#they are doing what they love best: logging the answers to the questions they gave others

[plutonium-sky]

Unofficial question giver (I ended up naming them Mori) wip~ done on magma and I am currently in the process of coloring them

[studiodrydock]

Interview With a Werewolf - A deep dive into the character of Westley Vuk from Wylde Flowers

We've put together an in depth look at Wylde Flower's fuzziest romanceable character, Westley Vuk! 🐺💕

Westley, the romantic werewolf bookseller, is one of our most beloved characters, and we had the privilege of chatting with several members of the team involved with bringing him to life, including Iona Vorster (concept artist), Desiree Cifre (narrative director), Mike Taylor (animator) and Ray Chase (his voiceover artist).

We discussed all things Westley including his inspiration, design, and what makes him so popular (and dreamy)! Enjoy! ✨

Writing a Werewolf

Questions answered by: Desiree Cifre (Narrative Director)

Q: Can you start by telling us a little bit about Westley?

Desiree: Westley is a bookish werewolf originally from Alaska. He became a werewolf due to a case of mistaken identity. His identical twin brother, Lou, was a marksman for a logging company, and shot at a werewolf who then returned and attacked Westley one full moon. Once Westley turned into a werewolf, he vowed to keep his distance from humans to protect them and himself, and found safe harbor in the magical village of Ravenwood Hollow. He hopes to find a cure for his lycanthropy and in the meanwhile, prove that werewolves can be positive contributors to the magical community.

Q: What was your process like, including inspirations and challenges, when creating Westley?

Desiree: Our original scope for the narrative limited the characters to the members of the coven and the other, non-magical villagers, so I was delighted when Amanda and Alex told me we would have the budget for a magical village with four residents. I knew right away that I wanted one of them to be a werewolf and that I wanted him to be a romantic interest for Tara. A bookseller seemed like a natural fit so that he could sell Tara the parchment and incantations she would need for her spellwork, and when Iona drew up some concept art of our nattily dressed Westley we all knew that was the right direction for the character. Once I learned we could support him having both human and wolf forms, that opened up the space to create a little mystery around his first appearance in town, and then we got to dive into his backstory a bit more later in the game.

Q: Do you have a favorite line that you wrote for him?

Desiree: Well, I was expecting players to love Westley, but even I couldn't have anticipated how much of a fan-favorite he would become. I have to say one of my favorite lines is one that only plays if you are partnered with him: "Tara, you're looking ravishing today! Not that I want to, or would, I mean, you know." The actor who plays him, Ray Chase, gave such a hilariously brilliant reading of that line and it makes me giggle every time I hear it! The thirst is real.

Drawing a Werewolf

Questions answered by: Iona Vorster (Concept Artist)

Q: What was the process like for designing Westley? How did you incorporate his personality and backstory into his design? Iona: Initially I started with sketching out ideas for all the Ravenwood Hollow characters in tandem. I wanted to make sure they would sit well together, and since they are all (mostly) fae, I wanted to make sure they felt consistent across their designs while figuring out “what do the fae look like in the world of Wylde Flowers.” Once I had a good idea of what they’d generally look like, I took each character one by one to work out the specifics.

With Westley, the process was a bit more complicated because I also had to figure out what his werewolf anatomy would be like and how far we wanted to push it. Since Westley is a romanceable character, I wanted his werewolf form to still feel personable and able to emote like the rest of the characters, so going very wolf-like with his design didn’t feel like the best option!

As with all the characters, I did have a wonderful character background to reference for Westley, written by narrative lead Desiree! A facet of his personality is that he likes dressing well, so along with him being a bookseller, a suit seemed like the natural choice!

Q: Which did you design first, werewolf Westley or human Westley? Did you have to put any considerations into giving him a (relatively) consistent appearance between the two forms? Iona: I started with his human form, since I knew his werewolf form would need R&D on aspects of his anatomy like his face and legs. However, eventually I moved back and forth between the two, because parts of his werewolf form, like his fangs and his fur, informed design decisions on human Westley. I wanted to hint at his werewolf form when he was in human form, and vice versa/

I also wanted to keep consistency in his outfit, especially since there’s the comical details of his suit not quite fitting his massive werewolf frame, which accentuates the differences between the two!

Q: What is your favorite part of Westley's design? Iona: His fangs! Designing all of him was fun, but I love that he has fangs in human form.

Animating a Werewolf

Questions answered by: Mike Taylor (Animator)

Q: What did the collaboration (if any) look like between you, Desiree and Iona? Mike: I wasn't involved very much in the concept of Westley. As with all characters, I was asked for feedback on each concept, but the concepts are always so good, I have very little to add, and Westley was no exception. Soo-Ling (Wylde Flowers’ 3D Artist) and I would discuss his model more and especially the hair, since we knew that was a big part of his design. We would work together to decide how to structure Westley's hair so we could have the most movement as efficiently as possible.

Q: What types of personality bits or other considerations were you trying to showcase in his animations, and how did you achieve them? Mike: Desiree and Elizabeth put together Casting Notes for all the characters, citing specific actors and/or roles that best exemplified the character. I always started there as the basis. For Westley in particular, I know I felt that he should be a little withdrawn and maybe a little brooding. He's an intellectual who has been cursed with being a werewolf, after all. From that I thought his walk - which is the animation that gets the most personality - should be pretty subdued, compared to the other characters, and he should be looking at the ground rather than straight forward. It's subtle, but hopefully reads just a little.

Q: And for Wolf Westley? Mike: For Wolf Westley, the goal was to make him more feral, without going too far. To do this, I added some exaggerated chest breathing to his idle, arched his fingers and turned his hands inwards, then made his walk very 'stompy' to highlight the extra weight he was carrying around.

Giving a Werewolf a Voice

Questions answered by: Ray Chase (Voiceover Artist)

Q: Can you describe the direction you were given when portraying Westley? What types of personality traits, emotions, etc. did you need to convey? Ray: Westley is a really deep character - and one who I was immediately drawn to. Going back through my auditions for this game, it looks like I only chose to audition for him and the reverend! I love how genteel he is - there's a huge part of me that wants to go run my own bookstore in a small village, so I'm playing out my own fantasies when I'm playing him. :D The voice director, Krizia, was a big help in dialing in just the right amount of werewolf into this character. He shouldn't be frightening, but rather be a warm wolfy snuggle.

Q: Westley's fans have become quite passionate From an acting perspective, what do you think is the secret sauce that makes him so appealing? Ray: I'm definitely using my bedroom voice most of the time for this guy. I have heard that it can be...most enticing....

Q: Are there any lines or beats with Westley that stick out to you? Ray: I'm a vegetarian, so it's always quite alarming when I have to do his butcher shop quotes! I can't believe he eats that much meat... But I guess it's better that he buys from a friend than go roaming the woods at night… And that's a wrap! Thank you for reading! Victoria and the Studio Drydock Team Find out more about Wylde Flowers Here

[deepperplexity]

Don't Be Shy

Title: Don't Be Shy

Pairing: Young!Snape x Young!Fem!Reader (ALL CHARACTERS OF AGE!)

POV: Third, Snape

Setting: Severus’s dorms, End of Seventh Year.

Theme: Drunken shenanigans with smutty goodness and praise 🖤

Inspired by: THIS fanart of Young!Snape by @simper-maximus who gave me permission to write a fanfic for it 🥰

A/N: So, hello there, it’s been a hot minute - hasn’t it? 👀🙈

As some of you know my life is CRAZY atm, not only with work but we’re moving and all that goodness as well so I’ve been inactive for a while here even if I’ve done my best to log on and try to add to our lovely community.

However, I saw this fanart of our young Snape yesterday (do check the post linked above and give it some love) and just felt inspired. So here’s a little smutty goodness of our beloved Snape at an age I rarely write - you know me loves, I want our dungeon bat on the more mature side but this young Snape just made my fingers itch. I hope you’ll enjoy it 😘

ABBR.: Y/N - Your Name

Warnings: Ejaculation, Climaxing, Masturbation, Alcohol Consumption, Provocative Language/Actions, Slight Fluff, Slight Aftercare, Praise, Shame, Praise Kink, Inexperienced!Snape, Experienced!Reader, Confident!Reader, Kissing, Oral Sex, Stripping.

Word Count: 2.2k+

Masterlist page // Masterlist post // AO3 // Linktree

The sound of Moon Rage filled the room, the band’s hypnotic tunes with its edgy female singer easily overpowered any other sound. Or, perhaps, he was simply drunk and couldn’t filter out the loud sound of the record player.

Why he’d accepted your request to meet up, why he’d allowed you to smuggle alcohol into his room, why he’d agreed to you locking the door while whispering about the others being at the unauthorized graduation party by the abandoned greenhouse and not returning for hours to come — well, he couldn’t answer any of the sluggish thoughts that sneaked through his usually overcrowded brain for a few seconds.

It was quite desolate at the moment though. Only one thought echoed through the haze of alcohol after the questions fizzled out, you. The way you danced between his bed and wardrobe at the furthest left side of the room. Your hips swayed, and your hands skimmed atop your clothes. Your skirt hitched up, your slightly too-small shirt revealing every single curve of your upper body and the dangling of your tie across your chest was as hypnotic as the music.

He couldn’t believe you were there. Singing about being touched, humming about feeling like you could breathe under the sensual caress described in the song. You were magnificent in the dim candlelight. And he was hard. His cheeks flushed. His hand squeezed the fabric of his robe spread out on the couch from where he had an uninterrupted view of you.

You spun around — a new song filling the room with an even more sensual beat — and he blushed deeper as you smiled at him. You seemed less affected by the alcohol, or you were a more experienced drinker. The entire situation was new to him. Everything about it was so wholly new on every level and he barely knew what to do with himself.

You swayed your hips as you moved closer, he tensed and you smirked. Your eyes were alight with something he could only describe as mirth. Mirth and warmth. He was warm all over too, his cock strained against his trousers and jerked as your eyes darted down to it. Embarrassment filled him as you watched his tented pants with the highly visual outline of his erection intently.

“Like what you see, Sev?” you asked with a purr to your voice he’d never heard you speak with before as you dragged your hands up along your thighs, hitching the hem of the skirt up along with the motion — baring your black knickers. You moved differently, showed a new side to you he hadn’t ever even imagined you had. You were so sweet, so pure, so gentle normally. How could he not have noticed this side of you that made his heart hammer and pound so harshly yet your control was also comforting — it baffled him but his body was alight and too strung up for him to think further on it.

His fingers squeezed the fabric within his hand harder, his heart drummed as he watched your fingers trail up along your sides while tugging up the shirt before you unbuttoned it. The black bra matching your knickers came into view as you dragged it off and threw it on his bed while his breath caught in his throat — nerves coiled within him but the alcohol wouldn’t allow him to panic.

Severus gulped while it felt as if his cheeks were on fire, his cock nearly ready to explode. No, don’t-, hold it, don’t— “Sev?” you asked, interrupting his frantic thoughts. “Don’t you like me? Don’t you like what you see?” you continued with a shy smile but your tone, it wasn’t uncertain or worried about his answer. You sounded confident, sounded perfectly aware of what he was thinking.

“I-, I do,” he confessed — his voice slightly pitched despite it having become much darker over the last two years — as you moved your hips in a figure-eight. The way your stomach moved along with that motion, how your breasts bounced ever so slightly, and how you smiled almost wickedly at him had him in a twist of want-corded tension and he had never experienced sensations as strong as he now did.

“Won’t you show me, Severus?” you asked as you undid the button and zipper of your skirt, shimmying out of it. He gulped and panted while his cock jerked and his balls drew up, his body begging for release.

He’d dreamt of your body. He’d jerked off in the shower with the fantasies of your touch and moans. You had overtaken every whim of his hormone-riddled body, for over a year. A year of torture watching you from afar, knowing he’d never have a chance with someone like you. Someone so perfect.

“Y/n, please…” he exhaled while his body began to tremble with the restraint of not coming. But you merely tilted your head while keeping up your seductive dancing. “Be good for me, Sev…” you said just loud enough to be heard over the music as you moved yet another step toward him. The gloomy dungeon-like room with its green and silvery shades felt too hot.

Your bare skin glistened with a slight perspiration, little beads of salty water glittering in the low light that his mind screamed of wanting to lick up. His cheeks turned hotter still, his hand moving up to his mouth to contain his tongue and the involuntary moan slipping out.

Your eyes moved down to his trousers again, your gaze focused wholly on the pulsing erection he couldn’t do anything about while he watched you with a mixture of shame, need, and pure horniness while he squeezed the robe tighter in his hand, pressing his hand to his mouth harder as he moaned again when you stroked your breasts through your bra. Don’t come, don’t come… By Merlin, she’s so beautiful…

“Don’t be shy, Sev…” you hummed as you unclasped your bra. “Be a mess for me, like I am for you…” you continued as your breasts were exposed and he gasped while you toyed with your pebbled nipples. He groaned and sank into the sofa further, straining in every manner possible. You threw your head back with a moan and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

The sweet moan you let out made him sag as his trousers were stained with his cum, bleeding through the fabric while he closed his eyes as little tears lined the edges of them. He was so embarrassed, so relieved, so turned on he didn’t know what to do with himself as his cock kept pulsing, squirting wave after wave of cum sticking to his cock, underwear, and trousers. How embarrassing… How do I ever look you— “You’re so beautiful like this, Sev. All messy and bothered, all flustered and so cute…” you said, again interrupting his thoughts while the last tremor left his body and his cock softened in the mess he’d made — that you’d made of him.

He jerked as your hands landed on his knees, making him open his eyes only to find you between his legs with the most beautiful look of satisfaction, with want and pride in your eyes as you looked up at him. The shame he’d felt a second ago vanished as your hands stroked up along the inside of his thighs with nothing but glazed hunger in those inviting eyes he’d often daydreamed of.

“You did so good, Sev. I’m so proud of you for holding out so long. Such a good boy,” you said with praise and reassurance in your voice that did things to him he couldn’t explain or understand. “I-, I’m a mess,” he said, feeling his heart race as your fingers began undoing the button of his trousers with a smirk as you glanced up at him through your lashes. “Just how I want you,” you whispered with that tone of praise again. “A mess for me, with that sweet look of surrender… Makes all my fantasies of you pale in comparison.”

He felt elated, assured, and wanted when you spoke to him like that. It was wholly new to him, new territory and unknown terrain. It felt good. He felt so good under your hands, viewing, words, and voice. He felt good, and hearing you fantasised about him as he did about you eased a little knot in his stomach.

But then your hands were pulling down his soiled trousers, tugging down the waistband of his underwear until his spent cock became visible and he had to look away from you. Embarrassed by the mess, triggered by the salty smell of his own cum as it wafted up. “Let me clean you up, sweetie,” you said and he jolted. Before he had time to ask what you had meant, your hand grabbed his cock gently and your lips encased the slack member a second later.

The heat of your mouth, the look of your head moving between his legs made his eyes widen and his body erupted in a shocked burning. His heart instantly thundered, his pulse roared in his ears as he watched you lick up his cum, sucking and licking his cock with tender care.

He jerked as your tongue swiped the crown. “Oh, you’re such a good boy,” you praised as he began to harden anew. “Y/n,” he panted as you encircled him again, “p-please,” he protested with need and confusion. He’d never been able to get hard right away after coming before. “Hush, sweetie, let me taste you,” you said softly before he felt the hand you’d had on his thigh disappear.

You moaned around him and he jerked within your mouth, throwing his head back as he stiffened. You began stroking at his root while your tongue teased and swirled around the tip. He tensed as pleasure soared through him in an entirely new way, his last climax still loomed over him.

He looked down at you, feeling hot beyond belief as he watched you suck his cock while pleasuring yourself — all while being between his legs, on your knees yet in control of everything. I’m dreaming, I’m drunk and dreaming, he tried to convince himself but the sensations were too real, too palpable, too perfect for his head to be able to conjure such a dream.

You panted around him, moaning and humming while he watched you work yourself up further. The entire room began spinning around him while his hands squeezed the robe beneath him, the music and sounds of you invading him, the feel of your touch overwhelmingly perfect, the smell of your arousal and his cum mixing and mingling in the air.

His hips jerked as you suckled him. He watched you hollow your cheeks and never before had pleasure erupted so violently within him. He moaned, feeling self-conscious about the way his body was jerking and tensing, how he was burning up and desperate for a second release but terrified he wouldn’t be able to despite how good you made him feel.

You moaned around him, your rhythm faltering while your hand tightened around his root. Your movements turned erratic — hasty and needy. His own breath hissed out between his teeth as he felt his balls draw up. “Come for me,” you moaned around his cock. “Be good for me,” you exhaled before sucking harder. “Please-, please I can’t—” His words were interrupted as you moaned and shook between his legs, climaxing hard while still sucking his cock with vigour.

The sight was beyond his understanding, beyond his brain’s capability to comprehend in its beauty and he came. Hard. Moaning loudly while spurting a single string of cum into your mouth while his lungs nearly froze up at the warmth exploding within him. “So good,” you said while removing your mouth but still gently stroking his cock through the pulsing. “You’re so good, Sev. Such a pretty sight, such a sweetie coming for me twice.”

The praise hit something within him he couldn’t touch, your words made him feel so good he could barely stand the sensation — so at odds with anything and everything he had ever felt. He wanted you to say such words to him again. He wanted to be good for you, make you praise him, make you look at him like you did in that exact moment. Sated and happy. You were so beautiful to him, so perfect, and he wanted to be touched by you over, and over, and over again.

“You’re mine now,” you said with a sweet smile, showing that side of you he’d fallen in love with while watching you from afar. “Y-yours?” he asked as a fresh blush crept over his skin, heating his chest and cheeks. You giggled and reached up to stroke his cheek. “Yes, mine. I want you, Sev.” “Yours…” he said in a quiet murmur, trying the word while you watched him expectantly. But it was hard for him to even imagine that what had just happened had, in fact, actually happened.

“Severus,” you began as you rose up fully on your knees, “I want you. And I know you want me, so I’m going to make you feel good enough to accept that. Okay?” you continued and his eyes widened but he nodded and you smiled that sweet smile he loved seeing your face marked by. Then your lips were pressed against his and he melted under the taste of him and you. He wanted you to make him believe you too, so he’d let you try…

Masterlist page // Masterlist post // AO3 // Linktree

A/N: It’s almost 1 am as I finish writing this, I wrote it in one single sitting right after I got the artist’s permission to write a fic for their art and gosh… This became way longer than I had thought, and bit more “adult” than I’d planned at first but I blame that on me usually writing for older Snape and it’s the middle of the night atm 😂👍 But damn, this was fun and enjoyable to write. I hope you had a good time too, dear reader 🙈😘🖤

☕ Caffeinate me? ☕ 

Your support means the world to me and you will be helping me toward my goal of becoming a full-time author in the future! Currently, my goal is to get funds for a cover and editor and I'm at 89% - every cup of coffee helps me towards that goal! 💻🖊️✨

Taglist: @lizlil @snapefiction @darkthought15 @monstreviolet @flowerdementia @marvelschriss @once-upon-an-imagine @ravennight41 @caseydoodles98 @slytherinprincess03 @theconsultingdetectiveswife @grimmyhild @monster-energies @myobscureimaginarium @snowblossomreads @eternal-silvertongued-prince @cherryglossie @setsuna-meiou31 @helena211 @a-queen-and-her-throne @justsaturn0 @turvi @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky @sunnylikesfrogs @mamawolfsmith16 @dianilaws @sassanoe @morphineisouthoney @meteoritewolf69 @bionic-otp @elizabeth-baelish @romanceandsarcasm @severuslovebot @leah1243 @glowstar826 @rickmandowneyjr @yellowbadgermole @snapesangel @a-queen-and-her-throne @impulse-anchor @commodoreseverus @writewithmarites @alisongurl13 @yan-senna @writewithmarites @reinekefoxart @nixislight @lokisbjchnl @smilingformoney

[luvgavii]

the hills - (pg6)

request: based on your recent post abt getting ur drivers license (congrats girlie) here’s an imagine idea: reader beating gavi to getting his drivers license and teasing him abt it then taking him on a late night drive where they get food and it’s all cute🫶

author's note: thank you, love. i actually love you.

warnings: suggestive but nothing too crazy.

summary: you and gavi drive around barcelona, blasting music and then going to the hills, overlooking the city.

You sighed for the fifth time trying to catch your boyfriends attention who was playing Fifa with some of his teammates on his PS5. Your legs were on his lap, but seeing he didn't react, you gently pushed him so he would finally look at you.

Taking his headset off, he finally looked at you "¿Qué?"

"I'm bored." You almost whined but you were desperate to get out of your apartment and do something fun, besides, it was rare that both you and Pablo were home at the same time.

"I'm playing right now, amor." Gavi wanted to put his headset back on but your voice stopped him.

"Instead of playing you could be studying the traffic code to get your drivers license."

After you almost burst out laughing at his expression, Pablo remembered he forgot to mute his mic and both of you could hear Pedri, Raphinha and Araujo laughing hysterically at what you just said.

Without any other words to his teammates, Gavi turned the game off and looked at you, stroking your leg.

"Okay, mi sol, let's do something, anything you want." Gavi said leaning onto you and pressing kisses to your lips, trying to make up for the time he neglected you while playing with his friends.

"Well, it would be nice if you got your license, I wanna be the passenger princess now." You laughed at the expression he made, mocking you.

"You're already a pillow princess, shut up." It was his turn to laugh now. "Come on, let's go for a drive."

"Oh I wonder which one of us is driving." You got up and pushed him with your hips while grabbing your car keys from the coffee table.

"You're so funny, Y/N." Gavi said mockingly again, hugging you from behind and trapping you between his strong arms.

"You know you love me." You laughed, trying to get away from his grip, but he was stronger than you and you knew it.

"That I do." He gave you another kiss, a kiss that started soft, but ended with his tongue in your mouth. When you felt his hands creep under your shirt and touch the bare skin of your waist, you pulled away, but Gavi didn't give up and started kissing and sucking on your neck.

"Come on mi amor, this can wait until we get back home." You laughed and pushed him gently, this time he let you go, and after you were both ready to go, left the apartment with your hand between his, kissing it softly.

