the topic.

"Are you alright, (Y/n)? You seem a bit upset." Robin questioned taking a spot next to her side. Even if it was going to be easy to tell Robin, (Y/n) thought about it for a moment. With (Y/n) already knowing the answer, she decided to tell Robin anyways, just so she can have someone tell her that she was just overthinking things.

"I...I'm not sure Luffy likes my kisses anymore. I'm probably overthinking things, but it seems like he's bored of them." (Y/n) signed, leaning up from the rail and looking over at her older friend.

"What makes you say that?" Robin wondered.

"Because that's the only kiss I give him, and he never kisses back. So you can't blame me for thinking that." (Y/n) explained, unknowingly grabbing the attention of the crew's moss head too, "But I thought he always preferred those kisses."

"Jeez, you are overthinking it." Zoro blurted out joining (Y/n) at her other side. Jumping a bit, and earning a small giggle from Robin, (Y/n) looked over at him.

"Zoro?"

"Luffy's the easiest guy to even date. Always speaking his mind, doing what he wants when he wants it." Zoro pointed out, and (Y/n) knew every single one of those to be true. Luffy always tells (Y/n) what he likes and what he doesn't without a 2nd thought.

"Zoro is right. Overthinking things with Luffy is pointless. If he doesn't like them he would've told you. Luffy's simple-minded like that." Robin agreed. (Y/n) knew she was also right, she knows she could go right up to Luffy and ask whether or not he likes the kisses but she doesn't want to do that. She doesn't want it to be that simple.

"Ugh, I know but I don't want it to be that simple. Sometimes I want something to happen." (Y/n) exclaimed throwing her hands into the air, "Everything is so easy with him, which I don't mind but sometimes because things are so easy with him I can't help but overthink things. Like I'm doing something wrong or something."

Now Zoro and Robin could understand that too. Because Luffy is so easy he's just as complex. A curse disguised as a blessing.

"The 2 of you are on night watch tonight, right?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then ask him then. It'll just be the 2 of you so you can have his full attention." Zoro has suggested before watching off again, probably to find someplace to sleep. As he walked away, his suggestion began to sink in. It was a pretty good idea, It just might help later tonight.

ミ☆

Later that night, while everyone else was sleeping or getting ready for bed, (Y/n) and Luffy both stood guard on the deck of Sunny watching out for any threats. Seeing how nothing ever happens, the 2 of them ended up goofing off, like any other night. They both told each other stories, jokes, and played games. It what the 2 of them would also do when it was their night to stand guard.

"No way. Rayleigh really made you fight those types of monsters?" (Y/n) laughed, listening to Luffy's crazy stories about training over the past 2 years. To (Y/n) the stories sounded so extreme but she knows well enough that it was true. Luffy is inhuman like that.

"Shishishi, yup. At one point I couldn't even eat until I dodged their attacks. It was hard." Luffy whined remembering that time. It was hard but it needed to be done. He needed to get strong for his crew's sake. For (Y/n)‘s sake. It would be a lie to say that Luffy didn't think or worry about (Y/n) during his training. That was one of the things that he missed the most, her warmth and her smile. And not the mention the amazing kisses she gave. He definitely missed those the most. Feeling (Y/n)'s soft lashes brush against his skin in a repeating fashion. When the 2 of them had reunited it was something that (Y/n) didn't hold back either, kissing him every chance they got to make up for all the time apart. However, recently (Y/n) hasn't been giving out the kisses anymore. The thing about Luffy is that he's dense, not clueless so he knows something was wrong with (Y/n) for a while now. As if he also overheard was Zoro said earlier, Luffy decided to bring it up.

"Sheesh. Only you could go through such intense training." (Y/n) giggled as she looked into Luffy's dark brown eyes. Now was going to be the perfect time to bring up the kisses. And she was, wanting to clear up the confusion as quickly as possible. But just as she gathered her thoughts and opened her mouth to say something there was a crash at the back of the ship. The crash echoed for a moment before it when silent again. Both (Y/n) and Luffy turned around to face the sound, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen. When it stayed silent and nothing else happened, (Y/n) was the first one the get up.

"Guess I'll go check out that sound," (Y/n) stated as she began to walk off. Luffy watched with a close eye as she walked. It didn't take Luffy long to realize something was missing. (Y/n) doesn't just walk off like that. She always kisses him before leaving. Before she could get far, Luffy stretched out his arms and wrapped them around her waist, yanking her back and into his lap. A soft yelp let her lips as she soon came into contact with Luffy's chest.

"Huh? Luffy what's wrong-" (Y/n) gasped as she felt his grip about her tighten. With his strong arms pushing her back, (Y/n) was almost able to feel every inch of Luffy's chest against her back. Something like this rarely happened. Luffy was never big on physical contact hence why they stuck to butterfly kisses.

"I'm not letting you go." Luffy cut (Y/n) off, resting his chin on her shoulder. With a blush covering her cheeks, she glanced over at him to try and reasons with him but when she looked she only got Luffy's intense stare back. Now (Y/n) knows he's being serious.

"W-what?" (Y/n) stared down at the grass on the main deck to embarrassed to meet his gaze. She began to play with her fingers as she waited for Luffy to say something. And the waiting was not helping at all, it only made her impatient. Luffy normally doesn't wait like his, he would just speak his mind. While she waited, (Y/n) could still feel his gaze on her at they sat in silence. Finally, with a squeeze from Luffy's arm, she spoke up.

"Because you haven't given me a kiss." Luffy blurted out.

"Huh?" His comment clearly caught (Y/n) off guard. She was not expecting those words to come from his lips. Luffy hummed into her shoulder and nodded.

"You haven't given me a kiss all day..." Luffy trailed off as his face sunk deeper into (Y/n) shoulder. In all honesty, (Y/n) didn't how to react. Luffy rarely acted like this, it came as a total shock. This side of him is completely new but it was cute. Clingy but cute. Glancing back down, this time she noticed that blush that covered the top of his ears. Seems like this side is new for Luffy too.

Staring down at Luffy a bit longer, a small smile crept onto (Y/n)'s lips as a burst of laughter erupted from her throat, "I didn't know you liked them so much."

"Of course I do!! Your kisses are super soft!!" Luffy exclaimed looking up from (Y/n) shoulder. Laughing once more, (Y/n) shimmed her way out of his grasp and turned aground, and faced her blushing captain. Locking eyes with him, (Y/n) placed a hand on her cheek and began to caress them with her thumb.

"Well that's good to know. I was afraid you didn't like them anymore." (Y/n) confessed.

"Why wouldn't I?" Luffy sounded offended at (Y/n)'s comment. Looks like he loved the kisses as much as (Y/n) loves giving them, "(Y/n) kisses are the best. As good as meat."

"...Luffy don't compare me to meat." (Y/n) let out a small scoff at his comparison. As weird as it sounded, it meant a lot to her. In Luffy's eyes, nothing beats meat.

"What? Meats amazing."

"I know, but that's not really the best thing to say to a girl." (Y/n) scoffed leaning into his flustered cheek, and began to flutter her eyelashes. He probably didn't mean to, but a small hummed left his lips in response. With that reps once in mind, (Y/n) went to his other cheek and give him another kiss, then his nose, then his forehead.

"Shishi, You're kissing me a lot."

"Of course. It only fair because I didn't kiss you at all today." (Y/n) smiled, placing one more kissing on his cheek. With all the kisses done, she leaned back and stared into Luffy's smile. It was relieving to know that Luffy enjoyed the kisses too. Now (y/n) won't have to overthink the kisses again. With his hands still around her waist, he hugged her again and sunk his face into the neck, as if to say thank you. And of course, (Y/n) hugged back. Luffy also knows that her hugs are just amazing as she kissed, so warm and full of love. It would be easy for them to of them to get stay like this forever but (Y/n) still has to go check out that sound.

Shifting around a bit in his grasp, (Y/n) spoke up, "hey, Luffy I still need to go check out that sou-"

"No, I want you to stay here." Luffy lurked out again, squeezing (Y/n) tightly again. She stared down at him again. His childish and clingy behavior is kicking in, there's no leaving him now.

With a quiet giggle, (Y/n) nodded and hugged him again. She'll just have to check out the sound later. Right now there doesn't seem to be any reasons or way to leave the comfort of Luffy's hug.

[beckyh2112]

Half-Formed Fic Ideas That Probably Won’t See the Light of Day

Several of these are rooted in @one-real-imonkey‘s fics because they write things that please my brain.

- Very firmly off one of @one-real-imonkey‘s clone time-travel AUs: it’s around ten years after the events of the fic. Jedi Master Plo Koon is paying a visit to Mandelore for Handwave-y Reasons, but mostly so he can check on the Mereel quints and the Fett twins. (He still has no idea why one of the quintuplets latched onto him in particular, but he returns the young man’s caring as best he can.)

Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos are along for some nice, mostly safe practice diplomacy in front of their padawans. For some (inexplicable to the Jedi) reason, the reaction of four out of five Mereel quintuplets and the blond Fett twin to Padawan Secura is: “Bly is going to hate this.”

(Bly’s reaction is he needs to be on another planet right now, kthx.)

Jango also spends the next several days dealing with Rex’s breakdown over Padawan Skywalker.

- From another of imonkey’s clone time-travel AUs, specifically “A Second Chance, A New Family”: Jango sits with the vode until one of them wakes up. He has a lot of questions about his past now that he’s found out he’s a clone of someone or another.

Rex wakes up first. Rex is Very Confused by a young Jango calling him vod and talking as if he’d been on Kamino with them as another clone. Well, talking as if he’d been somewhere with them as another clone, and that they might have “known him before he was rescued.”

