#you said plenty by asking that so directly in that ask xD

[huenation]

try again / cyj

word count: 2,172

genre: angst, comfort, friends to exes to friends to lovers

warnings: self deprecative jokes, heavy on the mutual pining, bad household, and that moment when u don’t know who u are XD (happens to us all <3)

synopsis: the line of being friends and in love got messy with your past breakup but in your case, was it ever really there if you’ve both never stopped loving each other? ★ prompt addition

soundtrack: try again by jaehyun, d.ear

“thanks.” yeonjun says looking directly at you though you don’t meet his eyes, too caught in making sure the cup of hot chocolate you give him doesn’t spill. you smile and settle down adjacent to him, missing the way he watches you even if it’s so briefly. he glows just about every time he looks at you but considering it’s been years since you’ve allowed yourselves to be romantic towards one another (since the breakup), you always miss it. that, and you’re also oblivious.

“so, you wanted to talk?” contrary to the casualness of your tone, you’re actually so anxious you could throw up. yeonjun’s wide smile falters, glow in his eyes following, and he sets his drink down beside him he’s also filled with anxiety.

“yeah, i do,” he pauses. “i think we should continue our chat from the other night, and i also know you want to talk, y/n.”

oh yeah. that one.

one would think that after years that a past relationship would not be on the forefront of your mind and your heart but it was. you never really felt like you could move on, always missing closure and never having stopped loving yeonjun. but you kept that part to yourself, feeling like he would be much better off with someone else even if you’re past that hurdle in your life that had brought you two to separate in the first place (among other things).

it was a fun night out at a busy cafe, in a circular booth with your friends. yeonjun had gone to go order a pastry but came back, frantic, asking for advice or what he should say to someone he thought was super and had been in line behind him, unsure of how to go about showing his interest.

in response, like you always do, you joked about he came to the worst people for advice since you and all your friends are currently single. beomgyu just laughed along, the others adding on other reasons that were mainly comedic value.

that is until the next thing you said. well, the other guys giggled, too, since you both only ever referred to your failed relationship with jokes, or rather you did. it was just a thing that you hardly ever took things seriously, so happy go lucky and keeping things lighthearted even if most of your jokes orbited your self deprecation (within reason — you had plenty of other content for your jokes).

you joked about the most confounding evidence as to why he shouldn’t ask you for dating advice; he had dated you and you broke up with him.

in between stirring around some of his foam at the bottom of his drink, kai asked, “oh yeah, why did you guys break up? it’s been so long.” you snorted, shaking the ice of your drink. “guys, be for real, obviously, i’m obviously just the weird detour you take before you find the right person you wanna be with. you could have a real shot with this person.”

“okay but — ” you were giggling still. “when you guys get married, i’ll be able to thank myself for being at my worst then.

yeonjun scowled at that. “why?” all the other’s conversations seemed to happen around the two of you, distracted by something else.

“‘cause. you deserved better then and maybe this’ll be the person you were deserving along. and i can finally tell myself that we broke up for a good reason.”

your voice had been so still and quiet, yeonjun’s heart shattering, while you ripped the lid off your plastic cup. so nonchalant. he stared at you for a moment before pushing off the table and taking a step back.

“that wasn’t helpful, y/n.” he had said quietly to you. you simply rolled your eyes playfully, lighthearted smile to balance, snickering along beomgyu and soobin to whatever they were bantering about. kai and taehyun on the other side had tossed out random tips that obviously didn’t work for them.

“come on, jun, you don’t need to worry. she’s obviously gonna like you.” you muttered nonchalantly, so confident that the distant shatter of your heart was out of sight and ear, even in the face of the man you’ve never stopped loving.

“i doubt it, but i guess, i’ll still try. better than nothing…” he said quietly.

“well, good luck, jun.” you told him dismissively while trying to get the remaining toppings to your iced drink, unseeing of the way yeonjun frowned as he walked away.

you only half remembered what you’d said that day. all that was positive was that you had said too much. yeonjun on the other hand had remembered everything.

“hey, you know what i just remembered? did that girl ever text you? ‘cause you guys did exchange phone numbers, right?” he blinks a few times, carefully watching your face, before he shakes his head. his pretty raven hair comes down almost to his shoulders, so much longer than the boyish trim look he’d had when you two dated. despite that much, you think he hasn’t changed one bit.

“well yeah, we did, but i never actually texted her.”

“oh.” an unsettled moment of silence falls between you two. you’re focused on a certain stain on the table below you guys.

“listen, y/n — ” he starts and you wince, already trying to dismiss him from initiating, even if it is rude to interrupt. “no, yeonjun, i think, no, i know we never really talked about why i ended things between us. and look, i know you… you respected my decision and understood me even if it was so sudden and over a reason i didn’t disclose entirely, but, oh god — “ he notices your eyes are welling with tears, a bitter but annoyed smile on your face because of it. he knows how much you hate showing your weakness, let alone being vulnerable.

his heart pounds in his chest. he would give anything so that you could stay smiling and happy, anything but this. this hurts. “i’m a different person now than i was then, and-and you deserve to know what happened.”

your voice breaks. yeonjun’s gripping on his (your) mug so tightly his knuckles are white, the cute little bow of his mouth shaking, eyes watering so enough to sting, his throat burns with the urge to bawl as you tell him.

because of everything going on in your house those few years ago, fragments of your family that got under your skin and poisoned you, the tortuous process of trying to leave, battling the old you and the new you, and the weight of everything else, including your new boyfriend (yours truly) and insecurities for being good for him, it’s easy to say you weren’t at a place to be in love, certainly with the people around you who made sure you felt like you didn’t deserve it either.

even though you were all friends for much longer before you got together, god knows you and yeonjun had been pining for one another for years, it became too much, knowing that things were getting too real.

you were at your lowest. yeonjun was always as sweet and caring to you as ever, but instead, his actions made you feel worse. you could hardly give him an ounce of what he deserved in return. if you had the energy to talk to him, it’d end in arguments that you walked away from, too tired to continue.

it seemed like it was time to close that chapter instead of prolonging the pain. you didn’t know who you were then. and you knew yeonjun deserved better than what you were giving him, even if you weren’t exactly be transparent.

years went on. neither of you ever really settled down, just little flings here and there that you’d support each other on, but none of those ever stayed. (he and you made no effort to make them stay…) you always joke about your relationship, since it was so long ago, about how failed it was and naive you were then. at first, yeonjun did joke about your failed relationship, but he couldn’t bring himself to — not when he had known that you really did love him and he certainly has never stopped loving you.

you disclose certain details but hide other specific ones, trying not to give away too much of the fact that you’re really a vulnerable thing who still hasn’t grown up after all these years. it’s a hard thing to keep up a facade that conceals the truth.

when the dust of it all settles, silence falling in the mix, he hears it first before he sees it: your tear drops on the table near your wringing hands. and like clockwork, they come to swipe them off like they were never there in the first place, but yeonjun stops you, speed before your very eyes register it, carding your face in his hand from his side on the table. he leans over his corner of your furniture like it’s nothing.

your eyes give you away.

the relief but tide of emotions feels second to letting yourself be hit by a wave, feelings that have been locked away for such a long time. at least a moment reveals so.

with a soft laugh, you drop your gaze with a sniffle and try to shrug him off, an attempt to pretend that didn’t happen. it’s all you can do not to cave in and admit the mess that you clearly are in front of him, especially when you feel his touch. but he doesn’t budge.

“i wish you wouldn’t do that.” his own voice betrays him, so unstable and choking up on him. you blink through the muddle of tears growing. “what?”

“think of yourself so lowly. you have so much importance and you mean so much to the people in your life. it has never and it will never matter which point you are in life, whether at you’re worst or best or in between, you will always be capable of being loved. you have never deserved anything less.”

he wishes he could add, ‘and i wanna make sure you know that’. in due time, he hopes. in due time.

you’re wetting his hand with your tears. your stomach is curling and curling, chest buzzing, lips fumbling as your body wrestles with the tide of wanting to bawl like a child.

yeonjun gently swipes the wetness on your cheeks, smiling sweetly, patiently, and so full of love. it breaks your heart a thousand times over than it did the first time when you’d broken up with him.

not once have you ever really stopped loving him.

“i wish you knew that… you didn’t have to prove that you’re worthy enough to be loved. you being you was enough for me. you being you is more than enough,” you let out a sound between a cry and yelp, one that shows exactly how crooked and darling your smile is even if tears stain your cheeks. “i‘m sorry i never said it enough, but i’ve been in love with you for so stupidly long.”

his thumb dares to brush so gently over the corner of your lips, just the way he used to do. his eyes skin across your face so carefully. his stomach twists once his mouth opens,

“so, cards out on the table, y/n, i wanna try again. i know it’s not my place to demand something like this from you, but… it’s how i feel,” you don’t say anything, blinking eyes meeting his, in beats of silence broken by shaky breaths and sniffles. he smiles again despite his nervousness. “and you don’t have to agree or anything. again, it’s just how i feel. i’d only want to try but if you do, too, for you to say yes when you’re ready.”

he fumbles with shutting down a ghost of ‘my love’ as an ending to his statement, like he always would say in the past. he can’t help it.

you give him a genuine smile, one that reaches your eyes, and one that he misses every single moment you spend not smiling. such proximity and joy trickles distant memories in colorful explosions behind your eyes in a kaleidoscope of nostalgia. a knowing look is exchanged between you, no words.

it speaks more than none that you understand him and are infinitely thankful. you say so through mouthed words. he nods slowly in acknowledgement. you can feel it down to the marrow of your bones…

oh, how you’ve missed him.

“okay, i’ll let you know when i’m ready, yeonjun. it won’t be that long, just so you know,” you say wetly, sniffling and clearing your thin voice. yeonjun smiles, too, for a change. remember when he didn’t used to smile so much? “i’ve been waiting my whole life to try again with you and even longer to let you know better that i love you, too.”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ੈ✧̣̇˳·˖✶ ✦　　

note: i loveddddd this idea that was an addition on to my silly little prompt so badly you don’t even know 😭😭😭😭😭 it’s probably obvious but this was heavily inspired by certain plot details in ‘new girl’ shoutout to nick miller <3 (not sure if i should stick with this lowercase format or not… either way ~) tysm for reading!

[matan4il]

Why I will never give up on Canon Buddie..... Listen I am just a little straight girl who grew up on romance novels. You want Eddie with a women. Well, I mean Vanessa was perfect if you were a writer.

One dare I say she was a better version of Anna and 2 with a little manipulation she could be the girl version of Buck. I mean no one ever could, so don't come for me with pitchforks I just meant in general. She was beautiful, fun, a little heartbroken and didn't add stress to Eddie. Telling the story?? So easy it's a tale as old as time. She shares his culture so let's fake date to throw our tias off. Become friends. Maybe meet Chris. Maybe hesitate to do more because she's jaded and worried it won't work out and how will that effect Chris. Like I have seriously read this story a million times yet the writers never pull the trigger.

My second thing. Again I am a moderately attractive straight single girl. It is not that hard for me to find a relationship. I can throw a rock and find companionship you know?? No disservice to us straights it's just facts. So the fact that the writers intentionally get this wrong while being so loud about the couch screams volumes to me. Especially when you couple it with the fact these 2 do not wing man for each other, talk about sex lives and only refer to the significant other to tell them to dump them. That is the loudest part about their living in each other's back pocket BFF forever relationship. I mean Eddie couldn't even process Buck taking care of himself.

In conclusion 911 if you want me to stop shipping them this all on you. I mean I will never stop. But you could at least try!!

