#(i got stuck like halfway through this one so i hope the ending makes sense lmao)

[illfoandillfie]

Kinktober Day 23: Free Use

Kinktober Masterlist | Regular Masterlist

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader x Gwilym Lee

Words: 2,570

Warnings: free use, threesome, degradation, PIV, oral sex (m receiving), a little bit of gagging, cock warming, sub!reader, dom!gwil, dom!ben, some spanking, fingering, a little bit of too quick penetration, possessive kink, implied bondage, implied somnophilia,

A/N: I guess this fits in the Taking Control verse. I wrote a sequel to it last kinktober so...heres another? Although apparently im allergic to writing another dom reader in this series ksfjksfksjdksjdksjd

Gwil was the first to arrive. Hardly surprising since he was always more punctual than Ben. Besides, it had been his idea to make the bet in the first place, of course he’d want to claim his prize before Ben did. Ben hadn’t even realised you were serious about it at first, although he was quick to side with Gwil once he had. So, when Gwil pressed your doorbell nearly fifteen minutes early, shopping bag of snacks for a movie marathon at his side, all you could do was sigh and let him in.   “You excited?” He asked, emptying a bag of crisps into a bowel. “For the movie night? Sure. What’s not to be excited for.” Gwil ignored your feigned stupidity, “Judging by your outfit you are.” You glanced down at your dress, and then back at Gwil impertinently “Well I was going to wear jeans but, as you so helpfully reminded me, you require easy access.” Gwil laughed, “I hope you get this attitude under control before Ben gets here. We won after all, we expect you to be gracious about it.” “If you’re trying to call me a sore loser you’re wrong.” “Not sore yet but after a week of being our free use fuck toy you will be, I’m sure.” You rolled your eyes and laughed, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, point is, I am kind of excited about this. I think it’ll be fun actually. We’ll probably need to discuss logistics at some point though. Like, I know you’ll probably stay over tonight but what about the rest of the week? Are you going to come here looking for me whenever you want a nice hole to get off in? Or am I expected to drop everything and come to you when you call? I don’t think either of us were thinking of that when we made the bet, but it’ll be fun to figure out I’m sure.” Gwil blinked, a little taken aback that you’d thought about it so much, or at least that you’d admitted you were excited, “Oh. yeah, I’m sure we’ll work that out. But I’m glad you’re as keen as I am.” “Doesn’t mean I won’t get you back for it though.” Gwil snorted, the sincerity of a moment before disappearing, and glanced at the clock, “Well, Ben’ll be here soon and I think I should get it in at least once before then. So,” he clicked and then started working on getting his pants undone, “Bend over.” You let out a huff as if you had better things to do, always ready to push his buttons, but complied, bracing yourself on the kitchen bench so Gwil could flip up your skirt. He inhaled sharply as he realised you weren’t wearing any panties.   “Easy access,” you reminded him.   “Good girl.” he ran his fingers along your already wet slit, “I knew you were excited.” You didn’t bother to say he shouldn’t be surprised since you’d already told him as much. It didn’t seem important when his fingers were parting your lips, exploring your cunt. You pressed back against his hand and he chuckled to himself.  

Gwil didn’t waste too much time on foreplay. He stretched you a little on his fingers but his determination to finish in you before Ben arrived meant he was quick to press his tip against your hole.   You hissed at the stretch, just shy of a sting.   “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” he grunted, “By the end of the week we won’t need to finger you at all” He stilled for a moment, seeming to be just enjoying the feeling of your cunt, his hands roaming over your sides and around to your breasts, “You’ll be so easy to fuck, full of cum and dripping wet from being our whore.” You whined, pitching forward at he suddenly thrust, pushing himself deeper.   Gwil lay a slap to your arse as he thrust again, “Stay still, I’m trying to enjoy my cunt.” His possessive words sent a shiver through you. The idea that you would essentially belong to Gwil and Ben for the next week made your head spin, and you moaned as Gwil settled into a steady pace. It must have turned Gwil on just as much, the idea of owning your body and all the potential things he and Ben could do with you, because he came rather quicker than normal. You could have found his enthusiasm much hotter if he’d made any attempt to get you off too but when, after he’d pulled out, you pouted about not getting any relief, he’d just laughed.   “That’s not really my concern. Your pleasure was never part of the agreement, Y/N. I’m sure you’ll manage at least a few orgasms just from how frequently we’ll be fucking you, but your purpose this week is just to take our cocks whenever we feel like giving them to you. If you’re lucky one of us will get a craving for cunt and eat you out until you cry.” All you could do was whimper and pout and hope that he didn’t mean it.   “Careful Y/N. Keep looking at me like that and I’ll get hard again, you know I love it when you beg.” “I’m not begging.” He made a derisive little snort. “You’re such a prick. Next time we make a bet I’ll win and then I’ll have two free use cocks to play with.” “Ben’d enjoy that I’m sure, but I won’t be losing.” Before you could respond, the doorbell rang.   Gwil grabbed the bowl of crisps, grinning, “Speak of the devil. You go let him in, I’ll choose a movie,” he instructed, slapping your ass lightly as he left the kitchen. “Prick!” you called after him as he headed out to the couch, but it was playfully meant and he just laughed.  

