#those last 5 minutes actually scared the hell out of me

[witchofsparkles]

Soap groaned in front of the mirror while scrubbing his bloody face with a dampaned rag because washing it with handful of water would make his bathroom look like a murder scene. Which he just came from. And he wasn’t in the mood for more of it.

This time the mission was especially bloodier. Merchaneries popping out of everywhere and bullets flying, only the glint of a very fast knife seen and gurgling voices mixed with screams. They successfully obtained the data they went for, but the cost of it was more nightmares and horror – like always.

After freeing his face from dirt and blood, Soap showered before treating the small cuts on his face and the bullet graze on his left bicep which the meds told him to care for. Soap was already out of the infirmary when he didn’t hear anything about his life being in danger and run for the comfort of his room instead. He could care for it in solitude of the four walls of his bathroom.

He left the shower with a sour mood, nothing he would do now were to solve his post-duty problem. Not before sleeping like a dead man in a coffin for at least 8 hours. With that in mind, he mindlessly stepped towards to the mirror again, to see his face. But he had to bit down on his lips to stop himself from screaming his head off and probably gather every soldier on the base with guns ready in his room. Between the foggy surface of his mirror and the reflection of his face, he could’ve sweared he saw someone else. It was a faint shadow of a white skull, with very alive and brown eyes. When Soap blinked, it was gone.

“I’m losing it this time, ain’t I?” Soap took a step back from the mirror but his hands were gripping the sink like it was the reason why his life was a miserable mess and his brain was going out of it. “What the fuck?”

After the jump scare of his life, Soap intented to act as if nothing happened and he cleaned his injuries before going to bed. But everytime he closed his eyes, a pair of brown eyes were looking at him througha skull -a skull probably belonged to a very, very dead man. Soap shook his head and sighed into his pillow. If he were not to sleep in twenty minutes maximum, everybody in the base were gonna be in need of a psych eval because Soap was about to start making his own problems everybody’s bussiness.

At the morning, Soap run into Gaz. Gaz eyed him like he saw a ghost. “Man, what the hell? You gonna carry groceries in those bags under your eyes?”

Soap, who couldn’t sleep because of a mind so fucked up that kept showing him skulls and eyes and blood and everything bad, felt his eyebrow twitching. “No, it’s for your dead body if you don’t shut up and let me eat in peace and silence.”

Gaz made him a face while sitting across the table and put his tray on it. “I mean, we all had hell of a fight yesterday but it’s nothing new after 5 years in it and I sure hell am not looking like a mad scientist. And this is probably the first time you wanted peace and silence. Did something happen?”

Soap sighed into his breakfast. He didn’t know why a simple illusion threw him off like that. It was just for a millisecond and his mind was most llikely playing him games after a long day of fighting for his life. But something in that millisecond was keeping his mind busy and his heart heavy. After the first shock of a seeing… ‘someone’ in his mirror, that fear changed into discomfort. Like he had to do something but he couldn’t and it kept him awake at night. He was feeling very dumb for it. Also saying shit like ‘I saw someone in my mirror last night’ in army was a sure way of kicked out.

“Nothing happened. Just tired. Couldn’t sleep.” Gaz didn’t buy it, Soap could see but he couldn’t care less. Before any of them even breathed, they heard Price’s call for them. “Soap, Gaz. Follow me.”

Soap’s mind was occupied but he finally finished what Price wanted –paperwork. And more paperwork. He was actually glad for it, he finally let his thoughts scatter around and picked them up back when he was done. Soap gathered the papers and head for the door but something on the window stopped him. He faced the window, the sun was setting and the orange sky was reflecting on the glass. But it was not the scenery that caused him to stop and look. It was something on the glass -someone. That same face he saw the night before on his mirror was there again and this time he actually stared at it. Then the image disappeared like it came, in no more than a second he was looking at an ordinary window again. Soap’s fists was clenched around the papers. This time the face was there longer than before and he actually stared at the skull. Hell, they locked eyes. In his brain, there was a war going on now: He was seeing things because he was going mad or he was seeing things… because. And he didn’t know which one was worse.

Soap went straight for the bed after that, didn’t even waved back to his friends. His mind was somewhere else and his eyes were unfocused, he only realized he was back at his room when he reached to the door. He muttered to himself. “What is my problem?”

“Me?”

[pookachuka]

Twin!!! Where have you been!!

[mioons]

“in the moment — you and i.”

pairing. enhypen ot7 x fem. reader (hcs) ୭ৎ mlist

genre. fluff, first dates wc. 918 warnings. none?

— where they would bring you on your first date. extra. 💋

lee heeseung - arcade

he’s awkward. awkward as hell on his first date. he probably spent a few hours— hell maybe even a few days thinking of where to bring you. he thought restaurants were too cliche. what if he brought you to the movies and you didn’t like what was showing? would you even go out with him again after the first date?

heeseung suddenly remembered you loved plushies, loved every single type of stuff toy. then it hit him. bring you to an arcade and win you a plushie. that’ll impress you!

on the actual date he didn’t win anything and instead you were the one that got him a giant teddy bear. “next time win me that bunny plushie okay?”

at least he knows that this won’t be his last date with you.

park jongseong - restaurant

to be honest jay doesn’t have any experience with love whatsoever, the only thing he knew about love was from those tooth rotting movies and the love songs he makes covers of.

so of course he went with the safest option: bringing you to the finest restaurant in the city.

he offered you his arm when you two walked in, pulled your chair out for you, and even rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb while you were looking through the menu. what a gentleman he was.

after you ate finish, he rushed to the counter to pay before you could. he’d never allow his date to pay.

“thank you for today, i had a nice time with you,” you smiled and placed both your hands behind your back in shyness. jay found you so beautiful when you smiled and he hopes he can make you smile for the rest of your life.

sim jaeyun - cinema

he was scared of bringing you to the cinema in fear you wouldn’t like the shows. but guess what? he still brought you anyway because he already bought the tickets and he didn’t wanna waste his money

the day he brought you to the cinemas, a horror show was screening. “are you sure you can watch that? you can hold onto me if you’re scared,” he teased as gave you a cheeky grin.

“i bet 5 bucks you’ll be clinging onto me first,” you rolled your eyes playfully. “game on sweetheart.”

safe to say you won 5 bucks that day. at least jake knows not to bring you to horror movies if he doesn’t want to embarrass himself anymore.

park sunghoon - amusement park

he can’t sit down for ten minutes without dozing off. and he definitely didn’t want to doze off in front of you—his first date. that would be embarrassing.

the best way to not doze off was to do something fun. and what’s more fun than an amusement park? he doesn’t know.

on the actual date he paid for both your tickets.

saying sunghoon didn’t doze off was an understatement. he was downright screaming his lungs out on every ride; even those that weren’t scary.

by the end of the date he lost his voice but at least he gained a kiss on the cheek from you.

yang jungwon - library

he found out from his friend you loved reading. some might call you a bookworm but you were cute.

he wanted to show you he cared about your interest, your likes and dislikes so of course he brought you to the city’s biggest library. many books filled the shelves but the thing he admired the most was the way you eyes widened at the scene.

one of the things he did was listen to you ramble about your favourite books and how you hated cliffhangers. jungwon found it so endearing.

you two were both in the library till the security guards had to chase you out. what a great way to end the date.

“i’ll recommend you some books next time okay?” you said, which indicated than there were definitely more dates to come.

kim sunoo - picnic

sunoo loves the park, or anywhere with flowers and grass. he thought of bringing you to the park to let you experience the breath of nature.

he prepared a picnic basket with sandwiches, sushi and juice inside. he had everything prepared, even got you a bouquet of flowers.

when he laid out the picnic mat, he noticed how the wind ran through your hair, making you look like a garden fairy. so ethereal he thinks.

he placed a flower in your hair and said, “you’re so beautiful.”

“my little flower.”

ni-ki — cooking class

ni-ki wanted you to bring back a piece of him for you to remember him.

so what a better way to do that than to actually let you bring a piece of cake he made back home? he booked 2 slots for a baking lesson to learn how to make fudge cake.

he didn’t expect you to be so skilled in cooking, even better than him. but to be honest he couldn’t even measure the dry ingredients properly.

throughout the whole class, he kept asking you for help and always throwing bits of flour at you to tease you. he covered his hand in flour and patted your back, making your shirt have a flour handprint.

“god you’re such a kid,” you laughed and swiped a bit of cake batter across his face. “i could say the same to you honey.”

after that date, niki was sure you were the one for him

luvlyhee 2024 taglist:: open! send an ask!

[anxious-lee]

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known || Hazbin Tickle Fic ||

A/N: this entire fic was inspired by that one scene where Al threatens Husk in ep 5. it broke my heart to see him so utterly petrified so I wrote this as a hurt/comfort for myself

Warnings: mentions of Alastor's control over Husk, slight NSFW language but it's not actually sexual I just didn't have any synonyms for what I meant lol

Word count: 2,466

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When you're an Overlord of Hell, you tend to get pretty comfortable with staying in control.

Because one wrong move can mean the end of the line.

Husk knew that better than most.

And even now, after all that power of his was lost, he still found himself more suited to calling the shots in whatever situation he found himself in. It was just easier that way. If he could remain on top of things, then nothing would go wrong. Mostly.

That feeling of security never lasted long, though, because sooner or later, he was reminded of the terrible choice he made long ago. That he gave away his autonomy to the most psychotic demon in hell.

The way he spoke to him. Like he was so small. And insignificant. Like he existed purely for the bastard's own amusement and nothing else. Any input given was condescended to, patronized, and dehumanized. It formed an ugly little pit in Husk's chest. How little control he had once Alastor stepped into the room. It scared him, in a way that so few things did.

At least he had someone else to talk to who knew how he felt.

Speaking of whom, Angel Dust strutted into the bedroom, sporting a fluffy silk robe.

"Hope I didn't make you wait too long~" he whined seductively.

"Not long at all," the other purred.

The two settled down together in bed, soaking in each other's embrace.

Tonight was all about them, huddled together in hell's moonlight.

Husk remained still as Angel shifted downward until his head fit under Husk's chin, knowing just where to go.

He loved to be pampered, that much was obvious.

It was peaceful for some time before Angel's eyes suddenly blinked open.

"Hey. How come you never want a turn at being the little spoon? I'm not unreasonable, I'm sure we could share," he said coyly.

Husk didn't quite know what to say to that. It wasn't something that needed to be spoken in words. Husk dominated, Angel submitted (in more ways than one). It seemed almost absurd to suggest that Husk would be the one being given affection.

"Nah, I'm good. You look pretty comfy down there, anyway."

Angel, however, wasn't satisfied with that answer. He pulled himself back to get a good look at the cat's face, cocking his own head curiously. Who wouldn't want to be on the receiving end? Even once? It couldn't be understated how warm and protected one could feel in the arms of another. And Husk didn't want that? Did he feel pressured to say that because he knew Angel liked to take that spot?

"Really? You THAT much of a top that you can't play second fiddle once?" said Angel.

"I'm just not a big... "softy-cuddles" kinda guy, as if you already couldn't tell," Husk admitted, gesturing to his overall gruff demeanor.

Angel studied his face.

"Not buying that for a second," he said, punctuating each word with a poke to the chest. "Come on, you're missing out!"

"That's sweet, babe, but I'm-"

"Just five minutes?" Angel pleaded, holding five fingers up in front of him, "Five minutes of me cuddling you for a change. If you decide you hate it, I won't bring it up again. I just... you're always taking care o' me. I want to give some of that back to you, ya'know? You deserve it."

Fuck.

How was he supposed to say no to those puppy eyes?

Besides, it couldn't hurt... right?

"Fine," Husk relented.

"Yay!" His boyfriend cheered.

They rearranged their positions; Husk now farther down the length of the bed and Angel wrapping all three pairs of arms around him like a furry burrito. His knees and head also tucked themselves inward to cradle the cat properly.

It still made Husk a little tense, letting someone handle him so willfully, but the touch was too nice to deny for very long. Thoughts of safety oozed into his brain as his body relaxed against the chest behind him.

"See? Now isn't this nice?" said Angel softly, barely above a whisper, "For a man who supposedly doesn't little-spoon, you've got the moves down pat."

"I'm not making any moves," Husk mumbled, smiling loudly in his voice.

"Well, you're relaxed, aren't ya?"

In a way.

Angel peered down at the bundle of fuzz, taking in how much shorter he was in comparison.

"Awww! I never noticed how cute you were from up here." His hand began petting the top of the kitty's head, smoothing down the hair.

And there was that feeling again. The one that couldn't let Husk enjoy a good thing while he had it. The fear of releasing control.

"I'm not a pet," he grumbled, having no control over the defensiveness in his voice.

Angel, ever oblivious, pressed on. "Oh, but you are to me~. My sweet little Husky~."

Finally, the camel's back broke under that straw.

"Just stop, okay?! I don't-" Husk took a much-needed breath, sitting up, "I know being treated like a toy is your thing, but it's not mine. I don't like being talked to like I'm a pet. Like all I am is your little dancing monkey." It dawned on him just how much of all that was directed at Alastor. The words sunk in like cement in a lake, and he turned his eyes away, unable to look at what he just ruined.

Angel blinked. All of sudden, the moment had soured, and he had no clue why. Was it something he said? Husk said he didn't want to be treated like a toy. Is that how he felt? Like he wasn't valued? That wasn't what he was trying to say at all! It was adoration! Not condescension.

"What...?" Angel breathed.

"Forget it. Just, I'm sorry-"

"No! No, don't apologize," Angel interrupted, choosing his next words carefully, "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. It wasn't what I meant to say. I wasn't tryin' to say you were weak or small. I was... I was trying to tells you that I adore ya. You do so much for me and our friends. You look out for us, and protect us, and listen to our bullshit problems all the time.

