#we progress so slowly but its always so funny

[kuukigajan]

The dnd campain im currently playing has the dumbest party distribution ever its always so hard to do anything at all I love it

[roseofdarknessblog]

Taking chances (Postwar!Levi Ackerman x Reader)

Word count: 4 540

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

Summary: A year after the Rumbling, Levi finally has the chance to open the tea shop he always wanted. But due to his lasting health issues, he doesn't think it's a good idea.

This story can be read on its own or as a part of my little post-war series: Learn to live again

Taking chances

„Thank you so much, have a lovely day,“ you said and smiled at the elder lady, who handed you a piece of cheese wrapped in brown waxed paper. She already knew both you and Levi because her amazing selection of cheeses made you come back to her little stall every single time. „Here, you can cross off another item from the shopping list.“

„It's still ridiculously long,“ Levi muttered, taking the cheese from your hands and putting it in your favorite wicker basket you loved taking to the farmers market. When he came with you, he always kept it in his lap while your shopping list was in his hand with a pencil he used to check off the things you've already bought. „Do we really need all of this?“

„How do you expect me to cook if we don't have food at home?“ you teased him lovingly, before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. When he was sitting in his wheelchair, he simply had to put up with this cute little habit of yours.

While he wasn't a huge fan of PDA, you loved showing him love and affection anytime and anywhere. But only if it didn't make him feel too uncomfortable. After all, with a husband so handsome and charming, you simply couldn't help it. You wanted the whole world to know just how much you loved him.

Even more, because he didn't think of himself as handsome and charming.

„Right, you need lots of things because you keep messing up,“ he teased you, looking over his shoulder to see your reaction.

„Oh, stop that! I'm getting better at cooking and baking. Just ask Onyankopon, he's very proud of my progress.“

During your life in the Survey Corps, you never had time to learn your way around the kitchen. Cooking and baking were foreign territory to you, so now you had to learn almost everything. All you could do by yourself were the most basic things. But Onyankopon was so nice that he agreed to teach you. While on Paradis, he never mentioned just how great of a cook he was, so it was a huge surprise for both you and Levi.

He used to come over whenever he had some time, commanding you around in your small kitchen. With all the patience in the world, he explained everything and helped you prepare many delicious sweet, and savory dishes. The bad thing was, that they almost always turned out good solely when he was there. When you tried doing some of them alone... the kitchen ended up looking like a battlefield and the food was questionable.

„And hey, if you don't like my cooking, how about you take over? I'll gladly stand by and comment on everything like you always do it to me.“

„Not that I would be standing around...“

You chuckled when he tilted his head back and looked at you. It was such a shitty thing to say, that only Levi would do it and make fun of himself. And to be honest, he didn't do it often. Only on very rare occasions, which came once in a blue moon.

„The point is, I'm making progress. Soon I'll be the better cook of the two of us.“

„Yeah, only in your dreams. Learning how to prepare tea the way I like it took you almost two decades,“ he scoffed.

Sometimes it really made you upset. The fact, that your husband, who was missing an eye, two fingers and had trouble standing or walking without aid, was a better cook than you. It seemed that he knew his way around the kitchen naturally, while you felt like a fish on the shore – disoriented and full of panic. While Levi handled everything with grace, you were a walking disaster.

„The funny thing is that you hated cooking in the past. In the Underground... you hated that shitty little kitchen we had.“

He nodded slowly. „That's why Furlan was the one in charge.“

You smiled upon hearing his name. It's been so many years since he, Isabel, Levi and you lived together under the Capital of Paradis. Despite that, you still remembered the day the three of them left and you stayed behind. It took Levi almost a year until he came back for you – after Furlan and Isabel passed away during their first expedition beyond the Walls. Since then, it was only you and Levi. Through thick and thin, leading the Survey Corps by Erwin and Hange's side, and surviving the Rumbling, which wiped out 80% of the population.

It was a true miracle, that you two were still alive and now living a completely different life after so many years of fighting for the sake of humanity.

The Rumbling happened more than a year ago and since then... well, countless things changed. For the better and for the worse. Leaving Paradis behind, managing Levi's health, getting used to so many new things in the outside world, getting engaged and married just half a year later... Too many things were completely different from a year ago.

Both of you were still suffering and recovering at the same time. While you only mentally, Levi was still dealing with a lot of pain and discomfort. On top of all the mental health issues, he had to face himself as well. Nightmares kept coming and going for the both of you, while your own anxiety was sometimes threatening to suffocate you. Although it wasn't as bad as before, when you weren't even able to walk down the street due to the fear of the new place and people, you were still having a hard time with many things.

Healing was simply taking... too much time. At least that's how you saw it. Yes, you got to survive and have a future, but this still wasn't the life you so desperately wanted. Not for you and not for Levi. His disabilities... hurt you in a way you had no idea you could hurt. Ever. It was a brand new kind of pain you didn't know even existed before. It was coming from your own inability to help him be the man he was before. The man he wanted to be again.

„You okay?“ Levi asked after a long moment of silence, as you were making your way through the farmers market of the little seaside town you were living in now. Early Wednesday mornings were the best time to come – many great deals that would be available throughout the whole day, but still just a few people.

Everything looked very pretty and calming in the soft morning lights. All the colors of everything you laid your eyes on. The sellers were nice and friendly, many of them already knowing who you and Levi were. Some of them liked to chat with you a little every time you came here, others simply said hello and gave you a bright smile. It looked like... it looked like they were truly grateful, that thanks to you and your comrades, they still have all of this – their homes, jobs, families, friends, and their lives.

But despite being grateful and happy, that you found such a nice place to live, sometimes it got too much. All the noises from the people, who were watching you and who knew your identity. Sometimes... it simply didn't feel right to you.

Forcing your lungs to take a long and deep breath was suddenly too hard. You could feel the familiar uneasiness rise inside your chest, making it feel uncomfortably tight. „Yeah, yeah... just got a little lost in my thoughts. I'm fine.“

„Don't go down the rabbit hole again.“ You nodded even if Levi couldn't see you. He was right, tho. Getting drowned in your own memories and worries would only end up in falling back into depression once again. And avoiding that was your main goal every single day. You didn't spend so many years fighting to be killed by your own mind when the war was finally over. „Focus on what we need to get next,“ he said in a calm tone. „Breathe and try to stay in this moment with me.“

You tried taking a deep breath again, succeeding this time, as you continued walking forward, pushing Levi's wheelchair in front of you. For a moment, you stopped looking around and kept your eyes on the top of his head in front of you, focusing on breathing as calmly as possible. „Okay, what else do we need? You have the shopping list.“ Keeping your body busy and mind distracted by the truly important things was the key. Your past didn't need you, but the present moment did. And with it, Levi needed you as well.

And after all... nothing was happening at that moment. Nothing. Everything was completely okay. You were safe, had your husband close and together you were doing one of the most mundane tasks of an ordinary life. All you had to do, was keep yourself grounded and slow down your racing heart, that was freaking out for no logical reason.

Levi looked at you for a moment and after you gave him a reassuring smile, he started reading all the things you wanted to buy – onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, rice, bread, eggs, apples, and cherries. You nodded at every word he said, slowly letting go of your memories once again and focusing on shopping.

You kept your mind busy by looking at the different stalls once again, taking in every little detail that caught your eye. All the vegetables, fruits, spices, and many more things needed for the kitchen, or other parts of the household. You focused on how the sellers arranged their products, on the prices written on little blackboards, or on the fresh flower decorations some of them had put on. You took in the whole atmosphere of the market, letting it pull you back into reality.

Within the next hour, you got everything you needed and also a little something that was not part of your shopping list. You simply couldn't say no to a couple of incredibly smelling herb bars of soap and to a nice straw hat with a yellow ribbon. Your last stop was a little stall, where a young man was selling different kinds of teas or homemade fruit juices. Without a doubt, this stall was Levi's favorite and you had to make a stop every single time and get at least one thing. So by the time you were truly done shopping, the basket in Levi's lap was almost completely full.

„Ready to head back home? It's about time we eat some breakfast.“ your husband asked, while you were pushing his wheelchair away from the farmers market.

„Not quite yet,“ you said, smirking a little for yourself.

„What? Why not?“ He sounded a little annoyed, but when you didn't say anything else, he decided not to ask and simply trust you. The additional journey you were making was just a short one. Your surprise stop was just a few doors down the street you lived on.

When you stopped in front of a small and empty shop next to a toy store, which was very popular with all the kids in the town, Levi looked over his shoulder with furrowed brows. You smiled at him, squeezing his left shoulder lovingly.

„What the hell are you smiling about?“ he asked, placing his hand on top of yours, his warm skin coming in contact with the cold metal of your wedding band. It was simple but held so many beautiful memories. Your wedding was small, but all the more precious and simply perfect. The calm and warm atmosphere, that your closest friends helped to create, was exactly what you were looking for – on your wedding day and in your marriage as well.

„Onyankopon said, that there used to be a caffé. It closed down around the same time we moved here,“ you stood next to him and started explaining, your voice calm but with a tiny hint of excitement. „It's for sale now and it seems nobody is really interested.“

„And?“ Levi asked, still not understanding why you were telling him all this.

You took one last deep breath, fairly afraid to continue. „What if we bought it?“

He furrowed his brows even more, pulling his hand back and putting it around the basket in his lap. It seemed that he had a truly hard time finding the right words for your offer.

„Are you out of your mind? What the hell would we do with a place like this?“ he spoke finally, his voice surprisingly cold and flat.

„We could open that tea shop you always wanted,“ you said quietly, locking eyes with him, when he looked in your direction again, his hand once again finding yours. His confused expression seemed almost too cute. „I mean... we still have some money left and... well...“

„Spit it out!“ he commanded, his grip on your hand getting stronger.

„I went to the Town Hall and asked around about this place. They said that if we wanted to open our own business of any kind, the town would lend us money, to help us set everything up and actually start earning. Eventually, we'll have to pay it back, obviously.“

Despite this little risk, it still seemed like an amazing opportunity. You knew how much Levi wanted his own tea shop. It was his dream for many years and now it was finally close enough to grab and turn into reality.

„What do you think?“ you asked him when he didn't react to your previous words. Sadly, everything was written all over his face, which became blank and almost sad.

„I don't think it's a good idea, Y/N. Not when I'm like this,“ he said almost too quietly, letting go of your hand.

You immediately shook your head. „Hey, hey... listen, don't talk like that!“ Even if he tried his best to adjust to the new reality, you knew Levi was suffering every single day. He wasn't able to find peace with how things turned out for him. Not even after a whole year, was he truly content with his disabilities. Not after being active throughout his whole life and being known as Humanity's strongest soldier.

When it came to walking, he was able to do it – with the help of his cane or while you were holding one of his arms, to help him with stability. But bearing his own weight for a longer time was simply too much for his left knee. Walking and standing caused him excruciating pain almost every single time, so he really had no other option except to use his wheelchair.

That fact alone wasn't even what made him so angry. It was the reality of appearing weak and vulnerable. Something he was never used to. Not, when during your time with the Scouts he was always the one people relied on. He was a living and breathing legend everybody knew about – people from all branches of the military and civilians as well.

„We would manage. I know we would, darling,“ you said, interlocking your fingers again and lovingly kissing the top of his head. „We need something to do. Something that will give our lives a new meaning. Something that will keep us busy.“ Money was always needed, but it wasn't the main reason now. All you wanted, was something that would help you and Levi heal further. Something, that would help you find a new purpose.

Levi shook his head without looking at you. To be honest, you weren't expecting a reaction like this. Wide smiles and loud cheers weren't his thing either but.... you truly felt disappointed in the lack of interest he showed. The lack of will to turn his dream into reality.

„Levi, having a place like this has always been your dream and...“

„Enough, let's go home,“ he hissed through gritted teeth, looking down the almost empty street, which was illuminated by the warm sunlight. It looked like today was going to be another beautiful summer day.

„But...“

„I said enough!“ he repeated himself a bit louder, his right hand, which was missing two fingers, curling into a fist. „Let's go home.“ You could hear the pain in the tone of his voice, but you did obey this time. With one last look at the empty shop, you took hold of his wheelchair once again and started walking towards your little apartment on the ground floor, which was just a few minutes away.

The day went by rather quickly. Maybe because you spent half of it in the kitchen. You managed to prepare a pretty good pasta salad and your cherry pie also turned out edible. A little sour because of the cherries and the lack of sugar, but you liked it anyway. It was probably one of the best things you've ever baked.

„May I come in?“ you asked after knocking on the bedroom door. Levi spent the whole day inside, reading and trying to appear busy, so he didn't have to talk to you. He barely even said anything while you were eating together.

When he stayed quiet, you rested your forehead against the door with a silent sigh. Communication was the most important thing in every single relationship. Romantic or not. And while both you and Levi knew it, sometimes it was simply too hard to sit down and open up about what was troubling you.

„Darling...“ you said quietly, keeping your hand on the door handle. „I'm really sorry if I made you feel upset or angry with that idea. That wasn't my intention at all.“

Some days it was very hard to find the right words. Hurting him or making him feel sad was the last thing you wanted. That's why sometimes it was better to stay quiet and simply wait it out. Give him the space to grieve the past, present, and future.