“What’s he done now?” Ben asked as soon as you opened the door, clearly having heard your comment to Gwil.   “Oh nothing, you know how he gets when I let him dom.” Ben laughed and followed you inside, “How many times has he fucked you since he arrived?” “Just the once.” “You sound disappointed,” “Only because,” you raised your voice a little so Gwil would hear, “he’s getting old and can’t last as long.” “Don’t listen to her.” Gwil said holding out the crisps to both of you, “She’s just salty that a free use toy doesn’t always get to cum. Anyway, movies ready to go.” Ben swung his backpack off his shoulder, opened it, and pulled out a pack of beers, “Drinks are sorted.” He collapsed onto the couch and began undoing his fly, “and I’ve been looking forward to this for days Y/N.” “Which hole sir?” you asked, readily falling into sub mode for Ben. He was too sweet to get the bratty behaviour you reserved for Gwil.   “Mouth,” he said after a moment's thought.   You dropped to your knees eagerly, shuffling forward until you were between his knees.   “He gets a sir and I don’t?” Gwil huffed. You just shrugged and offered him a quick smile before you bent over to spit on Ben’s cock. Ben let out a breath like he was finally relaxing as you took him in your hand, pumping his shaft. He opened his beer, took a handful of crisps and asked Gwil how is week had been. You focused on his cock, almost salivating with how keen you were to taste him again. He was stiffening against your palm so you leant over him and drew your tongue around his head a few times, pleased when you elicited an audible reaction. He gasped and his free hand landed in your hair, pushing you down closer to his cock.   With a quiet chuckle to yourself you let him guide you, taking his tip between your lips. It was a familiar sensation and you let yourself fall into a rhythm you knew Ben liked, slowly bobbing up and down on his length as you adjusted and took more of him. But, before you’d even managed to get more than a couple of inches down, Ben halted you. His fingers tightened in your hair, and he interrupted his conversation with Gwil to murmur a quiet instruction for you to still.   “No, no, Y/N. I just want you to warm me for now. I’m trying to talk to Gwil and you’re very distracting.” And with that, his attention was elsewhere, Gwil continuing whatever story he’d started telling.   Instantly you were hyper aware of the weight of Ben’s cock resting on your tongue and the slick pooling between your legs. You’d already been wet and horny from being fucked over the kitchen counter. Sucking Ben off wouldn’t have given you that relief but it would have helped. You liked being submissive and pleasing your boys, you liked knowing you could make them feel that good. But now you weren’t even getting that second hand pleasure that a successful blowjob would have given you. All you had to think about was the cock in your mouth – the feel of it, the scent, the taste – and the growing need to cum.  

Ben made you wait for what felt like an eternity. In the time you were knelt between his knees, cock in your mouth, waiting, Ben and Gwil successfully covered all the most important bits of the previous week, and some of the more mundane bits too. They’d started the movie, continuing to talk as it played, sometimes with relevant information about the film and sometimes just other stuff they remembered. You had begun to whimper. Saliva had filled your mouth and eventually spilled over, running down your chin and over Ben’s shaft. You’d gagged once or twice, the sensation of him resting on your tongue combined with the excess spit just uncomfortable enough to cause the reaction. Both he and Gwil had shushed you when you did though, as though you were intentionally interrupting them. Though they hadn’t minded so much when you’d moaned after listening to them discussing how nice it was to own an obedient set of holes. They were planning how to use you, debating different ideas, working out a fare way for them both to get their share. And you’d been so turned on by the whole thing – the physical position you were in, the way they talked as if you weren’t in the room, the possessive language they used, and the reminder that they’d torment you for days on end – that you’d had no choice but to moan wetly around Ben’s cock. It all made you feel so ridiculously submissive. But, if you’d thought that their delight at your sounds would be enough to make Ben actually fuck your mouth, you were wrong. He made you wait just long enough that you’d begun to worry he wouldn’t ever let you blow him. But finally, he pressed against your head and you gratefully sank lower. It made you twice as enthusiastic as you would have been otherwise, determined to prove your gratitude and obedience. They still shushed you whenever you gagged though, so you had to be careful about taking too much at once. It all made your head spin and you found yourself squirming in place, trying to get some stimulation to your cunt. Ben didn’t pay any attention to that though, and neither did Gwil. Not until after Ben had held you down as he came.  

