#still need to beat the game now that the update had happened

[randoimago]

Me: Okay what game should I play? I should probably replay P3 since I have some of those requests stacked up

Brain: Baldur's Gate

Me: Okay but there's also Mass Effect Lege-

Brain: Baldur's Gate

Me: ... I've been interested in Darkest Dungeon. That's a game I haven't-

Brain: Bitch what did I say?

[livin4woso]

Chapter 1 of breaking the media there's Roughly 10 parts and is ongoing so hopefully yous like it

Chapter 1- breaking the media

You knew that clubs would be interested in you but definitely not this one. You were 16 and playing for arsenal after transferring there when you were 13. You started your career off at sunderland your home club with the aspirations to be like the many legends from sunderland including beth mead, lucy bronze, Jordan nobbs there were plenty to idolise so when arsenal had offered you a place on the u16s at 13 you couldn't resist. Your parents had very little care for the fact such a large club was interested with you and had no intention to move from the north east to london so therefore sent you to a foster home for your time at arsenal. The people who you had lived with were amazing and at some points you believed they were better than your own biological parents who gave no interest in your career and no care for you in general.

Your time at arsenal was amazing you were flying through the age groups and here you landed on the first team of arsenal. Now maybe this was due to the plenty of injuries of the backline and of laura the right back which just so happened to be where you played on the pitch that lead you to your debut but you were estatic to say the least. You only played half the game but didn't mean that you couldn't leave your mark on the pitch you had executed the perfect slide tackle on lauren hemp swiftly removing the ball from her feet as she edged nearer to the box.

That tackle had left jonas an impression and many other teams beyond the wsl. You began to make more frequent appearances on the team but only as a sub but still each time you stepped on the pitch the media was all over you the next star girl who was gonna be the big thing. All the titles and names should have put pressure on you to do better yet it never did infact it was motivation to carry on. Summer had arrived the end of the season meant big transfers arsenal had missed out on winning the title race yet you were the most popular conversation topic of where will you move next or if you would stay at arsenal. Now the conversation was relentless everysingle club had wanted a piece of you and for good money from what you had heard but it was ultimately your decision and a little bit of arsenals choice after they had turned down bids from Manchester city and Chelsea early in the transfer window.

Of course you wanted to stay at arsenal, you thrived there your idols were there you grew up admiring leah williamson, beth mead and vivianne miedema, you had a few offers on the table that your agent had given to you yet none of them beat arsenal or had come close to the same pay check but that wasn't the reason you were staying it was more of the bragging rights to say you were friends them even though you were like the adopted child of arsenal many complained that your presence was aging them but it was only for jokes they loved you really. Then the call came at 11.40pm just as you were about to crawl in bed after a long day of pre season grind as unlike the other girls you couldn't go on holiday and get drunk on a beach you were 16 you couldn't even legally drink but that didnt stop you. You were exhausted as sleep weighed on your eyelids then the phone rang.

"Barcelona are interested in you" your agent said to you. "WHAT, YOU'RE JOKING" you shouted almost waking up everyone in your house. "Yes but if you want to go you need to have an answer by tomorrow, the contract is a multi year so it will be constantly updated each year..." your agent began to ramble on about the terms of the contract "yes" you splutter out interrupting his long speech "yes what?" He asked back almost fed up of your frantic behaviour "yes, i want to go its the only club i would leave arsenal for and im not gonna get another chance like this" you said firmly there was no hesitation behind your words "right then we will final up the deal with arsenal and Barcelona and we will figure out an appropriate wage" he said almost scoffing at that last comment and going back to his professional terms (ramble) which meant nothing to you.

Once he hung up the phone you lay in bed in the darkness when reality hit you "omg im going to play at Barcelona" you said to yourself "OMG IM GOING TO PLAY AT BARCELONA" you repeated to yourself this time shouting almost squealing in fact. You couldn't believe it was happening and you drifted of waiting for the deal to finalise it was going to be a long process of negotiation, but it was on you were willing to wait out for .Soon the red and white iconic kit would change to a blue and purple equally as iconic kit and you had a chance to write a legacy one which you knew would catch the medias attention, maybe even break it.

[alxtiny]

Game Night | Song Mingi x Reader

Synopsis: where mingi teaches you how to play valorant

Pairing: Song Mingi x gn!reader, domestic au

Genre: fluff, crack

Word count: 0.9k

Warnings: none

Notes: this one’s a little rushed but I hope y’all like it

masterlist

You glanced at the computer screen, a mixture of excitement and confusion swirling in your eyes as you stared at the colorful characters and fast-paced action of Valorant. Your boyfriend, Mingi, had been talking about this game for weeks, practically bubbling over with excitement every time a new update was released. Today, you had finally agreed to give it a try, even though you were more of a casual gamer yourself.

"Okay, so first things first," Mingi said, his deep voice full of enthusiasm as he scooted his chair closer to yours. "These are the different characters, or agents, you can choose from. Each has unique abilities."

You nodded, trying to absorb the information as he explained the basics of the game. But truth be told, you were feeling a little overwhelmed. The controls, the abilities, the maps – it was a lot to take in.

"Here, let's start with something simple," Mingi suggested, leaning over to adjust your hand on the mouse. "Move your character using the W, A, S, and D keys. Good. Now, try aiming your crosshair at that target over there. Left-click to shoot."

You followed his instructions, your shots going wide and missing the target completely. Mingi let out a chuckle, a warm sound that made you smile despite your embarrassment.

"I... I think at this rate I might end up shooting at our own teammates," you confessed, a sheepish smile tugging at your lips.

"Don't worry, it's totally normal to struggle at first," he reassured you. "Let me show you something."

Mingi's arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you gently into his lap. Your heart skipped a beat at the sudden proximity, feeling his warmth radiating against your back. He positioned his hands over yours on the mouse and keyboard, guiding your movements with a patience that amazed you.

"See? You're getting the hang of it," he said, his breath tickling your ear as he leaned in to offer guidance. "Now, let's try using one of your agent's abilities."

As he explained the unique abilities of your chosen agent, his deft fingers danced over the keyboard, demonstrating the combinations you needed to use. With each passing moment, you felt your confidence growing. Maybe this game wasn't so intimidating after all.

Time flew by as the two of you played round after round, the evening melted into the night, stars coming out and lighting the sky. You went from struggling to shoot a target to actually getting kills in the game. Mingi's encouragement and guidance were instrumental in your progress, and you were having a blast despite the occasional frustration.

Surprisingly, after a few more rounds, something incredible happened – you managed to beat Mingi in a one-on-one duel. Your character's shot hit him right on target, and the announcer declared you the winner.

You let out a triumphant cheer, unable to contain your excitement. Mingi sat there with a stunned expression, a mix of disbelief and a playful pout gracing his lips. He looked like a kicked puppy, and you couldn't help but burst into laughter at his reaction.

"Hey, no fair!" he protested, his pout deepening as he crossed his arms mockingly. "I've been playing this game for months, and you beat me in one night?"

You leaned over, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "It's just beginner's luck, Mingi. Plus, I had an amazing teacher."

He let out a dramatic sigh, still maintaining the pout. "It took me so long to learn and be good at this game, and you just come along and steal my victory."

You grinned, cupping his cheeks and turning his face toward you. "Well, you know what they say about student surpassing the master, right?"

He huffed, but his pout was slowly turning into a smile. "Is that so?"

You leaned in, your lips brushing against his in a sweet, tender kiss. "Don't worry, Mingi. I might have beaten you in a game, but you're still the best teacher and the most amazing boyfriend."

His pout finally gave way to a smile, and he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a warm hug. "You're too good for me, you know that?"

You laughed, nuzzling into his chest. "And you're too silly for words."

His smile widened, and a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. "Oh, is that so? Well, if I'm so silly…"

Before you could react, he started to tickle you mercilessly, his fingers floating over your sides and under your arms. Laughter erupted from your lips as you squirmed in his lap, trying to escape his playful onslaught.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" you gasped between giggles, breathless from the tickling.

Mingi finally relented, a triumphant grin on his face. "That's what I thought. No one can out-silly me."

You rolled your eyes affectionately, your heart full of warmth and love for this playful and wonderful man, as you snuggled deeper into his embrace.

© alxtiny . Do not steal, plagiarise, translate, repost, or use my works on any platform in any way.

Send an ask or a message to be added to taglist

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS PURE FICTION AND NOT RELATED TO THE MEMBERS OF ATEEZ IN REAL LIFE PLEASE DO NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

Taglist: @sushi0517

[bippiti]

of rubies and garnet

where overhearing something you shouldn't have has interesting side effects

wc 1.4k

pairing gen narumi x afab vc reader

heads up smut, cunnilingus, kinda angst but not too crazy, kn8 typical gore and violence

an first kn8 req! tried using actual capitalization (dk how to feel ab it) lmk how yall like it and as always likes and rbs are appreciated <3

“Well it’s not like she's gonna be my girlfriend for much longer”

It took 12 words to have your whole world crashing down

Was it something you had done?

Did he hate you?

Why?

Why now?

Why would he do this? 

You took two steps back, turning around and running, hoping the speed would stop the teaes streaming down your face

Spoiler Alert: It didn’t. After getting into an empty room and locking yourself in, you slid down the door, sobs racking your body. 

How did it end up this way?

You thought back to when you both first met, the day you started the second phase of training. Having worked part time to clean up kaiju, you had become familiar with the process, and began quickly. You were the quickest to finish, offering help to others but most being too egotistical to accept it. Gen was different though, he accepted it gratefully, observing you as you worked and helping where he could. 

After the exam was finished, you both had become officers. He found you after the ceremony, thanking you for the help. He equated the way you worked to fighting a boss on his bs4. You had laughed at that, admitting you didnt know much about games

“Well, would you like to?”

“Like to..?”

“Learn about games”

“Sure why not”

After that, it was history. You both got together shortly after, and while you don’t have a gaming addiction like he does, you still play when you can. You were going to get him so that he could watch you kill a boss that had taken him 4 hours to beat. That was until you heard him saying that he was going to break up with you

You felt that pain in your heart again, wiping the tears away you shook your head. Before you could fully snap out of it Alarms started to ring. You got suited up quickly while being briefed on the honju, it’s fortitude was only 6.3.You needed to blow off steam, so you told the analyst that you could handle it on your own. 

That was your second mistake of the day

The honju had been fine, easy even. You had only messed up once or twice, but you had subjugated it in under an hour. You were giving an update back to the second, and then the ground beneath your feet began to shake. Slowly the kaiju in front of you began to connect itself together, and you saw a new core begin to form from the ground. How? This shouldn’t be happening

Before you could update the control a shaky voice yelled into your right ear

“New Kaiju detected, fortitude 7.8, are you sure you dont want Narumi or Jura to help you?”

You clenched your jaw hearing Narumis name, anger and irritation began to flow through your veins

“I’ll be fine”

“Are you sure? You just went up against one Honju, I know youre the vice captain but everyone has limits-”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry”

The kaiju in front of you began to take form, it was almost slug like, the residue it was secreating was melting the ground it stood on. Breathing in you pulled out your blade once more, using the fifth form, tempest barrage, you began to harness energy, wind bending around you as you began to fight your way to its core

Once you had slashed, you felt your leg burning. Looking down you saw white

That couldn’t be right? You tried focusing your eyes, and you felt vomit rise in your mouth as you looked to your leg

You could barely call it that, the acid from the kaiju had landed on your leg, and had eaten away to your very bone.

Your head began to spin and soon enough you were on the ground.

-

As you opened your eyes you expected to be in pain, but you didn’t feel anything. Remembering what had happened, you went to grab your leg, pushing the sheets back from the hospital bed you had been in. Your skin was intact, but there was jagged lines over where the acid had touched you. 

You flinched, hearing something drop. Looking up you made eye contact with none other than Gen. You paled and he paused before running to you. He quickly rushed to you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. 

This was cruel, really cruel. How could he act like he still cated after what he had done. You felt your eyes well up with tears again and you blamed it on whatever meds that you had been administered. You began to cry into his chest, he brought you even closer. His hands began to run through your hair, and he dres spirals into your back

“How can you- how can you just act like everythings fine?” you said through your crying

He pulled you out of his arms and looked at you confused

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard you talking to Jura that you wanted to break up with me. You don’t have to pretend anymore” you mumbled out weakly

He stared at you in shock for a second before closing his eyes. Saying nothing he left the room

Well that was it. Your life is officially over. Literally what was that

Before you could find a creative way to hang yourself with your iv, he was back. Looking away you said lowly that you didnt wanna see him.