„I'll go make something for dinner, then. What would you like?“ you asked after another moment of painful silence. It seemed, that backing down was the smartest move to do.

But just before you walked away, you heard Levi's voice from behind the door. He said your name quietly, maybe hoping that you had already left. That's why you waited for a second and only then slowly opened the door. You found your husband sitting on the edge of the bed, a closed book put down next to him.

„Can we talk?“ you asked, not sure about what was going through his head when he looked up at you. His face seemed much more tired than in the morning, even though last night was full of nightmares. For the both of you, unfortunately.

For the past few nights, you weren't able to escape one of the worst memories of your life – leaving Hange behind, while they held up Eren's Titans. Having Hange in your life felt almost natural since the very first day you spent aboveground. They were simply always there, for you and for others. Accepting their fate felt as if somebody was ripping your heart out of your chest, while you were screaming and begging them to stop torturing you.

„Look, I'm sorry about the way I reacted earlier,“ Levi said, gripping the edge of the bed with one of his hands. It almost seemed that looking up and into your eyes took all his energy. „I know you only meant well. You always do.“

With a loving smile on your lips, you came to sit down next to him. „I thought you would be excited at least a little bit,“ you admitted, very carefully inching your hand closer to his. Any kind of physical contact was a hit or miss in these kinds of situations so you always tried to be as careful as possible. „Did it scare you? The possibility of truly turning your dream into reality?“

„It made me feel upset... angry, even.“

„Why?“

He took a deep breath, searching for the best words to use so you would understand his inner conflict over this whole situation. „How am I supposed to run my own business like this?“ The way he looked over at his left leg broke your heart. The tone of his voice was so cold and angry. So disappointed.

„You know more than well, that I would have your back. It would be our responsibility, not solely yours, Levi,“ you tried explaining, while the tips of your fingers brushed against his skin. When he didn't pull his hand away, you very gently grabbed it. „I know it's difficult, I really do. I try to understand the best I can. And you know that I support you in everything. But... not now. You're going to regret it, if we don't buy that empty store and put in all the work, to make your dream come true.“

Levi closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, his body tiredly leaning against yours. He pulled his hand from your grip so he could wrap his arm around your waist to keep you close. Confused, you leaned your head against his, waiting for him to say or do something.

„I'm beyond blessed to have you by my side after all the shit we went through. Sometimes... I still think it's a dream. I think about how I'm going to wake up back in the Scout's HQ with your death report on my desk.“

„Levi...“ You felt a lump form in your throat upon hearing his broken voice. You had a few close calls with death, but you always pulled through, thankfully.

„And when I finally realize, that we made it out of that hell alive, I feel like... like I'm not allowed to ask or wish for anything else.“ His grip around your waist tightened a little, his lips pressing a gentle kiss to your temple. „I have you, we're married and we have a fairly nice roof over our heads. Why should I ask for anything else?“

You swallowed hard, battling with your emotions, as your right hand started rubbing his back comfortingly. „Because you can. And you really should, you deserve it. Every good thing this world has to offer because you were the one, who sacrificed the most to save humanity.“

„No, you don't get it...“

„I think I do,“ you interrupted him. „And I don't agree with you. Most people in your place would be selfish and take everything that was offered to them. Every single thing, without thinking about it for more than a few seconds. They would take every chance to do something for themselves to feel good and happy. To put their wants and dreams before everything else.“

„I'm not most people.“

„I know, but I think that right now, you should try being like them. For this one thing, you always wanted so much.“ You could tell he didn't like the tone in which you were talking to him, but you kept on going. All you wanted, was for him to be happy and have everything he ever wanted. Absolutely everything. „If you're scared about looking selfish or anything similar, you don't have to. I want this too, Levi. For us. Owning and running such a place will help us heal even more and that's what we want, right?“

When he took a deep breath but didn't actually say anything, you knew you hit a very sensitive spot. Unfortunately, this was how healing looked like for you and Levi. Constantly getting uncomfortable and being forced to face your darkest and most painful emotions and thoughts. Admitting, that you simply weren't the same people as last year. Accepting, that this was your reality, your life.

„I know it hurts, Levi. I know it, I see the suffering in your eyes every single day, even if I sometimes don't say anything. But if we don't force ourselves to...“

„I can't fucking walk!“ he screamed out, putting all of his anger and frustration into those four words. You could feel his whole body shake a little, while he was still leaning against you, his breathing becoming a bit heavier.

„I know,“ you said almost inaudibly, your hand traveling from his back to the back of his head. While you could feel your eyes filling up with tears, you tried staying as calm as possible, letting your fingers run through his silky soft hair.

What broke your will to stay strong, was when you noticed that Levi was crying. Tears were running down his cheeks, his lips pressed into a thin line so as to not let out a single sound. Since the Rumbling, you have seen and heard him cry more times than throughout your entire time together. And despite that, you still felt unimaginable pain, when tears rolled down his cheeks again.

„We promised each other that we'll be happy,“ you said after a minute, pressing a kiss into his hair. „And opening that tea shop is one huge step closer to that happiness. It will work out, I know it will. I'm sure.“ No, you weren't. But you had to lie to yourself and him, to keep your true emotions in check. „You don't have to give me an answer right now, just promise me that you'll think about it.“

Very gently, you pulled away from him and held his face in your warm hands. Your thumbs wiped away every single tear, while you forced your lips to form a smile. Seeing him so broken and sad was the worst possible punishment for a loving wife like you. For someone, who was with Levi since before he joined the Scouts. He suffered a horrible amount of pain throughout the years, and yet nothing broke him like this. Nothing left him feeling so powerless.

„You are still you, Levi,“ you whispered, pressing your lips to his forehead. Keeping your own tears from rolling down your cheeks was becoming harder and harder, almost impossible by the time you pulled away. „And I really hope you'll let yourself be truly happy one day.“

„Nothing will ever make me happier than having you by my side,“ he said, when you wiped away the last of his tears, before leaning in for a sweet long kiss. Your foreheads ended up resting against each other, as Levi kept his eyes closed, focusing on calming down his own emotions, taking slow deep breaths alongside you. „Thank you for giving me this opportunity.“

„You know I'll do anything for you. Anything.“ In the past, you killed for this man. You killed Titans and humans to keep him alive. And if it came down to it, you would do it again. Without any hesitation.

When silence fell over the bedroom, you knew the discussion was over. At least for today. When Levi wrapped his arms around you and when he hid his face in the crook of your neck, you finally let some of your tears fall. Holding him tight as he started crying silently once again, you hoped with your whole heart, that today was another step forward and closer to happiness.

[misslaevna]

could you write dazai, chuuya and akutagawa with a fem s/o who kisses them in the middle of an argument?

Here you go! ♡ I actually got another request with this same trope, y'all like kissing bsd men huh hehe

When you kiss them in the middle of an argument

characters: Dazai, Chuuya, Akutagawa

tw: idk fighting?? slight violence (we're talking about Chuuya here after all) but not towards s/o (reader is just referred to as 'you')

masterlist and requesting

≪ Dazai ≫

It was rare for the two of you to argue - mostly because Dazai usually took off god knows where before an argument could’ve happened.

When he returned, he reassured you everything is fine; he’s fine, you’re fine, your relationship is fine.

You, however, didn’t feel fine.

Both of you knew this can’t go on forever and the situation you (he) created was like a ticking bomb, bound to explode sooner or later.

And finally it did.

‘Osamu, no. You’re not pulling another disappearing act. We’re having this out in the open, right here, right now.’, you yelled while grabbing onto his coat when he was about to turn the doorknob.

‘Are we?’ he said in a tone which sent shivers down your spine. A tone so gentle, so soft, yet so… intimidating, it sent shivers down your spine. As if the aura of the room has changed, as if the tension was frozen in the air between you two.

When he turned his head towards you, his eyes met with yours - his gaze, like daggers into your soul. Those eyes, those sinister eyes - you could swear those eyes weren’t human.

Not that his sinister gaze would scare you, though. You tightened your grip around his  arm, took a deep breath and dived into the deep, dark depths of… basically everything you couldn’t say to him until now.

Before you realized, you weren’t the only one raising your voice: it was also him. 

Both of you were like oil to each other’s fire - one of you said one thing, the other spiraled off of that, and before long, even the collected and smart Dazai was resorting to petty arguments.

Until…

‘Well, y/n, I don’t even know why I always come back, but I always do! I just always have to come back to you!’

‘You mean you never once intended to come back when you left?!’ you screamed with tears in your eyes.

‘And you know what’s funny?! I can’t go a day without you, and I always fucking end up here, because I don’t know what else to do! I keep thinking about you, I keep wanting to come back because I love you, and I never felt like this before with anyone else! I ju-’

Before he could finish the sentence, as if your body moved on its own - you grabbed him by the collars of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.

This man wasn’t constantly leaving to hurt you - he didn’t know what else to do.

When you kissed him, Dazai’s body slowly but surely into the kiss and his lips rested on yours with a newfound serenity.

He placed his hands on your waist, holding you firmly, as if you could slip out of his touch any minute - no. He couldn’t allow that to happen. 

He needs you. He wants to be beside you, he really does. He wants to protect you, he wants to support you, he wants to be your boyfriend. He so desperately wants you to be happy, and he wants to be the reason for your happiness.

When you pulled away from the kiss, you were at a loss for words, as if you poured all your affection and love into that one, passionate kiss.

‘Y/n… I don’t want to want to leave anymore.’

‘You’re not going anywhere.’ you whispered, pulling him into a tight hug - for the first time, you felt like you made huge progress forwards in your relationship.

≪ Chuuya ≫

‘For fuck’s sake!’ Chuuya screamed; you, however, were unsure if this was directed towards you or he was just swearing to himself.

Because currently, he was doing both.

You had arguments, sure - but fights, not that much.

This one seemed serious though: two wine glasses already crumbled to pieces in Chuuya’s hands.

Looking back at it, it was somewhat expectable that you two would have a fight sooner or later: Chuuya’s been working like crazy nowadays, sometimes not sleeping for 40 hours, not coming home at all, not even responding to your texts. 

At this time, Chuuya’s been awake for around 35 hours. He just arrived home, not even saying hi to you, not a kiss, not a hug, nothing - he headed straight into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of red wine, but the wine opener seemed to be lost.

Which was, for some reason, your fault. 

‘Why did you have to misplace that fucking wine opener, y/n?! I’m so fucking done I swear to god!’ he growled, pacing up and down in the kitchen. 

‘Maybe take a better fucking look around and instead of blaming me, act like a decent fucking person!’ you yelled, crossing your arms, returning the death glare he was shooting in your direction.

Finally, he stopped pacing.

You thought this is it and he’s calmed down.

You were wrong.

He slammed his fist into the kitchen counter, so hard that it crumbled. 

‘I’m way too fucking stressed for your bullshit!’ he screamed, staring at the destroyed kitchen counter, his hand still in a fist, his jaw clenched.

You were so, so frustrated with him - but your heart ached for him.

‘Y/n, seriously, just fu-’

You knew Chuuya better than to lose your cool and spiral into an actual, full-fledged fight. This wasn’t the first time he came back completely stressed out, and this wasn’t the first time you suffered the consequences of his stress from work - he had outbursts like this sometimes, but nearly not as serious as this one.

So you carefully placed your hands on his cheeks, and leaned in - gently placing your lips onto his.

For a moment, as if Chuuya froze into place by your sudden choice of action.

After a couple of seconds, you let go of the kiss and looked into his eyes. ‘Better?’

Chuuya let out a loud breath through his nose - now it was him who locked his lips onto yours. Much more passionately and possessively than you did.

After the kiss, he placed one of his hands on your waist, and another on your neck while he leaned his forehead against yours. 

‘Much better. Y/n, I’m so fucking sorry.’

You let out a faint smile, pressing a kiss on his forehead. 

‘Let’s go to bed, baby. We’re both tired.’ you said.

≪ Akutagawa ≫

You’re not… sure what you’re doing right now.

Are you having a passive aggressive conversation or an argument?

It’s sometimes very hard to pin that down with Akutagawa.

But once again, the topic was no other than his previous mentor, Dazai.

You hated talking about that bandage-wasting machine. You hated how he ruined Akutagawa, you absolutely despised how he skewed your lover’s perspective about basically everything.

But most of all, you hated how he poisons Akutagawa’s mind to this day. 

It was one of those evenings where Akutagawa was both lost in thoughts and lost in training - if you could call that training. To you, it looked like it was training labeled as torture.

‘Ryu, stop.’ you demanded, for the hundredth time. You knew he trains rough, but this was just pointless suffering at this point. 

You always knew how much pain, suffering and despair he’s carrying inside his heart - and you always meant to share the burden, to ease it up a little. However, that was not always easy.

‘I can’t! I need to get stronger, don’t you get it?!’ he screamed, while Rashoumon ominously towered behind him - almost as if it’s ready to launch, towards you.

‘No, don’t you get it?!’ you yelled back, while marching towards him.

‘You are enough!’ you shouted once again, but this time, straight to his face. Akutagawa’s eyes widened at your sudden outburst - you very rarely raised your voice, so every occasion you chose to, caught him off guard.

What caught him off guard even more was that you pressed your lips on his after screaming his head off.

Stunned by your sudden affection, all he was capable of doing was to place his hand on your arm while slowly but surely giving in and returning the kiss.