- Based off the general idea of Palpatine secretly restricting the Coruscant Guard’s communications to cut them off with the rest of the GAR. So the Guard thinks they’re sending messages to their non-Guard friends that are getting ignored, and the GAR thinks they’re sending messages to their Guard friends that are getting ignored.

Palpatine’s efforts to isolate the Guard fail to account for the fact Gree is a weird bastard who is good at seeing from other people’s point-of-view. Fox hasn’t responded to any of his messages in the past year, but they’re marked as read? Fox is in charge of defending Coruscant from Separatist threats and doesn’t have transit downtimes like Gree does. Fox never accepts his invites to drink at 79s? The Guard does have to do a lot of military police work with drunken vode, Gree can see Fox not finding 79s relaxing. He’ll bring himself and some booze to Fox. Fox can’t relate to him as a frontline commander and he can’t relate to Fox as Guard commander? Good fucking thing they’ve got other ways to relate to each other. Also, Gree knows how to tell stories that don’t require the listener to have his exact experiences to enjoy them. Why does he put in all of this effort when Fox doesn’t seem to? Friendships take work to maintain, and he’s not going to fault Fox, who is basically always on deployment, having to focus on his duty.

Palpatine actively clouding Gree’s mind so he thinks he’s already visited Fox? Works once, until Barris asks him about his visit with Fox because it’s one of those nice, non-war things she can talk to him about that aren’t just her telling him about her studies. Gree realizes he “forgot”, sets multiple alarms on his next shore leave so he doesn’t get caught up in other things.

Senator being a dick to Guard shinies? Gree is an amateur xenologist and familiar with this particular culture. What said Senator is claiming as an insult is not an insult in their culture. It’s very... Coruscanti of them to find it insulting. (Senators do not appreciate being Judged by clones. Gree does not appreciate people terrorizing shinies. One of them is going to back down, and it sure as shooting isn’t going to be Gree.)

Palpatine rerouting the 41st to have their leave on someplace not-Coruscant and forging the paperwork to make it look like Gree put in the request? “Commander Offee, can you request Commander Tano to check with Commander Fox if he has any requisitions unique to [the planet in question]?” “You want to know if he wants a souvenir.”

Just a mix of Palpatine’s efforts being thwarted because Gree is perfectly willing to give Fox the benefit of the doubt in regards to communications, especially since Fox always seems happy to see him when he comes by the Guard base, and Gree having two Jedi to stumble face-first into Shenanigans as Jedi are wont to do.

- After the Temple bombing arc, Fox shows up at the on-Coruscant GAR barracks with booze. Rex is Not Impressed. Fox didn’t bring it for Rex, so Rex can stay Not Impressed. He brought it for his brother whose baby Jedi just got unmasked as a terrorist willing to frame her best friend.

Gree appreciates the booze, and also Fox’s willingness to get into a knockdown, drag-out fight with him, because no one else will, and he needs some catharsis.

Some ARCs don’t clear the training room they have their fight in when Fox tells them to. Said ARCs come to regret this decision as Fox and Gree use them as obstacles in said knockdown, drag-out fight.

Someone calls one of the other CCs about the time the knives come out, because it looks like Fox and Gree are going to kill each other. (They are not. They are much too good at hand-to-hand to kill another vod without meaning to, and neither mean to.) (They are also being a lot more careful with the knives than it looks like. Frankly, they’re more careful with the hand-to-hand than it looks since neither of them has broken bones.)

- Based off @silverxsakura’s “Your father wants me dead”: Gree gets decapitated by General Yoda during the execution of Order 66. Gree wakes up as a cadet on Kamino with a scar around his neck he definitely never had before, but everyone acts like he’s always had it and are Concerned that he doesn’t remember that. Also, Weird Things keep happening around him.

Fox gets killed by Darth Vader. Fox wakes up as a cadet on Kamino whose temper is a lot more volatile than he remembers it ever being. Also, when he’s really deep in his fury, his eyes turn sulfur-yellow, and Things Happen. The rest of his cadet squad are freaking out that he’s forgotten he has to hide that from the longnecks.

Neither have noticed that Wolffe keeps reaching up to rub a scar he doesn’t have yet.

[revenant-dumpster-fire]

Canine (Revenant x Reader)

Part 2 of 2 of the chapter “Styptic & Canine”. [AO3 Link to full chapter]

Theme: Revenant introduces the reader to his makeshift family as he turns up the spice level, but an unfortunate run in with a creep ruins most of the day.

Warnings: Graphic content, physical male dominance, threats of violence, blood, descriptions of violence, sexual references, sexual harassment, sharp objects, pain, bipolar, depression, mentions of mania, general romantic fluff.

Reader's Notes: Revenant (Apex Legends) x Reader, reader is female.

Writing Notes: This post was too big. 18K words. This is part 2 of a larger chapter that is “Styptic & Canine”. I’m posting it in halves so Tumblr doesn’t die. Also, yes, this chapter is where I start raising the heat. My intent was to boil the frog, but Tumblr made me split right where I first turn on the gas stove.

Navigation: First Chapter | Previous Part (Styptic & Canine) | Next Chapter

You regain consciousness to a mild shake, his hands around each of your cheeks and his frame vaulted over your body in a sitting position.

"Oh dear, little skinsuit, what was that about?" His voice drips with some kind of sadistic humor.

"What was what about?" The morning light was shining through the skylight. He obviously let you sleep in a bit, for which you were grateful. You couldn't remember any dreams though, it was all blank.

"Don't play stupid, you must know." He's way too into this. "I want to know if it was me."

"I really don't remember. Why, what did I do?"

He lurches back in some kind of cruel delight, pulling his hands away to cup around his own face, accentuating his joy.

"Then maybe you'll know the answer to this: who is 'daddy'?"

Your face gets hot instantly, now you know why he's so interested. He has prime material to hold over your head for days. You have one potential way out and he isn't likely to buy it.

"I never met my father, so I'm not sure..." You try.

"Oh, I guessed as much. But this wasn't that kind of daddy." He places each of his hands on the sides of your waist, making you blush harder. "Your hips were absolutely reeling. I could hear how much you were loving it. You still smell like lust. So, I must know... who is the lucky one to have the title of 'daddy'?" Your face is burning. Your attempt to get out of this has definitely and utterly failed.

"I don't know! I've never even--" You cut yourself off, realizing that saying more is only playing into his game.

"Oh please, you must tell me." He leans over to whisper in your ear, curling over you in a seductive manner. "I'll keep it a secret, I promise. I just want to know who makes you writhe like that. Clearly I could learn something." This asshole. Your face actually hurts it's so hot. You can't get out of this, and you don't even have an answer for him. You've never even called anyone that before.

"Please, can I get up?" You beg, hoping it can just be over.

"Oh no, dear," You feel yourself screaming internally as he nuzzles his mask against the side of your face, "I can't let you do that. No, no... Not until you humor me." He presses his body into you, and you audibly whimper. "Call me daddy."

You're dead. You have to be dead. This can't be real. You can't humor him, but you have to humor him. Why is he like this? If you say it really fast, maybe it'll be okay. Maybe he'll accept it.

"Can I get up...?" You choke. "...daddy..." You didn't say it fast, but you said it with zero confidence, which hopefully dampens his power trip.

He throws himself off of you, laughing something fierce. His guffaw is loud, cruel, and pure delight. He's completely overtaken by it, laying back beside you, almost twitching in hilarity. He can't control himself as he lifts his hand as if to wipe away a tear.

He shuts down again, turning limp.

You jump out of bed, giving yourself distance from his metal sarcophagus, knowing whatever comes next might not be pleasant. You make your way to the computer desk, sitting on the office chair, waiting to see what he does this time.

His chassis begins to whirr and cracks into movement, his arms grabbing at air beside him as he tests every limb in violent bends and swings. The static begins in his voice, before suddenly slipping into something audible.

"You-you moved away." His empty optics seem to stare at you from a distance as he sits up. "I wanted to hold-hold you again..." His tone was soft, but his vocals were still skipping. "Shame, daddy will get you next-next time."

His eyes come back to life, and he's aware again.

"Well, just say how you really feel then, huh?" You jab back, waiting to see how he reacts. He chuckles a little, a mere echo of the laugh that forced him to restart.

"Well, I'll make it up to you. How do you feel about making a trip to meet my little family?"

"Family? I thought--"

"Oh, not like that, of course. Just the closest thing I have." He smiles smugly at you, seeing an opportunity. "You don't need to worry, no one competes with you."

Damn blush, you're going to turn red permanently if he doesn't stop.

He vaults out of bed, making his way over to you.

"I let you sleep in, thankfully what you're wearing is ideal for the job already." He offers his hand. When you take it, he hoists you to your feet. "It should help with any sad feelings too, how are those going by the way?"

"With how things have been going, I haven't had the chance to be depressed..." You're almost embarrassed that his plan to keep throwing you off your depression is working so well.

"Good, keep showering me with all your attention then." He squeezes your hand a bit before letting go. At this rate he could make you manic again if he keeps pushing it. You're just not sure if you should let him. "I've arranged a ride for us, since I don't think you can run this far."

"Oh, alright, sure. Do I need to do anything? I feel kinda like I should take a shower..." It's very strange that you're going someplace wearing dirty clothes with no shower.

"Trust me, you'd be better off doing that after."

• • • •

Revenant can't drive, apparently. To the point in which he's actually enough of a liability that he's not allowed to drive anywhere outside of the Apex Games. He wasn't very happy with the idea of having a chauffeur, but the legal team was able to convince him to accept being driven in exchange for a vehicle that separated him from the driver. That vehicle was a limo. A giant, stretch limo. A very luxurious limo. Versus you, who is a mess: dressed in a stained shirt you slept in and you haven't washed your hair. This is embarrassing.