Sitting in your car, you passed the AUX cable to Gavi, letting him choose what kind of music you two would listen to. Getting the memo, he connected his phone to the speakers and logged into his Spotify.

About an hour of carpooling later, carelessly driving around, just as you two were finishing singing "Me Gustas Tu", Gavi looking at you and stroking your right hand with his thumb at every me gustas tu part, you drove past a McDonald's.

"You wanna get McDonald's and go to the hills and overlook Barcelona?" You asked your boyfriend, even though you knew his answer.

"Fuck yeah, what kind of question is that?" He asked you excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the word "mcdonalds" like a little kid's when he hears the word "candy".

Ordering your dinner at the drive-through, and Pablo paying for it like he had promised, you drove to the hills, where you parked in the best spot that overlooked the city.

You ate, laughed, and overall had an amazing time. This bonding time was much needed, as you two would rarely go out like this, Gavi being away for matches or training, and you going to college and studying. So evenings like these were very appreciated by the two of you.

"Mm, I have an idea." Gavi said and got out of the car, throwing the trash from your McDonald's order into a bin, and sitting back inside the car, but this time, in the backseats. You let out a small laugh, knowing damn well what he was insinuating. Getting next to him, he pulled you closer without wasting any more time.

Connecting his phone to the speakers again, he started playing "The Hills" by The Weeknd.

"There's barely any space here, you can't dick me down properly here, Pabs." You giggled at your impatient boyfriend.

"Oh, I'll prove it to you that I can and I will." Gavi said, attacking your lips and moving to your exposed neck.

All you could do was pray no one parked or walked by your car, because if they did, they would get a front row ticket to all the things Gavi did to you.

[ronwestbreeze]

TO YOU , WORLDS AWAY : PART ONE : CHAPTER FIVE

pairing: jake sully x human!fem!reader

summary: in which you and grace make your return to hometree

warnings: none!

word count: 2.6k

author's note: another chapter! yay!

AO3 | prev | next

It wasn’t until Norm started setting up your link bed did you realize what was happening.

Grace was shrugging off her lab coat and Jake was already linked up by the time you entered. A part of you was relieved. You didn’t have to talk to him yet. You weren’t really sure yet what to think of what happened between you two the other night. So right now, not talking to him first thing in the morning was probably the best idea. Especially, when you were already so discombobulated about what you were about to do.

“Are you sure you want me there?” You asked, standing awkwardly next to your link bed. “The kids probably remember you the most anyway—I was just your assistant after all.”

“I could take her place.” Norm tried suggesting even though you all knew the answer to his request.

Grace hoisted herself onto her link bed, “Mo’at wouldn’t have asked for both of us if she thought those kids were only impacted by me, Tinkers.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You’re too humble, kiddo. Those kids loved you then and they will love you now.” Grace gave you a meaningful look before saying slowly, “But if you don’t think you’re ready, I understand. I won’t force you.”

For a moment, you really considered saying no. For a moment, the word was already at the tip of your tongue.

But you stopped yourself. You stopped because you knew he’d win. You knew this fear would keep you from being in a place you loved. All this time, all you ever did was hide.

You had made a promise to yourself. And Project Pandora was an indication of said promise. This would be a part of it too.

After a short pause, you shrugged off your flannel jacket, “Norm, I’m going in.”

Said man looked surprised as you hopped into your link bed while Grace grinned.

Minutes later, Norm appeared next to your bed after setting up Grace’s, “How long has it been since you’ve been in one of these?”

You sighed. There he goes with the questions. “Two years.” You lied down, heart practically hammering within your chest. “I almost feel like I’m a newbie all over again.”

Norm chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Probably better at it than me—actually come to think of it, how long have you been on Pandora?”

“Um, since I was sixteen… So four years now?”

He looked surprised, “Huh, I didn’t know they allowed teenagers to travel to Pandora.”

“Quaritch was my legal guardian at the time. Where he went I went.” You glanced at the computer next to your bed, wanting your conversation to be over. “Is it ready?”

Norm nodded and began closing your lid. Not without saying, “Welcome back, Doc.”

And then there was darkness.

Two years passing had made you forget what it felt like to be home.

Even though you had been in your avatar before, it all felt so new again. A thrilling feeling of being free from your human body and being in something new. A fresh start.

The world was a lot brighter now because of it. You could breathe in the air without needing a mask. You didn’t have to look up at other Na’vi people just because you were several inches shorter than them.

When you first woke up in your avatar, you were surprised to find that you were under a log bridge, it was large enough to hide your body so that no one would stumble upon it and accidently mistake it for a dead Na’vi. Well, then again, a Na’vi would be able to tell that it wasn’t one of their own because of your five fingers instead of four and the clothes you left on the body.

It almost felt like you had risen from a grave. Quite a bit morbid if you thought about it.

In a tree nearby, if you remembered correctly, your handmade spear was still there where you left it. Tsu’tey had taught you to carve it yourself and since then you’ve kept it ever since, despite not being in your avatar body for a long while. You made sure to keep it well hidden so that no animals or other Na’vi would take it.

When you found it, it was a bit splintery but still well intact. Could use a bit more carving, you were sure Tsu’tey would say the same if he saw it. Might even force you to make a new one.

A smile tugged at your lips.

“Hey, Tinkers!” You look up to find Grace’s avatar jogging toward you with a large grin on her lips. “Long time no see.”

You grin, “I’ve always been here you know. It’s not like you haven’t seen me.”

Grace smiled at you and gestured toward your avatars, “Not like this. It’s been too long.” She then gestured toward the opposite direction, “Come on, the village’s this way.”

You had forgotten what it felt like running in your avatar form. You were a lot faster than you would be in your human form, your long legs stretching forward as you went. Plus, without the mask, there was no fog covering the glass around your face, temporarily blurring your vision with how much breathing you were doing with it on.

Instead your face was barren and the breath felt amazing against your new skin.

During the time when the school was open, you had only been to the Omatikaya village only once. And that one time was when Sylwanin begged you to come and hunt with her and Tsu’tey, his original betrothal before it fell to her younger sister. You didn’t know how to hunt at the time so Tsu’tey, begrudgingly, decided to teach you the basics so at least you’d be able to keep up with them. Really, if it were up to him back then, you probably wouldn’t have been invited.

But he would’ve done anything to please Sylwanin. And that included playing nice with her new friend which happened to be you. Even reluctantly learn the handshake you taught them. Tapping your hearts three times. Three hearts. One beat. 

Now it was: Two hearts. One beat.

“Sa’nok! Sa’nok!” Was the first thing you heard upon entering the Omatikaya village. It was the same as you remembered it. Hometree stood tall and proud in the sky, blue dots of Na’vi jumping about in the high branches. You didn’t really expect to see children so soon, but then again it made sense considering around this time they would either be training or following the adult Na’vi around.

Seeing them run toward Grace and you made your heart elated immediately. Some of them you recognized having known them since they were little, now they were taller and almost reached your shoulders. They surrounded the two of you excitedly.

“Look at you all.” Grace smiled as she kneeled down to be at their level. “You’ve grown so much!”

“Sa’nok, look what I made!” One of the children said excitedly, holding up a handmade knife. Seeing Grace smiling and happy with the children surrounding her felt so right. It felt like there had been a missing piece to a puzzle that you could not solve for the longest time. And now, watching Grace be happy as if they were back at the school again, you believed that void had slowly begun to fill itself back up. All the nerves you had felt before were slipping away when some of the kids approached you.

There was a small tug at the hem of your shirt. You looked down to find one girl looking up at you curiously, “Tsmuke, do you remember me? My name is Osa, you gave me a doll. It was—how do Sky People call it? Sheep?”

Your heart melted as you knelt down in front of her, “Osa? Yes, I do remember you! You’re such a big girl now!”

“I know how to shoot an arrow now! Do you want to see?” Osa grinned excitedly, grabbing your hand.

You grinned, “Sure, I would love to see.”

“Let me go get my bow!”

Osa ran off and a few other children took her place. They asked the both of you and Grace where you had been and why they hadn’t seen you in a while. Grace explained it to them the best way she could until Osa came back seconds later with her bow and arrows.

She tugged at your hand, “Come on, come on! Let’s go!”

You allowed the girl to drag you off, followed by a few more kids. You all didn’t wander too far from the village, especially when one of the adult Na’vi said to stay in view so they could watch them. Or rather watch you closely. You didn’t mind it really nor did you blame them. Right now you were just thankful to even be allowed back into the village.

There was a small pond of fish that you all arrived at. Osa readied her bow and arrow, rambling on about how her father taught her to aim and load the arrow. You listened closely and knelt down next to her as she began to aim her arrow at the pond.

“Don’t miss this time, Osa!” One of the older boys, Maw’i, teased.

“Yeah or you’ll scare the food away!” Another boy said.

You hushed them, sending them a stern look, “If you keep at that, you’ll distract her. Then she’ll actually miss and scare them away. We wouldn’t want that would we?”

“No, tsmuke.” They both say with small pouts.

Osa nudged you to gain your attention again. You nod to her, giving her the go ahead. Osa aimed her arrow and waited a few seconds, then she let go of the arrow and missed.

There were snickers behind you, “Ssh!” You say to them before turning back to Osa. “It’s okay, just try again. Those fish can be really fast.”

Osa nodded and retrieved her arrow. She aimed at the pond again. You motioned for the older kids to be quiet and gently patted Osa’s arm, silently encouraging her.

After a few more seconds of her pausing, she let the arrow go. And this time it hit one of the fishes.

“Well done, Osa!” You cheered, clapping your hands happily. When you stood, she hugged your waist tightly and you patted her head. “Go one and get your fish, okay? Then we can head back to the village and show the others.”

Osa nodded and skipped toward the pond to retrieve the fish and her arrow. Just as you gathered up the children, especially the older ones that got distracted by playing amongst each other, all of you started your way back to the village.

“Tsmuke!”

At first, you thought it was more kids coming your way but when you glanced over your shoulder, you instead saw Tsu’tey on a direhorse riding toward you. Osa hugged your leg as he stopped in front of you, brows raised curiously at you being surrounded by children.

“Tsamsiyu!” You nod with a grin.

Tsu’tey got off his direhorse, sizing you up and down as he walked paced around you. “I did not expect to see you here or in this form of yours ever again.” He tapped his heart twice.

“Don’t even think about it, Tsu’tey.” You said, doing the same with your heart. You already knew what he was thinking with the way he was examining your physique and spear that was strapped over your shoulder. “I’m not even ready! It’s been years, it wouldn’t be a fair fight!”

“Are you challenging her again?” Maw’i questioned. He was one of the kids you remembered taking care of when the school was open. And there was no doubt that he remembered you and Tsu’tey’s earlier relationship. Had to since the boy practically followed you around when he was younger, especially when Tsu’tey stopped by the school.

“Huh? What of it, little man?” Tsu’tey smirked before looking at you challengingly. “Sounds to me like you’re scared, dreamwalker.”

You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him away, “That’s enough strong warrior. You know I can’t beat you.”

Tsu’tey smirked but backed off. He fell into step with you as you and the children walked back to the village. As you got closer to the village you saw that Grace was deep in conversation with a few Na’vi women, children still clinging to her as much as they clung to you.

“When are you going to try and become Omatikaya?” Tsu’tey asked you, eyes watching Grace curiously. “Like your demon friend.”

You tried not to snort at the latter bit. Really, you were surprised at his question. It was the last thing you expected from him considering he was so against the Sky People invading his home. But it was sweet in a way. But also the question dampened your smile, just a bit.

“No matter what I do, I do not think I will really belong here.” You say truthfully as some of the kids at your side rushed over toward Grace. “And that is something I’ve come to terms with a long time ago.”

“Hmph.” Was all he said.

You scoffed, “Really? That’s it? No words of comfort?”

Tsu’tey rolled his eyes but patted your head. It was the only comfort he knew how to give. He did it when the two of you were younger as well. Seems like things hadn’t changed that much.

He looked past you and his eyes suddenly narrowed, “Your demon friend is here.”

It was kind of pathetically hilarious at how quickly you turned toward the direction Tsu’tey was looking.

Next to Neytiri was, who you assumed, was Jake in his avatar form. This was the first time you’ve seen it and you were pleasantly surprised at how similar his face was compared to human form. The only difference now was that he was blue and standing instead of being in a wheelchair.

You heard Tsu’tey grumble next to you as Jake’s eyes met yours.

It wasn’t until you saw Jake’s stunned face did you realize that he hasn’t seen your avatar before now. You realized Tsu’tey had left your side, especially when Jake approached you with Neytiri trailing behind.

“Oel ngati kameie.” You nod to Neytiri.

A look of recognition crosses her face as she was sizing you up. After a pause, she nodded in return, “Oel ngati kameie, tsmuke.”

Jake was still looking at you in slight awe, Neytiri noticed this and rolled her eyes. She smacked your arm and mumbled, “He’s still big baby.”

You giggled as Neytiri walked away. Jake looked at you in confusion, glancing from Neytiri to you, “What? What did she say about me?”

“You still have a lot to learn, Puppet.” You patted his arm but then frowned when you noticed small cuts on his chest and the side of his head. “Really? Not even a few hours here and you’ve already bled?”

He caught your hand when you went to check one of the cuts on his chest, “I’m fine, Doc.” He smirked, hand still grasped around your wrist. It grew when you tried hiding your flustered state. “Neytiri’s just throwing me around a bit.”

“Sounds kinky.” You quipped, playfully shoving him away until he let you go.

“Funny, I said the same thing and got a bow smacked in my face.”

“You probably deserved it.”

Jake grasped both of your arms and started pulling you in a random direction, “Come on, I wanna show you something.”

You frown but let him pull you along, “Shouldn’t you be training?”

“Not when the teacher is distracted.” Jake grinned back at you. “Come on before she catches us.”

The mischief in his eyes wasn’t missed by you as he continued dragging you through the forest.

You were definitely going to regret this somehow.

taglist: @luvvfromme @sully-stick-together @dazedshoon @jakesullylvr @s-u-t @ssc7514 @cheari@tojigirl @nyotamalfoy @perfectprofessorloverapricot @erenjaegerwifee @naityelen @dumb-fawkin-bitch @raggedyoldwitch

[harrysmimi]

Harry dates the reader's best friend and after they break up, Harry and the reader start dating!!! lmao I want to see drama 😈😈😈

And also related to this and this request. I tried my best to incorporate it all.

I hope this met your expectations as I tried my best. I'm just not the best at writing angsty angsts.

Ps. There won't be a part 2 to this. This has an open ending.

Six Weeks

Synopsis: One where YN's love with Harry but she can't seem to confess her feelings

More of my work

YN had an hour left before she got off work, so she started on lunch as she skipped on her breakfast to get her work done early.

Working from home came with it's own perks, she could work whenever unless she got her 8 hours in. At the end of the day her work was done, just had an hour before she could log out and enjoy her weekend all by herself. Today she woke up super early and started on her work so she can have a relaxing afternoon and evening. Taking a break from her freelance work which she is busy with on weekends.

Just as she was midway sauteing some onions her door bell went off. Lowering the flame to her stove she headed to get the door.

"Harry?" She was surprised to see an unexpected visitor.

"Hello love!" He exclaimed.

"Hi, come in!" She stepped aside to let him in.

"Thank you." He slipped off his shoes bythe door before he walked in, shedding his coat and hanging it up on the coat hook by the door.

"I thought you weren't going to be in town for another week." YN said, shutting the door behind her. "Do you wanna join me in the kitchen? The stove is on."

He followed her to the kitchen. "What are you making?"

"Just some rice, I'm feeling lazy today."

"I was done with my fitting and all early so came back to spend some time with Mum and dad and Gemma, before I go back on tour again." He answer her questions she asked before he got distracted.

They both talked and caught up since they last saw each other which was more than six months ago.

Harry and YN met just after One Direction announced their hiatus and he was back in London. YN was a new student, happened to be living at his mother's as a paying guest. His mum offered a few students to stay in at her's only if they're willing to abid to her rules, which many didn't but YN certainly did.

Harry was surprised how she was so only focused on what brought her to London in the first place. Her only ever leaving the house to go to college or work (though her dad really helped her out as much as he could), gave her a lot of time to spend with her land lady, Anne.

Anne and YN really got along well from the get go. Especially since Anne was fine with her using the kitchen whenever she wanted the girls spend their free time cooking up something. YN was taught few of her baking recipes whilst Anne was introduced to her guest's native cousin.

Mundane and might be boring. But they had fun.

YN ended up staying for the entirety of her degree course at Anne's, and for another six months before she found studio flat to rent and be on her own with a stable job.

YN and Harry met over at Christmas time, a couple of meetings and he got to know sbe doesn't have any idea of his work life.

YN liked to call her the most boring person to ever walk on the planet earth not no reason!

He had long jair back then, he was visiting his mum and sister as they had a fun holiday planned whilst YN didn't. She had to stay back in London and work on her assignments as the new environment and degree course was kicking her arse for good.

For most of the time YN was locked up in her room, going at her assignments and projects. Learning to be a software engineer wasn't easy. Till this day she regrets not switching her career paths.

Though it took a long time for YN and Harry to become friends, it was the best friendship either of them have had. Given the fact that both of them are so much alike yet so different. Cliché but very fucking true. YN didn't needed any friends, in fact she only made friend's with just one girl from her class and that was it, after graduation they grew apart. Where as Harry made friends everywhere he went, even though he's as shy as her and as reserved as her.

Somewhere in those moments YN grew to harbour some (or more) feelings for him. He was kind, yet he found his way to annoy her in most adorable ways.

Just when she was about to tell him about her feelings, regardless of the possibilities of infinite outcomes popping up in her head Harry told her he was seeing someone. That someone was her only friend from College, Elodie.

Yeah, that felt like a punch in the gut.

Since then Harry and Elodie have been in an on and off relationship.

YN grew over her feelings somewhere in those years, Harry released his first album, started on with his solo tour. Her dad passed away so she has to take up the responsibility as the oldest child to look after her family back home. Her mum's a house and her siblings were all little when it all happened. That gave her another reason to just get over her heart break. Though her feelings for him manages to revisit her whenever he's being himself around her. Which is all the time.

But YN's been there for Harry through it all and his highs and lows with Elodie. Especially with his lows. She listened to him rant about things he couldn't stand about his girlfriend anymore. Even when she cheated on him and he cheated on her.

YN didn't liked that. It was all against her morals but she respected him enough to not judge him.

Now him visiting her gave her vibes that he was going to complain about his girlfriend. Surprisingly he didn't. Not until he started asking about her. They had sat down for dinner after YN forced him too join her.

"How have you been?" He asked, filling up his plate, "how's your mum?"

"She's doing great. Having fun picking out guys for me to marry." She chuckled.

"Never knew you were into arranged marriages." He looked at her, eyes wide, "is it still a thing?"

"I am certainly going to have an arranged marriage, unless I find a guy my mum approves of. Which have high likelihood, I won't, given I don't social much."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"No, not really." She shrugged, continuing to stuff her face with food. "What about you and Elodie? Thought she didn't liked you coming over to visit me."

Of fuck! She shouldn't have asked that.

"Uhh, it's complicated." He hesitated, "she broke up with me for good last week over text."

"What the fu-" YN interrupted herself in time but the sentiments traveled through, "over text? Why?"

"She thought I was cheating on her again just because Kendall came to my show in LA." He explained, "I don't think I wanna do this anymore."

YN kept to herself. They've been through it. She had tried to talk some sense into him but he doesn't like to take advices because he's a grown man.

More like a man child.

YN had a lot of shit on her plate so she didn't found it worth to talk to him about it and them ending up getting into arguments. It put a lot of strain on their own relationship with one another which YN hates so much. So she just settled on humming in acknowledgement to what he shared.

"Hmm."

"Hmm? That's all?"

"What do you want me to say?" She shrugged, "we end up arguing when I'm telling you something which you're not going to agree upon on. I don't find it worth putting out friendship through it all."

"I thought you'd atleast... Never mind." He sighed.

YN tried her best not to roll her eyes at him and have her meal in peace. She put on TV with her favourite show. All for next twenty minutes she heard Harry sighing and being gloomy, which annoyed her. For many different reasons but one reason which had priority was that he's visiting her after a long time. They can be happy for once and not talk about person she has now grown to despise.

"Harry can you not?"

"What?"

"Can you not be gloomy for once?" She decided to cut to it, "we see each other once or twice a year that's mostly when I reach out to you, or when you have problems with your girlfriend who keeps on cheating on you! I can't take this anymore! For once be a good friend you used to be." With that she picked up the empty dishes and walked in the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm sorry for wanting to confine in person I feel safe around." His voice sounded much louder.

"You do this all the time!" She raised her voice to match his too, "all you talk about is what she when you don't listen to me, so now don't even tell me a thing about her. I don't want to hear it."

"Fine I'll leave then!" He grabbed his phone.

"Please, don't be my guest!" She gestured at the door.

Harry grabbed his coat and he was out the door. Did he regret lashing out on her? Of course, he did. But was he going to go back and apologise? No, not tonight.

YN on the other hand felt awful. She had never once asked anyone to leave her house under any circumstances.

She tried her best to be friends with Elodie. Her feelings wasn't a secret from her friend, that she liked Harry. Yet her friend proceeded to go on and date him.

Was it wrong that she said nothing about it? Maybe it was.

Harry seemed happy throughout the initial stage of his relationship with his girlfriend. That she didn't wanted to ruin. But she did warned him around the first time when Elodie was first cheating on him. He didn't believe her.

Then when he found out, he came crying to her after the first breakup. Then it kept happening, over and over and over again. It made harder for her to get over her feelings for him, it gave her false hopes of her chance with him. At least she wanted to tell him how she feels and get it off her chest there. Now when she chose to not talk about it for her own sake she did not expected him to lash out like that.

......................................................................

It was official that YN was moving back home.

It has been a good three months and life has been going on the same as it has been. Her mum has finally found a good match for her (according her it was). Being brown comes with it's own perks of skipping the whole dating option.

It was good she thought. The guy her mum told her about seemed nice. Vihaan was his name. Apparently he graduated from the same college as YN in the same year with a law degree. But he's planning to move back home as well.

Perfect! - is what her mum said.

YN had managed to squeeze in a few dates with him in her busy schedule. Now it something entirely new for her and she hasn't been on any dates really.

