#these two have to be in sync with their shenanigans don't they

[ingravinoveritas]

Michael on the Zoe Ball Show on March 1st: "And he looks good in a kilt as well, doesn't he?"

David on Comic Relief tonight:

[osaemu]

GOJO SATORU: ❛❛ SHE GOT MY HEARTBEAT SKIPPIN' DOWN 16TH AVENUE! ❜❜

.ೃ࿐ streamer!au: he's always so confident and self-assured, but a couple kisses from you and he turns into a mess.

contents: fem!reader. kinda suggestive ending (inumaki's comment). you spend half the fic making out lolll anyways we love flustered gojo he's so precious <3 tagging @rinniessance and @rizsu to see streamer!gojo's latest shenanigans :3

author's note: this one was requested and i rly liked the idea sooo yea. i wrote it. shocking right?! anyways thank u guys for all the streamer!gojo requests, saves me the effort of having to think of plots ꨄ︎

"baby, what time is it?" satoru mumbles against your lips, holding you in place on his lap. the two of you are seated on his plush chair in front of his computer, and you've been kissing like teenagers for the last... hour? or two?

satoru tilts his head in to kiss you again, soft lips gently pressing against yours for the thousandth time. his hands roam over your body, and one rests on your waist while the other reaches around you into your back pocket. his eyes flutter open when he feels your phone, and he turns his head briefly to sneak a glance at the time.

"shit, i gotta start the stream in two minutes," satoru mutters. he gives you a quick kiss on the cheek and leans back, azure eyes drinking in your heated cheeks and fluttering eyes. a smug smile slowly grows on his lips as you look away. 

"aw, d'you want more?" he cooes, reaching out and touching the side of your face. satoru gently pushes your face back in his direction, moving his slender fingers to your chin and holding it in place. you're all sweet and flustered in the aftermath of your makeout session, and every time he sees you like this, another part of his heart surrenders itself to you.

you nod bashfully, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear as you feel satoru's grip on your chin tighten. he pulls you in for another long, minty kiss, and you feel him smile against your lips. his hand moves from your chin to the back of your neck as he hugs you against his chest, which rises and falls in sync with yours.

"you're so cute," he murmurs in between kisses, eyes flickering back and forth from you to the time. "c'mon, honey, we have a minu—"

you cut him off with another kiss, which catches him off guard—usually he's the one leaning in. but no, you had to take him by surprise and throw him off his game. the little hm? that slips out of his lips when you kiss him causes satoru to go redder than you've ever seen him. 

seeing satoru embarrassed is rare—he's so cocky and confident that embarrassment is basically unheard of, but in this moment, you've got him. he laughs nervously when you pull away, wide eyes looking everywhere but at you and your cheeky smile.

you reach up and grab his chin, tugging it in your direction the same way he did earlier. "you know exactly what you're doing," satoru mumbles, pulling you closer and burying his face into your neck. 

"i have no idea what you're talking about," you reply smugly, kissing the side of his face. "don't you have a stream to be starting soon?"

satoru looks up instantly and groans when he sees the time—it's a minute past his start time, and that could cost him a couple hundred viewers. you laugh as you hop off his lap and into his bed, curling up under his sheets as you watch him scramble to start the live. 

"love you, 'toru," you call, wrapping your arms around one of his pillows. 

after a second, he turns around, a loading sign on his screen. "love you too, baby," satoru replies, face still noticably red. you blow him a kiss and watch as he pretends to faint in an attempt to hide his childish grin.

a soft ding then signals him that he's about to be live, so satoru spins his chair around to face his computer. he forces his usual collected smile onto his face and starts, "hey, everyone. sorry for the delay, just got... held up with something."

inumaki: u look like a tomato LMAO

yuuji-itadori: yea ur really red, are u ok?

satoru looks away, mumbling something about how it's just the lighting that's making his face look red. naturally, everyone disagrees and starts speculating as to why he seems off his game today, and eventually, someone gets it.

megumi-fushiguro: he always looks like that everytime he sees his gf wdym

inumaki: WAIT THATS IT

inumaki: he was def doin unspeakable things with his gf just two seconds ago. trust

you can't suppress the small laugh that escapes your lips when satoru stumbles over his words at the comments, face redder than ever. "a-anyways, today i'm gonna— hold on," he cuts himself off by looking down at his phone, where a text notification from you had popped up.

love of my life: ur so cute :(

love of my life: but get ur shit together 

love of my life: im the only one who gets to see u like that (¬_¬)

[local-crying-boy]

HEY ITS YOU KNOW WHO!! Please can you write a fic for young Silco and reader who are pining desperately for each other but despite how obvious it is to everyone else (especially Vander and Felicia who have to put up with their lovesick shenanigans) they are still oblivious to the others feelings??? Please also have a fluffy conclusion where they confess I beg THANK YEWWW

🅂🄸🄻🄲🄾

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𝕆𝕙, 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟���� 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥

𝙿𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝙿𝚊𝚜𝚝!𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚘 𝚇 𝙵𝚎𝚖!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙾𝚗𝚎-𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚌, 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚢

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚂𝙿𝙾𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙴 𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 2 𝙰𝙲𝚃 2, 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚓𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 <<𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛'𝚜>> 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚢 ( 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 ? )

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 *𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚘* 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 <<𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛>> 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚗-𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍. 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘.

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 4.4𝚔

𝙰/𝚗: 𝙲𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚢𝚊𝚙 𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 (𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚘 𝚊𝚝 8𝚊𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐)

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"I swear if I have to hear <<Reader>> swoon over Silco again!" A particular royal blue haired woman groaned out, her head thrown back for a moment before she slumped against the bar counter. "Honestly, does that woman have nothing else to talk about?

There was a rough and low chuckle heard, a large, muscular man setting out drinks for himself and his friend. "You should hear Silco talk about her."

The slouched woman spoke up again. "You know what she did the other day? Vander, not even a 'hello' or ' how are you', straight to 'Felicia, you'll never guess what Silco said to me today!'. I had to listen to her bloody rant for half an hour!"

"I'll tell you what's worse, yeah?" Vander said with an amused scoff, his forearm leaning against the counter as he looked down at Felicia. "Silco's poor attempts at covering any liking towards <<Reader>> ."

That gained a spit of laughter from the woman, she shook her head while she straightened herself up. "God, Silco loves to try and make out he doesn't have any emotions like the rest of us, doesn't he?"

Vander gave a small tilt of the head, almost a nod, but almost like he was shrugging his shoulders. "Can you really blame him? How much has he and <<Reader>> been through together?

She grew silent for a couple of short moments, before she gave a quick nod of acknowledgement as a sigh escaped her lips.

"You seriously don't think either of them are going to risk throwing that away?" The bigger man asked, while his words held their own weight to them, he held a small smirk on his face - as if the fear the two held were amusing to him - though it had faded quick. "Neither of them want to lose each other, admit it or not, they rely on each other like they do with air."

"But that only makes them work better together!" Felicia was quick to perk up, throwing her hands out in exaggeration. "They are more on the same page then you and Silco! It's like.... like they move in sync, like they read each other's mind!"

"I'm not denying that." Vander laughed out, holding a hand up in surrender, as he poured himself and the blue haired woman each a drink, placing the bottle down beside the two glasses. "But, you have to admit, you'd be scared of losing a connection like that, right?"

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders lightly. She grasped her drink and brought the glass to her mouth, and she did not respond.

A smug, victorious grin pulled on Vander's lips, but he covered it up as he, too, brought his drink to his lips.

∘₊✧──────────────── ✧₊∘

It was another cold, dark night in the Undercity and Silco, Vander and Felicia were all inside the *somewhat* warm bar. For the hundredth time, Felicia was standing near the jukebox, deciding on what song to play, while Vander was stuck cleaning up The Last Drop.

Silco, however, was as silent as a mouse, scribbling away in his notebook. He wasn't exactly focused on his two friends in the room with him, no, no, he was more so waiting for another familiar face he'd found growing himself attached to.

Whatever the man was thinking of, whether it be that one familiar face or the work he found himself constantly drowning in, he was too lost in thought, too much in his 'own world'. He didn't even realize as footsteps neared from behind, and as mischievous giggles were heard.

Rather suddenly, a pair of hands planted themselves firmly on each of the now startled man's shoulders with a loud 'rah!' sound, causing him to flinch and swiftly snap his head round to see who the hell decided to ambush him like that.

"What are you-" He immediately went to bark out, but when he was met with your innocent laughter, he couldn't help but soften his tone. " <<Reader>> ."

"That's me!" You said with a toothy grin, moving to slump down onto the bar stool beside him.

Silco faintly chuckled to himself, how absurd that he had gotten so startled from you of all people. He shook his head lightly, letting out a small tut while he turned back to his endless writing.

"You're stuck in your head too much." You declared with a huff, leaning your elbow on the counter and resting your chin on the palm of your hand. "You didn't even hear me come in!"

"I've got work to do, <<Reader>>." Silco mused gently, looking up for a moment with a grin on his face, his hand waving around subtly, but you really only noticed how quickly he had picked up his pen to continue his seemingly never ending work.

"Ah, yes," You rolled your eyes, though you weren't able to deny the little pit in your stomach when you realised that he was, in fact, a busy man. "Your work."

You turned your head to Vander who was already shaking his head at the absurdity of Silco never taking a break, this time you tutted, muttering under your breath to the man on the other side of the counter. "Work, work, work."

"Leave the man to his rambles, if that's what he wants so badly." Vander teased, which only caused Silco to shoot him a glare, not that Vander cared all that much. He only looked back at you. "Want anything?"