"I think so highly of you, Husk. You don't take shit from no one, not even me. You're unafraid to speak your mind. You know how to keep your head when life gets messy. I got nothing but respect for you. That's why I wanted to do all this. That's why I want to pamper you with love and shit. Because you're always so strong, and I wanted to... I don't know... give you the space where you didn't have to be strong. Not with me."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Husk couldn't find the words even if he tried. He had never heard such meaningful things spoken about him. Him, the grouchy barfly. How could he possibly come back from such a beautiful declaration? Especially now with how foolish he felt. It had never occurred to him that accepting affection was an act of good, and not an admission of weakness. That someone could be trusted to hold him in their hands and lift him up rather than drag him down.

Angel could never be Alastor. This was not a hostage situation.

This was a security.

One that he felt that he needed in this moment more than ever.

"Fuck... I'm sorry. I messed up everything and spoiled the mood. I'm still not very good at this whole intimacy stuff," Husk sighed.

"I know, and it's okay. I can teach you," Angel cupped his hand around Husk's cheek.

Husk leaned into the touch. "And uh... thanks. For what you said."

"I meant it."

What did Husk do on Earth to deserve such an Angel?

"Look, if uh. Ahem. If you still wanted to... to do what you were doing before... you know, I won't fight you," Husk stammered, falling quieter with each word.

If that's the only means of permission that Angel can get right now, then he'll take it. He gently eased Husk onto his back once more.

"Good. 'Cause I still have lots more love to give you, sweetcheeks." Angel's iconic smile returned.

Even though Husk basically just admitted he wanted Angel to keep going, his praises were beginning to fluster him. The corners of his lips started to rise, and the only defense he had against them was to turn his face away from the man in front of him.

"You like it when I talk to you like that, huh, baby? Do you hear in my voice how much I'm crazy about you? How I'd do anything for ya? Cause I would~. There's nothing that you don't deserve," Angel said, scratching oh so lightly beneath Husk's chin.

Husk squeezed his eyes shut as he surrendered to his smile and tried to crush Angel's hand with his neck.

"It's true~. Because you're just the cutest little thing alive! Er, unalive, so to speak," the spider said, feeling encouraged by this reaction, and bringing another hand to scritch in the middle of his side.

Before he could stop it, a giggle escaped from Husk's mouth. Mortified, he then clamped his jaw shut, holding any more upcoming laughs in.

"You don't have to pretend for me, baby. It's just us here," said Angel, now bringing all three sets of arms into the mix. One pair was tracing his sides, another scritching either sides of his neck, and the last drumming their fingers torturously over his belly.

The giggles rose back up again, and this time shutting his mouth wasn't keeping them at bay. If he weren't so stubborn, he might've given in by now. But it was just too embarrassing.

Husk clapped his paws over his mouth, and while it did (partially) succeed in quieting his laughter, it didn't do anything to remedy the tickly sensations now all over his torso. He twitched and quivered under the touch, but with Angel hovering over him, it didn't leave much room for reprieve.

"This looks like it really tickles. I'm sure you'd feel better if you let all those laugh out!" Angel encouraged, "Pleeeeeease? For me? For yourself?"

Still, he didn't budge.

"Okay. I didn't wanna have to do this, but you've left me with no otha' options." Angel took one hand that was scratching his chin and took both of Husk's paws in it, holding them above the cat's head.

The effect was gradual.

At first, you couldn't hear a peep. Then, over a matter of seconds, Husk's giggles began to bubble up once more, fighting their way to the surface, and tickling him from the inside out.

It was over. Before long, there was nothing between the loving attacker and the melodic sound he adored so much. It started out deeper and huskier, much like his normal speaking voice, but with each passing moment, it grew higher in pitch; the kind of laugh he reserved only for his softer moments with Angel.

The spider took this as a sign to continue and deepened the pressure of all of his appendages, digging into the jittery muscles.

Husk couldn't even recognize himself anymore. He sounded nothing like the bitter old drunk he normally was. In its place, was a goofy little lovesick fool who laughed like no one in the world could hear him. He guffawed and chortled and cackled with reckless abandon.

"There it itihis! There's that gorgeous laughter!" Said Angel. "For a moment there, I thought you was bout to explode!"

The compliment somehow made everything worse. The helplessness of the situation was still there, the feeling of being small, but it was... different. Like he was small enough to be held in someone's palm and protected from all harm. It felt safe.

Husk's cheeks began to burn red.

Hopefully, Angel would be too distracted to notice.

"Aw baaabe! Are you blushin'?!"

Fuck.

As if on cue, his cheeks burned brighter.

"Am I making you feel flustered~? Does it make it tickle more?"

"WOHOHOULD YOU SHUHUT UHUHUP?!"

"So it does. Hmm," Angel hummed as he started moving his hands faster and faster up and down his body. Up his sides, then down his sides, up his tummy, then down his tummy.

It was maddening.

It was tortuous.

It was wonderful.

If Heaven didn't feel like this, he didn't want it. If salvation didn't give him the same amount of relief and safety and joy that playing with his lover gave, then it wasn't worth it. He'd stay in this inferno of hell forever if it meant he could stay with Angel. Stay in this moment.

The demon in question kept on with his teases.

"Who's the cutest little thing~?" Angel cooed as he noticed Husk jump when he touched the lowest portion of his belly, "Ohoho, looks like someone's ticklish! Coochie coochie coooo~!"

Just when Husk thought he couldn't laugh any harder, he did.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA YOU FUHUHUCKING PRIHIHICK HAHAHA!" Husk snorted.

"Oho my gosh! You sound just like Fat Nuggets!" Angel chortled.

Husk's laughter was beginning to go silent, and started getting wheezier. This, Angel knew, meant it was time to stop.

"Alright, doll, I think you've had enough," Angel said as he released his prisoner.

As the spider removed his hands from his body, Husk started panting and giggling hysterically, still feeling the phantom sensations on his skin.

"Need some help there?" Angel offered, moving his hands back towards the other's belly.

Husk curled away from his hands, "Dohohon't!"

"I'm not gonna tickle ya, I swear! I'm just gonna get the leftover tickles to go away. Okay?"

Husk nodded hesitantly and revealed his stomach to him.

Angel's hands met his fur, and although it did jump at first, the firm pressure and massaging motions rubbed away the remaining tickles, just like he said it would.

"Dahamn. That really works." Husk breathed.

"Right? Now do you feel better?"

"Yeah," Husk sat up as Angel gave him room, "You know, for such a compliant gentleman, you sure do know how to take charge."

Angel swiveled to Husk with his mouth agape. "I can be a boss when I wanna be!"

"Heh. Sure, power bottom."

Angel reached for Husk's right foot (or paw) and skittered one set of fingers over it.

"NonononONONOHOHO! I'M SORRY, I TAKE IT BACK! I tahahake it bahahack! Hehehehe!"

"Uh huh. That's what I thought," Angel stopped and huffed with a wink, nothing but kind love behind his eyes, "So. You ready for bed?"

"After all that laughing? Hell yes I am. I might even sleep through tomorrow." Husk said tiredly.

Angel chuckled, sidling up behind Husk and gently cacooning his arms around him again.

"This okay?"

Husk sighed.

"It's perfect."

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Wooh! That was a rollercoaster! 😅 Hope the people that wanted lee!husk enjoyed this fic 🫶

[avatar-anna]

Unknown Number, Part 3.5

i feel like the last part to unknown number was kind of rushed, so i decided to write a little extra part. enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

J: do you BELIEVE in love

HS is typing...

J: after love

J: after love

J: ...

J: after love

HS: I see. You're drunk.

J: finish the lyric 👉🏼👉🏼

HS: Are those supposed to be finger guns?

J: i'm not ACTUALLY gonna hold you at gun point!

J: now finish the lyric!

J: 👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼

HS: I hope you know that I am ROLLING my eyes at you right now.

J: 👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼🐇👉🏼👉🏼

J: oop sorry didn't mean to put the bunny in there now it looks like i'm shooting a poor helpless animal!

HS: Monster.

J: i'm not!

HS: What if that bunny had children? Think of the children June!

(five minutes later)

J: you made me cry ://

HS: I did?

J: yeah. i'm a bunny murderer :(((

HS: Jesus Christ. You really are drunk, aren't you?

J: :'(((

HS is typing...

HS: I can feel something inside me say I really don't think you're strong enough no...

J: :D

J: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE

J: after love

HS: After love.

HS: After love.

J: i don't really have anything to base this off of, but i think we would be the life of any party

"So...you and Harry."

"Yep."

"You...and Harry."

"That's right," Y/n said as she stuck safety pins through the hole of Ashton's t-shirt.

"How—Wh—When did this happen?" Michael stuttered, looking at Y/n like she had three heads.

"It's a long story," she said, not wanting to explain how she and Harry had unknowingly been texting for months before they realized they were a lot closer than they realized and were able to act on the feelings they developed for each other.

"And you, like, like him?" Calum asked, like he couldn't wrap his head around the idea.

Niall had stayed true to his word and immediately blabbed to the members of 5 Seconds of Summer about Y/n and Harry. She'd hidden from them that night while they performed and after they got offstage, but now that she was prepping their clothes for tonight's show, she had no choice but to face them. And their questions.

Rolling her eyes, Y/n said, "Yes, Calum, I like him. And he likes me. I've been on a number of dates while touring, you know that. Why is this different?"

No one said anything, which was fine by Y/n. She thought it was better than asking her for dirty details. Looking up from where she was sitting on the floor of the dressing room, she fought a smile. The four boys in front of her were in varying states of confusion and disbelief. Luke was blushing and wouldn't meet your eye, while Calum looked like he was thinking about the information a little too hard. Michael and Ashton seemed to be taking it well, though it was hard to tell.

"I'm gonna talk to him," Calum finally said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.

"Good idea."

The rest of the boys followed suit, all of them turning and leaving before Y/n could stop them. Dropping the shirt in her hands, she scrambled to follow them, calling out for them to stop.

"A—And say what? Come back here!"

Luke was the only one to turn back as Y/n called out to the four boys. He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair playfully, which Y/n promptly swatted away. It was easy for them to think of her as a younger sister kind of figure, she thought. She was older than the boys, but they were all freakishly tall.

"Don't worry, Y/n," Luke said. "We're just gonna make sure he doesn't act stupid. We have your back."

Y/n sighed and shook her head. It was sweet of them to feel so strongly about her relationship with Harry, even if their scare tactics were unnecessary. But she knew she didn't have to worry. The boys talked a big game, but they were all gentle giants.

Then

J: tell me about your childhood

HS: What do you want to know?

J: not specific details obviously, but like...idk were you a happy child? one of those kids that ate dirt?

HS: Dirt?

J: or worms without having to be dared?

HS: ...Where the hell did you grow up?

J: rural town. we had to entertain ourselves in strange ways.

J: but i should make it known i've never eaten anything that isn't food

HS: You know, I think the town I grew up in might be considered rural but I don't think I knew anyone who ate dirt or worms.

J: ok...so what were you like growing up?

HS: Normal I guess. Nothing too crazy.

HS: Parents got divorced when I was young though. I think that's about as interesting as it gets.

J: mm

HS: Mm? What does that mean?

J: i'm humming! it's hard to communicate humming over text

HS: No I got that part but you always have some kind of comment, and now all I get is mm?

J: i'm no psychiatrist h i'm not gonna unpack all of that with you

HS: You asked!

J: i know, but i thought you were gonna give a silly answer

J: i'm not very good with serious or heavy stuff

HS: Well you've certainly made that clear.

J: i want to know and i want to ask you but i don't really know what to say without making a joke, you know?

HS: It's really not that serious. It happened ages ago. No unresolved issues here.

(six minutes later)

J: i've...never been someone who's been like a source of comfort for someone else

J: maybe i have some unresolved issues but talking about deep shit makes me squirmy

HS: That's okay. It's not like I'm stellar at it.

HS: But we can work on that together.

J: we can?

HS: Of course. What are friends for?

Now

J: my clients are assholes

HS: The boys are your friends.

J: they are menaces to society

HS: What did they do this time?

J: they're teasing me >:(

HS: About what?

J: you

J: they're sing the stupid kissing song. i work for CHILDREN

HS: Kissing song?

J: harry and y/n sitting in a tree...

HS: Ohhh.

HS: Do you need me to rough them up a little?

J: now THAT would be a sight to see

J: but no i'm a big girl i can handle it

HS: Give em hell.

HS: Then come find me after.

(the next night)

HS: Where are you? We were supposed to go back to the tour bus??

J: the boys wanted me to go out with them

J: i was going to tell you earlier but they took my phone bc they said i'm on it too much

J: i had to hide in a pub bathroom to text you

HS: So you're telling me you've been kidnapped.

J: no! they miss hanging out with me it's actually kind of sweet. that's why they've been teasing me so much

J: i can't really blame them either

HS: What do you mean?

J: we do hang out just the two of us a lot. i could see why they would feel left out or something

HS: We don't hang out that much do we? We're a couple it's a given that we do things together.

J: i know, but i don't want to be that girl that only hangs out with her boyfriend and abandons their friends, and i don't think you want to be that person either

HS is typing...

(five minutes later)

J: you're not mad are you?

(thirty minutes later)

J: come on h it's one night

J: please don't ignore me :(

(one hour later)

J: big baby

(the next day)

Y/n got up early and walked from her tour bus to One Direction's, her slippered feet shuffling across the pavement. The sun was slowly rising, and she had a slight headache, but she was up anyway, making her way over to Harry's tour bus.

She didn't think he would be so bothered by her going out without him, but when she checked her phone when she woke up, her last few messages hadn't even been read. Y/n supposed she should've told Harry ahead of time that her plans had changed, but she hadn't been kidding when she told Harry that her phone privileges had been revoked. Michael grabbed it and slipped it into his pocket before they went out, and she had to beg to let him give it to her for just a few minutes.

