#you know when you meet a cute older guy and someone's trying to kill him

[dudefrommywesterns]

so, your boyfriend (before you meet) gets sent tickets to an aclu fundraising gala, and his secretary tells him to keep them. he meets you and decides to take you. you get dolled up and are excited because no one's ever invited you to a gala before. but when you get there some vengeful white dude in blackface starts shooting up the place and you have to run in new heels.

such is a story my s/i has.

[itsss4t4n]

hi!! could i get headcanons of harry hook x daughter of alice from alice in wonderland? :)

a/n: Okay so i made two versions of this. I started writing more of like an actual story wich is pretty long and then realized that you probably asked for more short relationship headcannons. So this one is the shorter headcannons. I hope you enjoy :))

Trigger warnings: very short mention of bad family dynamics, not proofread, she/her pronouns if used

So here is the longer story version

Harry hook x Daughter of alice in wonderland - headcanons

-Harry would constantly ask you about wonderland and try to compare it to neverland. Its not really similar but he trys anyways.

-knowing about and visiting wonderland quite often made you kind of an 'odd' person but harry loves it. Honestly that man oves anything that is different and weird. He would fit right in with his dramatic and theatrical nature.

-You would mock his accent constantly but you both know that you love it. Especially mixed with his raspy morning voice. Heaven on earth.

-Uma and gil also probably love you. How could they not when harry adores you like does.

-speaking of: he adores you so much. Words of affirmation and physical touch are his love languages. He is always complimenting you and huging you, holding your hands or just standing/ sitting as close to you as he can. 

-He knows how you love it when he tilts up ypur chin with the tip of his hook, and he fully uses it to his advantage.

-steaing his hook to annoy him or as 'blackmail'

-he would be so nervous to meet your family but they pretty much love him immediately.

-he finally has a family that cares about him and that he can feel safe in (other than his friends obv.) because lord knows his own family was awful. Except maybe harriet. Speaking of she is the only part of his family you actually got to meet. She loves you but would still give you the older sibling talk 'if you hurt him i will kill you', etc. etc.. But Harriet is incedibly happy that harry has found someone that loves him as much as you do.

-Honestly you would just be such a cute couple. 

-but also one that can cause trouble. A lot. You are not against some rulebreaking if its fun. you never were. And with harry its always fun.

-Now... on a sidenote: THAT MAN IS AN AWESOME KISSER! LIKE FR. 

-anyways.. you guys are perfect together. Accepting each other with all your flaws. 

-true love <3

[ashwhowrites]

Hi can I have a Jonathan x female reader, Jonathan gets invited to the gangs new year’s party, he feels awkward as it’s his first time seeing Nancy since they broke up. But he meets the reader and they instantly falls in love but are both too shy to say anything so Argyle becomes Jonathan’s wingman. Just something cute and funny :)

I adore Jonathan 🫶🏻 I hope this is what you wanted and you enjoy it. Happy new year! 🥳

New Year, New love

Steve and Robin wanted to throw a New Year party in their new apartment. They invited everyone in the gang and some friends of the gang. Jonathan got to bring Argyle, which he was thankful for because he didn't want to be the loser older brother who had to hang out with Will all night.

Jonathan was still awkward with Steve because of Nancy. And well, Nancy and Jonathan broke up and it was always awkward to be around an ex. Jonathan broke up with Nancy and even though she took it well, he felt a lot of distance between them.

Jonathan and Argyle were smoking on the balcony, another thing Jonathan loved doing with a friend. They finished off their second joint, and Jonathan already felt the buzzing in his body. They walked into the party, laughing to themselves.

"There they are!" Steve said, his arm wrapped around a girl. Jonathan wasn't sure if he was choking on the smoke in his lungs or over the fact this girl was gorgeous.

"This is Jonathan and Argyle. Jonathan is Will's older brother. Guys, this is Y/N. She's a coworker with Robin and I." Steve said. Y/N stuck out her hand, both boys took turns shaking it.

"You are beautiful, sweetheart," Argyle said, a dopey smile on his face as he pressed his lips against her hand. She laughed and thanked him, but her eyes kept glancing towards Jonathan.

Steve and Y/N walked off, as Steve showed her around the apartment. Jonathan felt like he was holding his breath. Finally letting out a big sigh with a "Wow"

"Dude I know. She fine as hell." Argyle said, his eyes half open as he nodded his head. "I think she liked what she saw." He joked, nudging Jonathan's arm.

"What? Me?" Jonathan scoffed. He shook his head. There was no way she was into him. She was probably into Steve and his charm.

"Dude! I had my lips on her hand and she was looking right at you. She shook your hand longer and kept staring at you. She's into you." Argyle explained.

"I don't know how to talk to girls...or anyone," Jonathan said, his eyes on her frame as she walked back into the living room.

"Shit, I so got you man. I might be a pizza man, but I know how to be a wingman too." Argyle said, cracking his neck for exaggeration as he walked over to Y/N. Jonathan panicked and followed behind. He planned to stop Argyle but he was already talking.

"New years, huh? Such a couple of holidays, but I see you are here without someone. Got a boyfriend that's coming over?" Jonathan wanted to smack himself in the head and hide. Argyle wasn't subtle at all.

"Haha no, I'm single." She awkwardly laughed, yet the sound made Jonathan's heart race.

"What about you...guys?" She asked, her eyes once again on Jonathan as she finished the question.

"Single as ever, and my boy here is single and so ready to mingle," Argyle said, throwing his arm over Jonathan proudly. And god Jonathan wanted to kill himself. He wasn't sure if it was worse or better to look back at her.

"Good to know." She said with a small smile. Her attention was captured by Steve as he waved her over.

"Nice to meet you, again." She said and walked off.

"Well if Steve is going to be a cockblock, he must be removed," Argyle said with a glare.

~~~

It was nearly eleven, everyone surrounded a random board game. The group was split into two teams, Jonathan couldn't help but blush when he was put on Y/N's team. And the way he had goosebumps when she sat next to him and grazed him when she shuffled around.

By 11:30, the game was half ignored by everyone, excited Dustin and Eddie who were going head to head. Jonathan kept trying to come up with something to talk about. Argyle kept mouthing words across the room and he could barely understand them.

"Movies." Argyle mouthed, pointing towards the TV.

"Moo?" Jonathan mouthed back, and Argyle looked at him like he was an idiot.

"M-o-v-i-e-s. She works at a movie store!" Argyle started mouthing but harshly whispered at the end.

"MOVIES!" Jonathan yelled once he caught on, the group looked at him confused and Y/N jumped as he screamed it in his ear. He felt his skin heat up as he coughed.

"Um I mean, movies. You work at a video store, do you have a favorite genre?" Jonathan asked. He saw her eyes light up as she answered the question right away.

Jonathan couldn't help but stare as she talked and talked. She was very passionate about her favorite movies, and he knew that job was perfect for her. She knew everything about almost every movie.

"How about you?" She asked back.

Jonathan was back at square one, he barely watched movies or even TV. He sat in his room with music and comics.

"Um, I don't watch movies too much." He shrugged, he felt a frown on his face as she deflated a bit. "But! You work at a video store, maybe you can point out the good ones?" He tried.

She lit up again and nodded her head. "I'd love to have you around!" She said he could tell she didn't mean to quite say that. and Jonathan felt himself smile. "at the store I mean! Good company during work." She said, her eyes wide as she tried to cover herself.

"I'd love to be around you," he said, "for company and stuff." He added as a tease with a small wink. She giggled and shuffled closer, and Jonathan couldn't believe it was working. He looked up shocked to Argyle, who stood there with a smirk and nod.

~~~

"1 MINUTE TO NEW YEARS!" Eddie yelled, drunk, at the TV. The ball drop countdown began and the group cheered.

Jonathan finished off his cup, setting it aside. He took a deep breath and looked over at Y/N. Her eyes locked on the TV as the countdown ticked closer to the end. Jonathan knew he was going to go for it. The weed and alcohol in his body as he rested his hand on her thigh. The touch made her turn her head to look at him.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" the group screamed as the ball dropped.

And Jonathan's lips pressed against Y/N's. Her eyes were open as she felt the shock take over her body. But then she closed her eyes, cupped his cheek, and kissed him back.

"I did that," Argyle said, a proud smile on his face as the two ignored everyone around them.

[troubleluli]

Busted

Summary: During summer Y/N Henderson and Steve Harrington start dating while Dustin was at the camp, they’re thinking about how to tell him when he runs into them and freaks out.

Type: Fluffy and a bit of angst (maybe, idk)

Warnings: Cursing.

Note¹: this is the first time ever I’m writing so be nice pls 

Note²: also english it’s not my first language so be nice (again) pls

Word count: 1.2k

(not my gif)

During the hunt for dart Y/N Henderson and Steve Harrington became friends, they couldn’t stand staying near to each other before and now they’re kicking some demodogs ass. Well, life is weird. Hawkins is weird. When everything ended, Dustin and Steve still hung out together and you were dragged with them. You didn’t complain though you like to spend time with your brother and you wouldn’t admit but like Steve’s company.

When your brother heads to his summer camp you decide to keep hanging out with Steve and without your brother every meeting looks like a date till you guys make it official. Is cool dating Steve, he was not an ass anymore and he’s also a dork which made you laugh a lot, you love it. 

As summer was on Steve got himself a job that you loved. You can get free ice cream whenever you’re there, he just can't deny it to you. Meanwhile Steve's wearing a really cute and funny sailor uniform that he proclaims every 2 seconds he hates. So now is just one of those days that you spend at Scoops Ahoy at the back enjoying your ice cream while chatting with your boyfriend.

“So Dustin is coming home soon and I don't want him to know about us yet, don't get me wrong, but I know my brother and even though you're his best friend he still gonna want to kill you.” Steve's eyes widen after you said your brother might want to kill him, you chuckle but calm him down “he loves you babe, everyone knows that but I’m still his older sister and he feels he needs to protect me. He’ll probably just try to threaten you for a while, then he’ll be supportive and plan our wedding.” you giggle at the end of your sentence because you know that's not a lie, Dustin probably will want to plan your wedding.

Steve relax with that and kisses you, you guys start making out at the back of Scoops Ahoy while Robin covers Steve for a few minutes but then someone bust out the door, you jump a little and Steve was ready to tell Robin fuck off for a few more minutes but another voice come out.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK.”

“You gotta be kidding me, my fucking sister Steve, MY SISTER, she’s off limits. You knew. I told you.” Dustin looks like he’s gonna explode, this is not how you want your brother to find out about it. Actually, Dustin seeing you and Steve making out was something you wish he would never see.