"You're telling me you don't know my usual yet?" You joked, spinning your head to look over at him, head still resting in your palm.

From anyone outside of your inner circle, you almost looked... enamoured by Vander, with your chin propped up comfortably by your hand and a bright grin plastering your face. Damn, the sight made Silco force his head away with a scowl he couldn't be bothered to hide away. He had to fight an audible scoff escaping his lips, he didn't want you to look back at him though, not when you obviously so busy talking with Vander.

You noticed the little side eye from Vander, no doubt checking on what Silco was doing after your attention diverted from him. Though, Vander couldn't help but letting out an entertained snigger as he poured out your usual drink. You didn't head much attention to it, assuming that it was just to check up on what he was doing.

Vander's eyes moved away once he had pushed the drink closer to you, looking over at Felicia who had been staring from across the room. The both of them could only share a certain look to the other, Silco, as much as he may deny it, was not good at keeping his emotions at bay when it came to you and it was safe to say that the two were starting to get bored of it.

As amusing as it was, and it was very amusing, Silco was becoming repetitive in his behaviour. He'd brush off any interaction with you and claim he was 'busy' with 'work', his face would contort into a scowl if Vander every talked to you - made you laugh, then he'd be in a mood until you spoke to him again, but, in truth, it was all just an endless cycle.

The whole endeavour was extremely confusing, for everyone involved! You were stuck believing Silco never had time for you, Vander was stuck believing that he was simply too afraid to lose you to let you in and Felicia was stuck believing that the two of you were just two annoying lovebirds who needed to rip the band aid off.

Then there was Silco.

Well, Silco was... who can really say what Silco was? He was a closed of man to everyone, just not so much to his three closest friends. Regardless of being close or not, it took too much observation to actually realise what Silco wanted to say - especially when it came down to confessing this new-found love for you.

And, really, who really had the time to look so deeply into Silco’s true character?

A familiar song started to echo throughout the room, a faint chuckle escaping Vander as he lightly shook his head. Felicia and ‘her’ song.

You turned your head, you had your own smirk on your face as you glanced over at the blue haired woman who was now swaying in her place. This whole scenario seemed to happen a lot of late, with Vander and Silco constantly trying to find ways to improve the Undercity, the for of you found yourselves in The Last Drop frequently.

"Again, 'Licia?" You asked with a laugh, turning your seat so that your back was leaning against the bar counter. "I basically know this song off by heart because of you!"

She shrugged light, swinging her arms and hips in tune to the music, eyes closed as if she was losing herself in the beat of it. You couldn't help yourself, she was having so much fun, so you pushed yourself off the bar stool and started to dance alongside her.

Her eyes had opened when she heard you laughter, somewhat matching her movements, which only caused her to start laughing alongside with you. She eventually grabbed your hands and started to jump around together.

"Why are you in a mood?" Vander asked Silco when you had moved away from the two men. "You were fine two seconds ago, then <<Reader>> comes over and you have that stupid scowl on your face again."

The seated man only let out a breath, rolling his eyes as he shook his head from side to side for a couple moments. "I am not in a mood."

Vander only laughed for a moment, leaning his hands on the counter. "Yes, you are."

"I am not." Silco repeated, refusing to look up at the ignorant grin that he knew that Vander would have.

"You are."

Now, that earned a deathly glare.

"For the love of-" Silco groaned, tutting under his breath once more, but this time it seemed out of genuine irritation - unlike when he was interacting with you. "I am not in a mood."

"Say what you will-" Vander said with a shrug of his shoulders, but was quickly cut off by Silco.

"You mean the truth?"

Vander ignored his old friend's comment and continued. "Say what you will, you're upset now. Why?"

Silco shook his head again, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he brought a hand to his face and rubbed the side of his head. It wasn't long before he was subconsciously looking bad at you, dancing along with the royal blue haired, music obsessed woman.

"You like her." Vander stated, it wasn't a question he needed answered, he would be able to see it even if he lost his sight.

Silco turned back, tutting again, as if the whole idea was a ludicrous idea, he picked up his pen again, looking down at his notebook - usually it was a sign to back off and leave him be. "I don't know what you're talking about, Vander."

"Yes, you do." Vander said, scoffing.

"I'm not playing this back-and-forth game again." Silco frowned over at Vander, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

"Of course, of course." Vander laughed lowly, putting his hands up in a mock surrender. "But, you're lying to me. Again."

The smaller man didn't reply this time, he couldn't be bothered to continue this unbelievable conversation. You were you, and he was him. There was no you and him, not in the way that Vander was talking about, and there never would be. Silco had to be focused on the future of Zaun because, if he didn't, what would be the point in even attempting to live in the shit-hole?

The silence that Vander got only caused him to sigh in defeat, he leaned both his forearms against the counter, trying to look at Silco's face, even when it was faced downwards. "Fine, you don't know what I'm talking about, but if you keep acting distant towards <<Reader>>, she's going to move on from you."

"Not a problem." Silco spoke with an almost cold tone. "She doesn't like me in the way you're suggesting, so, there's no moving on to do.

Vander didn't have much to say in response because, really, Silco thought that?

Over on the other side of the room, similar to the conversation Vander had with Silco, Felicia was planning to talk to you about your, not so, subtle attraction towards your mutual friend.

"Sooo..." The blue haired woman started in the midst of your dancing. "What's going on, hm? You and Silco?"

"What about me and Silco?" You asked, your movements faltered slightly, but you didn't want the two men by the bar to notice your change in demeanour.

Felicia laughed out faintly, shaking her head. "Don't play stupid now, what just happened? Scaring him like that?"

You rolled your eyes at her clear suggestion, it was harmless fun, a small trick to scare him for a moment while he was off in his own thoughts. You couldn't let it be anything more than that. "I just scared him?"

She made a noise that was clear that she disagreed with your statement. "C'mon! You don't seriously think you're going to convince me that that's true."

"C'mon, 'licia, there isn't anything between me and Silco, you know that." You said with a small sigh, shaking your head, you had completely stopped moving now.

Felicia raised her eyebrows, she still wasn't buying it, she couldn't - she wouldn't.

"Seriously." You sternly spoke, crossing your arms over your chest. "Don't you see he's too busy for me?"

The navy haired woman's eyes narrowed at that, she was sure she didn't hear you correctly. He... didn't have time for you? Since when? From her perspective, he was constantly looking over his shoulder to check up on you, sure, you didn't see it all the time, but it was happening.

"Too busy? What the hell are you on about?" She quickly said, her tone a little harsher than she intended, but that was purely because of how taken aback she was from your statement.

"The fuck you mean, what am I on about?" You tutted quietly, a hand going up to your face to pinch the bridge of your nose. "It's pretty clear, no? He cares too much about Zaun. Rightfully so, of course, but..."

You cut yourself off with a sigh, moving your hands back to cross over your chest, but it was different from before. The time before felt like a protective shield, whereas, this time, it was almost like a comforting sort of action.

Your friend in front of you didn't push you to explain further, she never needed to previously, but when you didn't continue on with your sentence she started to speak.

"<<Reader>>..." She spoke softly, her tone gentle and welcoming to you so that you would actually speak your mind.

"Oh, leave it." You hissed, you head snapping up to meet her grey eyes.

She was stunned. She could only stare at your for a few silent moments, where did that anger and aggression come from? Why did it rise so suddenly from the topic of Silco? Surely it would be the opposite, you like him, she and Vander could see it and, yet, you voice had turned as cold as ice.

"What's goin-" Felicia tried, but was quickly cut off again.

"I said leave it!" You snapped, your voice was raised and you felt all three pairs of eyes on you, which caused you to sink a little n your stance.

You glanced back over at the two men who were staring at you, soon shaking your head as your eyes fixated on your boots. You didn't remain standing there, you couldn't face those confused stares from Silco and Vander and that pitiful, sorrowful look on Felicia's face.

"Whatever." You muttered.

With that, you turned and walked away from Felicia, heading straight for the door to leave.

You swung open the door and breathed in, the Undercity's heavy air filling your lungs, but the suffocating feeling was nothing new and your version of fresh air, one that had started to become comforting when you got out of heated situations.

You were planning on walking home, going straight to bed or to the bottle - whichever called your name first when you walked into the comfort of your house.

However, just as your turned into one of the many dreary, notorious alleyways in the Undercity, you heard quickly paced footsteps from behind.

You were in no mood for one of your three friends to come running after you, so you ignored it, head down - like you would usually do when passing a stranger in the streets, pretending like you could easily slip away into the shadows.

"<<Reader>>!" You heard a familiar voice yell.

For fuck's sake, your heart swelled at his voice. Silco.

"Silco, I'm not in the mood." You called out from behind, you should have known that, out of everyone there, Silco would be the one to run after you.

He would never let you slip away into the shadows.

Never.

"Wait." He groaned in frustration, jogging up next to you so he could grab your arm. "Wait."

"Leave me alone, Silco." You hissed, giving a poor attempt at pulling your arm away from his grasp.

"If you really wanted me to leave you alone," He started, his fingers tightening around the skin on your arm. "You would've gotten me off you.

You scoffed, this time ripping your arm away from his grasp. "How about now? You think I want you to leave me alone now?"

His face contorted into a look of confusion, eyes narrowing as if he was prying into your soul to get some sort of wordless answer. Then he finally spoke up. "What is going on with you?"

"Nothing." You quickly said, crossing your arms over your chest again.

Ah, there goes that protective shield again. Silco would be able to recognise that anywhere, but he couldn't pinpoint why the hell you thought you needed to keep up with defensive nature when it was him.