You swallowed his cum and looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes.   “She’s a right mess now,” Ben had laughed, tucking his spent cock away for the time being.   “Up here, whore,” Gwil said, tapping his lap, “I want a better look.   You nodded, all desire to be bratty to him gone, and did as he asked, blushing slightly when you realised you were wet enough to darken the fabric of his pants where you rested. He examined you, holding your cheeks between his fingers so he could see where cum and spit had run over your face, where tears had smudged your makeup, where your hair had been pulled out of place. You were nearly panting, trying to resist the urge to grind against the tent in his pants. When Gwil seems satisfied with your generally messy appearance, he manoeuvred you around, telling you to watch the movie as he spread your legs with firm hands. But you could barely pay attention, whining as he teased your cunt, touching you lightly.   “Quiet.” he warned, shoving three fingers into your mouth. You sucked on them and whimpered around them.   “Fuck, if I wasn’t hard before I am now. Perfect little fucktoy, making it so easy for us to use her. She’s practically dripping.” He laughed, to Ben. But he said softly against your ear, “Need your cunt again.” before pushing you off him so he could get his dick out once more.   “Please Sir,” you whined as he pulled you back, his cock splitting you open again. “Quiet or we’ll stop using your cunt.” He warned, slapping his palm over your mouth, “fuck yourself, go on.” You nodded and began to move on his cock, the balls of your feet pressing hard against the floor so you could raise yourself up, your breathing inhibited slightly by the way he was covering your face. “Good girl, there you go.” Gwil cooed, reaching around to pull your breasts out of your dress.  

For the rest of the movie you were passed from lap to lap. Once Gwil had cum again, Ben decided it was only fair he should get to feel your cunt too, forcing you to kneel on the floor so he could take you from behind. You’d almost forgotten how into domming you Ben could get, but the way he grabbed your arse cheeks as he railed into you, occasionally laying a harsh spank for fun, was a good reminder. And, as much as Gwil might have wanted to keep you denied, you did manage a couple of good orgasms. Ben was the first to give you one, always a little softer than Gwil was, but you moaned so loud and so much and thanked him so profusely that Gwil couldn’t let himself be out done. His competitive side came out and he forced another orgasm from you with his fingers as he left marks along your throat and shoulder as if to claim you or at least claim the title of most dominant. The credits of the movie took you by surprise as you came down from that orgasm.   “What now?” you panted, not sure whether they planned to keep going with the movie marathon charade or if they had anything more specific planned out.   “Well, there are more movies,” Gwil suggested.   “But she’s such a distraction,” Ben countered, sounding almost like he was reading a bad script, “I barely know what we just watched.” “Hmm....” Gwil rubbed his chin in thought, giving you a quick wink just to confirm your suspicions that they had a plan, “We could tie her to the bed and whenever we wanted to, go in and fuck one of her holes.” Ben grinned as he watched your expression, “Oh I like that. Think she does too.” “Of course she does. She’s probably hoping we stay the night and keep our cocks warm in her while she sleeps.” “Maybe we should then.”

#my writing #my fics #ben hardy x reader #gwilym lee x reader #ben hardy smut #gwilym lee smut #ben hardy imagine #gwilym lee imagine #(i got stuck like halfway through this one so i hope the ending makes sense lmao)

[haikyu-mp4]

Workplace romance

word count; 941 – f!reader, fluff

“The Schweiden Adlers ball is next weekend, I assume you know that,” you mumble to start off, already used to how Kageyama’s knee bounces repeatedly in what you could only assume was restlessness. “I just need to know who you will bring as a date. There will be paparazzi and I just want to make sure I have everything under control.” As you were speaking, you didn’t really look up at the man, simultaneously finishing off the notes from your previous meeting with Hoshiumi.

“A date?” Kageyama repeated back to you and you chuckled softly at his confusion, sparing him a glance.

You’re one of Schweiden Adlers’ PR managers, recently tasked with handling the three younger members, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Hoshiumi Korai and Kageyama Tobio. They are all pretty sweet and you thanked the heavens every day that you didn’t end up as PR manager for the MSBY Black Jackals. “Yes, you get a plus one. You could also bring your mom or sister, that’s always good for your image. Alternatively, there’s no problem with going alone. Although that might call forth a different genre of headlines…” you rambled, doing your job and analysing the different options without even noticing how the young man was twiddling his thumbs in his lap nervously.

Kageyama was the one you spoke with the most from the team, as he was also the newest to this business. While the two of you would talk casually outside the four walls of your borrowed office all the time, you loved your job and preferred to stay stressed and professional while doing meetings. “But I could bring a date too? Someone I like?” he asked. For some annoying reason, his words made you stop writing and an icky feeling crept into your stomach.

“Of course, I just need to know who so that I can take the necessary precautions…” you answered, biting the inside of your cheek as if to force yourself to speak.