When she got to the door of the right tour bus, Zayn was stepping out dressed in gym clothes. He nodded to Y/n, who simply waved back. She was friendly enough with Zayn, but he kept to himself for the most part, and if she wasn't with Harry, she was usually with one or all of the 5SOS boys. He'd always been nice to her, though, and Y/n thought that they might be friends if they gave each other a chance.

"He's still asleep, I think," Zayn said as he passed her. "But feel free to watch TV or whatever. And help yourself to whatever food you can find."

"Thanks," Y/n said.

She pushed her way inside, cringing when the door creaked and swung shut. It was still early, and Y/n assumed that everyone on the bus was still asleep. All the little curtains that fell over the bunks were pulled closed. She knew she could go right over to Harry's bunk, pull the curtain back, and see if he was asleep or just lying awake, but she stayed at the front of the bus instead, rooting through the fridge to find something to make for breakfast. Technically, Y/n knew she didn't do anything wrong, but having a nice breakfast to wake up to would perhaps make their conversation easier when Harry eventually did emerge from his bunk.

Quickly assessing what she had to work with, Y/n got to work. Nothing too elaborate, but she was still working on it when Harry finally came out of his bunk. He still looked sleepy, rubbing at his eye as he shuffled over to the kitchenette. "Morning," she said, setting a full plate down for him.

"Morning," he mumbled, his voice deep and rumbly from sleep. "You have a nice time last night?"

"I did," Y/n said. "You should come out with us next time."

Harry hummed noncommittally before thanking Y/n for the breakfast she made. She watched him closely, unsure of what to make of his disposition. He was quiet and subdued, but she couldn't tell if it was him still waking up or if he was actually upset with her. When a few minutes went by and he still hadn't said much, she broke the silence.

"Are we okay?"

He looked up from his plate. "Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know...we left things kind of awkwardly last night, didn't we?"

"Because I didn't text you back?" he asked, and Y/n nodded. "Sorry about that. Lou asked me to babysit Lux last minute and I didn't have a chance to check my phone before it died. And, you know, you were right. I wanted you to have fun without me."

Relief washed through Y/n when she heard that. She didn't want this to be a big fight, and it turned out to be a miscommunication, a misunderstanding. "Oh. Okay. Good. Just um, ignore the text I sent where I called you a big baby."

"You called me a what?

The look on Harry's face made Y/n giggle. She went over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You weren't answering me! And it felt like you were ignoring me. And I might have been a couple drinks in. So, I am sorry for that."

"Unbelievable," Harry muttered, though he sounded more exasperated than anything else.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "So we're good? This breakfast was meant to be a peace offering too, you know."

Harry reached up and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, we're good."

Y/n grinned, then came around him to sit at the seat next to him. "Great. Now give me a bite of that. I'm starving."

Harry rolled his eyes, but nudged his plate toward her anyway. Y/n hummed as she took her first bite and leaned into Harry's side, enjoying the warmth emanating from him. Now that the air had been cleared, she felt much better. It was their first little disagreement they'd had since getting together, and it turned out not being that big of a deal. It made her feel better about her relationship with Harry and their ability to talk things through. Y/n could only hope that they could do that when real issues and arguments happened between them. But for now she was content to enjoy her morning with Harry and hide from the rest of the world with him by her side.

[keouil]

inside me, a family

“and for god’s sake,” kuroo yells in the direction of the entrance. “can someone please get tsukki off flyer distribution! he’s scaring more people off than inviting them!” 3k. karasuno/nekoma. fluff. also on ao3.

“Nekokara.”

“What are you,” Suga grimaces. “A fujoshi? Why does it matter which team name comes first in the banner?”

Kuroo’s stubborn expression doesn’t budge an inch, nor does his posture. “Nekokara.”

“Karaneko,” Daichi suddenly pipes up, surprising everyone in the room. Noya and Tanaka have somehow strategically slithered their way at each of his side, very much looking like his personal bodyguards as they set to agreeing very loudly and verbally all the while massaging their captain’s shoulders. Go, Daichi-san! Defend our honor!

“Oh god,” Suga breathes out, palming his forehead. “Don’t tell me you’re in on this too?”

Daichi just smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. It doesn’t escape Suga’s notice that doing so just forces his muscles to protrude from his already annoyingly jacked chest, making even Kuroo stand up straighter. 

"Karaneko,” Daichi repeats, pitching his voice lower and more demandingly. 

Kuroo’s eyes slant to a glare, nostrils flaring slightly. Tora has somehow also miraculously materialized by his side, clamping a hand on his shoulder as he—just like Noya and Tanaka—begins his own verbal back-up of his captain.

“Neko—”

“Good Lord this will never end,” Yaku suddenly cuts in, stepping in between both teams and glaring long and hard at each captain until some of their confidence withers just so. Daichi defers almost immediately, while Kuroo pathetically lasts about five pitiful seconds. “Karaneko, Nekokara, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Shouldn’t we get started on more important things like how we’re actually going to pull off a damn bake sale?”

Kuroo opens his mouth to counterargue, but is, once again, pathetically silenced by Yaku immediately sending a seething look his way. It’s purely out of self-preservation that he shrinks into himself and zips his mouth altogether.

Yaku uses the temporary shift in power dynamics to pass around scraps of paper, aided by Asahi and Kai who also just want to get it over with. 

“How the hell did we even get stuck with each other?” Tanaka whines, peering over the activity pamphlet for the coming week. “We’re not even from Tokyo. Coming here isn't cheap, you know.”

“Don’t you guys normally do this with Fukurodani?” Daichi says, squinting down at the roles Nekoma—meaning a vengeful Kuroo—had taken upon themselves to suggest under “recommendations”. Suga boldly rejects half of them on the spot. There is absolutely no way you’re letting my precious Tsukki be a garbage boy, Kuroo, the kid can’t even clean his own glasses. 

“I’m not doing it with those private school kids again,” Tora huffs, annoyed. “Did you know they bring an actual physical therapist every time? Bokuto-san keeps complaining his arms cramp up from mixing the batter bowl every 5 minutes. And Akaashi just lets him!”

“Are you…” Suga blinks, slowly turning his head his way after giving Kuroo a scolding of a lifetime. “Did you just call us poor?”

All the color drains out of Tora’s face. Tanaka is quick to roll his sleeves up, sensing his senpai’s growing dissent, and is already making his way over to maybe pound Tora’s hairless head into the underground all the good that senseless brain does him—

“Maa, maa,” Kuroo strolls in between them just in time, after remembering he was actually Nekoma’s captain and that actually meant something and damn these crows. “The bake sale tradition raises money for both teams and boosts community morale among schools. And I just thought, well, wouldn’t it be nice for us dumpster kids to stick together?”

Daichi squints at him, disbelieving.

Kuroo surrenders. “Alright fine,” he sighs. “Coach made us draw lots. I can count in one hand all the schools Tora doesn’t have a restricting order against for picking fights with, but it’s kinda slim pickings. We’re just glad we didn’t get Itachiyama.”

"Damn,” Noya whistles his approval. “I pity whoever they end up with.”

Kai winces. “Then you’d better send your regards to Inarizaki.”

“The Hyogo powerhouse?” Asahi widens his eyes. “But doesn’t their setter and the Itachiyama ace have beef?”

Suga chokes on the water he was chugging, “Since when do you know the word beef?!” At the same time Yaku makes an ominous sign of the cross, mumbling his prayers for Kita. “May the Inari Okami be with you, Kita-san.”

“Alright guys, that’s enough,” Daichi clasps his hands together, earning a flinch from Asahi. “We don’t have time to be worried about the other schools. Anyone else notice how quiet it’s been for the past hour?”

Kuroo glances around the empty classroom, sniffing and assessing. Suga is already preparing his thinly veiled threats at whatever mayhem they were bound to discover at leaving their first years unattended. Daichi is just about to ask where the hell is everyone when a decidedly loud, horror-movie-piercing scream rumbles its way outside the hall.

A beat of silence passes.

Daichi and Kuroo exchange wary looks. “Your kid or mine?”

Kuroo just about has his mouth open to reply, when Suga stomps his way past everyone in a decisive manner, cracking his knuckles as he comes face to face with the door.

“I don’t care whose kid it is,” Suga warns, giving them a look over his shoulder. “They’re dead.”

-

“A little to the right.”

…

“I said right, Tanaka-san,” Kuroo snaps, baring his teeth. “Or we could always have Yaku spot you instead if you prefer?”

Tanaka stiffens as he holds unto the welcome banner, trying not to move too much unless he disrupts the structural integrity of the ladder he was precariously balanced on. Kenma was somewhere at the bottom and, he’s not entirely sure, but he thinks he saw him whipping out his PSP instead of holding the ladder steady like he was instructed. Tanaka's life is literally on the line and no one cares.

“Oi Rapunzel,” Kuroo barks, again, impatient. “Are we boring you?”

These goddamn cats, Tanaka thinks. Leave it to Kuroo to let Kenma off the hook again.

“N-no, Kuroo-san,” Tanaka mumbles shakily, moving the banner inch by painstaking inch until he feels Kuroo’s glare at his back dwindle into something like mild approval. 

“Kenma,” he calls out suddenly, his tone softening. “Come here and check?”

Oh great yeah okay, Tanaka muses as he seethes with the wall, With Kenma it’s a question mark and gentle tone. With everyone else he’s an unrelenting dictator. 

He feels movement below him as Kenma lets go of the single (!!!) hand he was gripping the ladder with rather precariously, that Tanaka has to plant his palms for purchase with the wall just not to topple over completely. 

“What the hell—?” Tanaka turns, spotting Kenma’s mismatched head of hair, ready to swear down a number of profanities that’d make his own sister proud.

That is until he meets eyes with Kuroo and his single raised eyebrow. Almost protective, almost a challenge, almost a threat.

These goddamn cats.

-

“And for God’s sake,” Kuroo yells in the direction of the entrance. “Can someone please get Tsukki off flyer distribution! He’s scaring more people off than inviting them!”

Suga makes a face. Kuroo, native Tokyoite and just generally less introverted than everyone else, has since taken complete dictatorship of the planning committee for this supposed joint bake sale. He’s barked orders, threatened his own members, made Asahi cry once, got into multiple fights with Yaku, and repeatedly made clear to Bokuto that he absolutely cannot come and help because he will not come and help and Do you want all of our cupcakes gone before opening day? Cause Bokuto will 100% eat them all. Think of the children, Suga-san. 

Suga is convinced he’s a little loose on the head and could potentially be a little unhinged, but they were country bumpkins who didn’t know the first thing about holding an organized event in Japan’s capital, and so lets him be for the most part.

Daichi, however, has always rebelled where Kuroo is concerned. 

“Sorry,” Daichi says, straightening his back after carrying a box of measuring cups in. “But did I just hear you order around my first year?”

“There is no my and yours here anymore, Daichi-san,” Kuroo bats his eyes at him sweetly, smiling. “We’re a team now, remember?”

Daichi arches a brow, unconvinced and unyielding. “My first year, my demands.”

“Who trained him to be the middle blocker he is today?” Kuroo raises his chin.

Daichi is immune to 6-footer-intimidation-tactics. “Pretty sure his brother.”

That shuts Kuroo up straight away. Daichi’s shit eating grin that follows isn’t missed by anyone in the gym, and if possible, even a few members of Nekoma howl in pleasure. 

“If we’re staking claim on just anyone now because this bake sale is apparently a lawless land,” Suga suggests pointedly from behind the counter, assembling an array of pastry brushes. “I veto Lev out of marketing.”

“What the hell has he ever done to you?!” Yaku shrieks by his side, halting his own arrangement of rolling pins. Kuroo is quick to follow up with, “The kid has the emotional comprehension of a five year old. He can’t even hurt a cat. We’ve seen it ourselves.”

By the water coolers, Tora begins nodding so vigorously Tanaka has to grab his head in fear of whiplash. Even Kai, setting up chairs and tables with Asahi and Noya, looks the slightest bit defensive. 

“I have nothing against him,” Suga is quick to ammend. “But if he doesn’t stop offering 50% discounts, he’ll bleed us dry soon before we’ve even started.”

Kuroo gasps, affronted. "Lev did no such thing!"

Suga is just about to reply when they hear footsteps outside the door, making out a symphony of girlish laughs along with a decidedly male voice that sounded just like Lev accompanying them, singsongly promising: And that’s not all! First 30 customers also get a free picture with our captain! He's over 200cm, you know!

Kuroo’s shoulders slump. He blinks once, twice.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

-

"Kageyama, take off your shirt."

"Absolutely not," Daichi wheezes, stepping forward in front of Kageyama at the same time Suga seizes hold of the hem of his shirt, pinning it in place. "What the fuck, Kuroo."

Kuroo groans, pinching the bridge of his noise. "Look," he says, pointing at them. "The way I see it, someone needs to start showing some skin around here or we're going to lose."

Suga gives him an incredulous look, inching closer to Kageyama protectively, who still looked like a fish out of water munching on a test batch cookie Ennoshita and Narita asked him to try. "And you thought the minor was the way to go?"

"He's Oikawa's protege, isn't he?" Kuroo points out, matter-of-factly.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Daichi gestures wildly, exasperated.

Kuroo blinks. "Oh," he says. "You guys don't know."

Suga feels uneasy. "Know what."

Kuroo leans in, conspiratorially, like he's about to drop top-secret national-level information. "A classmate from econ class told me another bake sale was happening in the next building over. Another Miyagi and Tokyo collaboration."

"And?" Daichi furrows his brows. "There's hundreds of volleyball teams in Sendai."

Kuroo hushes him, not kindly. "Yeah, but no offense, up until a few months ago there really was only 2 schools other prefectures gave a fuck about." 