“Hey, relax Henderson, let’s talk.” Steve tries to calm him down. 

“NO. Y/N let’s go home” Dustin says sharply.

“Dusty, c’mon, don’t need to act like that.” You plead for your brother “and when you came back? you didn’t tell me that you’re coming home now” you’re confused, your little brother is back after a whole month at a camp and he didn’t go for you.

“Yesterday.” He sighs, “mom told me you’re sleeping over so I decided I wanted to surprise you.” He points to you, looking a little sad “but then I came here expecting to see my best friend and he is sucking my sisters’ face” now pointing to Steve and his anger is back.

“Bro, I wasn’t sucking your sister's face,” Steve simpered “we’re just making out.” You slap your boyfriend’s arm muting a “not helping.”

“I don’t care, let’s go Y/N.” He starts to walk off but you drag him back, setting him down at the other side of the room and blocking the door.

“You’re not going. We’re not going.” You sigh, letting your head fall back a little, shutting your eyes, then you look at your boyfriend with pleading eyes, almost like you're crying for help. “Look, after you went to that camp Steve and I keep seeing each other, and without you here, we um… we realize we like each other more than just friends.” You shrug, not really knowing how to tell your brother about it.

“Yeah, we really like each other buddy.” Steve says camly, trying not to piss Dustin off even more. “I know you said I shouldn’t hit on your sister, but she’s amazing. It’s kinda hard not to fall in love with her.” He smiles and looks at you lovely, you can’t help but smile back. 

“Okay, cut that bullshit,” Dustin says firmly. You stare blankly at your brother. He's really enraged. “How long has this been happening?” 

“Almost a month,” Steve answered quietly.

“OH MY-” his jaw drops a little “you guys started dating almost as soon as I left. What a best friend and what a sister I have” Dustin says letting his arms fall next to him, he is overreacting.

You don’t know what to say anymore. Your brother is hurt, you see that but didn’t plan to make him furious, you thought he would just freak out a little, intimidate Steve and then be happy about you guys. But he can’t snap out of the “freak out phase” and it’s beginning to get on your nerves.

“SHUT UP DUSTIN!” You yell. He and Steve stare blankly at you, definitely not expecting you to lose it. “Look, I get that you’re upset about it. We didn’t tell you ‘cause you’re away having fun at the camp, so it didn't seem the right time to tell you.” Your brother looks more relaxed now and you keep going, “Steve and I wanted to tell you, we’re just talking about it before you walk in.” You take a deep breath before continuing, “we really like each other, he makes me happy and I know you want to see me happy. I enjoy spending time with him. He's gentle with me and funny and I really love him. So if you're afraid that he’s gonna break my heart you’re totally allowed to kick his ass.” You grin, Steve eyes widened and he interferes, “hey, hey, hey, no one's gonna kick my ass because I’m not going to break your heart baby.” He kisses your cheek.

You flush a little and clean your throat, “So, as I was saying, if you’re also afraid that you’re gonna spend less time with us, don’t. We’re a team. We’re not gonna split. Never.” You say with a warm smile to comfort your brother and he sends you a toothless smile.

Dustin hugs you and looks deadly to Steve. “You know, break her heart and I’ll break you.” And the threat is here. Steve holds his hands up like he's surrendering. “Not gonna happen.” He winks at you and you giggle.

Dustin sighs, “I have a few things to say.” He starts. “First of all, no kissing when I’m around. Second, don’t flirt or say/do gross things when I'm here.” You nodded, he’s not asking for anything absurd, “yeah, whatever.” Steve says deadpan and you glare at him.

“Fine Dusty.” You sound kinda annoyed and can’t help but grin at it. It's cute to see your brother acting like that. 

Dustin cracks his hands, “but let's get to business.” He makes a dramatic pause glancing between you and Steve. “I intercepted a secret russian communication.” 

[cookieswithay]

"The happy feelings club!"

🧡Ichigo x Orihime🧡 Ichihime fic

💝Episode 1: The gingers meet!

°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•

• Ichigo's pov!

• "Don't let it happen again, Kurosaki."

• "Yeah, yeah. It won't."

• Once again, I'm leaving the principal's office. But at least I got sent for actual reason this time.

• Hi there, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Near straight A student. I got 2 sisters and 1 insane dad. And I'm a natural carrot top. You'd think with my high grades and all, teachers wouldn't pay me any mind. But no. I'm on everyone's radar. The color orange means trouble. Everyone picks a fight. But, I know how to win this messed up game...most of the time.

• "Did you hear? That guy punched someone."

• "No way, that's horrible."

• "Whispers" aren't anything new, but this rumor has truth in it. (Although those girls could at least TRY to be quiet) The "guy" I punched, was some loser who thought he could get handsy with the girls in my class. I don't know them very well, but I'm not a fan of hearing my classmates scream. So I took care of him. Nice and quick.

• (Tatsuki wanted to kill him, so I just took the fall.)

• "Oh no,"

• One of the girls griped.

• "Here comes that orange haired girl again."

• Orange haired girl? This cruddy school has one? Since when? I turned around and sure enough, there's a carrot top! She's running down the hall...towards me. I...should run, but... My feet feel stuck to the ground. She screeches to a halt and fell to her knees panting. So...she shouldn't of ran that fast. A few minutes passed and she's still wheezing. Damn, is she okay?

• "Um, are you okay?"

🧡

• Orihime's pov

• My lungs...are burning! But...I wanna...pass...these out! My name is Orihime Inoue! I have a busy older brother and I'm new to this school! I also like "weird combinations" of food. (Sweet treats ramen is so tasty!) And last but not least, I'm in charge of the happy feelings club! A blissful hour of doing your favorite things at school! All I need to do is get 3 more members and we can stay afloat. Hence my constant flyer passing! Like right now. But, I REALLY need to...catch...my breath. This tall guy...looks real nice.

• "Should I get the nurse...?"

• (Ichigo said that) Ah! Not the nurse again! I'll get scolded! I shot up. And I was face to face with a...with a...super cute boy. His hair is orange too...And...he probably has girlfriend! Don't wanna get my hopes up for nothing! I scrambled to my feet. I'm not dirty, am I?

• "Hi!"

• I said, flashing my persuasion smile. (It always works!)

• "I'm Orihime Inoue and I run the happy feelings club!"

• The cutie noodle looked confused. But, that's okay. It's a new club, so of course he never heard of it. This is what flyers are for! I pulled one from my backpack.

• "The details are on here."

• I gave it to him, nearly touching his long fingers. He's reading in his head. ...Why am I so NERVOUS!? He's reading the flyer! Not looking at me! Should I run!? Hide? Pass out!?

• "Ah-em."

• Huh?

• "Yes?"

• Did I say that too fast? He had on a half smile.

• "The meetings are after-school on fridays and wednesdays, right?"

• I nodded. My favorite days of the week.

• "Good, I'll be there."

• Oh..my...gosh! A new member! After two weeks of demanding nicely, someone finally joined-

🧡

• Ichigo's pov

• Out of nowhere, Orihime fell into my chest. It hurt but...some softer things touched me too. ...Holy crap! What do I do? Move her? Ask if she's okay? What am I saying, of course I check if she's alright! ...Um. Where to tap? I don't wanna make her uncomfortable or anything. Suddenly, she popped up and...looks raring to go like she didn't just fall? What is this girl?

• I was gonna actually ask that, but someone caught my eye. It was that one black haired chick with the fuchsia eyes. She's snickering with her tomboy friend. (Menoly, she goes to Tatsuki's boxing class.) Why...is that ticking me off? ...Whatever, whatever. Back to Orihime.

• "Orihime-"

• I paused. She looked...hateful and she was gripping her hair. And that's kinda hot. Not angry, but not fully sad either. But, what's the hair clutching about. ...I get it! Those two owe her money. Of course. I would be furrowing my brow too if I was in this situation. Man, people are so cheap nowadays.

• "Ah-em."

• I looked down straight into Orihime's big brown eyes. Shit, she's pretty. She looked down at a hip and back up at me. Ah! I haven't let her go! I stumbled back, muttering a apology. Damn, I'm bad at this.

• "So, I'll see you after school?"

• I said somewhat cooly. She nodded, with the biggest smile on her face. I couldn't help but laugh. Seriously, what is this girl? I just felt like ass a minute ago and now I feel like I won the lottery.

• Rinnnnng!

• That's the bell. Here dies my good mood. I looked back at Orihime.

• "Um, bye."

• I couldn't of said anything smoother than that!?

• "Bye!"

• "See you after school!"

• I waved and watched her skip off to whatever class she's in. Huh, I'm actually looking forward to the club thing.

🧡

• A few hours later

🧡

• Orihime's pov

• "So, tell me more about this hunk you met."

• Um...I did, did I say hunk? He's just really, really handsome is all. I pulled some games out of the cabinet.

• "He was really just nice, Rangiku."

• (Rangiku is one of my favorite upper classmen. She's nice and taught me how to get on Mr. Hitsugaya's good side! He gives out snacks! And she has a thing for Sora. She said she's gonna get serious soon.)

• "Men are nice,"

• She said, leaning on the table.

• "But they all have little quirks and one of your mystery man's caught your eye."

• She...got me there. I really like his hair...and his face. Plus his voice too. She opened her arms up.

• "Come here, tell me all about it."

• I sighed and laid in her squishy embrace. This is probably my favorite thing about Rangiku. She so soft! I could almost...fall asleep on her... Suddenly, I felt hands on my sides. Oh no. She's gonna tickle me again!

• "Don't fall asleep on me now, Orihime~!"

• "I wanna hear all about your little crush."

• Eeeek! I don't wanna pee! Again.

• "Rangiku, stop it!"

• I said through laughs. My uniforms gonna get all crinkly! I tried to push her away, but she laid me on the table!

• "Wow, your skin is so smooth. What lotion do you use?"

• The answer is Cloudy delight moisturizer, but I can't breathe from too much laughter! Suddenly, she stops. Thank goodness. My bladder couldn't take too much more.

• "Oh shit..."

• She mumbled. Wait? What's wrong? I grabbed onto Rangiku's arm, pulling myself up. Is it a teacher? It was just tickling-

• It's the cute guy from earlier in the door way.

• (And two guys I ran into at lunch.)

🧡

• Ichigo's pov

• I'm sure my face is beet red. But, I mean, come on! It's my first seeing two girls ontop of one another. (I'm not a adult film kinda guy) My hand shook on the doorknob.