“You idiot I wasn’t breaking up with you”

This made you turn around. “Then why else wouldn’t I be your girlfriend anymore?”

“Because,” He knelt down to one knee and your eyes widened

“I want you to be my wife”

He pulled out a ring, it was beautiful. Staring down at it brought you back to one of your gaming sessions

You had been playing a sim game, and you got to design everything your sim wore, her clothes, even her jewerly. And when she was engaged to another sim, you used that to create the “perfect” ring of your dreams. It was ruby and garnet, wrapped around a gold band.

Looking at it, it was almost the same as the one you had created. Once again your eyes welled up with tears, and you nodded vehemently before he gently put it on your finger. Bringing him closer you hugged him again, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Slowly he began to push you down onto the bed. His arms caged around you as he moved from kissing your lips to your cheek, then your jaw.

Working his way down your body he left a trail of small bruises. It was a welcomed pain, and he continued down your hip, reaching further. He stopped once he got to your leg. Tracing the ringed scar that you had recently gotten. Shivering at the sensation he looked back to you and almost moaned at the sight. 

You were beautiful, always have been, byt right now even beautiful couldnt describe you. You were ethereal, you were god-like, and he intended on worshipping you the way that you deserve. 

He quickly brought himself closer to your core, gently pushing your panties away before letting out a warm breath. You mewled at the feeling of his tongue wrapping around your clit, hands pushing your legs up and in, closer to him. He had a vice-grip on you and you couldn’t help but to moan out his name.

Smirking into you, he began to trace his digits around your lips, gathering slick before pushing one inside. You felt your back arch as he began to pick up the face, curling his fingers. One became two and two became three. Before you knew it, your legs were shaking and that all too familiar know was threatening to burst in your stomach. It took one movement of his fingers before you felt yourself releasing. And when you opened one eye too look down at him you were shocked to see his face almost covered wholly by your cum. You felt wetness settle onto your legs and the sheets, and your face burned. You had just squirted for the first time

“Well that was new”

“Shut up I don’t wanna hear anything form you”

“I wanna make you do it again”

Pulling you back towards him, he kissed you. You could taste the your salty release on his tongue and you moaned

It was gonna be a long night

[girlwiththeobsessions]

love sick c. f.

this book has also been published on wattpad. same username as the one on here. i update faster on there.

you and conrad had a secret relationship two summers ago, when you were 15 and he was 16. you broke up with him because your younger sister, belly had liked him, and you were afraid of hurting her. now, flash forward, you were 17, and you thought you had gotten over him, but maybe you haven’t

you are adopted in this! y/n's parents were close with the fishers and conklins but died in a car accident, so laurel adopts y/n

part 2

i. the drive

ME AND MY FAMILY have been coming to cousins since i was a baby, since before i was born.

the tradition was, me and my mom would go to the summer beach house in cousins, along with my moms friends, laurel park and susannah fisher, and laurel's daughter and son, and susannah's two sons.

the beach house felt magical, every summer, i couldn't wait to return each summer.

most of the time, me and belly would tag along with the moms, mostly just my mom.

my mom would take us shopping a lot, and get us frozen yogurt after, then we'd go swimming.

laurel and susannah didn't really like to swim with us. that's what made my mom so special. until both of my parents died. when i was seven. in a car crash.

my parents were my whole world. i miss them everyday.

after that happened, i had to move from north carolina to pennsylvania with the conklin's.

from what i remember, i was pretty shut down for the next two years, and sad all the time, but eventually i got better.

laurel had taken me in with her, john, steven, and belly, and i had my last name changed to l/n-conklin.

i had found hobbies to cope with my parents death. in sixth grade, i had taken up soccer. in eighth grade, i started volleyball. now, as a junior, i was on my schools soccer and volleyball team.

i was pretty smart too, academically. with my grades averaging with a's and b's since freshman year. i wanted to go to college, my dream school was university of southern california, usc.

today though, was the day i returned to cousins for the summer, of course, i was excited. i was in belly's room, packing, with taylor jewel, me and belly were both close friends with her.

"drew's bummed you're missing the beach match with the boys team next weekend." taylor told belly, laying down on the bed, on her phone.

belly turned around. "uh, make sure tell sophie to square up for the block." belly tells taylor, ignoring what she said.

"drew martinez is texting me about you, and you're talking about volleyball?" taylor said with a surprised expression.

"drew doesn't care if i'm there or not, he wants an excuse to text you." belly denied, not really acknowledging the fact that she had a glow up basically. "and you better take this game seriously, i mean, team pride is on the line, taylor."

"please, you know me better than that." taylor looked up. "i would never let a boy beat me at anything."

belly and i laughed. "i thought you came here to help us pack." belly smiled.

"fine.." taylor got up. "i'll help. here's a tip, don't bring that speedo. it doesn't do a thing for your new boobs." taylor said with a a laugh, sitting on belly's bed, flipping through a magazine.

"it's not a speedo." belly defended with a frown looking down at the swimsuit.

"yes it is." i intervene, looking at my phone.

"we're just saying babes, like you need to pack cute things." taylor says flipping a page in the magazine she's reading.

"well, i always buy a new suit when i get there." belly tells us with a smile.

"okay, well, buy one that doesn't look like you're trying out for the swim team." i pressed.

"are you serious y/n?" belly giggled, flopping onto the bed and launching herself onto me.

"girls! were leaving in the next 10 minutes!" laurel shouted from downstairs.

"we got to go." belly said with a frown.

"no, we don't, we still have 10 minutes!" i told the two of them with a smirk.

we started laughing again, but once it stopped, we sat on the bed, belly on the floor, taylor switching to a more serious tone.

"okay, before i let you both go you both have to tell me your summer wishes. like the one thing that you guys want to happen this summer."

"i don't know." belly took a deep sigh.

"you little liar, yes you do." taylor giggled at belly.

"you want a hot make out sesh with conrad fisher, you want his tongue in your mouth, you dirty little slut!" taylor joked.

i shifted uncomfortably, trying to plaster a laugh. "taylor! ew."

"i'm just saying, i mean, you've been in love with him since we were twelve." taylor reminded her as belly got up.

"it doesn't matter what i do, he doesn't see me that way." belly frowned.

"oh, he'll see you." i looked at belly up and down. "whether he wants to or not. you look a lot different than last summer, belly."

taylor laughed, then turned to me. "what about you, y/n?"

i looked away. "what about me?"

"your summer wish." taylor reminded me.

"i don't know yet." i sighed. "i guess go to a lot of parties, and make more friends."

"no boyfriend? no fling?" taylor asked, a little confused. "come on y/n, a whole summer on the beach? no nothing?"

"oh wow, big deal, a seventeen year old that doesn't care about a boyfriend." i sighed again. "i guess i've never really been that interested in getting a boyfriend." i shrugged. "i have other priorities."

i did. i applied for a job as a lifeguard at the country club, to get some money for college. i wanted to apply to ucla, it was my dream school.

i always try to keep myself busy, keep myself doing something productive, and i think the job would help.

"girls, we're leaving now!"

ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚

during the drive, belly got shotgun, steven was driving, and i sat in the backseat with mom, which i didn't really mind.

the song 'can't do better' by kim petras was blasting, while belly sung along from the top of her lungs.

i unbuckled my seatbelt and spread my legs across the backseat.

"uh, can you guys turn it down a little?" laurel asked. "and, y/n, sit right."

i sighed and sat straight, buckling my seatbelt. "i want you guys to be better about helping out this summer." laurel told us.

"don't just leave your dishes, load them into the dishwasher. and, not just your dish either, steven. i want you to be good houseguests." she continued.

"mom, susannah has people who clean, doesn't she?" steven asked, curiously.

laurel flicked steven on the head. "steven!"

"owww!" steven complained. "alright, alright. sorry."

mom is weird about money, the fact that susannah has money, and we don't.

"just.. be considerate, and act like i raised you right. steven, y/n, that means don't stay out too late."

"mommmm!" we both complained.

"i'm too old for a curfew." i frowned.

"wait, what about me? i don't have a curfew either, right?" belly asked from the front seat.

steven started to laugh. "what do you need a curfew for? you don't go anywhere."

"steven!" i threw my phone charger at him. "don't be a jackass."

"what?" steven continued laughing.

"we'll talk about it when it comes up." laurel told belly.

"oh, and y/n, don't forget, you promised you'd take me driving." belly reminded me.

"belly, i told you i'd take you." laurel intervened.

"yeah, but.. you're too judgy." belly quietly said.

me and steven started laughing. "excuse me?" laurel asked.

"yeah, sorry." belly laughed too.

we parked in front of the gas station me, belly, and mom going in.

belly got some cheetos and sour patches. she opened the bag of cheetos and ate a few.

"belly!" i whisper-yelled.

"what!?"

"at least pay for it first."

me and belly looked over at the register, to see a guy staring at us.

"hey." he nodded his head.

i smiled and waved, while belly grabbed a coke, and we brought our snacks up to the register.

"what's up with you, y/n?" jumper said with a smile.

"jumper? i didn't know you work here now." i said in surprise.

he turned to belly. "who's this? are you new this summer?"

belly looked behind her, then back at jumper. "uh, me? no.."

"really?" he smirked, and scanned the snacks. "thought i knew every pretty girl in cousins."

"ew, don't flirt with my little sister, idiot." i warned him.

to be honest, i wasn't really fond with jumper. the way he sort of treated girls like they were objects just wasn't too appealing to me.

he rolled his eyes. "whatever. you both coming to the bonfire tonight? first of the season."

"uh.. maybe." i responded.

"come!" he encouraged us, then turned to belly again with a smile. "i'll introduce you to some of my friends."

"maybe i will." belly smiled back

i gave belly a quick side eye. "maybe she won't." i look back to jumper, trying to protect belly.

laurel walked up to us. "after i get settled in, you wanna go to whale of a tale with me, so i can presign stock for the signing tonight?" she asked belly.

"uh..."

"remember.. when you used to sit on my lap when i used to sign there?" laurel continued

"no, i don't.. remember that." belly chuckled.

"i'll make you a deal." laurel said, as we walked out. "i'll let you pick out tonight's desert if you come in and keep me company."

"see you later." jumped smirked at belly.

"what's later?" laurel asked, curiously.

"nothing." belly responded, a little too quickly.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚

END OF CHAPTER

[foundmywei]

Soukoku Fanfic Recs

Here are my favorite skk fics, I will be updating this as I read. Feel free to rec more in the replies. Enjoy!

(last updated: 27/12/2023)

Masterpost

Do I Get My Worthless Reward Yet? by World_Ender22

canon-divergence

(40,986 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 10/10)

Chuuya has always been certain of two things: he is going to die young, and it will be Corruption that kills him. So when the Boss orders him to use his Corrupted form without an out, he is neither surprised nor distressed. He simply does what he's told. When Dazai learns that the whole thing is a ploy to make him rejoin the Mafia, he plans to beat Mori at his own game... starting with convincing Chuuya to join the Armed Detective Agency. / Soukoku

hide the truth by writingfromtheshadows

canon-divergence

(24,611 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 1/1)

When Chuuya wakes up in the middle of an ongoing fight without any memory of how he got there or what happened to him, he ends up turning to someone saved as 'bandage-waster' in his phone. Somehow, it just feels like the right decision.

Willful Neglect by timeisdancing

canon-divergence

(27,915 words | Mature | Chapters: 10/10)

"Dazai..." Chuuya's voice comes out too tight and small, unlikely to ever reach Dazai. His hand lifts shakily, in some dazed attempt to stop him. There is panic wild and fast in his chest, the beginnings of hyperventilation, his breaths shallow and quick.

Something's wrong, something's wrong—

This hurts too much, it's not supposed to be like this—

His vision is blurring, and his head is taut and aching with the stress and anxiety and so much anguish that he can barely comprehend it.