Suga's expression is a mix of confusion and annoyance. "You couldn't possibly mean—"

"Oh, but I very well do," Kuroo grins, a sliver of teeth peeking through at the corners. "Favorites Seijoh and Shiratorizawa are apparently causing quite the ruckus and have already made their goal twice over. Ask me how."

Now it was Daichi's time to groan.

Kuroo snaps at him again, impatient. "Just do it, Sawamura! Am I asking for the world!"

Daichi grits his teeth, before letting out a very painful, very slow and labored, "How."

Kuroo's grin turns absolutely maniacal as he looks Kageyama up and down. "They're holding an auction to date Oikawa or Ushijima for a day."

"Shut up," Suga gushes at him, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "They are not."

"Are too!" Kuroo squeals, growing more excited. "And didn't you hear me? They've met their goal. Twice. At this point they've probably funded at least another generation of those annoying preppy school athletes."

"It's not a competition," Daichi reminds him.

"Says the loser," Kuroo quips back.

Daichi holds his arms up in surrender, exasperated. "We are literally on the same team. Literally. You just said so like, five minutes ago. What I make, you make."

"Exactly," Kuroo zeroes in on him, sliding a hand over his shoulder and peering closer at him, eyes dilated and full of corporate greed. "And I want to secure a future for my kouhai," he continues, saying the next part in a deceptively enticing voice, "And you want that too, don't you?"

Suga feels his insides churn. "Daichi," he starts. "Wait. Don't—"

In the next second, Daichi's posture straightens into that of unyielding determination. The fine set of his shoulders and the arch of his jaw, so stubbornly straight and piercing. Suga blanches. Kageyama stiffens. They both recognize that look, know Daichi has gone to a point of no return and no amount of pleading will get through to him anymore. Suga is starting to seriously come to terms with the fact he might seriously have to end the day a cat murderer. 

Daichi turns to Kuroo. "What do you need us to do?"

Oh God, Suga thinks, Kageyama is going to need so much therapy after this.

-

“Mom and Dad are fighting.”

"What the fuck,” Tsukishima says at the same time Kageyama snaps his head in Hinata’s direction to tell him, “No, they’re not.”

Hinata’s scowl deepens, a prickle at the back of his neck telling him to go against anything Kageyama believes in out of sheer principle. “Yes, they are.”

“No,” Kageyama stomps over to him, completely ignoring the baking pans Daichi asked him to clean. He makes sure to stand up straighter and lord that extra head of height over him. “They are not. Shut up.”

"Are too," Hinata taunts. "I heard them saying your name over and over again, too! Suga-san said something about putting his foot down. You did something, didn't you?"

Kageyama's eyes flicker briefly down at his shirt, before rising to glare at Hinata again. "Shut up! Did not!

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Tsukishima can’t believe what he’s seeing nor hearing. “You guys,” he tries to keep his voice level. “You guys seriously don’t call Daichi-san and Suga-san… Mom and Dad… right?” he laughs, an airy thing. “Right?”

They can’t even hear him, good lord. They’re in another one of those intensely and homoerotically charged eye contact competitions that not even Daichi can penetrate no matter how hard he tries. He gives it another few minutes before one of them—inevitably Hinata who has to strain his head just to even keep going—blinks because he needs to and cries out unjust treatment of the marginalized. 

Stop trying to make short people oppression a thing, Yamaguchi snaps at him when he's caught in the crossfire. It’s never going to be a thing.

Kageyama always walks away smirking in satisfaction, maybe even a little amusement. 

Tsukishima is sick of their back and forth and feels himself one more unwilling third wheel event before he locks them in a room and forces them to play 7 Minutes in Heaven or no volleyball forever again. And yes, he does mean forever: Daichi will simply have to find another setter and decoy.

“You guys are so fucking weird,” he mumbles instead, walking away to grab another stack of fliers to distribute around the block. Before he leaves he thinks he can hear Kuroo calling out for him, but when has Tsukki ever listened to his seniors? 

-

The first half hour into the bake sale, they are a well-oiled machine. 

Asahi, man of few words but will get triggered by potentially anything and everything, is highly encouraged—in Kuroo's words, with an underbite that absolutely threatened more than encouraged—to have the least amount of human interaction. Hence his current one-sided conversation with the wall as he diligently tied ribbons into cupcake boxes. Noya and Yaku, on the completely other end of the spectrum, the fastest of both teams and able to weasel their way into everything undetected much like subway rats: into the makeshift tables they go, cleaning up every drop of icing that so much as threatens to fall, and gone by the next second like wind. 

The merry band of freshmen six footers—Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Lev, Inuoka—are designated waiters. If they're good for anything, which they are not, then let them be at least good looking coat hangers. 

Hinata and Suga man the cashiers, Kenma making a digital receipt of every order as they go so they can track their progress easily. Kuroo and Daichi are the welcome committee, ushering customers into seats and able to spontaneously go into a passionate elevator pitch about the highs and lows of highschool volleyball on the spot that has all the mothers ordering at least another box of cupcakes to take home.   

The rest of the team are slotted into respective roles that they attack with the same kind of devotion as they do in volleyball. Passionate, earnest, and all relishing in the integrity of a job well done. Karasuno and Nekoma, really and truly, at their core; work surprisingly well together. Maybe the best out of most teams in Miyagi and Tokyo.

And so all goes well for the first thirty minutes since the doors to the gym open and business is so far good. All goes well and everyone gets along and no cupcake is burnt and no first year is wreaking havoc unprompted.

All that is, until, well:

"Oh my god," one of the customers gush, pointing to Kageyama. "Isn't that Kageyama Tobio? Oikawa-san's kouhai?"

Kageyama stiffens, almost drops a plate full of piping hot egg tarts straight into Kai's lap. "I-I—"

Suga already clocked the customer from a mile away and was already heading over their way.

But Kuroo, longer limbs, gets there faster.

"Why, yes," he grins at them, pleased, beckoning Kageyama over. "That is, in fact, Kageyama Tobio in the flesh. Genius setter in the up and up."

Daichi squeezes the bottle of water he was holding onto, making murder eyes at Kuroo from across the room. Kuroo meets it with a glint of his own that could only say: Since you're not willing to pimp your freshmen out, let me. 

The girls gush at the confirmation. More people notice. Some of them take out their phones and start rapidly typing.

"Oh my gosh!" one of them shout. "I knew it! I recognized him from Oikawa-san's fan page!"

"Right, right?" her friend nods along enthusiastically. 

“Say,” one of them stands up, bravely coming just an inch closer into Kageyama’s space, peering up at him expectantly. “Are you guys also offering the boyfriend rental service?”

Kageyama looks like he’s being led to his own funeral. Kuroo only looks to be too happy to play judge, jury, and executioner. 

Until someone coughs to catch their attention. 

"Sorry," Hinata says, without a hint of remorse at all. "But he already has a boyfriend."

The room is blanketed in silence.

“What the fuck,” is all Kageyama is able to say, beet red in the face as realization sets in. 

“Thank fuck,” is all Tsukishima is only too happy to say, shoulders sagging in timely relief. “Now will you two just bone already?”

-

"All this could have been prevented," Daichi says amusedly as they put away chairs and tables. "If you had just sold yourself first instead of sacrificing my freshmen."

Kuroo glances his way apologetically. "I’m sorry,” he says. “I really am. If I’d known Kageyama and Hinata were—”

“Please,” Daichi raises a hand, stopping him. “Even Kageyama didn’t know. I bet he still doesn’t. They’re both oblivious fools, just Hinata less so.”

“Still,” Kuroo insists.

“Still,” Daichi agrees.

Then they both break off with a good-natured laugh, shaking their heads in amusement at the whirlwind of a day. Kuroo is just about to stack another chair when he says, “You know maybe I should have agreed to Lev’s suggestion earlier. The picture thing. But—ah.”

"But what?" Daichi gestures for him to keep going.

The tips of Kuroo's ears turn a shade of pink, and he can't quite meet his eyes. Outstanding conversationalist and top salesman in the making, Kuroo. This douses Daichi into full attention faster than a block of ice.

"Oh my god," Daichi snaps up straight, abandoning the chair. "What. What did you do."

"It's not me!" Kuroo has his hands out in surrender. "I just—" he starts, tries, fails. Daichi is itching to get his phone out to document this for future blackmail purposes. "...I just… have someone who'll be, um, n-not…—happy, I guess. If I look available."

Pretentious use of words, curses Daichi internally. But thank God he actually had comprehension skills.

"Dude," Daichi says, now just annoyed at Kuroo tiptoeing around him. Like he felt the need to. "So you're with someone too. Why not just say that in the first place?"

Kuroo shrugs, unsure. "We're still taking it slow?"

Daichi considers him for a moment, considering all he's observed today. "Weird," he notes. "That's not what Kenma looked like to me."

Kuroo's head snaps in his direction. "What the fuck," he says, breathless. "You knew?!"

"My brother in Christ," Daichi comes up to pat his shoulder, wincing a little. "We all knew from the beginning, you absolute baffoon of a pining idiot. If it makes you feel any better, Kenma is only slighter better at you than hiding it. You two make all of us sick."

Kuroo is barely processing his words, blinking rapidly at Daichi's slightly amused but mostly fond expression as he registers the genuineness that bleeds through. But alas, God didn't make Kuroo this fine of a specimen without sprinkling in some sinful traits every once in a while. Cats live nine lives, after all, he was good as immune.

"Oh yeah?" Kuroo combats, standing up straighter to look Daichi dead in the eye. "Like you and Sugawara are any better."

It takes less than a second for all of Daichi's face to heat up. And Kuroo, able to rise to his full height and forcibly hold Daichi's simmering head a good arm's length away from him, looks on at the rest of Karasuno and Nekoma walking and laughing and chatting idly about the gym as they pack up, the sun just shy of setting and Kenma smiling at him slightly from across the room: decides then that yeah, this life isn't so bad after all.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

I Cherish You, Halcyon Days: prologue.

“You’re gonna die, kid. In the worst way possible.”

tags: afab!reader (she/her), angst, slow burn

pairing: gojou x reader + onesided!getou x reader

summary: You’re 15 years old when you’re told you’re going to die. You’re 17 years old when you realize who your killer will be. And you’re 17 years old when you make peace with the fact you wouldn’t want it any other way.

index | next chapter

In the summer of 1997 when I was 7, I almost drowned at the beach.

It was one of those summers where you watch a movie and things felt whimsical because you watched one movie about a group of kids going on a life-changing adventure you’d never go on yourself. You looked for magic in your daily life because even the smallest thing could be what led to you stumbling upon a new journey. My life-changing adventure movie? Free Willy, the movie about that foster kid and an orca. My aunt, a marine biologist, who showed me the movie always said the ocean was her greatest love. I got what she meant when I saw that movie. So that summer I spent at my aunt’s place in Enoshima was the summer I decided I’d go on some sort of adventure myself.

My expectation? Freeing Mina the beluga whale and swimming on her back to wherever the beluga whales came from. I would have even taken Kukki the dugong who I sometimes fed extra fish to when no one was looking.

What I actually got? Getting caught up in an undertow at Higashihama Beach.

Yeah, not my dream summer experience.

Undertow wasn’t a concept foreign to me at that time. Auntie warned me all about itー about how sometimes the currents below and above the surface went in separate directions.

“Don’t fight it when that happens,” she told me. “You’ll tire yourself out and drown. I know it’ll be scary but if you ever get caught in undertow, don’t fight. Go with the current and once it subsides, that’s when you swim back.”

That advice was far from my mind when I actually got caught in one though.

I screamed and thrashed and fought and fought, I probably pissed in the water twice too to boot.

And yet ー and I’m not entirely sure why ー a calm suddenly fell over me and I remembered Auntie’s words.

It would be scary, but don’t fight it.

Five minutes later, I swam back to shore and cried for ten minutes while my aunt held me.

Scary was one hell of an understatement.

I swore up and down I’d never go to the beach again. I never wanted to feel that scared again, never ever. My aunt didn’t disparage me for it, though. Didn’t tell me to toughen up. She simply took me to get shaved ice when I calmed down; said when you conquer your fear and come out on top, you should always treat yourself to something nice.

“It’s okay to be scared, [First],” she smiled softly. “Some people might say otherwise, but you know something, Auntie doesn’t think fear is a bad thing. Fear can be really good sometimes. Fear is what tells you not to do something that could lead to you getting hurt. It teaches you when not to do something stupid or dangerous. Sometimes, fear is what you should listen to instead of the ‘what if things actually go right’s. Fear only becomes bad when there’s too much of it. When you let being scared rule your life so you don’t live it.

“So it’s okay to be scared. Just promise auntie that you won’t let fear stop you from moving forward. Whether it’s rejection, worries a leap of faith will lead to you falling completely on your ass or that it might not be okay to say something when you know you should.

Live like you feel it and love like you mean it.

Don’t let the fear get to you.”

It took about a week before I was diving right back into the deep blue all over again.

Name: [Full Name] ♀ D/O/B: December 9, 1989 Age: 15

Sorcerer Lineage: Non-sorcerer lineage Enrollment method: Scouted

Recruiter: Yaga Masamichi

Notes: Student was encountered May 5, 2005

Testimony of the recruiter: At the site of Tsubame High School’s test of courage, a second grade curse appeared. [Last] activated her innate technique to protect herself and her fellow students and was able to keep the curse at a standstill until sorcerers arrived on the scene to exorcize the curse. While there were students injured, none of the injuries were fatal mostly due to [Last]’s quick application of her ability. According to the student, she began being able to utilize her innate technique around the age of 10.

Jujutsu

Student’s Innate Technique: Shields

“Rejection” Student’s abilities manifest as her cursed energy condensing into an object that rejects negative events outside of it effectively, creating shields of various sizes. This ability is one that is purely defensive and does not seem to have any offensive capabilities. As it stands, should the student make timely progress during the initial stages of her enrollment during this first year ー  should she not disenroll or meet an untimely end ー it isn’t recommended to give her solo assignments.