"Stop lying." He huffed, his eyes didn't falter from staring deep into yours, but you weren't about to look away from his disturbing gaze - you weren't about to lose to the man who clearly implied to you that he had no time of day for you.

You should have been able to lower you guard with him, like you had done every single day before this. You were being to clear, transparent. He was going to start putting things together and you couldn't lose him, just like he couldn't lose you because Vander was correct, he always was.

You rely on each other like you do with air.

"Talk to me." Silco commanded.

No, he didn't command. There was a hint of... desperation in his tone, like he was begging you to talk to him, explain what was going on like you used to do so often.

"Now you have time for me?" You spitefully laughed, your hands moving to rest on your hips. "Now you can talk to me?"

Silco's eyes narrowed further, what the fuck were you going on about?

"What do you mean by that?" He asked slowly. Warily.

"You know what I mean by that."

Did he? Because he was sitting there with a look on his face that infuriated you, or was that because he thought that he could get away with playing dumb? You knew that he was a smart man, he knew it and he knew that you knew it, so why even attempt it?

"You act as if you're too busy for me!" You quickly called out, your arms extending outwards to empathise your statement. "Always scribbling away in that notebook, never even looking at me- at... at us when we talk to you!"

This time, Silco's face changed from the confused puppy look. His brows furrowed, his lips turning downwards into a frown.

You've triggered something.

"Oh, I haven't got time for you?" He questioned, taking a step towards you - something he would do to intimate others, but to you? It meant nothing. "What about how you always seem so focused on Vander, huh?"

Now it was your turn, face contorting into one of your own confused expressions, your hands dropping to your sides. You stared at him silence for a couple of seconds, just as he had done for you.

"You know how that feels?" Silco continued, holding at hand near his chest before extending over to where The Last Drop was. "Watching as you laugh and joke with him, right next to me?"

"What?" You breathed out, your voice thick with utter and sharp confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

The man's face softened, but not really into an expression of caring towards you, he was simply mirroring your bewildered look. The two of you were stuck staring at each other, both trying to pull out answers from the silences shared.

"Why are you being so strange?" You asked, shoving your hands into your pockets now.

"I could ask you the same thing." He quickly retorted.

He got you there, you couldn't lie now. You could lie about the feelings you ahd towards Silco, about how every time you saw him checking up on you over your shoulder sent butterflies in your stomach, about how every time his fingers glided over yours when passing your something it sent shivers down your spine.

But this? Yeah, no, he got you stumped.

A grin pulled at your lips finally, looking down for a moment as you shook your head. "Damn you."

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" He asked, his tone a lot more gentler now that you weren't in such a downer mood. "Or am I going to have to start guessing?"

You made a small face, eyes squinting as your nose scrunched up. "I just told you what's wrong."

"No, you didn't." Silco argued, crossing his arms over his chest again. "You just accused me of not talking to you."

"Because you're not." You scoffed.

"I am-!" He groaned out, his voice getting a little louder, before he took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I am talking to you, what are you on about?"

You looked away for a moment, you didn't know to phrase it without seeming like a complete jerk who didn't care about his dream to better Zaun. "You.. you're focused on Zaun, an-and I can admire that, really, I can. but... Silco, I've been trying to-"

You cut yourself off, you noticed that intensive look he had, hanging onto every word you said, as if he was trying to memorise what you were saying as you said it. "I've been trying to show you that..."

Dear Janna, you couldn't do it.

"What?" He aske, he took another step forwards, it was different than before, his mannerisms more personalised for you - reserved for you. "What have you been trying to show me?"

You shook your head, moving your arms to hug your abdomen, looking down at the ground. You were behaving like a little child at this point, refusing to tell their parent something in fear of getting lectured at.

Before your eyes could even focus on what he was doing, his hands reached out your your arms, long fingers trailing down your arm to grasp your hands and bring them outwards. The action, catching you off guard, caused you to swiftly move your head upwards, eyes locking with his green ones.

"Talk to me." This time there was no mistaking this with a command, he was aching for you to speak up, his heart was racing in his chest so fast simply because he was scared for once in his life.

"Silco..." You whispered faintly, he could see the look of hurt in your eyes, fear, almost.

"<<Reader>>..." He responded with, his voice as quiet as yours. "Come on, please."

"You don't like me as I like you." You finally said, your voice barely over a whisper, barely even audible to Silco's ears and he was standing a few inches away from you.

One of his hands withdrew from yours, leisurely moving up to the side of your face. Your head slowly moved up in time with his hand when you realised what he was doing, shivers going down your spine as he pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear.

But it didn't end there.

Your heart pounded in your chest so much so that you were sure that your breathing was picking up, his hand cupped the side of your face, thumb delicately caressing your skin as if you were a fragile piece of glass - any touch too hard would shatter you.

Even this was too hard though, you could feel yourself breaking down every second he remained with his hand cupping your face.

He was breaking you.

"Now where did you get that impression, hm?" He spoke in a hushed tone, his head moving down slightly so that he was more level to yours.

Your eyes were locked onto his like some sort of hypnotising spiral that was forced into your eyesight, one that you were forced to stare at until your got dizzy.

He was careful in his movement, calculating. His eyes darted down to your lips, then up to your eyes, then back down to your damned lips. You could feel his breath hitting your skin, even his breath was picking up. The slow pace was killing you, but you knew he wasn't going to move in fully until he was certain that you were going to as well.

So you did.

You felt your body, even if it was a subconscious decision, lean a little closer to his, your head tilting upwards so that he didn't have to lean down anymore than he already was.

The breath from your lungs disappeared the moment your felt his lips touch yours, eyes snappy to close. His lips pressed against yours for a somewhat brief kiss, before he pulled away quickly. Too quickly.

His eyes were wrapped up in your tranquil gape, but his was far away still, stuck with searching for answers. Why couldn't he just see you wanted him more?

This time, you leaned up, ramming your lips into his. The unexpected action caught him in surprise, a shocked hum being muffled by your kiss, but he was quick to return the affection. His eyes closing while his hand on your cheek got a little more possessive, his other hand moving to your waist to pull your closer into his body. Instinctively, your hand moved to his shoulder, just barely on the crook of his neck while the other firmly planted itself on his chest.

When the two of you parted from the kiss, your faces remained close together, his nose brushing against yours, half-lidded eyes still eyeing your lips.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that..." He finally whispered against your lips. "And, here you are, thinking I have no time for you."

"And here you were thinking I was trying to get with Vander." You muttered back, a faint laugh coming from you.

You could hear Silco huff. "Don't ruin this now."

You rolled your eyes a little at that, but you didn't move away. You'd let him have the last word, you got the last kiss, after all.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Masterlist

[justcallme-ange]

still talking about other au versions of characters, what would you say the difference between each version of rivals duo is that most people don't pick up on right away? the more subtle differences between them. - loyal

In the ChildhoodFriendsAU the Rivals are a lot closer than any of the other AUs I have. While Phil and Techno have a ton of synergy between the two - being mentor and mentee, Techno and Dream are on a different level. Maybe it was surviving for so long together without a common language, or just growing up together, but they're basically seamless when they're together. Like you know sibling telepathy where just a quick glance back and forth speaks entire conversations? In fighting it's almost like there's no opening to attack, where Dream ends Techno begins and vice versa. Basically when you see them walking and talking they're totally in sync.

In AccidentalHumanAU, the rivals are close, but it's a moment in their relationship where it feels very one sided? They're good friends and Dream cares a lot about Techno, but there's a lot of guilt associated with the situation which Dream ends up taking out on himself. He feels responsible and therefor kind of shuts down for a time. I do draw them having shenanigans, and it's kind of light hearted. But in the background there's this undercurrent of almost desperation, Dream feels like he's betrayed Techno, and is just waiting for the shoe to drop. And Techno's trying to navigate this new situation while also trying to bridge the gap that Dream is unintentionally creating. It looks like regular rivals, but there's a distance between the two that you can't see but can feel.

I hope this makes sense and I interpreted your question right? ^^; @simplepotatofarmer

[theneighbourunderthebed]

Leftenmost Window bits that drive me to insanity

(LONG POST. AGAIN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

Sam went into the story and thought "You know what? Female character time"

"Cry. Cry, cry, cry" AJ, I LOVE YOU BUT YOU SOUND SO SILLY I HATE IT /aff

AJ using myself twice in the same sentence bugs me for some reason help

"But my Egburt isn't a killer" and AJ immediately says a hypothetical that completely ignores what Sam said

"Would you rather be a gardener who has to go to war or a warrior who has to learn how to plant a garden?" SIR WHY ARE YOU ASKING YOUR DAUGHTER THAT? SHE AIN'T GOING TO WAR, SIR, DON'T WORRY

"I think the second one's probably safer 😃👍" YEAH, PROBABLY

"Are you saying that my Egburt is the gardener who's gone to war?" "No, no--" If I had a nickel for every time AJ completely ignores what Sam said just to say a sentence that makes no fucking sense, I'd have 2 nickels. Honestly, it's odd how I only remember it happening twice

"Don't be too hard on father! He gets his words mixed up" Luke came in to save AJ but then screwed him over again on accident with "after that injury in the Boer War in South Africa"

SALLY AND EGBURT'S WIFE JUST BARKING AT EACHOTHER AND THE "ORDERRRR" FROM THEIR FATHER

"Thank you, sister" GIVE HER A NAME GODDAMN IT PLEASE THEY NEVER GAVE HER A NAME I'M SOBBING SO SO HARD

"He promised me he would" MA'AM? MA'AM. THAT'S A BIT SUSPICIOUS, MADAM

"Yeees, it's the- that time" TRYING TO GET THESE TWO TO SEPERATE SO IT DOESN'T ESCALATE BACK INTO ANOTHER FIGHT

"Uhoaohh"

"There's only one trench you should be in" Sam. Please. No premarital sex. Wait until you two are married/wait until Egburt comes back alive

THE FIRST TIME WE HEAR EGBURT IT'S AJ TALKING??