“Will you go with me?” he asked. Finally, ran through his mind as your eyes finally stilled where he could see them, staring right into his. Kageyama smiled nervously, hoping you would answer any second now. It’s a bit like the smile you finally coaxed out of him for those commercial photos. Oddly charming.

“You want to go with me?” you asked, wondering if you heard him correctly and straightening up in your seat. Hopefully, he couldn’t see your bright red ears.

“Yes,” he answered simply. No room for misunderstanding there, you suppose.

“That’s…” you couldn’t help the giddy chuckle you left in the air as you looked back down at all your messy notes. “Very unexpected.”

“Why? I thought I made it obvious that I like you,” he said, blunt as ever. Tobio felt like this should not be a surprise at all, as he made an effort to talk to you every time he saw you and even got you a box of milk on the days he knew you would be there in advance. Was his affection not obvious?

You’re full-on grinning like a madman now, burying your face in your hands to hide the blush on your cheeks. “I would love to go with you.” you finally declared, not responding to his blunt confession because you weren’t quite sure how to yet. “But I need to talk to some of our bosses and make sure it’s approved first. We wouldn’t want any scandals to plague your name,” you said, removing your hands from your face as you went halfway into work mode again. You flipped to a new page in your notebook and wrote down what information you needed. The smile was still stuck on your face and Tobio was happy to see it.

“Okay.” he agreed. There was still a sense of childish innocence to him that you really liked. “But I don’t want to go with anyone else,” he added as if that was just stuck in his mind.

“You should go back to practice, Tobio,” you said, using your softest voice to make sure he knew you weren’t trying to be dismissive. “If you stop by before you leave today, I will let you know how it’s looking after making some calls,” you told him, smiling as he got up.

“I will see you soon, then.” He bowed, about to leave when you spoke again.

“Tobio!” you called, pursing your lips and considering your next words before they just spilt from your lips. “I like you too.”

Kageyama walked back to practice with a happy smile, making Hoshiumi frown at him as if it was the creepiest thing he had ever seen. Meanwhile, you were in your office kicking your feet and punching the air in joy before taking a deep breath to start making those calls without giggling.

He stopped by after practice, like he promised, knocking on the door and walking in with a hopeful spark in his eyes. You told him how this might play out so he would be prepared for any potential consequences, but could still happily inform him that you would be going with him to the event.

And boy were your assumptions right. The headlines questioning whether or not this was appropriate were simply unavoidable. However, it only took one press conference to quiet it down.

“She’s very sweet, I really like her. It would make me sad if we could not be together just because she also works with keeping me and my teammates out of trouble,” he said softly, making the reporters coo and the headlines turn from Volleyball manager: Inappropriate moneygrabber to Living our fantasies: Kageyama’s workplace romance.

#haikyu #haikyuu #haikyu x reader #kageyama x reader #kageyama tobio #fanfiction #haikyu fluff #hq x reader #schweiden adlers #kageyama tobio x reader

[unclewaynemunson]

prompt idea! :D

steve being a poet and eddie being a songwriter. they both reference each other in their works and no one has put it together yet.

( also hi you're awesome )

Oooh anon I love this, this is such an intriguing concept bc the possibilities are ENDLESS with this one! I hope you like the direction I ended up taking it in :) (and thank you so much for dropping this in my ask box! <3 )

EDIT: I wrote an expanded version for this one and it's also on ao3 :D

---

Jeff was the one who introduced Eddie to Ronan Right. His mom was moving and when Eddie visited to help, he found his friend with his nose buried in a small book that was nearly falling apart in his hands.

“What's that?” Eddie asked, flopping down next to Jeff among the boxes.

“My mom's favorite poet,” Jeff mumbled, barely glancing up from the page.

And as soon as Eddie got a chance to pick up the book from where Jeff had left it, he was hooked. He was no help at all for Jeff's poor mom, completely engrossed in poem after poem, reading them again and again and again.

Eddie liked reading poetry to get some inspiration for his songwriting, but a lot of poetry had this atmosphere of pretentiousness around it. This didn't. It was surprisingly simple. To the point, with a rawness to it, mostly short poems that had a simplicity with which they managed to cut right to the heart of things.

Ever since that day, Ronan Right became Eddie's biggest source of inspiration. He'd never start working on new songs before reading one of Right's poems first. And whenever he got stuck on his lyrics, he'd pick up one of Right's books – and every time, without fail, he'd find something in there to help him find the right words.

---

When people would ask Steve what inspired him, his answer was always the same, always simple: music. Most people probably assumed that by that, a poet would mean classical music or maybe jazz of some kind. They were wrong: Steve Harrington, professionally known as Ronan Right, liked to blast the most screamy metal imaginable whenever he was writing – much to the discontent of his poor neighbors. He didn't care much for lyrics, it was all about the sound for him: about volume, about harmonies, about a combination of ingredients that somehow managed to flip a switch inside of his brain that unlocked the more creative ways to look at words.