After your lips parted, you looked into his eyes, taking a deep breath and loudly exhaling through your nose. ‘Do you believe me now?’

Akutagawa stood there quietly, still quite surprised from your sudden course of actions - after a couple seconds which seemed like forever, he slowly nodded, staring at the ground.

‘Forgive me.’

You gently shook your head, ‘It’s alright, dear. Let’s go and get some tea.’

Akutagawa softly smiled. ‘Sounds good.’

___________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

more from me:

taking care of a sick reader (Dazai, Chuuya)

hugging Fyodor headcannons

[sunnnfish]

I think this chapter is sooo funny bc once again they’re having the same feeling!!! (Wanting to continue this pseudo dating thing) but they’re approaching it in different ways!!! Hirano feels the need to communicate to Kagiura about it bc they’ve suffered from so much miscommunication in the past, and Kagiura knows that after that whole convo about “moving on”, hiranos going to talk to him about it bc he doesn’t want to hurt/prolong this hurt, and he’s right! But his conclusion is wrong, I think it’s at this point where Kagiura realizes he’s making assumptions! And assuming that he’ll always be rejected that every bit of progress made will have to be made with sweat, blood, and tears is already selling himself short! It’s why at the end of the chapter we see Kagiura acting like he did in the beginning, like what he’s experiencing is too good to be true and he has to talk to someone about it who can level with him about how he’s supposed to interpret it, “how much hope can I have?” Or something, also I love the fact that this conflict doesn’t just ride on Hirano not experiencing romantic feelings but also Kagiura not being completely truthful about what he’s feeling, I think it was mentioned in the hide n seek chapter about this and something about Kagiura wanting Hirano to find out for himself which is so funny considering Kagiuras feelings only reached the point of no return bc of niibashi’s help 😭 idk these situations are always interesting bc Hirano points out contradictions in kagiuras behavior and Kagiura slowly leaves breadcrumbs as to what it means, so that way Kagiura will have his feelings understood not in an intellectual sense but bc he feels the same thing! Anyway KagiHira 5ever I hope they never stop being insane

ITS SO FUNNY!!!! ITS SO SO FUNNYYYY!!!! hahahahhaah. but god youre so right. they want the same damn thing all the time but they keep going about it in different ways or keep misunderstanding each other. like Yeah they were both thinking about the whole moving on thing... but kagiura completely misunderstood hirano. because he will always think its too good to be true. hes bringing up the moving on thing because hes going to reject me. its on some level a kind of self-loathing that ive been really really normal about lately. even though theyre trying the trial pseudo dating thing he doesnt 100% believe that hirano is actually trying. he thinks he has to keep begging hirano to look at him but little does he know hiranos never taken his eyes off him.

and so they both approach this Moving On conversation with selfishness. kagi selfishly begs hirano to keep trying. and he knows hes selfish and so full of desire and he kind of hates himself for it. but hirano also comes in selfishly--i dont want you to move on yet. let me keep trying. i want to understand you so desperately. and then yeah it kind of lightens up as kagi realizes what the fuck he just said and he has to be thinking about that How much hope am i allowed to have. and thank god he has niibashi to talk to about it UNLIKE HIRANO TAIGA. TALK TO SOMEONE YOU BITCH. SOMEONE WHOS NOT MIYANO. BECAUSE MIYANO IS INSANE. sorry. like you said kagi only realized the depth of his feelings after talking to niibashi. before that he was perfectly content with their relationship. hirano just really really needs to talk to somebody. even in a roundabout way. and i do hope its sasaki. sigh. anyways. also the thing about kagi hiding his feelings Yeah 1000%. and hirano pointing out the contradictions. aaauuuuhhggggg kagihira 6ever peace and love on planet kagihira

[strixcattus]

Chapter IV: Violence/Passion

He's going to die here.

History

The cabin comes into view blurrily, almost like they’re just waking up. They didn’t doze off in the cabin, did they? That wouldn’t make a very good first impression on the Princess.

Though, this cabin doesn’t look like that first one. Its walls are formed from pale, rough stone, with openings in the sides to serve as windows. The doors are more of the same, cutting quite an impressive figure. Instead of a plain wooden table, there’s a metal altar holding the blade, and a couple loose planks lie askew on the floor. The cabin normally wouldn’t look like this on the first go-around, would it?

So why doesn’t Smitten remember what they did last time?

It’s probably not all that important. Even if he doesn’t remember, surely someone must. He’ll just have to go along.

“Well, boys?” he asks. “Shall we go and see what form our beloved has taken this time?”

No one says anything. That’s rude of them.

No one does anything, either. That’s a bit far for a prank.

“Very funny of you,” he says, listening for any sign that someone else is here. “Yes, you’ve got me this time, good joke, now let’s be off to fulfill our… destiny…”

It’s completely silent. There’s no one else here.

His shoulders drop, and he turns around to face the door to the outside. His body obeys, allowing him to see that the cabin is entirely empty, except for him.

That probably isn’t good.

Maybe something happened to the others. Maybe they’re somewhere outside. Maybe they’ve been tossed about to different cabins like this one.

If they are, he’s sure it’ll all work out. They’re resourceful people. Everything’s going to be fine.

Still, he should try to find them. He’ll just pop down to the basement, free the Princess from her imprisonment, and then the two of them can meet up with everyone else who’s also made their way out. It’ll be easy.

He leaves the blade on its altar. Wouldn’t want to give the Princess the wrong impression, if she has as little memory as he does.

The doors are heavy, resisting his attempts to wrench them open no matter how much he strains. Eventually, one of them folds and scrapes slowly across the floor, and the other follows a little more easily. The stairs beyond are cramped, stone walls pressing in on him, but they don’t look as though they’ll pose any obstacle. If those doors were to decide to close again, though, he might be in trouble.

Oh well. He’s sure the Princess will be more than capable of getting the two of them out, if the doors even do shut on them. The Narrator, conniving scoundrel that he is, is blissfully absent, and he was always the one that tried to meddle.

“Is that a challenger?” the Princess calls from the basement. Her voice echoes off the stone walls. “Finally. I haven’t had a good fight in far too long.”

A fight? Why would she want to fight him? They have the same goal!

Maybe she just got the wrong impression in some time he doesn’t remember. He should say something to put her mind at ease. “Fear not, Princess!” he cries. “I have no ill intentions towards you!”

She laughs. “Is that so? Why don’t you come down so we can meet face-to-face, then?”

This is progress! Probably. She does sound like she’s willing to talk. And he was planning to finish climbing down the stairs anyway.

The basement is less like a room and more like a cave, not much wider than the stairs. The Princess stands at one end, taking up most of the wall, chain in place on her wrist.

A pair of horns rise from her forehead, framing a set of spikes that look almost like the crown she usually has. The skirt of her dress is translucent, with a slit in the side, and a long tail curls around her. Her feet look more like hooves.

She’s beautiful.

Her eyes narrow onto his hands. “No little knife, huh? Did you forget to bring it with you?”

Is she talking about the blade? She must be convinced there’s no way out unless she’s cut free from her chains. “Fret not, fair maiden. We won’t need the blade for this.”

“Is that so?” The Princess grins. “Good.”

Smitten steps closer, reaching for the shackle on her arm. This is going well. He’ll slip her hand from the chains with no problem at all, and they’ll leave the cabin and go see what else is out there… as long as that mirror doesn’t show up again.

It won’t. It can’t. He won’t stand for it.

He should probably ask her name once they’re out, too. But one thing at a time. He’ll slip her hand from the chains…

His back lands on the hard stone floor, sending shockwaves through his bones.

The events leading up to the landing piece themselves together backwards. He landed on the floor because he fell. Why? Because the Princess pushed him. No, pushed isn’t the right word—she grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor. Why? Heck if he knows. All he did was reach for the chain.

He looks back up at the Princess, vision swimming back into place. She’s frowning at him. Why is she frowning at him? She ought to know he has no intention of hurting her, right?

“Are you really going to give up this quickly?” she asks.

His brain hasn’t finished pulling itself back together, so all he can say is, “What?” And, if he were being honest, that’s probably what he would say if he were in peak condition.

“You hit the ground once and you’re down for the count?” The Princess leans over him. “Did you just come down here to toy with me or what?”

Toy with… her? But he had no such intentions… right? “I can assure you, my intentions have never been anything but pure.” He pulls himself to his feet as his vision finally snaps back into one piece. “If you’ll allow me to remove that shackle, the two of us can go at once.”

The Princess looks down at the chain. “What, worried it’ll slow me down? You must be confident.” Before Smitten can figure out what she means by that, she begins to strain against the chain, metal groaning before it finally snaps. She’s free! This is great! “You’d better live up to the figure you’re making yourself out to be.”

“Oh, I would never dare mislead y—” Smitten begins, cut off by a fist landing on his shoulder and throwing him across the room. His flight is cut short by the wall of the basement, head directly striking the stone. Some imperceptible noise echoes in his ears.

Didn’t he just say she could trust him? Why doesn’t she trust him?

The world is slowly beginning to decide it would rather not remain in one place. Smitten wobbles on his feet as he takes a few steps towards the Princess, nearly having to lean on one wall for support. “Why would you… do that… my love…” he wheezes, lungs refusing to cooperate with him.

“What do you mean, why would I do that?” The Princess stares at him, her arms folded. “Why wouldn’t I do that? You did come down here for a fight, didn’t you? Or are you less honest than you claim to be?”

A… fight? He never said anything about a fight or that sounded like it was about a fight or fight-related or anything of the sort… right?

“I’m afraid I… don’t have any idea… what you’re talking about.” He slumps against one wall, legs unwilling to do their job on their own. “All I want is… to set you free.”

“And what if I don’t want to be free?” The Princess takes a step towards him—he thinks. It’s all a little blurry. “What if I want something else?” Another. Probably. “What if what I want is for you to fetch your little knife and fight me?” She’s either right in front of him or still by the back wall. It’s still unclear.

Smitten wobbles backwards. He can’t tell if it’s on purpose or not. “Th—that can’t be right. Freeing Princesses is always the right thing to do.”

The Princess grits her teeth. “You are impossible! Why don’t you start thinking for once so that I don’t have to!” She reaches out with her hand, faster than Smitten can see—not that that necessarily means it’s fast, with the way he is right now—and grabs his throat. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to kill you, right now, so you can come back with a half-decent head on your shoulders. And when you do, you’re going to take your little knife, and you’re going to march right down to this basement and fight me.”

The pressure on Smitten’s neck tightens. He’s going to die. He should probably say something nice before he dies. A nice little pre-death one-liner while he’s still pre-death. A nice little… that shouldn’t be too hard…

His meandering is cut off with a pop, or maybe it’s a snap, or maybe it’s more of a squelch or even a crunch. It’s still a little hard to tell what’s going on around him, and more so to put words to it.

But words don’t matter in some cases. No matter what combination of letters accurately capture whatever sound he hears, soon after everything goes dark, and he dies.

He shoots to his feet before he can take stock of the cabin he’s in. That part comes after. The walls are made from a pale, rough stone, with open holes for windows, and the doors to the basement are heavy and carved from the same material. The blade lies on a metal altar—

This is the same cabin.

The Princess’s final words to him dance just out of his grasp. He certainly wasn’t doing all right in the head by the time she killed him, was he? At least that’s over and he can approach her with a clear mind.

It must have been important, though, whatever she said. “I’m going to… you can come back… and when you do… right down to this basement.” There must have been something in between all that…

Oh! Of course! She must have seen how badly he was doing and killed him knowing he’d come back in one piece and be able to hold a proper conversation with her. How thoughtful of her!

He strides over to the doors with a bounce in his step. This time, he knows to brace himself in order to wrench them open.

The Princess is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded. Her face falls when she sees him. Why would she…?

“I thought I told you to bring your knife this time around,” she says. “Do you just not have it or what?”

Is she forgetting something? Is he forgetting something? “You must be mistaken. We don’t need to cut you free. If you’ll just allow me to—”

She growls. “Did everything that happened last time breeze through your empty head? If I wanted to be free, I would be.” She pulls against the chain, metal snapping and falling to the floor in pieces, leaving only the shackle around her wrist. “Now go and get that knife so we can fight.”

The memories that abandoned ship the moment Smitten hit his head start to drift back. “Going to… take… knife… right down to this basement… fight me.”

But that doesn’t make any sense. “Why would you want me to fight you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” She narrows her eyes. “Why don’t you? It’s fun. And it feels right.”

Smitten laughs a little as he backs away. “I don’t know if I’d exactly describe it that way, though I suppose… if it would make you happy…” There’s something wrong with this Princess. Not that there could possibly be anything wrong with any Princess—they’re all perfect in their own way—but this one has something wrong with her.

He does a little hop back to the base of the stairs. The Princess continues to watch him. “I’ll, ah, be going to fetch that blade now,” he says. “I shall return posthaste.”

Then he turns and bolts up the stairs, not stopping to catch his breath until he’s well and fully in the upper part of the cabin.

She wants to fight him. But that’s not… that’s not how this works, right? She’s supposed to want to be free. Sure, there were a couple Princesses that had other intentions, but that was only after they’d been wronged and were out to take righteous revenge!

…Did something happen to her in the time Smitten hasn’t been allowed to see? Is she trying to take out her anger on him? But that doesn’t sound quite right.