"This dumb thing is almost ten yards long, and you have to be right up against me, don't you?" Revenant is sitting far in the back corner, and you've wedged yourself right between him and the corner, trying your best to hide yourself from any phantom that might see you.

"I'm in a limo and I look like I belong in a garbage truck." You duck away from the windows, shoving your face up against the black leather of his waist, careful to avoid the support pistons.

"Literally no one can see you except me." He scoffs, crossing his arms. "The windows are blacked out, the driver's privacy window is closed, and nobody is here but us." His eyes glare down at you, but he seems to be moderately entertained by your distress.

"I look homeless." You pause. "Again."

Revenant laughs at that, uncurling his arms to mess up your hair in some kind of adoring but condescending gesture.

"You're fine, trust me. Nobody is going to see you." He pauses from messing with your hair. "I have a stop coming up, just stay in here and I'll be back with some supplies."

"Be fast, I need to hide behind someone and you're the only one here." You're being intentionally dramatic, but if it makes him laugh it's worth it. He sighs equally as dramatically, clearly playing along.

The vehicle hovers to a stop, and Revenant wisps out the door, closing it behind him before you even get a sense for where you are. The windows really are blacked out, you can't see anything through them.

Now alone, you shrink into the back corner of the seats going around the vehicle. There's a television and what appears to be a loaded bar, multicolored LED lights lining the whole thing, and starlights in the ceiling. The seats are all made with beautiful leather and have a triangular pattern stitched in the surface. The floor has carpeted mats that feel a bit more plush than the average car. You consider rummaging through the bar, but you're not sure if anyone is going to charge you an arm and a leg for alcohol you can get cheaper anywhere else. You sigh and lean back, shrinking further in the seat.

The door on the opposite corner as you clicks open, and Revenant crawls in, dragging a massive green bag behind him, barely managing to get it in the car.

"Is that a body bag?!" You curl up in the fetal position on your seat, recoiling away from the door.

"Yes." He gruffly huffs as he drags the apparent bagged corpse into the limo, weighing the whole vehicle down. He gets it in the middle of the floor, then drops it with a thud and throws himself down beside you. With his weight, you feel like you nearly missed being crushed. His arm rests on your opposite shoulder and you shudder, giving him a concerned stare. "Oh shush, I paid for it."

"You what?" You whimper, completely at a loss of what you're experiencing.

"It'll be fine, I can't rightly show up without any offering." He shrugs his shoulders, pulling you closer. He seems to be very pleased with himself, smugly teasing you.

"Offering?! Is this a cult?!" You whisper aloud, not necessarily expecting an answer. He laughs again, enjoying your mental wheels spinning. The limo gets moving again, handling the extra weight very easily.

"Oh, no, that's for next time." He's obviously teasing now. "I'll make sure you're in a lovely white dress to soak in the blood of our sacrifices for that occasion." He shoves you up against his chassis, growling to rattle his torso against you. "Then, when we're all done, I'll make official my new nickname."

"Oh, fuck you." You let slip under your breath, causing him to guffaw openly again. He catches his synthetic breath, rubbing his mask in the same motion a human would.

"You've gotten so comfortable with me so quickly, what happened?" His question must be rhetorical, because he doesn't leave much of a pause for an answer. He jumps right back into teasing. "I'll have to tame you by any means necessary if you're going to keep being so temptingly coy." His hands cup around your waist and you crack a sigh, turning away from him, trying to focus on anything other than how red in the face you must be.

"Do you regularly flirt in front of fresh corpses?"

"Awww..." He grabs your chin and pulls your face back to meet his, bringing his visage down close enough to feel his breath. "Are you kink-shaming me? Or are you just being a prude little tease?" He pauses before snickering to himself, losing his flirtatious composure. "You're so red, you practically match me." His loss of composure is cute enough to get to you. You giggle a little.

The car comes to a gentle stop, and Revenant immediately gets to pulling the corpse out. The body bag is way larger than makes sense, it almost looks as if it could fit someone Revenant's size. Yet the body inside still seems way too big. You're not sure what it is, but you're a bit too afraid to ask at the same time. Revenant eventually gets the bag to the edge of the vehicle before throwing it over one of his shoulders, forcing his shoulder spikes to flip downward out of the way. He nearly topples over at the shifting weight, meaning whatever is in the bag is excessively heavy.

As you crawl out of the car after him, you smell the fresh air of being nowhere near civilization. You see lots of flat lands broken up by woods with a giant abandoned warehouse in front of you. The warehouse has holes rusted throughout its sides and the door is ajar, the hinges rusted so it no longer swings. The air is fresh, and you look around, unable to find signs of other humans close by. Revenant waves away the limo. It turns around, kicking up dust off the unpaved path before zooming off into the horizon. He waits until the limo is far enough before pulling you close.

"You have to listen to everything I say, understand?" He's dead serious. You nod, suddenly concerned over his change in tone. "Don't try to protect me, I'll be okay. Scream if and only if you feel pain." You search for any joking tone in his voice, but there is none. "But above all else, listen to me. Don't play stupid, just obey." He looks to you, demanding acknowledgement. You nod, determined and concerned at this new development.

He walks over to the door, making his way inside carefully as you follow. He throws the body bag on the concrete floor of the entryway, causing a morbid slapping sound as it hits the ground. Revenant kneels down and begins ripping the bag open. You take a moment to look around.

This whole warehouse is dark beyond belief. There seems to be different rooms, but the rusted-through holes in the wall allow you to get negligible peeks into nearby rooms. The roof has not decayed at all yet, but it means no light is entering the building, making the deeper rooms be cast in an oppressive darkness. From the outside this warehouse looked massive, this room must be only one of dozens. The silence is scary, there isn't a single sound of life apart from you and Revenant, but you know better. Silence means something doesn't want to be found, and is inevitably a sign of life. Silence only happens when a hunter has scared everything else into silence. You might have learned that from Bloodhound, but you can't be sure. Either way, it's anxiety-inducing.

Revenant stands tall, pulling the scraps of the bag away from a giant bisection of a carcass. It appears to be beef, in the same state butchers will sell to grocers or restaurants. It doesn't smell bad, but it definitely smells like raw meat. Revenant grabs you around the shoulder, pulling you into a very controlling embrace. He whistles, or something like it.

"C'mere puppies!" As soon as he says it, you hear the sound of many nails skittering around the concrete flooring, making their way to the room you're in. Revenant squeezes you close as the pack comes into sight.

"Revenant! Those are not dogs!" You can't help but whisper in shock as the pack stops in your line of sight, trying to get a read on whether you're a threat or not.

Prowlers are utterly terrifying predators. They can be described as something between a wild dog and a tiger with the hide of a dinosaur. Their quadrupedal forms stand tall enough to meet you eye-to-eye at the largest, but the females and younger prowlers come up to your waist or knees instead. This subspecies has a beautiful, peacock-like furl behind their ears that stand on end when they see you, making them look as kaleidoscopic as they are scary. Their fangs could make a saber tooth tiger swoon, and their colors remind you of the legendary Birds of Paradise. Their long tails flick back and forth in concern, trying to understand who you are or if they should fight you. The largest male growls so deeply that Revenant sounds like a kitten in comparison, and it approaches both of you ahead of the rest of the pack.

"Rev..." You start to step behind him. This creature could very easily kill you in a single bite to the neck, and he was already tall enough to reach it.

"Shush, listen to me." He whispers to you, using his grip around your back to shuffle you back in place and to his side, pulling you against him in an uncomfortable grip. "Hey Six, this is mine." He addresses the massive male prowler approaching you, almost presenting you to him.

You hold your breath as Six sniffs your face, neck, and chest, trying to figure out what you are and why you're here. The other prowlers begin to enter the room, not even paying attention to the food in preference of figuring out the newcomer. Six's tail begins to rise up, flicking the tip back and forth as he finds you acceptable as a guest. You receive a lick right on the face as a final assurance, and the other prowlers swarm you to meet you.

You grab onto Revenant like your life depends on it. All of these prowlers could kill you, probably even the young ones too. It doesn't matter if they're all flicking their tails happily, or panting with smiles and tongues out, or excitedly greeting you. They can kill you and you're painfully aware of it.

"Calm down, seriously. You were fine meeting me for the first time, but a bunch of little puppies scare you?" Revenant releases his hold on you, but you don't return the favor.

"These are not puppies!" You try to whisper at him, but he might not be able to hear you over the crowd you've attracted. He pushes down on your shoulders, causing you to lose your grip on him and fall into a sitting position. Now all the prowlers can meet you eye-to-eye or tower over you. You're inundated with licks, and no amount of guarding your face with your arms will save you.

"You'll be fine. They're my pack, and they'll respect what's mine." You can barely hear him over the assault of affection.

As the excitement begins to settle, some of the larger prowlers peter off to check out the meat, leaving the younger ones to look after you. A tiny pair of kits you didn't see before bound up to your lap and hop in, cuddling against your stomach. For such scary adults, the babies are unbearably cute. You're not sure if you can touch them or not, so you simply let them roll around in your lap, slapping at each other like the siblings they are. Six comes back to you, his maw covered in blood from the beef.

"I figured he'd notice." You hear Revenant mutter as Six inspects your arm and calf, licking at the puncture wounds a little. "I guess my hypocrisy was going to catch up eventually." Six carefully sniffs the skin before shooting a glare and deep growl at Revenant. "Don't move a muscle, no matter what." He instructs you.

Six lunges at Revenant's leg, catching the metal below the knee joint in his bite. Revenant buckles and hits the ground. You jump a little and whine to yourself, but you stay as reserved as you can otherwise. The kits notice and begin pawing at you, trying to understand your reaction. Six drags Revenant a few feet from you as Revenant makes stifled sounds reminiscent of excruciating pain. You want to step in, but you obey orders. You hear the moaning of the metal in his leg beginning to bend for a few moments, before Six releases him. Revenant sits up, grappling his leg before Six chomps the opposite arm near the shoulder, causing Revenant to try to reel away in shock and pain. Again, Six growls as the metal bends beneath his bite, Revenant taking the pain as best as he can. Six releases, gives a growling bark to Revenant, and returns to you to lick your wounds more.