Today though, he had asked her to go meet his parents. It's not too early for it being an arranged marriage. But YN had some stuff she had to get rid off, like some pots and pans. A few things she had borrowed from Anne which were long forgotten and buried deep somewhere in the storage.

YN also happened to find a few blazers she borrowed for Harry when she was interviewing for new job (well be forced to wear those to make a good first impression). She never got to give those back to him because he was busy when she was free and vice versa. It was a hassle. So she packed the stuff to return to Anne and make a run to her place before she headed to meet her future in-laws who were in town. She also took the blazers with her to Anne's so she return them to her son who's constantly visiting her.

"Hello darling." Anne greeted YN by the door, "what all of this?" She was surprised to look at the box in YN's hands and blazer covers.

"Just some stuff I borrowed from you ages ago." YN said, slipped her shoes off by the door before she walked in, "like the baking pans for cakes and stuff. I never got to use them by the way."

Anne chuckled, "that's alright, you didn't had to bring these back, dove. What's with the impulsive cleaning?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you." She waddled in managing to carry a big box because she couldn't find any smaller ones with her puffer jacket on. "Can I put this on the counter?"

"Yeah, I'll help you with that." Anne gave her a hand.

"I am moving back to India." YN got back to answering her question, "I might be getting married soon, don't worry I'll send you the invitation. And yeah, that's pretty much the reason for me moving back home."

"Awh, YN that's so lovely!" Anne cooed, "who's the lucky guy?"

"He's from my city but he was a student in my college, I didn't know that. His name is Vihaan, he's a lawyer." YN shared, and involuntarily blood rush creeped up to her cheeks.

"Did you mum chose him for you?" Anne was already onto making tea for both of them.

"Yeah, she did." YN nodded as she shrugged off her jacket. "Also can't wait to get out of cold already."

"Yeah? It isn't this cold in your city, is it?"

"No, not really."

"And how long have you known Vihaan?" The green eyes lady asked.

"About three months. I've grown to quite like him." YN shared, "he's sweet."

"And when are you moving back? Got to through you a little dinner." Anne enquired.

"In about six weeks. But you don't have to. In fact why don't you and Gemma and even Michal come over to mine for dinner?" YN said, "you can also meet Vihaan then!"

"Now that sounds fun, will surely come over one weekend." Anne rested the mug of tea in front of her and YN mumbled her thank you, "and what are these?"

"Oh these are blazers which Harry lend to me. Can you give these back to him for me, please?"

"Why don't you do that yourself? He's coming over to visit with his girlfriend in about..." She looked at her phone for time, "five-seven minutes."

The door bell went off.

"There he is." Anne did her little excited walk to the front door to welcome her son.

YN did not wanted to see him actually, especially after the argument that day. Plus he was back with Elodie with new pap pictures all over the internet which Anne's confirmation to hammer the nail to the rumours, it broke her heart all over again. She has been doing great without seeing him and without talking to him all together. She has been able to slowly move on.

Also her moving back home wasn't for anyone but her mum who was all alone. YN get's to still keep her job and be transferred to the branch in her city and she can still work from home.

"YN do you want to stay over for lunch, I made my roast and there is cheesecake for dessert?" Anne suggested.

"I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to pass this time. I'm going to have lunch with Vihaan and his parents." YN shared, "I'll be heading out after my tea."

"Hold on, who is Vihaan?" Elodie asked, excited for some reason considering the fact that her and YN are no longer friends, which everyone is aware of.

"My future Fiancé." YN answered.

"As in your boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"YN, you're already getting married?" Harry butted in, "you told me about this, what? Like, a month ago?"

"Three months ago, Harry." YN corrected him.

"Am I invited?" Elodie clapped her hands like an excited toddler, her dyed hay-like blonde hair moving on her shoulders. "Come with me, whilst Harry helps his mum with something he got her!" She grabbed YN's hand and dragged her to the living room.

YN somehow managed to not spill her hot tea anywhere and sat down on Anne's sofa. The kitties are lounging next tk the fire place under their little blankets. Anne has still got the blanket YN crocheted (which took her about a year to finish with her schedule) for the kittens.

"Tell me about him?" Elodie asked grabbing a throw pillow to keep on her lap, looking behind her to see Harry following his mum to her garden with a pot with got for her as a just-because present. "Hmm, now you can just stay away from my boyfriend, can't you? How fun!"

"What the- what do you even mean?" YN was taken back.

"He's always with you when he's in town. Which he rarely comes back to London. He's always vacationing or touring or filming a movie or recording yet another Album." She complained. "And when he is in London he goes straight to see you!"

"What's the matter with that? He's working. And no we don't see each other every time he's in London so don't sit there and say that."

"Why not? He cheated on me. Wasn't that girl you?" The blonde finally confessed.

Harry confessed to her that he cheated on her ages ago. But he have seemed to leave out the details of with whom. It certainly wasn't her. Hell, YN haven't even thought about even kissing him after he told her he was seeing Elodie. It wasn't like her all.

"What the fuck are you talking about? He didn't cheat on you with me!" YN has had it.

It might not seem alot but her feelings have been bottled up little by little over the last few years.

"Yeah, you always manage to come in between us." Elodie shrugged simply accusing her, "didn't you tell me you like him. No in fact you said you loved him! I'm finally confessing it to you because you're getting married soon, so I don't care!"

"Then why did you went on and date him, didn't I tell you I have feelings for him and I was going to tell him?" YN's eyes welled up with tears this time. "You were my best friend and I trusted you."

If she were a cartoon her face would have been blood red with smoke coming out of her ears. But she's a pro at keeping her anger in check.

She watched the blonde's expressions change, looking over her head her behind her. She found Harry looking right at her. Now how much did he hear?

YN decided it was better to leave now to create any drama at Anne's house.

"Anne, umm, I'm gonna go now." YN grabbed her jacket and coat. "I'll call you later this week? To plan out dinner at mine."

"Sure love." Anne nodded in agreement. She could sense the awkward and heavy vibes clouding her lovely home right now.

YN could feel her heart trying it's best to burst out of her chest raw. As her

......................................................................

YN drove to Vihaan's place and from there he was going to take her to the restaurant they were going to meet up his parents at. Now it was something YN was very hesitant about. Meeting his parents without anyone with her. Yeah it is common tradition to take your parents to see your future spouse's parents. And it was too early.

YN got bad vibes from Vihaan's mum, her future mother-in-law. He had told her he didn't wanted live alone even after they got married as he's the only son and he wished to take care of his parents, which she was fine with. It is a thing in Asia that the older son takes care of the parents, which she doesn't mind as she grew up with those practices and traditions. But his mum gave her weird vibes even though she had talked to the lady a just twice over a video call and text. That's all.

Mother-in-law's have this very bad reputation of being controlling and manipulative, which so far Vihaan's mum fit checks every category off. It started off with talking about her reconsidering her continuing her job after marriage. Be a housewife instead.

Which haven't yet to tell her mother about or else she would have handled it herself. Her mum was very supportive of her focusing on her career and she would have still wanted to focus on her career. Her own mum gave up her career when she married her dad, whilst her dad was a good husband and a father, she struggled to take care of her kids when he passed. Now that was something she didn't want for YN.

YN actually liked this guy. He checked all the bare minimum boxes for her. He was respectful, and respected her decisions so far. She was starting to like him as well. But he ignored her when she brought up his mum wanting her to quit her job by diverting the topic to something else.

Well, she haven't been strong into dating game, having been gone on just couple of dates. Never passed the second date phase with anyone she went out with. It was a very obvious red flag for her. But she's still got a time to be firm and talk about it. At least to her mum first.

She still went on with it. "What's wrong?" Vihaan asked on the drive to the restaurant. She stopped at a red light.

"It's nothing, just had a rough day." She explained. "I wanted to tell you something."

"Hmm?"

"You mum asked me to reconsider keeping my job if we were to get married." She brought up the topic which he managed to divert before.

"She did?"

"Mhmm, she did." YN nodded and started driving again once the light turned green again.

"Well, what is your decision then?"

"You know it." YN shrugged, "I just don't want your mum telling me what to do and what not to, that's all."

"What? She's going to be your mother-in-law, basically she's like your mother." He chuckled, nervousness evident in his voice.

"But she is not my mother." YN pointed out, "even my own mother never told me to consider keeping my job. Like ever!"

"I respect her for that." He nodded, "we'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Why not now? You can tell you mum to not interfere, if we are to get married. We need to talk about it now, or else I would not want to live with your parents."

"So you want me to leave my parents?"

"Well, I'm leaving my mother too. It's only fair." YN tried to keep it cool. She haven't talked this much in a long time and her jaw hurt already. She prefered texting over talking over phone calls.

She's the silent kind of person.

"She have your brother to take of her, and he is now that he's got a stable career."

"You know he just started like two months ago, he's a fresher," YN reminded him. A heavy sigh left her chest as she tried her best to be calm. Or else she was going to run iver someone or run into a pole or a building.

"I am never say you can't. My mum just asked you to reconsider it, not actually quit your job!" He started getting defensive about it, his voice going up an octave.

"Don't yell at me, I'm just trying to have a conversation. Please!" She sighed again.

She was feeling the same heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach she felt every time Harry told her he's got a girlfriend. It felt so bad, and she couldn't pin point what she was feeling. But it was something negative. But she stopped her car on a side.

"You know what? Get out, please." She said.

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to do this anymore." She announced, "go tell you mum I said I do not want to get married her boy."

"Where is this coming from, YN? I told you we can talk about it. Later. Okay?" He said, trying to talk to her like she's a toddler.

"Don't talk to me. Like that. Okay?" She mocked his tone. "Please!" She gestured to the way out of her car. And he stepped out of car as she said so.

It wasn't an over reaction, was it? She knew how it was going to be. Her in-laws are going to manipulate her into quitting her job. That's how it is. Even if they agreed to her (whish they don't het to have an opinion on) keeping her job now, they would guilt trip her into doing it anyway.

Just like her own grandparents did with her mother. Whilst her mum doesn't regret quitting her job for her kids, YN was sure she would.

Growing up her dad always made her life easy. Hell, she didn't even needed to keep a side job as she studied abroad. He even paid for her rent and other expenses along with her tuition fees the best he could, she kept a job just so she could live more comfortably and not trouble her father much more.

It was very hard on her, in every way after her dad passed. Because she had no one to rely on anymore. People looked at her with pity because she's not a fatherless child. It gets to her but she tried her best to not pay any mind to it. She's got her mum for her.

She called her mum the first thing when she got home. Luckily she didn't got her lease signed off, or sold any of her things yet like she planned on. She was going to reconsider other things now!

......................................................................

Harry was furious.

As he stood there on his place watching YN walk out of the door. She didn't even pit on her puffer she was in that hurry to leave. He knew YN wasn't the type to stay and argue, she prefers to take herself out of the situation until it's all cooled down enough to talk about it. He doubts she's even going to talk about it. Or to him at all after this.

Now he knew why YN stopped being friends with Elodie.

He felt like a biggest dickhead and dumbass to ever exist that he never saw that she liked him since the very beginning like he did.

Harry had grown to be infatuated by YN the first time he saw her. That grew into a small crush and he started liking her. Hell and heavens, there was a time where both of would text about hours and hours talking about literally nothing, sending each other funny posts to keep a conversation going. Fuck, how he missed those days!

And to hear YN say that she was going to tell him how he felt but he beat her to telling her her that he was seeing her other best friend from college. He thought she didn't like him that way.

Honestly, he was feeling lonely but his feelings grew for Elodie. He wouldn't lie there but everything died soon when she first cheated on him. He didn't know why he got back together with her.

Maybe because he found out YN was going on a date with this guy she met at work. Though it didn't work out after the second date. He felt even more awful.

God, even his mum knew about how YN felt about him. She never told him either. Well, why should she? They were both grown up adults and it was their personal matter.

If it were him in place of Elodie he wouldn't even consider going out with someone their best friend admitted to like. Well, he did went out with YN's best friend, he ain't a saint himself. But he wouldn't betray his best friend like that.

All Elodie did was feed of off him. The clout, the career boost. And he didn't even saw it until his mum pointed it out to him after he told Elodie to leave. She was bug face in modeling industry all of a sudden, she was getting bigger and bigger campaigns, even big magazine covers. All because Harry did not care if she talked about him because there was nothing to hide. He didn't realise she was using him. Even after she cheated on him twice. Made a huge fuss about it, even in media about him doing the same. He wasn't petty to tell after her. He would never do that. Even to his worse enemy.

He knew what is it to be under media and public scrutiny, 24 by 7, every day of the hear.

YN was probably his only friend who wasn't the part of the entertainment industry in anyway who managed to keep him on his toes. She didn't worked for any celebrity, she didn't even bother to be friends with other of his industry friends. Even his manager. She hates him in fact.

He betrayed her. In a worse way he could only imagine. This has never happened to him.

He went into his head space of thinking about if he would have been patient enough how things would have turned out. With a mug of tea in his hands as he sat on his make shift bed of the sofa at his mum's, Skye and Dotty fast asleep on his legs over the blanket on his lower body.

All he could think about was the stupid fit Elodie threw at his mum's house, like a fucking toddler. Luckily his mum was nice enough to not kick her and him out of her house, he was embarrassed. Yeah, Anne is his mum but it was still embarassing.

"Wasn't it her?" Elodie asked, furious of Harry when he brought up her recent cheating incident.

"It was never her!" Harry exclaimed, "it was never her, now if you're done Elodie please leave. This is my mum's house."

"I know who's house this is!" She hissed at him, "she made you cheat on me because she wanted to take revenge. She told me she's in fucking love with you! But I love you as well! It's not fucking fair!"

"Then why the fuck would you go on and cheat on someone you love?" He pointed out, but he doesn't want a answer, "you on what? I don't want any answers from you, we're done and through. Don't reach out to me again, just leave please!" He walked her to the door grabbing all his stuff. Shut the door behind him taking a few minutes to relax himself there.

His mum saw everything. She didn't know he ever cheated on any of his partners. But he did. He never wanted to tell him mum, because she raised him to be a better person. But she heard everything. And there was no way his mum didn't knew, it was public affair that he had a hook up. Elodie made sure to make it a public affair. But he knew his mum chose not to believe those.

"Hey, it's alright." Anne still approached him with a hug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't wanted you to know!" His face was smooshed in her neck, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." He kept chanting as he sobbed and sobbed.

"It's alright!" Anne assured him, letting him get it all out. After he calmed down he did talked about it to his mum.

He did hooked up with this random person, he doesn't remember their name, he was drunk and high. It was after he had an yet another huge argument with Elodie. He ended up taking that person his place he shared with her when she was on a trip for her runway show.

Confessing it and getting it all out was something which put him at ease there. He had one less thing weighing on his shoulders.

His mum convinced him to stay the night, so he made the sofa his home where Anne's cats usually sleep at night. But none of them were asleep really, running around like they're in a forest. Well half them were asleep on him though, so he couldn't move much.

He remembered, YN adores Anne's cats so much! And the feeling are mutually from the felines as well. They're not as kind to him as they're being now, maybe they can sense he's sad and feeling low. With Skye and Dotty both purring loudly on him, he didn't mind the smuggles. He needed that.

He was really sad. Not because he broke up with with his girlfriend. God, no! He wasn't. He couldn't bring himself to love Elodie again after this second time she cheated on him. They were through it, talked it out, but he saw that still coming through.

He was sad because YN was there the whole time. If he had waited for some time. Only if...

He feels bad being an asshole to her that day. She was still being nice to him, made extra food because he was over just in time. They were sat in her living like usual, not having to talk much and just enjoy one another's company there. He fucked it up.

YN was probably tired of his shit that she refused to talk about it. He gets it now. She probably still feels hurt though he doesn't want to assume, she was seeing someone else now.

But that doesn't mean he can't talk it out. So he tried to reach for his phone and immediately called YN to check in on her. She seemed so hurt when she walked out. But her line was busy. He felt even more horrible.

......................................................................

It has been a month, and YN was still miserable. She just had two weeks until she could finally go home for a while.

Everything started to feel overwhelming to her. Even working from home. She ordered groceries online to not having to leave her flat. Her car was probably going to hate her. So was her body when she eventually has to leave her flat for something or the other.

But she lost it and called her mum to tell her everything. Better share it with anyone than bottle it up. She was in her bed crying her heart out talking to her mum on the call. This is something she would go to Harry to talk about. But he's the reason she's crying now. And maybe that asshole Vihaan.

She liked him. The feelings were real. Her intuitions were never wrong. Well, maybe they were wrong with Elodie but with Vihaan they were not.

Apparently there was a huge scandal made of this issue back home, she had not energy to deal with whatsoever. Typical brown people behaviour it was. All she needed to know was that the marriage was going to be a total scam for her.

"Mumma, I really don't know what to do!" She sobbed into her pillow.

"I know it's going to be hard. Why didn't you tell him that you like him? You have." Her mum tried to console YN the best she could over a phone call.

"Because he was dating my best friend. Or he is, I don't know. I don't want to get in between my best friend and her boyfriend. That's not me!"

"And she did the same to you, did you tell her that you like this guy?" Her mum pointed out.

"Hmm."

"Now, we'll keep everything aside, okay? Come to see us for a week." Her mum suggested, "it'll help clear up your mind, hmm?"

"Okay." YN agreed, sniffling, "I love you Mumma."

"Hmm. Now go to sleep." Her mum scolded her, "and I love you too."

"Mm bye." YN hung up her call and put her phone back on the night stand.

It was early morning for her mum. She felt bad for starting off her day with whining and crying and complaining. But she has been crying non-stop since midnight and it's now half past three in the morning for her. Her head was throbbing as her eyes burn from dried up tears. There is so much of crying one can do.

She didn't even know why she was crying, that was making her cry even more. Her whole body ached which just added to her misery.

Yeah, YN you're probably overreacting, just go to fucking sleep! - she scolded herself.

Just as she was about to go back to sleep, sinking deep into her fluffy blankets with her hood on, her phone started ringing. It was from Harry she noticed from the red heart emojis which were on either of his initial letter. She turned her phone to silent.

It was nine in the morning. She hadn't slept a blink. But when she finally was going to sleep, there was a knock on her door.

Contemplating she gave up just ignoring him for many reasons, he might make more noise and her neighbours would be mad, or he might sit there entire day and night, talk to her through the door because she lives in a studio flat and her bedroom is literally in her living room, he'd do anything but leave.

"Hey, YN it's me, Harry." She heard him through the door before his knuckles met the hardwood again.

Harry on the other side of the door, tried to knock on her door, hitting his knuckles again on the door.

YN somehow managed to pull herself put of her bed. All she wanted to do was be miserable on her weekend before she could continue to be miserable back home for a couple of weeks. But here Harry was, knocking her door. Wrapping her fluffy blanket around her, she went to check on the door.

"Hi," Harry sighed in relief seeing her finally. "I, I wanna talk to you, cam I come in please?"

She just stepped aside to let her in. Right away he noticed her flat was pitch dark, with the light blocking curtains still closed up. He also noticed how red, puffy and swollen her eyes her, eyelashes still wet from tears.

YN just wanted to sleep in compensation of what she missed at night. That's all.

"YN-"

"Did I left out something to return?" She was already ready to sift through her boxes which were meant to shipped back home but she never got to take of those, so now half of them shoved into her closet and piled up in a corner.

"No, no— what, what are these boxes for?" Harry stuttered seeing all the boxes. She just shrugged for his dismay. "Came over to check up on you. You alright?"

Does her puffy, red eyes, runny nose and rosy cheeks look look alright to you, Harry? He thought to himself. He also noticed a big pile of laundry eating up her laundry basket by the bathroom door. She did not liked to leave dirty clothes piled up like that, whenever he was over, her washer in the kitchen was always running with something or other. Her electricity bill was mostly from running her washer, he wondered.

"YN!" He sighed and grabbed her hand to drag her to the bed, he made her sit there and found a place for himself on the floor in front of her. "YN, I'm so, so, so sorry, my love!" He proceeded to lace his fingers through hers because she let him as she stared right back at him. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for not seeing through it all. Everyone knew, even Dotty knew and I didn't. I'm so fucking sorry!"

He was referring to the conversation he heard of YN and Elodie. His ex took advantage of everyone. It wasn't fair.

Only if, he wasn't stupid and dumb and blind and dickhead it would have all been so fucking different! Only if!

"It took me six long weeks to come and apologise. I don't want to ruin anything between us. I don't want to loose you as my bestest friend!" He sniffled, "I know I've already ruined everything but please consider giving me another chance, please!" He looked up ather with his puppy eyes brimmed up with tears threatening to escape.

YN hasn't said a word since she opened the door for him. There is no use in ruining her friendship with him. Yeah, he went on and dated the person once she called her best friend — well, it was her fault to even consider a shitty person like Elodie a best friend — but he was her only friend. She have gone through being only his friend but was it worth it?

Was it worth it? Of course there were many different factors contributing to her low time now which is making her depressed. It was winter, her seasonal dipression was already kicking in, although she wouldn't say she's depressed. She's just sad.

She wants to be sad.

No one qas letting her be sad in peace. Not her mum. Not her brother. Not her Boss. No even herself.

"I don't know what to say." Is all she said. And that made him fall in silence as well. His shoulders slumped as a puff of air sighed through his nose.

Harry didn't know how he felt, truly. He had been worse. He had just managed to pull himself back from falling into his drinking habits. He had managed to keep his hands away from his favourite vodka for a week, to clear his mind and think straight. All he did was sleep all day if he was not being asked to work.

Right, asked to work. He had no motivation to work. His head was empty.

"I'm so sorry for what she did." He broke the silence. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you."

"Hmm." She sounded, accepting his apology.

Well, it felt so good to accept an apology for what it is rather than just waving it off and giving it a label of "it's okay".

The room fell into deep silence again. An awkward one this time. Before Harry spoke again here. "So, am I invited to the wedding?"

Give him a break please. He's been suffering too!

Whilst he knew thay was probably not the right time to invite himself to her alleged wedding, he was just trying to snip the thread of awkwardness in the air which was coming to his throat.

"I'm, I'm not... getting married." She shrugged taking in a long break.

"What, what are these boxes for then? Thought you were going back..." He stopped there. He was falling straight into his typical behaviour with her, he knows he needs to earn for his apology to be truly accepted.