His favorite band was called Corroded Coffin. Something about them stood out in the long list of metal bands he loved to listen to. It was something about the sound of the singer's voice, about the guitar riffs, that simply made sense to him, made the words that he was looking for bubble up to the surface naturally.

He got halfway through the first song on Corroded Coffin's newly released album, when he froze at his desk. He didn't care much for lyrics, but those words... There was something familiar about them.

He replayed the song from the beginning and started frantically flipping through the pages of one of his earliest poetry bundles... Yeah, there definitely was something familiar about those lyrics.

They weren't copied, exactly. It could just be a coincidence.

But the album kept playing on and Steve kept getting distracted by the lyrics because there was so much familiarity in them. It wasn't like the singer was stealing from him, it wasn't even like he was taunting his copyright or anything like that... It was like he was building on Steve's words. Like Steve had laid a foundation that had sparked Corroded Coffin to make something beautiful. Like the two of them shared a mind, a soul, an inspiration.

And Steve wrote the best poem he had ever written, in one go, that day.

---

More bundles followed. More albums were released. And they kept interlocking with each other, one causing the other to do something new, try something different, figure something out.

Ronan Right was still an obscure poet, well-respected but not mainstream enough for bigger successes. Corroded Coffin was still an obscure metal band, praised by the connoisseur but too experimental to ever get anywhere bigger than the verge of the metal scene. The only one who noticed the textual similarities between the two, was Jeff's mother. She'd smile her knowing smile and chuckle quietly, delighting in her own private understanding.

---

A new book was about to get published. Steve had to drive down to Chicago to meet with his publicist and talk some things through, but his car was in the shop so he got on a train instead. The meeting went well, Don't try to be a hero officially got the green light, and feeling content, Steve pulled out the latest Corroded Coffin cd to put in his walkman as soon as he got on the train back home.

“Hey,” the guy opposite him said with a smile and a nod towards Steve's walkman, just before Steve could put on his headphones. “Corroded Coffin, nice.”

“You know them?” Steve asked, taken by surprise, a matching smile creeping onto his own face.

“Yeah.” The guy chuckled. “Yeah, I know them.”

Sunlight fell through the window and shone on the big rings around the guy's fingers, catching Steve's eye – and pulling his gaze towards the tiny book he was holding in his hands.

“Hey,” he said, “Ronan Right, nice.”

The guy stared at him for a few seconds, something like disbelief in his big brown eyes. “You know him?!”

Steve felt laughter bubble up in his chest. “Yeah, I know him.”

#anon ily i hope you liked this!! #i didn't spend that much time on it so i hope it turned out okay #i wanted to include jeff bc too many people always talk about gareth and jeff gets totally sidelined and i don't like that #and then suddenly jeff's mom was there too lol #also i couldn't naturally include this in the text but eddie is on that train to visit uncle wayne #feels like important information #don't mind me rambling about stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #corroded coffin #stranger things #fruity ficlet

[gimmehyuck]

through the years | j.jh

summary. in which you both have feelings for each other but are too blind (oblivious) to notice and johnny gets a little fed up.

pairing. jaehyun x reader, feat. johnny

genre. childhood friends to lovers, mostly fluff

word count. 3kish

warnings. none really? jaehyun almost is an ass but catches himself. a tiny bit of angst sprinkled in. johnny is a matchmaker.

a/n: originally posted on my previous blog, pocketfullofhaechan before i deactivated that one. minor edits.

eighteen years ago:

your family had just moved in to a new house, in a new town, forcing you to go to a new school. you were only seven but it still felt like it was the end of the world. you had just left your best friends, and your favorite teachers, and your grandmother that lived next door. it was the end of the world as far as you were concerned.

of course, it was the end of the world in the eyes of a seven-year-old. 

your parents were worried for you on your first day at your new school. you had been so quiet since they had moved that they thought you would have a hard time adjusting, and… well, you already were having a hard time adjusting. they just hoped as they dropped you off at the front of the school, that you would be able to open up a little.

but you were absolutely sure it would be a terrible day, because it was halfway through the school year and you just knew that everyone already had their best friends picked out and what were you supposed to do then, huh? 

your parents hugged you goodbye, as they left you with your teacher that morning. she knelt down to your height and told you how they were going to make sure you felt welcomed and that today was going to be a good day, and you just huffed inside because you weren’t five anymore, you already knew it would be a bad day. 

she had her hand placed on your back as she introduced you to the class, and assigned you your deskmate. you sat down next to a boy that smiled widely at you, his dimples deep. he reminded you of prince charming from cinderella, which was your favorite movie that month. 