"Oh, now aren't you just poetic." Revenant finally makes out between what sounds like heavy breaths. "You got me in the same places." He's cradling his calf and arm, in the exact same places and sides as you were hurt. "I knew I was going to pay for that, but you didn't have to be that literary about it."

Six turns to him and makes whining sounds that mimic human speech. You've heard of Siberian Huskies making these noises, but never prowlers. Either way, it sounds sassy, and Revenant seems to relax knowing he's back in good graces.

"Yes, I know I taught you the same lesson a long time ago, but still..." He talks to them like anyone would talk to their dog. "You didn't have to be that extra about it." Six flicks his head at him before returning to your wounds, the kits now back to play-fighting each other.

"So, yeah, these are my puppies." He finally addresses you again. Most of the other prowlers are now taking turns at the carcass, seemingly following a hierarchy. You want to correct him, but you don't. He's clearly going to keep insisting that they're puppies. "This is Six, he's the sixth alpha of a pack I've helped raise over the past few decades. Zero was the first prowler that accepted me, and One was his puppy--the first alpha."

Six retires from your wounds, taking the two kits from you to go eat with their mother.

"There's no way you can be depressed around these guys. If there's any creature more aware of the emotional state of other beings, I dare them to come forward. My pack is perfect." He genuinely sounds overjoyed that you're getting to meet them all, he seems very proud. "I even raised them to respect females... Even if that did bite me back today." He huffs a bit.

"So, wait, you've been raising prowlers out here for decades?" You finally make a sound, Six and a few others look over at you for a moment, surprised by your more relaxed voice.

"Yeah, although they're fairly independent. I'm more like an elder to them, rather than directly in their hierarchy. I bring them food, not that they need me to, and they come along with me when I need company or extra help." He scoots himself close to you, letting his damaged leg drag. You get a closer look and see that the metal is both punctured and buckled on both his arm and leg. "They've been a passion project of mine ever since I first met Zero. They make me feel a bit of humanity." That last sentence is spoken with a level of reverence. You let the silence fall for a moment.

"You know, this is probably a scientific breakthrough in some field that nobody has ever managed before. You have a wild pack of prowlers that accept you and the people you bring in." He seems surprised by your lavish praise. "This could change our understanding of prowlers forever."

"Well, it helps that I'm nigh unkillable," he knocks on his metal chest, making a banging sound, "and honestly you're allowed in because as far as they're concerned, you're my mate." He wraps his arm around you possessively as the kits crawl back into your lap, now well-fed and cuddly. "That's why they don't mind you around the little ones." He sees you eyeing them as they roll around, trying to get comfortable. He picks one up, holding it in his hands like it's a precious jewel. It yips at him for attention, so he scratches behind it's tiny furls with his spare hand. "I think this one will be Seven, unless the next litter has an even bigger boy."

His adoration for these predators is absolutely identical to how so many people feel about their pets. The choice to love prowlers is a bit unconventional, but he is very much a man stuck in a metal body--humanity intact--in these moments. You are growing increasingly fond of him, seeing something beautiful beyond the cruel simulacrum assassin you once knew. He catches you staring.

"Go ahead, pick her up." He gestures to the other kit in your lap, actually looking a little jealous of her brother. At first, you tremor at the thought of picking her up wrong, but a sudden wave of confidence comes from nowhere. You scoop her up in your arms, bringing her up to your chest and cradling her. She immediately begins to squirm with delight and lick at your hand as you rub her head and chin.

"Was that all instinct?" He pauses, and you tilt your head at him, confused by the question. "You were shaking, then suddenly you weren't. Is that what maternal instinct looks like?" You're a bit shocked he saw that much.

"I'm not sure. I'm not usually around babies of any kind." You confess, but now you suspect the same thing he does. The baby female prowler reaches for your face, barely managing to touch your chin before you lower your face to meet her. She reacts with tiny licks on your nose while you tickle her belly. Revenant is the one staring now.

Revenant places the baby male in your arms next to the female, allowing them to both vie for your coveted attention. Some of the females come over and snuggle up next to you, laying on and around you, while the males and Six lie next to Revenant. Revenant leans back, eventually resting his head on the flank of one of the larger males, while another rests its head on his shoulder.

"You should lie down, let the puppies run around." He instructs you, briefly pointing to the kits in your arms. "Your body isn't heavy enough to bother anyone, just lay on whoever seems the most comfortable."

You look around, seeing a lot of intimidating warm bodies around you, so you cheat and carefully lay under Revenant's arm. You hear him audibly sigh, bothered that you're still worried but unable to chide you. The kits use you to crawl up on Revenant and slide down his metal torso to the other side, Six audibly purring when they land in his vicinity. Maybe a prowler would make a better pillow than a newly busted up metal arm and the concrete floor. You shiver a bit at the sheer power of these creatures, running your fingers over the metal holes in Revenant's arm, causing him to wince away from your touch.

"Does it hurt?" You whisper, hoping not to draw any prowler's attention.

"Yeah, it hurts a lot. My body can feel pain just like you skinsuits." He inhales in distress as you pull your fingers away from the damage. "It honestly feels like the flesh and muscle is torn off, like the bone is crushed and splintered, and like I'm bleeding out on the ground. But I know it's not real. It's never real."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know this would happen." You pull yourself into more of a ball, shuddering at the thought of that level of pain.

"It's not your fault, I instilled this level of protectiveness into them." Revenant pulls his arm away as one of the female prowlers crawls over you and lays on top of you, purring as if to comfort you. "Anyone who hurts one of the girls gets it back sevenfold." You roll onto your back, the prowler readjusting to lay on your belly, purring and licking your neck. "So you can stop being sad about it. They can sense it in you. If you don't want the attention, you can't let yourself be distressed." He sits up, looking down at you smugly while a second prowler writhes across the ground to get close enough to lick your cheek. Are these creatures really this intuitive?

Six notices Revenant sitting up to watch you and meanders over to see the small commotion. Six shoves himself between you and Revenant, apparently sensing some kind of disagreement. Six positions his paws on your neck, allowing you to feel the enormous size of his claws. One flex and you're dead. These things must be three inches of blade, all with a hypodermic tip. Six turns his head to Revenant and makes a sound somewhere between a huff and a growl before shoving his snout against your ear to purr. He bares his fangs while doing so, allowing you to feel how long and menacing they are. You wince away from him, pushing your face into the other prowler's licks, but Six just shoves his snout further to reconnect with you.

"He seems to think I should be more comforting, you're way too nervous for his liking. Good luck being depressed now." He sounds like he's enjoying this, shrugging to himself before he places his hand on your free arm. "Just calm down, they're not going to hurt you."

"I could die from a single flick of the wrist." You carefully say, feeling your vocal chords vibrate against Six's massive nails.

"That doesn't stop you from getting close to me." His hand glides up and down your arm. You don't have a response for him, so you stay quiet. "Like I said, just scream at any discomfort and someone is getting a swift dose of justice." He lies back on the same prowler as before, changing his position to avoid disrupting Six.

"I can't scream if my throat is slit."

"Give it time, you'll understand."

• • • •

Three prowlers is apparently the amount it takes to bring back a stick. It can be more if the stick is longer, but this giant branch is the maximum size you can throw. They hop together, all their jaws in a line across the branch, their fangs clutched around the wood. They carefully drop it at your feet, waiting expectantly for you to try throwing it again. You do your best to throw it, but between your injured arm and the weight of it, you struggle to get it as far as you'd like. The area behind the warehouse is a small yard with enough room for fetch, surrounded by thick forests over a few small hills.

"You throw like a child." You hear Revenant mock you, and you turn around to shoot him a glare. Six is resting in his lap and he has the mother prowler at his side, accepting the belly rubs he offers while the kits sleep. "I can throw farther than you from here, without even standing." You roll your eyes, knowing he's probably right.

Two new prowlers got in on the stick this throw, bounding back to you for another throw. You have eight prowlers all fighting to be one of the three on the stick, but they all seem to be having fun. Four of the young adults are off in the woods playing tug of war by themselves, making a total of sixteen prowlers you've now met. This pack is unusually huge from what little you know. You wonder if Revenant's meddling has something to do with it.

You pick up the branch and drag it over to Revenant, curious to see if he'll back up his claim.

"Alright, go for it." You hand him the end of the branch, and he chucks it far enough to lob over the entire yard and land somewhere in the woods. He snickers as the pack disappears in the darkness after it. You watch, hearing the branch collide with the trees, making rustling and snapping sounds as it catches in them. "So, what if you just got it stuck in a tree?"

"Oh, I thought you wanted me to show off for you." Revenant coos sarcastically. "Give them a few minutes, they can climb." You sigh and shrug, waiting for any sign of them coming back. "Do you want to go home?"

"No, not yet."

"Oh, oh!? You aren't scared of my puppies anymore?" He says between chuckles.

"Shut it." You growl at him, finally getting to use his catch-phrase against him.

"Are you sure? It's getting late." It was beginning to be late in the afternoon, coming up on when you'd normally be wanting dinner. In truth you hadn't eaten in over a day, but depression made it so you never wanted to eat anyway. You'd been playing with his prowlers for hours now, fully accepted by them. You now felt pretty confident in your safety around them, but their stature was still a bit menacing.

"At least let me see if they can bring back that stick." You hear some rustling in the woods, before the eight prowlers burst out of the brush with the original branch and a second, equally massive one. Now only two are left out of being able to hold a part of a stick. They drop both at your feet.