Awww, Nonnie! :D Welcome to the hopeless romantics club! We got comfy cushions for you, as well as cookies. ;)

Regarding Vanessa, yeah. I have seen plenty of rom coms that start off with the exactly interaction she and Eddie had. He's not ready, she's not ready, they come to the date with the intent to let each other down easy, and when they realize they were never an option for the other person, it intrigues them. It could have easily developed in the direction of "instead of going through this repeatedly, how about we fake date to get our Tias off our cases?" and slowly falling for each other. TBH, I wouldn't have been surprised if that's what 911 would go with, since so many shows would. I'm glad it didn't, that the point really was to help Eddie progress on his romantic journey rather than set him up with yet another LI.

I agree with you! I already thought it was eyebrow raising when 911 let Buddie be single throughout the entirety of s3 and a respectable chunk of 4a. Now in s6, they're both once again very single. And we're talking young, good looking, heroic firefighters. It should not be hard for them to find romance, yet out of almost 5 seasons of them being on the show together, roughly 2.5 they spend with both of them being single men. When they're the only single members of the main cast! That is VERY unusual, it's not the route most TV shows would take with their only single characters, you know? That Buck and Eddie are directly responsible for this state of double singleness a part of the time just makes it all more hilarious. XD

I've said it before, I will always ship Buddie. Which means as long as the show is on air and both of their characters are alive, I will hope for canon Buddie. But even if that doesn't happen, Buddie is canon to me. The show has written and filmed their epic love story, and I can't unsee that no matter what. In my head, it will always be just a matter of time before these two morons figure it out.

Thank you so much for this ask, lovely! Have a wonderful day. As always, my ask tag. xoxox

[digitaldoeslmk]

So DBK got sealed away because he broke the truce right, why? Speaking of the truce in my opinion, it’s the most unrealistic thing ever you made (I say this jokingly) you cannot convince me if demons were real they will not become target practice or invasion Cassis Belli’s (basically reasons to go to war) for Post industrious humanity.

Also VILLAIN MACAQUE FOR THE WIN BABY AND HE’S A MAIN VILLAIN LETS GO. like I have a long list of things of have problems with in Lego monkie kid, and macaque basically getting redeem from no effort is one of them, you can’t just go to willing to kill some innocent guy just because he’s friends with your killer,too willing to save your killer.

I’m gonna cut this asks because I don’t wanna go on a rant in your asks

(Like someone who I forgot said it best “the best way to view LMK is as a AU of JTTW)

like i said, the Bull family have plenty of reasons to be bitter towards Wukong, and DBK was both part of his brotherhood and directly affected by his journey. breaking the truce that Wukong was trying so hard to foster was an easy target!

also DHJAJHBDJHABJAD LISTEN, i need a reason for demons and humans to coexist cus i like that premise and i don't wanna wrangle systemic discrimination of that level in this au xD

honestly, i could sit here and ramble all the beefs i have with LMK until we set up a butcher's shop with them lmao, but one of my biggest one is that Macaue doesn't get to be a proper balls to the all villain. yeah his redemption arc is a piffy fart of nothing, but him being LBD's unwilling minion BROKE ME. so i'm fixing it <33

[queen-scribbles]

⭐👀

Rolling back to It's Cold Outside bc I'm still a little giddy I finally managed to finish that one.😁😁 ---

Specifically talking about this bit:

[Adela] reached over and squeezed [Heodan's] knee. “Not everyone is as nice and accepting as you.”

That’s part of why I like you, she added to herself.

He made a noise of reluctant concession and gave her a wry smile. “According to you, my being so nice is why I’m here, all the way across the ocean, rather than one of my brothers.”

“I’m still allowed to be glad you’re here, even being pretty sure you got the short straw because you wouldn’t tell your family no,” Adela said with a laugh.

Heodan studied her face for a moment, gleam of firelight dancing in his eyes.  “Who says I see it as the short straw?” he asked. “I like it here, Adi. I’m glad I met- all of you, got to have a bit of adventure--”

“Even if more than originally planned?” she cut in wryly.

“Even so.” He flexed the hand of his injured arm and smiled. “My nephews think I’m just about the most interesting person in the world, according to Gyran’s last letter.”

“Oh?” Adela smiled, playing with the tail of her braid.

“You, of course, are the most interesting, since you’re the leader,” Heodan clarified with an answering smile, which made her laugh.

“Well, you can tell them I’m flattered,” she said. She let her legs relax down, feet dangling over the floor, and shivered a little even if the fire was plenty warm. “You write your family about me, huh?” she teased, even as the thought made her insides do a funny little flip.

Was it her imagination or did his face go slightly pink at the needling? The firelight made it hard to tell. “They like to hear what I’m doing. You’ve been there for... everything since Echo Bay,” Heodan teased back. “It would be difficult not to mention you.” ---

There's so much verbal dancing going on in this whole conversation, it was so fun to write. It's far enough into things Adi's feeling have definitely moved from crush to like-liking him, she's trying not to admit that for the trusty old saw of Not Ruining Friendship BUT she's so heart on sleeve it bleeds through a little anyway. Heodan's at the point where he's starting to pick up the hints, but since she's not saying anything about Feelings he's wondering/rationalizing other things it could be.

And they're friends. They just like each other's company. (Part of why Adi's not saying anything directly; she knows whether or not the feeling's mutual it'll change their dynamic and she's weighing if that's worth the risk) They tease each other, get offended on the other's behalf, don't mind getting trapped together. :3 (btw the 👀👀👀 looks from Edér and Sagani after they finally get out of Brighthollow were almost enough to drag an accidental confession from Adi, those two were not being subtle. xD)

It's just fun to write characters in a conversation where I get to indulge my love of fluff/banter but there's also more going on under the surface.

[too-much-tma-stuff]

For the fanfic requests - moth jon jmart?

I haven't engaged much with this AU so if I'm going against popular fannon please forgive me XD

----------

Jon had always been more curious then he should have been. It resulted in his wings being singed more then once, he'd spent a day unable to fly after getting them a little crumples squeezing through a space to small for him. He didn't tell anyone about that, he was already isolated enough from his tribe he didn't need to be completely banished for putting them in danger if the humans found out about them.

There were plenty of creatures like them, slipping through the cracks and flitting around the edges of the world. It was best to avoid being seen directly, a niggling doubt that what they'd seen had really been a frog, or a squirrel, or a moth, but never certainty until it was to late.

Maybe that was why he'd been born with the eye pattern on his wings, not the most common, and perhaps a bad omen for his impending curiosity. His grandmother had never been able to keep him from wandering off, by the time she dies he understood why he shouldn't, but that rarely stopped him. Now he had less holding him back from seeing everything he wanted to see!

But now, well now he was in trouble, he had been watching a human. He was kind, he seemed nice! He brought insects outside rather then killing them and he spoke softly to himself when he was alone, which was most of the time. Jon was obsessive, always wanting to know more, so when he saw the window was open how was he to resist the pull of seeing, of Knowing? So he'd flitted inside, exploring the space Martin called home.

No one was in the room at the moment so he was free to explore, reading the titles of the books on Martin's shelf and seeing what he kept on his desk. Until he heard a creek, and a slide, and turned and saw that the window was closing by itself! He dove towards it but didn't arrive in time, slamming against the glass with a soft thump, frail form crumpling to the windowsill as the window slammed shut, catching the edge of his wing and trapping him.

"Oh it always does that!" Jon hears a familiar voice in a tone of gentle exasperation, footsteps coming closer as the moth remains frozen. "I need to get that window replac-Oh! Hello little thing," He said, sounding affectionate and sympathetic making Jon whimper near silently, keeping his head down, please think he was just a normal moth.

"Don't worry," Martin said reaching down towards him as Jon fluttered frantically. "Stop that you'll tear your wing!" Martin fretted before he grabbed the window and opened it just enough for Jon to pull loose, fluttering frantically but his wing was crumpled and he couldn't take off, when he tried and fell Martin caught him, cradling him gently in two soft, warm hands.

He shouldn't of, he knew he shouldn't of, but he looked up into those gentle blue eyes, Wrapping four small hands around one of Martin's thumbs to brace himself. "Oh," Martin sounded, his eyes widening as the small moth and the big human stared at each other for a long, silent moment.

"Please don't tell anyone," Jon pleaded faintly, making the human gasp.

"What are you?" Martin asked making Jon wince.

"I'm um, I'm a moth?" Jon said, folding his wings down along his back and twitching his antenna. "Just not a normal one?" He didn't want to explain the whole thing, if he was going to get in trouble he could at least try to keep the others like him out of trouble.

"Oh om, of course, I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude. Are you alright?" Martin asked, and Jon was surprised by how well he was taking it in stride, his concern winning out.

"Well, I won't be able to fly again right away," Jon said, testing his wing gingerly. "But I'll be alright, if you'll just-just put me back outside I can manage?" He said uncertainly.

"Are you sure? it might be dangerous when you can't fly right?" Martin asked, carrying Jon over to his desk and flattening his hands against the table so Jon could carefully hop off. "You can stay here till you're well, and if there's anything I can do to help?"

"Are you sure you just don't want time to call someone to show off the weird thing you found?" Jon asked suspiciously.

"What!? No!" Martin said sounding aghast, "I wouldn't so that I swear!" And really, deep down Jon knew that, he'd been watching Martin long enough.

He chuckled and shook his head a little at himself, looking up at Martin again with a little smile. "Alright, Um, my name is Jon by the way," He said shyly, it was actually really nice to talk to the human he'd been sort of obsessing over for the last while.

"I'm Martin," He said, hesitating before holding out his hand with a finger extended so Jon could take it in two of his hands and shake it carefully. "It's nice to meet you."

[ramblingsofafanatic]

WIP Game

Thank you @martianbugsbunny and @seth-shitposts for tagging me (both here and my main account)! I've hit a bit of an art/writers block so maybe this will help me get out of it. (Please i have too many wips save me)

Rules: In a new post, list the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I have quite a bit so i'll organize them below a read more, because ive decided to hell with it have the name of all 61 of my wip files from various fandoms xD. Theyre not all like the official title - just the document names.

Also since I have so many WIPs, i am tagging anyone who sees this and wants to do it! I'm being serious if no one else has tagged you directly please take this as your opportunity to talk about your wips (and like you can tag me as the person who tagged you so i can ask you about your wips? please?)

We will put these in the order of what i think will be most interesting to people, not necessarily the order of my personal interests rn lol

Kalluzeb:

1. Part 4 - I Love You (I Know You 'verse)

2. Adoption fic

3. Autistic!Kallus

4. Bedtime

5. Caf Shop AU

6. Lasat-Cat Likeness

7. part-time soulmate, full time problem

8. are you okay?

DinLuke:

9. "You will be the end of me"

10. A merry, crackling fire

11. Assassination attempt

12. Bed rest

13. Broken bone

14. Chronic pain

15. Crying

16. Death of a sibling

17. Identity Crisis

18. Imposter Syndrome

19. Loneliness

20. Making Out

21. Scars

22. Sleeping on the couch

23. Social Anxiety

24. Warm Blankets

Newmann:

25. Taking Care

26. There are many benefits to being a marine biologist

Danbert:

27. Dan doesn't need to know. but he finds out anyways.

28. Dan praise kink testing

29. Herbert Nightmares

30. Megan's brother

31. puns

PatCap

32. Professors!AU

Codywan:

33. ORDER 66 BECAUSE PAIN

34. Royalty/Bodyguard AU

Obikin:

35. Modern!AU

Hankcon:

36. Baked With Love

Good Omens:

37. Season 2 fix-it

TBB

38. Platonic Techo

Balaine (my oc world)

39. Valyra and Nomi

40. Cities and Towns Descriptions

41. Customs and Rituals Ideas

42. History of Balaine

Other Original Stories

43. Adalia

44. Dear Ceylan

45. Nick Of Time

46. Favourite Record

Thrawn x Reader

47. Empire Doesn't Have Sick Days

48. Looking For This?

TBB x Reader (really inventive titles with these ones)

49 The Tech Hug Research Proposal

50. Crosshair 1

51. Echo 1

52. Hunter 1

53. Tech 1

54. Wrecker 1

Kallus x Reader

55. kallus x reader

Prequels

56. anakin x reader

57. anakin x padme x reader

58. would you do the same for me? (obiwan x reader)

The Sandman:

59. 5 times you kiss morpheus and 1 time he kisses you

Shame fics (its piss kink im sorry)

60. Shame xD (Kalluzeb)

61. Listen... dont read this filth (Danbert)

AND DONE!! Bet you thought i was lying about the 61 wips huh? i was tempted to cut out quite a bit of these but as i said earlier: fuck it have fun go for it, plenty to choose from.