• "Um...is this a bad time-"

• Suddenly, Keigo's hand was on my mouth.

• "Shut up, Ichigo! This is a once in a lifetime moment!"

• "Don't mess this up!"

• He shouted, while yanking me down. What the f-!? Mizuro put his hand over my mouth too.

• "Please ladies, continue,"

• "We don't mind."

• The older girl snickered.

• "Well, I guess we could do a little a something."

• She said, while tugging on her shirt. Orihime squeaked from under her. She looked just as embarrassed as me. That's it. This ends now. I bit down on one of Keigo's finger.

• "Ouch!"

• I shot up.

• "Knock it off!"

• I snapped. Man, this is a bad look for me. I'm flushed. Probably sweating now. And I had yet another "loud outburst". (Counseling stuff, don't ask.) Orihime's gonna think I'm crazy. The blonde burst into laughter.

• "Easy, easy, kiddo,"

• She crawled off the table. And Orihime.

• "I already have a guy I'm into, so calm down."

• She must a upperclassmen. No one my age would talk down to me like that. She strolled over, sizing me up. ...What's happening right now? She reached out and...patted my head?

• "No wonder a certain somebody likes you!"

• "You're adorable."

• What the- I am not adorable. I pushed her hand away.

• "Who're you anyway?"

• Yeah, I'm done being polite.

🧡

• Orihime's pov

• "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto. The prettiest 3rd year."

• As she introduced herself, I sat up and fixed my clothes. (My underwear wasn't out, was it!?) That was embarrassing. Hopefully mr. unknown doesn't think I'm in love with Rangiku or something. Or a creepy pervert. I'm being crazy. If he ask, I'll explain. Easy peasy.

• "Okay, okay, I'm sorry for intruding,"

• I turned around. She's gonna leave!?

• "You two have fun,"

• Fun? (Why'd she say it like that!?)

• "And you two are gonna clean up with me!"

• The brown haired guy looked horrified.

• "You're a total hottie, but-"

• Rangiku snatched him by collar and pulled threw the door. He was screaming alot. (The other guy followed with no complaints.)

• "Bye bye, you too~!"

• She shut the door, leaving us in quietness.

• "I'm sorry about my friends."

• ...He's apologizing too?

• "No, no, it's my fault!"

• "Rangiku probably freaked you out."

• He turned red and shook his head.

• "It's fine, really."

• I nodded. And hello the crushing quietness. I looked around. What could we do? What's screams 'welcome new member'? Bingo! I grabbed the kitty notebooks.

• "Wanna draw cats with me?"

• He looked surprised, but smiled.

• "Why not?"

• Alright! Perfect time for my new scented markers! (Hopefully, they actually smell like their names.) I spread them out on the table and passed him a notebook. This is gonna be great! I'm great at drawing kitties!

🧡

• Ichigo's pov

• This takes me back. The markers. Cats. And the breeze outside. When I was younger and my sisters were like 4, my old man went out. (I dunno if it was shopping or doctor stuff.) But, he was taking awhile, so that freaked them out. And I remember pulling out my school books and markers. We drew for what felt hours. Needless to say, we had alot to show to dad. Heh, feels like forever ago. Although, I'm not any better at it. They still look like malnourished stick cats. Poor things.

• I looked over at Orihime. She was laser focused. I wanted to peek at her drawing but...I got lost. The afternoon sun made her look great. Ah, what am I doing!? I'm s'posed to be drawing right now. Suddenly, she shot up. I flinched. (Did she notice me?) She turned to me.

• "Do you hear that?"

• "Hear what?"

• I said way too casually.

• "Just listen."

• She whispered. So I did. ...What're we listening in for?

• Mew.

• Orihime grabbed my face and pointed towards the window.

• "It's there!"

• I pried her hands off and walked towards the window. What the- It's a frickin cat in the tree. (Cliché much?)

• But, how'd it get up HERE of all places? We're on the third floor!? Orihime popped out from under my arm.

• "I think I can grab it from here."

• What!? She tugged me back and lifted her leg on the windowsill. Hiking her skirt up with it. Oh hell no. I gripped her waist.

• "Orihime!"

• She turned around, looking genuinely confused. I snatched my hands back.

• "Lemme get the cat."

• Good excuse!

• "I'm taller."

• She nodded, and got back in. We swapped places.

🧡

• Orihime's pov

• "Let's make a plan."

• The mysterious prince said. He turned around, towering over me. Oh my...

• "I'll get the cat and you grab a teacher, okay?"

• "Okay!"

• I can do that!

• (I needed to give Mr. Kyõraku a assignment anyway)

• He smiled and stretched his long legs out the window. That's my cue to run like a track star!

• "Good luck!"

• I shouted and ran out the room. Just like earlier, I'm running down the hall. I'm hearing alot of not nice comments as I do, but I can't stop now. For the kitten's sake!

• A little more running later...

• "Mr. Shunsui!"

• He jumped and sat up straight. I slammed my hands on his desk.

• "I found a...a cat...I need...we..."

• I gotta...catch my breath! Just all the other times, I come in here, he chuckled.

• "Slow down, miss Inoue."

• He patted my head. (I'm kinda wheezing on his desk.)

• "I'm not going anywhere."

• My lungs are on FIRE, but...that guy probably has the cat already. And it could be hungry. I took a breath.

• "Me and this guy found a cat in a tree!"

• "A cat?"

• I nodded quickly.

• "On the 3rd floor too!"

• Mr. Shunsui stood and tugged his hair.

• "Oh boy."

• "Let's go find the kitty."

🧡

• Ichigo's pov

• This cat is putting up a fight. I know it's scared and all, but I seriously not being threatening. I'm even smiling! (That's what's scaring it, my guy) And what's really irritating is, I almost got it. I can literally poke it with my finger. But, I'm almost out the window. If I loose my footing, I'm dead.

• "Come here..."

• The cat meowed and hugged the branch tighter. Dammit...I got it! It's afraid to fall! Just like me. I can do this. I saved one of Karin's friend before. Still shaking like crazy, I lowered my hands.

• "Fall right here,"

• I said, in my softest voice.

• "You're gonna be okay..."

• Slowly, the cat began to relax. (Although It looked at me with a oddly expressive face as like it was trying to call bull shit.) After a little time, it fell into my hands. It's a tad heavy, but it's nothing I can't handle.

• Suddenly, my foot slipped.

• Am I falling out the window!?

• Yes I am.

• Everything moved extremely fast. I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die-!

• "Ichigo!"

• My leg was caught. I looked up.

• "Orihime?"

• (She knows my name?😳) She smiled.

• "You're gonna be okay!"

• A much bigger hand grabbed my other leg. I shivered. Which teacher did she bring!?

• "I gotcha kid."

• Ohh, it's Mr. Shunsui. (Glad she didn't get crazy Coach Zaraki)

• After a little pulling and touching places, I hoped no man would. I was back inside.

• But, without the cat. When did I drop it!

🧡

• Orihime's pov

• "Ichigo, what's wrong-"

• The cat.

• "Eeek! Where's the cat!?"

• We both pushed Mr. Shunsui out of the way and looked out the window. Where is it!? Where is it!? (I hope I'm not saying this outloud.)

• "There it is!"

• Ichigo shouted, pointing down. I hopped on his arm, getting a closer look. Down below, I saw a dark skinned guy with wavy hair. He had the kitty in his hands. (The poor thing was trembling) Have I met him before? He looked up at us.

• "Is this yours?"

• He called up. I shook my head.

• "I wish, but he's a stray we found in the tree!"

• I shouted back. I'm sure I know who he is. Mr. Shunsui scooted me over.

• "Son, could you be a dear and bring that cat up here?"

• He nodded and walked off. So did my teacher. I looked over at Ichigo. He was panting and sweating He looked my way and raised his hand.

• "Good job, we saved a cat."

• Oh, we're gonna high five. I only put my hand on his. I'm too tired to actually slap it.

• "Good job."

• I wheezed. He chuckled and looked back at the sunset. A light wind blew by. ...I'm so thankful for golden hour.

• "So, can I become a member?"

• Huh?

• "Of course!"

• "This is the most fun I had in weeks!"

• He looked over at me.

• "And cause your a nice guy!"

• I don't want him to think he's just a source of entertainment or anything. Ichigo stuck out his hand.

• "Agreed?"

• I smiled.

• "Agreed!"

• We shook hands.

• "Welcome to the happy feelings club."

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

• "Orihime,''

• (We're putting the stuff away.)

• "Yeah?"

• "How come you suddenly know my name?"

• I know I forgot to tell her about it. She thought for a moment.

• "The cat you drew earlier!"

• "You signed it."

• Ah, she saw it!?

• "That's great."

• I said with a fake smile. She nodded.

• "It's going on your nametag!"

• Huh!?

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

This was so long! But, y'know what, first episodes are always long. (And I may of done it on my tablet) Anyway, I really like this one. I can't wait for the next episode. Stay cool!

Little tag list: @elyonholic @o0o0thorn0o0o @ichihimelover1503 @takibikaen @usoppsstar

[nights-at-crystarium]

Fragments - episodes 23-26 author notes

You can find similar breakdown posts on older episodes in my pinned!

Obligatory ShB spoiler warning.

The general status quo hasn't changed since Vivi's arrival to the First: he still doesn't feel any land under his feet, Exarch still doesn't inspire trust, although there's no reason to distrust him either. Vivi isn't in a rush to meet the Scions because usually their perspectives don't help him at all. Hence he fucks around in the Crystarium instead of doing the msq.

You can hear the sound of Exarch failing the dating sim once again.

Talking about a mystel. Bumping into a mystel. They could get run over by a stampede of cats at this point and Vivi would still think this guy's probably a hume. He genuinely has No Idea. Had he had an idea, he would be actually more tactful. Maybe.

Me: no graphic violence Also me: murder onscreen

I hope the reference to episode 11 is clear, but here's a refresher: that's what ARRRaha is mostly remembered as. For multiple reasons. Mostly for magically killing himself and giving Vivi some mild stress and an even milder blow to his ego.

Exarch's fate was to choke on his coffee there and then, he kept his composure by a miracle no less. Vivi doesn't know the meaning of what he just blurted out, he simply rolls the letters in his mouth, still struggling to remember "G'raha".

HE MANAGED! The embodiment of intelligence.

Vivi reflects on the events of previous episodes and the dangers of the fae folk, and decides to do a massive handwave at that. He's walking a fine line, but he legit doesn't care.