You try to throw the first but it only makes it a short ways, all the prowlers fighting for it. You hand the second to Revenant, and he throws it back into the woods completely out of sight. They all abandon the first stick in preference for the farthest one.

"Maybe you should be doing this." You hunch over, a bit defeated and tired.

"You're doing fine. Anyways, we should wrap up soon. You probably need that shower and I have something I need to do before tomorrow." Revenant starts to get up, prompting Six to get off of him while huffing and shaking himself awake. "Also, you need food."

You sigh, wanting to argue but knowing you can't.

"I'm calling back your ride. We need to get all these guys hidden in the warehouse as to not cause any alarm." He pulls some kind of cellular device out of his pocket on his belt and presses a few buttons. He then proceeds to shuffle you back towards the warehouse, prompting Six, the mother, and the two kits to follow. As you get to the side entrance, Revenant turns around and emits another whistling sound, inundated with his usual modulated twinge. He steps inside with you and the other twelve prowlers come flooding in behind him.

He pets each of them as they make their way in, saving Six and the kits for last. He really does love these creatures. You sheepishly and carefully pet Six as you go to leave, but only because he demands it by butting his head into your hand to make it clear.

Finally, you step outside with Revenant, going towards the dirt road that got you here.

"You look like absolute hell." Revenant jabs. You pull your hair back and try to control it a bit better, but it refuses to cooperate. It's probably stuck from all the prowler saliva all over you, hair absolutely included. Not to even mention your shirt and pants look like you got tackled and ground into the dirt by an entire rugby team. Your shirt was already stained, now it's dusty, dirty, stained, and has green grass streaks. Your shoes are probably just as bad, but they're cheap sneakers so you don't really care much.

"I know, I really need a shower. Maybe two." You give up on your hair. It's just going to be a mess.

"Take as long as you need. I'll be back soon after you. I hope you don't mind riding back alone." You've made it to the dirt road, and you can see the excessively luxurious limo in the distance, kicking up dirt.

"You're not coming?"

"No, I have one last thing to do before the match tomorrow. It'll be worth it, and I think you'll like it too." Revenant seems like he won't budge on the matter.

The limo pulls up and he opens the door for you, and you crawl in alone, making sure you stay as far in the corner as possible. You don't really like the thought of being in here alone, but you have no choice in the matter. He shuts the door and you lose sight of him through the blacked-out windows. The limo starts to move, making a sharp turn and hitting high speeds over the terrain, probably kicking up tons of dust in the meantime. You have nothing to stare at, so you just curl up to yourself and wait to make it back.

"You seem a bit meek for this kind of work, kid." You hear a masculine voice with a skeezy city accent coming from the front of the limo. The privacy window is cracked, just enough so you can hear him, but thankfully not enough so you can see each other. Why was that rolled down at all? It wasn't on the way here. You turn away, refusing to answer, hoping he will leave you be.

"Heh, exactly." You hear him chuckle. You wish you had the guts to just waltz over and roll up the window on him, but you're neither that confident nor strong enough if it ends in a spat. You just let him continue. "Heck, I didn't think robots were even into that stuff, but he seems to be the 'specially fucked-up type." Your stomach sinks like an anchor as you hear what sounds like the draw of a cigarette. "Fucker practically gets off every time he guts someone on live TV. Makes perfect sense he'd get off 'tuh victimizin' some tiny doll like you."

You get the picture, and you feel sick to your stomach for it. You can't respond, every word you want to say gets caught in your throat and you're forced to swallow it. This guy might be unhinged; a lot of people are these days. If you try to argue, he might try something. If you try to play it off... who are you kidding? You could never play this one off. It sounds so bad. Is he going to try to hurt you? Or is this all some mind game?

"Does it hurt? You sure as hell look like you've been through a meat grinder." You feel your face turn red. You turn further away from the cracked window. "Oh, I bet it does. No way 'woulda giant metal psycho like that hold back on a little thing like you."

He won't stop. He's clearly only getting started, but you hope that this is the worst of it.

"Question is: are you a hostage or does he really pay you that well? You know, sweetheart, if you're in need of money, just record whatever the hell he does to 'ya and sell it on the internet." He starts laughing as you internally beg for him to shut up. "All sorts of fucked up dudes would pay for the privilege. You could make absolute bank! Even better if you let him cut you open a bit for the cameras while you scream." He's really laughing now, clearly getting off to how much he has you cornered.

"Everyone loves a good screamin' bitch. Anyone who says they don't is a liar. But you know that, don't 'ya toots?" His use of centuries-old misogynistic slang somehow makes everything worse. You feel yourself shake a bit as you hold yourself tighter. Your stomach hurts badly from the distress now, and you feel yourself spiral internally. Where is this going? Can you outrun this guy if you need to? What if he catches you? Can you squirm out of this guy's grasp? "God, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall while that's going on. I bet your tears only make him harder."

You want to scream, but your prey instincts refuse to let you move or make a sound in hopes that he simply forgets you're there. You can't help yourself but hold your breath in intervals, hoping to be even more silent, but in turn making you more light-headed and fearful.

"I bet there's lots of filthy bastards that would pay extra to have his sloppy seconds." You're absolutely nauseated at the thought of that, but you haven't eaten, so maybe it's just a stomach ulcer forming from the extreme stress. "I bet he's modded to absolutely ruin you, isn't he? Tear your insides up and fill you until you're overflowin', right? You look like he never gives you a day off." You pray, begging God to kill you--this is worse than death.

"So, if he's draggin' 'ya all the way out into the woods to fuck 'ya, it must be pretty messed up stuff, huh?" You lay your face in your hands. "Aww, don't cry babe, I'm not going to tell anyone. I wouldn't want a hole in my chest, anyhow." You want to disappear. You hope he crashes the car and you die in a fire. You hate everything about this. "If you're ever in need of an extra kick of cash though, I wouldn't mind a taste of 'ya. Or buyin' one of those tapes."

You break internally. It feels like the essence of every muscle snaps in your body, and the tears flow without even intending to. You suddenly have the courage to move, but only to move a few inches to cower deeper in the corner of the seats.

It's not worth it. None of this is worth it. You no longer hear anything he says, even though you can still hear his voice. It sounds like you're underwater, so you can't make out the words anymore. Maybe that's a good thing. Unfortunately, you can still make out your own thoughts, and they're all cruel. It's all cruel. Everything about this situation is cruel.

You focus on the tears hitting your hands. They're cold, and they quickly flow out of your palms and down your arms before dripping off your elbows. They leave a trail of salts down your arm so thin you can barely notice it. You don't even feel compelled to make a sound as you cry; it's not that type of sorrow. It's pure humiliation, and your lungs work calmly as your eyes drown instead.

You wish you could just be swallowed by the swell of your own pain. Death is something you think about often as a potential solution to every problem, but right now it feels like a drug you're in active withdrawal from. Like you need it, right here, right now. You want to imagine the limo crashing into an embankment wall, submerging into an ocean, or being hit by a train. You don't care if the creep dies or not, all you know is you want out. The world feels cold enough to sap every degree of heat from you, and you feel as if you're freezing both literally and figuratively.

You fester in the feelings. The only saving grace in this situation is that you're too unimportant to matter to anyone as anything other than an easy squeeze. Nobody will miss you if you die. No one will look for you if you disappear. No family will mourn you. You secretly hope this pervert doesn't know that too, otherwise you might not make it out of this unscathed. You hope he believes Revenant will run him through if he tries to abduct you. You'd rather not die like that, something faster and more violent would be preferred.

Would Revenant kill you? In any circumstance at all? He could make it quick and violent, but he might not want to at this point. He seems to like you more by the day, but now that scares you. Is he human enough to feel strongly about you? Or does he tend to fall back on his programming? Maybe he would like gutting you--then at least someone could enjoy your death. You think about it, but you cannot imagine it without there being some kind of regret thrown in on your or his end. You can only imagine goading him into it by aggressively attacking his emotional stability, which is something you'd regret. Otherwise, you cannot imagine him killing you for no reason and being regret-free afterwards. You don't want him to feel regret. You just want to be free without hurting anyone, but maybe that's unrealistic.

The vehicle comes to a gentle stop. Your brain kicks into survival mode and you immediately rush for the door, not giving the driver any chance to get out of his seat, let alone open the door for you. He is still talking but you don't care; he's only laughing at you anyway. You get the door open and thankfully you're not at some back alley motel, but the main Apex Games facility. It's the back entrance, but you'll take it. It might be a blessing anyway, since it's so close to Revenant's new room that you'll likely avoid all human contact. You get up to the door and fumble in your pocket for your ID card, finally getting it out. You hear the driver say some more heinous things, but you refuse to turn around to see his face. The card is accepted and you rush in.

• • • •

The water is as hot as you can tolerate. It burns your skin and is downright uncomfortable to wash yourself in. Even as you curl up on the shower floor, crying and tolerating the hottest water you can handle, nothing can truly wash off the overwhelming feeling of being violated. Nothing can wash off the depression, the feelings of insignificance, the intrusive suicidal ideations, or the fear of meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things while simultaneously meaning just enough to force you into living.

The floor of the shower is warm, but it's still uncomfortable to lay on. The water spray hitting your skin is the only comfort you feel, but it isn't enough to quell you. The soap slowly rinses off your body, and the lathered up shampoo slowly flows out of your hair and down the drain. You'll eventually rinse completely like this, but it will be a while longer. How long has it already been? You took a long time sitting on the shower floor to even find the energy to get the soap lathered on you, and even that process was slow. Now you've been back on the floor and letting the soap slowly come off as you sob. Revenant might be back by now, but you're not sure what his errand was exactly. Maybe it will take all night. Does it matter? Do you matter? The thoughts won't stop.