The last of Dazai's hazy form disappears, far in the distance. _______

Forced into a difficult situation, Dazai has to leave Chuuya behind post-Corruption without his usual thorough check-up. Only, he has no idea just what state Chuuya was in as he was walking away from him that night.

Grief is a good teacher on how to value those you love. When he gets Chuuya back, Dazai uses his lessons well.

I'll Always Come for Chuuya by timeisdancing

PM skk era

(11,550 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 4/4)

A memory comes to him; in the dark as they lay in bed, a small whisper between their faces, a secret moment, Promise Chuuya won't ever use Corruption when I'm not there?

What if you're not there and I have no choice? Chuuya asked.

Chuuya has to wait for me. I don't care what's happening. Chuuya has to wait.

Chuuya stares down at his screen, hidden again behind some debri. There is still no response. His hand tightens around it, tremulous. He had to have seen it by now. Dazai's phone is always in his pocket.

Shit. Does he really not give a damn anymore?

He remembers a small smile, eyes gentle and deep and dark. I'll always come for Chuuya.

Liar.

______

Dazai has been distant with Chuuya these days, seeming to have grown bored of him and has been spending more and more time with Oda Sakunosuke. This sudden rift has consequences, and Chuuya will be the one to bear it.

picking a flower that blooms on the heart for you by burgundytshirt

hanahaki AU

(44,643 words | Mature | Chapters: 9/9)

The question is obvious at this point.

To die, or to ask Dazai for help?

Chuuya is so choked by this question that his breakfast is lodged in his throat, unable to be swallowed.

(Or, Chuuya would much rather die than let Dazai find out he has hanahaki disease.)

it's easy, if it's you by lunarumbra

fake dating AU

(16,500 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“And then you promised that you’d do anything I asked no matter what it is? We made a contract and everything!” Chuuya produces a laminated scrap of paper decorated with clumsy script and a couple of misspelled words and - yeah, there's no mistaking it. It’s definitely 10 year-old Dazai’s handwriting.

Or: Chuuya needs a date for a wedding in France.

teenage nightmares commit atrocities by forever_wandering

PM skk era

(107,063 words | Mature | Chapters: 22/22)

“Tsushima Shuuji,” Chuuya reads out loud. “A bright, optimistic young man with a pep in his step and a zest for life. Hang on–is this referring to you?” “Unfortunately,” Dazai laments, sighing dramatically. “You just got away with ‘science nerd’ and ‘soccer player,’ but I’m supposed to be an artist! I hate art! It’s useless!” “Shut the fuck up. That’s not the problem here. You? A ‘zest for life?’ Looking forward to each new morning? Hah! Rimbaud would sooner come back to life.” Dazai turns to Chuuya with the barest facsimile of a smile painted over his lips. “I,” he says sweetly, “am going to gut you open like a fish.”

Dazai and Chuuya are seasoned mafiosos at the ripe old age of almost-seventeen. They’ve fought gang wars, interrogated prisoners, and done all manner of unspeakable things. Now, they face their greatest challenge yet: going (undercover) to a real high school. With regular teens (who may or may not be desperately trying to get them to kiss). One thing’s for sure: this school is unprepared for the absolute calamity that is Double Black.

This is how it feels to take a fall by forest_raccoon

canon divergence, temporary MCD

(20,602 words | Mature | Chapters: 9/9)

Gazing down into those blank, empty blue eyes, Dazai felt something shatter inside him. And in the wake of the destruction, the emptiness, he was flooded by sudden, ice-cold clarity. It wasn't okay. But it would be. He would make it okay.

[Or, something unthinkable happens, and Dazai goes more than a little feral in his attempt to reverse it.]

Narrow Staircases by rutu14

time travel

(31,045 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

The last thing Chuuya expects while overseeing a routine shipment is for his sixteen year old self to appear out of thin air.

all my own by halfbloom (diphylleias)

PM skk era

(17,473 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“A day off?” Chuuya echoes, blinking slowly. “Yes,” Mori repeats with a chuckle, but it sounds like an order this time. “A day off. Do with it as you please.” And right as Chuuya is opening his mouth to ask why, Mori perks up and says, “Ah, I instructed Dazai-kun to take the day off as well.” He smiles serenely. “So you two may spend it together, if you’d like.” Chuuya’s eye twitches.

In between carnival games and ice cream stands, Chuuya learns a thing or two at seventeen about normalcy, cotton candy, and hand-holding.

Around We Go (And Back Again) by zombiemarker

canon-divergence

(24,247 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 7/7)

Corruption takes a toll, the mafia doesn't care for weakness, and the ADA has a bad habit of picking up traumatized gay orphans.

In which the author beats the shit out of the characters in order to make them happier and healthier later. Also ADA Chuuya.

bite your tongue by soupthatistoohot

canon-divergence

(20,709 words | Teen and Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

The Armed Detective Agency receives a mission to investigate and take down an assassin group that has been targeting high-profile individuals through a very specific method: first, the target is sent into an unwakeable sleep for a week, and second, when they wake up, they are unable to speak. Third and last, they die of a heart attack two weeks later. Ranpo suggests negotiating with the Port Mafia for the aid of executive Chuuya Nakahara, wanting to have Double Black at their disposal. But when Chuuya arrives… he cannot speak. Chuuya Nakahara has been targeted, and supposedly, he has two weeks left until he is killed.

all the holes we had to breathe by airiena

canon universe

(18,220 words | Teen and Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

“...Are you in a hurry or something?” Chuuya inquires, hand instinctively reaching out to wipe at the corner of Dazai’s mouth, successfully getting rid of the crumbs, before he realizes what he’s doing and freezes. “Yeah.” Dazai all but breathes. He is golden, when Chuuya takes in his appearance. He is a golden thing, dimmed, beaten, snuffed out, full of scratches but is still so human and so real despite what he always seems to believe that it makes the redhead want nothing but to take him into his arms and hide him from the heavy, heavy world and soothe all his aches and kiss all his scars— “I’m in a hurry, because I’ve already lost too much time.”

death offers no absolution by Zairielon

canon-divergence

(62,063 words | Mature | Chapters: 10/10)

After so many years in the Port Mafia, Chuuya thought he couldn't be phased by anything - that he had carried out the worst orders that would ever be given to him. Then he sees things he never saw before. He sees horror, cruelty, needless suffering. He sees death in every step he takes. Chuuya is only human, too. Eventually, he breaks. OR, Chuuya leaves the Port Mafia and attempts to escape his bloodstained past.

like a piece of glass by kagshina

PM & present era

(10,554 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 2/2)

The first time it happened, naturally, was after a fight. Chuuya couldn’t even remember what it was exactly that started the fight, only that Dazai said something to piss him off and it had escalated from there.  Somehow, they ended up here—with Dazai saying, “I can kiss better than you.”

Over every extinguished past by tucuxi

canon-divergence

(16,590 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

It’s been a little more than a month since everything almost went to shit, since the Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia faced off against Dostoyevsky, since Yokohama almost lost its fragile, balanced peace.

And it’s also been just about a month since Ranpo emerged from Poe’s book, all pride and glowing accomplishment for solving 500 murders in a week, and just a passing comment about the other guy losing patience and starting punching people.

--

Chuuya emerges from Poe's book, exhausted, to discover that Dazai has been severely injured. Standing guard in the Agency's infirmary, Yosano, Kunikida, and Chuuya find unexpected common cause in their desire to keep Dazai in one piece despite his best efforts to hide his vulnerabilities from everyone around him.

Snow White and the Huntsman by paranoid_fridge

dead apple aftermath

(1,453 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

They're alive against all odds, but the fight continues without them. Huddled against a crumbling wall, Chuuya and Dazai find themselves discussing fairytales and their own roles, and (they will later blame adrenaline/near-death experiences/ general after-battle delirium) accidentally confess. Or something like that. The words 'true love' are used, however.

One more time with feelings by Root (Fyki)

PM & present era

(12,584 words | Explicit | Chapters: 6/6)

He didn't say anything, just waiting for Chuuya to keep going. The lack of an angry response at being ignored picked at Dazai's interest, but it was Chuuya's next words that finally made him lift his eyes and properly look at him. "Have you- have you ever kissed someone?" That, Dazai hadn't expected. (Five times Dazai kissed Chuuya and pretended it meant nothing, and one time he kissed him and couldn't deny it meant everything.)

A mission gone wrong - BSD / BNHA Crossover by Unicornfairycat

BSD / BNHA crossover, time travel

(57,458 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 20/20)

The Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia are asked to investigate "amplified abilities" around Yokohama. After initial complaints, Dazai and Chuuya agree to work together. Their group manages to find the culprit and devises a plan to apprehend them. It's supposed to be foolproof but something goes horribly wrong. Dazai and Chuuya are sucked into an amplified portal which teleports them into the future. Two hundred years.

They land in the middle of a highschool and learn that abilities have become much more common and are now called quirks. As they figure out a way back to their time, they have to act as teachers for the hero course students in class 1-A, in return for U.A. to help them out with housing, I.D. and information gathering.

Silent sorrows / Loud feelings by foundmywei

canon-divergence

(8,406 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

But there was no God of destruction trying to take over him. Chuuya, quietly standing in the agency’s infirmary with his partner’s cold hand in his, came to the crushing realization that he had lost the one person he had always wished to keep close.

Or, a mission requires Dazai to fake his death. He doesn’t think informing Chuuya about it is necessary.

STORM by foundmywei

future fic, aged up characters

(37,258 words | Mature | Chapters: 7/7)

Osamu had thought of countless things he wanted to tell Chuuya once he saw him again, but what ended up leaving his mouth was, "Did you get shorter?"

Chuuya stared at him in silence for a few moments before he let out a sigh, rubbing his temple. "So you're still acting like a child."

Or, after six more years of separation, Osamu and Chuuya find their way back to each other again. Some things have changed, and some have not. One thing is certain, though; Soukoku are going to make their love drama everybody’s problem.

Stay by the_most_happy

canon-divergence

(23,699 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

“Oi, Dazai, what are they saying, anyway? Too many people. It gets confusing.”

The detective smirks.

“They are just discussing the budget for the next mission. Kunikida insists he wants an ice cream, a drone, and a goat.”

From the Port Mafia dungeon to the depths of Meursault, Dazai and Chuuya keep finding each other.

They fall in love all over again — or, maybe, they never stopped.

That’s all.

clear skies by burgundytshirt

canon compliant

(2,860 words | Teen And Up Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

When Chuuya, wounded in combat, bumps into his ex-partner in the streets, he pretends that he’s fine as they banter like usual. Except halfway through tugging at Dazai’s collar, Chuuya suddenly passes out into Dazai’s arms.

I'll Make A Home In Your Gut Because its Somewhere Warm to Sleep by arahabakii

canon universe

(8,959 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

After what felt like a lifetime, Dazai softly said “thank you.” The softness of his voice sent shivers down his spine. “For what?” Chuuya whispers, too afraid that if he spoke too loudly in this moment, it would disappear before his eyes. “For today,” Dazai confesses, brown eyes staring into blue ones, in the hopes that he might drown in them forever. “For just seeing me.” “Do you always thank people by kissing them?” “No,” Dazai whispered with a trembling breath. “Just you.” OR In a moment of weakness and vulnerability, the underworlds deadliest duo after 7 years, find a new sense of solace and comfort in one another.

Replaceable by timeisdancing

canon-divergence

(17,012 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 6/6)

Chuuya is scrabbling frantically at Mori's hands around his throat, his eyes wide. His body glows a faint red, fizzles out like a cough. "You can't even use your powers when you're like this, can you, Chuuya-kun?" "Mori, he is hurt." Dazai's voice rasps with controlled anger. Mori ignores him. "I can't tell where Dazai's plan begins and your stupidity ends, but regardless, such information should have never come out of that mouth of yours. What did you think? That such treachery will be forgiven and you will be made an exception? By the rules of the mafia, you are a traitor." ____ When one of Dazai's plans go too far, it inadvertently leads to Chuuya's death sentence. While in the dungeon cellars together facing the consequences, Dazai takes care of Chuuya and tries to save him.