Canon emoji user 🖤

Exarch has a hate-hate relationship with sleep, however, when he feels like unwinding or resetting his mind, he turns to memories of moments when he felt safe enough to drift away.

He must've felt the most warm and human when the young Lyna stayed with him all the time.

I sat on this self-contained story for a year. Officially the most wholesome episode ever. There's a bit of One Piece influence, if you remember Nami's backstory. Gen-san wore a pinwheel on his cap to appear less scary to the little Nami, and cheer her up.

Someone read this as "crap glue", which brings me infinitely more joy than my original "craft glue" x'D

There's a super subtle smile. He knows. He probably sensed Lyna approaching him, but remained still to see where this goes.

Back to the present, where they refer to each other by titles.

He's g'oogling.

G'oogle results: 1 fae, 1 slacking idiot.

Exarch isn't just jealous or yearning, he's also kindaaaaa in the middle of his grand plan, yet his hero isn't keen of jumping into action? And he doesn't know how to confront him about that. Luckily, Urianger also happens to be in Il Mheg.

Vivi smacks a like on Urianger's outfit. Rated S for peak sluttiness.

Nobody talks about Feo Ul's snot bubble so I will x'D

Urianger doesn't wanna leave his comfy place for an adventure, he visually demonstrates that while telling a polite lie, trusting Vivi to interpret that as intended.

They have a special vibe of quiet, maskless understanding, even if they don't interact much. They've got nothing to butt heads over. Vivi's fond of people who don't "fit in" and go against the grain. Being smart and observant as he is, Urianger knows that Vivi's rather hopeless, and doesn't waste his energy on trying to debate, direct, or, gods forbid, fix him.

Just a closeup because he looks cute here :> To keep your expectations grounded, though: this's one of the veeeeeery few Urianger episodes. He has little overall "screentime". This comic isn't trying to be a fanservice for every character, even if I personally like them. Gotta keep things focused.

This one's kinda important: Vivi acknowledges how nice and quiet it feels (in the moment? In Il Mheg? On the First?), but the realization doesn't fully bloom in his mind yet.

"Mmyeah there are definitely better cracks to ponder out there".

Another closeup because *clutches at heart*

Two things: his own, genuine excitement to reunite with fren, followed by self-reminder that she's no fren and that he has to maintain distance (Vivi who are you trying to fool you're bad at this).

Also mirroring. He sees Alisaie's face and drops his own.

You peek inside Alisaie's brain and find a coin loudly rolling around, one side says "omg it's HIM!!!!!", the other "beat this mf up". Why? Because she can. And probably because the word of Vivi's arrival had already reached her. He spent a good week doing nothing in the Crystarium (and even Il Mheg) instead of rushing to meet her.

The new tumblr post editor (that wasn't forced on me until ~2 months ago) won't let me add anymore pics. I was thinking of making meatier but less frequent posts of this type, because they'll massively add up over time. Imagine a new reader looking at 300 episodes and 100 recaps. I'd feel overwhelmed. But I guess I'm left with no choice but to keep these recaps relatively short and frequent.

Anyway! Thanks for reading!!!!! I'm blessed to have people invested enough to interact with my work on this level.

[truly-morgan]

[The way of the househusband AU]

XiCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 28-12-2021

[the way of the househusband, but make it #xicheng >:3]

Where Lan Xichen was high in the Lan triads, powerful and feared, gaining the name of Zewu-jun. The last story about Zewu-jun was how he beat up many people from rival groups before just... disappearing!

stories of him being killed, sent to jail or moving to another country are travelling around while no one in the Lan group will confirm anything.

But lxc isn't dead, far from it.

He is playing house husband for a hard-working salaryman He fell head over heels for the beautiful Jiang Cheng the very moment he saw him, taking his nephew out as a reward for being a good boy.

Cue a scary, but polite, man trying to seduce the tired uncle.

Jc is a bit unsure at first, but quickly finds the man intriguing and nice.

Wanting to be with jc without pulling him into a world he doesn't belong in is what caused him to want to get out of it.

Some wouldn't believe that the great Zewu-jun was now a house husband, cooking diligently for his husband, taking care of the house, loving two little boys after another one joined the weird family.

jc and the boys even got used to how weirdly lxc could speak sometimes as if he was talking about criminal activities. but this makes him endearing to jc, who finds it funnier than anything when he knows what he's talking about. The boys sure seem to be amused too.

lxc: then you cut it into little pieces, stuff it into the little bag and dump it into hot what, then the job is nearly done

oyz parent: *looks concerned*

oyz: mister lan xiao long bao are the best!!

ljy: of course, my baba's cooking is the best😤

teacher 1: Who is this scary-looking guy? Should we call the cops?

teacher 2: I don't know, I think we-

ljy: baba!!😮☺️

jl: shushu came to get us?

lxc: the boss is doing overtime 😔 but like this, we can surprise him with a good dinner, will you help me 🤭🤫

kids: yay!!

yes, I've finally started reading the 6 volume of the way of the house husband I bought this semester, and I just thought lxc could work well too 🤭 although we just gotta imagine that himbo looking scary to other people smh

also OF COURSE lxc has a cute apron with a bunny on it that the big boss (aka a-cheng) gifted him soon after they moved in together, he takes great care of it and always uses it

oh and of course all the older ladies on the street also love lxc because they find him funny and love seeing a good husband working so hard for his family. also, they love sharing tips with someone who needs it and gossiping around 🤭

I really wanna draw this now 🤭 maybe if my hands don't hurt too much once I get back from work I'll try drawing this little family adding some more for 3zun: jgy was in the triad because of jgs, taking his step-brother (jzx) path of quitting, especially after lxc just decided to quit they meet again when jgy comes by to see how jl is doing with jc, having heard that he had found someone to live with (and want to make sure that person would be safe for little a-ling).

what a surprise than to find back an old friend because of a-cheng ☺️

nmj is either still in the triads or the nie clan got disbanded after his father died and some other gang used that to attack. maybe NHS saw how it affected his family too much and left it happen (they are much happier now anyway)

maybe they meet again by "accident" when nmj "happens to be passing by the neighbourhood" (totally not jgy telling him where Zewu-jun was and him wanting to make sure he was alive and well)

nmj 100% approves of jc after seeing how he treats lxc with all the love and cares in the world.

Original

[clitfisto]

next time you get bored u should answer this ask to talk about your Eric and Morbius ^_^ i love Blade so much so i’m interested in what you have planned so far

hiiiiiiiiiii im procrastinating lol. anyway so you know how this is a hall of mirrors ass story and everybody parallels everybody? yea

sooo eric is the biggest and clearest foil to morgan bc they have.. so much in common. not quite a vampire. trying to atone for times they lost control and killed human people. badass vamp-killing machines. many such cases but the Differences are the funky bit bc on one hand morgan had a like. half-decent upbringing with parents and a house and everything, hes far from stable but the idea of emotional vulnerability isnt totally alien to him. Eric was a very lonely child in a terrible life-threatening situation who grew up into a very lonely adult in a slightly less terrible life-threatening situation.

to be clear eric does have people in his life! its just that theres only 2 of them. he got adopted by his cool butch biker mom whistler as a young teen and theyve been doing the vampire slaying thing ever since, and a few years ago they picked up a hematologist called karen jensen who fell into the "older sister" role. (okay yes like 80% of the blade-related plot was pulled straight from Blade (1998) but ignore that im doing some funky shit with it. okay.) she says shes an uninvolved civilian who provides medical aid since she owes eric a life debt, but this is a lie. shes In the shenanigans.

so like he does have his gay little found family but theres some shit they just dont Get yknow. so then once he does start trusting morgan they get. Very close . Very quickly. hes experiencing previously unknown types of human connection, including being gay in practice and not just in theory! and sure hes kinda avoidant and struggles to open up and express his feelings or establish boundaries but thats ok bc morgan is so anxious about rejection and abandonment that hes very willing to put in tons of work with being vulnerable! theyre meeting somewhere in the middle, they think! morgans only a little bit clingy and always suuuuper apologetic when he crosses those unclear boundaries! surely this is a healthy dynamic that wont collapse catastrophically due to communication problems!

anyway primary foil number 2: peter-man. as in superhero role model / the cooler super-powered role model. like pete always sees morbius as someone who needs to be helped and guided and saved and supported and first and foremost as his Responsibility. eric, at least at first, sees him as a Fucking Threat. to be understood and/or neutralized. and morgan really appreciates that! then eric learns to trust and respect him and they begin this totally-not-dysfunctional partnership of equals, its kinda cute if you ignore that its blatantly barreling towards destruction <3

edit i completely forgot the point of that last paragraph. eric respecting morgan like an equal makes him realize that actually, spider-guy is being kind of a cunt about this and why is he trying to prove himself to that loser anyway hes got a cool goth boyfriend now. he actually tries to earn peters respect by making him recognize him as dangerous which BACKFIRES BADLY lmao bc peter is trying to control morbius' sense of Hero Ethics just as much as hes trying to control who he punches and when, so seeing morgan get scary makes him double down on the "holy shit dont get evil" stuff. which also backfires badly. these dudes are all fucking trainwrecks

[fourmula1]

maxiel relationship talk. 1160 words. also on my ao3.

They’re ten months in.

Ten months of Daniel certain his heart will beat out of his chest every time he kisses Max. Ten months of waking up with his arms full of soft, warm, cuddly boy. Ten months of hot sex – the best of his life, if he’s honest. Ten months of patiently – and happily – waiting for Max to get off the fucking sim. Ten months of stopping at the shops after his training sessions to bring Max a treat. Ten months of the happiest Daniel’s ever been.

Ten months of worrying. Wondering. Waiting.

Ten months of knowing better.

Max is twenty years old. Daniel is far too old to have gotten himself in this situation and the guilt he feels for selfishly holding on to Max is rough to take.

“It’d be okay if you wanted to experience other guys,” Daniel says, feeling his heart ripping apart as he does. Max is lying next to him in bed, their bed, scrolling through his phone while Daniel’s been ruminating over how to get this out.

Max’s head snaps to look at Daniel. His expression is a mix of confusion and horror.

“Daniel. What?” He says, expression remaining as confused as he sets his phone down beside his hip and turns his body onto his side so he can fully face Daniel.

“I just…” Daniel sighs, dragging his hand over his face. “You’re twenty years old, Max. You shouldn’t be stuck here like this. You’re famous, you’re rich, you’re hot. You should get to experience all that and hook up with guys you like, and have fun.” Daniel can’t quite bring himself to meet Max’s eyes. It pains him enough to let Max go like this but Daniel knows it’s what Max deserves. He shouldn’t be settled down with Daniel like this.