[asoulofatlantis]

Judith is here to remind you that once again you will have no freaking idea what you are doing the whole damn time ^^'

We have to set the language to Korean. Lets see if we find the option for that to begin with ^^'

It looks like it is already set to Korean so... all I have to do is get the patch to were it should be...

So... theoretically everything is good to go. So lets give it a try.

Rixia says that it looks like we have done everything right XD

Uh... lets hope we can readjust the size of the window. That is basically Steam-Deck size, maybe even smaller ^^'

Still working on the size...

I am still not fully happy with the size of the window, but it will have to do and it will make the screenshots size more barebal for Tumblr.

Also, yes, we are playing on very easy once more.

Ah... these two returning is definitely one of the greatest gift this game has to offer. And now, that Rerverie is relatively fresh in my mind, I find it even better to see Swin and Nadia again.

Something that is definitely different about Van as a protagonist is that he isn't super pumpt to work, if you get me. Estelle, Lloyd and Rean were rather restless. Always doing stuff. Hardly ever taking a break, while Vans games so far have all started with him sleeping like there is nothing for him to do. Even tho there surely is plenty to do for him. But he is just not in a rush, it seems.

Van is also slightly different in the way he looks at woman. Elaine asked Van what he things about her new clothes and there is no denying that she looks gorgeous in them and any man should notice her legs in those clothes, especially him. But instead he just says they look practical and analyzes there functionality. Now compare that to Rean commenting one Clairs skin skin-tight Outfit and how he blurted out like an idiot that it looks flattering on her. Van doesn't even look at his Love-interest in that way ^^'

Vans approach on things is also rather different from previous Trails-Protagonists. Since even tho he snooped around the matter, he literally said that no one has made an official request, so all he did was keeping an eye on things but not actively doing something until he personally got involved. With all these incidents and murders around, there is no way any of our previous protagonists would have allowed themselves to take a nice nap in the late morning hours while people are getting murdered outside. Van doesn't do much, as long as it isn't a job or involves him directly. He does not care as much about the world or the people.

I can not say that I am looking forward to this... but I guess that is as good as a time as any to make my piece with that ship ^^'

Its already time for a small break to get some food into my growling belly. See you later!

[seyaryminamoto]

I must be the first person who has read two chapters in the wrong order and only realized it after -_-... Anyways, I already kinda know the answer, but after yesterday's chapters the question popped up in my mind again and I had to drop to your askbox. "Hey, now! If I were going all out on you, you'd be toast, Fire Lord!" "Implying you would ever go all out on me…" So they will fight seriously one day right? And there is also that thing with "going for the kill" but there is also a Sokka who will give his everything to save Azula and go back to her, a Sokka who would give her his life and refused to end a fight with her (Ch96) and thought he would rather let her finish the job and would never dare, bring it on him to ever hurt her like that. Are these scenes implictions? Will he like REALLY go for the kill??

Tbh I have no idea if you're the only one who's mixed up chapters that way xD I know that's a risk with double updates, for sure. Might be another compelling argument to switch to weekly ones instead.

Aaanyway, as for the question you ask, ummm...

My typical phrase is in order: it's complicated xD

You're right, the many implications of how insanely powerful Sokka has become aren't there for no reason, let alone this late in the game. Part 2 is indeed coming to a close, and Sokka is by far at the most powerful we've seen him, atm. The final arc of Part 2 will also showcase his strength further, in two fights that I hope will really drive across how incredibly strong he's become. So... when Azula reflects on how strong he is and how he might actually be able to beat her if there were any reasons for him to fight her, well... it does have some bearing on certain events in the future, yeah.

Like I've been saying all along, Part 3 will bring in a lot of game-changing elements, and part of my work as a writer will be holding up the balance between those elements so that the complex storytelling I'm trying to achieve doesn't fall short of the mark. Sokka does have his heart set on fighting for Azula, to the very end... but this is what we'll know through his POV, exclusively. What of Azula? Does she want him to fight for her in this way? Will she want the same things he wants, at this point?

Each character will have their own motivations and driving forces by the time things in Part 3 reach the heights of their complications. I think Azula's position will be the more difficult one to embrace for most readers, rather than Sokka's. She is going to be caught between a rock and a hard place, figuratively, and she has to make a lot of difficult, perhaps even questionable choices, going forward. I've already written a fair share of Part 3 as I am... and while things with Azula did get a lot better over time (like... 7 arcs in xD), she still will hit a kind of rock-bottom that she never has faced before in all of Gladiator... I dare even say a kind of rock-bottom she never faced in canon. It's heartbreaking that she was betrayed by her friends and family, that all her dreams fell apart, in the show... but what if she finds herself being the one who's forced to betray THEM, in order to "keep them safe", to a fault? What if she's the one who has no choice but to relinquish her dreams in the hopes that someone else, someday, will be able to fulfill them in her stead? What if her only available choice is to commit sacrifice upon sacrifice in the hopes that maybe, eventually, things will be better for everyone other than herself?

It's really complicated, as you may be able to tell already. Things are going to be really hard for Azula, and this huge, world-ending confrontation will only happen as the consequences of her many, many hard choices. Sokka has his own share of struggles to deal with, of course, and has to make a few decisions he knows may not be the finest... but compared to Azula, his path is probably much more straightforward, if plagued with a fair share of complications anyway. So it's not that Sokka will WANT to fight Azula... it's that, perhaps, he may not be given any choice on the matter by, uh...

... by Azula herself? :')

... Yep, I think I've said enough @_@

[frombeyondtheblackhole]

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 8

X helped Grian sit back down and handed Grian a clean rag from his inventory. Grian pressed it against his nose to curb the bleeding as X checked his eyes. X asked Grian several basic questions before asking him to count backwards from 100 by sevens and listened as his friend struggled. 

“100… 97 no 93… 87... um... um, ow-” He faltered, staring into space for a long moment. 

“You’ve got a concussion.” X shook his head.

“Can’t I just take a health pot and get back to work?” Grian asked.

X folded his arms and shook his head “Health pot’s don’t work like that. You know how when you take a health pot the cuts all seal up just leaving some bruising. A concussion is just a bruise on your brain so it would be kind of useless. Regen might help a little because it boosts your body's natural healing process but it has the same problem as health in that it won't target bruising. I would avoid coffee for now and anything else with speed pots in it for that matter,” X added, noticing Grian reaching for his unfinished coffee mug.

Grian pouted “What can I do?” 

“You can go home and rest... though you probably shouldn’t be flying for a while. I’ll walk back with you.”

Grian sighed and let X help him to his feet. To be honest he was starting to like the idea of resting, his head was spinning and he was having trouble focusing. “Alright, you win. Just be sure to let me know if you figure anything out about the whole server problem will you.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know,”

---

The day before, Scar and Grian had given Skeppy and George a tour of Boatem. Scar had offered to let the two of them stay in his landboat (As it had more space than Grian’s house) till they could make their own starter bases. 

Skeppy had been startled when, as soon as it started to get dark, the sun blipped in the sky and it was on the other horizon. George explained to him that the night was skipped here, something to do with a Time King named B-dubs. He apparently could cause night to skip for everyone if he slept. George wished he could do cool things like that when he slept, as it was, all he did was talk to demons or gods or whatever XD was. Skeppy insisted that was way cooler than time powers. George didn’t believe him.

Grian had left to work with X on the server problem and Scar was off gathering some stuff to help get them settled in. This left Skeppy and George alone to snoop around Boatem town on their own. They explored Scar’s base but soon became tired of that and went outside. 

They were nosing around Grian’s base and the nether portal when Skeppy noticed something odd. There were a lot of things here he had never seen before but this felt different somehow. It was about a foot in diameter, dark and smooth and round, shining with a deep purple iridescence, and it seemed to call to Skeppy, like the egg, like the blood vines. It called to him, not quite with words but more with instinct, urging him to touch it. Skeppy reached out-

“What’s that you found?” George called snapping Skeppy out of his trance. 

“I have no clue,” Skeppy shrugged.

George came closer and squinted behind his glasses, bringing his face close to the things surface. The air around it tingled like static. “I never saw one myself but I think it might be a Dragon egg,” George said, reaching his hand out to touch it.

Skeppy shoved George out of the way and grabbed for the egg. He was going to be the first one to touch it. The Dragon Egg. His fingers brushed against the smooth surface then fell through to air. He stumbled and caught himself on the now empty quartz pedestal. 

“What the hell, Skeppy?” George protested. Then his eyes fell on the egg sitting on the grass not far from him. 

They’d both seen it. Skeppy caught his eyes. They held each other's gaze, silently urging the other to stay put. They both lunged for it. 

Skeppy collided with George practically landing on top of him but it was too late George's hand knocked into the egg and it disappeared.

Both of them scrambled to their feet looking for where it went. Skeppy found it over the hill but hesitated before reaching for it this time. 

“No you don’t” George cried coming up behind him. Skeppy jumped at the sound seconds before George tackled him directly into the egg and it was gone again. 

“Ow ow- hold on, get off,” Skeppy protested, pushing his palm against George’s face trying to shove George off himself, “This isn’t working. It’s being all teleporty and shit.”

George backed off, and huffed to himself, as he brushed himself off. 

“What are you two doing?” Scar said as he came over. “Oh look,” He stopped as he noticed the dragon egg at his feet. He placed down a piston next to it and a button and *boop* the egg was pushed right into his arms. He picked up the egg and looked back at the two who were still sitting on the ground, grass stains on their clothes and hair disheveled from their fight. “Looks like you two touched the egg. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Grian,” He said with a wink placing it back on the pedestal. 

Skeppy and George just stared at him. “Wait, how did you do that!” Skeppy shrieked pointing. 

Scar laughed, “The egg can be tricky, it doesn't like being touched but you can trick it into thinking it isn’t being held by using a piston. You can also break the block underneath it and catch it as it falls, just make sure to place a torch first... something about the heat is important.”  

“I’m holding it!” Skeppy announced scrambling to his feet and moving towards the egg. 

“Who says you get the egg, I saw it too,” George argued.

“We’ll I saw it first,” Skeppy retorted, sticking his tongue out, summoning his shovel from his inventory.

George scowled “You didn’t even know what it was till I told you.” He summoned his netherite axe from his inventory, the one XD had given him. 

“Well you didn’t even know that it teleported so-” Skeppy started digging down next to the pedestal.

“Woh woh woh, you both can hold it if you want,” Scar said trying to break up the tension “You can’t keep it though, it’s Grian’s,” He added.

Skeppy and George both turned and glared at him. There was a calculating pause then George’s posture changed, he seemed to relax. “Heh- sorry about that,” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “It’s just neither of us have ever seen a dragon egg, guess we got a bit carried away,” He shrugged. 

George wanted that Dragon egg more than anything. Skeppy probably did too. That was the rarest thing on the server and if someone could get it and bring it back to the Dream SMP then they would be the most powerful person on the server. But there were a lot of hermits. Way more than the two of them. It was probably best that they not make them mad. He could find a way to get the egg without them noticing another time. 