Sam mentioning his mother and then her just appearing "Aah! Oh the migraines!"

AND THEN LUKE CHIMES IN AND CALLS AJ EGBURT?? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EGBURT BUT NOOOO, WE NEED MORE SAM AND LUKE CHARACTERS WHO ARE CANONICALLY TOGETHER

"Thewomeninourfamilyhavealwayshadagift.." "O..kay?" SAM IS SO CONFUSED BY THIS SHE PROBABLY THINK HER MOTHER'S INSANE (SHE KIND OF IS THOUGH???)

TOM JUST GOING INTO THE AUDIENCE AND CROSSING THE SEA OF PEOPLE OR IN THE PLAY'S CONTEXT THEY'RE CROSSING A SEA OF SPIRITS THAT FIND THE MORTALS' SHENANIGANS TO BE HILARIOUS

"HEY, I'M NOT DONE! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE ASTRAL PLANE RIGHT NOW! D:<" IMPLIES THAT YOU CAN GET STUCK IF THE SPIRITS DON'T MOVE ASIDE??

"But- wait" SHE WANTS TO GO BACK?? THIS HAPPENS TWICE, BY THE WAY?? HONESTLY YEAH THIS IS PROBABLY WHY SHE'S ILL

EGBURT AND AJ'S CHARACTER LOOKING AT TOM'S CHARACTER AS IF HE DIDN'T GET SHOT IN THE THROAT PREVIOUSLY

"Neither did I" YEAH BECAUSE HE ISN'T A SCOT??

"What are you knitting over there?" "Scarf :)" "For you, Captain Egburt" SAM LEGIT JUST MADE LUKE EGBURT. HE WAS NOT EGBURT. HE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EGBURT

"Aye. That was me" NO BUT REALLY. YOU JUST SAVED A GUY WHO GOT SHOT IN THE THROAT AND SOMEHOW IMMEDIATELY FORGOT ABOUT IT?

Odd how Egburt didn't get shot when he stood up but Tom's character did. Same for AJ's character

DID SAM'S CHARACTER MOAN WHEN HE GOT HIT? I'M SOBBING SO HARD WHAT??

"How old are you?" HE'S YOUNG. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW 👍

"Medical Arena" WHY IS THEIR MEDICAL AREA AN ARENA? TO MAKE SURE THEIR PATIENTS END UP TRAINING SO THAT WHEN THEY RECOVER THEY'LL COME BACK BETTER THAN EVER? HUH???

Tom just going "😃!" when he and Sam said Egburt at the same time (Tom has the best expressions I swear) and then immEDIATELY TRYING AGAIN TO SEE IF THEY SAY IT IN SYNC

"It's me" "And her mother/And my mum" YOU MEAN BOTH OF THEM CAN JUST COMMUNICATE TO THE SAME PERSON? IS SHE GUIDING HER DAUGHTER?? PROBABLY, YEAH??

TOM NOT IMMEDIATELY CATCHING UP TO WHAT SAM WANTS TO SAY

"Lie down in the--" "NO, GET BACK" but aren't you two ALREADY in the astral plane? Is there an astral astral plane??

"The women in my family have the power to project their consciousnesses across space and time.. Well just space, I've not checked out time" Nah, sis, don't worry, your great great grandson has 👍

"I said I'll come back don't worry and then I kissed her on her forehead" LUKE WAS GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT

"You're a gardener, not a warrior, a gardener!" Ah yes, referencing your father's nonsensical metaphor. At least she understood that part

"You took HER to OUR garden?" LUKE REALLY GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT HERE PLEASE GUYS YOU AND YOUR FIANCÉ AREN'T MARRIED YET COME ON

Hans and Heimlich are such a duo I love them so much. "No no, I don't want to speak to you >:(" Why does it seem like there's more to this than just Hans not letting him drive. Why is there some romantic tension here and the other Hans is just the third wheel

"Just double-checking for the scene.." Hans and Hans' reactions are understandable. What scene are you talking about, Heimlich?

Tom's German soldier not knowing his team. Sir, you have trained with them. What do you mean you don't know that one of them listens to American music?

why did you call your father darling after he called you darling?

"She told you about that?" GIRL THAT'S HER HUSBAND, OF COURSE HE WOULD KNOW

SALLY BEING NERVOUS AND A BIT GUILTY. LUKE WAS REALLY GOING FOR THE DIVORCE PLOT UNTIL TOM CAME IN

"I have a closer relationship with father, he tells me more!" You mean your MOTHER? SHE'S the one who has the powers because the WOMEN of the family have the psychic powers.

Luke did a complete U-turn from the divorce plot. AJ then took the wheel and turned the car back to the divorce plot. Thank God we have Tom to save the plot from being darker than it already is

"The Xavier house" THEY'RE THE XAVIERS??? YEAH I WISH I HAD KNOWN/REMEMBERED WHEN I MADE THE NUTB HEADCANONS

"And now I return it to my mind because it's- it's good" MADAM? MADAM THAT'S A BIT 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂, MADAM

TL;DR: Sally is the only Xavier to have a first name mentioned in the play & Mrs. Xavier is a 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴

[lokisgoodgirl]

How do you think Loki would feel about Valentines day?? I feel like his first time hearing about it he would initially think it's ludicrous, because he would spoil his lover every day. But then he would end up getting you something amazing, probably because you mentioned something about something an ex had got you for a past Valentines day and he would refuse to be outdone by a mere mortal. I also think he'd hate everything being red 😂

Valentines Day 🙈🙈 I'm so sorry anon. Regardless...

I love your take on it! However, let me digress a little from your theory...

Loki's 'first time' hearing about Valentines day implies he's not been on Earth long. He's probably still salty (if we're going with traditional Avenger Loki HC, stay with me..) and generally snooty about mortal shenanigans. I think he'd have to be cajoled into it, and then he'd end up really enjoying it, and absolutely turning into what you say 😅

A little silly... I don't even know

"Val-en-tines," Loki sneered, "It sounds like that malaise Rogers is always catching."

"You're thinking of 'venereal', Brother." Thor grinned up from his pancakes, and as Loki watched him, dead-eyed, a fat glob of maple syrup dripped through his sibling's stubble. "I can assure you they're quite different." His gaze drifted. "At least, I think so."

Rogers strode through the door, ipad in hand, "What's different?" he said, and slid it across the countertop.

Loki eyed it with distrust as Thor stuffed another forkful of pancake in his mouth and immediately answered, muffled, "Venereal disease."

"Gee whillakers, let me get my coffee first..."

"And a condom," Loki said, supressing a smirk as Steve angled towards him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Absolutely nothing, Rogers," he said, pressing a hand lightly to his chest. "And I can utterly assure you I did not spend my incarcerated weekend rifling through your medical files."

Steve's cheeks flushed. "Those are classified, Laufeyson. It's these kinda antics which make us keep you on house arrest." He threw his hands up as Loki's eyes narrowed. "And cripes, it was eighty years ago!"

Thor swallowed loudly; sticky fingers pushing morning frizz back from his forehead. "Rogers, what say you let my brother out for Valentines Day? Just one night. Go on. I'm sure he'll be very well behaved, especially with a lady as his escort." Thor shot him a long, pleading look, and Loki's mouth formed a hard line.

"Who'd go out with him?" Steve snorted as the kettle clicked off. "Good luck finding a lady who hates red, hates humanity, and hates just about every goshdarn thing as much as he does on Valentines Day."

Loki frowned. "Now hold on just a-" The sentence was aborted by the sudden, frantic click of Thor's fingers.

"Oh! Oh! You know who would be perfect?"

Steve turned and in sync, both of them said the same, familiar name. Thor sounded much more enthusiastic than the captain. Loki's frown deepened. "What are the two of you geese plotting? I won't be part of this."

"Oh, Brother...please let us arrange a date for you. She can't stand me, and she absolutely detests red."

Loki's brows rose. "A venereal date?" he asked cautiously. Steve's hands flew up again.

"Valentines, Loki. And please, stop talking about venereal disease. It's very off putting. I do wish you'd read more than just books on nineteenth century England."

"But they were such cotton brains. They didn't even know who Jack the Ripper was when it's perfectly ob-"

"Brother-"

"Fine!" Loki stood, and grabbed his book. "I'll go on this date. But let it be known it is under duress; venereal or otherwise. And unlike the good Captain here, I shall have the sense to wear protection."

He stormed off with the sound of his brother's laughter ringing in his ears, soaring over Steve's tut of disapproval, and trying to ignore the thrum of excitement pounding against his ribs.

And in his mind, and fizzing at the tips of his fingers, was the beginning of a perfect, emerald rose.

[ingravinoveritas]

Captain Jack Harkness voice: I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now...

(GO 2 BTS pic here.)

[mama-qwerty]

Okay, let's talk about this scene.

The fact that Dread looked at Ren and said "Holy crap, that's me!" and not "Holy crap, another echidna!" says to me that Dread (and presumably, Ren and Gnarly) all somehow know they're the last/only echidna on their worlds.

So, how exactly does that affect them?