"Yeah. I am. I am going back." She admitted.

Well, she'll be back after her vacation is over, which is for less than a six week. But still she would be working from home back home. She just hadn't had the energy to unpack her clothes from the boxes, and her pots and pans were laying homeless all around the kitchen.

A part of her didn't wanted to tell Harry about it though. Not at least until he's all riled up in anxiousness and panicking.

Cruel. Yeah, she knew.

"What? Why?"

And like she expected he panicked, so she just shrugged.

"YN!" He sighed, "why? You said you're bever going back."

She was partially joking all the times she have told him that. YN decided to stay quiet again there.

"Okay." He nodded. "I'm really sorry. Really very sorry."

"I know."

"Okay." He nodded again, keeping his head down. "Do you want me to make you breakfast?"

"No."

"Okay." He sighed again.

"You know Harry?"

"What?" He lifted his head to look at her, found her getting comfy in her bed by the missing head board on her single bed.

"I'm so glad you came to terms with everything with Elodie and now you know why I'm no longer friends with her." She spoke, her voice was dry, nasally and hoarse from crying so much. "I've always had bad luck with friends I guess and I continue to do so. Thought you'd not be like everyone else. I was proven wrong the moment you told me you're seeing my best friend. Well, best friend back then. While all the time I have been very obvious about my own feelings towards you being more. Still, letting it go was the best thing I could do, but I'll admit it that I always felt happy each and every time you came to me and told me you're done with her. I'd gather up everything in me to finally, finally go upto you and tell you everything but I just couldn't. And it hurt so fucking much, hearing you be so freaking heartbroken pouring your heart out to me for you to just to get back with her. I'm do not want to sit here and hear another break down just for you to go and dump everything in gutter. And for you to tell me you reciprocated the same feelings for me. I can't bring myself to trust you on this."

Platonic heartbreaks hurt like a bitch if not more than a romantic break up. And YN couldn't bring herself to tell him everything just because Elodie qas once her friend. Doesn't matter they were no longer friends. It all went against her morals. And he never trusted her as a friend when she told him about his now-ex cheating on him shamelessly, without any remorse.

"I don't know if I just want to take your sorry and tell you it's okay, because it's not. To me it's not. It still hurts. I forgive you but it's not okay." She concluded her little confession. All Harry could do was sit there and process everything she said to him.

"I know. I know it's not okay, YN. I just... don't want to ruin it with you. I know I should have said that, not atleast now. But you're my best friend. My only best friend!" Now he could see his vision getting blurry with tears brimming up in his eyes, as he choked and stumbled on his words. "I swear I'll never talk about yet another break down of mine. I just don't want to loose you as a friend, YN. You're my rock!"

"Don't you think it's going be harder to stay friends after all of this?" YN asked. She felt a sting in her heart seeing his teary eyes. She barely falling for it though.

"And don't you think it's going to be better to be friends especially when we know how we feel about each other?" He counter questioned her, just to to get a dry and blunt answer from her.

"Nope." She shook her head, "I can't trust you or anyone for the matter of fact." And Harry's head dropped again as a few tears fell onto the fabric of his grey sweats on his thighs. "I need time."

"You promise we'll reconciliate?" He asked. "As only friends."

"I don't know."

"Please."

YN truly needed time to think about everything, get herself together. That's why she was going to take a break.

"I'm not going to promise anything to you, Harry. Really. I'm going back home for six weeks and we'll talk about it after—"

"Alright." He agreed in a heartbeat cutting YN midway.

"Alright."

"Can I hug you?"

"Mhmm." She agreed. Least to say he was just way too eager to hug her finally, nuzzled his face in her neck.

......................................................................

N O T E :

Hope y'all liked it, this was requested on Tumblr ages ago.

There won't e a part two to this one, hence why I left an open ending.

Ik the character of Vihaan should be explored more here but quite frankly I didn't know where to take that character so I left it there.

Please, please leave a comment about how you liked it and what you think about my writing. Reviews are great encouragement to write more. <3

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[hexpea]

Ch. 15 - Missing ⚠️TW: Emetophobia⚠️

You were woken up the next day with a splitting headache, as expected. Remembering what you had done the night before, you quickly grabbed your phone from your nightstand only to be greeted with no notifications from 'you know who.' You double checked the call log to confirm that you did, in fact, call Gojo. You immediately cringed at yourself, falling back down on your pillow and facepalming. The sudden movement had caused Seiko to wake up.

"Good morning, beautiful," they turned over in bed to smile at you. You gave a weak smile in return. "How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful," you gave a single laugh. "I'm going to need something for my head for sure."

"I thought so," Seiko playfully rolled their eyes. "What are you and your m-"

Before Seiko could finish their sentence, the two of you could hear your mother's voice from the living area. She sounded as though she were on the phone and by her tone it sounded incredibly serious, serious enough for you to check it out.

"What's going on, Mom?" You asked, walking into the room as you found her with a worried look on her face and phone to her ear.

You stood patiently waiting for her answer as you could hear your dad's voice from the other end. He was speaking quickly with his own tone of panic. You slowly furrowed your brow the longer it took your mother to answer your question.

"Sukuna," your mother's urgent glance flickered toward you as she hung up the phone. "One of the fingers is missing." You swallowed hard, suddenly frozen stiff. Sukuna was incredibly powerful, if not the most powerful, curse user in history -- and a hell of a guy to separate and imbue into a cursed object. "You're going to need to help," your mother looked at you sternly, your technique inherited from your father's side of the family. You stood frozen for a moment and your lack of response had irritated her. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Y/N?"

You took a seat in the chair across from her, still stunned at the news. Could this mean that Seiko...? "Y-yeah," you finally answered your mother. "I need to go back to Tokyo."

"You can't go back there," Seiko suddenly appeared in the room with curiosity. Their tone was stern and commanding.

"Seiko," your mother muttered, "she needs to-"

"NO!" They suddenly shouted, letting their anger get the best of them. "She can't go back there..." Their voice trailed off as the steam wore down.

"Seiko, I have to," you said sadly, looking up at them from your chair. "I'm really sorry, but with my dad being as old as he is... I'm...the last of my name," you chuckled at the irony. "The last of the imbuers."

Seiko breathed heavily, trying to contain their anger as best as they could. "Fine," they finally muttered, avoiding your eye contact. "But you need to stay away from him," they suddenly commanded.

You chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, Gojo won't cause any trouble."

"Stay away from him," they repeated with a hint of hostility. Your mother remained silent but was taken aback by the sudden attitude Seiko was having with you. They clearly weren't the same person they met at dinner those weeks ago.

"I can't exactly avoid him," you rolled your eyes with a light smile. "It's Sukuna we're talking about. You remember what I told you about him. He's not to be underestimated," you shrugged, "and if someone ingests or even possesses a finger, he'll be a threat to everyone, not just me. Gojo is the most powerful sorcerer, I'd need him to be there during the ritual when we find it."

Seiko's shoulders tensed as they reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Just...be cautious. I don't trust him..." 

Their voice trailed off and you knew that they wanted to say your name, too. And rightfully so. That night spent with Gojo was a huge mistake, one you wished you could take back. The thoughts that lingered behind, though, were so tempting that they made you sweat. You had to get over him and that night, Seiko was your future and your love for them shone brightly. You considered them your best friend and this weird behavior they were exhibiting was just a hiccup you needed to figure out. One step at a time, you tried to reassure yourself.

The next day, you had prepared for your travels and your mother had scheduled your flight to Tokyo for that evening -- all paid for by the school, of course. As you contemplated your upcoming trip back, you couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. The missing Sukuna finger was a grave concern. You knew that it held immense power and its loss could potentially lead to chaos that hadn't been seen in nearly a thousand years.

Seiko's sudden change in demeanor also troubled you deeply. Their outbursts and uncharacteristic behavior hinted at a darker force at play. Deep down, you wondered if he was the cause for the missing finger. To you, there really was no other explanation. However, Seiko's warning about Gojo lingered in your mind. The night you spent with him had left an impact, and you couldn't deny the temptation that still simmered beneath the surface. But now, the situation was different. Your responsibility was not only to your family and friends but also to Seiko, the one you had promised to share your life with. You needed to ensure that your connection with Gojo remained strictly professional for the sake of your future.

With a determined resolve, you turned to Seiko. The three of you stood near the front door, your packed bag at your feet. You had a sense of sincerity in your eyes as you looked toward your partner.

"I promise, Seiko, I'll be cautious," you reminded them for the thousandth time that afternoon. "My priority is to recover that finger and ensure our safety. I won't let any non-existent personal feelings get in the way," you emphasized.

Seiko's eyes softened as they looked at you, and for a brief moment it felt like the person you had fallen in love with was still there. "I trust you, Y/N. Just come back to me safely."

You reached out and took Seiko's hand, offering a reassuring squeeze. "I will, I promise. We'll get through this together."

"Goodbye, dear," your mother offered a warm hug as you began your departure. She had promised to stay behind and keep an eye on Seiko; it reassured you of your trip back to Tokyo.

"I'll get home as soon as I can," you smiled, releasing her and opening the door to your apartment.

"Of course," she smiled, "and not long after we'll all have to go back for somebody's wedding!" She teased as she closed the door behind you and you rolled your eyes to yourself.

As you stepped into the bustling arrivals area of the Tokyo airport, you couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions; you swore you were almost nauseous. You were back in the city, yet again, but the reason for your return was far from exciting, yet again. The missing Sukuna finger hung heavily in your mind, and the journey to find it was daunting. The turmoil in your stomach seemed to be a mix of dread, and the unfamiliar sensation had been plaguing you for days.

As you navigated the sea of people, searching for Ijichi, you spotted a familiar figure holding a large sign with your name sloppily written on it.

Gojo's grin was as obnoxious as ever, and it didn't take long for you to notice him in his ostentatious fashion. His stark white hair, tall frame, and that ridiculous grin made it impossible to miss him. He was dressed in casual attire, but you couldn't help but notice how effortlessly attractive he looked. He held the sign above his already six-foot head while others stared and whispered while passing. He leaned from foot to foot, swaying the sign to draw attention even more. The whispers didn't deter him, he seemed positively adamant on catching your attention in the most flamboyant way he could.

He continued waving the sign in the air as you approached, his blue eyes lighting up with mischief from behind his sunglasses. His happiness wasn't swayed by the blatant scowl on your face. "Y/N!" He greeted, laid the sign against his leg, and held out his arms as if you were about to embrace him. "My favorite imbu-"

You stopped in front of him, holding your scowl with your arms tightly at your side. You couldn't contain your annoyance any longer, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Satoru, do you really have to be this extra? You're embarrassing me." You ended in a whisper and leaned toward him so he could hear you.

He chuckled, completely unapologetic. "Embarrassing you is my specialty, Y/N."

You rolled your eyes and took the sign from against his leg, giving him an exasperated look. "I thought Ijichi would be here to pick me up."

"C'mon, Y/N, it's you," Satoru teased, grabbing your suitcase and rolling it along side himself as you left. "Why would they send Ijichi?! Plus, I thought a warm welcome was in order...and I may or may not have missed you."

You glanced at him, surprised by his words. "You missed me?"

He shrugged casually but didn't let his smile fade. "Maybe just a little. Now, let's get going. We've got a Sukuna finger to find."

The drive from the airport back to Tokyo had been a relatively silent one. You sat in the passenger seat of Gojo's sleek, black car, gazing out of the window at the familiar cityscape. The tension in the air was palpable, largely stemming from the unresolved feelings you had towards the man behind the wheel. But you promised Seiko, and yourself.

Your thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Gojo's voice, pulling you back to the present. "I hope you don't mind, but I made your arrangements."

"You turned to him, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Arrangements? I thought I'd be staying at the school. Why would you need to make any?"

Gojo glanced at you, his smirk never leaving his face. "Well, I thought it'd be more convenient if you stayed at my place for the time being. I may have mentioned it to the higher ups. You don't mind, do you?"

Your shock and irritation were evident. He'd spoken to the higher-ups about your staying arrangements without even asking for your consent. He was clearly up to no good, playing his usual games. "You what? Gojo, you can't just decide things like that for me!"

His grin widened, almost as if he enjoyed getting under your skin. "Relax, Y/N. It's not a big deal. My place is close and I promise it's way more comfortable than the dorms at the school."

You crossed your arms, clearly not pleased with this turn of events. But he wasn't wrong. "That's not the point, you should've asked me first."

As you drove deeper into the city, your discomfort increased. You thought that your stay would be at the school, where you could maintain some semblance of independence from your ex-husband. Now, you were on your way to his flat, feeling like that ability was slipping away. The steady sound of the car and the city passing by began to make your stomach churn. The feeling from earlier hadn't subsided. It was somewhat familiar, and not in a good way. You tried to ignore it at first, but as the queasiness grew, you knew you were in trouble.

Gojo noticed your discomfort as you fidgeted in your seat and raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Y/N? You don't look so good." From the corner of his eye he could see your face beginning to pale and dampen ever so slightly.

You nodded, trying to hide your nausea as saliva began to pool in your mouth. "I'm fine, just tired from the trip."

But your body had other plans. As Gojo turned onto a side street, you couldn't hold back any longer. You brought a hand to your mouth, and Gojo's eyes widened as you began clawing at the door handle.

"Whoa, hold on!" He quickly pulled over into a vacant spot near the curb, unbuckled his seat belt, and reached over you to open the passenger door. 

Immediately, you began to vomit onto the pavement. Like some sort of professional, he quickly moved your hair out of the way and held it back while you coughed and spit away the remnants of your sickness.

Once you'd finished, he quickly handed you a tissue from the box he kept in the backseat. "I told you that you didn't look so good. Maybe it's more than just being tired. Are you sure you're okay?"

You took a few sips of water from the bottle you had bought at the airport and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. The nausea you'd been experiencing had become a regular part of your morning routine as of late, but you didn't want to say anything to Satoru. To your knowledge, a stomach bug had been floating around but this had lasted longer than any sort of bug.

"I'm sure I'm okay," you reassured him seriously. "Please, let's just get to your flat. We've got more important things to worry about."

[bluejaysandblackbats]

A Yellow Ribbon

Fandom: DC Comics, Young Justice, Flashfam, Superfam

Summary: Conner's been best friends with Bart ever since they met at the carnival when they were children. The problem is that Bart can't remember meeting Conner that night. But Thad does...

Chapters: 12/?

Characters: Clark Kent, Conner Kent, Lois Lane, Bart Allen, Thaddeus Thawne, Don Allen, Meloni Allen, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Kent, Max Crandall

Relationships: KonBart, KonThad, Clois, MelonixDon, Ma/Pa Kent

Additional Tags: No Powers AU, Mistaken Identity, Possibly Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Twins, Lies, Stolen Moments, Unconventional Love Triangles, Misunderstandings, Childhood Friends, Complicated Relationships, Family Dynamics, Family Bonding, Best Friends, Secret Crush, Autistic Bart Allen, Autistic Thad Thawne, Thaddeus Thawne Gets a Hug, Conner Kent-centric, Bisexual Conner Kent, Conner Kent Needs a Hug, Third Person POV, Hurt Clark Kent, Boys in Love, Friendship/Love, Farm/Ranch AU, Farmboy Conner Kent, Grandparents and Grandchildren, Unconventional Families, Unconventional Relationship, Romance, Light Angst, Strangers to Lovers, Cyrano, Jewish Superfam

Chapter Twelve: CRAYDL

Conner looked around the airport until he saw Clark. “Dad!” Conner shouted. Clark ran to him, flashing the employee his ID. Clark embraced Conner and smoothed his hair back. 

“Were you scared?” Clark asked as he looked Conner over. 

“I cried a little bit when the plane went up in the air… But, it wasn’t so bad,” Conner answered sweetly, shrugging off the last remaining bits of anxiety. Clark crouched near Conner and held him tight before kissing Conner’s forehead. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You must be tuckered out,” Clark whispered. Conner nodded. 

He held Clark’s hand and breathed through his nose. “Dad, where’s Mom?” Conner questioned. 

“Picking up your surprise,” Clark answered, “Hungry?” 

“Uh-huh… Wait… What surprise?” Conner questioned. Clark pointed to Lois holding a familiar little boy’s hand. 

Conner looked up at Clark as if asking for permission. “His parents wouldn’t have sent him if it wasn’t okay. Go say hi to your friend,” Clark grinned. Conner released Clark’s hand, running to his friend at full force before picking him up. 

“Bart, what are you doing here?” Conner questioned. 

Thad swallowed hard as he wrapped his arms around Conner, squeezing him in an unusually intense embrace. “My mom and dad said I could stay with you for a few weeks,” Thad whispered, still unable to let go. Conner smiled, waiting until Thad was ready to let go. “I’ve never had a sleepover before. I’m so excited.”

Conner held Thad’s hand. “Now, we don’t have to stop talking early to log off. We could play until we fall asleep,” Conner beamed. Thad and Conner followed Lois and Clark to the car. 

Thad looked out the window at everything. The buildings. The statues. The murals. It was so much on his senses, but he loved every moment of it. “Do you kids wanna get loaded fries and milkshakes?” Lois asked. 

“At Do-Si’s?” Conner asked. 

“You know it, sweetheart,” Lois answered. Thad chewed his lip as he turned to Conner, and he pulled something out of his bag. 

“Can I take a picture?” Thad asked. 

“Sure. And can I take one of you after?” Conner questioned in reply. Both boys giggled and made faces at the little camera. 

** 

At Clark and Lois’ apartment, Conner and Thad lay on the floor together watching TV and drawing pictures. Thad yawned. “Are you sleepy?” Conner asked. Thad shook his head. “Bart, can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” Thad replied. 

“How’d you get better?” Conner questioned. 

Thad sat up, politely crisscrossing his legs as he remembered the grueling process. “Someone donated their stem cells to me,” Thad replied. Conner cocked his head before sitting up to listen better. 

“What’s that?” Conner asked. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really… Um, the person who gave me the stem cells had to get a shot every day for five days… And then, after they get their fifth shot, they go and get a needle put in them that takes their blood out and puts it back in, and it does that for a long time. Sometimes that’s uncomfortable. They can’t get up to go to the bathroom or anything the whole time… So, sometimes a nurse has to give them calcium through their blood in a bag, and it makes them feel better,” Thad explained, “But I had to stay in the hospital a little while longer to make sure it worked… And the other person had to stay away from a lot of people too, so they wouldn’t get sick.” 

“How come?” Conner asked. 

“‘Cause it weakens your immune system. If you don’t have healthy stem cells and someone gets you sick, you could be sick for a long time. And if you give stem cells to somebody else, your body has to take time to get strong again. But we’re both okay now,” Thad reassured Conner after seeing the distress in his eyes. 

Conner took a shaky breath before kneeling forward to hug Thad. “I’m glad you’re better. I never forget to pray for you. So, I’m glad it worked. I don’t know what I would do without my best friend,” Conner whispered as he held a startled Thad in his warm embrace. Thad slowly reciprocated, overwhelmed by the amount of affection but not averse to it. 

Thad wondered what it would’ve been like had he told the truth the first time. He wondered if Conner would’ve liked him the same. His lips twitched into a smile, but he wanted to cry. Conner released him and brushed his temple with his palm as if he’d forgotten something important. “Oh! Bart, I go to temple with my dad once a week, but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Mom said she’d take you somewhere fun if you didn’t want to go,” Conner explained. 

Thad listened to Conner describe temple shortly after that, and he smiled at Conner’s expression. “Can I come and see?” Thad questioned. 

“Sure! I’ll tell my dad,” Conner smiled. Clark entered the room. 

“Tell your dad what?” Clark teased as he sat down on the floor. 

Conner kneeled and placed his hands on Clark’s shoulder before resting his chin there. “Can Bart come to temple?” Conner asked. Clark nodded. “Is it time to go to bed?” 

“‘Fraid so… We’ve got a big day planned tomorrow. And we’re getting donuts first,” Clark whispered, “Brush your teeth, and I’ll be there to turn out the lights and say goodnight in a minute.” 

**

Thad woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, and he reached into his bag, looking for his stuffed animal. “No… No, no, no—.” Thad started to panic once he realized Bart had his stuffie at summer camp when they decided to switch places. 

Conner stirred, turning on his side as he watched Thad struggle for air, and he sat up once he was lucid enough to realize something was wrong. “Bart? Is something wrong?” Conner asked. Thad hugged his knees, hiding his face as he trembled and gasped for air. Conner climbed out of his bed and rubbed Thad’s back. “Do you feel sick? Is it your stomach?” 

Thad shook his head. “It’s embarrassing,” Thad mumbled once he caught his breath. 

“You can tell me. I won’t make fun of you. I promise,” Conner whispered. He stopped and squinted in the dark. “Did you wet the bed?” 

“No,” Thad whimpered as he started to cry. 

Conner climbed into the bed beside him, and he pulled him into a half-hug. “What’s wrong? I won’t laugh at you. I promise,” Conner reassured. Thad looked up at Conner as tears streamed down his cheeks. 

“I didn’t bring CRAYDL with me,” Thad confessed. 

“What’s a CRAYDL? Maybe my dad could find you another—.” 

Thad shook his head. “CRAYDL is my stuffie,” Thad mumbled. Conner softened and nodded. 

“I know it’s not the same, but I can sleep in your bed tonight,” Conner offered, “I’m sorry you’re scared.” Thad tried to calm down, so he wouldn’t hurt Conner’s feelings, and Conner climbed under the blankets. 

“You won’t be mad to stay here all night?” Thad asked. Conner shook his head. 

“It’s okay. Try to close your eyes. I’m not going anywhere, Bart. I promise,” Conner reassured him. He shut his eyes, and patted Thad’s knee until he scrunched down in bed and closed his eyes. Conner lay on his stomach, and Thad lay on his back, letting Conner reach over his chest with a gentle but heavy arm.

[lukabitch]

A ghostface x male killer reader we’re they’re complete opposites like the reader is really cold and distant and barely talks and that’s what draws Danny to him and basically how Danny somehow gets the reader to like him back and them getting together?

One of my personal favorite tropes. Thank you for the request Anon! :)

Tw: mentions of blood.

Danny had his eye on you for awhile. The way you would keep your head down and avoid every killer. You remind him of some of his favorite victims just a lot more lethal.