Run Away With Me by timeisdancing

dark era

(5,306 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 1/1)

He must have knocked. Some time after, the door hauls open. "That's just great," the short redhead in the doorway sighs with disgust, all silken lavender yukata and flat eyes, "Just what I needed after a long flight back home. Shitty Dazai, the last thing I want right now is to see your ugly-ass face, so fuck off out of here." Dazai is staring at Chuuya blankly, and can't remember what made him think he could come here. "Right." His whisper is thin, raspy. Right. Of course. Like a ghost that doesn't know it's dead, he turns around, and he begins to leave just the way he came. "Dazai?" _______ After Odasaku's death, Dazai ends up at Chuuya's door, rain-soaked, dissociated and grieving.

I Was Never Meant to Last by timeisdancing

16 skk

(17,391 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

Dazai ends up in a coma after his most serious suicide attempt yet. He has left three letters, one of them being for Chuuya. Sitting at the bedside of his comatose body, Chuuya tries to understand. ______ Dazai is falling. In the orange glow of sunrise, the waves of his hair are fanning around him, and his dark eye is wide with fear and shock, his hand outstretched towards Chuuya. Chuuya is not even thinking anymore. All he can see is that hand reaching for him as he launches off against the balustrade and falls after him. He uses his ability to make himself heavier, his own drop faster, his hand reaching for Dazai right back. It's only when he catches Dazai in his arms, holding his head tight against his own shoulder and trying to fly back up that he remembers; this won't work. He must have been really out of his mind to have forgotten it at all.

Lessons in Kissing by timeisdancing

18 skk

(8,101 words | Not Rated | Chapters: 1/1)

At eighteen, Chuuya doesn't know how to kiss. Dazai teaches him how. _ "I think you broke my nose," Dazai says faintly, finally letting Chuuya remove his hands. He frowns as Chuuya angles his head a bit to look at it. Dazai presses the back of a quick finger to the underside of his nose, blinking. "I'm bleeding, aren't I? I think I'm bleeding?" Chuuya rolls his eyes, letting him go. "Your nose is fine. It's not bleeding either, so stop bein' so dramatic about it." "Chuuya should kiss it better." "Hah!" Chuuya exclaims, "Shut the hell up, you! This doesn't give ya a free pass to say such bullshit just 'cuz I'm doing this with you!" Dazai is staring ahead, his eyes hazy. "Ugh, yeah. I'm pretty grossed out too now at what I just said. Where were we? Oh, right." He looks back at Chuuya, focused again. "So… this time… go slow, okay? I know you're excited to kiss my pretty face and all but - " "DAZAI!" Chuuya's voice is high and wild, bordering on a screech. He's starting to regret this already. "But you have to make sure you can actually see where my pretty face is instead of just banging into me."

Doll Parts by the_most_happy

post meursault

(8,367 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

“Chuuya, what—?”

Chuuya grasps at Dazai’s bolo tie, fingers shaking and cheeks turning paler by the minute.

“I had nowhere else to go.”

Or: Shot during a mission, Chuuya crawls to the only person he trusts — his traitor ex-partner.

If you refuse to listen I’ll say it twice, love of my life by olympiansally

canon universe

(15,207 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

There’s Atsushi, Dazai’s star pupil. There’s Fyodor, arguably Dazai’s soulmate, a single mind in two bodies. There’s Kunikida, Dazai’s partner. There’s Oda, the reason Dazai wants to live. And then there’s Chuuya. If he asked Dazai to define him, to name his purpose, Chuuya already knows what he would hear. Chuuya is his dog, Chuuya is a slug, Chuuya is a chibi. And sure, maybe he is. But none of that is enough. Or, Chuuya can’t figure out what he means to Dazai exactly, but if he would only listen, he would realize that Dazai has been telling him all along.

the void is loud and wants tuna by mistflowerxuan

canon universe, arahabakitty

(5,028 words | General Audiences | Chapters: 1/1)

Port Mafia Executive Nakahara Chuuya is a formidable man, the strongest ability user and is terrifying on the battlefield. He has been through indescribable horrors and has come out of those battles stronger for it. And so, there is not much in this world that can truly startle him. An eldritch abomination curled up on his chest, vaguely shaped like a cat and purring might do the trick.

The last string to sever by foundmywei

canon universe, time-travel, temporary mcd

(18,430 words | Mature | Chapters: 1/1)

“Chuuya!” he shouted, hopping, begging for a reply, even if it was a mindless howl. But no reply ever came. Chuuya’s movements suddenly halted, his body remaining unmoving in the air for a second before it started moving again, limbs turning and twisting in a way a human body shouldn’t allow. The only sound filling the unbearable silence of the night was that of Chuuya’s bones breaking.

Dazai had never thought about what life would be like without Chuuya; a mission gone wrong forces him to find out. Thankfully, he gets a second chance to fix things.

[blingblong55]

Last Words of a Shooting Star-141+Los Vaqueros

pt.1

Heard you liked the first part, so heres this one!

Gn!reader, platonic!relationship

In the span of 5 months the team had lost all control of any other operation. Laswell let Price know it was time to take things easy. It happened when Soap and Gaz committed a few mistakes on a short operation that had happened a week after you arrival. "my men can do this." he protested, "No, and I can't have any casualties happen on my watch, you take care of your people and when all is good...I'll make and evaluation and put you back on the field. Take it slow." was all she had said. Ghost was furious, not even a 'are they okay' or anything, he started to understand why Alex had left.

3 months you had been gone out of their site. 2 months of recovery and many arguments between the team had occurred. 1 month of you being awake and fully conscious.

"it was all your fault. You had to get them away, didn't ya?" Gaz had spoken to a already upset Price. They had all been drinking that night. Except Ghost and Soap. Those two never left your side, if one had to shower the other would look after you.

Soap:

Tears left his already tired eyes.

It was only to you that he had full conversations with, always telling jokes to see your eyes shine once more.

Every morning he would take off and prepare you breakfast, the same one you would make him when he was in recovery for a wound.

"This time I added my mums recipe, and that awful syrup we have." he'd say, earning a small chuckle from you.

"Where would I be without my mactavish?" your smile brightening your friends soul. "Not alive, for sure."

It was always a joke, that if either of you got injured the other would be the servant, and it was their duty to make jokes of the situation.

When Alejandro was in the room, he would like to butcher his Spanish.

"thats not how you say it, pendejo!"

God did your giggles bring joy to him

he would do anything that was too stupid just to get a reaction off of you.

Gaz:

He resented price for so long, until the night you and him talked about it, eventually you told him "it wasn't on him, or you. This time it was just a minor fuck up."

He drank a lot, he wasn't a drinker before, but now he is.

You rarely saw him, it was always blowing off steam or training with Ghost.

He and Ghost were secretly planning revenge.

Although he was upset at you, for reasons he still wasn't sure about, you always woke up to fresh flowers and get well balloons.

When he was upset about how he'd been treating you, he would usually go back to your room, and play your music. It was therapy for him.

I know people say he is all fun and games, but for a long time he wasn't. His whole demeanor had changed, and it was for the worst.

At times he let Ghost hurt him, he thought maybe he can earn all of the pain you went through this way.

He stopped crying once you woke up. But that didn't mean his heart ached for his best friend.

Price:

he blamed himself for it all.

Never did he step in your room.

He stopped smoking, swore he needed to clear his head, but in reality, it was you who smoked with him. His mouth in his cigar, a cigarette on yours. Telling stories and laughing.

You were a mini him, his best version of himself.

He behind everyones back caught the main guy, and while he was out "gathering intel for the hopeful next mission" he would go down to a safe house. For hours he would beat the shit out of the man.

Although Gaz blamed him for it all and for most he knew it was him to blame, everyone saw him calm, he slept better at night. Even apologized to Gaz for the pain he had caused.

While you were in recovery, he would ask the medical staff on updates.

He sent you flowers, but he would keep one, and once he would notice the flower was dying, he would buy more.

He added more security around base, men always stood outside of your room.

He installed cameras everywhere, and unfortunately he saw his team fall apart, he saw how soap was running out of energy, how Gaz walked into your room and cried, how Ghost though mighty and strong lost his strength, the person who was sunshine and hope soon became the kryptonite.

When alone, he would look at your file, and sometimes stare at pictures where you held enemies or evidence in your arms. Your smile wide, your team stood proud, "what a life you've lived, kid" he would whisper, regret coming back and making him cry.

Alejandro:

Much like price, he kept one of the men that had tortured you

He took his sweet time torturing that man, sometimes he would forget blood was smeared on his body.

"¿qué es eso?" Rudy would ask, "mi almuerzo" he'd respond.

He would rarely be with you instead he would always busy himself cleaning your room.

One time some stupid rookie started playing Amor Eterno (super sad song in Spanish..thanks google,,,now its ME crying).

He started crying because he imagined a life where you weren't there, one where you had never made it out of the infirmary.

I don't think anyone understands how much you resembled his family, your stories where your family didn't treat you right and how you had found comfort in his family.

You so smart but so dumb when it came to common sense.

Much like his little sisters, they lacked common sense, good thing you knew more.

Rudy:

He would call his mom, asked for any soup recipe she can give. And he would make it for you.

"Una vez que comas esto, comenzarás a sentirte mejor." he would say as you were fed by him and soap.

After a while of looking he would find the photograph of you and his siblings. He carried it everywhere.

This man was the one who sneaked you out to go look at the stars, your excuse was "this is a comet that passes once in a lifetime, por favor rudy, si te gusto, harás esto conmigo."

He read to you after he heard from the medics you had night terrors.

You made him promise to not look for revenge, it was stupid and not kind. "You'll get hurt, hermano."

Yes at time he cried but it stopped very soon.

Rudy also changed, he wasn't so kind or at least he tried looking rough, this man has a kind look in his eyes so it was hard to change his stereotype.

As comfort he brought his blanket replacing the one the staff had given you.

Lots of hugs because he also needed reassurance of your current state, (don't you dare tell me he isn't like this bc I know he is)

Ghost:

He rarely slept, the bags under his eyes called him out. and after much hesitation, he slept, but only when he was around you.

The days he trained with Gaz, he thought of you. His best soldier and only family member (I know he has the other guys but the bond you and him had created was further from any of his relationships with the other men)

On some of your bad days he would go and collect a small flowers, it was a promise he had to fulfill, "if either you or I get hurt, we get small flowers and hide them in Soaps awful hair." "agree" he grins at the commitment, so small but so important to him.

One time he found out what price had hidden, so he followed him and once price was back at base, he took his round with the man. He made sure to keep him close to death and near life.

Every night when soap would go out, he would sing to you. "Gosh you need lessons Simon" you would joke. "as if your voice wasn't;t worse" he replied.

Beautiful boy was the one song you two sang when needed, only 3 times has that song been sung, and the next one would be at either yours or his funeral.

He hugged you without every hurting you, he told jokes and stories. The ones only he and the stars had heard, you like the comet were an anomaly, a once in a lifetime listener.

He showed you how to mask the scars he knew you'd be conscience about, "now lift the sleeve and turn it up a little." he instructed and watched as you got desperate and gave up.

"such loser mentality." "shut up."

A/n: I'm so glad you all enjoyed the first part. Thank you for reading this one too!

REQUEST ARE OPEN!!

[bed-of-ashes]

Spring we need the gem and pearl soulmate meetinggggg it’s literally gempearl week! Or like literally any more updates on the nature lives au im a tad bit obsessed :D

IT'S GEMPEARL WEEK?? omg I have to get this out. Voilà gempearl being soulmates :D it's a little different from the other soulmate meetings but they're special like that. Thank you so much for the ask I'm so so glad you like the au!! You have no idea how excited this made me lol. I hope this works please please don't hesitate to request anything else :D

Pearl’s heart was out of her hands long before they began the game of soulmates.

She could have guessed who her soulmate would be the moment the universe rolled the dice. It wasn’t a question, more like an answer, a definite you are tied to this person that would confirm what Pearl already knew. She loved like she breathed, constantly and needily, and she did not need fate to tell her that.

When she took very little damage throughout the first day, she knew why. When the thud of a shield being hit reverberated through her body, she knew what was happening. When her chest felt light and her face tugged into a smile while she was mining alone, she knew who was offering bright grins to the world like she knew the back of her hand.

She and her soulmate were adventurous people, the both of them touring their walled-off world before starting to settle down. It was only a matter of time before they ran into each other and recognized their unified hearts.