Dread is . . . well, Dread. He'd likely wear it as a badge of honor, with some pirate-y, egotistical "Aye, there be only one of me, because I be the best there ever was" nonsense. Also likely look at himself as the toughest echidna, because he's the only one left. A kind of warped logic, but one that I could see Dread clinging to.

Ren would just accept it as part of the whole Chaos Council taking over the world kinda thing. Sure, he may have been the only one before the Council paved everything over, but it could also be that the Council had taken over the rest of the planet, and he simply has never seen another of his kind. He simply doesn't think about being the only one, because he's got bigger fish to fry.

Gnarly wouldn't think much of it at all--after all, there don't seem to be any other groups in Boscage Maze, meaning he wouldn't know that any of the others weren't the only one of their kind, either. Until Sonic arrives. Now there's another hedgehog. Sure this other hedgehog came from Somewhere Else, but it's evidence that there ARE other hedgehogs out there. Does that mean there are other bats? Foxes? Cats? Echidna? He's always felt so different his entire life, so out of sync with the world and others. No one understands him. Would other echidna feel like he does?

I really wish we could have seen some interaction between him and Ren and/or Dread. How would he react to seeing a face like his? But not only like his, but actually his? Would have gotten some paranoid freakout about clones or something, but we got some good interaction between the Roses, and at least two of the Tailses (which I wish we would have seen more of) but we only got a little interaction between Dread and Ren in season two but nothing in season 3 between any of the Knuckleses.

Missed opportunity to address the 'last of his kind' thing, or at least show how he would (or likely wouldn't) get along with himself.

(Of course, a group of us have been playing with putting multiple Knuckleses together in @the-knucklesverse. Lots of fun and shenanigans to be had.)

Just some rambly thoughts.

[not-freyja]

Can my prompt be the Colours being brothers? Just typical sibling shenanigans? In whatever way your heart desires! ❤️

A crack-bang rings out making the windows shudder in their frames. Green jolts up, the drowsiness of his near nap quickly fleeing the face of an explosion that close to the house.

Footsteps come pounding down the stares, and Vio practically skids into the front room, Red all put slamming face first into his back.

"What was that?" Vi asks.

"No idea!" Green answers, some of the stress leaving at the sight of the two of them. "Wait... where's Blue?"

Red's eyes go wide. "The forge!"

There's a single beat of stillness as the combination of 'someone in the forge' and 'mystery explosion' adds up in all their minds. The result of that bout of mental arithmetic is... not great. Green can see them all come to the same conclusion in sync and they all rush for the front door, tripping over one another in their haste.

The three of them spill out onto the yard and are nearly to the back door of the workshop when it opens, Blue stumbling out with the smoke.

He coughs, wiping the soot off of his face (or really, just trying to, all he's actually managing is to smear it around).

"Are you okay!?" Red asks, crashing into him in an aggressive hug.

"Fine," he wheezes, already trying to push him off.

If he's up to trying to get Red to stop being affectionate, then he probably really is okay. Green sighs as his heart rate starts returning to something more normal.

Vio frowns, narrowing his eyes at the building itself. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Blue huffs, finally prying Red off of him and pushing him back even further at the resulting pout. "I was trying to start on the next batch of fucking horseshoes -" They all nod along to the irritation in his voice there. 'Fucking horseshoes,' indeed. "-and when I got the hot ore down on the anvil it just..."

Blue trails off with a confused scowl.

"It... just exploded?" Green asks.

"Yes!"

Vio blinks. "What."

"I don't know!"

Green tries again, "Wait the anvil exploded? Or the ore?"

"Yes?" Blue shakes his head. "No? I don't know, there was just a bang and then smoke!"

"That shouldn't have happened," Vio informs them like they all don't already know.

"No shit," Blue growls. "Well, whatever that was, I guess I should just count myself lucky I didn't get any shrapnel to the damn face."

That is true. That is a very, very good thing. Green turns to ask Red if he has any ideas, when it suddenly dawns on him. Red has been really quiet.

...too quiet.

"What the fuck did you do!?"

Red gulps. "It was only supposed to be a little explosion!"

Blue's face flushes with sudden rage, a tint of red under the soot. "Are you kidding me?"

Red blinks.

"You should run," Vio tells him. "I think he's actually mad at you this time."

Red turns on his heels and sprints off, his first step in perfect sync with Blue's lunge towards him.

Vio snorts a small laugh. "Well. Have fun cleaning that up, Green."

"Wait. Hang on." He frowns at Vio's back as his brother leaves him, heading back to the house now that the excitement has come to an end. "Aren't you going to help me?"

No answer, just a backwards wave over Vio's shoulder. Somewhere out of sight, there is a loud squeal of the laughter that means that Red has been caught.

...he'll go get some rags.

[garcargofarfar]

Wavering Between

A Garroth x Reader x Laurance Fic

Prologue

Follow up on EIN REWRITE

YOU CAN ALSO READ THE STORY ON WATTPAD @/iiYoshi

A/N : I have no intent in finishing the first two books before posting this one. :D

- × - × - × - × - × - × - × -

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Like I want to be with you." Ein barked back.

"You better not mess this school up as well." I sighed. This was sure going to be a fun year of junior year. "I'm not going to stop you again this time."

"Spare me your overblown ego." Ein rolled his eyes at me, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. "You don't seriously think you can stop me?"

"I did once, and I'll do it again."

Before he could argue back and break out into a fight, the principal finally walked into the office, and we both shut up.

"Ah, so sorry for making you wait." She says, "I'm assuming you're Ein and Erielle Lovette?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Wonderful! Let me start off by saying how happy I am to have you both here at Phoenix Drop." She beams.

I nod.

Ein forces a smile, scoffing silently.

"I'm Principal Layla, good friends with Principal Dickson from TH. Though, I'm sure you know that already." She simply laughs, and Ein glares when I nudge his rib to stop him from falling asleep.

"I'm really sorry for all the trouble, Principal Layla." Ein suddenly starts in a polite voice. "My sister and I never meant to cause trouble at Twilight High, but as her big brother, I just have to look out for her."

This time, I scoff.

"What in Irene's name are you on about?" I hiss.

"You know. Seeing as you're human and all. I feel it's my responsibility to take care of you and drop my position as Alpha in TH."

"You're joking." I almost laugh. "You two-faced little-"

"Alright, alright! Enough of this." Principal Layla cuts us off. "I don't care what happened back in TH. It's all in the past now. I only ask of you two to be well-behaved here at Phoenix Drop."

"Yes, Principal Layla." We say in sync.

"The school day is almost over today. You two can get settled in your dorms and check out the clubs they're holding for Freshmen. Feel free to come to me if you need help." We both glare at each other once more before she dismisses us.

"I don't want anything to do with you and your manipulative shenanigans, got that?" I ask, taking a look at my schedule.

"Like anyone wants anything to do with you." He hisses in return.

"Arya would."

"Stop. Bringing. Her. Into. This." He warns.

"You had a chance with her, Ein. You just completely blew it yourself." And with that, I walk off to my homeroom. "Have a good life without me."

-----

I pass by Room 208, my homeroom for the year. TH didn't have homerooms, so I was still getting the hang of things.

Everything was so different here. The students in the halls were human. The students in the halls were also werewolves.

There's this weird balance and equality that I never got to experience in either schools for freshman nor sophomore year.

I don't think I've ever felt this nice just existing in a swarm of people before without any killing eyes or vicious brother to bug me.

"Hey." I turn to see a black haired boy with sky-blue eyes staring at me. "What are you still doing here in the classrooms?"

"Oh I'm sorry." I apologize. "Am I not allowed to be here?"

"No. It's just that everyone's gathered at the football field to sign up for clubs and all that stuff." He signals to the window, which has a view of the whole situation going on beneath.

"I'm new here. Just checking out my surroundings." I shrug.

"The name's Gene. Nice to meet you." He lifts out a hand.

"Erielle." I shake his. "You're a student here too?"

"Oh, no. I graduated last year." He says. "But my little brother still goes here, and he left his homework at home. I had to bring it over for him."

"Ah. I see." I laugh at his remark.

"You should run along, Erielle." He tells me. "They're already starting to sign up for clubs."

He looks out the window as I follow his gaze.

"Maybe I will." I mutter, mostly to myself. "You seem like a cool person, Gene. Was lovely meeting you."

"Was nice meeting you as well." He replies with a smirk. "I'll introduce you to my squad one day. You'd fit right in with the Shadow Knights."

"Looking forward to it." I smile. "I should get going. Have a good one!"

"Same to you."

-----

As I turn the corner, I am finally struck with the realization that I'm lost.

Oh my Irene, why am I so dumb? I should've asked Gene for help.

The halls are mostly empty by now, and I have no idea where I'm going. I'm still walking along the halls as I finally spot sight of a tall blonde in the distance.

"Hey!" I yell, watching the blonde to turn to look at me with azure eyes.

"May I help you?"

- × - × - × - × - × - × - × -

[keirawantstocry]

Hey, if you still accept ideas, here's one.

Fit and pac having cooking lesson with Ramon but Surprise! - tubbo is here, he can't cook at all and actively being The Menace™

I am always accepting requests babe especially from you <3 

its not my best since i've been busy all morning and evening but enjoy the little bits of shenanigans <3

“Just use the spatula to flip it around. Yeah, exactly like that.” 

Ramon grinned at Fit over the heat of the stove. In his hand was a spatula he had pressed against ground beef. Earlier that day Ramon had mentioned wishing he could cook and well as soon as Fit and Pac heard that, they ran to make it a reality. They both stood around carefully watching as Ramon stirred and flipped the beef in the pan. 