He’s tried to hang around you but, you’d somehow always found a way to leave. Not this time though, he really wants to get to know you. You were out in the woods sharpening your weapon. He walked up to you giving a award winning smile.

“Hey handsome you wouldn’t mind if a join you?” He didn’t give you time to answer and joined you anyway. You sigh out giving trying your best to ignore him. “I always thought your weapon was cool. Do you have a name for it?” The question stayed in the air for a long time.

“Christine.” You voice was quiet and rough from lack of use. The name was weirdly normal for a weapon. He thought about the name going over ideas in his head. Then it dawns on him what the name is from.

“Wait like the book Christine? By Stephen King?” The excitement was very clear in his voice. You nod your head gently focusing on your weapon. “Personal I love that book. Definitely a slow buildup but it was worth it in the end.” He was on the verge of completely nerding out on you. If there is one way to describe Danny it’s definitely a horror nerd.

“It was one of my favorite books growing up.” You were done with your weapon your full attention on the man beside you. “What’s your favorite book by him?” Danny finally got what he wanted your attention. “Personal my favorite is The Shining.” You hummed in acknowledging and taking note of it.

Awhile has past since then and you two have a mini book club. You still have the tendency to act cold and distant towards him but, that’s what he liked in the first place. The book the two of you are reading is Misery.

Though he had something else in mind for today’s meeting. He worked his ass off to get you a gift. Obviously he got you your favorite book and some of your favorite candies. When he got to the log you two usually meet at you weren’t there.

He assumed that you were in a trial and waited for you to get back. Luckily that didn’t take long for him. You were not in the best of moods at the moment. The trial went pretty bad for you. All you got from it was your clothes being stained with blood. You just wanted some comfort before the entity kicked your ass.

You went to the spot you knew you would find Danny. When he saw you he walked up being more cheery then usual. That’s when you saw the gifts he had. “I manage to get these for you.” Hearing that made you pull him in close for a hug.

He was over the moon with the affectionate you gave. “I need to ask you something sweet thing. Would you like to make these meetings into dates?” He wasn’t exactly expecting an answer from you.

“I would like that actually.” your voice was softer more vulnerable. Needless to say Danny was ecstatic about this.

“Trust me handsome you won’t regret this.” You had the feeling he was right.

[anders-hawke]

hey I'm the previous anon!

I kinda logged off for a while but seeing your answer made me want to ask so really, I'd love to hear about it from a screenwriter pov.

hope you don't mind all these questions!

as per the hot takes of this season, how do you feel about them? so fa the ones I've seen are:

pen not deserving forgiveness and being the villain of the show

the queen and the ton being too easy on pen

colin needing to grovel more

eloise having to be kinder to cressida and have her become besties with penelope by saving cressida together

eloise and cressida having to be endgame and eloise being the queer bridgerton instead of francesca

benedict having to be w a man or w a crossdressing sophie because he's bi

and, what do you think of the choices made by the team this season?

what do you think of franchaela? was it a fun twist or should they have avoided giving francesca the gay storyline?

what about benedict? his gay storyline this season and why just this season?

why do you think the mondrich are so important? could it be (like some people speculate) because lord kent is gonna be hyacinths gareth?

how you feel about the very modern twist on makeup and style this season?

what do you think of penelope continuing as lw and using her name and potentially putting herself in danger?

I've tried to ask as much as possible but if there's anything else you want to elaborate on feel free!

I don’t mind the stack of questions at all! It’s very exciting to dissect it all and answer them. Honestly, I have a whole document dedicated to unpacking and debunking lots of the hot takes I’ve seen because it’s so annoying to see people type with their brains off. Like, no shame if you don’t think while watching stuff—lord knows I watch something for the first time without much in the way of higher thought happening. But I also recognize that and take the time to organize my thoughts before I speak on anything. (Although that might just be a bit of a coping mechanism I developed because of my anxiety disorder that serves a good purpose generally.) This post will also be spoilery because I reference events from the books a lot.

Pen doesn’t deserve forgiveness/Pen’s the real villain of the show/QC & the ton were too easy on her.

There is no “actual” villain of the show. It’s fucking Bridgerton, like, be honest! That claim just makes me laugh because it’s like... You can’t fool me. I know a lot of people who say that are just indulging their internalized fatphobia. And in the instances when they’re not, it’s still plain old misogyny. On the topic of forgiveness, I personally did not read what happened as anybody forgiving Pen for what she wrote in Whistledown. I think, just like when Colin said he would never court Pen, though he had a change of heart, he never did forgive her.

The people that matter to Pen—the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons, her family—accept what she did and understand that Pen recognizes that she was wrong, would do things differently if she could, and not only resolves to do better but already in season three has demonstrated that effort to do better numerous times. Pen never asked for forgiveness, she requested clemency from the queen.

She gave her speech in front of the ton because hiding that she’s Whistledown implied that some of her best qualities—her cleverness, her passion for writing, her humor—were things to be ashamed of. But they’re not and in embracing her full potential, Pen defied the misogynistic idea pervasive in the ton—which her mother repeats throughout the show but especially in season three—that all women are meant for is bearing children. No, women don’t just have to be mothers and gossips, they’re full human beings.

Pen continuing the column is a good outcome for the ton because they eat her writing up. I remember how, at the beginning of episode six, everyone’s upset that she hasn’t published! They love her writing so damn much. And as Genevieve explains to Alice in “How Bright the Moon,” they all “feed off the nouveau.” They love having new information to gossip about, and what is better than the reveal of who Lady Whistledown is? They probably talked about that reveal all the way through Pen’s maternity leave (or as they called it: confinement) until she published her next issue of Whistledown as Penelope Bridgerton.

Some people just hate to see a woman succeeding. “I don’t care that your spouse worships the ground you walk upon and that the job you love is very lucrative, that should’ve happened to me instead,” sorta attitude is what I’m getting from Pen’s haters, lol. Anyways, all that to get to the screenwriting part of this: Pen becomes Whistledown as an outlet for her frustrations with society. All of her mistakes are reflections of the terrible treatment she gets because she doesn’t fit the ton’s ideal. As Colin said, it makes sense that Whistledown would reflect, at times, the cruelty around Pen.

It’s part of the mirror motif of the season because Pen as a character is a mirror for society. She reflects people’s best and worst qualities. She wants to be more than a wife and mother like Eloise, she shares Colin’s loyalty and kindness (someone has to specifically do her dirty for her to not be kind to them), and she is also deeply critical of herself like her mother, sisters, mamas, and debutantes. She also amplifies all those qualities; for example, when she writes about Colin adopting his rake persona, she’s taking the cruelty of him declaring that he’d never court Pen and turning it back on him but with a megaphone.

I mean, I completely understand why (and I can’t remember where exactly I learned this but I think it was in a live interview she gave during season three promo but I could be wrong) Shonda Rhimes wanted to adapt the Bridgerton books because of Penelope. Obviously she saw something in the other aspects of the series, but Whistledown/Pen is a captivating way of conveying information and examining the ton. Putting Colin and Pen’s season before Benedict and Sophie’s (and, of course, all the other siblings) allows the writers to even more thoroughly use Whistledown to examine and criticize the ton, which will go hand in hand with Benedict marrying Sophie in spite of her being a bastard.

Colin needed to grovel more.

I completely understand where this idea comes from but at the same time... Please give it some actual thought if you believe this. 😭 Not knocking Kate and Anthony, as an oldest sibling I have no choice but to stan them, but it is greatly to Colin’s credit that he approaches Pen the the very first episode of the season with an apology. Anthony isn’t able to do that until the last episode of season two because he’s spent every day since Edmund died repressing his feelings in order to effectively carry out his duties as viscount.

Colin never had any of that sort of pressure and because he’s also significantly younger than both Anthony and Benedict, he’s one of what I call the “sibling-kids.” They’re Ant and Ben’s siblings, yes, but in many ways they are also Anthony and Benedict’s children. It’s kind of like a teen parent relationship with C through H. Anthony, Benedict, and Violet are very much the parents: Anthony nurtures their minds, Benedict nurtures their souls, and Violet nurtures their hearts. Anthony preaches logic (advising Colin to straight up tell Pen he loves her, going on a second honeymoon with Kate since the estate is in good hands and love is important), Benedict preaches freedom (encouraging El’s rebellious pursuits and trying Colin’s drug tea), and Violet preaches wisdom (advising her children to follow their hearts).

Kind of a tangent but as a screenwriter I greatly appreciate the careful construction of the interplaying relationships in this show. With all that, Colin has the benefit of having three advisors in his life and is able to be a very sensitive person, so he doesn’t completely freak out and not know how to approach the situation. Therefore, he doesn’t go overboard with the groveling, which would end up making it Pen’s responsibility to lift him up and set him straight. Instead, he calmly approaches Pen and offers a very thought out apology. The onus is entirely on him and earning Pen’s forgiveness requires no emotional labor on her part. (And this is forgiveness because Colin doesn’t stand by what he said, whereas Pen does, she simply regrets the way she said things.)

It’s such a beautiful scene when he apologizes, partly because it shows the true nature of their relationship: when Colin’s hero complex, his rake persona, Pen’s wallflower persona, and her Whistledown persona are set aside, they are complete equals. They are their truest selves around each other with no need for duplicity or grandstanding. Colin doesn’t need to grovel before Pen for her forgiveness because he takes a mature route where he says his piece and gives her the space to accept his apology or reject it. He truly listens to Pen when she speaks and, as proof of his regret and dedication to their friendship, he offers to help her catch a husband—something she obviously seeks to do but which he didn’t previously know about her.

Honestly, if Colin had just done a bunch of groveling, it would’ve been boring because it means we wouldn’t have the Colin who took Pen’s silence to mean that even the person who was most interested in his travels no longer found them—and therefore him—interesting or worthy of her time. Because he came to that conclusion, he changed everything about himself in the hopes that both Pen and the ton would like the new him better and would take him seriously. The ton certainly does but Pen, who matters more than anybody else, doesn’t.

Colin has always been the type of person who thinks before he acts. The times when he doesn’t are in opposition and that’s on purpose. When Marina seduces him into proposing and agreeing to run off to Gretna Green, she’s manipulating him by using his hero complex to override his thoughtful nature. But we see Colin in his natural state with Pen a lot in season two, especially “The Choice” when they have their conversations about purpose.

Colin and Penelope have also known each other since they were kids, which is why they’re able to be their truest selves around each other. It’s why Colin picks up on Pen’s melancholy and probes her on it, and it’s why Pen immediately understands that Colin isn’t simply growing up when he returns in season three but is putting on a persona. They bypass needing Colin to grovel over his comment in season two because they don’t need grand gestures between them to convey that they’re being earnest.

Eloise should’ve been kinder to Cressida and should’ve worked with Pen to get Cressida a better ending.

If Eloise actually developed the maturity to recognize that Cressida simply wanted to escape her unhappy and tragically doomed life and went about achieving that with unsavory efforts, El wouldn’t have much of a character arc left for her season. As for Pen, she doesn’t owe Cressida shit after all that bullying, and she still didn’t decide to be vengeful. She didn’t disparage Cressida in her column, despite very clearly wanting to. Cressida not getting an HEA serves the same purpose as the Mondriches having to sell their club: only Bridgertons get happy endings. We see this concept even more in Queen Charlotte where there are no Bridgertons and none of the main characters’ situations are happy endings. We know how Charlotte and George’s story turns out, Lady Danbury and Lord Ledger cannot be together, and Violet’s home life is a far cry from the abundance of love she nurtures amongst her children.

Creloise should be endgame and Eloise should be the queer Bridgerton instead of Francesca.

All this nonsense about “the queer Bridgerton” is annoying at this point and I’m so glad that I haven’t had to see it personally surrounding season three. Now, aside from Phillip already being in the show, Creloise was never going to be endgame because neither of them are mature enough for that. Eloise is too focused on how different she feels from everyone else and trying to reconcile that with the idea of everyone having interiority and not being automatically lesser for wanting to get married and have kids. Cressida is too focused on finding a solid marriage and then escaping society for good. Eloise may not like society, but she loves her family and could never leave them behind. However, I do very much read their friendship as queer and think it was probably on purpose that it read that way to us. It’s just that it could never work out in this universe. (There’s always Creloise fics on AO3, it’s fine.)

Frannie’s story is perfect for a sapphic romance, which I’ll talk more about later, and Benedict is obviously also queer, which I will also talk about later. Additionally, from season one, both Benedict and Eloise have been thought of as queer, so I honestly have no idea where people are getting this idea of El being the only queer Bridgerton from. As if we don’t have multiple!

Benedict needs to end up with a man/Sophie should cross dress.

Every person I see saying that Ben needed to end up with a man gets blocked. I don’t need that in my life, especially not when Benedict is representation for me. I don’t think Sophie needs to cross dress in season four because the show has already dedicated a lot of time to Benedict going to little parties and experimenting. Benedict meets Sophie as the Lady in Silver at the masquerade ball at the beginning of An Offer from a Gentleman, yes, but he meets Sophie the maid while he’s leaving a house party. I imagine that he’ll start off the season having a pretty grand time hooking up with people, embracing his sexuality, and then he’ll be hit with the Bridgerton lovesick-itis where he won’t be able to stop thinking about his Lady in Silver. Sophie doesn’t need to dress up as a man to incorporate Benedict’s queerness into the season; he’s queer regardless, and there are much more tasteful—and likely—ways we’ll see that in the show.

Is Franchaela a good change?

I’m so excited for Franchaela I don’t even know how to express it. Like, yes, Polin is my favorite ship and they’ll never be topped for me, but Franchaela is a very close second. I was on board with the gender swap from the get-go because after the first two seasons and Queen Charlotte, it was clear to me that the people making these shows know what they’re doing and aren’t in danger of fucking up the stories they’re telling (despite what some may think). But it was reading When He Was Wicked that I really got excited for Frannie’s season. It’s the perfect book to genderswap because Michael and Francesca spend most of the book dealing with their grief for John and their guilt for falling in love with each other; they perceive that as a slight against John. Using all that guilt in the book and adding in all the emotions that come with discovering that you’re queer—for Francesca, because I assume that Michaela already knows and embraces that about herself. In the book, Michael accepts his feelings for Frannie a lot earlier than she accepts her feelings for him, and I think that translates well into a sapphic version of the story—then Michaela has to deal with Frannie not accepting her queer feelings for her. It’s delicious and we’re not even there yet!

I will say, though, that I understand the worry some people have that the writers may be mishandling Fran and John’s relationship by having Fran immediately have feelings for Michaela and seemingly display some doubts when she kisses John at their wedding. Personally, I think it’s too early to go around decrying the way Fran, Michaela, and John’s story is going. I don’t think Fran and John’s dynamic will be ruined, I think it’s simply a matter of taste when it comes to the book. Francesca and Michael are at the park together in London when Frannie very suddenly starts to view Michael in a sexual light and she gets very flustered, which is obviously brought to the show. But I felt that it was very random and not constructed very well; there was no reason given as to why specifically at this point in their lives, at this moment, Francesca started to view Michael differently. I’ll be happy with how it turns out in the show as long as Francesca isn’t secretly pining for Michaela. I think it’s for the best if she’s immediately attracted to Michaela, so then it doesn’t feel sudden later, but that she doesn’t actually fall in love with Michaela until after John dies and we get to their season.

What is the point of the Mondriches?

I talked earlier about how the Mondriches serve as contrasts to the Bridgertons, where the leads get HEAs but no one else does. In season one, while Daphne and Simon have their issues within their relationship, they ultimately solve their issues without completely compromising their morals. Meanwhile, Will has to completely compromise his morals in order to provide for his family. In season two, Kate and Anthony are struggling to meet their expectations for themselves, just as Will is struggling with expectations vs reality for his club’s success. Where Kate and Anthony are able to step back, accept that they were going about everything wrong, and have their HEA together, it’s only through Colin’s kindness that the club is successful. Although, in both cases, those outcomes are dependent on spokespeople using their influence to rectify the situation: the queen for Kate and Anthony, and Colin for Will and Alice. In season three, while Colin and Penelope don’t have to give up their literary pursuits to have success as the parents of a titled son, Will and Alice have to give up the club.

How do you feel about the very modern twist on makeup and style this season?

I don’t mind it at all. Some of the costumes are irksome (mostly when it comes to minor characters) but for the most part I liked them or at least understood their purpose. I mean, Cressida and her mother’s looks were insane but it fits the fact that they’re trying really hard. I heard somewhere that it’s not so much trying to find the perfect look for Bridgerton but that each season purposefully has a different look that fits with the story being told through the lead romance. So for season three, they take a page out of Portia’s lookbook and the ton goes a little OTT—even Charlotte goes for it (I don’t think she should have but my opinion doesn’t much matter lol).

What do you think of Penelope continuing as LW and using her name, potentially putting herself in danger?

I went into the season expecting Pen to continue writing the column and that’s the outcome I wanted. In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, she simply retires it, but I think it means way too much in the show and also has too many uses as a screenwriter for her to stop writing it. But it’s important that she starts writing it using her real name instead of the moniker. She’s claiming her writings and not hiding from herself anymore. In terms of danger, I think people are very much going overboard. Firstly, nobody is in danger of being beheaded, because in Queen Charlotte, Charlotte melodramatically wishes that she could still behead people because a servant had her woken up in the middle of the night. Secondly, the worst punishment would be imprisonment, but this is Bridgerton, and the queen’s rivalry with Whistledown is a fun game of wits, not a game of “how fast can Charlotte unearth this treasonous snake?”

As for everyone else, they don’t have enough power to actually threaten Pen. She hasn’t written about anyone in a way that would make them want to put her in physical danger, just efforts to stain her reputation, which is why she offers Colin an annulment. What Pen doesn’t know—and what we do know, alongside Lady Danbury—is that the queen wasn’t just in a good mood when she went to the Butterfly Ball, she went with a plan. She wanted to display her power in front of everyone to keep the ton in line but also preserve her rivalry with Pen so that she has something to occupy her time with.

It’s Bridgerton. The romantic leads aren’t actually at risk of death.

I hope I answered all of your questions satisfactorily! I had so much fun dissecting everything!!!

[runnning-outof-time]

Some Time Away | Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: no - for @cillmequick ‘s 100 followers celebration

Pairing: Modern!Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: (Y/N) manages to convince her partner to take the weekend off from work…the only kicker is that they can’t go anywhere because they’re currently in the midst of a global pandemic. But she still has some ideas in mind.

Warnings: language, smoking, drinking, sexual situations (interact accordingly!)

Word Count: 3183

A/N: congrats on 100 followers Alex (I hate that you’re shadowbanned atm…hopefully tumblr will fix it sooner rather than later!) I chose the prompt ‘placing their chin on the other’s shoulder’, and I had to make things a little spicy for you, of course. I hope that it isn’t cringey. Enjoy! :)

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in stories similar to this one!

———

"Have a nice weekend, Miss (Y/L/N)!" ... "Bye, Miss (Y/L/N)!" ... "Bye!" came the chorus of farewells from the students she'd been teaching through a screen for the past five hours. (Y/N) smiled widely at the children before she waved goodbye to all of them.

Virtual learning was still presenting its daily challenges, but (Y/N) was trying her best to make the most of it for her kiddos. Neither she nor them had asked to be put into this position, but they had to make it work for the time being.

Once the meeting was cleared of her students, (Y/N) ended the call and closed the Zoom application. She then exhaled a deep breath, something she did every day as a way to re-center herself after a school day. Regardless if it was in person or online, things always got a bit hectic. This was her way of making sure she didn't immediately start pulling her hair out.

She was greeted with a reminder to start grading the most recent assignment she'd assigned when she opened her eyes. After staring at it for a few moments, she decided to snooze it for now. It was the weekend after all...she didn't want to start it off with grading papers. Instead, she logged off of her computer and stood from the office chair. All she wanted to do now was see her partner.

As she exited her personal office, she gave herself a mental pat on the back for making the decision to have Tommy’s office right next to hers. Of course, she didn't envision that a global pandemic would strike just weeks after they'd finally moved in, but she was happy that she'd stayed steadfast on the choice because of it. Now she only had to take a few steps to see him.

(Y/N) (Y/L/N) and Tommy Shelby were getting rather serious with each other. She met him on a rare night out with some girlfriends, who ultimately pushed her into giving him her number. She was usually the hesitant type, but there was something about Tommy that almost instantly sucked her in. That, along with her girlfriends’ nudges, gave her the extra oomph to pursue him. Now, over a year and a half later, they had made the decision to move in together. They both relocated from their separate flats in the city to a tastefully sized home that was just a few miles from the bright lights. Given the current state of the world, they made the choice at just the right time.

She could hear him cursing the second she stepped out into the hallway. It sounded like he was going on about his computer again. Tommy was never good with technology, and now he had to rely on it. She took a deep breath as she grabbed onto the handle of his office door. It was unclear what she'd be walking into, and she wanted to be ready.

"Hey, T," she called to him, getting his attention as she stepped through the doorway, "everything alright in here?"

"Hey, love," he responded as his eyes moved from the computer in front of him to her figure. He smiled at the sight of her, but it was one that didn't quite reach his eyes. She could tell from it alone that he was tired. "Yeah...everything's fine," he answered her question then as his eyes shifted back to the computer screen.

"It didn't sound like it from out in the hall," she commented as she walked over to his desk. "It's a good thing these walls aren't thin...I don't think the eight year olds I'm teaching would appreciate hearing your colorful language," she added with a grin. Tommy only frowned in response to her joke, which made her sigh a little. She could tell from the lines on his forehead that he was stressed.

"'M sure they've heard it all from their parents," he brushed off her comment as he continued clicking away, "you'd be surprised at how foul mouthed people are nowadays," he added, his statement making (Y/N) chuckle as she came around to stand behind his chair.

"No mouth is as foul as yours, my love," she said in the most endearing tone possible as she leaned over slightly to rest her chin on his shoulder, her hands draping over his chest then. She glanced at the computer for a second before turning her head to the side so that she could press a kiss to the skin just in front of his ear. "You know I'm still not sure about this haircut yet..." she trailed off then as she stood up straight and brought her hands to the sides of his head. She ran her nails along the harshly shorn sides before carding her fingers through the longer strands of hair that sat on top of his head. "I mean...I know we can't go to the barber's at the moment, but I think you cropped it a little too thin this time," she added once she returned her chin to his shoulder and hooked her hands together atop his chest again.