Gem met her with a smile straight from heaven and a tight hug to match. “I was hoping we’d be soulmates!” she said, and even she looked surprised at the admission. Pearl gave her a shoulder bump and didn’t tell her that she knew, she knew they were paired from the first moment.

Pearl tried not to let her gaze wander to Gem’s barely contained curls bobbing in front of her sun-accented face. Her eyes slipped every now and then—she couldn’t help it, not when Gem’s cheeks were dusted pink for no apparent reason. The color suited her, and Pearl couldn’t help but wish she was the one making her that shade.

They were carving out a mine near their barebones base when Gem stopped swinging her pic and turned to watch Pearl. She continued mining a section of stone for a moment, self-conscious, before she gave up and faced Gem with a raised eyebrow. “You’re staring,” she noted. “What’s wrong?”

Gem glanced at the ground, chewing her lip. She met Pearl’s eyes again. “Pearl, can I ask you a question?”

“You’re starting to worry me, but shoot.” The back of her neck started to itch.

“You have to be honest.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Gem sighed, scuffing her feet on the cobble. “Do you– do you like me, Pearl?”

Pearl noticed suddenly how deeply Gem was blushing. Her face was tinted crimson, the darkest Pearl had ever seen on her. Pearl’s heart stuttered, and Gem smiled weakly. This wasn’t a fair question. It was still the question she had expected.

She didn’t answer right away. “Why do you ask?” she whispered. Her voice came out far quieter than she intended.

“I can feel your heartbeat, y’know. It–” Gem glanced away, as if admitting a secret that wasn’t hers to keep– “it speeds up when you’re looking at me. Which, I am so sorry if I misread it, I just thought I should clear the air, and–”

Pearl reached out and touched her arm softly. Gem fell silent, staring at her, pleading. Pearl took a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

If possible, Gem turned even redder. A nervous smile bubbled up to her face as she rocked back on her heels. “Actually?”

Pearl laughed quietly. “I told you I wouldn’t lie.”

She was certain that if Gem was keeping track of her beating heart, she would’ve felt its drumbeat pattern in accelerando. As it was, neither of them commented on it, the both of them darting looks between each other and the ground, unsure how to proceed. They had matching grins and matching souls, and in that moment, it didn’t matter that they were in a death game. This was the only second that would count.

[not-poignant]

Hey there!

I just wanted to say I re read UTB and it's inspiring and so so so very good! It's a rollercoaster ride and I get so excited every time I see an update come through in my emails :)

I wanted to ask a question about Gwyn. I had a good scroll and couldn't see that it was asked before but it might already have been asked, so I am sorry if this is a repeat and feel free to ignore it if it is!

What would have happened if Gwyn wasn't born a Peak Alpha? Would Crielle have seen it as some kind of failing that a Peak Alpha lineage hadnt been achieved?

I also had a question about Efnisien and Crielle.

Would there ever be a scenario where Crielle would have raised Efnisien as a "high society Omega" (which I can imagine would have been its own level of hell) if she didn't go down the experimentation path or would he have been disposed of?

Thank you for all your writing!

So, in a way if Gwyn hadn't been born a peak alpha...if he wouldn't have been killed, he would have had an upbringing that echoed all his other abusive upbringings with Crielle.

I've been asked for like 10 years 'what would happen if Crielle loved her son / got the son she always wanted' - and so Underline the Black is the answer to that. We get a villain. So if you want the opposite of that, it's all my other stories about Gwyn, y'know? He gets abused, he gets tortured, he gets dismissed, he gets beat on, he gets tormented, he meets Augus (or Ash, or both of them) etc. etc.

Crielle loving Gwyn is the answer to the original question: What would happen if Crielle ended up loving her son? What if he'd been born the way she wanted him to be born?

The question you're asking is in a weird way, answered in every single fic before that. The fics that led to that question being asked in the first place. :D You can read the original Fae Tales series if you want to know what happens if Gwyn hadn't been born Seelie a peak alpha

Would there ever be a scenario where Crielle would have raised Efnisien as a "high society Omega" (which I can imagine would have been its own level of hell) if she didn't go down the experimentation path or would he have been disposed of?

For me, no. For other people sure!

But for me...not without completely remaking Crielle's character. It's pretty fundamental to her to be kind of an intensely intelligent and malevolent scientist in the background of her caring about high society.

Ultimately Efnisien got to live because she saw a use for him. If she didn't see a use for him, I can't imagine why she'd want to raise him as a high society omega, honestly. That takes effort and money, and she's consolidated enough in her power, finances and legacy that she doesn't feel the need to create a cash cow to sell off to create a connection to another family.

I think he would be disposed of. I honestly think she will still try to dispose of him. Efnisien being wrong about this in Underline the Black is like...the right thing to be worried about. She's not done with him. And the ultimate end-game for her is getting rid of him now that he's lose his use to her.

[babblingbookends]

20 questions for fic writers

Okay so hopefully I found all the people who tagged me in this game, thank you to @fleur-de-violette @goldenraeofsun and @wildsofmarch for the tag! (If you tagged me and I didn't see it, thanks to you too!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Thirty-eight! I didn't realize there were so many.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

50,029. A respectable number, but could be better

3. What fandoms do you write for?

DC Comics, but mostly Batman. I pretty much exclusively write fics for DC Comics, with the majority being Batman and Batfam-related comics. I have one single fic for another fandom, and that fandom is Avatar: The Last Airbender.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Tim Drake (Doesn't) Drink Coffee, which is also my first fic! It currently has 990 kudos

Do You Need Another Box of Tissues? which beats the next fic by 1 kudo, sitting at 242 kudos

Hypnogogic Jerks and Other Body Quirks is still one of my favorite titles! It has 241 kudos (update: I double checked before posting this and it now has 242 kudos, tying it for second place

Batman vs. Bridezilla has an even 200 kudos

And number five is Isern, which I'm a little shocked by considering it's currently my most recent fic. It has 156 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! I don't get a lot of comments, so it doesn't usually take me long to get through them, but I do tend to let them build up a bit before I answer them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhh good question. You're Just A Baby, You Can Not Fly is angst the whole way through, so maybe that one

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Realizing now that a lot of my fics are either angst or smut, soooo there's happy endings in most of the smut fics teehee. But also this one, Soda Pop, is sweet the whole way through.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'm fortunate enough that so far, I have not! I don't feel like I'm big enough to get hate

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Not sure how to describe what kind, but I've touched on a lot of smut things. This may be TMI, but I really like writing sex that also involves pain, I think it works so well with the Batfams gestures wildly everything.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. I'm not opposed to the idea but it sounds too complicated for my writing tastes

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I've noticed or been told about

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of! I would love to have it happen though

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! I think it sounds fun but collaboration scares me sometimes because what if. what if I'm actually stupid. and my co-writer hates everything I come up with. Horrible thought

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

My all-time favorite is a tough one to choose butttt I really like Wonderbat from Justice League Unlimited. Niche, I know, but it was my childhood ship and holds a special place in my heart. Never actually written something for it though!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Hoooooo-boy, I recently abandoned a buuuuunch of wips in my wip folder because I had named them random, unimaginative stuff, and simply didn't have the mental energy to go through them and see what was in them and rename them so I just put them all in a folder and started fresh. However, in that folder was another folder where I had a series planned based around Jason and a bunch of members of the Batfam. Each fic would have chapters from Jason's POV and another character. The first fic was Jason and Tim solving a missing persons case. I think Barbara's was them, like, getting trapped in a mall by the Joker, and I vaguely remember that Dick's took place in New York City.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have no idea. Maybe my descriptions of stuff? I really like describing things in unexpected ways and trying to pull emotion into them. No idea if other people like it though!

17: What are your writing weaknesses?

I always feel like my flow is really bad. Like some places feel really slow and some places feel too rushed, if that makes sense. I also think that when I'm writing a character I always make the character feel a bit too distant, like I'm just describing what's happening to them instead of making the reader feel what's happening to them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Well you see, I have this bad habit of thinking I can just learn an entire language in an afternoon, which means that no writing actually gets done. So unless it's something I can a. easily translate from a dictionary (so a single word or a simple, common phrase) or b. ask one of my international friends to translate for me, I usually find another way to say it without using the actual language. Maybe sticking the words in italics, or the old classic "he said something in Russian".

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

Batman! As I said above, my first fic was Tim Drake (Doesn't) Drink Coffee. Before that I only wrote original stories.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

All these questions about fics when I don't remember anything about any fic I've ever written XD.

Probably either Gotham Roulette or Clock-Beat, Heart-Beat. Based off of popularity, Gotham Roulette is one of my least popular, but I still like it, it was so dramatic. And Clock-Beat was really fun to write, it's about the Batfam from the perspective of a clock.

And that's that!

Tagging @cephalog0d, @adelfie, @nelson-and-murdock, and whoever else wants to play!

[libraryofneith]

Out of Mind Chapter 1 (Joel Miller x Reader)

Chapter 2

This is my first The Last of Us fanfic : D This is based on the HBO show, not the video game - i don’t know how to video game. I’m also still getting to grips with how Tumblr works so if my fanfics don’t look as swish as some other fics do, bear that in mind. If you have any tips let me know! I’m also on AO3 under the same username and I tend to update that first. You can check out this fic and my others here.  

Summary:  You're a pickpocket trying to make a living in the Boston QZ, what happens when you cross two of the most dangerous smugglers in the city? 

Well if you've read any TLOU self-inserts, or any self inserts at all for that matter, you can probably guess : )This is probably gonna be a long one, we're talking some serious slow cooking here. But I promise you it will be worth it. There is gonna be some serious lemony goodness when it comes, like really really lemony, so look away ye minors or people of delicate sensibilities (no seriously i mean it).Until that comes we're gonna have it all - morally ambiguous characters, angst, more trauma than you can shake an hbo show at, hurt and comfort, maybe a little fluff if you ask nicely and so. much. pining!!!!!

Preview:  You were almost disappointed at how easy it had been. One cheeky smile, a suggestive lilt in the voice and that guy could barely tell his ass from his ear. So much for the Clint Eastwood of the Boston QZ.

Warnings/Tags: [18+ minors DNI], Boston QZ era Joel, Pre-Ellie, not Tess slander, reader and Tess are friends, slow burn, like really slow burn, slow roast cooker here, mutual pining, age gap - reader is 27 and Joel is 50, he’s my depiction of a fictional character and I’ll thirst if I want to, angst, hurt/comfort, trauma, attempts at healing, not everything about these characters and their relationships is healthy but it’s an apocalypse so sue me. 

Joel

Today was not a good day.

The sun was beating down unrelenting on Joel as he stalked through the streets of Boston trying to get as far away from the unconscious FEDRA soldier as humanly possible. Apparently that little shit thought that five ration cards for a bag of anti-depressants actually meant three ration cards and a gun in his face. The only thing Joel had taken away from that trade was the look on the guard's face when his fist connected with his jaw. At least he'd gotten the drugs back. If he'd come back to the apartment with ration cards and the stash gone Tess would've been pissed - or more pissed than she was already going to be. Maybe if he stopped by the courtyard he could trade with...

Oof!!!

Joel cursed as he crashed headlong into some stupid girl.

"Oh shit sorry."

He gave no response to her apology except a grunt.

"Oh... shit, sorry," she repeated, the words now laced with innuendo. "Wouldn't want to harm a hair on your lil' head." Who's that short-ass calling little'?

"Don't sweat it. Takes more than a bump to bring me down."

"Oo I bet it does." She was standing toe-to-toe with him now, eyes glinting, her hand stroking up and down his arm. "I wonder what it takes to bring you down." Her hand lingered and her smile threatened to draw him in and for a moment, he almost found himself leaning towards her. Then he snapped back to reality and brushed her off.

"Sorry. Not interested." Last thing he needed today was Tess giving him the cold shoulder all night. Still, he let his eyes follow her a little. She was too young for him by half but no harm in looking. Just looking. She wasn't unattractive, not unattractive at all. Like almost everyone in the QZ she looked like she'd seen better days but there was something in the way she walked, bounced almost, like she was ready to take on every fucker who tried her. And her eyes... shit. Her eyes had caught him staring. She flashed him another smile but he tore himself away, already burning her image out of his mind. A cold shower, a few pills, and a glass of whisky and it'd be gone.

"Took you long enough." Tess was already nursing a bottle when he got home.