“I like you, Daniel,” is what Max says. “I am not stuck.”

“But aren’t you curious?” Daniel presses on. “Don’t you wonder what it’s like to be with someone else? You’re so young. I just think… we’ve had fun. But I don’t want you to resent me or feel like you missed out or got to experience other things…”

Daniel knows he has to do this now; has to make Max see this now. It’s been ten months and Daniel already knows he’s so fucking in love with this… this kid that it will absolutely kill him when the day finally does come that Max realizes he’s wasted all this time not hooking up and sleeping around and getting it out of his system. Years down the road when it hits Max and he decides then that he needs to, fuckin’, sow his seed or whatever, it will absolutely kill Daniel.

He has to make Max go now, before it gets worse.

Max’s expression has softened; it might be pity. It hurts.

“You are so stupid,” Max says, scoffing at him. “Are you joking? Daniel, why would I need to hook up with someone else when probably I got very lucky by finding you first? Do you know I have always liked you?”

Daniel knows. Anyone with eyes knows. Max was the pure picture of puppy-love, following after Daniel in the paddock, making excuses to be near him, barging into his driver’s room just to see what he was up to. Daniel had been flattered, found it cute, at first. Max was a bright-eyed, excited kid and it was nice to be admired. But getting to know him made things more complicated. Max was a good person, beneath it all. Daniel tried to resist. He’d waited until Max was twenty, at least, to give in.

Daniel doesn’t respond, keeps his gaze down. He’s ashamed of himself, a little bit, but mostly also trying to protect himself from the devastation that will come when another man – or men – catches Max’s attention. It’s not that he worries Max will be unfaithful. It’s that Daniel doesn’t want to expect commitment from him at this age, doesn’t want Max to realize he’d made a mistake settling down with an older man at twenty. He wants Max to be free to explore and sample all life can give him as a young, attractive, gay man.

He finally meets Max’s gaze when he feels Max’s fingertips trail over his jaw and force Daniel to look up at him. For his mere twenty years, for all his youth and feistiness and aggression and the years he still has to grow and mature, Max is incredibly put together and emotionally intelligent when he needs to be and Daniel is a bit envious of it. Instead of sharing his feelings, he’s pushing Max away. God.

“You are so stupid,” Max says once again as he leans in and presses a soft, sweet kiss to Daniel’s lips. Daniel feels something clench in his chest. “Daniel. Should I go ‘experience’ Nascar racing in America? Why would I do that when I have Formula 1? When I have everything I have ever wanted and worked hard to get? Why would someone who has gotten everything he has ever wanted go ‘experience’ things that are not as good? No, you are being ridiculous.”

Max says it with a certainty, a finality, like he’s got the answers to the universe. He shifts closer to Daniel, tucks himself up against Daniel’s body and nuzzles his face down into Daniel’s chest where he closes his eyes and drapes his arm over Daniel’s waist.

“Max,” Daniel sighs, wanting to be realistic. “I just don’t want you to regret anything. Or feel like you’ve missed out. I want you to… to know you can… that you’re free to do what you want.”

“I know this,” Max tells him, slips his fingers underneath Daniel’s t-shirt to touch the small of his back. “I think of course you also know that I love you and I do not want any other guys.”

And there it is.

Neither of them have said it before. Daniel, for fear of scaring Max off. And Max let it spill out like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Daniel finds it in himself to slide his arm around Max’s shoulders and tug him in closer, if it’s possible. He presses a kiss to the top of Max’s head and gives him a squeeze.

“I’m sorry,” he says into Max’s hair, closes his eyes, and lets out a breath.

“Thank you,” Max tells him, and squeezes Daniel back. “Do not be so ridiculous, okay? I of course could have anyone I wanted, and that is why I have you.”

Daniel can’t help the laugh he lets out, can’t help the utter fond adoration that spreads through him like warm honey for this boy in his arms. God. How is Max so easy with it all?

“I love you, too, by the way,” is what he says as he closes his eyes again, content to let the afternoon snooze tugging at him pull him under.

[envihellbender]

Scruffy graverobber Victor and ghost Oswald

Characters: Victor Zsasz, Oswald Cobblepot

Fandom: Gotham

“If you’re looking for valuables I’d recommend the crypt over there,” a voice said suddenly causing Victor to jump from his skin and drop his shovel. He blinked rapidly as he saw sat on the pale grey gravestone was a young man, about his age, grinning at him and swinging his legs. He was wearing a Victorian looking suit, and had eyes that were an eerily bright green. Comparatively, Victor was underdressed, in a loose t-shirt, an old raincoat and worn jeans. His hands and face were covered in mud and filth, and he certainly wasn’t dressed to meet a weirdly formal young man in a graveyard.

“Who the fuck are you?” Victor said, picking his shovel back up and holding it in front of him defensively.

“Just a guy who’s grave you robbed, you’re cute. And erm, you’re currently using my femur as a door stop back at your house, my skull as a paperweight, my rib cage as a nice bit of decoration, and my finger-bone as a keyring,” the young man said with a shrug and a cocky grin.

“Don’t screw with me.” You’re not… you’re not a ghost or something. You’re just some kid trying to scare me.” Suddenly, in front of Victor’s eyes the young man disappeared into thin air, and then there was a cold sensation on his shoulder. He turned slightly, raising his eyebrows and staring forward at the cackling ‘ghost’. “Okay, that’s a nice trick that is pretty hard to explain.”

“What’re you looking for?” The ‘ghost’ asked, approaching Victor curiously causing a cold sensation to penetrate his coat. “So far I’ve only seen you take bodies, but they can’t be worth much.”

“Nope. Not selling. Just… Working,” Victor said cautiously. He reached out, poking the young man’s chest with a finger. It was strange, like touching cold water. It didn’t instantly go through exactly, he felt the sensation of liquid and then when he pushed he easily submerged his hand in it. He pulled it out suddenly, staring at the young man in confusion. He did it again, this time however the ghost was less accommodating.

“If you don’t mind it’s kind of rude to just shove your hand into someone’s…” The ghost paused and thought for a moment. “Someone’s… well not lungs but you know.”

“So. You’re a ghost. Great. Ghosts are real. Or I’m hallucinating,” Victor groaned. He lowered his defensive shovel and stuck it in the ground to lean on it instead. “Are you like, stuck here?”

“Well, I’m stuck with you. I’ve been following you. Since you robbed my corpse I’m kind of bound to you I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Before that I was stuck to the apartment where my mother killed me. Then you rob my corpse and suddenly I’m being dragged across the country and I wake up to you are carrying my remains in a bag.”

“Huh. Wait, so you’ve just been following me for … how long?”

“Three days.”

“Three days…” Victor thought for a moment cycling through the graves he robbed the previous Friday. “Two older women and … one young guy. Oswald Cobblepot. That’s you.”

“That’s me,” Oswald said in a sing-song voice. “Must have misspelt my surname. Mother would’ve been distraught if she’d bothered to visit my grave.”

“Cold-hearted bitch,” Victor said, not because he meant it but because it seemed like the sort of thing he was supposed to say.

“Eh, not her fault,” Oswald replied with a shrug. “She got put away for a while and when she finally came back to the apartment they’d… I don’t know. She had a big scar on her forehead. They… messed with her brain. She wasn’t the same. But I haunted her until the day she died.”

“Lobotomised her. They lobotomised her,” Victor said. The gravestone said ‘death: 1953’, so apparently he was out by a few decades with Victorian. “So… erm, can I get back to this or-”

“I can make it easier for you,” Oswald shrugged. Victor watched as he saw Oswald disappear into the ground and then reappearing dropping a coffin at Victor’s feet. “Fuck that’s heavy,” he complained. He sat down on the grass and watched as Victor stared at him in amazement.

“What, you’re dead and they don’t give you super strength?”

“Well, it’s not really lifting exactly- anyway, what are you doing with the bodies?”

“Take them back to my basement and I fuck around with them-” Victor stopped for a moment. “Wait. If I take apart this old chick am I gonna have her stalking me too?”

“Don’t think so. You don’t have anyone else attached to you. I think it’s just because you kept my bones, or wanted to keep my bones? I don’t know,” Oswald shrugged. “Anyway, are you going to get this thing open? I want to watch.”

Victor grinned and picked up his shovel, smacking the metal head into the old wood of the coffin.

[blackdevilwhitedemon]

Why Did I Have To Reincarnate As The Yandere Capture Target!?

Okay, I have this story made up 2 years ago and it never really went anywhere. I guess I’ve been having a bit of a crisis when it comes to creativity for the last 2 years.

Anyway I kept going back and forth so fucking much on this wip if I was gonna scarp it or not. I don't like the gen story idea anymore but I REALLY love how I outlined the childhood arc so I though I might as well dump that shit here and be done w/ this damn thing. Not gonna bother saving the basic outline plot or save the first two chapters that were actually posted nor the wip of ch3 & 4.

:CHARACTER INFO: 

He’s the ‘yandere’ one. Anyway MC is the typical ‘normal guy’, college age maybe. Has a younger sister in HS. They’re both otakus or something. She got him into otome games. (He was already into romance novels so it was easy for him to get into them.) Develops malusdomesticaphobia after death. Forever internally screaming. Unsure how to act most of the time so he just stands behind powerful/influential ppl. 

OG yandere was abused or had bad stuff happen to him. Gave him a twisted view of things. Outwardly appears very docile and soft but when the Protag shows him kindness and blah blah he quickly becomes obsessed bc it’s been a long time since someone has/no one really treats him like that/like they’re equals. Uses his rep as a wall flower weakling to get his way and take out ppl (like will pit capture targets against each other so he can have Protag all to himself.)

There is a prince character. He’s the 2nd prince. I like the idea of him being the younger one or the less important one. Maybe that can even cause more plot. Yes MC has the favor of the prince, but this is the 2nd prince and is not favored by his father, the king. 

The protag girl who’s just a little doll. A bby who needs to be protected. A smile worth fighting for. For wars to break out and ppl to—you get the point. Stereotypical yes, but you need to keep in mind she’s a blank slate, so this is what it defaults on based off of marketing. Daughter of a Baron. Looks plain but still very cute w/ doe eyes.

The villainess is the second child to a powerful noble family (Marquess) and younger sister to one of the possible capture targets. Family sees her as a tool, not a person outside of the brother. Puts on a strong front that can only be seen through by the brother. 