“You're doing amazing Ramon!” Pac praised as he watched the young boy.

“Obrigado, Pai,” Ramon signed, a grin spreading across his tiny face. 

A loud crash was heard in the distance and they all turned, almost in sync to face where the noise had been heard.

“Hello?” Fit called out. 

Moments later a sheepish Tubbo appeared at the opening to the kitchen. "Heyyyy guys."

“What the fuck was that crash?” Fit asked incredulously. 

“Don't worry about it!” Tubbo said in a cherry voice before sliding up beside Pac. “What are we doing?” 

“Cooking!” Ramon signed, with a smile. “Want to help?” 

Fit started to say no but before he could Tubbo went, “Absolutely king! Let's do it.” 

The next hour went by in the fastest most confusing blur of Fit's entire life. Somehow at the end of it all, him and Pac were standing at the corner of the kitchen gazing upon an entire sink full of dishes, a bag of flour completely dumped on the floor, jelly on the ceiling, and a single peanut somehow perched in Tubbo's fluffy hair. “Where the fuck did half this shit even come from??” 

Pac laughed at Fit's pure exasperation and confusion as Tubbo and Ramon grinned at them both. “I think we learned a lot, Fitch! That was quite helpful!” 

Fit side eyed him but sighed in resignation letting himself enjoy the moment. “Okay, Pac. We sure did learn a lot.” 

"You should boss him around more often," Tubbo said with a wink in Pac's direction. "So much more fun when he just agrees with you."

Fit rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as Pac howled with laughter. "Oh shut up you two."

"You loveeeeee us," Tubbo said in a teasing voice, pulling the peanut out of his hair and pelting it at Fit who dodged it easily.

"Sadly I do," Fit said, resigning himself to more uproarious laughter.

[wordsofluck]

The Percentage of Satisfaction

I woke up late today. While I have decided on pretty lofty goals and strict resolutions for this year, I believe it is okay to take it easy on the first day of the year, isn't it?

So. I woke up at 11 A.M. I could hear someone speaking from the living room. Absentmindedly, while I was washing my face, I wondered if the kids weren't given a holiday on the New Year? Surely they deserve it?

As I was making a cup of tea for myself and shaking of the remanants of sleep clinging on to me, I heard a sudden silence, followed by hushed whispers in the room. Curious, i peeked out, and saw a couple of kids glancing at me, only to look away instantly and say something to each other. While I was intrigued, I wasn't really interested in the shenanigans of two twelve year olds.

Then, I heard my mother call for me. She said, ‘Would you be willing to teach the kids some math?’ while looking at them fondly. I noticed them looking at me shyly, with request on their lips and hope in their eyes. I was reluctant. Was this really the way I wanted to start my year?

Sighing, I agreed. The kids instantly made some space for me to sit, pushing their bags to the end of the sofa, hapazardly putting away the rest of the books. As I sat between them, their voices clamber over each other, giving me updates about their life. They end their one sided conversation with letting me know that they are learning about Percentages in school.

I asked for their textbook. Looking at the sums gave me a nostalgic feeling. I remembered sitting in the classroom, competing with my friends to see who can solve the question set the fastest. Back then, the biggest of my worries were hoping that my favourite seat in the bus remains empty, praying that my friend doesn't skip the school because I brought her favourite food for lunch, controlling my laughter during the lectures so that the teacher doesn't catch us.

Internally reminiscing my past, I asked the kids few questions about the concept of percentage. They seemed confused and a little demotivated. I felt a twinge of sadness. For someone whose life is going to be dictated by percentages in future, how ironic is it that the kids don't know what they mean?

We started with some examples. I explain, ‘Percent means per hundred. Imagine you have a pizza with fifty slices. One of you ate forty slices out of it', and the kids started giggling, with me joining them because how silly is that? Continuing, I say ‘Percentage tells us, if you ate 40 out of 50 slices, how many slices would you have eaten if the pizza was of 100 slices.’ Too many slices in question. The kids were totally confused.

I started panicking internally. Hating it, i gave them and example of marks in a test. ‘Suppose one of you scores 35 out of 40 and 40 out of 50, who has scored more?’ The kids were rightly puzzled. ‘Since we are talking about 40 and 50 marks as total, it's unfair to assume who has scored more, isn't it?’ They noded in sync. Feeling like I was getting somewhere, i said, ‘Because of this, we try to make it a bit fair. What if both of them had given a test of 100 marks? In that case, it would be easier to calculate who scored more, isn't it? That's what percent is. Per cent. Per hundred. We calculate the value of anything, per hundred. So, everything becomes fair and easy for us’. The kids seemed satisfied. I was glad.

While I was looking at the textbook for more examples, one of the kids said, ‘But what if I had tried harder even though my percentage is less?’ And my heart broke. Because, isn't this the reality for so many of us? The reality where our efforts don't always equal the results. The balance is a little skewed there. I had no idea what to say. However, the other kid’s voice broke through my thoughts. She said, ‘Does it matter then? If you worked hard, that's it! Why do we have to worry so much about percentage and results and all that?’

And, oh. Exactly. Running and chasing after cut off scores and eligibility criteria for every phase of my life, I had forgotten how much I liked working hard for something, just for the sake of it. Not overshadowed by the fear of meeting the society's expectations, or the looming thought of failing my loved ones, I had lost sight of the reason why I liked working hard. It was the feeling of contentment, laughing and joking around with my friends while packing our backs on our way home from the exam centre. It was the feeling of confidence when telling my mother that the exam went well and I solved all the questions. It was the feeling of satisfaction, knowing that I did all I could, and that's all it is.

The kids continued solving their sums. I didn't realise how fast the time flew, when they announced that it's time for them to go home. Packing their bags and moving towards the door, they turned to say, ‘We loved learning from you today! It was fun. When will you be at home again?’ And, ah. That light and fluffy feeling again. The feeling that felt so nostalgic. I realised, it was satisfaction. Oh. It was the satisfaction of doing things right, helping the kids learn, regardless of the score or result of their tests in school next month.

So yeah, maybe this was the way I wanted to start my new year. I'm glad I made this choice.

[manasurge]

Tyria Pride 2024 NA (Day 1) part 2

YEAH we had the Tyria Pride Anet person on our map for a bit. I also don't know why or how their colour changed like that, but trans and lesbian flag colours solidarity!! (they may have done it on the fly I imagine, but idk if it's just a visual glitch too since I swear they wen't back to the other one after laksjdf. Either way I love both versions)

Me and my attempts at getting good shots of the prismatic beams they were shooting everywhere (kinda spammy screenshots, but it was hard to time these right without doing so lol). SO pretty

I always love it when we cross bridges. Also more random screenshots.

Teatime Shenanigans

YEAH I SAW LARA!!!! :D <3 (also I just realized Cmaj tag and not LaLa tag?! omg i thought she only made another LaLa for NA)

Two (2) of them... (lol they look small bc I used my embiggening tonic for the march vs how I use the miniature tonic for the art parties haha)

LOL yeah once it started getting hella crowded my game decided to turn a lot of folks into having the blank default models and every time I'd turn around to this group of Charr, they would look like this while tposing before they loaded in properly.

And of course the last bit at the end <3 I sadly couldn't get good screenshots of this bc we were on the overflow side here, but hopefully I was able to sync my emotes properly in time as my actions felt either too early or too late whenever I did them lol.

[brinehater]

so after a recent minor fashion adjustment for witch mode Iris, I picked up @bardistraee's Avraham to give him a sorcerer buddy that he could get up to casting shenanigans with. They like to fist bump each other a lot after fights. This started mostly in manifesting many fun occasions like this one where Iris's sleeve just goes straight into Avra's face.

they quickly learned to sync cast, but also to be a little meticulous about it, usually letting Iris drop High Hagol first to ice enemies up and then combining to rapidly cast Maelstrom. (HI TIEVE!)

This didn't take long to then for them to realize they could cast Maelstrom very fast and start to become extremely disproportionate in its usage.

it's a single zombie! this is a little too much!

But the real best part of them together wasn't the hilarity of two sorcerers realizing they have unlimited power. The real best part was the fact they genuinely seemed to get along. On top of a great deal of chatter that was friendly and supportive (though not very exciting), Avra typically would hold out his hand as though he wanted a high five after fights and then wouldn't respond, and it was because he didn't want one from Wildrose, he wanted a high five/fist bump from Iris most of the time.

(HI AGAIN TIEVE!)

My favorite friendship moment between them was when trying to take a picture of Wildrose, freshly drenched from falling into the ocean again to bully myself, I turned the camera and found them together again.

clearly having an intense private conversation about magic, don't worry about it.

friendship ended with Wildrose, now Avraham is Iris's new best friend.

[dvrylgal]

⋆༺𓆩 kehetu: chapter nine 𓆪༻⋆

synopsis: you and daryl get into a heated argument over sophia... though it's quickly settled when shane breaks open the barn.

cw: canon typical violence, gore, profanity, mature themes, cannibalism (zombies), zombies (obviously), racism (Merle), reader is black, reader is from jersey, reader is a mechanic, reader was raised native (ish), reader's a bit of an atheist

"I'll be takin' that, thank you," you grinned, quickly snatching up the spam on Daryl's plate before shoving it in your mouth.

"Hey, thas' my meat!" he exclaimed, whipping his head over to you.

"Andmf now s'mine," you chuckled with a full mouth. "Who saved yer assh again?"

"M'startin' to wish ya didn't," he grumbled, harshly stabbing a chunk of egg before shoving it into his mouth.