"Hello to you too."

"What happened?" Joel sighed. He could never keep anything from her.

"Stupid fuckin' kid wouldn't pay up. Things turned ugly."

"You ok?"

"Yeah, but if that FEDRA bastard wakes up he's gonna have one hell of a headache." Tess grinned.

"So you got the stash back?"

"Yup. Gottit right he-" Tess's face fell and Joel's stomach sank as he pulled out a clear plastic bag filled with marbles, not pills.

"Joel what the fuck?!"

"Someone must've switched the bags."

"Without you noticing, how?"

"I don't know." His entire body was quivering with rage.

"Maybe it was that stupid FEDRA kid..."

"No. He's not that smart." The apartment was filled with a stony silence as he tracked back everything that had happened after the deal had gone south. He knew he had the bag after. Then he'd gone straight home, he hadn't seen or spoken to anyone after. Well, except...

"Oh." Then it dawned on him.

"What?"

"That fucker."

"What Joel. Who was it??"

He could picture her now. The glint in her eyes, that confident stride as she walked away from him, that smile, that damn smile.

"I'm gonna kill her."

---

You

You grinned as you examined the bag. One week's worth of happy pills. And after you met with Robert that bag would be seven ration cards.

You were almost disappointed at how easy it had been. One cheeky smile, a suggestive lilt in the voice and that guy could barely tell his ass from his ear. So much for the Clint Eastwood of the Boston QZ. You'd still have to lay low for the next few weeks until Tess and Joel gave up on finding you. From what you'd heard these people were not to be fucked with. Of course you had anyway but after tomorrow you'd be able to kick back and relax until your supplies ran out. Tiny Dancer blasted through your walkman as you laid back on your mattress surrounded by books, sweets, cigarettes and everything else that almost no one but you had.

Things were finally looking up.

Hope you enjoy, more to come. Like and reblog if you enjoyed, if you didn’t send it to your enemies.

[yakumtsaki]

We're back for the last update before Barflina fucks off to college! This is one giant update I have to split in 2 parts them thanks to the liferuining new 30 pics limit, I will post part 2 right after this one. I don't mean to be dramatic but the universe cannot contain my hatred for the new post editor. At least I have Wendi looking all cute and regal.

-I will NEVER have kittens with Shinok, I hate him and his stupid, not coordinated grey leg coloring!

What?? WHO CARES

-I care, look at my beautiful cohesive coat! His genes would ruin it and our kids would be freaks!

-Jimbo, on the other hand, is a perfect specimen! Now that's a good addition to my gene pool!

Jimbo, the leopard print, custom slider freakshow DOG is a perfect specimen for you, Wendi the CAT. I'm starting to suspect you're a cross-species perv and Shinnok's legs aren't the problem here.

-Shut it! Leave that elderly deer bitch Veronica, Jim, and run away with me!

-Oh Wendi, I don't know, it seems wrong..

-I hear you, baby, but maybe it's so wrong.. it's right?

-KEEP YOUR SLUTTY PERVERTED WIFE AWAY FROM MY MAN, SHINNOK

-HOW AM I THE ONE GETTING BEAT UP I HATE THIS HOUSE I HATE MY LIFE

-I'M RUNNING AWAY AND NEVER COMING BACK, YOU CAN KISS THE CAT LEGACY GOODBYE!!!

10 seconds later:

-Ok I'm back, just in time for my birthday!

Happy birthday, Shinnok, your present is your dad dying at the exact same time. WTF @ game timing.

-Daddy no!

-I'm off to join your mother in cat heaven, Shinnok!

-But Mom hated you!

-Oh right she did, well she's probably in Hell anyway. Guard those mismatched grey legs you got from me, they are my legacy!

-I will Dad! I will!!

RIP Klaus, you were a sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to mate with Kitana💔

Xander and Sandy are each other's fav and Sandy is constantly late for work because she's fucking around playing with him. I'd like to remind you guys that I've been trying to get her to the top of the culinary career since SOPHITO AND SUGAR WERE CHILDREN

-B̷U̴T ̸I ̷L̷O̷V̴E̵ XA̴N̸D̵E̶R̵🧟‍♀️

Will you get your zombie ass to work, Xander will be here when you come back!

NEVER MIND. WHY CAN'T THIS GAME SPACE OUT THE PET DEATHS A LITTLE GOOD GOD.

RIP Xander, you were the best dog we've had so far, you were so good and loyal and kept running into fires with your dumbass owners. I'll miss you💔

-I ̴D̶I̵D̶ ̶I̷T, I F̷I̸N̷A̴L̷L̶Y̵ ̵D̴I̸D̵ ̶I̸T̶! W̴H̵E̷R̷E̵'̸S̶ M̵Y ̸D̵O̷G̷ ̴BA̷B̷Y🧟‍♀️

Sandy I'm so happy for you, and also I'd like to talk to you about the law of equivalent exchange.

Could it be that there are too many people in this house?? Could it??? I'm starting to feel it's possible.

OH FFS, VERONICA

AWWWW they have Jimbo's spots, so cute! God this lot is gonna explode.

SO CUTE. MY HEART

Time for Liz's cucky birthday party with no guests because I'm already tempting fate with this lot.

-Thank you, balloons, for protecting the viewing public from Failina's face. -This face has been making out with Meadow Thayer while you're getting rejected by the Tricou Don clones. -SHUT UP I'LL KILL YOU -Can I blow my candles now? -Not yet, Mom, I'm not done bringing up Barf's humiliating dating failures.

Please go ahead, Liz, and also where the hell is your husband.

-Playing catch with Sugar.

Of course he is.

-Happy birthday to me!

Do you feel any different, other than this awful outfit that I'm changing asap?

-Now that you mention it I do..

-..I feel the inexplicable need to fight with my 100yo mother-in-law despite the fact we're friends!

Liz wtf WHY

-There can only be one cunty matriarch around here and it is I! And also I'm a way better lawyer than you ever were! Now let me just get my makeover-

-So I can berate you some more!

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING. Liz wtf is your problem??? It's literally like a switch flipped as soon as she aged up, what on earth.

-I EAT LITTLE 60YOS LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST, BITCH

She does, Liz, she really does. You come at the queen, you best not miss! But I still don't get why this feud erupted out of nowhere??

Oh my God.. IT'S BARFLINA. We have the quite possibly first case in history where it isn't the adults exposing the children to violence and setting abusive patterns, it's the other way around!!! YOU TWO ARE TEARING THIS FAMILY APART, EVEN SHAJAR AND HER 1 NICE POINT ARE HORRIFIED -GOOD, THIS FAMILY CAN GO TO HELL!!! FROM ITS ASHES MY NEW DYNASTY WILL RISE -SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT YOUR DYNASTY ALREADY -YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A DYNASTY BECAUSE NO ONE WILL EVEN DATE YOU -THEY SO WILL AND THEY'LL BE BETTER THAN YOUR BIMBO -TAKE HER NAME OUT OF YOUR GROSS MISSHAPEN MOUTH -WE HAVE THE SAME MOUTH, MORON -YA BUT MINE HAS BEEN KISSED, INCEL -I'LL KILL YOU -I'LL KILL YOU MORE

-Dad, someone will date me, right?? -Of course they will, son! You'll be a hoe, like your dad was before you! -But no one wants to date me! You had 50 first dates, I clearly get my genes from you but not the success! -Well, you'll have to relax and play it cool. You come across a little neurotic and/or psychotic. You get that from your mom. -You're right, Dad, I won't call the matchmaker until I'm as relaxed as one of those pimples chilling on Failina's gross oily forehead!

-Ah, nothing more relaxing than a nice, hot cup of tea..

-..with the view of Uncle Sugar setting Sandy's spine back in place. -I̸T FE̵L̸L ̴O̸F̷F🧟‍♀️ -Ok, I'm ready for my date!

See you in part 2, coming right up!

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 12

on another episode of "making myself sad about Grett," we learn that Grett has learned to interpret any general statement as an attack on her appearance/person. fuck you, Yul. and also Grett's family.

so true Connor

heheheh, i called that it would be to/at alternate Gabby >:)

oh nice, Connor is one of those cool CEOs that takes pay cuts in order to give his employees higher wages--

WHAT

why are you running like that you fucking nerd (/aff). i don't even have to specify who because it's just that apparently bizarre.

totally makes sense that Alec is fine with Riya "winning immunity" because she'll just give it back to him. he's got his head in the game as always.

i always love to see the villains scheming, but this may actually make more sense for Riya than her current real plan. Alec has been proving time and time again that he's good at, like... everything. everyone should be really worried about him winning if he makes it to the end. i don't know if Riya could beat Ally either (because i don't know what the challenge will be), but she should be thinking about taking Alec out before the endgame. although, she does have to worry about taking him out in a way that won't leave a grudge, given that Alec has proven that he won't root for a former ally just to be petty.

Usain Bolt is now canon to the DCU. no, not that one.

wow, Gabby really is Tumblr Girl! (/j)

at first i thought Alec might have been buttering Connor up in this scene in the hopes that Connor would simply give him the immunity if Connor won it. it's true that Connor probably would have given it to one of the heroes, though, just for strategy reasons. still, this is not helping any hopes Alec has of rekindling a friendship with Connor.

i do NOT trust food made by Marcus and Nina.

just admit that you're besties, you tsundere fool.

i'm not trying to argue that Derek is the greatest dude on the planet or anything, but, notably, i feel like this is one of the only times we've seen him look genuinely sad.

this is a funny speech conclusion from the millionaire guy.

i guess??? this is the reason???? why they were targeting Gabby?????? i'm still confused, honestly. can we take this as a soft confirmation that Tom and Aiden never believed in that idol Gabby lied about having?

you do not understand how worried i was for the sake of my power rankings at this moment.

yay, we finally get to learn what the updated tiebreaker policy is! looks like it will be going to a head-to-head challenge instead of doing a Survivor-style revote -> rocks. Still can't believe that we had a tiebreaker and Yul didn't lose it, though.

KING BEHAVIOR!! god, i wish the DC winner was determined by jury vote. Alec has absolutely played the game most deserving of winning thus far. then again, if there was a jury vote at the end, people probably would have started gunning to take him out already. so, maybe i should be grateful.

i'm glad that these two have made up, both because Gabby needs and deserves more friends than just Ellie in her life, and because it shows how Gabby has grown as a person. instead of just wanting to get revenge on those who have personally wronged her, she wants to use her passionate heart to target those who are making others' lives miserable.

about time!

"if i can't spend time with my gay crush, you can't either!"

i still don't think i've actually processed that Tom won't be in the next episode. like, damn. it was a good choice, though. if they were going to send a hero home, i'm much happier to see one part of the love triangle get axed than have Ally randomly go out.

i assumed something like this would happen, but i was not expecting them to actually visibly kiss. yay for the... krisrek shippers? if they exist?

poor guy :/

another episode that i'm pleased with! ... but how the hell did Yul not go home?! it's got to happen next week, right? like, i know that Alec is a genius or whatever, but it's not like the entire season can go his way. the villains will have to fracture someday. until then, though, uh, #villainsweep. still rooting for Alec, even if i think Jake will win. see you next week!

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers CHAOS LINEAGE ー Subaru [08]

Monologue

The following day, 

I went to report to Carla-san that Subaru-kun had regained consciousness.

After hearing my update, 

Carla-san gathered the other members in the living room,

and informed them about Subaru-kun’s status.

ー The scene starts in the dining lounge of the Violet Manor

Kou: I see. I’m glad Subaru-kun woke up. I honestly wasn’t sure if he’d survive at one point.

Yui: It’s just that he sustained some pretty nasty injuries, so he can’t get out of bed just yet. I believe it’d be best for him to get plenty of rest for now.

Azusa: Right. Still, I’m glad...That he’s safe.

Kou: I mean, he was pretty much covered in wounds from head till toe! Thank god none of them were fatal.

Laito: Well, I never feared for his life.

Carla: If he was injured to the point of not being able to get up, then I believe we should keep him away from the battlefield for a while.

However, I doubt the enemy will lessen their attack. If anything, it is highly possible that they will see this as an opportune time to strike once more.

If that happens, we will have no other choice but to face them with the four of us. I want all of you to be on top of your game.

Laito: I see. Guess no more sleeping on the job for me then.