“hi,” he whispered loudly. “i’m jaehyun!” and as any seven-year-old should, he stuck his hand out for you to shake. it took a moment before you acquiesced and stuck yours out for him to shake too. “i’m y/n.” 

you got along well with the boy during class and recess, but it wasn’t until lunch time that you decided you would be best friends. 

“what do you mean you’re already in love?!” he asked, incredulous. “you’re seven, y/n!” you just sniffed, turning up your nose at him and crossing your arms over your chest. 

“but i am in love, with prince charming from cinderella.” you argued your point avidly. 

jaehyun looked confused, “but he isn’t real, he’s a cartoon.” the look of offense on your face was big and dramatic as you retorted, “yeah, well, neither are teenage mutant ninja turtles but you still wanted to be leonardo at recess.” 

“yeah but,” he started, holding up a small finger to begin his argument.

“besides,” you said, completely interrupting his defense by suddenly putting your face close to his, making him lean away at the sudden intrusion to his personal space and it made you grin toothily. “you kind of look like prince charming, maybe i’ll marry you instead.” you stuck your tongue out at him before going back to eating your lunchable, entirely missing his ears turning red. 

but, in that moment you had decided… the day wasn’t so bad after all, you met jaehyun.

eight years ago:

you and jaehyun had been inseparable as best friends since then. and he couldn’t help but think of that moment as he waited patiently for you at the bottom of the stairs. he fiddled awkwardly with the cuff links on his rented tux that his dad had to help him tie the tie, but he feels comfortable talking with your dad as the time passed.

it was prom night your senior year, and it made sense that you would go together. it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that jaehyun had told all the guys in the locker room after practice that he had already asked you so they wouldn’t dare attempt. 

it took him another week after the fact to work up the courage to lamely say at lunch while pushing around his peas, “since i guess no one’s asked yet, would you mind being my date to prom?” when he didn’t meet your eyes, you rolled yours, and smiled the sweet smile he loved so much. 

“i actually did get asked though, by kun.” you responded, putting your chin in your palm as you sat across from jaehyun at lunch. you had a twinkle in your eye as you watched his ears turn red, and he sputtered for a moment trying to think of a way to respond and cover up his embarrassment. 

“well, i, um…” he trailed off as he looked everywhere in the cafeteria besides at you. you noticed he found the blank wall especially interesting, and decided to stop playing with him. you kicked him gently under the table, making his eyes jump to yours quickly. 

you grinned at his flushed cheeks, “he had told me that you said we were going together, but he wanted to shoot his shot, to quote him exactly, to say that he did it.” you paused, watching his eyes grow wide.

“but i turned him down.” you shrugged, moving your hand from your chin to rest on top of your other arm. you continued to watch as his face changed, the blush fading and his eyebrows coming together in confusion. 

“you turned him down? why?” he said, the overwhelming embarrassment forgotten about, momentarily. you leaned forward, invading his space just a little.

“because silly,” you paused, and it was your turn to blush slightly, your confidence only taking you so far in this conversation. “i’m going with you, duh. we’ve had this planned for years, don’t you remember?” you rushed to finish the sentence, and decided you wanted to end this conversation quickly to cover your face turning pink, stood up to head to class. 

when you were at the door that led to the hallway for you to leave, you turned around and called to him, cupping a hand around your mouth to make sure your voice carried, catching the attention of the few students sitting in your area. “my dress is red, make sure you match!” 

jaehyun was pulled out of his memory by your dad’s whistle as you stepped down the stairs. the red of the dress matching his tie perfectly, and the red of the corsage he had in his sweaty hands. he swore he had never felt this nervous before. not even before a big game. he gulped slightly, as he took in the beauty that was you. 

you made it down the stairs to stand in front of him, your teeth on full display because of how widely you were smiling. jaehyun could hear your parents chuckling at his loss for words. after taking pictures and arriving at the dance, you both forgot about the flushed cheeks and had fun dancing all night with your friends. towards the end of the night, a slow song came on and everyone coupled up with their dates. jaehyun held out a hand to you, and you took it with a small smile, placing your hands on his shoulders, and slowly swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the song. 

you leaned your head on his shoulder, enjoying the moment, heart happy and warm. you felt jaehyun put his head against yours gently. you felt his chest rumble as he spoke softly to you, “i don’t think i mentioned it to you yet, but i think you look beautiful.” you raise your eyes, to look at his brown ones. they were your favorite color. “i think you look really handsome, too.” at your comment, his dimples made an appearance, and you have to admit, that he looked even more handsome when they did. 

you caught him glancing at your lips, and his head moved slightly down, as if he was going to lean in to kiss you, but suddenly the music scratches and the vice principal comes over the speakers to announce the prom king and queen causing you to quickly jump apart, the vice principal’s voice so loud that neither of you catch the disappointed huff you both heave.

a month ago:

you hadn’t spoken to jaehyun in a month, and it was tearing you apart. you don’t even know what escalated the argument so quickly, well you do but you still don’t understand the basis - the why of it all.

you were eating ice cream at his place, like you did every friday night.

you were going to watch a movie, like you did every friday night.

you were both talking about your weeks, like you did… every friday night.

jaehyun had seemed a little more quiet than usual, but you brushed it off to stress. he was taking on more responsibilities at his new job, trying to move his way up, and you figured it had to be that. 

you were rambling about the most unimportant things of you day, just trying to fill the silence when he cut you off suddenly. he was playing with his spoon in his ice cream, when he stopped.