The villainess’s older brother is the only person in her family who treats them with genuine affection as they are a siscon. The older brother type character. Charismatic but laid back. 

Plot twist due to MC’s meddling: was not aware of the abuse sister suffered due to being away at academy with the crown prince, simply thought it was tough love. 

A cute short boy character. Probably has the plot twist of being a little shit. Like, maybe he hates women but pretends to be a ladies man. Or he has a group of boys following him that do his bidding and he bullies ppl w/ them. MC meets him early on and leaves a powerful impression on him. So later in the timeskip this character is still the same, more or less; but has that added layer of following the MC around to try and get his attention. Not really a crush, but that weird anime admiration thing. 

Smart nerd character. He can be the commoner who gets into the school via smarts and/or powerful magic ability. He’s the one standoffish character who stays quiet. Turns out he harbors a haten of aristocats and is planning to summon some sealed monster under the school or the city near the school. He has the surprising routes where he kinda corners the Protag to help with this stuff. This is the MC's biggest concern bc he knows this guy is planning to harm a lot of people and doesn’t really know how to find him ‘cuz he’s a commoner from a big city.

:OUTLINE:

Bio dad and uncle are twins. Dad is the younger twin. Is kidnapped when 4-5 and kidnappers demand ransom. During that time commoners mob the place and kill everyone. (Turns out some of the butlers and/or maids are apart of the slave trade and the ppl assumed everyone in the house was associated with it as well.) Uncle rescues him and adopts him but doesn’t tell his wife or anyone that this is his nephew, not his bastard son. Claims he is that bc during the period between his brother’s easter being ransacked to finding him. It’s revealed a chef of his brother’s house escaped but was later found and lynched by the ppl.

The wife is angered by the child and completely ignores him and in turn so does her servants (which are half of the workers) The staff loyal to the Uncle just do the bare minimum for him. This is about a 5-6 month period. He is barely taken care of unless his uncle was around (Uncle’s servants and very fond of their master so they’re so shocked by this ‘bastard child’ that appeared out of nowhere, they think his mother must’ve been a provocative whore or smth bc the Uncle is so nice and caring about his family.)

This is where he learns how to appeal and get sympathy from staff/commoners. Bc he can’t take it anymore after a few months and starts begging for things or to be taken care of. A few of the Aunt’s staff pity him a little and throw him a bone while looking the other way, while the Uncle’s staff will act a little nicer and give him some extra stuff. (During this time he doesn’t really interact with his cousins [two boys, one girl] bc the staff aways rush them away from him since the mother forbids him from interacting with her kids.)

Around this time the Aunt blows up on the Uncle about this and the Uncle breaks under pressure and tells her the truth. She had mixed feelings about this. After this she starts acknowledging him but only takes care of him on the sake of her duty.

She ‘warms’ up to him when she overhears him having an intelligent conversation with the staff or they talk about a concept too advanced for his age. OR he reads some complex book she or her husband left out.

She’s shocked bc she just assumed him to be a country bumpkin, but realizes he knows how to read and write and is a genius for his age. So she takes advantage of this. Bc of the fact word gets out her husband cheated on her and has taken in his bastard child, her reputation has taken a hit in the social circles and there has been some nasty gossip about her being spread as a result. So she has lost face bc of him and takes her anger out on him by ignoring him and treating him coldly. So she turns this around by giving him a chance. Dumps a bunch of classes on him and gives him high expectations to live up to.

And for the most part he does, and he gets treated nicer as a result. She gets impressed, but he still walks on eggshells bc he’ll get punished for things his cousins won’t. And in general held to a higher standard.

She takes advantage of this by treating him like a son when out in public and receiving all these compliments about how well mannered and obedient he is, how smart, blah blah. So ppl are like, oh she must be a good teacher, he’s so well taught. And ppl say things like how generous and nice she is to take in her husband's bastard son of unknown origins like he was her own and blah blah. Which makes up for the lost rep she got before when he initially came to the house. This turns into a thing of her flaunting him and he’s just a prop for her. He realizes this but doesn’t do anything about it bc this is a good exchange for him. She gets to use him to boost her image and raise her rep in social circles and he gets a better disposition in the house and gets treated much better. He’s allowed to interact with his cousins now.

Eventually she gets invited by a lady who lives in the royal castle/is allowed access there who’s a very high ranking lady who she’s friends with. She’s like ‘hey, come to the castle, bring ALL of your children, even that one.’ For like playdates with her kids (also wants to see her friend’s kids). So Aunt brings all of them there and this is how the MC meets the 2nd prince.

The 2nd prince gets along well with his older brother, but when he hits 15, he gets sent away for more proper education since he’s the heir to the throne. So he’s sad his brother isn’t around anymore and that they’re no one to play with him. His sister’s an infant so the staff are like ‘prince plz, you can’t play w her she’s too little’. He wants to play like swords or chess but a baby can’t do that. He moops around in the castle and meets the MC.

Now the MC isn’t playing with the other children bc when his cousins tried to have him included in games with the other kids in the castle, those kids didn’t want to play with him bc of what their parents told them. (after a couple of times) This keeps happening that his cousins hesitate to add him in and eventually just tell him they can’t bc the kids of higher families didn’t want him there and even at this age they know they can’t do anything about that. (His cousins get along with him at this point and like but and are sad they can’t include him but the situation calls for it and they can’t do anything about it.) So he’s just moping and talking to some of the staff and bonding with them.

The prince isn’t playing with the other kids bc even as a kid he can tell most noble children are being fake nice to him and are just wanting to shake hands. He doesn’t know why they’re doing this, but he can’t tell they are trying real hard to be chummy with him and it’s forced. (you know, how like little kids can even tell when an adult is being fake nice?)

When he meets the MC, the MC doesn’t know that this is the prince bc so many noble children have blond hair. (It’s common in this place, for nobles at least.) So to him, he’s just another blond, lilac eyed boy. The princes ends up liking him bc he’s A-quiet and reserved B-smart and likes playing chess or smth C-doesn't have that fake nicety that the other children give off & isn’t super eager to please him. So he’s like ‘oh, you’re like a normal person, let's play.’ That how they initially become friends and bond and like on his 6th visit with the prince, he either A-has a patch over his check and when MC asks about it the prince tells him what happened and it makes the way the in-game prince got his cheek scar and it hits the MC then who he’s talking too. (It was never said in the game how old he got the scar, only how.)

OR B-MC is called into a waiting room by some workers and leads him into a room with guards on standby. He’s wondering just who the heck his buddy is the kid of to get this treatment. As he sits across from him he realizes the prince has a bandage over his ear. When he asks what happened, the prince whines about almost being assassinated and the tip of his ears was cut off in the struggle. It’s then the MC realizes this is the prince bc he has the tip of his left/right ear cut off and hides his ears with his hair bc of it. The guards in and out of the room is bc his parents are on high alarm rn and they have to play in a closed room. It’s only him and MC bc the prince whined and wanted his ‘rabbit friend’ to play with. (MC is like, ‘oh lucky me, I managed to befriend the prince w/o knowing/trying’.)

Anyway, around this point the Aunt just straight up says, ‘I do not love you, but I do respect you.’ And the MC just comes to terms with this bc he just realizes that she’s just never going to be that person for him. And he’s like ‘That’s okay.’ He gets along very well w/ his Uncle and cousins and it feels like a family again to him. He just has a ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ relationship. He doesn’t love her, but understands her. (He is surprised when he gets older like, he knows before his 11 birthday, he’s supposed to be nearly killed by something his Aunt pulled, it’s revealed she did it and was taken away, putting the Yandere strains on the rest of the manor. Alas that never comes to pass and this happens instead, surprising him. Making him realize she’s being very honest, and in her own way, this is the kindest she’ll ever be to him.)

As for the cousins, they’re just innocent little kids, they just think he’s their half brother and accept him. The girl is the youngest, she’s the spoiled little princess bc she’s the only girl and the youngest so she’s mommy’s favorite. The middle child is a boy and the closest to the MC. He’s the quieter, shyer one who's nerdier. Him and the MC are gonna have the same book series as their fav, some type of mystery novels for kids. They eagerly await every release and bond over that. The oldest is going to be the more playful, energetic, and wants to fight sword type of boy. They all like MC and he loves them like cousins and thinks of them as such.

His Uncle is a sweet family man or at the very least loves his family. He really loved his brother and when he inherited the title, he made sure to pull strings to get his younger brother a title and some land. The Father got the title of baron bc of him. Instead of becoming a knight or butler to another noble house. He’s crestfallen when his brother and sister-in-law dies so when he finds out his nephew is still alive, he’s overjoyed and loves him. (As a strange way of grieving.)

Around 12-13ish his Uncle and Aunt are like ‘hey we got new information about your real parents. We’re trying to keep this under wraps but, there are a trusted few who know the truth as well.’ The MC already knows what they mean bc of the game. So before they tell him it or the whole truth, smth happens and his new family dies.

At this point, he’s already good friends with the prince. Their relationship is him being a spineless pale and the prince treating him like a bunny. Like, not really acknowledging his agency. Kinda brushing him aside like a pet and dragging him to things w/o considering his feelings a lot. As far as the prince is concerned, they're close. The MC is just there bc being friends with the prince gives him a shield and ways to get more connections. So he can’t really do anything about this sort of treatment he gets. The prince isn’t being malicious just that he’s been given everything he wants so he doesn’t stop to think about the other party.

So when MC’s 3rd family is wiped out, the prince goes up to his parents and is like, ‘hey can you do smth about my friend? He’s an orphan again, I don’t want him to get sent to the Church, I’ll never see him again!’ The king and queen are like ‘ok’ and that’s how the MC gets into the house of the Villainess and Siscon capture target. Their parents are like MC’s Aunt but way worse. So in the OG game they got their daughter engaged to the 2nd prince by orchestrating an accident to happen while she was somewhere with the prince. She ends up w/ a few inch long cut on her forearm, the family uses that as leverage for them to get engaged since their daughter is ‘unmarriageable’ now. So they see him as an opportunity to get more favors from the crown. Not only are they initially reimbursed for taking him in but… So, basically they bring him to a business party, and him not knowing who these ppl are talk to some ppl are when it is revealed that he’s who he is, the couple are repulsed by the family sponsoring a bastard of unknown origins. So they cut off business ties with them. They use this as a way to complain to the crown that taking him in causes them to lose on a partnership that went back generations. (This business partner is in on this bc they get like, idk exclusive rights to some mines for whatever. But they still do business through a shell company.) And that's how they worm their way in to wed off their daughter. MC is completely caught off guard with this when he thought he was already on guard. This just further convinces him not to try and make connections here. Being outside is his solace.