She wants to fight him. Not to kill him, presumably. Just to fight him a little. She doesn’t look angry—at least she didn’t, not before they properly got to talking. Maybe a little spar could be fun, if it’ll make her happy. She said it would be, so he’ll believe her.

“I hope you aren’t trying to run away,” the Princess calls from below. “What’s taking so long?”

Smitten jumps and scoops the blade from the altar. “Don’t worry, fair maiden! I’m merely steeling my nerves for our battle.” He may as well play it up. If a fight’s what she wants, he’ll do his level best to make it as dramatic as possible.

He steps down the stairs, taking in deep breaths to steady himself. He can’t let the Princess down.

She is waiting for him in the basement, and her face breaks into a grin when he comes into view. “Finally. Let’s get started, shall we?”

“We shall.” Smitten raises the blade, pointing it at the Princess. “En garde!”

The Princess doesn’t waste any time in launching herself across the room, fist narrowly missing Smitten’s face. He ducks past her—she’s tall—and whirls around, catching her arm with the blade as she aims another punch. A few drops of blood fly away from the nick and splatter on the floor.

He didn’t mean to do that.

She seems to take notice, stepping back instead of continuing her attack and glancing at the cut in her arm. It’s shallow, at least so he hopes, but a drop of blood still traces down her wrist as he watches.

“I’m sorry—” he stammers. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No. You didn’t. That’s your problem.” The Princess wipes at her cut with one thumb. “All this and you still don’t get what this is about.” She thrusts her arms out to the sides. “I died and I’m still fine. I killed you and you’re still fine. There are no consequences for us here. We can kill each other all we want, and nothing is going to happen.”

No. No, he was right. This one does have something wrong with her, no matter how he wishes he could look past it.

His hand trembles just enough for the blade to slip from it and clatter on the floor. “But I don’t want to kill you,” he says meekly.

“Don’t think of it as killing me.” The Princess takes a couple steps forward, and Smitten scrambles a couple steps back. Their dance as such is cut short by Smitten hitting the back wall of the basement, allowing the Princess to catch up to him and pick up the blade. “It’s not like I’ll stay dead. Now get up.” She tosses the blade at his feet. It lodges, tip-first, in the stone floor.

He’s going to die here a second time. He’s going to die because he couldn’t bring himself to give the Princess what she wanted. That’s not right. He’s supposed to give the Princess what she wants, but what she wants is supposed to be freedom, and—

The Princess’s fist smashes into the wall where Smitten’s head would have been if he hadn’t thrown himself the rest of the way to the ground. As it is, some of his feathers float lazily through the air as a reminder of what might happen to the rest of him if he can’t keep this up.

He tugs the blade out of the ground as the Princess turns for another strike, and stands to face her. He’s going to die again. She’s going to kill him, and he’s going to deserve it. He’s supposed to be giving her what she wants, because she’s always right, but…

The Princess is always right. If she thinks they can’t die, if she thinks that him trying to kill her is fun, well, she probably knows better than him.

He lashes out with the blade, carving a stripe up the Princess’s arm. She swings at him, fist colliding with his shoulder. Something that probably isn’t supposed to go pop goes pop. He strikes back, this time burying his blade in the Princess’s chest, somewhere in the vicinity of her heart.

The Princess steps back, laughing, the sound wetter than it should be. She grasps the handle of the blade and tosses it back.

Smitten catches it. Then he drops it again as his injured arm decides it’s had enough of its current working conditions and falls limp. The Princess pretends not to notice as he reaches down to pick it back up.

“See? Isn’t this so much more fun than talking?” the Princess asks once they’re face-to-face again.

“I suppose,” Smitten says, unable to get another word out as the Princess launches herself towards him.

He lashes out with the blade again and again, barely deflecting each of her attacks with stripes of red carved across her arms. The Princess’s fists connect as often as not—there’s a crunch as she lands a blow on his ribcage, then a snap as his already-injured arm is well and fully put out of commission, then a squelch that was probably some crucial organ.

He’s going to die here. That’s fine. The Princess said it would be fine.

She steps back as though meaning for her next punch to be her last. “Are you sure you’re really trying to kill me?” she taunts. “You’re not just trying to postpone your own death?”

Smitten tries to answer, to say, No, of course not, I would never dare to imagine going against your wishes, but something is very, very broken in the parts of him in charge of speaking, and all he manages to do is inhale blood.

The Princess seems to notice. “I’d say you’ve only got a few seconds left this time around. Why don’t you make them count?” She holds out her arms. “Go on. Stab me—unless your heart isn’t in it.”

My heart… is always… in everything. Smitten raises the blade with his remaining arm, steadying it as much as he can. I hope this makes you happy. He brings it down with as much force as he can muster, right over her heart.

Then he falls, and none of his limbs opt to catch him.

The Princess continues to stand over him, unfazed even by the blade in her heart. Assuming it even made it to her heart.

Her sitting down beside him is the last thing he sees as his vision fades to a sort of reddish black. “Were you even trying to kill me?” she asks, followed by, “No. You were.” There’s a sound like she’s leaning back against the basement wall. “You’re no good at this. Even if you come back with the passion you had at the end, you still won’t be able to kill me.”

He says nothing, of course. He’s not sure he can even fully understand what she’s saying.

“You’re not meant to be here,” she continues. “If you were meant to be here, you’d be meant to fight me. And you’re obviously not meant to fight anyone.” Her hand lands on his neck, fingers pressing into his feathers as though searching for something. A pulse? Does he still have one of those? “Is there someone else out there who’s meant to be here? Is that what this is?”

If she keeps talking after that, Smitten doesn’t hear any of it. Everything goes dark—darker than it already is—and he dies.

He shoots to his feet before he can take stock of the cabin he’s in. Every piece of it lines up with how it looked the last time, anyway—same pale stone walls, same heavy double doors, same blade on the same metal altar. He grabs the blade without even thinking.

He needs to go back downstairs and apologize. He failed to live up to her wishes. Should he try to make it up to her? Give her the fight she deserves? He did make a promise to her. Or maybe he just thought it. Or thought he thought it. The latter half of the last go-around is a bit fuzzy again.

By the time he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he’s made up his mind. He raises the blade and charges towards the Princess—

—And she catches it before he can close the distance, tip of the blade sinking into the palm of her hand. She twists her wrist, and Smitten’s grip breaks before the blade can wrench free.

“Does your brain just stop working after you’ve been beat up enough?” she asks, tugging the blade out of her hand. There’s a visible hole in the back of it where the tip broke through the other side. “I told you, we’re done here. I’m going to find someone whose heart is actually in this.”

Smitten sputters, still in the process of grasping that the blade is no longer in his hand. “My heart is in this! It would be impossible for me to not put my entire heart into anything I endeavor to accomplish!”

“So I didn’t just disarm you before you could land a hit on me?” The Princess glances at the hole in her hand before tugging on the chains once more. They splinter just as easily this time as they did the previous two. “You’re not cut out for this, loverboy. Stick to writing poetry or whatever it is you’re supposed to do.”

“I can fight!” Smitten follows close behind the Princess as she strides up the stairs. She ducks a little to avoid hitting her horns on the doorway. “If you’ll allow me another chance, I can assure you I will not let you down a third time.”

The Princess glances over her shoulder. “You don’t actually want that.”

“I do! If a fight is what you want, I will gladly—”

She tosses the blade to him, and he fumbles the blood-slicked point of it, barely managing to keep his grip. “You’re just saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear. And it is. Just not from someone who’s lying.”

Smitten extracts his hands from the blade, looking around in vain for something to wipe his hands on that isn’t his own cape. He settles for smearing the excess blood across the cabin wall. “I would never lie to you.”

“Oh?” the Princess asks, eyes glinting. “If you’re so honest, then tell me: Was it fun?”

Of course it was fun. The Princess said it was, and it clearly was for her, and anything that makes the Princess happy is good enough for him. Right?

“I’ve… had more enjoyable experiences,” he finally admits.

She nods and turns her attention to wrenching the outer door open. It’s not as heavy-seeming as the ones to the basement, but maybe that’s just because she’s so much larger than him. It’s not as though he ever tried to open it himself. “There’s more of you, right?” she asks.

“Yes. Several.”

“Then there’s someone out there who doesn’t have to lie when he says he gets it.” The Princess steps back from the door. “Let’s go find him already.”

Smitten nods. “Certainly. Say, before we leave, you wouldn’t happen to have a name?”

She looks over her shoulder. “Adversary. You?”

“Smitten. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

The Adversary scoffs. “Suits you. Come on.”

They don’t get more than a step into the outside world before freezing again.

Everything is… meat. The cabin sits atop a hill of smooth skin that collapses into fleshy lumps of meat at its base, and the path, instead of packed dirt or smooth stones, looks more like the bones of a spine. In place of trees, clawed fingers reach from the ground, meat bared to the world and webs of translucent meat strung between their knobby bones. Smitten can’t resist glancing at his own hands and noting the similarity.

“So. Meat,” the Adversary begins. “Not normal.”

“No,” Smitten agrees. “Meat is most certainly not normal.”

The Adversary takes a few steps forward, hooves sinking into the meat with an array of smushes and slushes and squishes and sounds that can scarcely be put into writing. Smitten follows suit.

He can feel the meat between his toes. Also sticking to the bottoms of his feet, and wrapping above his feet. It’s very squishy.

There’s little reprieve from the meat. If he tries to pull his attention away from the sensations beneath his feet, there’s the sound to worry about. If he ignores the sound, there’s the smell of blood filling the air. And that’s to say nothing of the sight—the only place he can look without finding meat is the back of the Adversary’s head.

At least his focus on her means he notices when she suddenly stops walking, and he’s saved the embarrassment of crashing into her. He still almost does, losing his footing on the meat for a second before she catches him.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

She points across the meat. “That’s another one of you, right?”

Smitten follows her arm to the horizon. She’s right. Between a pair of meat hands is a figure wearing a long, black cloak, veil hiding his face at this distance. Next to him is a smaller figure, with a dress and a tail flicking behind her.

He can’t be sure about the second figure, but he certainly recognizes the first.

The two figures pause, clearly having noticed them at the same time. The shorter one turns to the taller as though saying something, but Smitten has no intention of giving them enough time for him to be the one to approach.

He strides across the meat, for once able to ignore every sensory detail of the stuff, and soon comes face-to-face with the worst one of the bunch.

Cold tilts his head to one side. “Oh. You’ve escaped. Good job.”

Leading with sarcasm, is he? Smitten has no intention of allowing him to have his way. He grips the front of Cold’s cloak and shoves him against the nearest meat hand. “I’m more surprised you didn’t leave your Princess rotting in the basement,” he growls. “Are you just toying with her? Does she know what sort of monster you really are?”

The Princess that was with Cold glances between him and Smitten, brow furrowed as though trying to figure out what to say.

“Ha! And here I thought you weren’t a fighter.” The Adversary seems to have no such issues. “Looks like there’s one person you’re supposed to fight.” She steps up behind him with a squelsh—she’s so tall she doesn’t have to strain to get a good look at Cold’s face. “Don’t know if it’s the same way for him, though.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Cold levels his gaze with Smitten’s, still not bothering to struggle against him. “If he actually followed through on his promises, I might be interested in seeing them play out.”

Smitten tightens his grip. “I am no liar. You would do well to mark what I say—I will drag you into the depths of my misery and leave you there to drown.”

“Been there. Done that.”

The other Princess seems to have finally snapped. “Would one of you shut up and explain what you’re talking about?”

Cold shrugs. “It’s not that interesting.”

“Not that interesting?” Smitten shoves him further into the meat with a wet smeesh. “You murdered my true love in cold blood. And so I took my revenge.”

“Was that really intended to be revenge? I thought it was just an attempt at reuniting with your ‘true love.’ Did you think I would mind being stabbed?”

Has he no limit to his insults? “Perhaps I hoped it would snap you into something capable of sympathy.”

The Princess sighs. “We get it. His brain is broken. Can you cut it out now so we can go somewhere with less meat?”

Fine. In the interest of the Princess being allowed to go somewhere with less meat, Smitten releases his grip on Cold’s cloak. Cold remains suspended on the meat hand for a moment, making no move to extract himself, before he peels off its surface with a long, drawn out squueeemch and lands on his knees with a pair of squishes.

“Sticky,” he observes, then stands (with a pair of ssspops) and turns back to the meat hand. “I wonder—”

“Nope! Not going through this again!” The other Princess grabs Cold by the arms and yanks him away from the meat hand. “Let’s go! We’re leaving!”

The Princess leads the procession, dragging Cold behind her despite his weak protests (“One couldn’t kill me, could it?”). Smitten follows close behind.

“If I may, could you tell me your name?” he asks the Princess. “My own is Smitten, and this—” he indicates the Adversary, who is currently trailing at the back of the pack— “is the Adversary.”

“We’re doing names now?” The Princess wrinkles her nose. “Witch is fine.”

Is she… surprised he’s asking for her name? No, of course she is. Of course Cold would never extend such a courtesy. “I’m guessing he hasn’t bothered to make a proper introduction? Allow me to correct such a grave error. This is—”

“I’m Cold,” says Cold.

The Witch turns to stare at him. “Really? In that cloak?”