“y/n?” he said, his eyes looking into yours with emotion that you couldn’t quite place. “mm?” you answered, the spoon shoved partially in your mouth as you continued to eat your ice cream.

“johnny told me he had asked you out.” you tilted your head slightly, at the statement that almost sounded like a question. you nodded. 

“and you said yes?” you brought your eyebrows together, where was this going?

“yes, i did.” you answered, putting the spoon down on the table.

“why?” he said, his voice lined with what you could only describe as anger. but jaehyun had never gotten angry with you before, ever.

“jae, what do you mean ‘why’?”

“i mean just that, why? why did you say yes to him? he’s my best friend.” jaehyun couldn’t stop the bitterness in his voice, his heart twinged a little when he saw the hurt flash in your eyes. but he had been in his head too long to just let it go now. why johnny? why his best friend?

why… why not him?

“i didn’t realize johnny was off-limits.” you said sarcastically, rolling your eyes.

“yeah, well. he is. you can’t date him.” date me, he wanted to say. me. me. me. you leaned back away from the counter you were standing at at the tone he took with you. you stared at him for a few seconds before scoffing.

“you can’t tell me who i can and can’t be with, jae.” you watched as his jaw clenched tightly.

“i can when it’s my best friend. i’m telling you no. i didn’t say anything when you dated ten, or taeyong, or even yuta. but i’m saying it now. you can’t date him.”

“i thought i was your best friend?” you questioned because that was the first thought to pop in your head before you shrugged that one off and continued, “besides you actually can’t tell me who i can and can’t date, my father doesn’t even do that and especially when i’ve never told you who you could or couldn’t date. don’t act like a child.” you said, voice raising in pitch a little. the constant back and forth making you feel defensive for reasons you weren’t sure of.

“well don’t act like a –,” he said in anger, or what was actually insane jealousy, before he realized what he had almost said and pursed his lips to silence himself. your face fell instantly, knowing what was almost said. you weren’t the type to let words hurt your feelings or make you cry, but since they were coming from jaehyun’s mouth, they hit differently. “what were you going to say, huh? going to call me a what?” real anger lacing your words now.

“y/n, i didn’t mean that. you know i didn’t mean that, it’s just -,” it was your turn to cut him off.

“save it, jaehyun.” you said, your bottom lip quivering slightly. you quickly wiped away the tears that escaped, and pushed your ice cream away towards him. you paused wanting to say more, but nothing came to mind. you couldn’t tell if you were more angry or sad, but it didn’t matter now. you left his apartment that night and didn’t pause as you let the door slam behind you. 

that was month ago, and you hadn’t spoken to him since. you had started and stopped many texts since then, and have caught the small bubble in your chat that let you know he had also been typing and deleting messages as well. but you weren’t going to apologize. 

which led you to sitting in the restaurant with johnny as you play with the food on your plate. johnny watches you push the food back and forth for five minutes before he sighs and places his hand over yours to get you to put the fork down to finally leave the food in peace. this was your second date you had gone on, and the second date where you had been a little not yourself.

“you look miserable,” he says, and johnny knew exactly what was the cause but hadn’t said anything until now. your eyes look so sad and he couldn’t bear it any longer.

“i’m not, i promise i’m having a great time!” you say, forcing a smile on your face. johnny studies your face for a moment before continuing.

“y/n, i like you. you’re funny, and kind, and beautiful.” you groan and then slump in your chair, knowing where this was going, where this always went. “no, let me finish.” he says, a small smile flashing across his face. “i asked you out because yes, i do think you’re beautiful, but i have to be honest, actually. i had an ulterior motive for asking you out,” and at the distressing look crossing your face, he quickly continues, waving his hands slightly. 

“i actually asked you out with intentions to try and make jaehyun realize you wouldn’t wait around forever for him to make a move, but i’m starting to think it will have to be you.”