Ahーah. Can’t Subaru-kun get better already?

Kou: Ehー!? You’ve been skipping this whole time up till now? Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?

Laito: I mean, there’s five of us, giving us one extra man, right? So it doesn’t make much of a difference if I’m not there.

Carla: However, that no longer applies now. Laito, you will have to work hard to make up for all of the times you’ve skipped so far.

Laito: Yeah, yeah.

Azusa: If Subaru can’t move, who will watch over Eve...?

Carla: We will have to appoint someone else to supervise here. I believe Eve will feel more reassured that was as well.

Laito: I’ll do it. All I’d have to do is be with her at all times, right? Leave it to me! That sounds like a job right up my alley!

Kou: No fair trying to one-up us like that. You’d much rather have me, right, Eve?

Yui: ( Oh no! At this rate, I might get separated from Subaru-kun...! )

...Uhm, I’ll be fine. Instead, would you let me take care of Subaru-kun?

Carla: ...Excuse me?

Yui: He got badly hurt while protecting me. Therefore, I believe I hold some responsibility in regards to this situation.

Carla: It was Subaru’s duty to keep you safe. There is no need for you to beat yourself up over it.

Yui: No, but, please let me do it. I want Subaru-kun to feel better as soon as possible.

Besides, I believe he could continue to fulfill his duty of supervising me while I take care of him.

Carla: Hmph...I see, you thought about this.

Very well. I shall leave you in charge of nursing him back to health.

I was thinking of assigning someone this role either way.

However, I cannot afford to lose another potential fighting force. You would indeed be the ideal candidate then.

Yui: I’m glad. Thank you very much...!

Carla: As long as you and Subaru remain in the same place, we can focus on the enemies lurking outside.

Yui: Don’t worry. I promise that I will stay by Subaru-kun’s side.

Kou: That lucky dog~

Laito: Eve’s such a saint.

Azusa: Eve...Take good care of Subaru, okay?

Yui: I’ll try my hardest to get him back in tip-top shape!

( Thank god. Everyone’s on board with my idea, so I’ll be able to stay with Subaru-kunーー )

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Subaru’s room

Yui: Subaru-kun, aren’t you thirsty? Should I get you some water?

Tell me if lying down starts to hurt. I’ll help you shift your body.

Subaru: ...What’s your problem? You seem restless.

Yui: Ah, my bad. I guess I was being a little nosy. But I want to do everything I can for you.

Subaru: For the millionth time, just stay here. ...That’s the best thing you can do for me.

Yui: Subaru-kun...

Subaru: I’ll recover from these injuries in no time. So there’s nothin’ for you to worry ‘bout, ‘kay?

Yui: ...Yeah. You’re here with me, that alone is enough to make me feel reassured.

I’m content as long as we’re together, no matter what kind of strange things may happen around us.

Subaru: Strange things, huh...? We gotta think ‘bout how we’ll tackle that as well.

Like how their memories got messed up, or where we are right now...

Bein’ forced to fight each other to death without knowin’ why makes me feel sick.

Yui: Yeah...It hurts me a lot to see the others fight each other as well. 

I mean, they’re actual brothers facing each other in battle...

Subaru: You had to witness Ayato comin’ for my head, huh?

Yui: ...

Subaru: But he only did that because his memories have been altered as well.

He’d never do that if he was sane. I think.

Yui: Subaru-kun...

( I guess he does trust his actual brothers, despite the fact that they’re always arguing with one another. )

Right. Thanks. Let’s talk about this another time. I’m sorry for making you worried.

Subaru: It’s fine. If you’ve got somethin’ on your mind, you can always share it with me. W-We’re...a couple, right?

Yui: ( Subaru-kun...He gently grabbed hold of my hand. Even though he’s having a hard time moving around because of his injuries. )

( He’s trying to put me at ease. )

( I’ll try not to say anything too negative to avoid causing him extra worries. )

Subaru: ...Although I guess there’s not much I can do in my current state.

Yui: I guess we can simply see how things unfold until you get better.

Subaru: Yeah, good idea. There’s not much the two of us can do anyway.

All we can do is pray those guys don’t come and attack us again until then.

Monologue

After a few days,

Subaru-kun’s injuries had gotten a lot better.

In the meantime,

we were lucky not to get attacked by one of the other Houses again.

I was able to focus on taking care of Subaru-kun,

while he got some much-needed rest,

as we could prepare ourselves for what was to come.

I just hope we’ll be able to find a way,

to return to where we belong,

before another fight breaks outーー

With said thought in mind,

I continued to look after Subaru-kun today.

Yui: The small injuries have completely healed. Most of the deeper ones have closed up as well.

Subaru: Yeah. I got lucky that I was given the chance to slowly recover.

...Actually, no. I should thank you for takin’ such good care of me.

Yui: You got injured while protecting me, so I should be the one saying thank you.

I’m honestly so thankful that you’re still alive after sustaining such severe injuries.

Subaru: You’re exaggerratin’, idiot.

Yui: I’m not. We have to escape this place before the next fight takes place, or who knows who might get hurt next...

If only everyone would get their memories back and stop fighting over the title of Supreme Overlord...

Subaru: The Supreme Overlord, huh? It really pisses me off how everyone’s at the mercy of some bullshit legend.

Carla’s aiming to become the Supreme Overlord, but he hasn’t come for you yet, right?

Yui: Yeah. I think his plan is to have me concentrate on nursing you back to health for now.

Subaru: Knowing that guy, I was honestly worried that he’d try every possible method in the book.

I don’t know how much truth lies in the stories about the Supreme Overlord or ‘Sleeping Beauty’, but it all sounds like a load of bull to me.

Yui: Agreed.

Subaru: Hm? The tale of Sleeping Beauty...?

Yui: What’s wrong?

Subaru: Wasn’t there somethin’ slightly off about the story?

Yui: Uhm, I’m pretty sure it went as follows: ‘The Princess awakens through a kiss.’

I guess that would refer to when I woke up at the Church?

When I woke up, everyone had me surrounded, I was really surprised.

Subaru: Hold up! So that means you were woken up by one of those dudes kissin’ you...!?

Yui: I-I wasn’t, Subaru-kun! You’re getting the wrong idea! They didn’t kiss me!

Subaru: Really?

Yui: Yes!

Subaru: ...God, don’t give me a scare like that.

Oh well, I guess it’s just a dumb legend. One made up in this weird place on top of that.

Yui: It honestly got me sweating as well.

Subaru: Haah? Why?

Selection

→ Because you were panicking (♡)

Yui: You seemed completely shaken up so...I started to wonder if perhaps it really did go like that.

( I don’t think I did though. )

( But I don’t actually know what happened before I woke up... )

Subaru: Of course I’d start to panic! Not only do you always leave yourself vulnerable, but you tend to be oblivious when you least expect it.

Yui: Y-You think so...?

Subaru: ...I thought you were woken up by another guy’s kiss. S-So I just got jealous, okay...!?

→ I thought you’d get mad (🖤)

Yui: Because you looked kind of angry as well...I’m sorry if I said anything upsetting.

Subaru: You didn’t!

I just thought that you woke up ‘cause some other guy kissed you...!

Yui: ...Then were you jealous, perhaps?

Subaru: Che.

*Rustle*

Yui: Ah, Subaru-kun...

Subaru: I won’t let anyone else have you, no matter what. No kissing. No nothing.

Yui: ...Yeah. I’m yours.

Subaru: I’m glad you realize.

Yui: ( Fufu, he’s turning red all the way to his ears. I guess he’s flustered? )

Laito: Nfu~ You guys are really rubbing it in my face, huh? 

*Thud*

Yui: ...Laito-kun, how long have you been there!?

Laito: I thought I made a pretty flashy entrance just now, but you didn’t notice at all?

I guess you guys were totally lost in your own little world?

Yui: ...

Subaru: Shut up.

Laito: Did love bloom between the two of you while she was taking care of you?

This sort of thing has a name, doesn’t it? ‘Something-something syndrome’? (1)

Subaru: I said shut up!

Laito: Eek, so scary~

Subaru: Laito, what are you here for? If you’ve got somethin’ to say, then spit it out already.

Laito: Carla wants to see Eve.

Subaru: ...Carla does?

Laito: Yup. He’s got something to discuss with her, apparently.

Yui: Carla-san? With me...?

( He’s asking for me and not Subaru-kun...I wonder what it could be about? )

Subaru: I’m going too.

Laito: That doesn’t sound like a good idea. You’re injured.

Subaru: I can move already. I was assigned to watch her, right? It’s my duty to stay by her side.

Laito: I see. I won’t stop you anymore then. Do as you wish.

Monologue

A sudden summoning from Carla-sanーー

This somehow made me feel anxious,

as I turned around to look at Subaru-kun, 

who apparently picked up on this and decided to come with me.

I just hope this bad hunch isn’t spot-on.

Praying for a good outcome,

I headed to the living room with Subaru-kun.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) Laito could be referring to either ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, seeing as Yui is technically still ‘held captive’ at the Violet Manor, or the Nightingale Effect (called ‘Nightingale Syndrome in Japanese’) where a caregiver falls in love with their patient. 

[omegaremix]

Rioux, 1999.

Post-Brentwood was a turning point in my life. The minute I heard Sick Of It All played at Drew’s (♀) graduation party was the very minute my music tastes would change forever. As an Eighties’ kid, I grew up on Duran Duran, Run DMC, Alisha, Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, Poison, and other chart-toppers. Anything could be ‘pop’ if it becomes popular enough. That’s how it got its name. Pop set me up to be diverse person I am now with stations like New York City’s Z100 where there’s a new market trend manufactured and released every five years to be fed on by the majority.

“Maladjusted” blasted through her backyard boombox for all of fifty of her closest friends and classmates to hear; the same friends and classmates who laughed at me or ignored me for being a poser. They weren’t laughing or shit-talking behind my back now that they saw me at Drew’s get-together. “How did he get in?” they wondered. That didn’t matter. They didn’t say shit to me. I never saw most of them again after that, nor did I keep tabs, either. I asked Drew who they were and she told me. Boy, did it go down angry and aggressive. I didn’t hear anything like it. So I went to the South Shore Mall’s record store and copped Scratched The Surface on cassette to quickly become my go-to record during senior-year summer. That was my introduction to hardcore and the start of something more personal and relatable than what I listened to before.

Shortly thereafter, Wipeout XL came out for Playstation and my trajectory in taste had changed for a second time. It was one of the first games released that had a major soundtrack thanks to disc capacity. A line-up of Underworld, Fluke, Photek, Future Sound Of London, The Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers gave me a three-month head start before - you guessed it - pop and alternative rock stations jumped on that wagon as the next great profit maker. Even stations changed their formats for a night or two to keep up with the hottest trend of the year, such as when Atari Teenage Riot slipped through the airwaves and literally changed my attitude of music. Another hand would be dealt, and one which was the most fascinating: industrial. Mortal Kombat motion picture soundtracks were the gateway to it after establishing Nine Inch Nails, Filter, and Ministry as my Big Three. I snatched up on three Meat Beat Manifesto tapes, four Skinny Puppy discs, The Wax Trax box set and label mail order, and some Cleopatra label compilations. (Yeah, I know. No need to tell me.) It all goes to show how a lot can happen in one year before heading to community college.

Whether or not I had employment, I still managed to purchase tons of music. It became a beast I constantly had to feed. I had record store visits, radio, magazines, and now the internet (‘world wide web’ they once called it) to keep me updated. Every week I found something new to check out. Oh, look. Alec Empire is on the cover of another magazine! The December 1997 issue of Wire, #166. Have to buy it as his stock was riding high with (once again) Atari Teenage Riot and his DHR label. On the way to Empire’s glow-up were two other artists I came across in their pages: Autechre (who they proclaimed as noise gods) and Merzbow.

When you keep hearing the same names over and over, eventually they’ll get you to check them out. That’s what happened with those two and with expectations - what you shouldn’t have when diving into an artist or album. Autechre’s Tri Repetae++ caught me off guard. They said it was an electronic record and I foolishly thought it was techno instead. I hear the album opener “Dael” expecting a build-up leading to an explosion of sound. Wrong. The minimal structure and complex melodic rhythms of a cold, mechanical, emotionless being started as-is and moved its way to the end. This wasn’t anything to a traditional dance record I was accustomed to. No. These were experiments that Sean Booth and Rob Brown created which were so innovative that they’ve gotten endless praise for them since. A few listens later and I had Tri Repetae++ on constant repeat.