"(Y/N)..." Tommy answered her in a warning tone, signalling to her that he wasn't in the mood for the teasing. She smiled anyway...sometimes it was fun getting under his skin. Silence fell between them as he clicked on a few more things. All was fine until an error message popped up on the screen. "This fucking thing..." he groaned, bringing his hands up to run them over his face as he tipped his head back against the chair's headrest.

"What're you trying to do?" (Y/N) asked him, squinting slightly as she tried to read the details of the message.

"Pol wants to do a Zoom call with me, John, and Arthur. Something about the recent acquisitions not fairing out to be as much as we thought they would, but I think I've gone and fucked everything up here," he explained to her, clicking on the screen a few more times only to be met with that warning ding the computer sends off when you're doing something that it won't allow. "Fucking hate technology," he muttered under his breath as he reached over to the side of his desk, as best he could with (Y/N)'s arms still around him, to grab his pack of cigarettes.

"Maybe this is the universe telling you that you should be done for the day," she commented on the situation he was now in as he went about lighting a cigarette, blowing the smoke away from her after he took a drag.

"It's four in the afternoon, (Y/N)..." he trailed off with a sigh as he placed the burning cigarette in the ashtray, "Pol's gonna have my head if I don't join the meeting."

"What if I text her and tell her you're having technical difficulties?" (Y/N) suggested, ready to grab her phone from her back pocket the second he told her to.

"You don't have to," Tommy brushed her offer off with a slight shake of his head, "I'll just have to hear about it from her later."

"What are you doing this weekend?" she asked him then as she stood straight once more. As much as she was loving breathing in the smell of the aftershave he'd used this morning, her back was screaming for some reprieve.

"Working," Tommy answered, leaning forward to balance his chin on the palm of his hand as he tried yet again to get himself out of the stalled website.

"On the weekend?" she asked him, a bit of surprise laced into her voice.

"Yes," he answered her, giving up on the computer problem so he could turn his chair to look at her properly for the first time since she'd entered the room, "business knows no days of the week."

"You own the company though, Tommy...you do have a say in what days you work or not," she pointed out, not dropping her argument just yet. "I was thinking that maybe you could take some time away from working this weekend...we could turn off our phones so that you and I could spend some uninterrupted time together," she pitched the idea that she'd come up with moments earlier, “and I know it’s not much…it’s not a private island or all-expenses included getaway, but it’ll be something, and right now, that’s what we need.”

"I've got some things that need to be sorted before our partners get involved," he told her, effectively shooting down her pitch without explicitly giving her a yes or no answer.

"You need some time away, T," she stressed to him, her last ditch effort to try and get him to agree. He then grumbled something about deadlines and the stress he was under from it, which made her sigh in defeat. "I'll be downstairs unwinding," she then told him as she began walking over to the door of the room, "I don't need to be dealing with anymore childishness after spending a whole day with children," she added before she opened the door and exited his office without letting him get another word in.

With a frown, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She figured she'd start preparing what she wanted to eat for dinner, because it seemed unlikely that Tommy would be joining her with the way he was acting.

—

After washing up from dinner, (Y/N) poured herself a glass of wine and made her way up to the master bedroom. Tommy was back in his office, after surprising her by coming down and having some of the chicken she’d made, so she decided that she’d go and sit out on the balcony that their room had.

She sat and sipped her wine, enjoying the evening breeze and sun as it shined down on her. Once her glass was finished, she decided to go into the ensuite so that she could get herself ready for bed. She washed her face, changed out of her clothes and into a silky slip that she preferred to sleep in, and put a robe l over her body. She then pulled her hair out of her face with a headband before deeming herself ready for bed.

As she exited the bathroom, she noticed that the sun was setting through the open balcony doors. So instead of getting into bed, she went back out onto the balcony. This time, she decided to lean against the railing as she watched the sun sink down behind the horizon. This would make a beautiful picture, she thought to herself as she stood up to go get her phone. She wasn’t able to even turn however, because the second she was standing, arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

“Tommy?” she gasped slightly from the suddenness of his touch, her hands dropping from the railing to rest on his forearms.

“Who else would it be?” he questioned in a cheeky tone as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Thought you’d still be in your office for another few hours,” she commented, instantly hating that she still sounded a bit bitter. What could she do though? All she wanted was to spend the weekend with her partner, but he was being difficult about it.

“Ouch, that one hurt, love,” he hissed dramatically at her words, “it hurt right…” he trailed off, unwinding one of his hands around her waist before he poked the place on her chest where her heart was, “here,” he added for extra effect.

“Stop it, Tommy,” she rolled her eyes at his dramatic nature, grabbing hold of his hand so that she could return it to its previous spot. She was quite enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms, and didn’t want it to leave just yet.

“You know I was thinking…” he trailed off again, nestling his face into the crook of her neck, “I was thinking over what you’d suggested…about taking the weekend off,” he continued, his voice now muffled slightly.

(Y/N) was still able to hear him clearly though, and what he was saying was making her excited. “Yeah? And?” she anxiously asked him to continue.

“And I thought that maybe I should take the next two days off,” he told her, almost making her want to squeal at the news. “I like the idea of having you to myself for a few days,” he added then, a grin evident in his voice as he pressed a kiss to the skin where her neck met her collarbone.

(Y/N) didn’t let him repeat his actions though. The second she heard what he had to say, she managed to spin around in his arms so that she was facing him. “You’re really considering doing it?” she asked him, her eyes shining with hope.

“I’m past considering it…it’s a done deal,” he corrected her, his grin growing as she looked at him excitedly.

“Oh that’s great, T,” she cheered as she reached up and clasped her hands together behind his neck. “I think I’ll lock your office tomorrow so that you can’t go back on your decision,” she said then, her statement making Tommy chuckle and shake his head before he leaned in and locked her into a slow kiss.

The feeling of his lips on hers just about took her breath away, and she was thankful that she decided to hook her arms around him, or else she’d ‘ve melted into a puddle upon contact. A year and a half later, and this man still made her go weak at the knees.

“You know…” Tommy mumbled against her lips in between the kisses they were sharing, “if I’m taking a weekend away from work, I’d like to start it off properly,” he said as his hands moved from the small of her back to where the knot was tied on her robe. He worked on undoing it without his lips leaving hers, and only pulled away once he knew that he’d gotten it loosened. He watched as her robe fell open, exposing the navy blue slip she’d chosen to wear to bed that night. He bit on his lip to conceal his groan as (Y/N) took the lead and shrugged the robe off of her shoulders.

“You have something in mind?” she asked him with a coy grin, hoping that her words came out as sultry as she intended them to.

“Fuck…of course I do,” he answered her, his hands dropping to the swell of her ass as he gathered some of the thin material between his fingers.

“Whatever it is, I’d like for it to not happen on the balcony though,” she told him with a slight giggle as she rested her hands on his shoulders. She then pressed on them gently, her nonverbal way of telling him to back up into the room.

He listened to her cue and took a few steps backwards with her still hooked in his grasp. “As you wish,” he told her, his lips brushing hers as he backed up to the bed so that he could sit down and bring her astride his lap.

She held herself steady and pulled away from him, smiling as he squeezed her hips. “Take this off,” she mumbled, a grin forming on her face as she grabbed hold of his t-shirt’s hem so that she could bring it up and over his head. She then tossed it off to the side before leaning down to match her lips with his again.

Amidst their shared open-mouth kisses, Tommy grabbed hold of (Y/N)’s waist and lifted her so that he could stand again. She shrieked at the sudden movement, but managed to hook her legs around his waist before he could turn them and drop her down onto the bed. Their conjoined nature made him come down on top of her, and he was quick to put his hands on either side of her head so that he wouldn’t press his weight on her completely. She, however, made sure that their hips stayed connected so that she could have some friction where she needed it most.

“Tommy,” she gasped when his lips left hers so that he could kiss a line down to her chest.

“Yes?” he asked her, glancing up at her through his eyelashes.

“Please,” she breathed, her hands tangling in the longer locks of his hair as she grinded her hips up against his again.

“Of course,” he answered, knowing exactly what she wanted. He wasn’t one to deny the most beautiful woman in the world, so he made sure he got right into it after hearing her silent pleads.

—

Some time later, (Y/N) and Tommy were a mess of tangled limbs and panted breaths. They laid on top of their disheveled bed, with only the top sheet pulled over top of their bottom halves. (Y/N) had her head resting on Tommy’s chest, and Tommy was lazily drawing circles against her spine. “I think it’s safe to say that this weekend is off to a good start,” Tommy mumbled into her hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“It most certainly is,” (Y/N) agreed with him as she moved her right hand down the side of his torso so that she could hold onto his hip.

She lifted her head from his chest then, her eyes meeting his as soon as she did. She always liked to look at them after they shared an intimate moment together. They’d slowly go from a darker blue to their normal, lighter color, like an ocean moving into the calm after a storm.

“Thank you for agreeing to this,” she said softly as she leaned in to press a languid kiss to his lips.

Tommy smiled against her lips and tightened his hold on her once she pulled away. “I think it’d be rather dumb of me not to,” he told her, his words making her smile as she rested her forehead against his.

He closed the gap between them again, pressing a slurry of short kisses to her lips before she pulled away completely to nestle her face into his neck. She made herself comfortable there as she curled up beside him, spending her time in silence thinking about what types of things they’d get up to in the next forty-eight hours. Somewhere between the meal planning and the possible movies they’d watch, she felt herself getting sleepy. So, she pressed one last kiss to the side of his neck before she closed her eyes and let sleep slip over her.

Tommy only smiled and tightened his grip around her as he felt her breathing even out. If this was a preview into what this weekend would look like, he’d have to take as much time away from work as possible in the future.

———

Tagged: @mgcllovdrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @easilyobessedbutflighty @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @lovemissyhoneybee

MASTERLIST

[queentheweeb]

Fumikage Tokoyami X Shy Male Reader

"What a mad banquet of darkness." You glanced over at Tokoyami to try and figure out what was throwing him off that he needed to say that. Dark Shadow was out relaxing on his shoulder looking at the paper that was on the desk. You figured it had to be the math worksheet that was given out by Ecto-sensei. Why was trigonometry important? What in the actual hell do we need Logs for? When? How? WHO IS GOING TO USE IT?

"A-are you o-okay Tokoyami?" They both looked at you at the same time probably shocked that you even talked to them first. Not like you were shocked yourself, you usually don't say anything but for some reason seeing your crush struggle didn't sit well with you.

"...Well this trigonometry worksheet that Ectoplasm-Sensei gave us is quite challenging and I cannot understand the meaning behind Questions 1-4. The rest I did understand though." He blinked staring at you waiting for you to respond while you were going through a gay panic. 

"I-I can h-help if you want." Took you long enough to get those six words out you bumbling buffoon. He tilted his head a bit at you considering before scooting over his chair to make room for you. You swallowed the sudden lump in your throat as you tried your best to explain the problems to him. You were trying your best to not look at him just in case you made a fool of yourself once more. Your peripherals, however, were betraying you-the bastards- of giving you a view of his sleek black hair- or was it feathers?- and his wide red eyes that were concentrated on the paper in front of him. Dark Shadow luckily was occupied with bothering him and messing around in his book bag and wasn't aware of your ogling.  You wonder if his hair-feathers?- were as soft as they looked.

"L/N-kun" You jumped your mind focusing on the object of your affection who was staring at you unblinkingly. Damn it you hate when he does that. He makes it so much harder to decipher his emotions and what he's thinking. Oh God did he catch you looking at him?

"Y-yes Tokoyami-kun?" One of these days you were going to break out of your shell and maybe talk to him more and ask him on a date. Too bad that day was not today.

"I just wanted to know if they were right or if I have to wallow in my failure." If you were anyone else you would have been put off by his choice of words but he was just Tokoyami and that's how he is. 

"L-let me look f-for you." You were trying your best to control your stuttering but he just made it come out so easily that he makes it seem all your speech therapy went to waste. You carefully looked through his answers thoroughly checking each answer completely unaware of the conversation that your favorite bird was having with his quirk.

'I swear on everything I love Fumi-kun if you don't tell him I will."

"Now why would you go and make a mockery of us" Tokoyami felt Dark Shadow huff in frustration at him

"Listen you fool, you will be surprised if you tell him. You don't even have to tell him outright that you like him! Just ask him out on a date to that ice cream parlor Me and you both know he loves frozen treats!" Dark Shadow let out a little squawk at the end which meant he was serious about what he was saying and he did have a point

"....You make a valid statement. Don't get smug about it! There is still a possibility of him saying no and if he does I am never going to ask him again and I'm just going to wallow in my black tears and sorrow."

"Shut up, you dramatic ass."

You were still completely unaware of the little dispute the occupant next to you had as you finished checking his classwork. You tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and he turned to you humming lightly as you gave back his work. "You got them all right this t-time. Great work Tokoyami-k-kun." You wanted to slam your face into the desk. Really Y/N! Of all the things that could have possibly been said you had to say the most awkwardest thing in the world? The more Tokoyami stared at you the redder you turned and the stronger the feeling of wanting the floor to swallow you whole grew.

"Ask him now or I will."

"Are you insane? I just can't ask that out of the blue."

"5...4...3...2..."

"FINE!"

"I have a question to ask you L/N-kun." You stared at Tokoyami tilting your head to the side a bit confused and curious at the same time. What could he possibly want from you? "...If you are not too busy after school...would you want to go...to the ice cream parlor? It would be my treat." Your brain is short-circuited. He wants to do what with who??

"....M-m-m-me?" You weren't being loud but it still caught you off guard. He wanted to be seen with you. He wanted to go somewhere with you and he was talking about paying like it was a date.

"Yes, I am talking about you L/N-kun. Of course, you can decline if you are busy or do not wish to go with me." "I told you he was going to freak out and say no"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

Tokoyami resisted the urge to snort at that while patiently waiting for your answer not realizing you were screeching internally while simultaneously going through a gay panic times three.

"Y-yes...I would lo- I mean like! I would l-like to go with you..." You were trying not to hyperventilate out of pure excitement that this was truly happening. Tokoyami just asked you out to go get ice cream. Just the two of you. He was offering to pay for everything too. 

"I will wait for you outside the dorms after school then." Tokoyami gave a small smile turning in his seat and you did the same thanking God that Ecto chose that time to continue the lesson. You needed something to take your mind off of what just happened before you exploded and started prancing around like some sort of high idiot. Tokoyami was no better off than you but he was able to school his features and hide it despite his inner monologue going a mile a minute and his heart just about beating out of his chest. He caught Shoji looking at him giving him a thumbs up and he subtly stuck his tongue out at him. The rest of the day went by uneventfully and Fumi found himself waiting patiently outside the dorms dressed casually. Back to you now you were tugging at your clothes hoping it wasn't too much or too little. You were wearing black skinny jeans with black combat boots accompanied by a chain. You wore a band t-shirt with a flannel over it and a beanie. You licked your lips the tip of your new tongue piercing poking out. You had just gotten it yesterday and honestly, you were shocked you were bold enough to get it. Definitely stepped out of your comfort zone with that one. You glanced at the time and hurried to meet Tokoyami knowing he was waiting for you. Just as you suspected he was waiting for you. He took notice of you and nodded his head as you both walked in comfortable silence. You both were walking with practically no space in between you and you so desperately wanted to close it. Feeling a bit risky you gently brushed your hands against his and were happy when he didn't pull away. You were a blushing mess not looking his way but you continued to brush your hands together trying to give a hint. Your heart jumped for joy when he grabbed yours and you shyly looked at him and were pleased to see that his hair-feathers?- was ruffled up a bit and he was looking straight ahead. You guys made it to the ice cream parlor and true to his word he paid for both of you guys as you found a quiet spot in the corner for the two of you to sit and talk for a bit. 

"Thanks for taking me out..." You said fuck it and were going to go for it. He did all of this and held your hand you were going to think of this as a date.

"The pleasure is mine. I believe it is only fair that you choose the next spot for our next date." You choked on your ice cream a bit before grinning sheepishly and chuckling nervously.

"W-well I h-have some place in mind." You were doing so well why were you stuttering again? You chuckled again when he said nothing but stared at you.

"Good to know that we both are on the same page then." Was he talking about you guys being boyfriends? "Yes, I mean that we both are boyfriends now." You laughed openly this time in pure glee. "Okay, I do not mean to peer but is that a tongue ring?" He sounded both curious and surprised. You smiled this time at him sticking your tongue out at him to give him a view before pulling your tongue back in. 

"I was feeling bold when I got it yesterday for some reason." He hummed a reply as he ate his ice cream. 

"I like it." You looked at him blushing lightly but he refused to meet your eyes so you just shook your head looking down at your frozen treat loving the way your stomach had butterflies.

---------------------------------------

Not sure if I like the ending.

[pocket-lad]

CH 4- Sarah

Prev

After Ian explained what happened at Hammond’s mansion, the group decided to stake out the new arrivals.

“I mean we kind of have to, right?” Nick urged. 

They started in the direction they saw the helicopters head toward and followed the sound to the best of their ability. For now, Adelaide stayed on Ian’s shoulder, but she kept her head on a swivel.

There was tension in the air and not much to talk about, which meant Adelaide was soon to be the topic of conversation. It was either that or silence, anyway.

“You said you’re a… borrower?” Eddie’s voice rang out directly behind Adelaide, making her jump. She turned around to face him.

“Yeah,” she said tentatively.

“Okay, so what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Adelaide shot for a teasing, lighthearted tone, but it came out harsh and defensive. She felt bad. Eddie wasn’t prying - he was just making conversation, trying to distract himself and probably the others from what they were about to face. “Um…it means what it sounds like. I borrow things. From Beans.”

“Beans-?”

“Don’t get her started on that one,” Ian warned. Adelaide hit his neck.

“Oh. That sounds…. cool.” Eddie didn’t really know what to think. Cool seemed like a decent enough word for it, but he still had a million questions. Few of them could be formed into coherent thoughts, and none of them made it from his brain to his mouth.

“Not really, but thanks,” Adelaide said.

Eddie gave her an awkward smile and nod, and they fell into silence again. Adelaide hesitantly turned to face forward, but she felt his eyes on her back every so often.

“Why?” Kelly asked after a long period of time. She hopped over a log and only glanced at Adelaide briefly, focused on maintaining her footing. It had been so long that Adelaide didn't realize Kelly was speaking to her and almost forgot what they were talking about.

“What do you mean, why?” Adelaide asked.

“Why do you borrow stuff? Why don’t you just ask my dad?”

Ian laughed underneath her. He listened intently, even though he knew the answer. He understood to some degree why Adelaide needed to feel independent, but she knew that he knew she could handle herself. She knew that he didn’t look down on her for asking for help, so Ian didn’t see the point in risking her life for things that were so easy for him to obtain.

“That’s how I was raised. I find my own stuff. Take care of myself. I can’t say I’d be anything more than a pet if I relied on him for everything,” Adelaide explained. She was vaguely aware that everyone listened as she spoke, but she had to focus solely on the person she was talking to or she’d start shaking again.

Three people in the group reacted to her explanation at the same time.

Nick laughed.

“Uh, I want it noted that I do not, um, agree with that,” Ian said.

“So you have a whole family living in the walls with you?” Kelly asked, awed at the image of a whole group of tiny people living in her dad’s walls, likening it to The Secret Life of Arrietty .

Since Nick’s laugh was condescending and since she’d heard Ian’s argument plenty of times, Adelaide chose to answer Kelly’s question, even if it was mildly painful.

“No, no, um… it’s just me,” she said, a hint of that pain peeking through.

“Oh...That sucks.”

Sarah piped up for the first time in a while. “You live in the walls? Like… in Ian’s walls?”

Shit .

Adelaide looked for any way out of this. She couldn’t just lie, though she was very tempted. That wouldn’t do in the long run. After trying to form a sentence multiple times, all that came out was a measly, quiet, “Yeahhhhh…….” followed by a sigh.

“Ian, how long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t - it wasn’t my decision to make,” he shrugged, sending Adelaide into his neck, who punched him back in annoyance.

“As much as I’d love to blame him, it really wasn’t his fault,” Adelaide admitted. She felt herself getting twitchy and weird again, and she still couldn’t maintain eye contact. The best she could do was talk. “He’s been really excited for me to meet you, and I’ve been really excited to meet you too. I just get… nervous around Beans, so I never found the right time.”

“Well, I don’t think you have anything to be nervous about with us,” Sarah said pointedly. This would hopefully ease Adelaide, but let the others know that she was not to be messed with. A small and unexpected blossom of attachment had formed, and that meant Adelaide was now under Sarah’s protection. Maybe it was the way Sarah wanted to study her. Maybe it was the way she saw fear in both Adelaide’s eyes and in the way she held herself. Maybe it was simply the fact that they were both women, and women have to look out for each other in a male-dominated world. It was likely all three of those things.

Adelaide was oblivious to all of these thoughts bouncing around in Sarah’s head, but her shoulders released a hair of tension when she was sure Sarah wasn’t mad.

***

Adelaide was in the middle of borrowing when the front door swung open. She was over by the TV, picking at loose threads in the rug to weave into fabric or whatever else she could think of.

She tensed up, but didn’t make a break for the walls. For the longest time, Adelaide would do that when the door opened, regardless of who was there. Over time, and with a ton of assurance from Ian, she learned that the man rarely brought guests home. If by some chance he did, it was almost always a woman, and they almost always immediately went to the bedroom. So normally, Adelaide didn’t have to worry.

The only recent exception was his daughter, Kelly, but that’s something they’d talked about beforehand and she’d always gotten a heads up when it happened.

It was hard to suppress instinct though, especially after a decade, so when the front door opened, Adelaide’s senses automatically went on high alert. Usually it was useless. She’d calm down, she’d say hello to Ian, and continue on her way.

Never in her life had Adelaide been so grateful for this instinct until today. She heard Ian’s usual rumble, but this time, there was another voice in the mix. She could hardly believe it, so much so that she was rooted in place from the shock. Ian making friends? Unheard of.