The last thing to note is that the prince only starts respecting him and treating the MC more like a proper friend when they're a little older (like, about to go into the academy age). The MC sticks up for himself and grows a spine which surprised the prince bc up until this point he had always been obedient, timid, and mild. The pushback he gets from it kinda bitchslaps him in the face and he is like ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t- I apologize for that. Blah blah blah.’ He doesn’t do a complete 180* right then and there. But it kinda wakes him up a little bit. Like ‘Oh, I’ve been treating you like you’re my dog and you’re not. You’re more important to me than that. I don’t want to lose you. I’m sorry about that, I’ll change my behavior towards you.’ This is when their friendship turns into a bromance. He treats the MC more like an equal, with respect.

The main reason why I stopped myself from scaping this many times before is bc I really ended up liking how I characterized the aunt.

Anyway, a few details I though I should throw in here. I had planned for the ppl crushing on MC as the heroine, villainess, commoner guy, and npc/mob #1 (male) & 2 (female).

The npc/mob friends where gonna be his respite from the colorful cast of main characters. I would've written it where you couldn't tell who end game was for awhile bc he had soft moments w/ all of them.

Expect villainess who he see as a sister even tho she don't. Her and Heroine would later lost interest in MC and kiss each other instead. (fluffy sapphics!!!).

He'd get commoner guy to back down eventually or whatever and it was a really question of which mob friend he'd end up w/. Male friend was the answer!

[misschimotosuwa-blog]

Snow White with The Red Hair chapter 16

Chapter re-cap and my thoughts reading it today ☺️💕

Ahhh! My sweet baby boy Prince Zen!!! I always try to avoid this chapter/episode because it hurts my sooooouuuullll, but I decided to bare through and read it today and gah!!! So good!! This chapter is so vital! Everyone thinks being a Prince is all luxury, you know? But here, we see the struggle that poor baby Prince Zen has to go through. This chapter takes us back in time to when Zen was 13. He has never been allowed to really socialize with anyone, especially those far below his ranking -- forbidden. But this adorable little punk/adventurer of course, sneaks out (jumping out a window I might add) and happens to meet a boy around his age, working at the palace. They continue to meet in secret for quite a few months I'd say? (We're not really sure of the time frame). And we watch these two little cuties bond, and basically become besties. One day, Atri, (the boy Zen's been sneaking out to see), informs Zen that his shift has changed from day to night, and asks him if he'd be able to sneak out to see him at that time -- Zen agrees. He then sneaks out the next night to see Atri, and finds him on the ground, out of breath, and terribly injured. Zen falls to his knees, wondering what has become of his friend. Bandits soon appear, and confess that they are the ones who attacked Atri -- as a means to lure Zen there, and threaten to kill him, if his older brother (Prince Izana, who I might add -- Ruined their way of life -- or so they say) does not come and show his face. Prince Izana soon shows up, the bandits threaten him for ruining their life, and Izana instantly shoots them down, roasts them, and tells them like it is. Obviously, they're triggered, and a whole battle breaks loose. And amidst all this... Atri... Prince Zen's best friend... Points a bow and arrow at him 🥺🥺😖😖. NOOOOOOO!!!!! But cutie patootie pie Zen refuses to fight back -- just stares at his friend in sadness, and in pain. Zen skillfully blocks the arrow with his sword, and his aide (bodyguard) disposes of Atri 🥺🥺🥺. And get this, you guysssssss 🥺😖 even after Atri shot at Zen... Zen instantly falls to his injured friend's side, in tears 🥺😭😭😭. Oh sweet baby. And then... And then Atri... His last words (you see on the picture)... Ahhhhh... "I wish... you'd never been born... a Prince." WAHHHHH. I started crying when I read that todayyyyy.

I've watched and read this story so many times you guys, and this scene still hits me. And this time, I think it may have hit me in another way. It wasn't his flipping choice. He was just born into it. He doesn't even want this position. Even when he's older in the story. He still does everything to get away, at times, to try to feel like a normal person. Can you even imagine? Finally finding someone you thought you really related to and were close with... Draw a weapon at you... Just because of where you stand in life?? I can't... Ow ow my heart 🥺😭😖😫. I have so much effing respect for Zen. He's had to go through sooooo much crap due to his position. Yet he stands strong, and upholds his Princely duties (most of the time anyway hahahaha). And he's been able to be patient and wait, and finally find people he can love and trust. And that also hit me different this time. I myself have tried with many people for relationships and friendships alike, and almost ALL have "betrayed" me in one way or another. And it's the hardest thing to get back up, and to be patient, and to have faith, that one day you WILL find people you can surround yourself with who don't want to use you, they just want you for you, as you are, totally and completely and this is what Mitsuhide tries to explain to Zen at the end of the chapter.

My goodness it's so cute, AHHHHH!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ kudos to Prince Zen!!! He is a true light and example ☺️ what a powerful chapter! (Sorry to anyone offended that I didn't talk about Mitsuhide, when this is literally his chapter on how he met Zen and everything... And don't get me wrong, that's amazing and super important, it just didn't hit as hard this time, ya feel?).

p.s. sorry for the bad pics, I have hardcopy manga, not digital 😅😜✌️

[empires-au-ideas]

How I imagine the new rulers react to/think about wanderer!scott

Shrub:

No thought head empty

Cold=Good

New older sibling acquired

Pearl:

Also no thought head empty

Has seen weirder things than the kid with glowing eyes that maybe floats

Thinks of him as a stray cat

Vaguely cute but feral

Gem and Fwhip:

Lowkey scared of him

Thinks he’s planning their murder

But they’re determined to get him on their side

Jimmy:

Slightly unsettled

Has also seen him go cross eyed when a firefly landed on his nose

He can’t be that bad, probably just lonely

Sausage:

100% certain Scott cursed him

Does not like him at all but tolerates it bc he doesn’t want Xornoth around anymore

Joey:

Has never met him

From what he hears from Xornoth Scott’s his only hope though

Lizzie:

Probably thinks he’s a ghost

Does not really care though

Joel:

Says that Lizzie’s wrong for calling him a ghost bc ghost aren’t real (he’s actually just trying to convince himself)

Feral on feral energy

Likes him well enough for not snitching on him and Lizzie

Katherine:

Doesn’t know much about him other than rumors

The overgrown seems to like him well enough though, so he can’t be all that bad

Bonus

Pix:

Has only met Scott once

Every now and then wonders of the elf boy he met was okay

Keeps track of the cold wanderer’s wear abouts

Shrub, that one dude voice: it's free sibling-state

Pearl pspsps ed at him one time and it worked.

Scott isn't too fond of the twins, because he DOES remember Fwhip shouting at him at the Harmony Festival. He's got a strict "no killing" rule though, just incase Exor makes it so he won't stop. Fwhip thinks he's dangerous, so does Gem but she's in the running to be head Wizard. She can take care of a little danger herself, without her twin pestering her.

Oh yes. Yes yes yes. Mythland definetly was cursed for a good month or two after they chased Scott out of the kingdom, Scott didn't get away without a few cuts and bruises. You can imagine how Aeor might respond to this, especially to Saudage himself, who had managed to get an arrow unto Scott's leg.

I would also like to say that Mythland is allied with Xornoth, Mythland is promising to supply them with weapons while Xornoth keeps Mythland and the two colonies "out of harms way" by heavily guarding and policing them. No one goes in, no one comes out. Sausage has been king for less than ten years at this point, but maybe this is what allyship looks like?

Jimmy thinks all he needs is warm soup and a good nap. That always makes him feel better. The Cod Empire is built on community, no one should be all alone like that.

Joey has met Scott, which I will be discussing soon (as soon as I figure out how they meet wfhknsdjk)

I think I've said this, but the Ocean Empire is HELLA superstitious. Kid shows up, doesn't say a word, steals something, and basically walks on water to get away? She's not messing with that.

Joel has a similar view, the guy actually managed to get away from his dad? He's never seen someone actually defy the guard (other than Lizzie and himself of course) but no, he's not impressed. He doesn't care in the slightest, not at all. Besides, ghosts can't be real cuz then magic is real.

Katherine is very much a fan of Scott. He makes the usually hot and humid House Blossom actually a little bearable. He's mindful of the flowers when he passes through, which is more than what Katherine can say about a lot of visitors.

Pixandria was the first empire Scott had visited, making Pix the first person who's ever seen the Cold Wanderer without his veil. And yes, he's connected the dots on who the ghost is. He feels a sigh of relief whenever he hears news of him, glad the kid is all right.

And of course, we all know what XORNOTH thinks of his little brother.

[croissantbae]

June 4, 2023

1.  Today was a wonderful Sunday (as usual).  We went to costco and Johnny asked if folks wanted to get lunch.  We all vacillated trying to choose options and ultimately ended up inviting people to our place.  Gave the kids miyukgook and ordered Bodega Park.  Then we all just hung out for hours talking while the kids played (and eventually fought /bickered lol.  That’s when you begin to know kids need naps / some space).  Jason planned a little gardening activity for the kids so that they could plant a seed.  It was really sweet/cute. 

2.  It’s happened.  After everyone left, Naya was just talking as Jason and I were cleaning, cooking.  And she says something about how someone killed someone on accident.  And I was like, wait naya say that again?  And she said that at school someone told her that someone had a gun and killed someone on accident.  I was like who told you that?  And she said her friend Sella (Sella is a little older than Naya and I noticed Sella has an older sister so I am guessing they are just actually conscious of that stuff).  I honestly wasn’t sure how to react.  And I said well, we don’t have any guns in this house so you don’t have to worry.  And Naya was like, yeah we don’t have guns in this world.  And I just repeated, we don’t have guns in this head (but thinking ugh. we have lots and lots of guns in this world).  Jason and I were kind of like uhhhhhh.  I think we really need to think about how we talk to our kids about this topic and other difficult topics like climate change, just death in general, violence, etc.  3 going on 4 and talking about gun violence. 

3.  I went to a mamamoo concert w/ my friend and coworker joan. And it honestly made me really glad that I went to a mamamoo concert specifically (over any other korean band).  Because I truly feel like they’re a little bit different and special.  I noticed there was a gay person sitting next to us and during the performance we saw that the rapper was getting a looooottt of love from the audience.  so as we were leaving my friend researched if moonbyul is gay and it seems like she is.  She seems to be pretty out (or I guess as out as you can be in Korea) and has a song out where it features two women lovers.  Anyway I just feel like their personalities are more unique.  Even like the light sticks that they passed out to everyone was a moo (radish), which was just funny to see everyone holding up a moo.  