Skeppy looked surprised and a little too satisfied with himself as he continued to dig out under the pedestal. He placed the torch and mined away the pedestal catching the egg as it fell. It was surprisingly warm, he felt it vibrating with power as he held it against his chest, his arms wrapped around it, nestled in the folds of his bright blue hoodie. He grinned, he felt like a proud father, why did he feel like a proud father? He hadn’t even felt this way about Sapnap and he practically helped Bad raise him… multiple times.  

“Don’t look so pleased with yourself, it's not that great,” George scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Hey Scar, can you come over here real quick” X called as he and Grian walked back into Boatem town. 

“Yeah, be right over,” Scar called back before turning to Skeppy and George “Just make sure to put it back,” He said before running over to see what X and Grian needed. 

George glared at Skeppy over his glasses, he was still holding his ax. “You're putting it back ok,”

Skeppy turned his body to put himself between George and the egg. “And why should I?” He pouted. 

“Because,” George said calmly and quietly, so the others talking by Grian’s house couldn’t hear, “If you take it now they will know it was us and won’t let us leave.” George watched the gears turn in Skeppies head “So truce for now... we work together to steal the egg later,” 

Skeppy glanced off to the side as he thought about it. Finally he nodded “Alright, agreed,” His fingers were crossed. 

George grinned and pushed his glasses back into place “Great.” His fingers were crossed. 

Skeppy climbed out of the hole and George helped him put the dirt and pedestal back. Skeppy begrudgingly let George hold the egg before putting it back on the Pedestal.

Ok so maybe holding the egg was kind of cool George thought smiling softly before Skeppy made him put it back.

---  

“So what’s up?” Scar asked coming over to join X and Grian. Now that Scar looked at him, Grian wasn’t looking too great. His feathers and hair were rumpled more than usual and he was leaning on X’s arm. “You ok there?” 

“Yeah, Just got a concussion.” Grian shrugged. 

“He flew into a barrier while trying to get into the Dream SMP Server,” X explained.

“Oof,” Scar winced at the description.

“He should be fine after a month or so, he just needs to rest and not do anything too strenuous.” X continued, “Also it is probably a good idea not to let him sleep unsupervised for a couple of days.” 

“Got it,” Scar nodded “I’ll be sure to keep him in line,” 

“C'mon guys, you don’t trust me?” Grian teased.

“I wouldn’t trust you with a ten foot pole,” Scar laughed. 

“Fair,” Grian chuckled, “Well anyway, thanks for walking with me back here X” He said letting go of X’s arm.

“No problem, just take it easy, got it?” X reminded Grian.

“Don’t worry. Besides this means I’ll have plenty of time to help the new guys settle in.” Grian added as he noticed Skeppy and George standing looking at his Dragon egg. 

“Oh no you don’t. You are going inside and resting,” Scar said, taking Grian by the shoulders and guiding him into his house. 

“No, but- I, I’m fine really,” Grian protested

“No buts, You rest, I’ll take care of everything.” Scar insisted and Grian gave up, letting himself be led off to bed. 

[So I know I said I already had a bunch written in advance but when editing this part I realized I needed to add some interactions with Skeppy and George. I really like how this turned out but it is now longer than I originally planned so I am breaking it up into sub parts. The next segment will be out soon]

[spyroforlife]

Black Ice - Mistletoe Mischief

Alright, it’s here, the first prompt I filled out for the Secret Santa held at @rotgsecretsanta!

The prompt was #16, “[Jack/Pitch] Jack and Pitch getting caught under the mistletoe together. But none of that 'oh no look what happened on accident' nonsense — they're aiming for it at every chance they get. Canon or AU welcome, as long as it includes Jack and Pitch absolutely smitten xD”

I decided to write a fanfic for it, which you can read here. You can also read it on AO3 here!

There were exactly twelve hours until North started his Christmas run. So, as was practically tradition now, there was plenty he still needed to do and he was running himself ragged making sure everything was ready.

And as was also tradition, the rest of the Guardians were helping him so he wasn’t bearing the stress alone.

Not only were the Guardians assisting, but so was Pitch, who Jack had dragged along saying he should try to make amends and this was a good place to start.

So here they all were, running around the Workshop helping with whatever North needed, putting the finishing touches on toys, wrapping presents, even advising him on flight paths based on weather forecasts all over the world.

Pitch, to Jack’s surprise, had thrown himself into tending the reindeer with enthusiasm. The beasts hardly listened to anyone but North, but somehow, Pitch had earned their respect.

Jack was keeping busy with his tasks, but he also couldn’t help but notice the abundance of mistletoe that had been hung up around the building. It seemed to be in every doorway and hanging off any available frame. And of course, the building was draped in wreaths, tinsel, and vivid Christmas lights. But it was the mistletoe that gave Jack ideas.

He hung out just inside one of the break rooms where everyone was taking a breather, helping themselves to hot chocolate and cookies before getting back to work. Nearly everyone else was here, he was just waiting for Pitch to come in. And as soon as he did, he was jumping up and giving him a kiss.

Jack heard footsteps and grinned, pressing himself to the wall so he was out of view and waiting. Then the person stepped in and he spun, reaching out to take them by the waist-

Only for it to not be Pitch coming through the door at all, but rather Tooth, who let out a surprised chirp when Jack’s hands wrapped around her sides.

They stared at each other for a few moments and all Jack could think of to say was, “You’re not Pitch.”

She blinked, then glanced up at the mistletoe, flushed, and said, “No, sorry. But you can still kiss me if you want.”

Jack blushed and dropped his hands, but still leaned in and kissed her cheek. She smiled and then delicately kissed his cheek in return.

“Well isn’t that sweet,” Pitch said, making them jump.

Jack looked over Tooth’s shoulder to see Pitch standing there, covered in straw and grinning.

“Uh… caught Tooth under the mistletoe,” Jack said sheepishly. “Thought she was you, which…” He looked at Tooth. “Why were you walking? Don’t you usually fly?”

“I sprained a wing,” she said, giggling and shrugging as though it was something that happened all the time. “I was walking to give it a rest.”

“Ah. Well, I hope it feels better soon.” Jack took a step back from her and glanced at Pitch, then decided he missed his chance and walked over toward the table that was piled with treats. There was plenty more mistletoe where that came from.

*

Pitch felt the shifting of muscles through Blitzen’s body and just barely managed to move away before she huffed and tossed her weight toward him. Her strong front leg managed to hit his arm and he dropped the hoof pick he was using. Then, before he could grab it, she stomped it and snapped it apart.

“Honestly,” Pitch sighed, straightening and putting his hands on his hips.

The reindeer’s eyes were on the same level as his and she looked directly at him, almost seeming like she was laughing.

“Do you want to spend all Christmas with gunk in your hooves?” Pitch asked.

She didn’t speak, but he could feel her mocking him. She had more of an attitude than the other reindeer.

“I’ll get a new pick,” Pitch said. She shouldered into him again, this time knocking him a few steps back, and she chomped her teeth. “Fine, and some sugarcubes, but don’t complain to me if you get cramps while flying later.” He went over to the tack room. The ridiculous mistletoe was even hung up down here, and he reached up to flick his fingers against it.

He heard someone coming down the stairs toward the stable and wondered who it was. The steps seemed too light to be North. Maybe Jack was checking on him.

Pitch smirked, thinking that maybe he could have some fun with that mistletoe, as silly as the tradition was.

He grabbed a new hoof pick from a drawer, then went over to the jar of sugarcubes that North used as treats.

He pocketed some and then lingered in the room as he heard footsteps drawing closer. “I’m in here if you’re looking for me!” he called.

The footsteps gave a familiar few bounding leaps and Pitch realized that wasn’t Jack.

Then Bunny was hopping into the room and deftly grabbing a toolbox from a shelf. He hardly spared Pitch a glance. “Just grabbing some supplies so I can touch up the sled. Have the reindeer tried to kill you yet?”

“No, they’re quite sweet once you get to know them,” Pitch replied. “Rowdy, however. Blitzen destroyed a hoof pick.”

“Ah, Blitzen. Did you start with her front left hoof?”

Pitch furrowed his brow. “No, I started on the front right.”

“Well there’s your problem. Start with the front left.”

“She has a preference?”

“She sure does. Cheers, mate.” Bunny headed back out.

Pitch followed and watched Bunny go off through another door to where the sleigh was stored. Then he approached Blitzen and offered her a sugarcube. She accepted it and he went to her left side.

“May I have your hoof?” he asked, reaching down to tap that foreleg. She immediately lifted it up for him. When he had asked for her other front hoof, she hadn’t given it to him and he instead had to lift it up himself. Perhaps he should have asked her but none of the other reindeer had that much of a preference.

He bent Blitzen’s foreleg and angled her hoof up, bracing it with an arm and beginning to scrape it clean. She put up no fight and he shook his head, feeling both irritated and fond. He wondered if North would let him visit the reindeer in the future.

*

Eight hours until North needed to leave. Jack and Sandy were trying to convince him to take a nap and let them handle things. Just an hour, they insisted. Or thirty minutes! Anything would help.

“Last time you got me to take nap, I woke up with only hour to spare,” North replied, wagging a finger at Sandy in disapproval. “I was almost late leaving because Prancer’s harness broke!”

Sandy flung his hands out, scowling as symbols flashed over his head.

“I know that was being twenty years ago, but memory is fresh! Now, please, I need to see if Bunny finished those repairs! And then I need to check toy status, and see if there are any final changes to naughty and nice lists… so much to do!” Ignoring any further attempt to make him relax, North jogged off.

Sandy’s shoulders slumped and he cast Jack a look that plainly said, It’s like this every year.

“He makes the children so happy though, so I guess it’s worth it,” Jack said. “But we’re gonna make him sleep when he gets back.”

Sandy nodded and then gave him a sneaky sort of smile, a few symbols appearing over his head.

Jack laughed. Apparently Sandy has knocked North out with dream sand on more than one occasion.

They were standing in front of the giant globe that showed North’s believers, and Jack turned to walk away, only to be stopped by Pitch, who had snuck up behind them.

“When did you get here,” Jack started, only for Pitch to pull him close and kiss him.

Jack stared and Pitch dipped him back, allowing him to look up and see that there was a wooden beam high above with, of course, mistletoe hanging from it.

“I don’t think that’s close enough to count,” Jack said against Pitch’s lips.

“I don’t recall hearing about a distance limit,” Pitch replied. “I can see it over us. It counts.” He let Jack straighten and stepped back, smiling and messing up Jack’s hair. “That’s all I wanted, I’m going back to the reindeer now. They need their fur brushed. Big job.”

“Can I help?” Jack asked.

Pitch considered. “I don’t know… they could probably snap you like a twig.”

“Maybe if I provoke them, but come on, I’m not that dumb,” Jack said.

“What do you think, Sanderson?” Pitch asked, looking at Sandy. “Should the twink be allowed near the oversized, five hundred pound reindeer?”

Jack scoffed and Sandy rubbed his chin. Then he said, Jack has fast reflexes. He’ll be fine.

“Thanks,” Jack said, rolling his eyes.

“Works for me.” Pitch took Jack’s hand and they walked away.

“Oh no, I just realized we’re gonna go through a lot of doors to get back to the stable,” Jack said. When Pitch raised a brow, he clarified, “Meaning we have to do a lot of kissing.”

“Woe is us,” Pitch replied dramatically.

They pecked each other on the lips every time they passed mistletoe. It was fun and they were soon both laughing each time they leaned together.

When they called an elevator so they could go down, it took a while to arrive. So Pitch took advantage of the mistletoe here to kiss Jack some more. By the time the elevator arrived, Pitch had Jack pushed to a post with one hand, happily making out with him.

Jack responded to it easily, eyes closed and body warm, loving how playful the other was being.

Then the elevator doors swung open and Jack heard Bunny. “Ugh, must you lovebirds swap spit at every mistletoe?”

Jack turned his face away from Pitch and blushed, embarrassed.

Pitch only smiled confidently. “Yes, we must. North put up all those mistletoe for a reason.”