Merzbow? That’s another story. Like Tri Repetae++, I bought Pulse Demon at the Port Jefferson Music Den, once a bastion of everything obscure which hasn’t existed in 20 years. That was my introduction to noise. Fucking Lady Godiva riding on a Sybian did I not know what was in store for me that day. It was the shiniest and sharpest-sounding thing I now had in my collection. I load the disc in, pressed play and - what?! It was one giant maelstrom of harsh white noise, produced and output louder than usual, complete with Bridget Riley-esque op-art and its silvery prismatic sheen. Pulse Demon was devoid of any rhythm, melody, beats, measurements, sound structure, tonality, vocals, or even a sense of time whatsoever. It was a giant endurance test that felt like there was no end in sight. Again, expectations are a foolish thing to ask for.

I didn’t know what to think. I immediately dismissed it and never played it again. I couldn’t say I was actively disappointed or put-off but rather dissuaded. It was nothing what I experienced. Back then, I was a feature writer for the student paperduring my disastrous time at community college’s middle campus. The campus majority consisted mostly of shallow club-goers and superficial people who stood in their safe comfort zone of basic dance music, fashion, and friends who judged and dismissed anyone who were weird or different from them. I always went against the grain and reached for something different and challenging; things that loudmouth belligerent chauvinist Opie & Anthony fans were too stupid to learn from. I had no other albums to review on the backburner, so Pulse Demon was it for the following issue. I was honest about my take on it: it was an unlistenable mess of a joke. I handed in my 1,000 words to our features editor, a long-haired burnout held over from the hippie generation, and it finally saw print in one of our Spring issues.

The day after my review came out, I was called in to the office by my editor-in-chief Phil. Somehow we got word from a professor who read my article and took issue with it. “Really?” I said. But it didn’t stop there. Phil also told me that Professor Rioux wanted me to visit his office to discuss the article with him.

I failed an article for a professor I didn’t even know I had?

Phil had him for English. But not to fear. The overall consensus was that he was friendly, calm, and reasonable with his students. And here was an odd moment he shared with me: Pfr. Rioux played some of his favorite weird music during an end-of-the-semester holiday party for his students to hear. Seriously, not to fear. He sounded like someone I would connect with. Phil assured me that all would be fine and ended up arranging a time and day to meet up with him. That would be next week Wednesday after the publisher’s meeting.

I arrive at Prf. Rioux’ office where he welcomed me in and introduced himself, dressed up in the usual teacher’s attire of blazer and dress pants. So far, so good. I sat down in his office and looked around to notice two rows of tapes sitting on a desk next to his bookshelf. There was a Temple Ov Psychick Youth cross hung up on the wall and also noticed the black shirt he was hearing under his blazer which featured Aube’s Quadrotation on it.

We sat down for a good 45 minutes discussing my article. Not once was Prf. Rioux mean, belittling, or off-handed - unlike others who called themselves ‘professors’. Rather, he gave me constructive criticism. Judging by my article, he told me that I missed the mark on Merzbow and didn’t come into the album open-minded. Clearly I didn’t understand noise music enough for me to write what I did and there was way more to it than I thought. The most important takeaway was that I shouldn’t have compared noise to anything else in a traditional sense. Sure, it was an entirely different animal that can still have value, substance, a structure, a methodology, and a meaning to it all like everything else.

So he kindly offered to make me three cassettes of whatever rang familiar and whom I was curious about to widen my horizons and get a better understanding. All early industrial and / or noise. Wonderful. I obliged. One week later, I returned to his office where he had them all ready for me. I thanked him for the tapes and said goodbye to him.

What was on those tapes? First, Merzbow. Not surprisingly. Three unknown tracks from the Lord of Harsh Noise. On the other side was Masonna, another Japanese noise artist whose Inner Mind Mystique finished up tape #1. Tape #2 was more varied. I heard very little of Coil other than “The Snow” off the Wax Trax compilation. Right after that was Jim G. Thirwell / Foetus whom followed up with three tracks. (Coincidentally, both aforementioned artists remixed Nine Inch Nails). Rioux threw on three tracks from Einsturzende Neubauten’s Kollaps with a small sampling of Clock DVA tracks from Black Souls In White Suits. Our final tape had a good ten tracks of Death In June whom I never heard of, and several versions of Throbbing Gristle’s “Discipline” rounded out all that Prf. Rioux gave me. Never had I received anything like it from any professor.

I was forever grateful. I played those tapes to good use, enough to go back into my usual grind of music and artist reviews with a better understanding and reasoning. I didn’t review any of the artists after that Merzbow debacle, but my stance of him changed for the better and went back to Pulse Demon several more times. I happened to purchase several more of his albums where I could, dove back into Inner Mind Mystique and picked up on Nic Endo’s White Heat when that was released. I pushed more heavily into Einsturzende Neubauten’s chaotic phase, Clock DVA’s experimental era, and the world of Throbbing Gristle. I would be only toes deep with the other artists; checking in from time to time.

What were the chances that anyone (who appreciated the genesis of industrial and a knowledgeable noise fan) would notice a specific artist printed in a campus newspaper no less? It was bad enough that I dealt with one disappointment after another interacting with people and trying to find my place on campus; which I eventually did with neutral results. Where reaching out to people with similar tastes in music were few and far between (only one or two people on campus wore Dead Voices On Air, Ant-Zen, and Ras DVA shirts), someone reached out to me instead. Of all the professors I ever had, no one and I mean no one had that kind of knowledge that Prf. Rioux did, with mixtapes to boot, too.

As his tapes played in my Walkman while trekking around campus, everything else around me was happening as usual. Cover bands and boring flavorless local bar acts peppered the Long Island music scene. WBLI continued to pump out more puerile paint-by-number club mixes as usual with Fatboy Slim and Robbie Williams up next. Ska fans hopped out of the woodwork to defend their precious circus music and became overnight know-it-all elitists ready to play the scene-politics card. And free pink PVC cowboy hats came included with Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Spice Girls, and Limp Bizkit worship. Forget it. The late Nineties was clearly a bad era in music and pop culture - and it still had time to get even worse. The only places of solace I had were the few record stores I frequented. Commack’s Cheapo’s, West Babylon’s Looney Tunes, Central Islip’s Mother’s Music, Port Jefferson’s Music Den, and Centereach’s None Of The Above. At least they catered everything to my choosing.

But I never forgot where I came from or lost track of where I headed. By the time I attended Stony Brook, I fell victim to the Mothers Of Noise ‘scandal’ and discovered Prurient from it. I’d be one of the few on campus familiar with Whitehouse, Boyd Rice / NON, and even Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music on top of everything else.Each and every one of these artists were mentioned in my new wave of reviews and I even featured on my radio show. I also never forgot those tapes. I still have them, and they became one of the few shining reminders of an era that was mostly ill to me.

Cassette #1, side A:

Merzbow: “???”, “???”, “???”

Cassette #1, side B:

Masonna: Inner Mind Mystique

Cassette #2, side A:

Coil: ”Panic”, “Tenderness Of Wolves”, “Clay”, The Anal Staircase”

Foetus: “What Have You Been Doing?”, “Today I Started Slogging Again”, “Gums Bleed”

Cassette #2, side B:

Einsturzende Neubauten: “Tanz Debil”, “Steh Auf Berlin”, “Kollaps”

Clock DVA: “Consent”, “Anti-Chance”, “Uncertain”

Cassette #3, side A:

Death In June: “Hello Angel”, “Heaven Street”, “She Said Destroy”, “Fall Apart”, “Leper Lord”, “C’est Un Reve”, “Touch Defiles”, “The Torture Garden”, “Come Before Christ…”

Cassette #3, side B:

Throbbing Gristle: three live “Discipline” performances.

[elvenbeard]

2077, April

"You really think I can make it, survive this?"

"'Course you can. I mean, you did already die and come back once, didn't ya?"

The chance of a lifetime the Konpeki Plaza Heist should have been turned Vince's existence into a living nightmare. Going from "just living, day by day" to "sheer survival, at all costs" in the manner of moments and following a row of bad decisions made by everyone involved, this was now definitely his last chance to get his life back on the right track. A second chance, after so many other second chances he'd already botched... while the one who would've really deserved another shot was now gone from Vince's life forever.

Jackie, the one person he had never regretted to trust in, who had never let him down, helped him out of the greatest messes, wouldn't be at his side through his biggest challenge so far. Vince would often lie awake at night wondering "What if he'd just kept the damn biochip? Would he be here now, instead of me? Why am I still here when he'd deserved it so much more?"

But then again... Jackie wouldn't have deserved Johnny Silverhand, Vince's newly acquired brain parasite from days long gone, unwanted voice of unreason, and perpetual threat to his mere existence.

Vince was dying, losing himself, little by little, day by day, after it had taken him ten long years to get to a point of self-acceptance and recognizing his strengths, desires, what he truly wanted from life. It was the cruelest irony of fate imaginable.

Misty's words accompanied him through his darkest moments: as long as your heart's still beating, there is hope.

Vince never wanted to be a legend... but for Jackie's sake, he'd make sure everyone would remember their names. He'd survive this, get rid of the Relic, of the terrorist in his brain, and make it out alive. No matter the cost.

Vince through the years (7/9)

A handful of before and after screenshots this time:

Some slight colour adjustments, and a little Relic-like glitch effect like it happens to Johnny whenever he's visible!

Also these two didn't make it to the final set, but I still really love the flying sparks effect :O These are completely vanilla, done in vanilla Photomode without path tracing. There's a lot of particle effects going on at Afterlife that render very interestingly sometimes (I think only since the graphics update though, since pics in Photomode take a moment to render, creating this motion blur/ long exposure effect). Sometimes this a bit annoying when you want to go for a relatively clean shot, but these looked really kinda cool for once xD

I've also been playing around a lot with a free filter plugin (search for GMIC) for Photoshop that has some really nice glitch effects, chromatic abberation, amongst many many many others :o If you don't know it and use Photoshop (although I think there are versions for other programs available as well!), I can definitely recommend it!

Now, to what I wrote above the cut, briefly. This is a relatively short post compared to all others in the series cause it's obviously the one aligning with what canonically happens in game and there's no need to retell all that in great detail xD What I wanted to focus on though was Vince's shift of mind between pre-Heist and post-Heist.

Before the heist, when Dex asks him what he wants, a quiet life or a blaze of glory, Vince is internally leaning more to a quiet life. Assuming though that that's not what Dex would wanna hear, probably, he deflects, gives him no clear answer. But yes, after having to run away from home, struggling on the street, busting his ass for Arasaka and barely making it out of all of that alive, had it not been for Jackie, he has no intentions of just throwing all his growth and progress away by blowing himself up in some daredevil endeavour. He's reached a point where he genuinely likes himself, his body, his life, and while he's not perfect, still in recovery from his time at Arasaka, and has done messed up things to get here, he would've been content with just small-time, low-risk merc work for the years to come.

With Jackie gone though, who has been a constant guidance over the last 10 years, with everything that rains down on Vince during the post-Konpeki shitstorm, I think this would change. He's being told "you're gonna lose yourself, forget who you are", "the body you literally shaped after your own wishes will soon be Johnny's", whom he cannot stand, no one wants to work with him initially after such a legendary failure, he has "a few weeks, at most" left to live... fuck all that, so hard. He's gonna fight tooth and nail to make it out of it alive, forget the quiet life.

He's gonna make sure as hell that, if all ends up being in vain, people will remember him and that he didn't settle for the easy way out. If he has to die, he'll do so standing - maybe scared, but head held high. Cause everything else would be a disservice to how far both he and Jackie have come together, to who he is at his core: a rebellious kid who once rather would've taken on a whole Valentino gang on his own instead of calling his corpo mother for help, someone who quit his secure job because he refused to keep taking the abuse from his boss, who risked his life for his best friend despite sending himself down a spiral of despair in the aftermath. He's not scared of getting his hands dirty, of forging his own path (alone, if need be), and of taking risks if he thinks they're worth it for himself or the people he's loyal to.