You just cry. You cry until it feels like your soul starts to leave your body. Maybe it does. Between the heat, the steam, and the exhaustion, you pass out.

• • • •

"Skinsuit!" You feel yourself being gently jostled, still on the shower floor. The water is off, but the steam is so thick you question how long it's been. Your skin is beginning to get wrinkled from all the water absorption, so it's been a while. You're facing away from him, and you don't have the energy to turn to him. You don't even have the energy to speak. You just play the corpse, hoping that faking it will cause you to make it.

Revenant withdraws, and you hear rapid shuffling behind you. It sounds like he grabs the towel you had hung for yourself, running in and out of the bathroom to grab other things. You care about how he feels--he sounds distressed--but not for yourself. Why does he care at all, though? How does he feel about all this, anyway?

"Come here, little skinsuit. Everything is fine." You feel his arms scoop under you, and your natural instinct is to resist the hard synthetics against your bare skin. You wince a little, but mostly keep your corpse-like state: eyes closed and body limp. He carries you out of the bathroom where the air is freezing, but also not inundated with enough water vapor to nearly asphyxiate you. Weirdly enough, his chest isn't cold, but actually has something like fur? You don't open your eyes, you're probably just imagining it.

He places you down on a towel on the bed, immediately throwing another equally large towel over you. You're still cold, but it's way more tolerable with something over you. You hear Revenant mumbling in some kind of panic to himself, but you still can't find the energy to console him. You hear some typing on his computer, then the chair gets shoved out from under him as he stands in a huff. You hear your duffle bag unzip and likely some of your clothes be tossed on the bed near your head.

"You better not be mad at me for this..." He sounds unsure of that himself before you feel his hands start to dry you off through the towel. It would be nice if it didn't feel so wrong. Even if it is through a towel, you're naked otherwise. The thought of what the driver said hits you, and you immediately begin to feel anxiety and shake against your will. He reacts by scooping you up and hugging you, still wrapped in a towel, trying to stop the shaking.

"Dammit, what's going on?" You hear him whisper, he doesn't seem to realize you're awake and aware.

More fur. Why is there fur? Also, why does it feel like there's something resting on your head? It's way too large to be his chin. His chest feels smaller too, and it feels like some type of plastic rather than metal. The more you feel the more questions you have, and the more you panic at the realization that you do not know this simulacrum. You reach your limit and perk up in his arms, opening your eyes, and silently gasping as you reel back from whoever the heck this is.

"Wait! Skinsuit! It's me!" He manages to hold your arms before you can fully pull away, and you meet eyesight with a chassis you do not recognize. He has a huge, artificial bovine skull with curling ram horns situated on top. Instead of his scarf, his new face is framed in a mane of deep bark-colored fur, matted into locks like a proper wild animal. The optics tucked inside his skull seem so much larger than his normal ones, and they're a brilliant blueish-white, unlike his normal yellow ones. His snout is long enough to have been what was sitting on your head. His body looks to be made much thinner, especially in the chest, and is clearly made with more plastics than metals. It looks significantly lighter. His arms are red with odd, jagged juts on them, but seem to have similar hand mechanics otherwise. His loincloth is replaced with another long patch of fur, as well as fur on his thigh plates. His legs look a lot more decorative, and his feet are scarier: detailed down to each individual talon. His feet actually look much more like the hands on his other chassis.

"Skinsuit?" You snap out of your trance at his voice. You must have been staring him up and down for a while. "Uh, here." He pulls the towels back over you, which had fallen off when you pulled away. He reaches out to touch you, but stops short in case you aren't all there yet. "It's me, I'm just in a special body for tomorrow. I didn't mean to scare you." He's speaking slowly and methodically; his fingers make contact with your hand, but don't go further. "You must have fainted in the shower. You haven't been eating enough, but don't worry, everything's okay now."

Your head starts to throb and you instinctively go to hold it, the stress of the situation is too much. Even though he's trying to be reassuring, he looks like some kind of robotic, big-horned, undead goat demon and honestly you just wanted to see a familiar face to go with the familiar voice. You're not scared now that you know it's him, but something still doesn't feel right about it. Since you don't know this new chassis, you find it hard to trust his comfort. It's weird. Any other time you'd be overjoyed to see him in something that looks so cool, but now you're looking for some semblance of normalcy.

"How do you feel?" His right hand moves again to rest on your knee, intentionally avoiding pushing any boundaries. You can't answer, you still can't speak. It gets caught in your throat despite your best intentions, and instead your words turn into a new burst of tears and sobs. Without thinking, you take his hand off your knee and pull it to your face, sobbing into it. He seems relieved at your acceptance, and tries his best to catch and wipe away the tears as they flow. He shuffles as if to hug you, but he stops, likely unsure of how you feel when you're essentially in nothing but two loosely wrapped towels.

"I'm sorry, I thought seeing my pack would help, but I should have realized you haven't been eating enough. It's not something I've had to pay attention to in centuries." Your heart hurts as he seems to take the blame himself. "I also didn't mean to scare you again... I promise I'm not planning on hurting you." You want to speak so badly, but you just cry harder instead. None of this is his fault. Literally none of it. The only reason you're so jumpy is because everything that pervert said has sent you into a spiral. You imagined Revenant hurting you for his own entertainment and pleasure, and this imaginary smoking gun has left you very gun-shy.

"I ordered food for you to be delivered to the room. I expect you to eat something, even if it's not much. I don't want you dying on me." You push his hand into your face, trying to dry the tears. "I ordered a lot. I'm not sure what you like." You nod to affirm you hear him and plan to try, even though you're too nauseous to be hungry at the moment.

He uses his free hand to grab the clothing he pulled from your bag and puts it in front of you. He probably wasn't thinking too hard when he picked things out, but an oversized tee and men's basketball shorts are as comfy as it gets, so he did fine in your book. He left out undergarments, but honestly you couldn't care less at this point. Whatever covers you is fine. You pull his hand away from your face and place it on the bed gently. You grab the shirt, and he immediately turns away to let you put it on. You're able to throw it on along with the shorts in a few seconds, and quickly retrieve his hand when done. He turns back, maintaining the boundaries he interpreted.

"Any better?" He wipes away a few trailing tears now that you've slowed down a lot. You nod, still not sure how your voice is doing.

There's a knock on the door and Revenant pulls away gently to go get it. You hear a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"I've got enough Chinese for like, five people. Who is even in this room? Are y'all having a sleepover in the abandoned room? To be fair I'd do the sa--"

Revenant opens the door and Sherry has a long pause to look up at the recipient. She doesn't even notice you, but you see her put the bags on the floor slowly and take a step back, hands up defensively.

"Okay, so it's a demon summoning, my bad..." Her sass is ever present. "And here I made the mistake of thinking I was running into some normal kind of fun."

"Sherry!" Your voice cracks back into action and the perfect moment. She shoots a look past Revenant to see you.

"You're summoning demons now?! Did you dump the tinman and summon an incubus as a bounce back or something?!" She looks up at Revenant, still not sure who it is. "Also, do demons really like Chinese food this much?"

"Sherry, shut up! I need a hug!" The tears are coming back, and Sherry valiantly slips under Revenant's arm to run to you. Revenant seems to be in complete shock at her brazenness, but also unwilling to stop her since you invited her in. He picks up the bag of food instead and brings it in, setting it on the television stand. Sherry leaps into a hug and you accept it graciously. Sherry is the closest thing you have to a sister and you could use someone like her right now. Revenant sits in the computer chair, watching you embrace closely, but not speaking or interfering.

"Where's the Revenant guy? What happened? Did he dump you? Did you run away? Who is this guy?" She immediately starts getting to brass tacks mid-hug. Although with her the hug won't end until you stop crying anyway.

"That is Rev, Sherry. It's just a different body." You manage to get out. She shoots Revenant a discerning look before slowly recognizing the similarities.

"Oh, hey, you're right. My bad, mister murder robot... haha..." She trails off nervously, Revenant only responding with a grunt and a huff. Suddenly, she snaps back into a fiery disposition. "Wait! Did you do something to her, you doofy-lookin' Beelzebub knockoff?! You may be able to gut me, but I'll defend her honor to my grave!" Now you're hugging Sherry to hold her back from trying to start something.

"It was a complete accident. I wasn't keeping track of how much she's been eating and I didn't catch her starving herself; plus I didn't expect this body to scare her as much as it did." Revenant doesn't lose an aggressive posture, but his words are fairly soft and empathetic.

"It's not that! I promise, it's not any of that!" You hug Sherry hard enough that she winces, but sensing your desperation she holds you tighter and pulls your head into her chest with no regard for what that may look like. You're glad you don't have those kinds of feelings for Sherry, otherwise this might be a bit strange. You see Revenant cock his head to the side and his eyes sharpen at the sight.

"It was the ride back, alone. That stupid driver was--" you choke, you hate saying these words out loud, "--a perverted bastard. An absolute dog." It comes out and devolves into a half-sob, thankfully still understandable. You start to cry again, reliving the things he said, not sure how you'd ever be able to say them yourself, even just to explain what happened.

"What happened? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?!" Sherry barely contains her concerns, if at all, squeezing you as you cry.

Revenant stands very slowly and methodically out of the chair, and begins to make some kind of animalistic growl you've never heard him make in your life. He paces back and forth, slowly stifling his growl as he goes. Sherry seems a bit concerned by him, but she continues to try to comfort you, awaiting an answer.

It takes almost a full minute to catch your breath again and be able to speak again, but you do.

"He didn't touch me. He just said things that--" Back to sobbing. You thought too far ahead and started to repeat his words again to yourself.