Notes: “Rejection” is what the student in question chooses to refer to this ability as.

Interview Question Answer: “Why I want to enroll? Because I’m scared of this curse stuff.”

index | next chapter

[endofradio]

FRAGMENTS OF FEAR — CHAPTER 6: END OF THE NIGHT

PROLOGUE | CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5

WARNINGS: gore mentions

NOTES: sorry that it took so long for me to post this 😭😭😭 i’ve had a lot going on and ended up deciding to rewrite this chapter midway through it.

also, frank knows something crucial about sylvie that the others don’t… BUT i won’t spoil it 🥱 that shall be revealed during the last few chapters

SUMMARY: sammy wakes up sylvie in the middle of the night to help her investigate some mysterious noises she’s been hearing. turns out, something is very, very wrong.

WORD COUNT: 2,088

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send me a message if you’d like to be added to my taglist!

“Ava, wake up!”

Sylvie’s eyes fluttered open to see that she was in bed all alone… naked. What? She looked up to see Sammy standing there, holding a flashlight. She looked… afraid.

“Sammy, what’s goin’ on…?” Sylvie groggily asked, slowly sitting up and covering herself with the blanket.

“I can’t sleep. I’ve been hearing noises. Can you… help me look?”

Sylvie sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I need to sleep, Sammy. Can’t you go look yourself?”

“I’m… scared. What if there’s something?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like… I don’t know. Something scary. What if this place is haunted? I mean… it looks like it could be. It’s giving me the creeps.”

“Fine. I’ll help you look, but I’m going back to sleep afterward.”

Sammy breathed out a sigh of relief. Sylvie reached over the bed, seeing that her clothes were scattered around on the floor. Then… it hit her. Right.

“What the hell happened?” Sammy then asked, directing the flashlight toward the mess of clothes on the floor.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sylvie muttered. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

As Sammy headed out of the bedroom, Sylvie switched the lamp on, climbed out of bed, and put her clothes back on, adjusting her hair a bit. Once she was ready, she headed out of the bedroom, seeing Sammy standing by the wall. Now that she was able to see Sylvie more clearly thanks to the light in the hallway, she raised an eyebrow, gesturing to her neck.

“What are… those?”

“Huh?”

“Your neck,” Sammy explained. “You’ve got some… uh… marks.”

Sylvie sighed, now desperate to change the subject. “Don’t worry about it. Now, where are these noises coming from?”

Thankfully, her attempt at a topic change appeared to work.

“Downstairs, I think,” Sammy answered.

Sylvie slowly nodded. “Okay, good. We can go look there, then.”

As the pair walked over to the staircase, Sammy glanced at Sylvie with a worried expression on her face. “I wonder if it’s Dean.”

“How come?”

Sammy sighed. “Well, I was watching television, and I guess he thought it would be funny to try and prank me.” She explained, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. Then, she looked concerned again.

“These noises, though… I’m seriously getting some bad vibes. I could’ve sworn that I heard somebody fucking screaming downstairs. I can’t think of a reason Dean would do some bullshit like that.”

The two slowly started to make their way down the stairs, and that was when Sammy looked over at Sylvie again, her eyebrow raised.

“So, what the hell is it with you and Frank?”

Sylvie paused, feeling her chest start to tighten. She really did not want to talk about any of this.

“Why do you want to know?” She questioned, her tone coming off as a bit defensive. “There’s… nothing going on between us.”

Sammy shrugged, continuing to walk down the stairs. “I mean, I did see him shoving his tongue down your throat earlier.”

Sylvie sighed as she tried to ignore Sammy. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. She continued to pester Sylvie.

“You guys fucked, didn’t you? I mean, honestly, I’m surprised. I never thought that Frank out of all people would actually—”

“Can you please drop it?”

“… Sorry.”

Eventually, Sammy and Sylvie reached the bottom of the stairs. Now, they just had to figure out what the hell happened.

“Dean?” Sammy called out as she started to wander around, surveying the area for anything that seemed suspicious. “Dean, are you there?”

When there was no response, Sammy let out a frustrated groan. She continued searching until she noticed the door leading into the kitchen was open. Maybe Dean was in there?

“This better not be some sick joke…” she grumbled, before turning around to look at Sylvie. “Let’s check the kitchen.”

Sylvie followed Sammy into the kitchen, instantly feeling a sense of unease. The place looked… depressing, at least for a fancy mansion. There were also rats scurrying about.

“Ugh, this is— wait, Dean?”

At Sammy’s voice, Sylvie quickly glanced in her direction. At the kitchen table sat Dean, who appeared to be sleeping… but something seemed off. He was completely motionless. He looked like he was sleeping, but Sylvie was quick to notice that he didn’t appear to be breathing.

“Dean, what are you— oh my God, what the fuck?!”

Sammy let out a terrified shriek, and Sylvie flinched when she saw her holding Dean’s bloodied severed head in her hands. Sammy quickly turned around to look at Sylvie, her expression one of complete terror.

“Sammy, what the fuck happened?” Sylvie asked, her eyes widening.

“His head fell off… Dean’s head just fucking… fell off!”

Panicked, Sammy quickly dropped Dean’s head, dashing to the bathroom to vomit. While Sammy was in the bathroom, Sylvie slowly and carefully walked over to where Dean’s decapitated body was, still slumped in the chair. She brought her hand to her mouth, feeling nothing but… shock, and also terror. How the hell had this even happened?

As much as she didn’t want to look, Sylvie couldn’t tear her gaze from Dean’s body, trying to see if she could piece anything together. Instead of his head, there was just a bloody stump.

Sylvie didn’t feel safe here anymore.

A person had to have killed Dean, which meant that there was clearly a fucking murderer in the mansion. The real question was… who the hell did it? It looked as though some kind of animal had done it, but why was Dean propped up in the chair like that? At least to Sylvie, it seemed intentional. Besides, what kind of animal in the mansion could’ve done something like that? So far, Sylvie had only seen rats in this place.

Sammy had also mentioned noises… those noises could’ve been the result of some kind of struggle.

Either way, whatever the hell happened, Sylvie just knew that something was seriously wrong.

Sammy eventually rushed out of the bathroom, practically on the verge of hyperventilating. She seemed really shaken up.

“What’s going on, Sammy?”

Sammy and Sylvie both looked to see Peter now standing in the kitchen, a concerned expression on his face. At a loss for words, Sammy simply gestured to Dean’s body to try and explain what the hell had just happened.

“His head fucking… fell off. Also… why do you have a dick on your face?”

Peter raised an eyebrow in confusion, reaching a hand to feel at his face. When he didn’t notice anything, he looked even more confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Sammy let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. “Nevermind. Don’t worry about it. Just… go get the others.”

“Okay…”

And with those words, Peter disappeared, leaving Sylvie and Sammy alone in the kitchen again with Dean’s mutilated corpse. Sammy had already thrown up, and now Sylvie felt like she was going to be the next person to be sick. This all felt like a nightmare that was coming to life.

Eventually, the rest of the group showed up. All of them looked quite concerned and confused, except for Frank. He just looked more annoyed than anything, which wasn’t surprising at all. When he noticed Dean’s body, though, he drew in a deep breath.

“The fuck is this?” He asked.

Sammy’s eyes nervously darted back to Dean’s body before she met Frank’s gaze. “Dean was just fucking killed.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Frank’s gaze shifted from Sammy to Sylvie, and then back to Sammy. “What the fuck are you two doing down here, anyway?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Sammy sheepishly answered. “I… asked Ava to help me. I heard noises.”

Frank let out a scoff. “Well, you just had to go check it out, huh?”

“I was scared, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever. What I would like to know is what the fuck happened here?”

Sammy looked away from Frank again. “I wish I knew.”

Sylvie sighed, looking up at Frank. “Well, what do you think happened?”

Frank stared at Dean’s headless body before letting out a humorless chuckle. “The fuck do I know?” He snarkily asked. “What does it look like to you?”

“Almost like an animal tore him apart. Like… it just doesn’t seem… human, but a person had to have done it anyway. I’ve only seen rats here.”

Sylvie’s explanation seemed to put everybody on edge, especially Frank and Rickles. Frank let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. He almost seemed more nervous than Rickles was, or Rickles was just better at hiding it.

“No, no, no. I’m not fu— we’re not fuckin’ going there. We are not going there. We’re not doing this shit.”

Sylvie narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Rickles let out a sigh, figuring that he might as well do the explaining. “I heard a story once…” he began. “Three of Lazar’s top guys got pinched a few years ago. The FBI flipped ‘em.”

As Sylvie listened to Rickles’ retelling of the story, she began to feel sick with nerves. Now that she thought about it, the story seemed vaguely familiar. Just hearing Lazar’s name made her anxious, especially since now she knew for sure that he was real and not some bullshit urban myth.

The more Rickles said, the more paranoid Sylvie started to feel. Decapitation, dismemberment… if Rickles was saying what she thought he was saying…

“That’s his signature. Valdez. He’s a fucking animal. And there was no way in and out of that room except for the front door or the twenty-third-story window.”

“No, no…” Sylvie quietly whispered. She started to pace around the kitchen nervously, a million thoughts running through her mind. Valdez is not real. He is not fucking real. It’s just a story, that’s all. Nothing more.

“So, how’d he do it?” Sammy then asked. “Kinda sounds like bullshit to me, really. How would he have been able to get through the window?”

“It’s not fuckin’ bullshit.” Frank scoffed in irritation. “That’s not the first time I heard that story…”

Sylvie stopped her pacing, drawing in a trembling breath. “He’s… he’s right… it’s not bullshit…”

“You’ve heard that story, too?” Sammy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sylvie slowly nodded. She caught Frank glancing at her for a moment, a small smirk on his face. What the hell was that for?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked defensively.

Frank looked away from her, shrugging. “Nevermind.”

Sylvie glanced back at Sammy. “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that story, either. We… we all need to be careful. Really careful.”

“Lambert would be out of his fucking mind if Valdez is here,” Joey said.

Frank then gestured for the group to follow him.

“We’re checking on the girl.”

Frank was leading the way up the stairs, pointing his gun as though he was expecting danger to be lurking just around the corner.

“Alright, let’s game this out,” he said. “If Valdez or anyone else is in here, that means Lambert gave us up. And I don’t buy that.”

“Or,” Joey suggested, “Lazar got to him and beat our location out of him.”

Frank snapped his head around, staring at Joey with an incredulous look. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” He asked. “Lambert is a meticulous motherfucker. He’s very, very careful. If he gave us up, that means either one of us did it, or Valdez is in here, and he did it.”

“Or one of us is Valdez,” Joey added.

One of us is Valdez.

Sylvie tried to think. Out of everyone here, she only knew Frank, but she couldn’t picture anybody — including Frank — being responsible for what happened to Dean. Nothing was making any sense.

Once the group reached Abigail’s room, Frank opened the door. The girl was just sitting on the bed, and when she heard the door open, she looked up in slight fear. “Hello?”

Quickly, Frank closed the door, turning to face the group. “She’s fine.”

Rickles, however, wasn’t convinced. “Just because she’s still in there doesn’t mean that Valdez is not here.”

That was when Rickles decided that he didn’t want to be part of this mission anymore. Sylvie wasn’t too far from dropping out, either.

“I’m out,” Rickles said, turning around to leave. As he stepped down the stairs, he looked behind him at Frank for a moment. “You coming?”

Frank simply just scoffed at the question, which was ironic considering he had been seconds away from leaving not that long ago.

Rickles continued to head downstairs, figuring that he wouldn’t waste any more time.

“Suit yourself.”

[trutrustories]

Heart of the TVA (my beloved)

(spoilers!)

HOLY SHIT!

Ok. Well this episode was something else. Absolutely brilliant.

I have to say that, so far, I´m realy loving season 2.  

First two episodes of first season were my favourite, but first two episodes of this season are amazing as well and have even more of that beautiful chemistry between Loki and Mobius. But on top of that there is just much more softness and care in their bickering.

After that I was scared of episode three, expecting something similar to Lamentis. And yeah. It´s kind of similar in the sense we are most of the time out of TVA. But instead of being on exploding moon with Loki and Sylvie we are on a cute time travel  adventure in a past and maybe it´s just me, but it had that Doctor Who vibe, cozy atmosfere and lot of Lokius content so hell yeah, I say! I´ll take it over Lamentis every fucking time.

And today? I was (once again) afraid we get something similar to episode 4 of s1. I was NOT expecting to be sitting in a chair and forgetting to breathe of uneasiness what will happen next.

And that creepy moment where Dox and all those other people died and Brad having PTSD from that exact form of tortue not being able to even MOVE, Miss Minutes smirk… that scene had me completly stunned.

And then pure terror in B-15 face? Seriously I was not expecting to be THAT invested in this plot line. I was terrified, I felt bad for them all.

Actually I was scared for ALL the characters (except Ravonna and Miss Minutes) the whole fucking time to the point I forget to drink my morning coffee! xD

The horror vibe, and all that fucking suspense?!!

The philosophical conflict beetween Loki and Sylvie and whole moral dilema?!!

The music?!

The funny and cute moments that were effortlessly woven in ?

And like a cherry on top: the relationship drama of it all?!!

Holly shit, what and epic journey! It went by so fast!

Also THIS SHOT?????

Heart of the TVA infdeed 💖🥹

With such a great start I am litteraly PRAYING right now for last two episodes to keep this level of awesome. There was evidently lot of work and love poured into it. (more then anything Marvel gave us in a long time) and I don´t want this season to end up being bad.  I hope writers know what they are doing.

Anyway, no idea how I´ll survive whole week till ep 5.

Two hours latter and I still haven't recovered.

10/10.