The fire crackled in the center of your camp as the sound of scraping plates echoed over the silence, the group enjoying their breakfast of scrambled eggs and spam in relative quiet.

You and Daryl were back to your old, bickering shenanigans—obviously brought closer together by your woodland adventure—much to the amusement of everyone else.

At the beginning of all this, one would have had to pray you both didn't cross each other's paths, in fear of an all-out brawl.

But now, you two were practically attached at the hip, inseparable—as you both were on medical leave from your usual chores.

It brought a certain lightness to the group, and a smile to everyone's faces.

If you two could get along without hell freezing over, than maybe anything was possible...

"Don't be an ass," you rolled your eyes at his dramatics, taking your piece of spam and plopping it onto his plate. "Big baby..."

"Shut up," he grumbled, quickly scarfing it down before you could change your mind. 

"You two want some more eggs?" Carol asked, softly, as she approached you both in your captain's chairs.

Nodding in sync, you both held out your plates, and the woman cracked a small smile as she scraped some more on.

"Um... guys?" Glenn announced, suddenly rising up from his seat and moving to stand under the tree. "So..."

Perking up, everyone turned to him, providing their full, undivided attention.

"The barn's full of walkers."

Breath hitching, you nearly choked on your food, your fork clattering with your plate as everyone's eyes blew wide.

'You gotta be kidding...'

He was, in fact, not kidding.

As the group stood outside the entrance of the barn, Shane peered inside, confirming the presence of biters—if the moans and growls weren't anything to go off of.

You shook your head, almost unable to believe it.

'Never thought Hershel would do somethin' stupid like this...'

And that's exactly what it was.

Stupid.

Without your group, Hershel's numbers were few, and between them they had little to no knowledge of firearms or weaponry at all.

It was a miracle the walkers hadn't broken out already.

But if they had, you were almost certain that the entire farm would've been overrun.

"You cannot tell me you're all right with this," Shane growled, storming over to Rick.

"No, I'm not," Rick denied, just as sharp. "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"This is our lives!"

"Lower your voice!" Glenn hissed.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea crossed her arms over her chest.

"It ain't right. Not remotely," Shane shook his head, violently pacing around the doorway. "Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've gotta make things right, or we've just gotta go."

With a sigh, he roughly put on his hat.

"Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time..."

"We can't go."

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because my daughter's still out there," Carol answered, brows furrowed.

Dryly, Shane chuckled, raking a tired hand over his face as he shifted his weight on his hips.

"Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility—"

"Shane! We are not leaving Sophia behind," Rick shut down.

"We're close to findin' this girl. We jus' found her damn doll two days ago," Daryl piped up, motioning between the both of you. 

"You found 'er doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll."

"Man, you don't what the hell you're talkin' about!" Daryl barked.

"I'm just sayin' what needs to be said!" Shane barked back. "Now, you get a good lead, it's in the first forty-eight hours—"

"Shane, stop."

"Now, lemme tell you somethin' else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you comin'—all methed out with your buck knife an' geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!"

"Shut up, ya stupid—!"

"Daryl!"

You and Rick quickly stepped in between the two, shouting coming from all directions as you attempted to shove them both apart.

"Back off!"

"Keep yer hands off me!" Shane spat, harshly shrugging Lori off.

"Now, just let me talk to Hershel. Lemme figure it out—"

"What're you gonna figure out?!"

"Knock it off!"

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land!"

"Hershel sees those things in there as people... sick people," Dale chimed, stealing everyone's attention. "His wife, his stepson."

"You knew?" you asked, brows furrowed.

"Yesterday I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane asked as well, tone rising.

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did," Dale leveled him with a sharp glare. "I was waiting till this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one."

"The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or no—!"

Just then, the walkers—drawn by the noise—began to bang on the large barn doors, rattling the padlocks, chains, and board keeping it shut.

Cautiously, the less-armed members of your group took a few steps back, the rest of you standing there with worry.

No matter who was right or wrong, something had to be done about this problem.

And fast.

"This is stupid, Daryl. And you know it," you warned, brows furrowed as you followed the man into the stables.

"M'fine," he ground out, slamming down a saddle from the shelf.

"Hershel said we've gotta rest." 

He grunted, not bothering to look at you.

"Yeah, I don't care."

"Asshole... Rick's goin' out later to follow the trail."

"Yeah, well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothin'."

"No, you're gonna go back out there and get hurt all over again."

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you let out a harsh sigh, attempting to gather your words.

"Look, I've been right there with you during this whole thing. I wanted to find Sophia just as much as you..."

He perked at the use of "wanted", forcing him to snap his head over to you.

"But we've gotta consider the possibility, Daryl. I mean, even when the world was normal, after seventy-two hours the searches switched to finding a body."

His expression was one of disbelief, unable to process the words coming out of your mouth.

From Andrea, sure.

From Shane, fucking obviously.

But from you?

"What?" he asked, voice low and threatening.

But you stood your ground, not backing off.

"You're gonna make me say it?" you cocked a brow. "Fine... S'been a week, Daryl. A week without proper food, water, or shelter. If she hasn't died from starvation, dehydration, or exposure, or the laundry list of other shit that can kill you in the woods, then she's been bit."

Silent, he stepped closer, getting in your face for a moment before turning away.

In a bout of frustration, he stalked toward one of the fold-out tables, roughly flipping it over before painfully clutching his side.

"Daryl—"

"Just leave me be!"

Storming off, he exited the stable, though not without muttering something under his breath.

"Stupid bitch..."

Your expression dropped instantly, and with a harsh bite of your tongue you fought your jerk reaction to curse him out, not wanting to throw gasoline on the flames.

He was hurting and frustrated and riled up by Shane's outburst earlier, you knew that.

He wasn't intentionally trying to be hurtful.

But goddamn it, he was doing a good job...

Taking in a heavy sigh, you exhaled out your nose, hoping to calm your rising blood pressure.

You'd let him slide, give him his space and allow him to work out his feelings on his own.

But this was his only freebie.

'He does that again, m'punchin' him in the dick...'

"S'a good look for you," you teased, nodding to Dale's hat on top of Glenn's head before turning to Maggie. 

You'd joined them in sitting on the porch, while Carl, Patricia, and Beth played checkers on the nearby table.

"Whaddya think?" 

"I think he should be in line for the Early Bird special," she grinned, cheekily.

You let out a small snicker, amused, as Glenn carefully slid it off his head.

"Hardy har."

"C'mon, go get yer cap. I'll wash it for ya," Maggie offered with a smile.

But just as he stood up, T-Dog and Andrea marched over, not looking exactly pleased.

"Do you now what's going on?" T-Dog asked.

"Where is everyone?" Andrea added.

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn asked.

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago."

"Yeah, you were," Daryl chimed, storming over with Carol. "What the hell?"

"Rick told us he was going out," Carol stated.

"Damn it. Isn't anybody takin' this seriously?" Daryl scoffed.

"Oh, you do not wanna start that conversation," you warned, brows furrowed as you stood from your seat on the steps. 

Faltering slightly, his gaze met yours with a sorry flicker, clearly regretful of the things he'd said to you earlier.

But until you got an apology, your guard was up, expression not offering even a whisper of the warmth he'd grown accustomed to over the past few days.

"M'just sayin'... We got us a damn trail," he turned to the walkway, brows raising at the sight of Shane approaching. "Oh, here we go."

Eyes narrowing, you watched Shane stalk over, a duffel of guns on his shoulder paired with a mean look on his face.

"Whas' all this?"

"You wit' me, man?" Shane asked, leaving no room for small talk.

Without hesitation, Daryl snatched up a rifle, joining the man on his trek toward the barn.

"Time to grow up!" he turned to Andrea. "You already got yours?"

"Yeah. Where's Dale?" she asked.

"He's on his way."

"I thought we couldn't carry?" T-Dog asked.

"Yeah, what the hell's goin' on?" you added, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, well, we can and we have to," Shane turned to the others on the porch. "Look, it was one thing sittin' around here pickin' daises when we thought this place was 'sposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't."

Grabbing another rifle, he walked up to Glenn, holding it out.

"How 'bout you, man? You gon' protect yours?"

Glancing at Maggie, Glenn paused a moment, before snatching up the gun.

"That's it," Shane turned to Maggie. "Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop?" she fired back. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane," Carl chimed.

"What is this?" Lori asked.

"We ain't goin' anywhere, okay? Now, look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He—Well, he's gonna have to."

"Have to?" you scoffed, disbelieving of the sight in front of you. "What? The man gives us shelter and we pay  'im back by shootin' up his goddamn barn?"

"There are walkers in there, (y/n)," Daryl reminded.

"It's his land! His farm! He can do whatever he wants to those bastards 'cause it's his goddamn barn! We got no right!"

"We got every right!" Shane barked, stepping forward into your space..

"We got no right!" you fired back, getting right into his face as well. 

"We need to find Sophia. Am I right?" he disregarded you, tugging a pistol out his waistband before walking up to Carl. "Huh? Now I wanchu to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

"Rick said no guns," Lori spat, shoving her son behind her. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh, shit!" T-Dog exclaimed, looking out into the distance.

Following his line of sight, the lot of you turned to where he was looking, only to see Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy returning with two walkers on leashes.

'Oh, shit.'

Their timing couldn't have been better.

"What is that?" Shane spat, completely dropping the gun and breaking into a sprint. "What is that?!"

"Shane!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

Frantically, you all ran after him, watching as he kicked open the gate to the fields.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shane, just back off!" Rick ordered

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked, brows furrowed.