“He means it as his name,” Smitten explains. “Though I’m not surprised he didn’t bother to adequately clarify.”

Before any arguments can start up again, the Adversary cuts in. “Do you two know where we’re going?”

The Witch shrugs. “Not really. We were following a river, but then it started to look like blood and he—” she jerks her thumb in Cold’s direction— “started asking me how I thought it’d taste, so I dragged him away from it. Now we’re just heading anywhere that isn’t made of meat. Unless you have a better idea?”

“No. Anywhere that isn’t meat is fine. Besides, now we know there really are other people out there.” Smitten hazards a glance back to see that the Adversary’s face has split into a sharp-toothed grin. “Which means there’s someone out there I can fight.”

The Witch whirls around so sharply Smitten fears she may have given herself whiplash. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Smitten tunes out the remainder of the discussion. He’s already heard it all. He doesn’t need a second reminder.

[chattahoochiecoochie]

Plans, Plural

Summary: A Bengals athletic trainer gets a drink after work, with a few new friends. 

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: This is, if nothing else, a two thousand word build up for an uber pool joke. Is this turning into a series? Am I mentally ill like that? Maybe. A fluffy, funny bit of filler to get us where we want to go. Part one’s here. 

“Yeah, two Blue Moons,” Joe’s voice catches as he looks at you.

“Guinness.” Your voice is quiet, hardly a whisper. You’d gotten water last time, so exhausted and dizzy you wouldn’t have been able to keep anything else down even if you’d wanted it.

“And a Guinness for her.” He turns his eyes back to the waitress, flashing a pearly white smile.

This is nice, and for a moment you forget the events that have led you here. For just a second it's only about the way he orders for you, the way he drove you three here, and how he’ll drive you home after. How Sam will walk you up to your apartment, hand in yours. You shake your head, fighting off the sense of familiarity.

It’s dizzying, how well orchestrated it is, how predictable they’ve made it feel. You’ve only been here once with them, after they’d teamed up on you in your exam room—but you feel absolutely certain that this will end the same as last time. They planned it that way. You shake your head. They planned it that way?

They must have, what with the way Sam was waiting for you tonight, standing outside your exam room, holding his bag in one hand, the other out to take yours. And the way he’d walked you out of the stadium, fingers intertwined with yours as he led you through the parking lot. And Joe with the way he had pulled his car into the west parking lot, just how he had the first time, sitting under the only broken light, waiting for the two of you.  

You can hear the boys talking, kicking each other beneath the table while they wait for their beers to arrive, but its background noise, a faded sound. Your mind is racing. They planned this.

Joe had dropped you at the bar's door, with Sam at your side. He’d park the car and then he’d be right in, he’d said. And when the three of you had left last time, and you asked to be taken back to the stadium, Sam had laughed, and held you by the back of your neck. You were tired, and now you’d been drinking. They’d get you home, you could worry about your car tomorrow.

But I work early, you can hear yourself slurring as the memory plays. I’m in early tomorrow too, Joe says to you, rubbing his hand on your thigh. You just send me a text when you’re ready in the morning, and I’ll be by. Is that how they’d gotten your phone number?

There’d been a group message the next morning when you woke up. Joe was on his way, Sam wanted to know if they could stop for Starbucks. Want us to get you anything?

It had seemed like dominoes at the time, the eventuality of progressing circumstance. But they had planned it, hadn’t they? You want to be worried, to hesitate, to ask them why, but you’re cornered anyways, and it’s so nice to let someone else be in control for once, to have a plan at all.

“And a Guinness for you honey. Can I get y’all anything else for now?” You blink slowly, reaching out for the beer that's been placed in front of you.

“I think we’re set, thank you.”

“So Guinness, huh?” With the waitress gone, Sam puts a hand on your knee, leaning over to look closely at your drink.

“They taste good.” You look up at him, very aware of how he’s pinned you inside the booth by taking the outer seat.

“Oh is that right?” He leans against you, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “I’ll find out later then.” So he’ll kiss you goodnight this time too, then?

“Have you always liked stout?”

Why does every guy always ask? “My dad—” And why are you giving him your practiced response? You fall short, letting your mouth quirk into half a pout.

“Your dad what?” They’re both looking at you, eyes wide with interest that must be real because it’s too intense to be manufactured.

“My dad always had some, uh, growing up. My first beer was Guinness.” You laugh, when Joe quirks a brow with curiosity. “Some friends and I had some at a sleepover after my parents had gone to bed. Spent the whole night puking in my bathroom.” You don’t tell people that part, and you’re not sure why it comes so easy in front of them.

“I threw up my first time too. Half a case of natty lights.”

You and Joe both groan loudly at the thought of it. You glance at him briefly, wondering if he is also tasting every cheap college beer and the memory tied to it. When he pretends to gag, you decide that he must be.

“Bringing back memories Joey?” Sam grins, swigging from his glass quickly before sliding it to the end of the table, empty.

And suddenly, that's it. Whatever you’ve been holding onto in your mind simply slips from your reach. Before you know it, you are sliding your glass to meet his at the end of the table, leaning over Sam’s lap as you try not to spit up your last sip—overwhelmed with laughter as Joe recounts the worst college party his memory has to offer. What had you wanted to ask earlier?

It doesn’t matter, you decide, feeling a sense of finality about it. Sam is kissing you on the forehead, and you are vaguely aware that beneath the table, he has Joe by the hand. This is nice, this is good. And Joe’s getting you another beer, so now’s not the time to interrupt anyways.

“And he’ll take another Blue Moon, too.”

“Sounds good, can I get y’all anything to snack on?” She’s chipper, the young woman standing at the end of the table.

You shake your head at Joe, almost instinctively. Why are you letting him speak for you?

“No, we're all good. We’ll close too, if that’s okay.” He turns away from you, speaking to the waitress with a pointed voice you didn’t know he could manage. There's control in his tone, in his affect. That’s why.

“I’m gonna hit the bathroom, and then I’ll go get the car.” Beneath the table, Joe pats your knee firmly before sliding out of the booth.

“Alright, we’ll walk your way when we’re done here. You on 17th?”

Already walking away, Joe nods, back turned to them.

“Better drink up then baby, we’ve got some walking to do.” Sam lifts your glass from the table, holding it out for you to take. There's half a pint left, most of it warm now after how much the three of you had talked. Better that way, anyhow.

Grazing his hand you take the glass from him, breathing in through your nose as you sip the last of it quickly. With the back of your hand you wipe your mouth, slamming the heavy cup onto the table, back into the ring of condensation it had left behind.

“Wanna race?” You’re grinning, holding back a hiccup as you stare him down.

“I think I’ve had dreams about you.” He’s breathless, looking at you with vague wonder before pressing a kiss to your lips. He slides away from you on the seat, letting you follow the kiss right out of the booth until you're both standing on the sticky bar floor, you with your back pressed to the column dividing your booth from the one before it, and him with a knee between your legs, daring you to move against him.

Eyes closed, you sink against the narrow wall, sighing against his mouth as he slips his tongue over your lips. He’s scratchy today, having let his facial hair grow out since the last time. It’s ticklish, the rough sensation kind of—

“Boo!” You freeze, eyes wide when Sam lets go of you, spinning on his heel. In front of you, Joe is looking delightfully guilty.

With a quick hand, he pats Sam on the backside, before making off on quick feet for the door. “Last one to the car loses!”

“Absolutely not.” Sam turns back to you, face set. “You and I will race another day, okay?”

Before you can answer or even think, he’s got you off the floor, slung over his shoulder with your feet in the air. With one arm on your back and the other wrapped around your thighs, he sprints for the door with heavy steps. It takes everything in you not to shriek as the night air hits you, whistling in your ears as he runs. 

He’s not fast, at least not fast enough but it's shocking how uninhibited he is by the weight of you in his arms. Shrieking and squealing, you are tossed around as he covers the first city block, and then the second.

You know you’ve lost, before he even begins to slow down. The heavy sound of him breathing, and the growing volume of Joe’s laughter as you get closer is telling enough.

“Shut up.” Sam is fully gasping as his steps become shorter. At a slow walk, with his chest heaving, he maneuvers you, bringing you down to brace against his chest for a moment before holding you out. “You take her, dick.”

Laughing loudly, Joe appears beside you, arms out to catch you. “We gotta get your cardio up, goddamn.”

With a grunt, Sam drops you against Joe, stepping back to catch his breath fully. The transfer is awkward, and you’re trying to find a reason for it at all—the car is right there.

Sensing you squirming in against him, Joe turns his attention to you, coughing on the last bit of a quiet chuckle. “You think you got it?” He lets you slip slowly from his arms. That’s why.

The ground feels shaky beneath you, and Jesus, your head is pounding. Stumbling, you reach for something to grab, coming up with a fistful of Joe’s shirt. You cling to him, hiccuping and shaking. It feels as though you’ve just been spun in a blender, or rinsed out on a spin cycle.

“I gotcha.” He’s laughing again, head tossed back as he takes you by the forearm. “Let’s get you in the car.”

With your eyes shut, you let him lead you around the car. Staggering blindly, you feel for the passenger seat of his Porsche, sinking into it as slowly as he’ll let you. Safely inside, with your hands gripping the leather, you brace against the headrest.

Pulling the belt across your shoulder, Joe presses a kiss to your forehead, wearing a smirk you can feel. And with the belt clicked into place, you feel him move away. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mmm.”

Minutes later, after the muffled sound of them play fighting outside the car has ceased, and Sam is safely crumpled on the backseat, Joe returns, this time to sit beside you. Hand on your thigh he looks at you sideways, curious.

“I’m good.” You try for a smile, wondering if the silence from the back is any indication of how much worse off Sam must be.

“Let’s get you home then. Sam, seatbelt, please.”

A grunt comes from behind you, followed by a loud fumbling and then finally, the click of the belt as it locks into place.

“Excellent.” Joe lets his hand run up your leg before settling his hold at the top of your thigh, where your own hands are now folded in your lap.

“Uber pool is crazy, huh?” He deadpans, jaw set.

“This is me.” You say it over your shoulder, fumbling with your keys as you consider the fact that he already knows that, having brought you to your door the last time. If he does remember, he doesn’t say.

Standing beside you, he leans against the wall when you get the door open finally, hand out to touch your waist.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” It’s phrased like a question but if the tone of familiarity is anything to go off, you know it's not. You nod anyway, lingering against his touch.

He pauses for a moment, looking at you with a glint in his eye. Before you can second guess it, his mouth is on yours, brief and sweet. He’s trying for gentle, it seems, fingers ghosting over your hip as he steps back from you.

“In the morning?” Just like last time?

“That’s the plan, pretty girl.” That’s the plan. That’s the plan.

You’re still rolling the words around in your mouth when you finally lock the door behind yourself, sinking against it with a blush on your face and a girlish squeal threatening to break loose. They planned it. 

A/N: Part three is right here. 

[local-diavolo-anon]

Ok i give up, here is the au i thought about in the post about my D&D character

So basically, its a ✨️Gods and Mortals✨️ kind of au (it also has nothing to do with my actual dnd character lmao)

At first i had a very different idea for this au tbh, but now i have a clearer view on where and how i want this to work

Eclipse is a preschool teacher and a daycare robot, his job is to care for the roudies children and take some weight off of the teacher's shoulders

One day, everything was normal, he gets his ass isekai'd into another world. Why? Because i say so

Jk he probably died somehow like in all isekai stories

To save him are the god of the stars, and the god of planets, those being Sun and Moon, who take a liking on this funny looking mortal and send him on an adventure with them as patrons

Sun and moon are two weirdos and being gods they do not really. Percieve. Eclipse as its own thinking being

This is not a plot point, actually, it's just to specify that Sun sees Eclipse as how you'd see a cute pet, while Moon as how you'd see a toddler of someone you barely know

They also have wildly different approaches when they talk with Eclipse, Sun does babyvoices at him, while Moon is the incarnation of the babysitter who tapes the baby to the wall and asks them if they want a beer

Sun is Eclipse's patron during the day and companion during the night, Moon is the other way around

Eclipse slowly loses his patience and gets progressively sassier and less keen to take shit from anyone he sees

Picture Gertrude from 'I Hate Fairyland', Eclipse is stuck in that world since months and has ho idea how to go back to his own, his "patrons" are not helping and anyone he meets is either a normal person or the worst weirdo he has ever run into

So he goes slowly from "ok now lets calm down and talk this out ok? We don't want anyone getting hurt ^^" to "i cast fuck you and your family!"

This is a sandbox au, so there is no real story, just some beasts to put in situations

If you want to know what they look like, Eclipse is the same eclipse from my 'sun and moonless' au/fic

Sun and Moon on the other hand appear as these titanic and imposing beings when they are in their real form, and as regular sun and moon when they take the 'shape of eclipse' (as they call it)

Sun wears a white tunic and a red scarf both as a god and as a "mortal", in his god form the tunic fades into clouds! his head is a half sphere and from behind rays and light come out, it looks like he is wearing a floating crown but you can't really tell because he is too bright. Also je probably has like, a few tens of eyes, but uses only between 2 and 5 at the same time usually

Moon on the other hand does not even have a real head as a god! His head is a clpud of space dust and darkness with a thousand stars inside, you can also see the moon where his head would be, and it always shows the same side no matter where you look at him from (it also shows the current lunar phase); he has eyes tho!