Despite your crying, Sherry sighs in relief, significantly less tense than before. She starts to rock you in her hug and you go along with it. Revenant's intensity only seems to worsen. He paces faster for a few moments as you cry, before he calms himself down enough to approach the situation.

He sits on the edge of the bed next to you and Sherry, currently latched on to each other. He doesn't attempt to pull you apart, he simply waits patiently. He's completely calm and collected now, with no signs of previous rage apparent, but you're sure it's still there.

"What kind of things did he say?" Sherry asks kindly, no sense of urgency in her voice. She plays with your hair a bit, which might as well be one of the greatest feelings in the world. It might be just distracting enough for you to get it out.

"He said he wanted to buy tapes..." You inhale heavily trying to hold back the inevitable runny nose. "...of Revenant cutting into me and... using me." Sherry gasps through her nose in disgust, but squeezes you tighter in response.

"I'm sorry, that's terri--"

"He said I should sell myself afterwards, that people would like me better if I still had... stuff... inside me." You cut her off but you're not done. Sherry is starting to get tense, but more notably, so is a particular simulacrum only a few feet away. "He said he wanted to watch it all! And try me for himself, too." That's all you needed to say, you're back to sobbing and Sherry starts to cry with you, unable to help her empathy. You're latched on to each other trying to comfort one another, but instead both of you are just a sobbing mess.

Revenant sits, lifeless for a moment, before standing up and limping towards the door.

"Revenant!" You call out to him through tears, and he stops and turns towards you, revealing his eyes are voids. He's in reboot. "Don't kill anyone." You try to sound confident, but you're not sure how it comes out. He turns away again, and limps out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He didn't acknowledge what you said, but you hope he heard you.

Sherry perks up, wiping away her own tears and pulling away for a moment.

"Do you think he'll listen?" Sherry seems stressed.

"I hope so."

• • • •

"So, he's actually an average person, stuck in a body that drives him to be a bloodthirsty assassin via software?" Sherry asks, taking another bite of the sweet and sour chicken.

"As far as I can tell, yeah... Wait, did you not know what a simulacrum was before now?"

"I meant to look it up but I never did. I figured it was like a brand-name or something." She giggles at herself, but you sense there's a chance she may be joking. "So, you actually do really like this spindly metal guy, after all? And he's so much older! You have mature tastes." She goes straight to teasing, now that you're feeling a bit better.

"I didn't say anything about that, ma'am." You stare at the General Tso's chicken in front of you, not sure if you can eat a third piece. You still feel wrong somehow.

"You don't have to. I think he likes you too. I mean, he isn't wearing your innards as a scarf. For him, that's something." She prods.

"He's not as bad as you think, you know." You don't know how to convince her without potentially telling her something Revenant wouldn't want you to.

"Sure, he just kills people on live TV for the paycheck." She shrugs. "Oh! And maybe killing some pervert who sexually harassed you right now."

"I didn't tell him to do that!" You snap, you legitimately don't want to have even a drop of that blood on your hands. Sure, this guy was an absolute creep, but he didn't lay hands on you. That's your limit, and he didn't cross it. He isn't as bad as Forge. That guy did cross the line. He crossed a lot of lines.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." Sherry sounds genuine. You sigh.

"It's okay, I really hope he's just running off some steam. I hope he knows most of my distress was just depression winning." You poke the chicken.

"That's not true, I would have been so scared too. I mean, you were in real danger. It's a miracle you held it together at all, I'm not sure I could have. I still can't believe--"

The door swings open and Revenant walks in, stopping all conversation in its tracks. He's hunched forward, looking somewhat disappointed.

"I hope you're happy. He'll live." He looks you dead in the eyes, waiting for your reaction.

You smile openly, glad he heeded your request.

"Everyone in his contacts now has a copy of the encrypted files on his computer, all decrypted for their viewing pleasure." He breaks eye contact with you. "At least one of them is sure to call the feds when they see their inbox tomorrow."

"Oh geeze, he was that kind of creep?" Sherry exclaims out loud, still eating chicken.

"Oh yeah, he's been collecting a lot of really rare porn. Honestly, I wish you'd have just let me kill him so I didn't have to expose myself to that." You feel a little guilty that he had to dig through it, it explains why he looks so dejected.

"I'm sorry..." You can't help yourself, you feel bad when he seems upset about anything.

"How much have you eaten?" He seems to have noticed how full your box of chicken still is.

"Two pieces of chicken, and maybe one piece of broccoli." Sherry rats you out with a cruel grin on her face.

"Snitch!" You shoot back at her. She closes her box with a mischievous smirk, hops up, and starts to leave.

"Nice to meet 'ya, you synthetic Wendigo! Have fun and be safe, you two!" She slips past Revenant quickly and is out of the door, skipping down the hallway as the door slowly shuts behind her. Revenant watches her leave with some mix of confusion and concern. You turn to reassure him.

"She's fine. She won't say anything. She--"

"Clearly is some kind of competition for me. I mean, she held you like you two were bonded for life." He's immediately free to tease you with her gone. Thank goodness Revenant seems too shy to gang up on you with her; that would be untenable. He throws himself down next to you where Sherry once was. "I want that same kind of bond." He barely touches your chin with his claws, being sure to growl the last bit out loud.

You emit a whining noise, paralyzed by the thought. You're a bit more sensitive to it all at the moment, considering the events of the day. Revenant notices your struggle and pulls back, reverting to his demanding style.

"Eat your food. I didn't intend for your girlfriend to run off with a free meal and you not eat anything." It still feels weird coming from his new body, but you're getting used to it.

"She's just a good friend, that's all. And I was just too busy talking to eat, I still don't feel great though." You poke at the food, it's lukewarm by now but that isn't your main objection to it. You just don't feel like eating.

"Oh, so we aren't close enough yet for that kind of affection? I'll fix that soon enough." His voice hums. You sigh.

"Oh please," You pet his snout and he seems to enjoy it, getting him off your case for a bit, "Not right now, harass me later. If you want me to eat anything, you can't be doing this." He really seems to enjoy the snout rubs.

"Alright, fine, you eat, I'll talk." You pull your hand away and focus more on the food. "I have quite a number of these special chassis to myself, all kinds of designs and colors and other nonsense. These are my special occasion outfits, per sé." You nod, it makes sense. "This one, as well as many others, are modded to the brim with all sorts of fun additions." He touches his snout, noting where you pet it. "I can feel every single aspect of this suit, even those that don't conform to the human shape. Even better, it's neural processors are exponentially faster, meaning everything feels much more vivid and vibrant." He pulls his fingers to the nasal cavity. "I have an entire set of cores that do nothing but olfactory processing, so I get to be the better Bloodhound while I wear it." His fingers fall to his jaw. "This luxurious suit even gets a jaw with clamping power, canine teeth to snag whatever I want, and a synthetic tongue to taste the blood I spill." He starts to snarl his words as he pulls open his jaw to show you his mouth. He points to his horns next. "These things? Silicone carbide sections with rubber impulse reducers between." You stare at him with a look of minor confusion, so he clarifies. "I can headbutt a skull into fragments without even leaving a dent in my own." You wince at the thought. "Not to even mention the use of polyethylenes instead of metals in the body with support weights in the limbs makes it so I can move faster than ever but still hit just as hard. Not to even mention all the modifications below the neck. You'll see how much I destroy in tomorrow's match. I will win, I promise you that."

"Wanna bet?" You're happy with how confident he is, but you can't help but want to start something.

"And what do I have that you could possibly want?" Revenant asks the opposite of what you expect him to. Isn't the question usually posed the opposite way? You close up your leftovers and start going over to the kitchenette to put it in the fridge.

"Well, I wouldn't mind money or just hanging out with the prowlers again. I could put money on it too, just not enough to make it worth your while. Did you have something in mind?" The fridge is nearly empty, spare for that water bottle and liquor. You throw the box down on a shelf, close the door, and plop down on the couch in a lying position.

"So, if I don't win, I have to take you to see my puppies again, or give you money. Neither of those are objectionable to me, but when I win I get to take something instead?"

"Yeah, that's how I'm framing it. The extra motivation can't hurt. I just don't know what you'd want. I have some savings, but--"

"Forget the money, I don't exactly have much need for it and I have tons anyway. What I want..." He pauses for a moment as his voice turns sinister. "...is to hear you call me 'daddy' again while I take a piece of you." He seethes with a sadistically erotic tone.

You stare into space, your face must be red again.

"C'mon skinsuit, it's not every day I'm in one of my few suits with the proper equipment for it." He's loving the look on your face, undoubtedly. He's acting like this is a cruel joke, but... How far would he take this joke, though? Better yet, how far will you force him to take it? You still feel ill at ease about the idea, but you're suddenly angry enough to buck off the shame.

"Alright, fuck you but sure." Probably the ballsiest thing you've ever said in your life.

Revenant is caught off guard for a moment, his eyes dimming until they're nearly off, freezing in a somewhat shocked motion. After a few moments, you hear him slowly return as he laughs out loud. He has trouble containing himself, and goes to rub his mask again.

"You're insane, but I love that." He finally contains his laughter. "Your friend, what's her name?"

"Sherry." Weird change in subject but okay.

"Who's her favorite?"

"Wattson."

"Oh, perfect. I'll send a special request for her to keep you company during the match. I want you both to watch. I got my assigned team not long ago." He stands up from the edge of the bed and meanders over to the couch you're on, looming over you.

"Oh, are you with Wattson?"

"And Wraith. It's perfect for what I have planned." He never did explain what his plan was that day he dragged you all over the arena. "Loba's little triumph will pale in comparison to my massacre."

"Try not to make it too--"

"It will be bloody, gory, and brutal. Sorry little skinsuit, but you used up your pardon." He chides you from above before reaching down to help you up. "Now come, I need to warm something."