“Like a couple of hormonal teenagers,” Bunny muttered before leaving at a brisk pace.

“Prude,” Pitch said. He and Jack entered the elevator and went down.

“He looked like he wanted to hit you,” Jack commented.

“He probably did. He’s not the only Guardian with that sentiment.”

“Yeah… but we should probably reel it in with the making out.”

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?”

Jack didn’t really have an argument. And so, for the next several hours, they took any opportunity they could to share a kiss under the mistletoe.

When it came time for North to leave, Bunny said, “Hey I have a last minute Christmas wish. For you to put up less mistletoe in here next time.”

North immediately looked over at Jack and Pitch with a knowing smile. Then he said, “Where is your Christmas spirit, Bunny? They are having fun! Maybe next year, I will put up more!”

“Please no,” Bunny said.

“Too late, it is already in plans!” North glanced at the nearest clock and then gave a startled jump, pulling his hat more firmly onto his head and smoothing out his clothes. “I need to be going! Thank you so much for help, everyone! See you soon!” North wrapped them all into a hug and then hurried to his sleigh.

Bunny sighed, crossing his arms.

“Hey, Bunny, it’s not a big deal,” Jack said, sidling up next to him and bumping his shoulder. Then he took a sprig of mistletoe out of his pocket and held it above the both of them. “If you’re jealous, I can give you a kiss too-”

“You’re on thin ice, Frost.”

“Then I’ll take that kiss,” Pitch interjected.

Jack turned to him and hopped up on the wind so he could press their lips together. He hasn’t gotten tired of it the whole day and he wasn’t tired of it now.

“I’m gonna go lay down,” Bunny said, tired. He walked away. Tooth nodded in agreement, but she patted Jack’s back in approval and even smiled at Pitch before leaving.

Sandy also bid farewell, but not to sleep; he was leaving to follow North and ensure kids stayed asleep while North visited their houses. After thanking Jack and Pitch for their help, he headed out.

Pitch took Jack’s hands, smiling at him and resting their foreheads together.

Jack squeezed his fingers, feeling giddy and not at all tired despite the long day. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

Pitch brushed their lips together one more time. “Merry Christmas.”

[redwinterroses]

I’m doing my very best not to format this as a literary analysis paper but that’s basically what this is so forgive me if I slip back into those old habits at all. And I'm going to tag @betweenlands and @fluffy-papaya in this because guys look what your fic made me brainrot. XD

(This is a long one, y'all. We're talking 2k words. Sorry.)

That said:

Hey, let’s talk about the bead curtain in Dog at the Door.

That dang bead curtain, and why I’m currently fixating on it, and how I think it has symbolism that may or may not be intentional.

(At this point, I’m assuming it’s intentional. Everything about this fic is intentional. Including the pain. Heh. “The only difference between a running gag and a recurring theme is how seriously you take it,” says Solar. Cool. I’m taking it seriously.)

The curtain first shows up in chapter one. It’s one of the first things we see in the van, and the first thing we know about it is that Doc finds it obnoxious. Ugly. Revolting. Renbob loves it, obviously, but Renbob has odd tastes. Doc, on the other hand, literally uses his hatred of the curtain to motivate him to get out of bed in the morning.

The Red King, when he shows up, also has similar dislike of the thing, but his reaction is a little more measured, a little less extreme. More distaste, less disgust. He finds it “distasteful” and compares it to wearing a labcoat without a shirt (lol). But he doesn’t loath it like Doc does, and when Doc suggests (in chapter 13) that they take it down and use it for friendship bracelets, he’s as displeased with that idea as Renbob is. He has an ambivalent opinion, overall.

And then Ren. Ren actually reacts the least to the curtain—but ends up with the most dramatic interaction with it, which we’ll come back to in a second. He simply says (chapter 24) that normally he’d find the beads hideous, but that the light of Doc’s eye reflecting off it into the shadows makes it oddly peaceful.

There’s exactly one other use of the word “curtain” in this fic, and it’s this line right here:

“I haven’t done anything but possess him and lead his soul back to the controls.” RK throws his hands up in the air. “He’s put himself behind the curtain because he thinks I’m out to get him. My only crime is the original contract I made with him, doctor.”

In this instance, RK is talking about their “imperfect metaphor” of Ren being behind the curtain that separates the “driver’s seat” from the rest of the van that is Ren’s mind/soul. He’s saying that Ren has deliberately put himself in a position of defeat and surrender because he (Ren) doesn’t think there are any other options.

M’kay. Right about now, any sane person is going, “Red. Why are you so fixated on this bead curtain. It’s a running joke at best.”

And... I mean, sure. Kinda. But also definitely not.

This is the part where I really step out on a potentially-shaky limb with all the confidence in the world, because here’s what I'm seeing: the dividing line between life and death is often portrayed in literature as a curtain.

(And it’s interesting to note that the curtain is a barrier, a separation, but it’s only a curtain, and this one is made of beads at that. It’s a flimsy and fluid barrier, easy to pass through. Back and forth. Surrender and control, life and death.)

In fact, even in this fic it’s used that way: RK may be referring to the metaphorical bead curtain in their van of an explanation for how his and Ren’s relationship works, but in the story at that point Ren is convinced that he’s dead. Or is supposed to be dead. And by putting himself “behind the curtain,” he’s surrendering to that. Almost insisting on it, because that’s the truth of how he sees the world right then and he can’t process any other possibilities. He’s basically saying “I’m supposed to be dead, and this side of the curtain is death, so that’s where I’ll stay.”

So if the curtain in the metaphor represents the two sides of that, it’s really interesting to look at the various characters’ reactions to the literal bead curtain and see how it reflects their attitudes toward death—and specifically Ren’s death.

Renbob is... chill. He has an entirely comfortable relationship with the bead curtain, with life and death, with his own emotions—even with dealing with the emotions of the others he’s chauffeuring across the universe. While he isn’t immune to the grief of losing (or thinking he’s lost) Ren, he deals with it in a relatively healthy way—at least as much as we see. I think there was a possibly-canon ask at some point that said he was journaling and meditating so... yeah. Renbob’s got this. And 50 other bead curtains in storage. He’s the only character in the fic who passes in and out of the curtain regularly and without it being a big deal.

To put it simply: Renbob is on good terms with whatever happens in life, up to and including the end of it. (Renbob is arguably the equal and opposite of Grimdog. Two sides of the same coin in more ways than one.)

Contrast that now with Doc. Doc is... not a fan of the bead curtain. It represents a loss of control to him, (“freakin’ hippies”) and a separation from what he loves. In the past, he and Ren were on opposite sides of that conflict, and the beads still somewhat represent that tension (though in a mostly nostalgic, and not actively-antagonistic way.) But the language Doc’s narration uses to describe the beads is strong. “Obnoxious.” “Accursed.” “Horrendously evil.”

Nearly as scary as his best friend trying to kill him.

It’s played for laughs, obviously, and it is funny. But if we project the symbolism of “the curtain represents death” onto Doc’s reactions, it gets a bit less amusing. And it really fits with Doc’s attitude toward Ren’s death in the whole fic. It’s the worst thing he’s ever faced—to the extent that until RK’s seemingly-permanent presence forces him to, Doc doesn’t even try to process it. He goes right to work on the prosthetics, growls at anyone who tries to make him do anything he doesn't want to do, accepts RK as “New Ren,” and pretends that he’s going on with life.

He refuses to look at how weird the whole situation is, because if he does that he has to deal with Ren being gone forever. He ignores the thing that’s right under his nose and pretends it’s not there until a moment of quiet or actually having to interact with it brings it back to his attention, and then his reaction is vitriolic.

Doc hates that curtain, and he hates the concept of death, the concept of losing control. Even in his nightmares, he holds tight to what little control he can take, even if it’s just taking the initiative to sit in the snow and let it kill him faster. Hold onto that thought, because I’ve got more to it, but we have to talk about RK and Ren first.

RK holds both distaste and acceptance of the curtain. He doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t want it destroyed either. The distaste, notably, is when he’s with Doc, and the acceptance comes from being around Renbob. The Red King, as a blood god, is not exactly unfamiliar with death. It’s literally in his job description, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. A necessary evil, if you will.

It doesn’t hurt either that, at least up until Ren, RK has always been the one on the other side of the curtain, completely in control of the situation. He goes back and forth on his attitudes, but in the past he has been the one in control and the bringer of death. His reaction is negative, but not emphatic—the way someone who has plenty of indoor plans might react to a rainstorm.

Ren... now, Ren. Ren has, like I said, the least recorded reaction to the actual, physical bead curtain. But. But. While he normally would call it hideous, “there’s something oddly peaceful about watching light fractals spin off the walls, cutting off into the shadows.” The shadows, it’s worth noticing, are specifically implied to be RK/hiding RK in this moment. Doc’s light and RK’s shadows interacting with the curtain bring peace to Ren. He passes through it easily to find Renbob.

Ren has already accepted his death—he accepted it long before the fic even started—to an extent that he’s actively insisting on it for a large portion of the story. It’s only when he realizes that Doc is in potential danger that he starts fighting RK for control of the situation again. (“Stay away from Doc, you bastard. He wasn’t part of our bargain. Leave him alone.”)

He dislikes the bead curtain, but he doesn’t hate it, and when seen in the (literal) light of Doc’s protective, watching eye—even if he is asleep at the moment, bless—even the shadows of RK’s presence are suddenly beautiful and peaceful to him in a way that, without the “reflecting fractals” of the beads, wouldn’t be possible. Again: this is the chapter where Renbob’s influence is felt, and his peace with life and death directly affects Ren and his reactions. (“It’ll all sort itself out, eventually, and I’ll be here for you while it does.”)

And then...

And then Ren rips down the curtain altogether.

The separation is gone. For better or for worse, that divide between control and surrender, between RK and Ren, between life and death... it’s gone. It’s scattered across the floor of the van, glittering in Ren’s hair, and in the carpet. Ren has broken through that barrier, and now we just have to wait to see what the consequences of that are for him.

But... we can already see at least one consequence for Doc. Because now there is no more illusion of control and surrender for him to maintain. That division is no longer there, and we see Doc’s first real surrender in the whole story. Even in his nightmares, he was still in control: he knew it was a nightmare, and he fought against it until he “gave up”—in a way that still put him in control. He chooses to sit in the snow so it’ll kill dream-him faster.

He acts like he doesn’t care, but it’s still not that: he takes control in the only way he knows, aware that everything is only a dream and no matter what how it treats him, he’ll still wake up in the end. He looks at the nightmare and says basically “Do your worst, I dare you, but you won’t get what you want from me.”

But now—now he surrenders to Ren. He gives up. His core truth (“I’ll do anything to protect those I love,” which I talked about in this post) looks like it’s not going to be enough to save them. He can’t save Ren—from RK or from Ren himself—and that means he’s lost in the worst way possible. In this moment, it looks like Ren doesn’t even trust that Doc’s core truth—that he will do anything to save his friends—is true.

This is Doc’s lowest point: that Ren seems to think Doc’s loyalty and love have failed. And to Doc... that’s a fate worse than death.

So he gives up. He tells Ren to kill him, and he fully expects him to do so. Doc doesn’t want to die, but at this point he has completely let go of any control of his own fate. Even when facing down Ren with the Skizz blade, he held tightly to his control of the situation. He literally takes the sword in his own hand and removes it as a threat. But now—now the curtain is gone. The illusion of control is gone.

Ren is the one in control of the situation—for possibly the first time in the fic—and he chooses to remember that Doc is his friend, that he’s missed him. But Doc leaves it all to him. Even when Ren backs off, Doc stays in that surrendered state (“I can’t do anything right, unlike [Martyn.]”). He realizes that he's been in the passenger seat the whole time, and he’s now where Ren was before: no longer even trying to take back the driver’s seat.