Moon wears a dark cape, and the cloud from his head forms a train behind him that looks like a night sky (similar to a nun's headwear in appearence)

When i draw anything good for this au i will post it because i keep imagining it with walt disney old comic books artstyle but I CAN'T REPLICATE IT

[writing-for-life]

WIP Wednesday…

It’s currently progressing slowly because it’s heavy and I need to pace myself, so I just need to share something a bit lighter. Well, maybe lighter around the edges—it’s Dream being Dream and Delirium being Delirium, and I love those two so much. I’m so happy to write their dynamics a bit more this time, but it’s also so much pressure to get them right while still leaving space for something new to develop.

It doesn’t give away anything, so fine to post (if you’d rather wait for the whole thing to get published, this is the exit sign…)

A bit of Dream/Delirium dialogue…

“My sister, I know you can hear me, and I would… I want to apologise. I treated you poorly, and it was not my intention to hurt your feelings. And I understand if you do not wish to answer my call. But it is important to me you know I regret we parted on less than favourable terms.”

“You did the apologising thing the last time. And then you were still horrible. So how do I know it means anything? And that you won’t be mean again?”

He felt a slight smile tug at the corners of his mouth at hearing her voice. “I think you will just need to… trust me?”

Delirium came through within a split second, hair dancing, each strand a rebellious stroke of colour that seemed to stand on end in defiance. She put her hands on her hips, and her locks began to blaze in a riotous tangle that seemed to mirror her current mood.

“You ask me to trust you when you would never do the same. When did you ever trust me?”

The choker of crystal beads around her neck strained, and prismatic rays of light sent a surge of blinding brightness into Dream’s eyes. She might as well have slapped him, and it occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, she had. And once again, he felt an overwhelming need to smile because maybe, just maybe, he deserved it.

And when Delirium noticed, it immediately stopped her rant in its tracks. “Why are you smiling? What’s funny? Soooo… I’m a joke to you now. Ha ha, not laughing.”

Dream took a hesitant step towards her, face still soft. “I am not laughing at you, sister. I was just thinking that… I fully deserve your anger, and once again, I wish to apologise for my behaviour.”

Delirium eyed him with suspicion, but her hair had turned into a slightly less wild do. She began twisting her leg on the ball of her foot. “Accepted.” She still sounded like a surly teenager, but it was a start.

They stood in awkward silence for a while, and Dream felt bound by memories etched into his very being.

He finally chose to speak. “We were once—when you were younger, and so was I—stitched together like… constellations. And like stars might realign, what seems like a broken orbit could perhaps be… mended by…”

Delirium looked at him with knitted brows. “You always make everything so complicated. Even your words are complicated. Making amends is not starry, or breaky like some… like spider’s silk and frayed threads and tiptoeing and eggshells. See, I can do that too, that complicated word thing. But it’s just silly. I just want you to be my brother and stop being angry at me and…”

Dream rolled his eyes. “Where does this idea I am perpetually angry come from?”

She forced one eye shut and wrinkled her nose. “Because it seems like it?”

He exhaled loudly.

“You do that a lot when you’re grumpy. The noisy breath through your nose.”

Dream snorted, which made Delirium perk up. “Ha, you don’t do that a lot, the snorty laugh thing. I like it.”

“I was just reminded why you and Thalia seem to get along.” He inclined his head with a raised brow. “In a sisterly manner, not in any way related to your function.”

“She’s alright.”

He smiled. “I am aware.”

Delirium sat down on the floor, legs crossed. “I know you know, but you didn’t believe me when I said I liked her for you. And that I wanted to help you. And her.”

Dream sat down with her, legs equally crossed. “I can see that now. I would like you to know that I appreciate the sentiment. And that I am willing to let go of my complicated… feelings around the issue, at least where they concern you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Delirium bumped his leg with her foot. Not too hard. “And now what?”

➗

And if you want to know “now what?”, you’ll need to wait. You can of course bridge the wait with digging into The Light of Stars if you haven’t already, because it’s the prequel.

I’m so excited about this one, but it is so much harder to write than TLoS because it has so many canon connection points and references I need to weave in, and it’s such a delicate dance between staying canon-adjacent and creating something new.

And I still don’t write in sequence, and I’m just killing myself a little, but it’s okay…

Tagging the usual suspects that I also tagged in Snowglobes and Whisky:

@marlowe-zara @tickldpnk8 @safeuphigh @bluecsparrot @rey-jake-therapist @intothesoul

[dr-goatman]

gods, will graham and hannibal are so codependent

hannibal saw that will wasnt on time for his appointment, so he looked visibly sad and hurt, a rarity. he locked his hands together to keep from calling him, and likely to try and soothe worry. he looked a tad confused why he was feeling these things AND THEN HE DROVE A FUCKING HOUR JUST TO SEE WILL, AT THE FUCKING FBI WHATEVER ITS CALLED hannibal needs will. he may not like that he needs will at first, but that doesnt change the fact that he does.

will graham went to fucking europe to find hannibal and discover his past. on the way he broke into hannibals childhood home, got held at gunpoint by chiyoh, hannibals kinda-sister [i love her btw], kissed her, got thrown off a train by her, then walked lord knows how long, INJURED, to civilization, and then continued on to search for hannibal, finding him, then eventually getting almost killed by him [again]. BUT it was particularly brutal this time, he literally like was getting a bonesaw taken to his fucking skull, he was gonna get his brain eaten

OH YEAH BUT IT WAS LITERALLY PAINLESS!!!! HE WAS DRUGGED OUT OF HIS MIND, LIKE, MASON VERGER, WHEN DRUGGED TO EAT HIS FACE, COULD FEEL IT ALL JUST NOT STOP HIMSELF OR RLLY REACT, WILL COULDNT FEEL IT AT ALL!!!!!

anyways, yet he returned to america with hannibal, then hannibal turned himself in after a bit just cuz will said he didnt wanna know where he was, what he was doing, etc. 3 yrs, will doesnt visit him in his 'jail' cell, [he lives in a glass cage thing in a mansion, wouldnt rlly call that a jail cell], after that 3 yrs, shit goes down w dolarhyde [love him btw] and will needs hannibal, desperately. u can tell hes been thinking of him this entire time yet wont even admit it to himself.

eventually shit goes down AGAIN and hannibal and will run away together, knowing damn well dolarhyde is after them. hannibal stand in between the window and will KNOWING dolarhyde is outside, just so he would take the shot, not will. they eventually fall off a cliff in each others arms, but according to the writers or someone, apparently they aint dead, which is shown in the last scene where bedelia is missing one of her legs, shes holding a fork in self defense and there are 2 other places set at the table, her leg as a main dish, she is being fed herself, which is just like what hannibal did to that one dude, starting with the leg[s]

except now will graham is along for the ride

[this is all ignoring SO much, such as hannibal always being will's first call when he needs help, and will being hannibals 'fascination' [see: obsession] so much so that since even before we meet bedelia, [who at the time was hannibal's therapist] she knows will graham by name and has been spoken to about him.

extensively.

to the point that she KNOWS he is hannibals obsession.

bedelia LITERALLY compared will to bluebeards last wife, and said shed prefer to had been the last. shes mildly jealous but so is will, and thats ok!]

[i love bedelia, btw, shes so awesome]

also as the series progresses we see hannibal, the extremely put together and posh man, become slowly more and more undone and relaxed

at the same time, it takes will, the extremely messy, frazzled and almost careless man, and it makes him more put together, he dresses nicer, looks more cleaned up and put together

he doesnt shake like an abused puppy, he is more snippy [see: bitchy]

and hes not sweating all the fucking time im so srs, there are so many shots of him just drenched in sweat and its honestly funny, its insane how much he sweats

[trainingdummyrabbit]

I always see a ton of Pokemon AUs for Demon Slayer, but I never see any Digimon AUs! For the AU ask if you're still taking them

. okok iam Absolutely still taking these and ill do my best but anon this is a really funny ask because i. do have a mini digimon au. like its ridiculously self-indulgent and tiny but. getting this was like a kick in the shins (affectionate) WAHAHAHA

so!! i hope you dont mind if this is very blatantly biased, but its certainly a starting point! as well, i havent really interacted w/ digimon since watching the anime years ago + playing world dusk and championship a while ago, so i wont have as much knowledge to pick from as i would other things! with the disclaimers out of the way...!

...hey what if we isekai'd the tokitwins? (post-writing edit: this ended up over 2k words long. This Is A Warning.)

so, you've been oh-so-luckily chosen to be digidestined and whisked away to an unfamiliar world where just about Everything wants to kill you, you have No way to contact your own world, and you have No idea how to get back. great! cool! excellent!

introducing our funny little guys of the week: yuichiro and muichiro tokito! just them for now, before i scope-creep myself to death. but, that aside, you can't be digidestined without a funny little digital partner of your own! so, introducing:

-Patamon, Muichiro's partner! an observant yet skittish little thing that never tends to stray far from its partner. it takes its job very seriously, oftentimes coming across as a bit fussy. even so, it is very easily overwhelmed and may need encouragement to press on. as well, it also tends to take things at face value more often than not, making it very earnest but Very gullible. -DemiDevimon, Yuichiro's partner! a mischeivous little thing that rarely seems to take things very seriously. its defiant and a bit self-centered, and honestly at times seems to genuinely only stick around the twins because theyre entertaining to mess with. it's here for a good time and Nothing Else. despite its yapping, it does occasionally let a bit of protectiveness slip through-- always fiercely sticking by them despite its nigh-constant complaints about how it wants to leave.

this ragtag group of four must make their way across the digital world to find a way back home-- and hopefully remain alive in the process. in such an unfamiliar and dangerous world, however, problems are sure to arise.

the twins, of course, stick together-- but more and more often, their desires and personalities begin to clash in ways that make it more difficult to progress. it's easy to keep your head low and follow along, but just how long can you really take that-- how long can you pretend it's okay? it's easy to keep a brave face, but there's only so much you can do with what you have-- and what you convince yourself that you don't. there's only so long you can stay in such a high-pressure environment before something begins to break.

throughout their journey, they'll discover more outlandish and mystifying places, meet more new faces, and uncover strange secrets-- what's the connection between their digimon partners? how did they get sent to the digital world in the first place? and most importantly: why does this world seem to already recognize them?

///

with that out of the way... time for the fiddly bits.

the twins have an arc with each other much alike the one they get in canon-- but pressed a bit further. the two learn to stand their ground, speak their mind-- and ultimately, learn to really, truly trust one another.

yui oftentimes takes the lead, and tends to do a better job keeping everything in order-- but... he's still just a kid. a kid that cares deeply for his brother, and would do anything to keep him safe. but in a world like this, there's not much that he Can do. so he plays the part as best he can-- even if it means that he has to make hard choices.

mui, on the other hand, wants desperately to be able to help-- he slowly starts getting bolder and more forward, away from that more shy personality he'd been known to have. of course it was more dangerous. of course they didn't know what would happen next. but he would never forgive himself if he just did Nothing.

at its core, the two begin to actually almost switch places through their arc-- mui becoming more active and yui more passive-- as they make their way forward and sort themselves (and each other) out.

and of course: their partners have a whole Thing(tm) going on too! with the twins And between each other.

mui+pata are like odd little peas in a pod, oftentimes found staring at something or other with their big ol owly eyes, going back and forth over this-and-that about it in a way that makes sense to nobody but them. pata knows more about the world and where they might be going, but mui is a bit of an emotional rock for it-- providing encouragement and talking it through any roadblocks it may have come across. theyre odd little enablers! at least, when pata isn't pulling mui's hair over the fact that theyre going the wrong way, they went the wrong way we have to go that way-- no, thats the wrong way too we-- were lost were lost oh no were lost what do we DO--

yui+dDevi are. a goddamn mess. dDevi loves messing with this kid, always talking at him like it knows better-- which it does, technically, but it doesnt have to say it like that, shut up. it talks like a shitty older brother as if it wasn't leagues smaller than him and shaped exactly like a kickball. (yui doesn't vocalize this. he is so very tempted to, though.) despite all the ribbing, yui is pretty much the only person it'll talk seriously with. obviously yui is rather frustrated with it at times, but he can tell it does genuinely mean well. mostly. they squabble, but they do keep each other from doing anything too stupid. and further than that: even if he doesn't say anything, yui can tell when there's something on its mind.

the digiduo are... odd, certainly. but, strangely, there seems to be some sort of tension between the two-- they... really dont seem to get along. pata is deeply distrustful of dDevi, noting its existence as an evil digimon. like, it's in the name! devimon! not to mention how often it leads them astray or messes with them just for kicks-- something's up and it's not sure what.

on the other hand, dDevi doesn't much like pata either. it's a stuck-up killjoy thats convinced it's always right when it can barely make any good calls. always hiding behind its whole spiel of "good" and "evil" like it's so trustworthy. it doesn't even know what it's talking about half the time! if it's going to lecture them, it should at the very least be right about it. get a reason to be upset other than "that ones clearly evil, look at it!"

and then... there's the memories. or rather, the lack thereof. both seem to remember parts of some grand legend that they no longer have the ability to recall the whole of. something important to their reason of being-- and the presence of the digidestined twins.

pata seems particularly insistent of it being a prophecy, a series of steps to follow that foretell what and who they should be. (something about it seems to stress them out particularly badly, though... what exactly is it that they're living up to? why doesn't it know?)

dDevi... pretends not to care, at least. but it recalls the legend too, and hearing the fragments of it seems to make it upset. it wants nothing to do with the legend, and just wants to do... anything else. (anything to get further away from that stupid story. it's not one to be shackled by expectations like that.)

and again, the twins seem to differ on what they make of the story. yui sides with pata, believing its their best bet to at the very least figuring out how to get home. mui, on the other hand, slowly begins to wonder what exactly the gaps in the legend could mean, and wants to find out what it truly is. it's hard to follow a broken path. after all, who's to say its really a path at all? which brings us to... a bit of a conflict.