Then reality set in. Adelaide had to hide. Fast. There wasn’t any time to speculate who it might be, but she’d find out soon enough anyway. The couch that concealed the closest entrance into the walls was too far away at this point. With so few options, Adelaide bent down and crawled underneath the TV stand.

Just in time, too. Multiple pairs of footsteps made their way into the living room and two giant beings sat down on the couch. Adelaide could only see their feet from her hiding spot, but if she wasn’t mistaken, those were women’s shoes. Great.

Why were they in the living room? Adelaide got the sense that she needed to be literally anywhere else right now, but she was low on options. However, the longer she took to make a decision, the more she realized the two giants were just talking. Interesting.

Regardless, Adelaide didn’t want to eavesdrop, and more importantly, the space under the TV stand was dusty and disgusting. She used to keep it clean back when she was regularly borrowing and Ian didn’t know of her existence. It was a good place to hide, and she’d actually used it a couple times when she was in a bind, but it had been so long since then, so it had plenty of time to accumulate mountains of dust.

“Let me - let me get you something to drink,” Ian said. Adelaide watched his feet and felt the normal shaking of the floor as he walked away. She decided this was an opportunity to take a good look at the woman so, very cautious, Adelaide’s head emerged from underneath the stand.

The woman had long red hair and a pretty face. Her clothes were simple and practical. Not super tall as far as Beans went, and she had a casual confidence about her. She glanced around, taking in every detail of Ian’s house.

That was all Adelaide had time to analyze before she felt Ian coming back. She heard him set two glasses down on the table, and it was then that she knew she’d be here for a while.

Eventually, Adelaide had to lay down, since her neck was getting sore from bending over for so long. The next hour was spent oscillating between guilt and boredom. She tried her best to tune the giants out, but boredom would win over and she’d tune back in. Then, she’d feel guilty for eavesdropping and tune them back out again, and the cycle continued for eons.

Adelaide busied herself with clearing the dust from underneath the stand and compiling it all into one corner so she could at least breathe. After that was done and with nothing else left to do, she begrudgingly layed back down again.

The parts of the conversation she did tune into were pretty interesting. Almost anything was interesting when you lived in the walls, though.

The woman’s name was Sarah. She was able to keep up with Ian’s wit, shooting him down every time he tried to make an advance and returning his snark every time he gave it to her. She asked about Jurassic Park a lot, to which Ian got quiet and uncomfortable.

She gathered that Sarah was some kind of scientist that specialized in dinosaurs. Something about an emerging field that had nothing to do with fossils and everything to do with the real thing. How that was possible, Adelaide had no idea. She thought dinosaurs were limited to that one island. She hoped they were limited to that one island.

Ian even tried his chaos theory bit with her - the one with the water.

“Now, let’s say a drop of water falls on your hand. Which way is the drop going to roll off?”

“I don’t know,” Sarah said. She knew Ian wanted an answer only so that he could prove her wrong, so she didn’t give him one.

Ian let the drop fall, and it rolled off her thumb. He wiped away the water. “Okay, freeze your hand,” he said. “Don’t move. I’ll do the same thing, start with the same place again. Which way now?”

Adelaide was positive he was saying this the same way, word for word, as when he did it to Ellie and when he did it to her. Did he have it memorized? She wouldn't doubt it.

“I don’t know,” Sarah said again.

“Give me a guess-”

“There’s too many variations. You drop the water again in what you think is the same place, but it has to be at least a little bit off. And rubbing the water away changes the landscape of my hand, not to mention the thousands of other things that have changed microscopically in the last ten seconds.”

Ian was at a loss for words. Adelaide nearly cackled, impressed with Sarah’s ability to shut him down like that. She wanted to commend the woman herself.

“Right, yes, exactly,” Ian said as if he was excited by her explanation. As if it didn’t tear his ego into pieces.

At some point, they put on a movie. It was then that Adelaide could no longer hear them, the TV overpowering everything with how close it was. This also meant she was in for at least another two hours. What was even more frustrating was that the Beans were almost definitely not watching the movie, too preoccupied with…other stuff.

Adelaide let out a frustrated growl. She could’ve gotten so much done today, but instead she would spend hours feeling cramped under a TV stand.

She thought about sneaking out multiple times. She was semi-confident she could get past Sarah if she timed it correctly and kept her senses about her, but Ian would see her immediately. He would either send Sarah home or start acting weird, and Adelaide didn’t want to do that to him. Plus, the longer she waited, the worse it felt.

Adelaide listened to the movie, trying to pull any meaning from what she could hear. There were lots of guns and fighting and car noises, and the dialogue was bad and nonsensical, so all her efforts were pretty useless.

The feeling of shoes caught Adelaide’s attention, and the sudden lack of sound meant someone turned the TV off.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ian asked.

“We’ll see,” Sarah said, and Adelaide could have sworn she registered teasing in her voice.

That didn’t matter, though! Adelaide was getting out! Sarah was leaving!

Excitedly, Adelaide shot up from her sprawled out position on the floor, absolutely banging her head on the low ceiling of the furniture. Her body unintentionally let out a grunt at the impact, and she froze. The room got deadly silent.

Adelaide held her breath, waiting for something to happen.

“Let me walk you out,” Ian said distractedly, and Adelaide knew he knew where she was.

The footsteps receded and the sound of the front door indicated the departure of at least one of the Beans. She debated on sprinting across the living room now, but something about massive feet stomping around in the dark, Ian or not, stopped her.

Only a single pair of footsteps returned. A light flicked on, which did hardly anything from underneath her shelter, and the feet stopped right in front of her.

They were so close! If she wasn’t so eager, if she didn’t sit up so fast, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Adelaide would have waited for Ian to go to bed, then she was free to go home and pretend like none of this ever happened. Alas, she now had to face the consequences of her own actions.

“How long have you been there?” Ian’s voice rang out. He stood, unmoving, so Adelaide stared at his shoes.

Maybe if she didn’t respond, he’d think he imagined it. Houses made noises all the time. Her hopes were dashed when Ian kneeled down. He laid himself flat on his stomach and peered in. Seeing nothing in the dark space, he pulled something out and turned it on.

“Ow!” Adelaide cried when a sudden, bright light assaulted her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered them with her hand. She wondered if Ian killed her and she was now staring at the bright, white light of heaven.

“Ah,” Ian realized. He shifted the flashlight so it was on an angle. It still illuminated Adelaide, but it wasn’t pointed directly at her.

Adelaide blinked her eyes open and spots danced across her vision. The light was still bright, but nothing worse than the average overhead room light. “What the hell?” she winced.

“How long?” Ian pushed. He didn’t sound mad, but he didn’t sound particularly happy, either. Exasperated was probably the right word for it.

“Uh, when did Sarah get here?”

Ian slowly closed his eyes and pinched his brow. “Around seven.”

“Then probably since seven,” Adelaide admitted.

“Can you come out here?”

Adelaide considered it. “No, you’re mad at me.” She didn’t think he would do anything, but after spending hours under a TV stand, her patience was wearing thin and she didn’t want to deal with a lecture.

“I’m not mad,” Ian said calmly.

“I don’t believe you.”

Ian’s face disappeared over the edge of the ceiling, and Adelaide thought he might actually leave her alone. Unfortunately, his face was replaced by his hand, and it was coming directly at her.

Adelaide kicked at the grasping fingers, trying to get him to back off, but they just kept coming. One eventually snagged both her legs, pinning them together, and she gasped. Something about the way Ian couldn’t see her yet still grabbed at her made her nervous. Especially since he caught hold of a really delicate part of her body.

Before she knew it, Adelaide was being dragged backward, unable to stop such a strong force. She clawed at the floor, searching for purchase on anything, but it was hard-wood. Even if she managed to grab onto something, she’d probably end up hurting herself. The fact that her efforts meant nothing was humbling and a little scary.

The world opened up around her, and when the movement stopped, she found herself dangling upside down in front of Ian’s face. It was enough time to register the upset look he gave her, but she was abruptly lowered into his palm.

Adelaide sat there and crossed her arms, her hair disheveled and her clothes rumpled and her eyes still adjusting.

“Why?” was all Ian asked.

“Why? Why did you blind me and grab me and dangle me? Is that what you’re asking?” she clarified sarcastically.

Ian didn’t fall for the bait. “Why were you, um, underneath my TV?”

“Can you put me down?” Adelaide asked. She didn’t like being talked down to. Ian obliged, setting her down next to the TV. She was still below eye level, but much less so. And she could confidently stay standing now that she had solid ground under her feet.

Ian stared at her, waiting for an answer to his question.

“If it’s any consolation, once you turned on the movie, I couldn’t hear a thing.”

He still stared, and she shifted awkwardly. “What was I supposed to do? You came home with someone. I wasn’t near the walls, I had to hide, this was the best option, and I had to wait you out. There’s not really that much to it.”

“Uh, let me know next time and I’ll - and I’ll fix it.”

Adelaide felt like rolling her eyes at Ian ‘I’ll-Fix-It’ Malcolm. “You would’ve been weird about it. I didn’t want to ruin it for you. You never have real people over.”

“I uh, I appreciate the, um…the concern, but I’m a big boy.”

“I swear I wasn’t eavesdropping. Mostly. Believe it or not, I actually don’t want to hear your boring, weird Human Bean conversations……On a completely unrelated note, do we think we like Sarah?” Adelaide had to admit to curiosity. She only knew about ‘dates’ from brief glimpses at the TV back in the motel. Her parents didn’t do dates. Borrowers didn’t do dates. This was a completely foreign concept, and she wanted to live vicariously through the only person she could.

Ian raised his eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t eavesdropping.”

“I said mostly.”

“Yeah, I think…I think we like…Sarah. We’ll see.”

“She’s pretty.”

“Very pretty,” Ian agreed.

“What do you mean ‘we’ll see’?” Adelaide prodded.

“Ohhh, they never last. That Sarah is…that Sarah is smart. She’ll see through me in no time.” Ian said this unbothered, no trace of a negative emotion. He said it as if it were just a fact of life.

“Don’t say that!” He was giving up before he even tried!

Ian smiled at her pitifully. Adelaide was completely oblivious to the Human dating world, and even more oblivious to Ian’s bad habits within it. “You’ll see,” he said. He stood up and reached out to ruffle Adelaide’s hair.

On principle, Adelaide batted at the finger overhead. It always came so quickly and without warning. She spoke up about it a long time ago, telling him how it hurt, so ever since then, he’d been gentler about it. He didn’t realize (or didn’t care) that her gripe was with the fact that he did it to begin with. But since he was gentle and since it no longer hurt, Adelaide didn’t have any ammo to get him to stop.

“You want a lift?” Ian asked, holding out his hand and ignoring Adelaide’s protests.

Adelaide’s grumbling slowly came to a stop. “No, I’m okay, thanks.” She lightly kicked at his hand to push it away. “But you should invite her back sometime.”

“Why? You want to talk to her?”

“Haha, yeah. Really funny. But seriously, maybe she’ll be different. You never know.”

“I always know,” he said cockily.

“Sure, whatever you say, Mr. Chaos Theory.”

Ian looked dumbfounded, and since he didn’t have a comeback, he pointed at her and said, “I’m going to bed. Stop eavesdropping.”

Adelaide could tell he’d lost all power in the conversation, so he put an end to it. She chuckled, happy she had the ability to do that. It was a hard thing to pull off. “Roger that,” she said, and he walked off.

Once he was gone, Adelaide wasted no time pulling out her hook and scaling down the cliff. She wanted to go home as soon as possible.

While she did that, she thought about Sarah. Adelaide just assumed she’d automatically dislike any new Bean on principle, but Sarah was charming. She’d have to do more snooping, and she obviously wasn’t going to introduce herself until way down the road, if Sarah was still around. Strangely, Adelaide found herself hoping she would be.

Adelaide and Ian were on really good terms at this point, he was starting to reconcile with one of his kids, and now it was possible he’d just found himself a love interest. She was happy for him.

All her life, Adelaide was a stickler for routine. It was what kept her alive. But now, with her basic needs provided for and her life changing in so many different ways, she welcomed a little (emphasis on a little) spontaneity into her life. Whether it would all work out in the end - only time would tell, but she was nervous and excited and every other emotion possible for this new chapter in their lives.

.

Next

[nomoreusername]

An Introverts Dreamboy

Pairing:Aris x female reader

Summary:After Aris helps you come up with a plan to avoid people, you realize how you feel

Honestly, I didn't like a lot of the girls in the Spring. At one point several people thought I was mute. There were a lot of times I wished it stayed that way, but it wasn't all bad. I had a few close friends I enjoyed spending time with. Everyone else annoyed me though. It was just the way somebody was always complaining about something. I almost instantly learned to tune them out. That was my plan for avoiding people I didn't like.

That ended up backfiring worse than you could imagine because now they sit and talk to me about who said what. It was driving me up the wall but for the sake of peace I'd nod along. I'd just stop listening, and at the end they'd tell me how much better they felt. All the while I was still smiling and nodding.

Tonight was one of those nights where something happened to someone. A tall girl with black hair I never cared to learn the name of was droning on and on.

"Can you believe it?"She exasperated. I shook my head and feigned sympathy. "Anyways thanks for listening. You're such a great friend,"She gushed, leaning over to hug me. I was uncomfortable but did my best not to show it.

"Bye {Not your name}. I'll see you tomorrow,"She said, skipping off. I sighed and leaned against a log.

"Hey Y/N,"Aris greeted. I gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Are you okay? You look tired,"He asked. "I'm just bored. I had to pretend to care about someone's problems for an hour,"I explained. "I was wondering why you were talking to her. I don't think I've ever heard her get your name right."

"She still doesn't, but I never cared enough to learn hers,"I shrugged.

"Can I ask you something?"He spoke up. "Shoot for the stars,"I answered. "Why do you put up with them? Why not just walk away?"Be questioned. "I'm avoiding drama."

"And you look completely drained the whole time. There's no way that's good for you."

"It's probably not, but there's nothing I can do,"I shrugged. "Maybe there is. I have an idea,"He offered. My ears perked up at this. He whispered my plan, but at each word my grin got bigger.

♡ - - - ♡

"Hey {Not your name}. You'll never believe what Ruth told me today,"The same girl said, walking over. I looked over and scratched the top of my head.

"Hey Y/N. You promised to help me with my section today,"Aris lied. "I was on my way,"I nodded, already leaving the girl behind.

"I can't believe that worked,"I practically squealed, throwing my arms around him. Even in my friend group he was the only one I ever truly showed affection towards. With everyone else I'd have to pretend, but with him I never had to fake everything.

"It's nice to see you happy,"He said, hugging back. With anyone else this would feel out of place, but this was Aris. Everything seems to feel okay with Aris, and there's a reason for that.

I'm in love with him.

[melliae]

Refraction Railway Line #4 Abnormalities (Analysis)

Everyone knows what a “masquerade” is, no? A dance hall filled to the brim with people in glamorous, pompous dresses and clothes, with masks hiding their identities. They were quite popular some centuries ago, especially in Venice, and… I really don’t know much about them. Wikipedia really helped here xD

Anyway, it’s obvious how the masquerades' elements of masks, costumes and such are tied to the presence of the Peccatulum Invidiae, who don the appearance and skills of the Sinners to hide their nature and goal: to entertain their “king” with everything they have. They will dance, fight, kill and die in order to soothe its boredom.

“I’m sure there’s something that those fakes can’t copy from us. Something they lack. We’re real, and they’re not. There’s gotta be a way to beat those annoying Peccatula.” - Rodya, Peccatulum Invidiae’s Observation Log #2.

“An egoless incarnation of ‘Identities’ manifested may hold a certain resemblance to the way they appear before us. Defeating one of them merely makes a vacancy for another to fill, for they number the same as we do.” - Yi Sang, The King in Binds’ Observation Log #2.

But no matter how hard they try, those Peccatula will never amount to anything, being just pieces to be discarded and used at their master’s convenience. They are empty shells that act only as pale, rotten shadows of what they yearn for—husks with nothing behind.

Nonetheless, their nature as mere “masks” already points out the nature of the Railway, made even more obvious with elaborated platform in the introductory cutscene and the final rolling of the carpet: this is a charade, an invitation to partake in a violent, wondrous banquet in which every guest is an actor that must play its part to their best for the host’s—the King’s—sake. 

Thus, with such mockery of an invitation it gave us, there’s only one way the reception can be.

Good Ol’ Days

“Sad, sad things happened here. Many sad things. I still carry with me my master's portrait because no one remembers them anymore. How is it? Can you see it well?”- Abnormality Encounter.

This is how the chief butler of the manor receives us: with words about a tragic past, and the few to none memories that persist about it. In fact, such longing and nostalgia are the entire basis of the Abnormality itself, with its main palette fittingly being that of worn-out sepia, and its EGO being called “Bygone Days”.

But even with its sorrowful solemnity and loyalty to its late master, there’s something insidious growing in the Abnormality that only makes itself clear when you answer that “you can’t see it well” to the question above and pass the check:

“'I see.' 'If my master is gone from the painting, the memories… what shall I do?' 'What if… one day… I start doubting that I ever had a master…'”

To say such a thing to it is nothing short of cruelty, for you are showing that its memory will one day fade, just like the colors and the figure of the resulting headless portrait that once were there, branding all that it has lived—all that suffering and love of yore—as worthless. It isn’t a coincidence that the Sin advantages of that option are Envy, the yearning to bring down the other along with oneself, and Pride, a total devaluation of the other, stating one’s own view as absolute.

However, just because the Abnormality can forget its master, it doesn’t mean it will simply accept it, as it makes everyone sit in front of the portrait until the missing countenance of its master can be elucidated if the words weren’t convincing, no matter how long that takes. An extreme method indeed, but effective, considering it’s the core essence of one of the two Sin advantages behind the “say that you can see it well” option: a passive Sloth that leads to painstakingly analyze the pictureless painting, without any other intention beyond fulfilling the Abnormality’s “request”. It makes the Butler’s celebration when you pass the check all the more depressing, saying that it can see “the face of its master reflected in your eyes”.

That sadness is pitifully cranked up when we move to the second Sin advantage, Envy, since the Abnormality doesn’t celebrate your well-hidden disinterest on the only thing that matters to it this time; it celebrates you directly lying to its face, about seeing things where there’s no to “save face” (or something along those lines). It makes clear that the Butler only cares about the portrait only to the extent it reflects its “memories” and endeavors, and thus is joyful about any (convincing) confirmation of their validity. After all, if someone declares with total certainty that the portrait—its past—amounts to nothing, what remains for it?

“'If you really can see my master's countenance… that's not the face you'd be making.' 'And those unimpressed, lifeless eyes aren't the look one would wear upon seeing my master's face.' We were quickly deemed unwelcome, and were chased out of the mansion.” - Abnormality Encounter.

And naturally, if it doesn’t like your shallow evaluation (or lie) about all of it has done for the mansion and its late master, the Butler takes offense and chases you off. 

While impossible to say for sure, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that check failure will bridge the MD encounter with the future fight in case the new (potential) option doesn’t do anything, which leads me to the meat of the Abnormality: the fight

To begin, there are two elements in the Butler’s kit that must be highlighted in order to understand it: all of its skills inflict Sinking, and that none of them are Wrath-based. That’s to say, it isn’t a hateful Abnormality at all, but a pitiful one; its sadness is expressed with every swing of its arms and body, drowning others in the deep sadness caused for what was lost. In a related note, its resistance to Wrath is simply derived from the fact that it’s dealing with “interlopers” and not with anyone “special”, thus any sort of enmity is bound to be meaningless before its eyes.

Moving now to the first skills it uses, the most interesting one is “Leave This Place” due to its Lust affinity. In my previous posts, I commented that Lust is “desire for desire’s sake” which, while being useful for the parade of obsession that RR3 was, doesn’t really fit with what I’ve written here. Thankfully, we have the Divine Comedy to help us this time:

“Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize,  Seized this man for the person beautiful That was ta’en from me, and still the mode offends me. Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving, Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly, That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me;” - Francesca da Rimini, Canto V, Inferno.

In short, Lust is the result of the rational mind being overtaken by the passions of the heart—by love itself. This is depicted in-game mostly through characters and Abnormalities that are addicted to “carnal” things or pleasure in general, as shown with Pink Shoes, Kromer, Skin Prophet, and many others. But there are some special cases, like Basilisoup or Sign of Roses, where Lust acquires more “spiritual” undertones, showing its true underlying nature as the extremes to which the lover(s) can be guided by their love, to the detriment of everyone involved.

Thus, Lust is the Sin of love itself: love for love’s sake, desire for desire’s sake, and all the atrocities that one does or allows to happen as consequence. And without doubt, Portrait of a Certain Day has that kind of love for the mansion, trying to protect it from the “sorrow” brought by outsiders.

The other skill is “Don’t Make That Face”, which is Sloth-based. Returning to the check failure of “say that you can see it well”, it seems to be an extension of the Butler’s reaction, and the meaning should be self-evident: everything should remain as spotless and perfect as it was before, when its master was “alive”; anything else is an insult, a reminder that the present moment is nothing more than a fragile charade only keep up by the deep-seated nostalgia of the Abnormality—its refusal to move on.

Those two skills are the only ones that Portrait of a Certain Day uses until the mid-combat Event is triggered, when the Abnormality reaches a certain HP threshold. This is a relatively easy one to understand, with the Abnormality testing you after being so stubborn, asking you to guess which of the numerous Portraits it suddenly summons is its master’s. The second Log is about this Event, and the combat mechanic about destroying the correct one is just a “gameplayification” of it.

The Event itself is quite straightforward, with the only interesting thing being its Gloom advantage, implying that the “only way” (or intended way, maybe?) to correctly guess which one is Master’s Portrait is through understanding the deep sadness imprinted onto the painting—how well the Portraits embody its master’s life. This is represented in the gameplay (and the Logs) through the fake Portraits’ cackles and mirth when using their Evasion skill, whereas the real one simply takes the damage. Though it’s important to note the fake Portraits can still mess you with your mind, with the Event’s check failure showing it:

“[Sinner] suddenly feels the burning gaze of every single portrait in the room focus on them. Each and every single of them holds... resentment.”

This seems to be a translation of the Portraits’ only passive, “Peering Gaze”, which inflict Sinking every turn, coinciding with the result of losing 30 SP when failing. This gaze is referenced by Gregor in the Logs too, when he chose the wrong Portrait.