My new favourite Loki episode.

(I´m sorry for messy text and bad english, but I really needed to talk about it.)

[thatonepikminperson]

More head cannons to scare the children (Let's go baby, they may or may not be unhinged)

So, it's either as long, or a bit longer than the first post, but here's part 2, some are more unhinged than most lmao

On Collin's laptop, he often just has files laying around on his desktop just because he knows where everything is and "It's fine." Shepherd has demanded that he fix this, and he has not had the time to do so

Bernard actually needs to wear the shades, as they double as his glasses. He's just blind without them, which has lead to Dingo purposely taking his shade's away and holding them up in the air, where Bernard can't reach

It's canon that Bernard has a soulmate at home (Thank you Japanese Pikmin website), so dumb head cannon related to that is that his soulmate is related to Santi, bonus points if it's his sister, even more bonus points if it's Santi himself

Half of Shepherd's paycheck goes to dog toys and treats for Oatchi and the other dogs her family owns

Let's be real, Shepherd's family owns more than one dog, probably around ten or more

Russ has tried to get a 3D Printer into the ship several times, but Shepherd or Collin has always caught him and told him no

Russ has also 3D printed a sword and has smacked pretty much everyone on the head at least once.

Yonny is rather passive aggressive and petty, and once in middle school, he filled Dingo's backpack full of calculators just because he failed to do 3+1 correctly (Dingo said it was 5 for several minutes, this is also something he'll never live down)

Bernard will sometimes just sing songs out loud, and will just not care if anyone hears him. (Especially if it’s one of his favorites) (shout out to @alaskacoolkid1, your comment on the last post got me thinking this thank for that lol)

Dingo will not listen to anyone when they say a pterodactyl is not a dinosaur, to him it is and it's his favorite (And it annoys the hell out of Yonny every time he says this)

If Collin has to make a presentation, he usually just uses whatever images are faster to slap in the slideshow, and whenever he grabs an image of subpar quality, Dingo will send him the following image after Collin’s done presenting

Despite this, Dingo constantly needs to rely on Collin for tech support. (If you know the dynamic between Monarch and CyYu, then you already know what kind of shit Collin sometimes has to go through with Dingo)

If you need more context around the Bernard is banned from the kitchen head canon, then these following two images sum up pretty much what happened (Bernard is the left side and Dingo is the right)

Yonny is single-handedly the best at social deduction games while Russ and Collin are tied for the worst (Russ just sucks at lying while Collin feels bad about lying to people and will just often tell the truth)

Sad one now, but Moss will sometimes take a few Pikmin, and show them around the areas that Olimar loved to go, and sometimes at night, when she's all alone, she looks up at the stars waiting for him to come back (God that's so sad sorry about that)

Collin will sometimes listen to ASMR when he's really stressed. This has led to him accidentally sleeping on his laptop because he got a bit too relaxed

Oatchi will walk into a room, grab something (probably food) off a table, make eye contact with whoever is in the room, walk backwards out of said room without breaking eye contact

Shepherd does the Wordle everyday, because it’s fun

You know those videos of getting a cat groomed, yeah that’s basically what it’s like to try and make Oatchi take a bath (screaming and trying to escape)

Oatchi is scared of thunderstorms, so when they happen, he runs over and snuggles against Shepherd’s leg. It’s only her leg because Shepherd also is afraid of thunderstorms and will hug the nearest person to her, either trying not to cry or just crying until the storm is over

Bernard has at least 7 backup pairs of shades, just in case one breaks

Russ can not for the life of him spell certain long words like emergency or onomatopoeia. His brain just short circuits and he has to look it up every time

No one on the crew (aside from the Rookie) is good at rhythm games

Russ's parents still call him, and even sometimes bring him (and the entire crew) freshly baked cookies

And finally, Shepherd will often surprise the other members of her crew with gifts, and refuses to take any payment for the new gifts. She also has on her calendar important dates like her crewmate's and dog's birthdays, hired dates, and even her crewmate's parent's birthdays, just so she can celebrate with them too.

[stefanmikaleson1864]

3 Months

A/N: Requested by @courtney-reagan​

I really hope you enjoy this !!! 

P.S. If you like my work please comment like and reblog it means a lot to see interactions on my work

911 X Reader 

Can you do one where Bobby and Athena’s daughter is kidnapped from Daycare by someone trying to get back at Athena? 

Athena’s POV

3 months. 3 long months since the last time we truly left the house. It was safe there. It was where I could protect my family.

 But lately I was struggling a lot and spiralling. I was working this big case and it wasn’t just affecting me anymore.

This case was a drug trafficking case. Angelo Lupo was the headmaster behind it. One by one we were scooping up the fishes. Angelo didn’t like that though. He couldn't do business without them. 

One of the little fishes ratted me out. Told him who arrested him and they put a hit out on me Bobby ad the kids. Apparently, this Angelo man had a lot of connections we didn’t know about. 

 My family was involved now and seeing those two worlds collide was hard. I felt like it was all my fault. May and Harry were with their dad. He took them out of state so that was one problem you would think was off my plate. 

But it wasn’t i was always worried this son of a bitch would find them. Then I also had the problem that Bobby and Iris were still at home. Iris was me and Bobby’s daughter and she was only 5. I couldn’t ask Michael to take her to so she was home with us. 

I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep. The constant anxiety was over me. Bobby kept telling me that i shouldn’t worry and that I needed to try and act normal for Iris. She could tell something was off and we didn’t want to keep her scared. 

I knew he was right but actually working on it was a lot harder than I ever thought. 

There wasn’t much activity going on this past month. Maybe something happened to the guy. Maybe he ran out of the state so he didn’t get caught. 

Today was a good day to put what Bobby was saying to the test. We both had work and there was no one to watch Iris.

I tried putting work off as long as I could. Hell we both did but we didn’t have any more time left. 

 Bobby told me to put her in day care that she would be fine. I was trying to trust him. 

Neither one of us could take more time of work. So i needed to put my trust in someone else to take care of Iris. 

I could tell she was also ready to leave the house to. It wasn’t fair to her either. She needed her friends back and it wasn’t good for her to be stuck up in the house. So we were getting her ready to go to day care.

She was excited and I was trying to be happy for her to. She was running all around the house signing and dancing and it felt like the old her was finally coming back to her old self. 

Bobby was packing her lunch and I was getting dressed for the day. 3 months was what i kept telling myself. 3 months sense any activity. Why would anything happen today.

“Let’s go mommy i’m ready” Iris yelled to me breaking me out of my thoughts. 

“You got this it’s all gonna be okay” I told myself in the mirror. 

I grabbed my stuff and headed on down. Iris was all dressed up and had her lunch box swinging in the air. Bobby was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. 

He was smiling up at me and damn that smile could always get you. I walked down the stairs and wrapped my arms around him. He pulled me closer and pulled me into a kiss. 

It broke when Iris yelled out

“Ew that’s gross let’s go” She said scrunching up her face. 

We broke apart and laughed and headed out the door. I was nervous but i didn’t wanna show it. I didn’t want to take away Iris being happy. 

Bobby drove the way down. Iris was smiling out the window and she looked adorable and it did make me feel better seeing her so happy.

The daycare was about 15 minutes away but it felt like it was a lot longer. Finally after a while we reached in and Iris just about flew out the car.

We stopped and all got out. 

“Hey baby wait up” I yelled out. 

“Ugh fine” Iris yelled back

She ran back to us and Bobby bent down to her hug her. She wrapped her little arms around her and hugged him back. 

“I love you baby have a good day” Bobby said. 

I walked over and bent down to meet her to. I placed my hand on her face and smiled up at her. 

“I love you to have a good day dad will get you after his shift” I said 

“I love you to mommy and okay” She said in her little voice. 

She hugged me and i hugged her back and have her a good squeeze. 

“Now go on your friends miss you” I said 

She ran off and i tried to keep my nerves calm. Bobby looked over at me and smiled 

“You did good” He said wrapping his arm around me and kissing the top of my head. 

“Yeah for now” I said back

We both got back into the car and Bobby was gonna drop me off at work. I was praying for a normal day. Not that those really exist anymore. 

I didn’t even realize that we had pulled up until Bobby had broken me out of my thoughts. 

“Babe you ready” He said 

“As ready as I’ll ever be” I said chuckling and then got out the car. 

Bobby got out with me and then walked over and gave me a hug. He kissed the top of my head. 

He let go and looked down at me and smiled

“Your going to do great now go in their and kick some ass.” Bobby said 

“Yes Captian” I said grabbing him by the waist and pulling him in for a kiss. 

We pulled apart and i grabbed my stuff. We said our I love you’s and I went into the office. 

I was meant with the usual sad and upset looks. Which was expected  honestly. I went to my station and sat my stuff down. I was on desk dusty pushing paper work. I tried to look on the positive of it but it was hard. 

A good couple of hours had passed and things weren’t getting better. I was bored everyone was being different towards me. 

I decided to step out and get some air. And as i was pulling out my phone to look at it the phone started ringing and my heart stopped beating when i saw it was Iris’s daycare. 

I hurried up and answered 

“This is Athena” I said 

“Athena Omg the police is on the way  we tried everything” Her teacher said on the other line. 

“What the hell is going on” I asked pure panic in my voice. 

“A man came in he had a gun he made us get into a room and I tried to grab Iris but he wouldn’t let me” She said all in one breathe 

“I’m on my way” was all i got out 

I ran back in and went to the desk sargent. I barely also got a breath out trying to explain what happened. 

“They took her” I said 

“They took my baby they took her. Get the damn swat and every officer you can to 34th and 6th st. It’s Angel Ark daycare” I said. 

I didn’t even hear him call in. I just ran out of the building and into a squad car. I turned the sirens on and i did 100 miles all the way down. 

It usually takes about 15 minutes i got there in 3. That’s how fast I was going. 

I stopped the car in the middle of the street and meant some other officers on the scene. 

“Do we know anything” I asked. 

“Were searching the cameras trying to see something sergeant.” One officer said. 

“Try harder” I said walking away. 

I walked over to her teacher who was with some kids trying to calm them down.

“What happened” I asked 

“A man came in he had gun he shot a warning shot in the air and he made us all get into a room. And then he grabbed Iris and kept the gun on us” She said in tears. 

“Thank you” I said touching her arm. 

I was on my way in when Bobby cut me off 

“Athena what the hell is going on” He said 

Panic and worry all over his face. 

“They took Bobby they took her” was all I could get out.

“What who” He asked 

“Who do you think” I said 

“What are we gonna do” Bobby asked 

“Were gonna get her back he just got her he couldn’t have gotten far we closed down the area and were gonna have search times on the ground” I said 

“I can take the truck out we can look you know keep an eye out” Bobby said 

I knew he couldn’t just sit there. I mean what parent could 

“Yeah that’s a great idea go” I said 

I looked over at Hen who had a worried look on her face and i gave her a nod telling her to look out for him. 

I walked into the day care. I don’t know what I was hoping to find but anything would be something. I looked around the scene and there wasn’t much there. 

I decided to go to the cameras and see it for myself. I could feel my tight clenching and my palms sweating. 

I walked into the office and sat down. I took a deep breath and pulled up the footage. I fast-forwarded to the time it had all happened. 

My poor Iris her face looked so scared. It broke my heart so bad. But the man he had a limp and he had on a red bracelet. He looked familiar and I was trying to place it. 

I kept re winding and then playing it again. Hoping to see if something anything would. 

Then finally after the 100th time it hit me. Like a bomb went off in my head. 

“It was him Angelo Lupo” He was a part of the team I took down he was close with his boss. 

I knew the hell these people weren’t done. But I also knew that they kept a stash house close by here. 

I was hoping this dumb ass was stupid enough to take her there. It was a place that was familiar and that he knew. 

I pulled out my phone and called Bobby

“4876 Glendale ave check there bust every damn door they have” I said 

“On it” was all he got out. 

I ran out after them and got back into my squad car. I sped all the way down there sirens blasting. 

I pulled up the house the same time as the 118 did. Me and Bobby both ran out and up the house. He kicked the door down and we kept quiet. He went up the stairs and I was checking the down stairs. 

The upstairs was clear and I crept down the basement. My heart was beating fast and I could feel the anxiety growing closer. 

I walked down the stairs slowly. I made it to the bottom and I saw her. My baby girl was laying on the floor. Her little hand was tapped to the pipe and it looked like she was sleeping. 

I walked around the corner slowly and Angelo was sitting on the chair on his phone Dumb Bastard. Out of all things he was watching Tik Tok videos. He had no idea what was waiting for him. 

I slowly walked over to him and cocked my gun on him. 

He looked up and he was hella shocked. 

“Your under arrest you sick son of a bitch” I took the gun and pistol whipped him in the head. He dropped his head and was unconscious. I took out my handcuffs and took his arms and arrested him. 

“Bobby i got her” I yelled out. 

A few moments later he ran down and ran over to her. I ran over to and Bobby checked her pulse. She’s fine it’s good. 

Then he pulled out a knife and freed her little hand. We then pulled her into a group hug and smothered her with kisses. 

Bobby then picked her up and carried out her out the house. Hen and Chim were waiting by with the stretcher. 

“Were take care of her I promise” Hen said. 

“I know” I said 

I held her hand and followed them in the back. I walked into the back of the ambulance. Chim had on full sirens. 

Hen worked on put a IV on her and was giving her some medications I knew nothing about. I just kept my eyes on Iris. Thinking if i looked away she would disappear. 

We made it to the hospital in no time. When we rolled up the doctors and Nurses were waiting for us.

I didn’t want them to let her go but I also knew they had their work to do. Me and the rest of the 118 gathered in the waiting room. 

I couldn’t sit still and neither could Bobby. I couldn’t believe my worst fear had become true. I never should have left her. 

Bobby looked like he was reading my mind. He got up and walked over to me and grabbed my hands. 