The curtain is gone. Now we just have to wait and see who ends up on which side of it at the end.

[scribbuluswrites]

The Desperate

It’s late but here! Another update to the prequel to Faking It. I’ll try to keep on a better schedule, but I live in a very hot part of the world and my AC has recently gone out. It’s roughly 34C in the house during the day, tiny smidge cooler at night, so I’m doing my best to stay out of the house and anywhere with AC. XD

I hope you guys enjoy this and thanks for reading!

Katarina twisted around, looking back at the girl tapping her shoulder. She wasn’t entirely thrilled to be out on a weeknight, but she knew her friends were just trying to perk her up after a difficult week. 

“Hey, there’s a big scary biker staring at you,” she whispered, subtly pointing to a large, tattooed man. Kat grinned. 

“I actually know that one,” she smiled, her face falling as a blonde girl walked up to Happy, practically throwing herself into his lap. Katarina frowned. Her friend chuckled. 

“I know that expression. You’re going to cause problems.” Kat rolled her eyes.

“No trouble,” she disagreed, watching as Happy rested his hands on the girl’s thighs. “I just want him to know he has options,” she shrugged, marching up to the bar. She pushed in between patrons, making sure he could see her. 

Happy made no move to acknowledge her despite Katarina feeling certain he had seen her. She’d be damned if she made the first move, but it was frustrating. 

She had spent the night in his house, but Happy hadn’t really spoken to her. He’d been a perfect, if not distant, host, giving her plenty of space. Now, he was doing the same thing. 

Katarina had originally thought Happy was interested in her, but her opinion had changed significantly since she had called him for help. She wondered if he saw her as some incompetent kid now. 

The rest of the night passed in very boring fashion for a night out. She had danced with plenty of attractive people, even getting a few free drinks. However, the person she wanted to look at her, still hadn’t. Kat’s friends had all started to pair off, some sitting at tables with conquests, the rest already having left. 

She’d tried to get Happy’s attention, but nothing worked. He was still sitting on the same barstool, a different woman on his lap now. Katarina’s feet hurt, and she was ready to go home and soak off the night’s embarrassment in a hot bath. 

“Need a ride home?” Kat looked up, a little startled to see a man standing directly in front of her. She had been digging through her bag for her car keys, her focus momentarily diverted. 

“Nope,” she replied, shaking her head. He didn’t press any further, but he didn’t really move out of her way. Katarina gave him a small grin, glad when he took a step to the side. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much a step as a lurch. 

Happy had shoved the man out of the way. As the stranger started to stand, Happy made sure to put his body between Kat and the man. 

“She’s going home with me,” he growled, most people looking small next to the 6’3” biker. 

“Is she?” Kat asked, her eyebrows raised. Happy glowered at the stranger for a few more moments before he scampered off with his proverbial tail between his legs. 

Katarina stepped past Happy, pushing the door open for herself before he could. He followed her down the street, his long legs easily catching her up. Kat muttered under her breath, occasionally glancing up at him. 

“Something wrong, girl?” he asked, a lop-sided grin on his face at the fire in Katarina’s eyes. 

“How did you pick up on my subtlety?” she replied sarcastically, her mouth a flat line as she looked at him. Happy chuckled loudly. 

“Nobody talks to me like that,” he laughed, turning to lean his back against her car. 

“Maybe I’m just not scared of you,” Kat retorted, sucking in a breath when he grabbed the waistband of her leggings, yanking her against him. She swallowed, trying to keep an annoyed expression despite how far back she had to tilt her head to look at him. 

“Little spitfire,” he said lowly, tracing his thumb over her jaw. “Why are you so mad at me?” 

“Why did you wait until now to talk to me?”

“You got plenty of attention in there,” he remarked, grinning around the toothpick in his mouth. 

“I’m surprised you noticed with the constant rotation of ladies on your lap,” Kat snapped, her ears burning just from the way his smirk turned victorious. 

“Jealous, baby?” he drawled, sliding his other hand around to her lower back. Katarina wrinkled her nose. 

“I’m not your baby, and that’s a big statement from the guy who just threw someone to the ground for daring to suggest coming home with me.” 

“My sincerest apologies, my little macaron,” he replied, his gravelly voice thick with sarcasm. In spite of her annoyance, Katarina felt herself starting to smile. 

“Of all the words I never expected to hear you say,” she grinned, shaking her head. 

“You got an accent,” he shrugged. Kat rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not French.” She pushed at his shoulder, moving him away from the door of her car. Happy smirked. 

“I’ll follow on my bike.” Katarina shook her head. 

“Nope.” Happy stared at her, his expression unchanging. Kat opened the driver’s door, looking back at the unbudging biker. She turned around, squaring her shoulders. “If you want to come over, you’re going to have to admit you were jealous.” 

“Sugar,” he murmured, taking a step towards her. When Kat didn’t object, Happy got closer, crowding her against the door. “You want me to tell you my blood boils at the thought of someone else’s hands on you? That I think about you more than I should? That I imagine you naked, underneath me, knees over my shoulders?” he breathed, leaning in a little closer with each question. His voice seemed to get deeper, and his gaze was predatory. “All the ways I’m going to have you? In every room? On every surface?” Katarina swallowed hard, her eyes giant as she looked at him. She was hot, and borderline desperate by now. 

Happy raised his hand to her cheek, his thumb running over her bottom lip. His eyes were dark  as he gently pressed his thumb between her lips. Kat opened her mouth slightly, her tongue tracing the pad of his thumb. 

“Tough,” he grunted, winking at her. Katarina bit his finger, knowing there was no way she could stay away. 

“Try to keep up,” she snipped, giving him a push backwards. Happy grinned victoriously, waiting until she drove away to walk back to his bike. 

If you want to be added or dropped from the tag list, please just let me know :)

Tags: @agirllovespasta, @gemini0410 @scuzmunkie @woahitslucyylu @chibsytelford @ifoundmyhappythought @multiyfandomgirl40 @jitterbugs927 @yourwonkywriter @withmyteeth

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Twitter ー Carla Tsukinami [2020 Compilation]

–> This post includes all tweets posted on the official Rejet Twitter account for Carla Tsukinami (@DialoverCarlaT) in 2020.

Shuu l Reiji l Ayato l Kanato l Laito l Subaru l Ruki l Kou l Yuma l Azusa l Shin l Kino

February 14, 2020 (Valentine’s Day)

> What a bothersome lot. I’ll blow all of you away at once.

> When it comes to these things, it’s quality over quantity.

> One precious thing. Obtaining that is more important, don’t you think?

March 14, 2020 (White Day)

> An uncommon guest has come to visit.

> Guess I shall give these ‘marsh mallow’ things Kanato gifted me to Shin.

–> This took me a while to figure out, but Carla wrote he received 魔種麻呂 from Kanato, which isn’t an existing word in Japanese at all. However, when you look at the individual readings of each character, they are pronounced as ‘ma-shu-ma-ro’ or マッシュマロー, the Japanese word for ‘marshmallow’. I guess Carla does not know what a marshmallow is. xD

> I do not know which magic creature has been put into these things. So until I identify them, it seems wise not to eat them.

–> The ‘ma’ character in Carla’s unique spelling of the word ‘marshmallow’ means ‘magic’ on its own, hence why he thinks they’re made from magic beasts living in the Demon World.

> Oi, you. Come closer.

> I heard that today you are supposed to return the favor of last month’s festivity. Following said tradition, I shall thank you as well.

> You are a woman worthy of becoming the bride of a Founder. However, that is not all. You are also a woman I personally do not wish to lose. I am grateful towards the fate that brought us together. Furthermore, I shall fulfill my own duty as well. I vow to protect you, no matter what awaits us in the future.

April 1, 2020 (April Fools)

> Moon March 🌙 E-shop opened

ll Cured dry ham ll

From today onwards, we shall start selling farm fresh and Founder-approached cured dry ham. We can ensure the delivery of high quality products to your doorstep. Only those capable of grasping its value, should press the purchase button.

April 30, 2020

> Come here. We do not get to enjoy such a peaceful time together very often. I shall dote on you plenty to make up for all the lost time. 

> Tell me. Go ahead and explain to me what lovers usually do when together in their room.

May 28, 2020 (Birthday)

> How puzzling. Why do you seem so happy, when it is my birthday being celebrated? However, it is not a bad thing. It appears I can get a sense of fulfillment from seeing you try so hard for my sake. In that case, scoot over. I want to feel you close to me. I want to confirm that you are most definitely by my side by touching you directly.

June 26, 2020

> I cannot believe you are asking me to play the role of a teacher. It seems like you do not quite comprehend your own position.

> Again? Watch your step carefully. How many times must I repeat myself?

June 27, 2020

> You could have simply gone to bed before me.

July 7, 2020 (Tanabata)

> I wish to come across a new art gallery.

July 22, 2020

> I am surprised you are still conscious.

> I forced my fangs inside your flesh. It would have not have been strange for you to faint from the pain.

> Seems like you have become capable of accepting any and all stimuli. When you give me such a commendable reaction, I cannot help but want to ‘dote’ on you even more.

> This time, I will give you something you are always craving for...Exactly, pleasure.

> I shall love you more profoundly.

July 27, 2020

> Dry cured ham represents despair and sadness?

> Why?

August 31, 2020

> The buzzing of cicadas makes for a rather elegant tune.

> Shin. Prepare a watermelon at once.

October 16, 2020

> On my way to the museum, I ran into a certain young man. He was a *

--> In the original Tweet, his sentence cuts off mid-way as well.

> He was a court painter who specializes in portraits. I had him paint my picture, but ultimately, I did not feel very satisfied with the end result.

> My face is not buried that deep inside my scarf. Why did he have to exaggerate it such an extend? For one, a portrait usually takes several days to finish, yet the painter in question finished it in just mere seconds. One should take their time painting a picture of me.

> It truly is a shame, but it seems like his skill level has decreased over time.

October 22, 2020 (DL x Mayla Classic)

> Oi, you. Why are you spacing out in the hallway?

> Aah, Shin said that…? I see.

> In that case, I might have a clue. Follow me.

> Take a look at those stairs.

> Amongst the Wolf Familiars, there’s one which has a bad habit of leaving all shiny objects he stumbles upon on the staircase like that.

> I assume Shin hid the gift in the underground dungeon, hoping you would find it after being ordered to clean the place. However, it was taken away by the Familiar before that, ruining Shin’s plans.

> He should have simply handed it to you. Shin is still quite immature as well, taking such a roundabout approach and then getting upset.

> Oh well, I suppose it is fine. Either way, you should take it.

> This is our gift. From here on out, you should always keep them on you, so they do not get stolen by the Familiar again.

October 31, 2020 (Halloween)

> Trick or Treat...is truly ridiculous. There is no reason to choose one or the other. I shall get my hands on all things I desire. Well then, go ahead and submit your everything to me.

November 11, 2020

> Today calls for a celebration.

> It is ‘cured ham day’. There is not a single day in the whole year worth celebrating more.

> I suppose I should have Shin prepare a few extra legs.*

-> I was really confused by this tweet at first because when I looked up the word 原木, it translates as ‘timber’. However, apparently it is also used to refer to the whole legs of dried ham which come on a wooden stand. 

December 18, 2020

> Why are you making such a face? ...The cold? I see, I suppose humans already show the first signs of hypothermia at this temperature. I cannot simply stand and watch in silence as you continue to freeze. Well then, let me prepare you a cup of hot tea. Let us get warm together.

December 19, 2020

> Woman. This one. Order this one. I desire this drink, its crimson color is vibrant, yet somewhat reminiscent of the dark as well. However, please do not get the wrong idea. I do not feel attracted to it due to its strong resemblance to blood. Any blood other than yours holds no value. Of course, you are special and irreplaceable to me as a person as well.