///

after a particularly rough leg of the journey, things start to get... difficult. theyve had little to no luck learning much of Anything of the way forward-- and things are just getting harder and harder as they go. yui isn't sure how much more they can really take of this. they're starting to barely make it out of these situations alive, so... so maybe they're better off just accepting it. nothing's leading them anywhere, nothing is making sense-- they might as well just... find a place to hide and keep their heads low. live it out as best they can. (he isn't sure how much more they can take.)

mui, of course, protests-- there were so many more places they haven't looked through yet! there was no telling if they found something or not unless they went for it! it was always going to be hard-- they couldn't just give up and wait for the difficulty to find Them. (he can't stand the idea of just giving up after all that...)

the two begin bickering, and it gets... hard. pata starts experiencing some doubt, unsure of if they should really be pressing on into certain death-- they'd just had some ridiculously close calls, and maybe waiting it out would reveal something..? (the knowledge of the unfinished legend hangs above its head, and the thought of unravelling it... is starting to give them a bad feeling.) dDevi doesn't want to sit around and do nothing while waiting for death-- that's boring and pathetic. itd much rather do something with itself even if it's scary. (it needs to know the truth. why so many others know them, why it keeps getting such bitter stares... why? it's frustrating.)

and the bickering turns to arguing. after a few too many harsh words from both sides... they split up. mui heading off with dDevi to find out what was really going on, and yui with pata to... find somewhere safe. figure it out.

for yui and pata, it's... a bit of a long journey. the two rarely speak, mostly just quick words to keep each other alert and avoid attention. yui is mostly pushed forward by his stubbornness, but... it does bother him. it bothers him a lot. he's afraid, he's worried, and he doesn't know what to do. he wants to figure it out, he wants to have all the answers. but he doesn't, and it was stupid to think he ever couldve. legend or not-- prophecy or not, they were just kids. what could they really do? what were they supposed to do?

and as it turned out, pata was worried sick as well. it isnt until a quiet moment that yui catches pata crying-- and they finally talk. because pata hated this too. it hated feeling like it should be able to lead them, but being unable to because of the gaps in its knowledge. it hated giving up, because it knew they needed to do something, and it was letting them down by doing nothing. and most of all... it missed mui. it argued because it was afraid, but it knew this was no better. more than anything, it just wanted to help.

they both knew they couldn't keep going with this. if not for their own sakes, then for the others'.

team mui's progress is... equally difficult. it was already hard enough moving about with a halved party, but they also aren't with their bonded partners, so their Actual Useable FIrepower is much much more limited. the entire time, dDevi goes on and on insulting the other pair, insisting it was really about time this went and happened, and that their own pair was obviously right all along. mui stays quiet through much of this, but after a particularly cruel jab, mui snaps back.

because he knew it didn't really mean any of it. dDevi was smug and irritating, sure, but it was just about always a joke. it was never this mean about it... unless it was actually, personally upset. that was a lot of talk for someone who insisted it didn't care. and even if it were to deny it, mui wouldn't stand for someone saying the people he cared about weren't worth anything. of course they were afraid-- they all were. answers were never easy. it was why they were working so hard to begin with.

and dDevi was genuinely taken aback-- because it was always convinced that mui was the pushover of the group. but just like that, he'd managed to completely read its actions without so much as a word. and... he was right. it wasnt proud of what it said, but it had to stand by it. it just didnt know how else to justify itself-- how else to keep going. but... all of this-- everything had always been for each other, hadn't it? and they certainly wasn't going to stop there.

they just had to find a way to convince the others.

of course, nothing was ever easy. its the risk they knew they were taking, but... maybe a risk they weren't quite prepared for. wherever they go, together or not, some new threat will always find a way to rear its head. but between the two of them, there wasn't much they could do to fight back. and they full well wouldn't have been able to make it... had it not been for team yui showing up at a crucial moment, yuichiro putting himself directly in the line of danger to draw attention from mui-- giving him and pata a chance to actually fight back now that they were reunited.

it's a messy fight, but with all of them together-- and a newfound but concrete trust-- they manage to push through relatively unscathed-- if a bit battered on yui's end. after a few moments to make sure everyone was all right (and ironically, to scold each other over being so reckless,) they finally get the chance to talk. and... to apologize.

///

and now for more scattered notes before i end up writing another minific in a tumblr post.

the legend goes very similarly to a typical fairy tale-- a battle between forces of good and evil, and the champions of each. long ago, there was another pair of digidestined that stumbled across the digital world, and very quickly became unrivaled in power. one half, however, became corrupted by the allure of strength and jealousy, splitting both the digital world and their familial bond. as things came to a boiling point, their conflict brought unseen destruction to the digital world, each of the chosen digimon destroying each other in the battle. crushed and in denial (for varying different reasons,) the old digidestined simply... vanished, one day, never to be seen again. as for their chosen digimon, their data was wiped nearly clean, to be born anew for when they were needed again.

as a whole, it's a story of forging bonds, learning to trust, and breaking cycles of violence.

dDevi hates the idea of digivolving due to lingering memories of that past life. it refuses to interact with it at all, and commits itself to just having a good time and living a life it can enjoy. it doesn't want to become... that again.

pata remembers that betrayal and remembers something awful happening, but... something about having to distrust the other makes it deeply, deeply sad. it want to believe in the best in dDevi, but it also feels the pull of responsibility of having to live up to the legend. that was the only thing it felt it could trust.

the old digidestined are, of course, the tsugikuni twins. whether they show up again or not is still in the air-- yoriichi being pata's old partner and michikatsu being dDevi's.

i dont feel like digging through the digiwiki for another hour but id like to somehow integrate dDevi's original digivolution line being more in line w/ canon, going all in on the Hehoo Evil(tm) thing, but with yui, it follows a more neutral route, following its own desires rather than the course of what the story Expects of it.

SO !!! YEAH!!! DIGIMON AU!!!! i care about this a very normal amount, and if you read this far: thank you, and I Am So Sorry.

[teabiscs]

touching back on this post i made

a slowburn, rivals to lovers, wlw, magical girl au

just a little thought. ming-ming is both an idol and a magical girl. very popular, and adored by her fans and general public. shes been a magical girl for a MINUTE. idk how its awakened what the power are etc. its just an idea.

hiromi, before becoming a magical girl. is just so. ugh. done. because its always mingming this mingming that. her music is mid. its not hiromi's cup of tea. and she'd like to go just ONE day without having to hear about ming ming.

flash foreward hiromi's awakening. she touches a weird rock or something after getting sperated from her class on a field trip. (insert the typical animals that follow magical girls are the bladebreakers or something idk. i need something. will consider the idea further. i just think it would be funny for the four of them following her around being themselves as she learns how to do magical girl stuff)

her first night as a magical girl goes well. but the next night is awful because mingming intercepts who she is saving and steals the credit. and its on the rivalry begins. and its a lot of mingming coming in on what hiromi is trying to fight and defeating it. and oh my god it makes hiromi's blood BOIL.

insert additional magical girls. that come along and help hiromi learn the ropes. help her develop her powers (because the boys are not helpful at all and are honestly just comic relief)

and slowly we are building to the BIG BADDY. Hiromi getting stronger and holding her own, mingming not having a chance to swoop in a defeat things. hiromi making a name for herself

ming ming falls first. shes in over her head. and the girls come and save her. with hiromi killing whatever is about to seriously harm her.

progressing as the story does. ming ming making her rounds just to watch hiromi do her thing. killing beasts and monsters. they all end up teaming up for a mission/whatever and bonding.

and whatever. their big lesbean love (idk man their powers together create a 10x multiplier or something. i have NOT thought this through) ends up being just the key to kill the big baddy boss that's been causing all the issues the entire story line. kiss kiss theyre finally admitting theyre in love.

[disasterbijamietartt]

Loved Dani and Jamie this ep! And Beard affectionately calling Jamie a beautiful dum dum and the friendly teasing about the reality show and Jamie proving his tactical smarts! And that Jamie gets permission from the whole team to go into prick mode and even then he isnt really he actually does know this better that them. Although Roy, some consistency with Jamie plz for the love of god. The whole string thing was very funny though

Dani and Jamie were real gems this week and I liked the callback to “Lust conquers all” and the playful way Jamie reacted to Beards teasing.

The whole “I don’t want people to think I’m a prick if I say it” part, that Jamie seems to be so wary to express his opinions that he needs to get permission first, is something I’m thinking about a lot last week. So sorry in advance for this very long bit of rambling lol

And to bring this other ask in, since it fits in so well:

Jamie trying to be a good boy and waiting to get permission from the whole team, hes come on so much and its giving me... ideas. The boy just wants to please and apparently now that means doing exactly what hes told even when he is literally vibrating wanting to do something

That made me think of Roy’s comment in “The Signal”, when he said that Ted fucked Jamie up. And even though I don’t agree with Roy’s assessment, since Jamie isn’t a prick at his core and it now shows how much more valuable he is as a team player, but I think Jamie’s caution to speak up could relate to Ted.

Specifically to how Jamie was sent away (or: how Jamie thinks that went down) and how he came back.

We know Jamie reacts well to positive reinforcement, so negative reinforcement probably is just as effective (or not "probably" since all his "dad" did was negative reinforcement that clearly left a mark).

And Jamie still doesn’t know why he was sent away so there might be that underlying anxiety of being rejected again when he is too open and honest with his opinions, which makes him wary to voice any opinion that could make him look like he is not a team player or not trying enough to be good (even if he may not be consciously aware of this)

Ted initially rejected Jamie when he asked to return to Richmond.

We don’t know what Ted told him, when he actually gave him a second chance, but we know he told Jamie in their initial conversation that Jamie burnt bridges, which I always figured was odd, since … that wasn’t the reason he got sent away. And what Jamie said in the interview the team watched in 1x10 wasn’t all that mean if you compare it to stuff he said before and the mean stuff was mostly about Ted and Roy specifically, like he even said that the team are all good lads. That never felt like burning bridges to me either.

Add to this that the last thing Jamie did before getting send away was trying to mend things and be a better teammate. He started the whole “Richmond till we die”-chant, ffs, so from Jamie's perspective he had just started to try being better when "Ted dumped him" :'(

That is not burning bridges, Ted!

And Jamie was very vulnerable with Ted when he asked if he could come back, talking about being depressed, bringing up his dad, and still got rejected.

So Jamie would probably think that his behaviour was the reason he got sent away in the first place, so now he tries hard not to give others reasons to reject him again.

And since Jamie always appears to be super confident and self assured, the others may not really be aware of his struggles and that he needs reassurance once in a while. :'(

So,

onto Roy …

I think Roy is still stuck with a lot of assumptions about Jamie based on Jamie’s behaviour in season 1 (like, Jamie being a prick at his core, calling him a fragile little bitch, primadonna etc.), and has a tough time reconciling his assumptions of Jamie with who Jamie actually is at his core. He is slowly making progress in changing his perception, but it feels a lot like he makes one step forward, two steps back, as if he is actively trying to keep a distance lest he catches a feeling.

(To be fair, it took Keeley until the bantr-ad to acknowledge how much Jamie has changed, and the coaches dismissing Jamie’s valid warning about Zava also showed, that they are stuck with at least some of their assumptions.)

But it is super frustrating for me, since we’re over the halfway mark and Roy still hasn’t really made much progress regarding his character development, since every moment of vulnerability or him having some sort of revelation about himself gets immediately followed by him regressing and doing or saying something batshit crazy …

Which is why I’m so torn on the whole string thing — at first it was kinda funny as a practical joke, but it also made me feel uncomfortable since that borderlines on sexual harrasment. And it is really not a good look on Roy rejoicing like some psychopath on the idea that Jamie got accidentally castrated — Roy seemed to be regressing all season, but that was a bit too much for me.

Like, not to get too dark here, but what was Roy thinking? “Ah, Jamie told me like two weeks ago about being raped at fourteen, so I should be absolutely delighted by the possibility of him getting genitally mutilated after I came up with something sadistic for practice” ???

[ihave1braincell]

Okay but why does the “sigma alpha wolf” dude have so much potential for a good OC???

Like, imagine wolf dude actually has schizophrenia, bipolar, psychosis, or some other hallucination inducing disorder???

Me and a friend were joking around. I was pretending to be the alpha wolf guy and she was my “kitten.”

…it ended up progressing to necrophilia and cannibalism. I’m actually here for it, though!