“There was nothing you could have done” He said 

“We could have stayed home”I said 

“What for the rest of our lives and look she’s gonna be fine and now you got that sick son a bitch and it’s over” He said. 

“We don’t know she’s okay he could have drugged her with god knows what” I said

“Yeah well I can’t think like that right now our little girl needs us and she needs us to be strong” Bobby said 

I knew he was right. I knew my baby girl needed me to be strong. I just didn’t know how to do it. 

Bobby grabbed my hand and pulled me into sitting down. I sat in the middle between him and Hen and they both grabbed my hand. 

It made me feel a little calmer feeling their touch. 

A little bit later one of the Dr’s came in and we all jumped up when we saw her. 

“She’s fine her toxic screen came back negative and all her labs came back normal. Which is good she probably just had a paniac attack she got scared and it made her tired.” The DR said 

When she said that I felt my knees get weak and a wave of relief washed all over me. Bobby grabbed me up and I looked up at him. He looked down at me and he was smiling hard. 

Everyone was cheering and hugging each other after they heard the news. 

“See I told you she was gonna be okay” Bobby said 

“Can we see her” I asked 

“Of course follow me” The Dr said. 

We got up and followed her down the hallway. I was getting anxious all over away but in a good way. 

We finally made it and when i walked in my baby was sitting and smiling watching tv. Of course she was happy she always was. 

“When can we take her home” Bobby asked. 

“I want to keep her until tomorrow just to make sure she is okay” The dr said. 

“Okay thank you” I said 

We walked over to her and Iris nearly jumped out the bed when she saw us. 

“Mommy and Daddy I missed you” Iris said 

“We missed you to baby” I said

“Me to love bug” bobby said 

We both leaned in and gave her a big hug

“You guys are hurting me” Iris yelled. 

“Sorry” We both said.

Apparently it was to big of a hug. 

Iris grabbed my hand and and she looked up at me 

“Is the bad guy gone” Iris asked 

“He is not coming back ever Mommy took care of him” I said 

“Good” was all she said. 

Then the whole 118 piled in after that and they were all hugging on her and showering her with gifts. Buck even brought a whole ballon Bouquet. Which Iris ate up she was in heaven. 

Everyone was here and Everyone was going to be okay I told myself. 

3 Months Later 

3 Months had passed and Iris was adjusting okay. She had the nightmares and the nights she was sleeping with us. Which was to be expected. We got her a therapist to help her process everything. 

 May and Harry were back home and it felt complete. Being all together again made me feel complete. 

Angelo was arraigned and took a plea thank god. I was glad because Iris didn’t have to go through it all over again. 

I stayed home to help everyone adjust to what had happened. I was working on going back to work to soon. 

Knowing he was put away did take a lot of my plate. And I was anxious to get back out on the field. Everyone told me where it was i belonged and I knew they were right. 

All i could keep thinking though was how 3 months could change everything, But I knew together as a family we could face anything and everything.

[melon-colli]

Yapping about Inscryption

Just 'finished' (that's in quotes cause I'm not convinced that the games not DONE done) Inscryption and overall I really enjoyed it! I stopped live blogging after a certain point so heres a post to get those out.

!Spoilers for the whole game under the cut!

>I wasn't too sure about the art style change in Act 2 at first, and the fact that I was dog water at the new card mechanics didn't help, but it really grew on me and so did the new gameplay!

>The other scrybes were really interesting, there wasn't a single one I found boring. If I had to rank them I'd go Leshy<Grimora/P03<Magnificus. Grim and P03 only occupy the same space because I love them both equally.

LUKE CARDER INTERLUDE

>He's so quirky! Love him! Seriously though he was an endearing main character, truly creepypasta protag material. Seeing him get shot in the end really caught me off guard, and honestly shook me a little. Idk but why I didn't expect him to die, especially like that. Expected like a computer monster birthed from the old disk to get him, not for the GameFuna rep to cap him in the face. Had my chest tight for a second. Anyways rip bro, raising my mantis god to the sky.

>As for Act 3, I liked it! P03 is such a delightful dickhead, who I just know would be so annoying about Pokemon natures. Botopia was less immersive than Leshy's campaign, and I like what that says about P03's character, who cares way more about gameplay. This chapter's talking cards have my heart. Lonely Wizard specifically, but Angler was nice for the 5 minutes I knew him. (I traded him for another card specifically because he said 'choose me'. Sorry man I thought you had a plan)

>Obligatory Goobert Mention. Great guy, glad his pain was lessened by the tubes. Idk why you still want to go back to Magnificus, but I wont tell you what to do.

>The Uber bot bosses were still pretty interesting for a bot who supposedly doesn't care much abt crafting characters. I made my own special hell for the Make-your-own boss. Where for every dead card, another is drawn. P03 tried to stop me multiple times, but I was determined. For phase two I just chose leap bots for every dead card. Silly boss. Golly was also a sweetheart, loved the mole. As for the scribe Uberbot, the file deletion threat didn't get me nearly as bad since I came off of Kinitopet and knew the game couldn't actually do something like that and be on steam, but it still had me a little nervous lol (cause like what if it did?).

I got weirdly giddy at the prospect of finding the pelt man again. Idk why because I despised him in Act 1, Got a few pelts but never actually found him. Got scammed at the mart cause I thought buying the pelt would make him show up lol.

>Falling into the factory and seeing the 3 scribes just standing there scared me a little, thought they were gonna jump me.

>After that part, going back to P03 knowing what's going to happen, I felt a bit bad. At first. Sure P03's a smug jerk, but it just wanted to be free right? The walk back when it's reminiscing about the game amped this feeling up, but I love that the game yanked the rug from under me and went 'yeah no this puter just sucks' once it starts gloating. Lol. lmao. Also I didn't expect Leshy to just rip its head off wtf bro.

>Saying goodbye to everyone at the end was sad. Having one last game with the Scrybes was so bittersweet. Grimora's game was interesting, and its a crime we didn't have time for a boss battle. Leshy. Leshy I love you so much. I like that Magnificus wasn't going gentle into that good night at first, but his insistence to keep going lost him the chance to shake our hand. I was never super into his play style, but his game was really cool looking, even if im not super into that stuff. (I know the arm thing had something to do with Yugi-oh but I know nothing abt it sorry).

>The lead up to unzipping the Old Code was done so well. Grimora may have nuked the game to get rid of it, but Luke's curiosity still doomed him in the end. The totem lady's last words before we found it were quite unsettling. I don't know what was on that zip, but whatever it was clearly messed Luke up.

>I loved the ending of the game. Already talked about it in the Luke section, but it was so abrupt and final. Idk what I expected but I knew it was over when Luke opened the door for the Funa rep. Rip.

Overall, 10/10 game. There's still something called Kaycees mod for me to do, but all in all I really enjoyed it!

[ceruleanwhore]

Since I’ve seen so much Silvio hate since his route release, I wanted to take a minute to talk about why all 3 of the visiting foreign princes make me uncomfortable because I believe in equality. Please keep in mind that I am on a break from the ikepri app rn so I have not actually played Silvio’s route, though I did read a translation of it on here previously, but I’m going to try to avoid using stuff from that.

Starting with the man of the hour, first to be released, I’d sum up my feelings about his character as “eat the rich — literally not sexually ya numpty.” He is the embodiment of everything I’ve ever hated about capitalism and the 1% and genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, it would delight me to watch him die because of how he represents that. His jangling, the way he throws his money around (the fact he has, what, 10 billion for Rio to waste on a gem at auction in Rio’s route), and, most importantly, the complete lack of any apparent morality or humanity. He demands everyone respect him because of that money (respect as in deference that comes with authority) while he throws around his bullshit bootstrap rhetoric and refuses to treat anyone at all with respect (respect as in the basic human decency kind). There’s also a seriously sadistic streak in him and so it’s not enough to be a billionaire prince, he also has to take this random woman as his indentured servant and constantly upset her on purpose and demean her to punish her for someone else’s accident.

Next up is Gilbert who, to me, is just plain annoying more than anything else. He and Chev never really scared me or anything with all the violence since it’s super predictable with them, so that doesn’t really bother me, per se, but the way he’s a pushy little dick in social situations pisses me off and if I were Emma I’d be dead because I would’ve yelled at him within like 5 seconds of meeting him. The hell of it’s that he’s supposed to be this master manipulator but he doesn’t seem to even be all that good at manipulation since his is so ham-fisted, he’s just a pushy asshole. My thing with both him and Silvio is that I fucking hate money and I fucking hate authority and I believe that no one, including myself, should have it the way they do, and it makes me immensely angry to watch them use those things to abuse others.

Now, I saved Keith for last because he’s actually the worst of the three in my opinion and he genuinely scares the shit out of me, and not because he happens to have DID, but because of what sort of people main!Keith and alter!Keith are. 

WARNING! MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND TRUE CRIME

Main!Keith just strikes me as being the kind of guy who would beat his gf and eventually kill her and, every time I see him, he reminds me of the Yellow Dress assembly my high school did about domestic abuse. He seems like the shy, insecure nerd who, in the early days, would worship the ground his gf walks on and just be so grateful that she decided to give him a chance, etc., until that turns into possessive jealousy over time, which then would feed into him isolating her, turning more violent, and then maybe killing her and hiding her body in the woods. Genuinely, the last event story I read with Keith made me INTENSELY uncomfortable from the very beginning because he had these vibes and I don’t know if I’ll be able to read his story because, in my head, Emma will already be dead, basically.

As for alter!Keith, he seems like the kind of guy who would literally be a serial killer, just going off the event stuff I’ve read, plus the second prologue and other act II routes. I could genuinely see him killing with no real rhyme or reason, unlike Chev and Gilbert who are so completely predictable. If main!Keith gives me true crime vibes in a OJ Simpson way, alter!Keith is more like a David Parker-Ray sort of true crime, and they both scare the living shit out of me. I can’t tell you how uncomfortable it is seeing so many people in the fandom talk about how much they love Keith and how nice and cute they think he is when, to me, he’s one of the scariest fictional characters I’ve ever encountered, mainly because I know he’s supposed to be a romantic lead in spite of everything I just said. Silvio and Gilbert would annoy me to death but Keith would do arts and crafts with my skin and hide my chopped-up body in the woods.

[kawaiifoxreviews]

Resident Evil 2 Nintendo 64 Version/GameCube Version Comparison:

N64 V: "Ahh, what a beautiful day in the year 1999.

NGC V: "Hello there!"

N64 V: "Huh? Wha-?! Oh, it's you, small disc. What? Are you trying to fry all my 64 bits with a classic RE jump scare?! Huh? What's a matter with you?!"

NGC V: "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry about that."

N64 V: "Wait a minute. You're...me?! You're Resident Evil 2 as well, aren't you?!"

NGC V: "I mean...I'm you...but more, I guess?"

N64 V: "What do you mean by "more"? You think you're better than me?!"

NGC V: "...Also yes."

N64 V: "Why I never! The nerve of this generation! Tell me, what makes you so special? Huh? You think you're so rad with your extra room for data on your small disc? Let me guess, you finally made the deal with the devil himself, didn't you? I told you; we don't make deals with the enemy."

NGC V: "The devil? Oh, you mean Sony? Dude, I had no part in that. Okay? They offered to help you move away from cartridge, but your generation said no to that sort of help."

N64 V: "Wha-? What else could ruin this sublime day for me?"

NGC V: "Okay, I'm going to tell you this one last time...it's not 1999 anymore...or 2003...unfortunately."

N64 V: *Speechless*

Hello and welcome, my fellow retro gamers, Kawaii Fox Reviews here. I apologize if that bit was too cheesy for you. Also, nothing against Sony. I enjoy that company, as well. But, right now, I wanted to review/ compare Capcom's Resident Evil 2 on the N64 to the Gamecube.

Fun fact about this fox: I love Resident Evil. Always have for years and fell in love with just about all of them. Well, I actually just like 5 and 6. I even fell in love with the movies. Well, except the Final Chapter. I know, some people might find that to be taboo, but I can justify those movies in another review.

Right now, I want to share my thoughts on the miracle, that is Resident Evil 2 on the N64. If you are interested in expanding your collection of retro games for your N64, then Resident Evil 2 is an absolute must have. However, I am not going to sugar-coat it, the Gamecube version is the far superior one.

"But Kawaii Fox, why are we here, then? Should we just get the Gamecube version, or the ps1 version, or the-?"

Yes, to all of those. Sorry to cut myself off like that. I know, it wasn't very nice of me. But Resident Evil 2 as a whole should be enjoyed across all accessible platforms. For me, personally, my favorite version is the one on the NGC. Just the Gamecube controller alone is enough for me to favor this version over the other versions. To this day, that controller is my favorite. Ironically, the original N64 controller is my least favorite of all time. But never fear, I have replaced mine with the Gamepads on eBay for like $25. Such a better quality, highly recommended.

Anyway, the purpose of this review is because I find the N64 version is very fascinating. To be honest, I played the hell out the NGC version. Then, at one point, to my surprise, I had discovered that the N64 version does in fact exist. Even though, at this time, I didn't have an N64. But I was still curious as to what this version was like.

After watching a comparison video between the different versions, it came down to the N64 version. Cutscenes were cut up, textures were blurry/muddy, sound was not as clear as it should be. My least favorite part was the fact that there was a certain scene where Ada Wong was talking to another character, but she had Claire Redfield's voice. I love voice actors, Sally Cahill and Alyson Court, and I expect to hear those voices played for their respective roles.

I think the Rock put it best, "It's the biggest piece of dog shit."

However, after I got my N64, I came across this version again. I had found a video by a YouTuber by the name of Lotus Prince that dived into more of what this version had to offer, along with the other ports. Something about it, made me say, "I have an N64, now I want to experience that for myself." I got my copy from eBay and started playing it. Of course, I'm breezing through it, since I've beaten it so many times on the Gamecube.