December 24, 2020 (Christmas)

> Are you enjoying yourself? No, I am not criticizing you for your behavior. When I see you in high spirits, even I get a pleasant feeling inside. I feel like I can sympathize with humans who get excited about Christmas a little better now.

[limitless-shadows]

Picking up gofushi crumbs from the manga pt. 3

Disclaimer: Beware of anime/manga/fanbook/light novel spoilers. This is just me commenting on the manga with the lenses of a gofushi fan. So... it’s just my opinion.

This section runs from chapter 26 to 79.

About character developments, gofushi first meeting, “Oh, nothing <3″, and others.

[Chapter 26]

Bless Yuuji’s imagination creating gofushi material LOL

[Chapter 32]

Megumi’s disappointed and nonchalant face when others connect “that moron” to Gojou www :surprisedpikachu: it’s even more funny when it’s Megumi who says that.

[Chapter 33]

Megumi being sharp at noticing changes in Yuuji. If he’s that keen, would he have sensed anything different on Gojou after Getou’s death?

[Chapter 45]

“You really can tell even with that guy’s drawing” Dang it, now I have to add great artist to my list of type standards.

Well, Gojou can do almost anything as stated in the fanbook, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he can communicate well with art as a medium. Ack, is that why Nobara said he had high standards.

I like how fast Megumi is able to dial Gojou’s number here www

[Chapter 55]

If Megumi never tells them anything, what do they think about the gofushi dynamic? Domestic feeling? lolol

Especially Yuuji, who can be perceptive (when he noticed that Junpei was being bothered by his teacher).

[Chapter 56]

Knowing Gojou’s schedule again.

[Chapter 58]

Aaah it implies that Megumi doesn’t usually ask Gojou to train him :(

"Is it that annoying? To ask me?"

...either doesnt want to ask him because he is annoying and/or because he doesn’t want to feel more indebted to him ;-;

I like the face that Gojou makes here haha like: eeeeh~ why is that? what’s wrong that you don’t want to ask me

Did Gojou realize Megumi’s self sacrificing tendencies from just the bunt? or did that already confirm previous suspicions? I liked the anime adaptation of it~

Of course Gojou would be so angry at that that his finger flick made Megumi's forehead bleed. Megumi who isn't growing up in the correct way to be strong enough as was asked from Gojou during their first meeting:

“You better get strong, don’t get left behind.”

And also Megumi throwing away his life in such a manner after Gojou protects him so much ;-; Gojou knows Megumi has plenty of potential but isn’t tapping on it effectively. Disappointment.

Then follows it up by asking him to be selfish so he can grow up strong (it's ok to ask your sensei for training! ;-;). Megumi freeing himself from the chains that bind him to a lesser self valuing is such an amazing character development.

Adding to it is that this flashback was used as the base for Megumi’s change aaaah

I also wanted to add that Ep23 was released 1-2 days before this post and it was such a great adaptation of this chapter with the sunset, the shadows and if that wasnt enough gofushi food, they went with the jujusanpo and and violinteacherhomewreckersformationbgaaah

what is formation a??? or c??? the gofushi interpretation of megumi’s gomeeeeeeeen?andsorrythatepisodewastoogoodImenjoyingthenewgofushiviolinarts

[Chapter 59]

A suspicious dude with white hair who is tactless.

Yaaay way to go with first impressions :D It's funny how Gojou hasn't changed and is still disrespectful in his speech XD

[Chapter 79]

Gojou guessing that Megumi already manifested his cursed technique...

While the fanbook said that he wanted to recruit a talented person, I also fancy believing that Gojou didn’t want Megumi to grow up under a harsh Zen’in training.

Ah. I like how Gojou kneeled down to talk to him about his father’s death. Imagine a 190+ cm tall stranger coming to you, a 6 year old, and telling you from that high up that he killed your father lololol

At this height, Gojou is near Megumi’s stature or at least close to seeing him eye to eye. That pose is also less threatening and even seems childish in Gojou manner lolol but that’s sometimes how Gojou approaches serious things: in a joking way.

Gojou has such a similar reaction where he doesn't say what he is thinking directly, but masks it. In the chapter where Todou says that they should continue with the exchange event, he questions Todou’s age XD and here he asks if he really is a first grader.

That right panel tho... what was going through his mind in that moment? Surprise? Pity? This kid is not normal.

Akutami-sensei Q&A mentioned that the one to tell Megumi about his father was going to be Gojou... and I wonder how it’s going to go? also, Gojou getting out of the box? aaa-

I wonder how it must have felt for Megumi... when the suspicious dude with white hair actually did take care of things. The fanbook with the following Q&A for Fushiguro:

Q: How did he become so insightful?

A: Maybe it's because he has negative thinking and doesn't just trust people.

Source: JJK Official Fanbook (fan translation)

Oof, his own upbringing made him like that. Especially with how he regards himself...

When it says that he “doesn’t just trust people”, Megumi then probably didn’t expect much from Gojou after their first meeting and is surprised when Gojou comes back :(

His father and mother leaving him, but Gojou coming back... although the situation doesn’t get better when later on Tsumiki goes into a coma and Gojou is sealed...

He will take care of things after a hehe~  ;-; 

---

Oh, yeah and:

Q: Has he known Maki and Mai even before entering the school?

A: Yes. When Gojo was working on Megumi and the Zenin clan issue, he took him to the Zenin house, so I think that's when they first met.

source: JJK Official Fanbook (fan translation) (same as above)

Seems like the Zen’in house is in Kyoto? Because of Maki and Mai’s birthplace not to mention Naoya’s kansai dialect. So... did they go on a trip to Kyoto? :D

---

Then, Gojou counting on shotagumi to work extra hard.... so he can be strong ;-; and maybe become part of his nakama group to change Jujutsu's society huhuhu

On the topic about being granted a choice, I only came to realize it after reading this excellent work, Close Your Eyes (To See) it’s a lovely soulmate fanfic, please consider reading it if you haven’t ^^. Megumi usually goes on about unfairness randomly granted on people, so to be given a choice about going to the Zen’ins or not is quite big. Particularly when it comes to how the Zen’ins would have treated Tsumiki, a non sorcerer. It’s too good.

The look when he says that ;-; counting on Megumi to get strong enough to rival Gojou? Then Gojou wouldn’t be the only one going against the conservative higher ups.

When Gojou closes his eyes, it seems to convey regret/resolution where he sets in motion his plan to reform the Jujutsu society so that no more sorcerers go stray or overwhelmed by duties following a rigid doctrine ;-; as if preventing them becoming like Getou. And thats so aaah because while I knew what Gojou's wish was, I didn't know the why behind it, and that would be a great reason. Megumi has been with Gojou since the start (or near the beginning of it), so it’s even more beautiful.

That transition from closed to eyes to the present where the 1st year trio wakes him up. Was he recalling all those events during the nap?

I- I just love Megumi's pouty face here. But it's still not that angry looking, more like, he is used to it (as always). Then my gofushi brain telling me that there is a hint of concern in Megumi's look- its almost affectionate. Could it be concern because he is worried about how much sleep he gets.

About Gojou’s sleep:

Q: How many hours does he sleep?

A: Seems like only for a short while.

source: JJK Official Fanbook (fan translation)

And Megumi being aware of his tendency to eat sweet things:

“When he’s busy, Gojou-sensei tend to eat more sweets like these, after all…”

source: JJK First Light Novel - Chapter 1 (fan translation)

aaaaaaaaaaah

Gojou lifting his blindfold to look at Megumi with his left eye because Megumi is on his left side.

Wait... it’s the same left eye from the second opening of the first season.... is that a hint.

The legendary “Oh, nothing <3″ with the heart~

Is he being fond of Megumi because of dreaming about their first encounter or because Megumi did get strong, or, or, both of those. aaaah what if it was from recalling everything that happened in the 9 years they've known each other? Calm down! Probably because he got strong comrades now! ;-; i-it’s not just because of Megumi! ...but I like how he has his body turned to Megumi only...

It's a "Megumi has been with him all this time (9 years) while he is trying to achieve his dream and he became this strong"

They... they just look so good together ;-; my gofushi feelings... Chapter 79 is special grade.

[Part 4]

[mikauzoran]

The Ascendancy of The Plan ™ (re: Mikau’s WIPs)

So, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past few months since I last did one of these status updates. Most of the stories I ended up writing were much longer than anticipated, and I’ve had a lot of ideas just pop into my head that I hadn’t originally been planning, so this list isn’t going to look very different from the last one, but I promise that I have accomplished things, and there are some new projects in the works. ^.^;

I’m currently posting the final chapters of Among the Wild Things and Betting Against the House. Below is a list of works I have planned for the coming months. Let me know what sounds interesting or what you’re excited for.

Anhedonia: When Adrien Met Marinette: (Adrienette, post-reveal/pre-relationship, roommates) So, I’m taking a screenplay writing class, and we’re studying the scripts of several movies to get a feel for how the writer evokes different cognitive responses from the audience. One of the movies is When Harry Met Sally. I’ve never seen this movie, but apparently it’s about two friends finally ending up together after some trials and tribulations. It’s about never giving up on finding love and happiness...only I’m feeling depressed at the moment, and I don’t want to hear about true love because I’m lonely and despair of ever finding someone to share a life with. So I’m using my feelings to write a story. ^.^ Naturally. XD

It’s post-reveal/pre-relationship Adrienette. They’re roommates, and there’s been a misunderstanding because Marinette didn’t tell Adrien how she felt about him after she found out he was Chat Noir, and he’s told her that he’s over her because he thinks that the only way to preserve their friendship (since she’s already turned down his advances as Ladybug, so, obviously, she wouldn’t want him as Marinette either). It has a happy ending, and they straighten things out because I still believe in finding true love and happiness. XD I’m a sap like that, and these two deserve happiness.

Ladrien Present: (Adrienette, Ladrien) I’m still trying to write a story where Ladybug brings Adrien’s birthday party to him. ^.^; I have half of it written (the Adrienette half), and I have an outline for the rest. I just...need to sit down and make myself write it. I’ve seriously been procrastinating on this one. I don’t know what my deal is. -.-;

Marichat Prompt: This is an overflow prompt I received as part of my Productive Procrastination Prompt Giveaway. It’s about Chat Noir visiting Marinette and it somehow coming up in conversation that Marinette has always thought of Chat as a player. For some reason, this makes Chat really angry because he can’t stand her in particular thinking that about him. I thought this story out a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I’ve forgotten, and I’m going to have to think up the plot all over again. XD

Alyadrino Prompt: Someone sent me an Ask that said, “Snuggle party makes me imagine what if nino and alya accidentally did to adrien what luka and marinette intentionally did to him in shades 12″, and I thought, “…Oh, all right. Why not?” I had a basic outline of what I wanted to do with this story a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I have to figure it out all over again. Oh, well. I have the basic idea, I think.

Lukadrigaminette: At the beginning of the month, I thought, “I should do Valentine’s Day stories!” I ended up writing a Marichat one, and then I had this idea. It’s not Valentine’s Day related, so I decided to shelve it for later. So, several years ago, my friend and I concocted this scheme to bake for our respective crushes and win their hearts that way. It’s a really fond memory for me, and I’m turning it into a Lukadrigaminette story. Luka and Kagami join forces to bake for Adrien and Marinette in order to win their love.

Plagg and Wayzz Prompt: I got a comment on one of my stories that said, “Can you do a top wayzz bottom plagg one? Preferably in universe and in human form. Doesn’t have to be smut.” First I thought, “What the bloody hell?” because it was a comment on a Lukadrien story, and that’s all it said, and I thought, “Well, that’s random.” I’ve never really written Wayzz before, but this gave me the idea for a story where the team is up against an akuma that somehow separates them from their kwamis, leaving the heroes unable to detransform and the kwamis in defenseless human form. What I came up with really doesn’t have anything to do with the prompt other than Plagg and Wayzz will both be in human form. It will probably just end up being a Lady Noir identity reveal piece, honestly.