You stand up, a bit confused by his request, until he pulls you into a hug and you feel how strangely warm his body is. You're a bit taken aback at first, but you slowly ease into him and the warmth he offers.

"Luxurious, isn't it?" You feel his chest rattle into a purring sound as he cradles your head against his warm chest. "I like it too." He gently pulls you away from the couch before leading you to the bed.

You don't protest, you just crawl into bed and shuffle to the middle, making plenty of room for him to follow. You see the lights flick off, then feel his warmth press up against your back, cradling you completely. His snout rests on your shoulder, breathing into your ear. It's comforting, something you really needed after today.

"Thanks, Rev." You barely manage to whisper. He huffs in your ear as affirmation before you fall asleep.

[i-growl-growl-growl]

Mafia NCT Reaction: Their crush is the new member

Reaction to mafia nct getting his crush as a new gang member when He thought you were just a ordinary person that he saw from time to time in the neighborhood but then he it’s introduced to you as your new mafia boss (sorry if u couldn’t understand very well 😂)

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Warnings: Mafia themes, dark themes, violent themes, controlling themes, 

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Taeyong

Taeyong wouldn’t be the most pleased about this development. He doesn’t want you to be at rist, that being said he likes the fact that now he can keep an eye on you. He also likes that he gets to boss you around now. You’ll likely see less field assignments, focused more on how to help from the base. The being said if you piss him off he might put you on an assignment that would rough you up some, but never anything lethal. 

“Are you really about to complain about the tasks I’ve assigned you Y/N? I could have you ruined in a moment, now be a good girl/boy and go run those numbers for me sweetheart.”

Taeil:

Taeil will be a protector over you in this world. He’ll test out your abilities personally, before hand picking your assignments based on your skills. He would never put you in a situation he wasn’t fully certain you could handle. Though you likely have his company either way, him calling it hands on training. Really though, he’s grooming you to be his partner, waiting for the right moment to ask you.

“You’re strong Y/N the type of person I want by my side in this world. So? What do you say? Run this town with me?”

Johnny:

Johnny is happy in some ways and anxious in others. He’s eager to show off his strength and power, to show you that he’s the best and you’d be lucky to have him. Knowing that he’d be very lucky to have you. He knows first hand though how dangerous this world could be though, and he doesn’t want to risk your safety.

“Fine, you want a task out Y/N? Then you can join me today. We’re doing money collections. You better only get out of the car with my permission though.”

Yuta:

Yuta was very upset by this news, his crush was so pure how could they be part of this world? Certainly there had to be a reason... He’d learn everything about your background to convince you to leave the mafia, all while trying to get you to stay with him. You know...purely for your safety of course.

“I want youout yes, but people could have already seen you with me Y/N. Even if you don’t do anything for us you could already have a target on your back. Which is why you have to stay with me now.”

Kun:

Kun would be very strict as your mafia boss and very poker faced, so you’d be confused as to why he has so many extra rules and requirements for you. No one else always had to wear a vest or reported straight to him, why was he making you jump through hoops? Until you finally confronted him about it, he said nothing.

“You’re important to me Y/N. I can’t let something happen to you because of some careless mistake.” 

Doyoung:

Doyoung thought it was a blessing, having you here as part of his mafia. He would never allow himself to drag you into his world, but here you were and willingly too. In addition, it would allow him to see if youcould handle what it would mean to be with him in this world.

“Yes Y/N this was a test, but you passed. So now I’ll give you the whole world if you want it, just know that if you accept my offer there’s no going back.”

Ten: 

Ten likely wouldn’t give away his feelings for you for a long while. He put you through the same excruciating training every other recruit had to go through. He didn’t want you to have to live your life in the dangerous part of this world, but he knew if you were his there was always a chance of something happening and he wanted you prepared for it.

“I don’t care how tired your legs are or how bloody your knuckles, I said show me again Y/N. Those things won’t matter to you when your life is on the line, you have to be able to do this right.”

WinWin:

Sicheng would immediately pull you aside to question your motives for joining. If he could help it, he would try to convince or even bribe you into doing something that wasn’t dangerous. Ultimately though he respected your choice and supported it, but he’d keep a sharp eye out to try and protect you still.

“What are you here for Y/N? If it’s money, I can cover that for you. Adventure? Then be mine and you’ll have it all time. Whatever you want, I can give you, just stay someplace safe instead.”

Jaehyun:

Jaehyun won’t give you much wiggle room in what he allows. He’d much prefer you accept the spot as just his pretty thing, than be involved in the mafia. If you insisted though he only allowed you to do stuff at the base, often in the office with him by you. He didn’t even want to risk you being around some of his men.

“Stay in here doll, there are some men coming over and you don’t need to be any part of what they have to offer. Only open this door again for me.”

Jungwoo:

Jungwoo would fret over you a lot. He wants to allow you to make your own decisions after seeing how strong you are, but anytime you’re out he always worries that he may never see you again. Ultimately he ends up deciding that it would be best for you to work at the base where he can constantly check in.

“Please don’t be embarrassed Y/N. It’s not because you don’t have the skills to be out, it’s just for your own good.”

Lucas:

Lucas only lets you out when you’re with him. Doing lots of hands on training with you, and maybe showing off some as well. He trusts your safety with no one else though. At the first sign that you might not be able to handle something he pulls you.

“Go back to the car Y/N. I see the look in your eyes now...you don’t need to be here for this, so just behave.”

Mark:

Mark was known to be a very strict leader, even if he had a soft spot for you he was still strict. Instead of immediately sending you off with harsh consequences like he would everyone else, he pulled you aside and spoke with you before a lesser punishment was given. He was a mix of firm and soft, because he couldn’t risk you getting hurt because of some stupid little mistake.

“If you’re not going to be able to do this Y/N, then I suggest you get used to helping me in my office.”

Xiaojun:

Xiaojun tried to let you do as you wanted and live the mafia life, but after being frantic whenever you’d leave the base he couldn’t do it anymore. Telling you to either leave this life or to work from the safer area of the base, under his watchful eyes. Either way you always saw his protective hand in your life.

“If anything happens to you, it’d be like someone ripped my own heart out. I can’t have it.”

Hendery:

Hendery won’t let even his other men around you. All of your training and explanations come from him. The only time you get out is when he’s there by your side, whether there needs to be others or not. He doesn’t let you out of his sight, knowing the second he does he might never see you again. That’s just how this world worked.

“I won’t lose another person, especially not you.”

Renjun:

Renjun would be quiet at first, he hadn’t quite expected this from you. He had figured out that there was something special about you though and he was waiting to see just what it was. So when you walked in he raised a brow and smirked slightly. He’s fairly calm about the whole thing but fairly protective still.

“I understand your skills are on the streets, that’s why I’m keeping you here. You’re the best I have and I need you to use those street skills to help me plan...and to make sure everyone else understands what to do.”

Jeno:

Jeno is pleased at the opportunities this presents to him, but not to you. He didn’t want you in harms wat, but he likes that he can show off and doesn’t have to lie to you about who he is in fear of you running away. Basically though, it’ll be rare for you to get a chance outside of the base and either way you’re going to have a bodyguard with you.

“Who’s the boss here Y/N? Trust my judgement, especially when I’m just doing what’s best for you.”

Haechan:

Haechan is going to be bossy, but it’s because he’s terrified that you’re here. He might go as far as to lock you into the base or put a tracker on you if you’re for once allowed out. You won’t have a bodyguard directly besides you most times, but you’ll always have a tail and it’s one of his best at that.

“Don’t worry I told them to follow you, they’re there to keep you safe.”

Jaemin:

Jaemin is heated over this. His sweet, innocent, Y/N will not get their hands dirty in his business, not if he can help it anyways. That doesn’t mean you aren’t in the mafia though. He invites you to be his lover/sugar baby, the one he comes home to and spoils endlessly. Yet who is also someplace safe and without blood on their hands. 

“As odd as this might sound, you’re my guilty pleasure angel and nothing will stop me from keeping you safely at my side ruling this world.”

YangYang:

Yangyang vows to be your protector, yet tries to give you freedom to use your skills as part of the mafia. That doesn’t last long though. He can’t sleep at night knowing something might happen to you and it’s affecting how everything is running. So he has to keep you somplace safe.

“I’m sorry Y/N...you’ve done everything perfectly...I just can’t live to put you in harms way.”

Shotaro:

Shotaro chuckles, you’re like him, you look so sweet...so innocent and yet are involved in quite the opposite. He thinks that you can both use that to your advantage. Sitting at the top of the mafia world, running it better than anyone else, and yet no one would suspect the two of you at all.

“They’re clueless to us Y/N. To them we’re just a sweet up and coming cooperate couple...oblivious to the true power we hold.”

Sungchan:

Sungchan is intrigued by your appearance here. He pulls you aside to try and decipher your motived for being here. If he figured out you only are here for a reason of money, not because you want to be here in this world then he is going to fix that problem for you. Otherwise he’s going to help you be the best there is, just like him. Molding you to be even more perfect for him.

“No matter what I can help you Y/N. Just give me a chance and you’ll see that I can take care of you when no one else can.”

Chenle:

Chenle is not impressed by your showing up. He sends you to his office immediately before dealing with the other new recruits. He questions you on what exactly you think you’re doing here before laying out very specific instruction for you.

“If you’re going to stick around then you will listen to my rules or you’ll back off. Of course you could still be mine then if that’s what you really wanted.”

Jisung:

Jisung is not happy when he sees you. He’s going to find out who dragged you into this and they won’t be seeing sunlight for a long time, especially if they knew he cared about you. Then he’ll give you two options, one leave and forget about all of this or two stay there but as his officially not a mafia member.

“Those are your options Y/N. You’re not going to be part of the danger as fun as it may seem to you.”

- Bre