Now making art of this new found character of mine, Jacob 😓😓

—I’m getting into his story. Everything is fairly vague and just a summary of his lore, there’s still murder, gore, running away, delusions, hallucinations, necrophilia, cannibalism, and suicide—

Basically he deemed himself to be a red wolf alpha. He believed it with his whole heart, too. Recently, he found out that the red wolf population was growing after near extinction. He knew his role. He knew (had a delusion) that he was placed with his human parents so his species would be farther from extinction.

Now that red wolves were under protection and were growing… he knew it was him time to go. He ran away from his home, and started making his way to the red wolf reservation in Ohio. (He lives in Organ btw)

He was caught by the police, though. He believed his human girlfriend (“kitten”) was the one who reported him to the police and betrayed him. (He actually has no girlfriend that was another delusion)

When he was safely at home, he almost immediately suck out again. He went to his kitten’s house. (Remember, he has no “kitten.” This is just a poor random woman’s house (her husband was coincidentally away))

What follows next are taken directly from the joke messages between me and my friend:

“‘K-KITTEN??? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?? I THOUGHT WE WERE 4LIFERS!!’

‘WE-‘

‘WE WATCHED SKIBIDI TOILET TOGETHER, SANG THE SONG, DRANK GRIMACE SHAKES TOGETHER, ETC!!’

‘THIS IS NOT FUNNY!!’

*alpha me scratches you and you die*

‘W-WAIT, NO KITTEN!! I DIDNT MEAN TO! WAKE UP!! PLEASE!! NO!!!!! MY OHIO LEVEL THREE GYAT ONE TWO BUCKLE MY SHOE LIGHTSKIN STARE KITTEN!!’

‘NOOOOOOOOOOO!!’

‘IM SO SORRY!!!! WAKE UP, PLEASE!!’

‘… i hurt my kitten, the one i swore to protect no matter the cost. i'm so sorry kitten. daddy loves you.’”

The next message is very long and detailed so I’ll summarize it.

Alpha guy apologizes and kisses kitten “one last time”

Although this was meant to be a goodbye kiss, he can’t seem to stop. He looks at the cut his claws made (stab wound) and then looks at his paws (hands.) It felt so weird. Her blood on him and his fur (small strands of hair) on her body.

They were one… why did he do this? She was his other half, and he just killed her! Maybe… maybe this lust he felt for her dead corpse was his subconscious trying to regain its missing half…

*long story short he fucks the corpse*

He cleaned himself up, wanting to cry but that would be very un-alpha of him. He felt as empty as before. His half still wasn’t with her. Then… he got an idea. A way he could always be with his kitten.

He started slowly eating the corpse. Saying things like “don’t worry, kitten. We’ll be one soon.”

Of course, he threw up barely mid-way through. He tried eating his own vomit back up, then tried to proceed eating, but he just kept throwing up. He also knew that if he waited too long, he would have to take a dump. But at the same time… he was willing to eat his own shit to have his kitten inside him.

He ended up trying that idea, and guess what? He kept throwing up. He was already half-dead from food poisoning, and he finished himself off out of despair.

As he faded away into whatever you think is the aftermath of death, he looked at her face. The thing he was going to eat last. It was a face that wasn’t his kittens.

[vote-gaara]

your by far the best Gaara blog around with the most realistic view imo. Some people take their favorite characters way too serous and think they can do no wrong or they can defeat any opponent or they get really mad about ships they don't like and it's exhausting. its just nice to see you aren't raging every time someone has something bad to say about Gaara and its funny when you agree with them lol. You the true fan

ohhhh anon! Anon! Anon you mentioned the power scalers! Oh no, please forgive me. Anon...I love that you love this blog, but now I gotta rant. I am so sorry.

For real this might be the most malicious opinion I have, but... I can't deal with the power scalers. This is probably because I personally am not super interested in the whole "who is the toughest opponent Gaara could 1v1 without Shukaku, pre Shippuden, post-Naruto, while he stands on one leg and he already has been in 7 other battles in the past 30 minutes and Temari and Kankuro are dead and the moon is full and btw he also doesn't have any sand."

Of course I'm exaggerating, but honestly, power scaling just invites so much room for fighting it's not even funny. It's why sometimes curiosity gets the best of me and I end up on the Naruto subreddit only to slowly back away because there's just....so many power scalers and they're all fighting about the same fights, day in and day out.

And I know. I KNOW this is a Shonen manga...A lot of people are in it for the fights, but I feel like a lot of the nuance and themes of the series are lost on "who can beat who in a fight with just brass knuckles?"

Naruto wouldn't be the series it is without the themes surrounding friendship, love, betrayal, destiny and hard work over natural talent. These are the reasons the characters fight in the first place. Plus, a lot of the canon fights were won because of plot armor or as plot devices. Not to mention Naruto used to be about actual ninjas doing ninja stuff rather than sheer power...Remember when Naruto fooled Kiba in the chunin exams? Blew my freaking mind how brilliant that was!

Anyways... I always see people ranting about the canon fights and it's just so banal to me. For example, "Lee should've beat Gaara in the Chunin Exams."

And that's okay...Fair enough, you could argue that, but like....Where does the rest of the series go, though? HOW DO WE PROGRESS IF LEE WON CAUSE OF POWER SCALING?

You wouldn't get Gaara's hospital scene so you would never really know his motive for why he is the way he is...Then Shukaku would just erupt during the Chunin exams, I guess, and that would be that...No fight between Gaara and Naruto, no redemption. Really there would just be no story at all at that point.

It's like people take character losses as personal slights, which I understand because Deidara will always get two massive thumbs down because of what he did to my boy, but also Gaara's defeat and kidnapping just needed to happen. It demonstrated that the series had high stakes cause Kishimoto could just lampoon my favourite character at any point in time, and I'd be like "that's it, I quit!" only to realize that he's actually ok in the end. Actually, Gaara's defeat made me love him more because I felt more empathy for him that he tried so hard to defend his village only to die in the end, and also because no matter how much he had changed he will always have to deal with the legacy of once being bonded to Shukaku.

It's just feels like a richer experience to have characters fall on their faces and lose sometimes.

And as for Lee losing in the Chunin exams...Man...was that ever a battle because honestly I loved both characters. I didn't want either of them to lose, and I really felt for Lee. Yet, he was better off losing because we got the rest of the story surrounding Gaara, and we got that amazing poetic justice when Gaara comes and saves him from Kimimaru.

Plus, that fight humbled Gaara which is just great, cause he was a lil' brat in the beginning, which is fine cause I loved him anyways.

Thanks for this message...Sorry it literally turned into a raging rant though LOL

[silversoulstardust]

Watch and Rewatch List

Tagged by @mygeekcorner 😘

Taking my time to get to all these tag games because I was waiting to be on my laptop instead of answering on mobile :p

The last quarter of 2022 was quite rough on me and to wade through tough times it’s always comfortable to rewatch stuff instead of watching new ones, but this is good enough, I think. At least I’m making progress on my to-watch lists.

Watching (airing) 

Spy x Family second cour (can you tell, I’m obsessed with Anya? She’s my gremlin child <3)  

Bungo Stray Dogs season 4 (only one episode and I’m already in love with this season because I can see Odasaku again and young Fukuzawa. Also we waited four years for this!!!!!!) 

Blockbusters Netflix (started watching it because of Melissa Fumero but it got boring after a few episodes so I’m watching it slowly)

Watching (complete)

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War (loved the new animation, it was so gorgeous but they could have done better with the OSTs. the first 50 episodes of the original Bleach is still unmatched)

Knives Out: Glass Onion (my blog is slowly morphing into Benoit Blanc stan account)

Wednesday Netflix (I’m so happy they’re getting a second season <3)

Enola Holmes 2 (a bit draggy in the middle but it was alright.)

Rewatching

Community (specifically season 1-4. This is where the show reaches its unhinged peak and idk their messed up found family is everything to me <3)

Stranger Things (hehe you know why)

The Good Place (saw a gifset of Ted Danson having existential crisis and felt like rewatching it)

Upcoming shows/Shows I plan to watch

My Hero Academia (stopped somewhere in the middle of season 4 or 5 I can’t remember, and now the villain arc is almost complete I guess I should catch up)

The Way of Househusband anime on Netflix (the new season just dropped!! I actually don’t like the animation but I have a thing for the VA so I’m sucking it up lol plus it’s funny af)

Alice in Borderland (my friend sent me a screenshot of a shirtless Yamapi. I’m sold.)

Russian Doll season 2 (Natasha Lyonne my love I’m so sorry I haven’t gotten around this yet. I’ve been busy teehee)

Tagging @harrringtons @terraether @punkharringtxn @tinxies @olyollyoxenfree @kaileycheyenne779 @nelotegreitic @imadetheline no pressure <3

[myimaginedcorner]

A TUMBLR STORY: TORN PAGE (p.19)

PREVIOUS RESULT: "You don't mind losing me for less...?" you wondered, prolonging the moment.

A blink of pretty eyelashes stole a second for a startled thought. Then, a punch struck your arm, not hard enough to break away from playfulness.

“Oh, so now you’ve learned how to be funny?” albeit they scoffed, those gleaming gems that Ashna held for eyes bore twinkling sparks of merry. They stole a smile from lips that feigned sobriety, stitching it onto their own soft cherry. “Who would’ve thought…” their next wonder came in whisper, almost not for you to hear. However, that would contradict all logic: all elves had the acute hearing of sharp elven ears.  

“Charisma is unnecessary, but can be quite entertaining,” you admitted.

“Many things can be entertaining, if only we thought of them as such,” chuckling, the creature in front allowed their head to graciously tilt, and soft locks fell over a skin upon which moonlight found its canvas. “We’re awful at enjoying hobbies.”

“Hobbies?” you were unacquainted with such terminology, a slang you would venture to correlate with younger civilisations. Humans, if you had to guess.

“Things one does when they wish to appreciate free time outside their sphere of academic interests,” explained the elf in formal phrasing you so enjoyed in their performance. “It may be related to your field, but more often, it is something completely different.”

“Why would anyone waste time on knowledge useless for their future’s progress?” your arched brow was a sufficient sign of internal puzzlement.

“Because it’s fun and it makes you happy.”

You looked at Ashna. “That’s an awful argument.”

“How so?” in shocking turn, they didn’t settle with your obvious response. Instead, your turn in an improvised debate came scrutinised by the blinding glare of stars made hostage to a material body. Captive in an iris, they threatened to burn you down; your heart faltered, yet you withstood their power.

“You’re using no provable grounds, but a simplified discourse based on emotion. Subjectivity is detrimental to an argued cause, as individual experience is no reliable source to apply definitions onto broader concepts. The matter should’ve been researched, and, if positive effects were associated with a task, then…”

“Then we can put a label to something that already has one from popular use,” concluded the elf for you. “A waste of time.”

You frowned. Their sigh, instead of rightfully vexatious for the interruption, brought you worry. Suddenly, it was all more evident how weak their grip had grown, slowly slipping down your arm. Over the leather that sought to withstand wind, and past the runes that stood in guard against all harm, their silky touch reached your cold fingers, dropping down.

You didn’t let them, catching them on fly, and locking hands around as a chest to store the gentle treasure.

“I thought you were fond of wasting time…?” you asked, watching their confusion, how cheeks of delicate features bloomed in heat at the embarrassing orchestra playing in their chest. They remained quiet; their speech got snatched by an exchange of mesmerising stares, both of you, falling under a bewitching spell unfathomed by mere mortals.

You froze, drawing in your mind a sketch of that radiant moment. You always thought of yourself as shackled to the ground, your chains made of heavy truths that kept you far from weightless dreaming. Yet there you were, oblivious to the entire world, and lost to simple eyes you alone saw gleaming. They were only yours, their warmth, the wicked sparkle that jumped off their iris, illuminated by a smile rivalling sunshine amidst the darkest of the nights. They were a curse you should had long escaped… yet there you stood, completely at their mercy.

A hand landed on your cheek, calling for your surrender. Obedient, you leaned into its soft caress, and felt the stroke than gently ran over your cheekbone.

“Fun ones, like this…” someone’s voice reached you like honey dropping from a cracked pot. Sweet as its melting in your mouth, the sugar of their words awoken your meandering mind to bring some clarity into a fog you loathed to abandon.

You were still there, near the calm shore that washed its waters over muddy sand. Ashna stood by you, watching you wake up, their smile ever so brilliant.

“You’re gorgeous,” they stated once your disposition stabilised. Now was your time to flop eyelashes, startled.

“…Are you trying to escape the conversation?” you wondered, for the first time, uncertain of your own hypothesis.

Ashna laughed. “That, too,” they nodded with a bright grin, letting your hand drop from the lock that tied you both together. “But I’m also stating an ‘objective’ fact, of those you like so much.”

“Facts aren’t to be liked, they help in research…” muttering without a proper thought behind your words, you shook your head, feeling tired. In the enchanting dialogue, you almost had forgotten that you’ve just confronted an abnormal siren.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But my field allows me to be more flexible,” eyes rolled, you’re grabbed once more only to be pulled towards the camp, where two tents stood empty. Three, to be precise, but Laefen’s abode wasn’t even up, as the elf foresaw no rest throughout the night.

Stopping outside your temporary bedroom, your companion gave it a quick glance, all pensive. Then, they turned to you again.

“You should sleep,” they ordered in parody of Amani’s scolding. “Or do I have to make sure that you stay in bed?”