At any rate, neither failing nor succeeding in the check causes Portrait of a Certain Day to grow overly wrathful, just annoyed/desperate or glad respectively. But the gameplay version is a lot more complicated, since this Event is the source of its main gimmick, the “Interloper” status, with all its passives and the rests of its skills playing around it.

Once the Portraits are summoned, the Abnormality will attach 1 skill to each, either “My Master” or “My Tragic Master”, both of them being Envy-based. The logic behind that affinity is hinted at by the Logs again:

“Oh, yeah. Lemme get off-topic for a moment and talk about the old times. The higher-ups used to make me march in the streets with portraits or pictures of the dead in my hands. It was kinda… no, very sickening. Parading portraits, pictures, or even mementos of the dead like that is… how should I put this? Yeah, it's like we're taking advantage of their deaths, isn't it?” - Gregor, Abnormality’s Observation Log #1.

There’s no doubt the Abnormality loves its late master. But in the City, love, like all other emotions, can be twisted into something unrecognizable and self-serving, used to alleviate the bitterness within. In the Butler’s case, what else can it be besides a tool to prop itself up as the one that protects its master’s legacy, believing it’s the only thing it truly is and can be? Maybe that’s why it’s resistant to Envy too, because who can really feel envy for a sad being that needs the dead to have a “place”?

Anyway, once this phase begins, there are two possibilities: you destroy the Master’s Portrait within 3 turns, or you fail to do so. This latter case is what causes the activation of “Throwing Out The Interloper” passive. In essence, you took too much time and failed the test, with the Interloper inflicted in the earliest deployed Sinner possibly being a representation of it focusing on the Sinner sent during the Event, or how bad of a memory the Butler has, to the point it can only remember the most “recent” Sinner.

In case the correct Portrait is destroyed before 3 turns, the Logs explains us what happens:

“But after that… … the Abnormality grew really hostile and went on a full offensive. It started fuming, like it was somehow pissed off. It seemed to obsessively focus its attacks against the person who got the last hit in. Well, that focus eventually spread out to all of us. I guess all that rage didn't help 'em keep a cool head.” - Gregor, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

This is expressed in gameplay through the “Ooh, Dear Master” and “You Must Be the Interloper’s Family?” passives, and the implications are quite obvious. However, the first one is the more interesting, showing how the memories of the past, even when they are no different from a faded portrait, are a stupidly high morale boost for the Abnormality, and their destruction a near psychological breakdown.

With all of that said, it’s very tempting to say Portrait of a Certain Day represents Nelly thanks to her speech near the end of Canto VI:

“Miss Catherine was... difficult from time to time, but I do not wish to deny even the times we've spent together. I even miss the late Mister Earnshaw Senior from time to time. No... I never lived a life full of hate, animosity. I am just struggling desperately to change my destiny.” - Chapter 45: Life, Stolen.

But that’s where everything ends. While Nelly may have wanted to return to that past, it would likely have been only to avoid her destiny, the destruction of her life thanks to the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine, as her Gluttony and Wrath skills show. This is in contrast to the remaining Gloom- (“Interloper, Are You?” and “Leave, Interloper”) or Sloth-based (“Who Might You Be?”) skills of the Abnormality, expressions of its deep sadness and tiredness over all the tragedies it has witnessed and will keep on witnessing, all thanks to its refusal to move on out of love.

Other good fits are Josephine and her entourage, so obsessed with the ghost—the memories—of their dead mistress that I’d say they are the best example of the Abnormality by far, forever bound to a dead past they love and wish to protect with everything they have. Fuck, even Josephine’s color palette is almost the same that the Abnormality’s!

I think it’s also possible to say Portrait of a Certain Day represents the concept of butlers and their inherited contracts. But I think that hampers and reduces the underlying experience of the Abnormality, which I’m pretty sure everyone must have felt: the bitter wish to return to those simple days of yore, wishing to safekeep them from all harm despite the impending “sunset”. Maybe that’s why Portrait of a Certain Day is weak to Lust, to love itself, and, above all, to both Sloth and Pride—the inertia that lets days pass without care, and the “arrogant” exclamation that oneself is more than their past.

It’s natural to love one’s past and endeavors, what one has done for others and themselves, but identifying oneself with it is too dangerous. After all, it’s through thinking and believing that such illusions become real, and with them every new day becomes a tragedy, every new person an “interloper” that brings only misery.

The past, despite its importance, is not everything you are. There’s no need to despair once it vanishes.

Dreams of Freedom

“Maybe it's enjoying a gentle dream, free from the painful strikes of lightning. Maybe it's suffering a dark nightmare because we’ve taken its spark… Well, there’s no way for us to know now, but… I wonder if lightning actually hurts this Abnormality. Or… maybe having its electricity taken away hurt more.” - Sinclair, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

After a (brainless) fight against the chief butler and its entourage, the dogs, knights and other personnel dedicated to protecting the manor, we find ourselves confronting… a sheep? And it doesn’t seem to be a normal animal, but an electrical one, as its name very clearly demonstrates.

There’s no need to be a genius to know that Dreaming Electric Sheep is a reference to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, which deals with themes of faith, empathy, and connection in a sci-fi world. Naturally, those topics permeate the Abnormality throughout, with special focus to the questions presented by Sinclair above: what does the Sheep truly want and is that the correct thing?

To answer them, we need first to understand what exactly the electricity in question is. For that, we need to analyze its surprisingly evocative battle.

“But I noticed something new with every strike of lightning, with every flash… It was almost like a dream. A four-legged cloud, illuminated in the flares of violet… Oh, and… there was something that stood out as odd from that dreamlike sight, though. There was a machine in there, with its cables and plugs strewn all over the place. … Maybe it was like a power generator, or something?” - Sinclair, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

And for beginners, as a curiosity, this fragment here along with the Abnormality Encounter in the MDs imply the generators and wires are already present in the arena; they aren’t summoned, unlike the fight. This means the passive associated with that latter mechanic, “Generator”, is essentially just a mechanic especially made to avoid… breaking the fight, I guess.

There are some other cases of “story and gameplay segregation”, like the Sheep begins the fight with an unclashable attacks that isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Logs, or that it naturally attracts storms and electricity, independent of the generators. But since they don’t matter that much, let’s ignore them and begin with the actual analysis.

The main focus of the fight is trying to get the “Anti-Ovine Grounding Plug” status on the Sinners, acquired by winning against the Generators’s “Overcharge Release” skill—overcoming the electricity released by the generators to grab a cable. Not exactly revolutionary, but it gets the work done, since the name of the status and the fact that the Sinner that has it must win a clash against the Sheep’s sole Pride skill, “Grounding Refusal”, to inflict “Plugged In” on it are quite telling: the Abnormality doesn’t want to be “grounded” and have its electricity stolen.

The Abnormality’s refusal to “touch earth” is also seen in the fight’s background, placed in the sky and high above whatever city is below, filled to the brim with lightning and stormy clouds. Sinclair described such surroundings as dream-like, and rightfully so; how can one say that such a place, disconnected almost wholly from earth, is anything but a fantasy? In a way, it’s really, really juvenile…

Regarding the “Plugged In” status, the name is everything you really need to understand it, and thankfully you need only 3 Plugged In on the Abnormality to stagger and make it lose all the Charge (i.e., electricity) it has built up, effectively putting it to “sleep”. The related passive, “A Familiar Connector”, implies that the Sheep is conscious and knows what you are doing, and it’s trying to fight against it, as the special Event (when it has 2 Plugged In) and the Logs show:

“At the end of each cable strewn about the floor is a plug. Perhaps the sheep knows what it implies. It lets out a sorrowful cry.” - Mid-Combat Event. “… The sheep began attacking me as soon as I grabbed the cable from the generator. It would burst with lightning… or try to ram me with its body.” - Sinclair, Abnormality’s Observation Log #2.

Naturally, beyond the prideful refusal to be grounded, thinking of itself as deserving much more than to be slaved as mere battery, the Abnormality becomes wrathful at the sight of someone using the cables too, as represented by its “Ram Charge” skill. But this incessant fight to reject its duty make its weakness to Wrath and Gloom all the more ironic: despite its big egoism, befitting its resistance to Pride, Dreaming Electric Sheep is susceptible to others’ suffering and hatred, as if they make it doubt its egoistic stubbornness.

Returning now to the fight as such, the Abnormality doesn’t always use “Grounding Refusal”, since it’s tied to the other main status of the fight: Gathering Lightning Cloud. As it name implies, it’s a representation of how the Sheep is able to gather lightning and electricity in the first place, being what ultimately dictates what skills it uses:

“Horned Charge”: A Lust-based skill used when there’s 4, 3 or 1 Gathering Lightning Cloud. It essentially represents the love and addiction Dreaming Electric Sheep has for electricity—for “dreaming” above and beyond the earth.

“Lamb’s Cry” and “Electricity Manipulation”: Gloom-based skills, used when there’s 3 or less and 1 Gathering Lightning Cloud respectively. They are a stand-in for the Abnormality’s despair caused by losing the source of its electricity and “dreams”.

An entity that’s in love with dreaming and being unbounded, fighting and despairing upon the prospect of losing its “spark” and tied down to something—to duty. Thus, it isn’t a surprise Sloth is antithetical to its existence, a drive that destroys its (sort of) rebellion and pride by making it rot as nothing but a commodity, a tool born and raised to feed the city below.

“The electric sheep bleats and screams. As its distressed screech shakes the air, flashes of light hit the eyes. The buildings are lit brighter than ever. Soon, the light from the creature’s cloud dimmed. Could it be dreaming? The sheep appeared to have closed its eyes after it fell silent.” - Abnormality Encounter.

A “poison” that… puts it to sleep? That part isn’t clear, and Yi Sang’s comment in the third Log doesn’t help that much either. We know the Abnormality is already dreaming at some level, quite literally being “in the clouds” and having to be “grounded”, so maybe it collapsing is the result of finally being “tamed” and “binded”, drained of everything it has as the weight of the things it has done—the tiredness of living freely—catches up. It's the somnolence that willingly sacrifices all (external) ambitions, so the world can remain in order and “awake”.

Thankfully for the Sheep, and pitifully for those below, such a state is not permanent, at least in gameplay. This all due to its only Envy skill, “Electric Screaming”, which has two versions: an unclashable one used solely during the first turn, and a clashable version used whenever there’s only 1 Gathering Lightning Cloud on the Abnormality. While the former is difficult to elucidate since it doesn’t have any effect in practice (beyond the 10 Protections it grants), it coincides with a small part of the Logs:

“Do you think we have to plug those cables into the sheep? Ah, I see… What if that sheep is screaming so much because of the lightning in its body…? - Sinclair, Abnormality’s Observation Log #1.

It is screaming (duh), and feeling a profound envy for something/someone in that moment. The clashable version further clarifies it through its effect of expiring all the built up Charge, along with disconnecting itself from the generator likely due to the absurd release of electricity—its precious electricity.

While it would be normal to assume the Abnormality is envious for people that don’t have to experience the pain of being electrocuted, I disagree with that. The Logs are ambiguous at the hour of answering what’s more painful to the Sheep, but the EGO Awakening/Corrosion lines and the “cut the cables” option in its Encounter heavily imply what the Sheep values above all.

“The buildings blacked out in an instant. The electric sheep dashed off into the distance, propelling a thunderous cry. In the unlit town, weeps of the lightless fill the air. A tiny object rests where the electric sheep once was.” - Abnormality Encounter.

So terrified of being “robbed” that, without realizing, it leaves a fragment of its being and electricity behind.

Everything indicates that Dreaming Electric Sheep is envious not out of “physical” pain, but of those that don’t have to sacrifice their dreams and are free. Unlike them, it has to fight with everything it has and abandon all in order to escape its “confinement”, with its last important passive, “Wants To Be Free”, being the most obvious proof of that drive and violent opposition.

All in all, the theme of the Abnormality is obvious: in contrast to Portrait of a Certain Day and its blind loyalty to its duty and past, Dreaming Electric Sheep represents fighting back and rebelling against them—the “presetted” social role that was given to it. However, no matter how much it wants to be free, the Sheep will have to return to the ground one day by either its own volition or dragged down by others, and when that happens its dreams will only consist of the days of yore.

“The ability to recollect may become the Abnormalities’ bridge from the waking world into the land of dreams. Yet, we know not whether what it reminisces is its past, or merely its figments.” - Yi Sang, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

Thus, its entire relationship with Envy makes sense (beyond “Envy = Electricity/Charge”, of course), including its resistance and why do Identities without Envy have their mental state deteriorated when plugging in the Sheep in the Encounter; it is one of the purest manifestations of the Sin. But then, one has to wonder what the Abnormality represents in this royal masquerade, and thankfully, an user in reddit gave a more than appropriate answer:

“I think Sheep represents the King. A more imature version of the king that didnt want the responsiblity of the throne, just to run freely. I also want to add even the stage placement supports my theory, both section 3 and 4 follow the same structure of peccatula followed by abnormality. I think Sheep is the Prince, a Little Prince.” - u/tr_berk1971.

And with that, we return to the first question: without the prince, the kingdom doesn’t have a future, so what should you do in this case? Respect its decision or bring it down?

The King in Binds

“There is an entity bound to an extravagantly ornamented chair. It appears as though the entity is shooting a stern glare this way. It tries to say something... but its mouth is bound. The King on the throne twists and thrashes, trying to approach... but the things that bind drags him away. The beautiful yet cruel crimson strips of fabric. They pull mercilessly. They are…” - Abnormality Encounter.

If Abnormalities like Skin Prophet and Drifting Fox are difficult to explain, then The King in Binds is the complete opposite. So instead of explaining the Abnormality’s meaning, I’m going to analyze its mechanics and tie it to… well, a certain theory I have.

At any rate, after gruesome fights with every single inhabitant of the manor, including the goddamn prince, we arrive against the ruler, the one who set up this very own Railway as a masquerade to alleviate its boredom. Fittingly, before even dreaming of fighting the King, we have to go through its (adamantine) inner circle: its closest and oldest butlers, its royal guard, its counselors, and for some reason two homeless men… Well, anything for the King, right?

“Now that I have spent some time in observation of their operations, I have noticed a conspicuously considerable collection of similitudes between us. I can presume that their number is most likely equivalent to our own; their techniques in parallel to ours. Yet what those Peccatula lack is the will to make decisions of their own. Like cards to be played with and discarded at the king’s whim.” - Yi Sang, Abnormality’s Observation Log #2.

Especially when you are an extension of the King’s many “binds” that empower and limit it at the same time, giving it shape and thus an existence—they are as much as part of the King as the King is of them, as seen with the “Bandage of the King in Binds”. But this reciprocity becomes heavily nightmarish when you consider how the King is the source of all the Peccatulum Invidiae we see in the Railway, meaning only one thing: there’s no difference between the Sovereign and its people.

“A commonwealth is said to be instituted when a multitude of men do agree, and covenant, every one with every one, that to whatsoever man, or assembly of men, shall be given by the major part the right to present the person of them all, that is to say, to be their representative; every one, as well he that voted for it as he that voted against it, shall authorize all the actions and judgements of that man, or assembly of men, in the same manner as if they were his own, to the end to live peaceably amongst themselves, and be protected against other men.” - Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.

The King in Binds doesn’t control every single one of its retainers; they are one and the same, with their wills being its will. It’s the living manifestation of the manor and the kingdom, with its “bandages” and thus control extending through every corner. Its power is absolute, its rules unquestionable… Yet, such a position is lonely beyond any comparison, not having any equal and no challenge that can’t be easily solved with 1 order. No wonder why its EGO and a great part of its skills are both Pride and Gloom, or that it’s resistant to Lust, Gluttony and Envy—a solitary responsibility that kills all desire, yet too powerful and important to simply wish upon another, explaining also its Sloth skill.

“To be in command of others, to reign over another, is a declaration that one shall endure the responsibilities and the suffering that come with power. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to our Executive Manager, who leads us with a firm but fair, excellent hand.” - Outis, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

And I don’t think I’ve to explain the relationship it has with Dante and the Sinners, because it’s obvious their contract doesn’t only affect the latter’s “time”. By all means, the Sinners have become (metaphysical) extensions of Dante, who is no other than the pitiful, solitary and all too prideful Leviathan.

“‘Mine eyes,’ I said, ‘will yet be here ta’en from me, But for short space; for small is the offence Committed by their being turned with envy. Far greater is the fear, wherein suspended My soul is, of the torment underneath, For even now the load down there weighs on me.’” - Dante, Canto XIII, Purgatorio, Divine Comedy.

A King that under no circumstances allows disrespect towards its presence. But there’s no need to worry, because it won’t direct its resentment and hatred against its retainers, to those he has “bonded” with as shown with “Present Thyself Before the King”; everything will be directed to its “enemies” and “offenders”, either conquering or destroying them. Its theme isn’t named “Vovete Miseries”, latin for “(All of) You Shall Vow Miseries”, for nothing.

At the end, Dante, like the King, will remain alone at the top. The binds and duty, once chains (chains… why do they sound familiar?) that dragged them to the “throne” over and over again, now bandages that cover the shameful injuries and are the only thing that hold it together. They may struggle as much as they want to get free now, but they are in that situation because they have already resigned themselves to the bitterness of such a role—they “gladly” welcomed both Sloth and Gloom in their lives, without resisting them.

“Let this battle bring a fleeting moment of joy for the lone-king who shall reign eternal, reign unaccompanied.” - Choosing to “wear the mask of joy”, Introductory Event.

“Let this battle bring a fleeting moment of solace for the lone-king who shall reign eternal, reign unaccompanied.” - Choosing to “wear the mask of sorrow”, Introductory Event.

“Let this battle spark the flames of battle-joy for the lone king who shall reign eternal, reign unaccompanied.” - Choosing to “wear the mask of wrath”, Introductory Event.

Though you can at the very least soothe that melancholy by playing along with this selfish desire of it, to take one of the many offered masks to fulfill this play whose ending allows the King to pretend to be free. How you do it is entirely up to you, of course, but please, do not forget the pain the King experiences with every movement and breath; that’s the despair and duty we all share.

Post-Commentary

Beyond the usual disclaim that every Abnormality is open to discussion, I really want to focus in the last section, about The King in Binds, due to theory I presented: in the same way Spiral of Contempt can represent Dante's past self, KiB obviously represents something of them; it may be their past again, yes, but also their future, and that's the interpretation I chose. It can also be understood as a parallel with Heathcliff in particular, who (whom?) already had comparisons made with the Devil himself.

Outside of that, if Protrait of a Certain Day's section looks longer than the others... Yes, it's. That's because I wrote it as some sort of "reception" as well, beginning with the first thing we knew about the Abnorality before the fight. It's also the thing that took more time than any other; the Envy affinity really messed up with my brain... And that's not speaking about how similar Portrait is to Steam Machine.

And finally, it's obvious the overall theme within this Railway: while RR2 represents unending cycles and RR3 (self-)destructive obssessions, RR4 stands for the tragedy and power that come with duty, from the immature stages in which we try to run from it, to the last days during which we take comfort in what we have done - childhood/teenagehood, adulthood, and finally elderliness in a world that demands things that we may not neccesaily like, but we must fullfill. Life in society is truly like a masquerade, isn't it?

[dream-trail-rpg]

Genuine questions, what are some struggles you guys have had with making a game? What are things you’ve enjoyed? And what are some advice you would give for someone trying to make their own game?

I hope to make a game of my own one day, and I’ve been meaning to ask! It was you guys that gave me hope to try and achieve that goal again, so I felt asking you guys may be a good idea!

(Also, I hope things are going well! Have a nice day!)

Howdy! Sock here!

This is going to be a bit of a long answer, so I'll hide it under the cut:

It means so much to hear that we helped as some sort of motivation towards working on your own game,,, My advice in that department is to just GO FOR IT! See what happens! See what you can manage! That's how Dream Trail got started. If you have an idea that you really want to make, just take the plunge. Push yourself and rip off that bandaid! If you don't make the choice, you may miss out on a really interesting, exciting, and life-changing future path. Just don't take on more than you can chew. Try and stay around your skill level, but if you have bigger dreams then it's not a bad idea to start learning some new skills. Be ambitious, just not too much! Sometimes, ambition can outweigh your capabilities. Try not to overfill your game and include what's NECESSARY. Sometimes you have to make unfortunate cuts, but it's important to do what benefits your game best.

As a team, we've definitely had our fair share of struggles. There will be disagreements and road-blocks that take awhile to climb over. Coding has definitely been our worst enemy, haha. But it's important to keep going. Don't let anything stop you!

Here's a message from Chip/Mod Fay, I think they've got a better way of putting this all on one plate, similarly to what I explained:

"Don't bite off more than you can chew- especially if you're a solo dev, make sure what you're making is manageable. Try to make something that focuses more on your skillset! If you're an artist, make something focused on visuals. Writer, make a story-based game. Etc etc. Of course branching out and learning new things is good! But for a first game, try and cater to your skills, unless you wanna get burnt out- Take it from someone who Didn't Do That, starting slow is the way to go. Make sure to keep things organized, otherwise things can get complicated and messy fast. It's okay to ask for help from others in areas you're less experienced in. And if you're ever realizing you're not having fun- it's always okay to take breaks! Don't overwork yourself, it ain't healthy. Trust me- The most important thing is having fun! And if that requires a few breaks, whether they be days, weeks, months, or even years long, if that what's best for you, don't feel bad about it!"

No matter the struggles, it's always worth it. We all enjoy working on Dream Trail so much, we've shared so many laughs this past year. And nothing will ever beat the satisfaction and excitement of finally releasing our demo a couple months ago. Coming up with ideas and writing dialogue and thinking about character designs, it's an amazing process that I couldn't be happier to share with my friends.

I hope that you can make the game you want to make! I'm so honoured that our game has given you a little bit of hope for your own projects! I BELIEVE IN YOU!! No matter who you are, if you make something, there will ALWAYS be someone who loves your content. Show the world what you've got!

We're still slowly getting off of our break from after the demo's release. We've starting up again, but we're not fully back on track yet, so we have nothing to write in any dev-logs. We hope to have something new for all of you soon! Thanks again for your support, and I'd honestly love some more genuine asks like this. I love answering questions!