"Are you kiddin' me?!" Shane paced, pointing toward the walkers. "You see?! You see what they're holdin' onto?!"

"I see who I'm holdin' onto!" Hershel countered.

"Nah, man, you don't."

As the rest of the group drew closer, Daryl subtly positioned himself in front of you, keeping his gun at the ready seeing as your bow and quiver were back up in your room inside.

Brow arching, you eyed him up and down, deciding to save that conversation for later.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk!" Rick tried to reassure.

"Whatchu wanna talk about, Rick?! These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothin' for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here!"

He turned his sights on the rest of you.

"They're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!"

"Shane, shut up!"

"Hey, Hershel, man, lemme ask you somethin'," he started, drawing his pistol.

'Oh, no...'

"Could a livin', breathin' person... could they walk away from this?"

Without hesitation, he hit the walker Hershel was holding with three body shots, scaring the shit out of everyone.

"No!" Rick shouted. "Stop it!"

"That's three rounds in the chest! Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still comin'?!"

BOOM! BOOM!"

"That's its heart! Its lungs! Why is it still comin'?!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Shane, enough!"

"Yeah, you're right, man," he nodded, marching toward the walker. "That is enough."

With a final shot, he dispatched the creature, shooting it in the head at point blank range.

It shocked everyone present, and felt surprisingly devastating.

For once, the flesh-eating monsters didn't feel like the bad guys...

"Enough riskin' our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough livin' next to a barn full of things that are tryin' t'kill us! Enough!"

After storming toward the barn door, he turned around, glancing at his oldest friend.

"Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now, if y'all wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! M'talkin' 'bout fightin' right here! Right now!" 

"Take the snare pole," Rick exclaimed, turning to the good doctor. "Hershel! Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel! Listen to me, man, please! Take it now! Hershel! Take it!"

Picking up a nearby pickax, Shane began slamming it against the padlocks and chains, attempting to bust the door down.

"No, Shane! Do not do this, brother! Wait!"

"Don't do it!"

"Rick!"

"Please!"

With a sharp shink, he broke through, quickly tossing the plank keeping the door pinned before banging at the panels.

"C'mon! C'mon, we're out here!" he roared, drawing his gun from his pants.

"This is not the way!"

"Please!"

"No!"

Like lambs to the slaughter, they came, the walkers pushing the heavy doors open to a crack before slowly escaping.

And your group gunned them down like a goddamn firing squad.

Stuck behind Daryl, you were forced to watch as he, Shane, Andrea, Glenn, and T-Dog massacred the whole pack right in front of the Greenes, Hershel, Maggie, and Beth being the most distraught of everyone.

Although you knew your group's actions were founded on making sure everyone was safe, you'd be a liar if you said the scene didn't leave a bad taste in your mouth.

It wasn't long before all of them were dead, the dust settling as the gunfire finally came to a stop, leaving everyone in a certain silence.

Taking a moment to look around, you took inventory of every expression present, each one severely varying.

Sorrow.

Anger.

Guilt.

Pain.

Grief.

It was until more growls could be heard from within the barn that everyone was brought out of their unanimous stupor.

Wary, everyone watched in anticipation, waiting for another undead farmer or snarling, old woman.

But the reality was so much worse.

Brows furrowed, you watched a small foot step out from the darkness, a familiar blue rainbow shirt and brown shorts coming into view.

'No...'

It was, in fact, not another undead farmer, or snarling, old woman.

It was the hope the group had been holding onto for so long.

It was the very thing you'd been fearing for the past week.

It was the little girl that had been counting on you, waiting on you to save her.

It was Sophia.

"Oh, God... Sophia?" Carol wailed, breaking into a sprint. "Sophia!"

Quickly, you snatched her up in your embrace, holding her back as the both of you fell to the ground, the woman utterly destroyed.

"Sophia! Oh, no! Sophia... Sophia..."

The little girl limply dragged forward, snarling and snapping her teeth like a wild animal, forcing streams of tears to spiral down your cheeks.

Your old man always said crying was for babies and widows... but in this singular, once-in-a-lifetime situation, you hoped he'd give you a free pass.

Carl buried his face in his mother's chest, Lori tightly clutching her boy as Rick stepped forward, getting ready to do what had to be done.

"Don't look, honey. Don't look."

"Sophia..." Carol wailed, limply falling into you, your body being the only thing keeping her somewhat upright.

"Oh, God," you exhaled through your teeth, softly stroking the woman's head as you steeled yourself for what was about to come.

Drawing his revolver, Rick took aim, waiting until the little girl was at point blank range before finally putting an end to things.

The boom echoed throughout the field, punctuating the already horribly upsetting sequence.

It was done.

It was over.

The barn was cleared, just like Shane wanted.

And you all were no worse for wear.

[meimi-haneoka]

Oh my!!!! Just read your post and the summary of the chapter and lmao, I am perfectly willing to wait for the volume to come out. First of all, congratulations to all of us YunaAki fandom that we actually got our favourite hobo to confess his feelings. Lmao, stuff his mouth with chocomint ice cream, Akiho! It feels a bit embarrassingly cute to finally have them being canon (officially that is!). Second, are we getting hints of a potential future arc that ties up with TRC/xxxHolic, especially since xxxHolic Rei is supposedly going to be revived? That description of Momo's scene makes me think that a book that is capable of rewriting the world would without a doubt be involved in TRC/xxxHolic shenanigans. I don't want to keep my hopes up too high given that CLAMP are ageing and have been working tirelessly for so long but maybe secondary author written light novels with illustrations from Mokona-sensei may be the way to go in the future, at least as far as CCS continuation goes? Given that Light Novels are at their all time popularity high right now and they have done it for CLAMP Academy before, fingers crossed! Although I believe we might take a few years before we get anything concrete on that side. Sigh! At least we have CCS CC anime Season 2 to look forward to now. Third, OMG!!!!! Tomoyo!!! I am now 100 percent certain that Sakura is going to be wearing a "King of Kwa" Qun Kwa, fully designed, hand embroidered and stitched by Tomoyo. There will definitely be two weddings - one at Japan (which will be whatever the couple chooses but I would love it to be a traditional Shinto one at the Tsukimine shrine) and a traditional Cantonese-Chinese one at Hong Kong (ain't no way the Heir of the Clan and his Japanese bride getting away without a "proper" and traditional Chinese wedding). Given that it takes at least a year for even an traditionally experienced embroiderer to create a King of Kwa, maybe Tomoyo mentioning this as they are entering 9th grade means that SS will really get married right out of high school. Like even her brain says whoops, I better begin the wedding planning and bridal dress designing already. Yes! Give us I-am-a-wealthy-Victoria-Peak boy Syaoran and his enormously large family being in sync over Sakura wearing a real gold and silver embroidered on finest silk from Guangdong with it weighing around 10-15 kg and that being the bare minimum because it brings the most fortune and fertility with its Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenixes. Buhahaha. And Sakura just going along with it because she does not really get to dip her feet into her husband's culture much and she is enjoying all the big family time because everyone, legit everyone in the family, is enamoured with her and how cute and absolutely precious she is. Ahahahaha. Sheesh, I am blushing so much. I had headcanons for so many years but these are all of them coming true!!! *shakes my head and arms vigorously in my fangirling heaven*

OMG Aubretiaaaaaaa!! YES!! We finally made it!! WEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEEEENNNDDDD 😂😂 Ok excuse my silly little moment but yes, can you believe that I would've NEVER imagined they would make him say THAT in canon? I've always thought that they would go "the subtle way", for several reasons (and it also makes sense, character-wise) and leave it at the true name reveal, but nope, they had to SHOCK ME even in the final, definitive special chapter!! 😂 It isn't a shock that Kaito is feeling romantic love for Akiho, not at all: the shock comes from seeing it spelled out "clearly" on paper! 😂 I even imagined that this could happen a couple of years later along the way, but it's perfectly fine like this. We talked about this before, right? The attraction he feels comes from a chemistry between souls, and there isn't anything shady going on. So everything else will still come at the right time (and it's not like CLAMP will portray any of it, so each one of us can imagine it however we like). I'm gonna write another post later about the chocomint ice cream because I realized I forgot to point some things out in my commentary! 😁

About the Holic tie-in, in this specific chapter it doesn't look like there's any hint (the "appropriate price" Momo paid is a concept that exists in CCS too), but it can still totally happen, even in Holic itself. Like a cameo from Kaito and Akiho (since it would be kinda weird to feature Sakura herself, and she would steal the spotlight wherever she goes). I don't know, I won't hope too much for it, but things in Clear Card definitely were left open enough for them to reconnect to it in the future!

And yes, I also am totally convinced that SyaoSaku will have a double wedding! 😁 Tomoyo can still totally create a western-style dress for the celebration in Japan, since usually after the traditional Shinto ceremony, there's the party and that's where the bride changes outfit and can wear the western-style dress! But yeah, I also cannot see them going without a ceremony in Hong Kong too, and I really appreciated the description of the King of Qwa traditional wedding dress, especially cause I looked for it and...YES, I CAN TOTALLY SEE HOW THIS "BEAST" REQUIRES AT LEAST A YEAR OF EMBROIDERY!! If Tomoyo is going to undertake this challenge, SHE REALLY NEEDS TO START NOW 😂 I mean, look at this....pink blossom, it's perfect!

It is so beautiful!! I can totally see Sakura wearing this! And YES, I agree, I think SyaoSaku will marry right out of high school 🥰 This special chapter really gave us "fuel" for so many future headcanons, right?? I really can't thank CLAMP enough for this!