I'm actually in the middle of Claire: Scenario B, as of this moment. Is everything downgraded as expected? Yes. And it is horrific. But, to my surprise again, it's still the same game I played and still love on the NGC. It also plays very well on the N64. As long as it performs well, I can be okay with any version of any game. Is it perfect? Hell no. But again, it's still the same game I already love.

If I had a subtitle for this review/ comparison, I would have asked the question, "How can something so bad, be so good?"

After getting into this bizarre version of Resi 2, I came across another video by a Youtuber by the name of Modern Vintage Gamer. In this video, he manages to break it down to a science of how they manage to cram this masterpiece of a game into a cartridge. That video alone is intriguing enough to not only look at Resi 2 on the N64 as a game, but as a great concept in general as to how it was made possible.

I will link both of those videos at the end. Please take a look at them.

Now, I am going to wrap this up with these finale thoughts:

This may sound a little harsh, but I believe Resi 2 had no business being on the N64. With its limited cartridge space, and the fact that it's literally the only Resi game on the console. The fact they have to include cliff notes for the first game in this game, says a lot. But, just in case you didn't know this, Resident Evil 0 was supposed to be on the N64. That project was scrapped. But man, I still would have played it. With all the classic Resi-like games we have today, it would be so amazing to bring that project back from the dead.

Despite all that, I do find this whole thing interesting. The fact that that Resi-2 manage to bounce from one Nintendo console to another Nintendo console is brilliant to me, and then from there we got RE3, RE: Code Veronica, RE: remake, RE: 0, and even RE: 4 all on the NGC. What I mean by all this, is that Resi 2 on N64 may have never been the best version or maybe even the most popular, but the fact that they stopped, and said, "Hey, let's do the same game again on Nintendo's next, more advanced, console," Or however that idea was pitched.

It's sad to say, but some companies I think just put games on consoles and call it good, when in actuality, its not. We don't get a remake or an update. It just dies on the console it lands on. But not Resident Evil 2. Resi 2 was risen from the grave...and again with the 2019 remake...and its here to stay. With that, I will admit, I am so grateful I gave this version an actual chance.

Also, quick note: If you plan to experience your Resi 2 game on your N64, please be sure to install an expansion pak. If you do not know what that is. Its the thing that is stored between your Power Button and your Reset Button. What it does is provide you with 8MB of RAM instead of 4MB. This should clean up your Resi game. Won't make it perfect, but the graphics will be less muddy. However, I have heard that it can mess up transferring between screens in the levels. Like old VCR screen tearing. I haven't experience that, myself, but I am warning you, it is possible.

Thank you so much for sticking it out till the end, guys! It really means a lot to me. As you can tell, I have passion for RE games and was really excited to do this. If I forgot something, I apologize. Special thanks to angel studios (The original name of the developers), Capcom, and Nintendo for making the impossible possible. And thank you Lotus Prince and Modern Vintage Gamer for the inspiration.

That's it for now. This is Kawaii Fox Reviews, signing off. I hope you enjoyed your stay. Until next time, stay foxy. ;)

And hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella.

See ya!

[whisker-biscuit]

SlyFox Day 5: Lost

Peril, kidnapping

(Part 1)

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

“You know I would only call you under the direst of circumstances.”

The familiar nasally voice on Carmelita’s personal cellphone was a shock to her system. She stiffened where she was sitting at an outside café and immediately looked all around her for any sign of a familiar gray and blue shadow that might be watching her.

“Bentley, how the hell did you get this number?” She hissed when nothing came up, phone practically pressed against her mouth.

“Please, Inspector, let’s not act like that’s a hard thing for me to do.” The brains of the Cooper Gang said it as a statement of fact instead of a brag, and he was probably the only person in the world who could do so sincerely. “But I promise I didn’t invade your privacy without very good reason. I need your help.”

The fox would have laughed out loud if she wasn’t too busy getting enraged. “And why on earth should I help you?”

“Sly’s gone missing.”

Those words made the world stop. Carmelita froze, staring at her phone in disbelief.

“…What?”

“He’s missing, and I need your help to find him.”

Her mind struggled to make sense of what the turtle was saying. Sly Cooper, missing? He didn’t go missing – he intentionally disappeared right when she was closing in on him, and then he conveniently reappeared just when she was starting to write his trail off as cold.

Cooper didn’t go missing, and he most certainly didn’t go missing from his gang. It was such an impossible scenario that her mouth ran on autopilot with the first thing that popped into her head.

“I’m off duty today.”

There was a long, awkward pause on the other end of the line. The inspector wanted to kick herself.

“…I didn’t actually know that,” Bentley admitted after another few seconds, sounding as surprised as she felt over there being knowledge he didn’t have. “But the fact remains that you’re still our best chance at getting him back.”

She frowned, confused. “You do realize I’d find him just to arrest him, right? Why aren’t you or Murray doing it?”

“We’re not exactly…in the vicinity right now,” he said, stiff and careful, making every detective instinct in her perk up. “He was visiting a rather popular club a few blocks from where you are right now, based on a…a suggestion from who he thought was a reliable, uh, friend, before I could verify a few things.”

Carmelita didn’t ask him how he knew where she was at this very moment but had somehow missed that she wasn’t on the clock. She turned Bentley’s “innocent” explanation over in her mind; Cooper had been scoping out a potential new mark, based on information given by an outside contact, and that contact had most likely betrayed them. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the fancy awning over the café’s front.

“So…Cooper rushed into something without thinking, and you two are too far away to save his tail, so you need my help?” She deduced.

“Yes!” The relief in the turtle’s voice was striking. “Yes, that’s exactly it. I know you’re both close enough and capable enough to pull it off as soon as possible, which is why I’m calling you first.”

“Uh-huh. What happens if I say no and tell you to leave me out of it?”

“Time is of the essence, here, Inspector. Please, I’m actually begging you!” That relief was quickly turning into panic as he seemed to realize she might actually refuse. She wondered what was so scary that he preferred to let his best friend get arrested over whatever mess they’d stumbled into.

“I’m going to need a little more than that if I’m going to risk my job for a criminal, you know,” she pressed. “Why are you so worried? What has Cooper gotten himself into?”

For almost an entire minute, there was no answer, and Carmelita was just about to hang up when Bentley spoke again, very quietly and very, very scared.

“We were investigating a potential trafficking ring. We were told by our contact that club was a front, and Sly said he wanted to check it out last night. I haven’t heard from him in nearly twelve hours, Carmelita.”

Oh, fuck.

The fox stood up abruptly. “Tell me the address right now.”

She was already sprinting before the words had finished leaving Bentley’s mouth.

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

Carmelita was no stranger to skirting the line when it came to entering places that she wasn’t technically allowed in. It was something she’d learned not to split hairs over through the years of chasing a certain thief just about everywhere she possibly could. Warrants were great, of course, but she had long-stopped herself from feeling guilty over not having one when too many people with money and power stalled the process just long enough to sweep away any hint of wrong-doing before she could pin them down.

It was this carefully-practiced logic she firmly held onto when she entered the club and then crept into the backrooms. She wasn’t doing it as an officer, per se, but as a civilian. A nosy civilian who’d just heard a rumor about someone she knew having last been seen here and then not at all.

A perfectly normal thing for a civilian to do, surely.

The fox was on high alert the moment she crossed the threshold into the “employees only” section of the building, worried about getting caught for a lot more reasons than a reprimand by Barkley about it later. She noted, with only a little surprise, that there were no cameras anywhere – not back here nor in the club proper. An oddity in the modern age, but if Bentley’s information had been true, then it made a lot of sense that a place like this wouldn’t want even the chance of digital recordings of their wrongdoing.

Maybe it was because the place wasn’t very busy when she’d shown up, but she encountered no one as she moved down the long hallways and peeked into rooms. It made her uneasy, and it also made her wonder whether the supposed contact that had betrayed the Cooper Gang was expecting someone to come looking for their missing leader. She could be walking right into a trap.

The inspector shook her head to clear her doubts. Even if it was a trap, she was just going to have to risk it to save Cooper.

To arrest Cooper.

Another turn or two, and she came across a door that was locked – the very first of its kind. It was also an old door, though, which made it very easy to open with a few strong shoves. Carmelita looked back and forth to make sure no one had been alerted by the noise, then poked her head through the doorway.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

There was Sly Cooper, in crumpled plainclothes no doubt from his attempted infiltration last night. He was sitting with his back against the far wall, and the room was so dark she almost didn’t see his hands in his lap. His handcuffed, trembling hands that were trying and failing to pick the lock with clumsy fingers.

The clumsiness was the second thing to tell her that something was very, very wrong. The first was that he hadn’t seemed to realize she had even opened the door and was now standing dumbfounded in front of him.

Cooper was a lot of things, but unobservant was not one of them.

Carmelita bit her lip and threw a cautious look over her shoulder, where the hallway remained empty. Her attention was drawn back to the raccoon when his hold on his lockpick slipped and he let out a loud, frustrated noise. That third oddity – the fact that he had made a noise at all when she had seen him tank shock pistol shots with nothing more than a hiss – was finally enough to push her towards a decision.

“Cooper,” she said, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her.

He visibly startled – another bad sign – and looked up at her with his mouth twisted into a snarl and the pupils of his eyes blown impossibly wide even in the dark. There was no recognition on his face at all.

“B’ck’ff,” he slurred, drawing his legs up to his chest in a threat to kick. The movement was just as uncoordinated as his lockpicking.

Things clicked into place with revolting clarity. Carmelita held her hands up in a non-threatening gesture as her mind ran through all the things he might have been drugged with. She tried not to be sick over the situation she’d found herself in. Found him in.

“Ringtail, it’s me. It’s Inspector – it’s Carmelita.” She pronounced each word as clearly as she could. “I’m here to rescue you.”

The thief squinted at her, and it took an alarmingly long time for realization to set in. His unfocused eyes widened as he struggled to get his feet under him.

“C’rml’ta, you c’n’t…be h’re. ‘S n’t – n’t safe.” He said it as though she were the one tied up and strung-out instead of him. “G’tta…g’t out. G’tta go.”

Cooper was trying and failing to stand up as he spoke, and Carmelita hurried forward to catch him before he could crash to the hard floor. She propped him up against her, looping his bound arms around her neck, but all he did was sag towards the ground again. He was almost completely dead-weight in her hold.

“Come on, Cooper,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “We are getting out of here, together, but you have to work with me.”

“Tryin’…” His head lolled onto her shoulder, and she could see him trying to lift his legs instead of letting them drag. “’M tryin’…”

The fox closed her eyes and willed herself to have more patience over something that wasn’t his fault. “I know, Ringtail. I know you are.”

Step by slow, agonizing step, they made their way out of the room, out the back door, and towards safety and freedom.

[theacedragon0w0]

Love Poison

Sage x Velvette fic

Also the fic where Sage stops Velvette from getting spiked

Tw: attempted roofied, drug mention, discussion of sa (not actual sa but it is slightly mentioned)

"Do. Not. Drink. That." Sage snatched Velvette's cup of latte from her grip, as she almost took a sip.

"The fucks your problem?"

Sage, still holding the coffee, grabbed the server who was cowering under Sage's iron grip. "This dipshit here spiked your drink, and with your love potion no less."

Velvette, her eyebrows were now arched and turned to Hazel, "how come you didn't smell it?"

Sage cut in "Because you aren't supposed to smell it, ma'am." Their tongue flicked, "but I am confident that you don't like you coffee tasting like lime and salt"

Velvette stood still, and after a minute addressed her hellhound again "Hazel wazel, take out this sorry excuse of a bastard, I need a word with Sage"

Hazel gave a large toothy grin, "With pleasure boss." As the server cussing out Velvette while being dragged by his neck.

When they left, Sage felt their collar materializing, meaning that they are soon going to be dragged to wherever Velvette wanted them to go, Sage surprisingly didn't mind the tug, as Velvette was at near equal height as them so Sage didn't have to be forced to bend forward.

Velvette released Sage's leash when they entered her private office, "Now darling, tell me how you know my signature flavor for my potion?"

"You mean your factory made roofie? I worked as a bouncer and you should be scared about the amount of times I caved in skulls from punks sneaking that shit in my dancer's drinks."

Velvette gave Sage a smug grin, "I didn't know how much of a sore spot for this topic, tell me, if you are so pissed about my product, why did you save me from drinking my contaminated coffee?"

"Because No One deserves to be taken advantage of like that, even if that person was the one who made it in the first place."

Velvette was at a loss for words, her nails tapped her lips as she was thinking of how to respond to Sage's honest answer, after 5 long minutes Velvette finally broke the silence by cupping Sage's face, "Well aren't you full of surprises, and what else can you taste with that tongue of yours?"

Sage stucked her tounge out, showcasing that it was both long and that it was forked at the end, "I am also aware that you and Hazel taste almost the same, but you two don't keep things subtle do you?"

Velvette's hand let go of Sage's jaw, as she shot both of her arms in the air "guilty as charged! Hope that doesn't deter you from your duties doll."

Sage looked down at their feet, "Actually quite the contrary, you two are lucky to have each other, you don't see a lot of happy couples here in hell."

Velvette looked at Sage, was it pity she felt? Hope? She couldn't pin it but she couldn't let Sage have the last say, "Well your right, my Hazel is the best hellhound I ever asked for and you should look at her as an example for working for me."

"Yes ma'am,"

Velvette wanted to continue the conversation but was interrupted by Hazel walking in, wiping her paws while chuckling, "Took care of the trash boss! And three of yer workers want to ask you about some patterns for next month's showcase."

"Alright, tell those cunts I'll be out in a minute," Velvette looked at Sage, "and we will continue our conversation later."

Hazel belongs to @puffymucher