Supportive Adrien Lukadrien One-Shot(?): I haven’t actually pinned this story down well yet. ^.^; I was just thinking that I wanted to write something where Adrien is the one supporting and encouraging Luka, since I typically write Luka being a supportive presence for Adrien. I was thinking that the scenario could be that Luka is feeling down because Marinette still loves Adrien and things aren’t going well between Marinette and Luka, so Adrien takes Luka on an outing and confesses his love and they live happily ever after or something.

The only thing is that a different scenario is trying to creep into this story. It’s really weird. It’s post-Papillon defeat, and Adrien is twenty-four (Luka is twenty-six). He’s been in kind of rough shape the past few years since his father was arrested and he lost his family and home and fortune. He couldn’t finish university, and he’s been travelling around, trying to find work and make a life for himself. He ends up back in Paris, broke, and auditions for a band because he happened to see a flyer advertising for a new lead vocalist. It just so happens that it’s Luka’s band, and Luka ends up finding out about Adrien’s situation and taking him in and feeding him...but that scenario is just more Luka taking care of Adrien, and that’s not what I wanted to write. XD It also feels like multiple chapters, and I don’t want to go there. Oh, well. We’ll see what happens.

Adrien Trapped in AU-Land: (Adrienette, canon universe featuring AUs) My idea is based off of a writing prompt submitted by @graaythekwami on the @miraculousfanworks Discord server: AU where all the characters wake up in a different AU every chapter, fully remembering what happened in the last AU. My idea is for Chat Noir to get hit by an akuma (probably named Escapist or something equally dumb ^.^) who traps Adrien in a series of alternate realities (AUs) until he realizes his feelings for Marinette and manages to break free.

L’Amour de Loin: (Lukadrien, post-Papillon defeat, Félix wingman) I did a sneak peek for this here. This was one of the two “Winter Lukadrien Pieces” mentioned on my last status update. Adrien is living in London with his aunt and cousin three years after Papillon’s defeat and arrest. He’s in rough shape and hasn’t kept in touch with anyone from Paris. One day, he gets a text from Luka out of the blue, and they rekindle their friendship. Félix acts as wingman to ensure that it turns into something more.

Adrienette Hanahaki: Awhile ago I did an ask game about a trope I’d like to try writing, and the one I came up with was Adrien with Hanahaki disease (The one where you start coughing up flower petals due to unrequited love making flowers grow inside your lungs). I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided I’d like to actually write this story. My basic outline is: Adrien starts showing symptoms, and Gabriel badgers him about whom he’s in love with, and Adrien just blurts out, “Marinette!” And Gabriel threatens Marinette into dating Adrien, and they start fake dating but then fall in love.

Happenstance and Magic: Marichat May 2019. Marinette and Chat Noir adopt kittens together, and Adrien tries to get Marinette to see that he’s not perfect but still a worthwhile person deserving of her love.

I’ve been thinking about this one, and I think I’m going to cut the number of prompts I actually use. Once I’m done with the other stories, I want to sit down and make a more thorough outline of what I want the story to be and which prompts I’m going to use to get me there.

The Seduction of Adrien Agreste: This is part of the Springtime in Wonderland (Daisy/Jabberwocky) series. It deals with Luka and Adrien experimenting with physical intimacy to see if they can reach a compromise where Luka and (asexual) Adrien are both comfortable and have their needs met.

Things Currently on the Backburner:

The Rejects Club: Predominantly Marichat with Adrienette. Chat Noir and Marinette unexpectedly grow very close very fast as they open up to one another after Marinette overhears Adrien seemingly dismissing her as a romantic prospect. Identity shenanigans at farcical levels ensue.

I can’t really deal with Rejects right now. I’m feeling super overwhelmed by basic life stuff, so I don’t really have the mental or emotional energy to put into a story where I don’t know how many more chapters there will be until the end. I’m thinking that what I have planned will take at least another one or two hundred thousand words. This thing is just so massive, and I’m not in good enough mental heath to deal with it right now.

Springtime in Wonderland: Yeah, no. See the paragraph directly above. This is another one that’s going to take another couple hundred thousand words to complete, and I just don’t have the stamina in me right now. I’d rather focus on smaller projects that actually feel attainable. I’m trying not to burn myself out.

And that’s it for the moment. I’m sure I’ll come up with plenty of other stuff between now and the next time I do a status update post, but is there anything that you’re particularly interested in? Let me know what you’re thinking.

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions? Opinions? ^.^

[tellatennie]

Bakugou x Soulmate!Reader

Hi! This is my first Tumblr post! Not my first time writing but it wont be as awesome as everyone else on Tumblr but I hope you like it! Im still figuring some mechanics of Tumblr out first so let me know if I mess any technical stuff up :)

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SOULMATE AU: Reflecting in the mirrors is the appearance of your soulmate 

(Y/N): age thirteen

”mommmm can you come here for a minute?” I call out of the open bathroom door. I’m freaking out. I looked in the mirror one second and it was fine then the next moment it’s reflecting a boy with spiky ash colored hair and not me. 

“Yes sweetheart?” My mom said walking next to me. “Who's....that” I say; pointing at the mirror. She smiles at me.

”Is it not you?” I shake my head. “Then that’s your soulmate” I look up at her. “My... soul..mate?”  She crouches down to meet my very short height. 

“You see, everyone has someone that’s perfect for them. Someone that you can be best friends with and hopefully marry” She stands up and looks in the mirror. “Everyone that has a soulmate sees that person in the mirror instead of themselves. I see your father, and your father sees me.” I make an o shaped mouth and nod. 

“So my soulmate sees me in their mirror?” I ask. She nods. I glance back to the mirror and leave the bathroom. 

Meanwhile, about a 30 minute drive away (No POV) 

”What the HELL” A young boy yells. 

“Language!” His mom screams. “WHY THE HELL IS THERE A PERSON IN MY MIRROR” He heard his mom stomp up the stairs. “What are you blabbering about?” She glared at him from the doorway. 

“There’s a fucking person in the mirror” He deadpans to his mother. She squeals and runs over and hugs him. “Wha- GET OFF ME YOU OLD HAG” She smiles at him and smacks him upside the head. “That’s your soulmate!”

”..my whAT?” She explains to him the details of having a soulmate without yelling more than 3 times. (Sorry, I'm lazy) The boy somewhat glares at the mirror as his mom leaves.

”Stupid fuckin system makin that extra my “soulmate”” he mumbles to himself while walking away.

BRRRINNGGG BRRRINNGG (Your POV)

I groan and hit my alarm clock. Today was the first day of school at U.A and I did not want to get out of bed. I slumped the top of my body and slowly slid off my bed onto the floor (we have all done that) I get dressed into my uniform and walk into my bathroom. I stare at the ‘reflection’ of the once young boy that turned into a handsome young man that you call your soulmate. I figured he was about the same age as me but I could always be wrong. My mom has to do my hair every morning due to me not being able to see myself anymore other than pictures. 

After she did my hair I bid her farewell and walk out the door, excited for what the first day of school will bring.

I stare at the somewhat H shaped building. My jacket hood pulled over my head, I walk into the school and search for my classroom. I made a few friends during the entrance exam, like Kirishima, Mina, and Ochaco. So at least I knew I would have friends.

I walk into my designated classroom and immediately get tackled by Mina. 

“(Y/N)!” I let out a laugh and pat her back to get off me.

”Hey Mina, can’t breathe” She got off of me and backed up whilst I stood up. I eye around the room and spot the people I saw at the exams. My gaze falls on a blonde guy sitting with Kirishima and a yellow haired boy. I remove my gaze and look for my seat but Im FrEaKiN oUt DuDeS. 

Oh right next to him that’s great 

Why am I freaking out? You probably guessed (*cough* since this is a cheesy oneshot*) . It’s the same exact boy I have seen in my mirror for the past 2 and a half years. I sit down at my seat and try not to look too much in that direction. Hoping the crimson eyes I constantly had stared into, didn’t land on me. 

“Oh! Hey (Y/N)! Nice to see you got in this class too!” 

God damn it Kirishima

I turn my head to him and smile “Hey Eijiro! Nice to see you too” He stands from his sitting position off the desk. 

“This is Denki Kaminari” He pointed at the yellow haired boy “And this is Katsuki Bakugou” He leaned in slightly and whispered “Be careful around him, he’s a hot head” The blonde boy shot up. 

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY SHITTY HAIR?” The boy glanced at me and then back to Kirishima. I see him do a double-take at me and blink slightly. He quickly regains his *terrible* posture and crosses his arms and glares daggers at Kirishima.

"This is (Y/N) (L/N) by the way" He added, acting like he didn't just get screamed at. I smile slightly and wave. I feel someone hug me from behind and put their hands over my eyes. "Guess who" a very high and obviously fake voice came from behind me. I think for a second; the only person I know that would need to make their voice higher other than Kirishima would be....

"zuku!" He huffs and removes his hands and I turn around to stand up and hug him. Me and Izuku have known each other for a while, my dad is his moms brother, making us cousins. So him and I would hang out often. Just as I was about to start a conversation with him our teacher Aizawa appeared from practically nowhere and told us to take our seats.

I got a weird feeling that someone was watching me about halfway through the lesson, figuring it to be Izuku I glance at him only to find his head stuck in his notebook writing down what Aizawa said. I looked around the classroom before giving up and looking down at my desk. I still feel watched and out of the corner of my eye I see Katsuki Bakugou staring directly at me. I make eye contact with him and hold it for about 3 seconds before snapping my eyes to my notes. I see him move his head to his notebook to start writing his notes.

When class lets out for the day I organize and pack all my things together in my bag and stand up to leave when I notice a note on my desk; neatly folded into quarters. I look around the classroom and just now notice I'm the only person left in the room. I pick up the note and open it, reading it out loud. 

"Meet me at the (Random Park Name: R/P/N) at five" I glanced at the clock that reads 3:45. Giving me plenty of time to go home, have a snack, get dressed and go. I don't know why I'm going, I just feel like I need to. 

I walk out of my house holding the note in my hand. I walk to (R/P/N) and stand outside the entrance. I walk in and sit on one of the benches and scroll on my phone. I feel someone sit next to me but I pay them no attention. I could tell it was a guy but I didn't want to seem weird or something. He cleared his throat expectantly. I look up at him to meet the gaze of Bakugou. I feel my cheeks heat up slightly and look down at my hand holding the note. 

"Um. Hi. I'm assuming you gave me the note then? Is there something you need?" I raise my head to look at him. He scoffs, "We both know we're soulmates so don't act fuckin stupid like those other idiots." He snaps. 

"Alright fine. Yes we're soulmates. Why did you want to talk to me" I said, trying to act super chill about it. "Because I wanted to get to know you dumbass"

For someone as hot as you, you seem really dumb 

"I could say the same thing to you gorgeous" I snap my head to him to see his eyebrows raised and him smirking. My face flushed, did I say that out loud?

Timeeeeskipppp

Me and Bakugou walked together for about 3 hours after that, just telling each other about ourselves. I learned that he is really sweet-hearted but he doesn't want people to know that so he made me swear not to say anything about it. Somehow our hands got linked together and we were sitting in a patch of dandelions on a large hill looking down at the city. 

"You know I've dreamed about meeting someone as pretty as you the day you appeared in my mirror" He commented, glancing over at me. He was really good at complimenting, I've lost count of how many times he's made me blush tonight.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and asked "does this mean we're a thing now?" He let out a soft laugh and put his hand under my chin and lifting me head up. He closed the gap between us. I couldn't help but notice how soft his lips were. I leaned into the kiss, deepening it as he cupped my face. When we broke apart he rested his forehead onto mine and smiled softly at me. 

"Of course we're a thing dumbass"

AHhh I'm bad at writing romantic scenes I'm sorry xD