My uber rides to and from were so weird.  On the car ride to meet Joan, the driver was talking about how he lives in Los Feliz and there are so many gay people in the area so he always warns his sons to be careful.  He was talking about it so much I started to feel like I was being punked.  And after watching Jury Duty I started to queston whether I was seriously being filmed and I was supposed to react.  He was talking about how they’d see two men walkign on the street with one walking the other with a collar around his neck, wearing hot pants.  I was like ....?? and then at a red light he showed me a pic of his 3 sons andI was like oh they’re beautiful.  and he was like yeah that’s why I have to tell them not to talk to strange men.  I was just like oh my god.... what is going on. 

Then on the uber ride home, the guy was kind of weird but I was like whatever.  Then he asked me how the concert was (I told him about it) and I said it was nice, I have two kids so its rare to be able to go to a concert but it was good.  and menitoned my husband is watching the kids.  and he was like oh yeah of course they’ll listen to him.  kids will listen to /obey men because they’re closer to god.  I was like uhhhh I’m not going to agree with that.  and he laughed.  and I was like because god is a female. and he was like haha why? I was like uhhh b/c life comes from women?  We give birth to life.  and he was like yeah but what’s the spark that creates that life? and i said just this teeny tiny thing.  and he was like oh come on.  and then he was saying kids will be loud and rambunctious and then when he comes into a room they’ll be quiet.  and its because men are close to god (like closer to the form of god I’m guessing).  and in my mind I was just like what you’re describing is fear and there’s a difference.  But didn’t say it because I was like my god just get me out of here. 

[atopearth]

White Album 2 Part 5 - Mari Kazaoka Route

Time for the hot older woman, Mari! Well, she's not that much older but she's very smart and capable. I like her but I don't really like how she's basically smitten with Haruki already lol. Mari hitting homeruns in a mini skirt was very hot lmao, nice CG indeed. Sawako seems pretty nice and fun, she definitely knows how interested Mari is in Haruki. Mari is actually so cute lol, very sweet too. I like how understanding she was towards Haruki's weird situation but couldn't take it anymore and had to ask him what happened after seeing how sad he stayed the whole time lol. I'm enjoying seeing Haruki being the one that feels 'played' for once lol, it's hilarious how desperately he wants to talk to Mari, but it's also really cute how Mari is agonising over how much she wants to talk to him too haha. It's crazy that the workaholics at Haruki's workplace are telling him to leave and stop working. I can't believe he hasn't slept for a week, this guy seriously wants to kill himself. I'm glad Mari told him off, but I'm not sure Haruki really understands how much he's really destroying himself.

Well, that was unexpected! It was obvious something would happen since Mari took Haruki back to her house but omggg when he grabbed her, accidentally causing her to fall over and then he legit proceeded to touch her and then basically came all over her LOL, wow, Haruki, what a guy. At least he realised how extremely inappropriate that was and was even ready to take himself to the police. He's lucky that Mari is kind, naive, forgiving and in love with him lol. Anyway, that was wild, and it seemed like the only thing stopping Mari from letting him go all the way at that moment was because she didn't want any chance of becoming pregnant which is very understandable. Who could possibly reject Mari after she says she started taking contraceptive pills after Haruki asked her if he could talk to her alone?! Like dang woman, you really want him lol. I mean, you go girl, get what you want but dang you’re thirsty girl lol! Mari is definitely adorable but damn lol, she's going all in when technically she really doesn't know much about Haruki and whatever his situation is. 

Honestly, it's really sad to see Setsuna try so hard to avoid Haruki because she knows he only wants to meet up with her to end their "relationship". Usually, I would hate it because they really need to face each other properly, but considering how much Haruki has been avoiding her all these years, Setsuna has the right to avoid him especially since it's right before exams and she's probably under lots of stress from all sides of her life. I can understand Haruki wanting to please both Mari whilst not breaking his promise with Setsuna again but he really should have understood that there was no way he would be able to make time for Mari. His relationship with Setsuna has gone on for so long and through so many things, I can't imagine it and their meeting all ending in a mere 2 hours. Anyway, I didn't expect Mari to be so crazy to destroy her apartment tbh. Otherwise, she's really crazy to even think about giving up such a good opportunity in her career for a guy she's only been with for a while like are you nuts???! The workaholic giving up on her dream for a guy? They weren't even dating! Totally not worth it. Although I know what kind of resolve Haruki must have to let go of Setsuna for Mari, I'm definitely on Mari's side because I would feel like an idiot this whole time as well after hearing all that.

Maybe it's because I've never truly been in love with someone but I find it so silly that Mari has decided to not fall in love for the next five years because of Haruki?? And honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of Haruki but that's not his problem😅 Yeah, he hurt her and he sucks, but this is her choice. Whether she ends up finding love when she's over 30 or not is something she has to take action towards herself. If everyone took a five year break from love after getting hurt, we'd become the elderly. And I understand that for Asian countries and for Japan, over 25 is "old" for a woman, basically a leftover Christmas cake to them, but I find it saddening that this route and Sawako makes it seem like women should give up on their careers and dreams because they have to choose love now or their time will run out and they'll never be able to find another guy "in time". Time can "run out" for your career too, you know? But whatever, love is always the most important thing in life apparently because everyone "needs" a partner to live with for the rest of their lives. And honestly, even though Mari is cute, I actually do "hate" how "weak" the story makes her in order to accept Haruki. Yeah, maybe some people are just super weak when it comes to love even if they are strong at work, but at the same time I find it so so silly, maybe it's because I'm old lol. Honestly, Setsuna is so pitiful sometimes that I don't know whether I should keep feeling sorry for or to tell her to have more self-respect for herself. I'd say I'm more inclined to go with the latter because you should never lose yourself as a person, because if you do and decide to rely on another person to give your existence meaning, then the moment they're gone, you won't feel like living anymore because you've lost the only thing that supported your existence. I'm glad that Haruki finally did what he should have done ages ago. I'm glad that when Setsuna started running away again, he decided to face reality with her. Obviously it was because he had no choice but to choose now, but still, at least it's resolved now even if it breaks everyone's hearts. I am also very happy that he ended up chasing Mari by reaching her in New York because I was like, even if he makes it before her flight, how would he even have time to talk to her lol. Now, they can talk as much as they want. The only thing is... realistically how will their relationship end up? I guess that's something for them to figure out lol. Does Haruki know English? Can he even work? Is he on a visa? Haha, I guess we really shouldn't think realistically and should just go with the flow.

Overall, I'd say Mari was the girl I was most interested in, but her route ended up falling pretty flat, sadly. It felt like the typical older workaholic woman who is actually very innocent and cute discovering how important love can be in their life. Honestly, the biggest problem for me was that I couldn't feel any love between them. At least when it came to Koharu, you could see why she liked Haruki so much and how painful it was for her, and for Chiaki, you could see how interested she was in him because she needed him for her play but also because she couldn't help but "lose" herself to this guy who kept meddling in her life. But for Mari, it felt like all they did was have sex but no other proper connection. I couldn't see why Mari would be interested in him other than the fact that they both liked to drown themselves in work, but Haruki did it to escape whereas she actually has a goal so I don't even know how she is attracted to him. As for Haruki, even though I can fathom the idea of him liking her, I can't imagine him abandoning Setsuna for Mari no matter how strained their relationship was. So yeah, even though Mari was cute, and I enjoyed seeing Haruki chase after someone for once, it wasn't a satisfying route at all because it lacked a romance I could relate with. I'm glad Mari didn't give up on her career and stay in Japan though, otherwise I really would have been mad lol! Otherwise, Mari's CGs were very pretty, I think it's her character design and the stockings haha! I swear I have no fetish!

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 2.5/5

Book Blurb: A cynical tarot card reader seeks to uncover the truth about her friend’s mysterious death in this delightfully clever whodunit. For Katie True, a keen gut and quick wit are just tools of the trade. After a failed attempt at adulting in Chicago, she’s back in the suburbs living a bit too close to her overbearing parents, jumping from one dead-end job to the next, and flipping through her tarot deck for guidance. Then along comes Marley. Mysterious, worldly, and comfortable in her own skin, Marley takes a job at the mall where Katie peddles Russian tchotchkes. The two just get each other. Marley doesn’t try to fix Katie’s life or pretend to be someone she’s not, and Katie thinks that with Marley’s friendship, she just might make it through this rough patch after all. Until the day when Katie, having been encouraged by Marley to practice soothsaying, reads the cards for someone who stumbles into her shop. But when she sneaks a glance at his phone, she finds more than intel to improve her clairvoyance. She finds a photo. Of Marley. With a gunshot wound to the head. The bottom falls out of Katie’s world. Her best friend is dead? Who killed her? She quickly realizes there are some things her tarot cards can’t foresee, and she must put her razor-sharp instincts to the ultimate test. But Katie’s recklessness lands her in the crossfire of a threat she never saw coming. Now she must use her street smarts and her inner Strength card to solve Marley’s murder—or risk losing everything.

Review:

A dead beat tarot reader living in the suburbs, jumping from one dead end job to the next has to solve the murder of her best friend...and things are going to get messy. Katie True has one good talent: tarot reading, she’s not motivated to do much else and just seems to be chilling in her dead end job, living in the suburbs close to her overbearing parents. She then meets Marley, a mysterious and worldly older woman who befriends Katie at the mall. They become fast friends and Katie finally has a best friend, or what you can call someone you eat lunch with a lot and know for two months. Yet when a sketchy guy comes into Katie’s job where she sells Russian tchotchkes she gives him a tarot reading, only to look at his phone while he’s gone to get a “better reading” on him and finds a photo of Marley with a gunshot wound to the head. Things quickly spiral as Katie makes it her job to find out what happened to Marley and who killed her. Throw in a dorky but cute cop, an autistic brother, and the fact that Marley isn’t actually who she says she is and soon Katie is on her way to going down a rabbit hole her cards never foresaw. The book started off fun but quickly lost momentum by the 2/3 mark. I found the mystery to lose itself a bit and the fun of the initial part of the book faded. I was hoping for a bit more but it honestly just fell off for me and I found myself not really caring about the mystery or the characters by the end of the book. While it didn’t work for me, definitely give it a go if you are a fan of tarot and mysteries. 

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*