“i don’t…” you say, your brain trying hard to catch up with what was being said. johnny, realizing you were struggling to follow his train of thought, sighs deeply and brings a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose. “you both are absolutely hopeless, i can’t believe this. you both are so in love with each other that everyone else sees it but you two? is that even possible? i thought this only happened in movies.”

your thoughts came to a screeching halt. yes, you were painfully aware of your feelings for your best friend, but knew that regardless of what happened, that he just didn’t feel the same way, especially after prom night senior year, and him dating other women which prompted you to date other men. “i mean, i always thought there may have been feelings for me but it’s been at least, like, nine years since i realized, and he just what? didn’t think to tell me? he’s had ample opportunity!” your eyes are wide, frantically trying to get your brain into gear to make this make sense to you.

“oh, no. he’s wanted to tell you for at least… three years now. look, he really should be the one to explain, and i’m sorry for taking that from him but you guys are ridiculous.” your heart was breaking and swelling all at the same time. your knee starts bouncing as your thoughts race a mile a minute.

“y/n?” your eyes jump to his, the feeling of anxiousness spreading throughout your body. “he’s at home, probably wallowing in self-pity.” johnny’s eyes flicker to the door and then back to you, nodding his head, telling you to go. it took less than a second for you to decide. 

you stand up and lean across the table and kiss johnny on the cheek before bolting from the restaurant. you drive on autopilot to jaehyun’s apartment, only for you to sit in your car for what felt like an hour before actually getting out and walking up to his door. before you could talk yourself out of it, you knock on the door. 

almost instantly, jaehyun opens the door and you release a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

“y/n, wha-,” his face a look of shock, hand still grasping the handle of the door.

“are you in love with me, yes or no?” you ask, cutting to the chase. the need to know that johnny was telling the truth the only thing driving your bravery. jaehyun’s mouth opens and closes a few times, and in that time while he figured out what to respond, you take in his appearance. he still looks flawless, as always, even if his hair looks tousled and his shirt a little wrinkled. 

it took a few seconds before he finally responded with a, “wha – what?” 

“yes or no, jae.” you press, and he gazes at your face, taking in the way your eyes told him to be sincere in his answer. 

he lets his gaze fall to the ground, before mumbling a small, “yes.”

“yes?” you question, taking a small step inside his apartment.

fuck it, he thought. he’s already ruined the friendship with the stupid argument, might as well lay it all out there.

he steels himself before looking back at you, who he hadn’t realized was so close to him now.

“yes, i’m in love with you. i’ve been in love with you for years. since, like, middle school, i guess. and, y/n, let me just say that i’m so sorry for what i insinuated when you were here last time, i was just insanely jealous that you were choosing my best friend over me, and that’s no excuse but – mmph!” you had gotten really good at cutting him off, had years of experience with it since the first day you met him, except this time you cut him off by throwing your arms around his neck and kissing him fully.

it takes a moment for him to register what’s happening before he releases the door handle and wraps his arms around your waist to pull you closer, the door shutting behind you with a click. jaehyun walks you backwards until you were leaning against it. 

after minutes, you break apart, breathless and eyes glinting with an unspeakable happiness. jaehyun searches your face for any regrets only to find none. begging for this to actually be real this time and not just a dream. he smiles when you smile though, and it heals everything in his heart that he was sure would have stayed broken.

“johnny was right, we really are hopeless.” you giggle as you hide your face in his chest, suddenly turning red from your brash behavior catching up to you at once. 

you feel jaehyun’s laugh, “we got here in the end, at least.” and you smile at that, nodding into his chest as you grip his shirt in your hands.

“yeah,” you breathe. “only took a few years.” 

and of course, at that moment, both of your phones buzz and you both pull them out to read the text sent.

johnny (9:58pm): you’re welcome, btw ;)

you make eye contact with him before grinning at each other.

and when jaehyun leans in again, you close your eyes happily.

#gimmehyuck #masterlist #nct127 masterlist #jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #jeong yoonoh #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x you #jaehyun x reader fluff #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun au #jaehyun fic #nct #nct 127

[decepti-thots]

Hi! I hope your day/night has been grand.

I’ve been a fan of Transformers for a long while but I was wondering if you had any recommendations on where to start with Transformers comics?

Hi anon! Sorry for the slightly late response- busy weekend.

This depends on a few things really. TF comics vary a lot in terms of tone, genre, take on TFs and what they're interested in when it comes to the franchise... so it kind of depends on what you're after.

Still, if you're looking to dive in, there's two big options here: IDW1 and IDW2. IDW1 refers to the comics published in a single major continuity between 2005 and 2018, with various distinct 'eras', while IDW2 refers to the shorter-lived new continuity that ran 2018 through to 2022.

Since you're already up to speed on TF as a whole by the sounds of it, that does mean I feel a bit less like I have to find you something that requires no prior knowledge, so for IDW1 there are a few good possible jumping on points I'd recommend, which are: start at Robots in Disguise #1, start at More than Meets the Eye #1, or start with Last Stand of the Wreckers. All of these start someone between a third and halfway into the run of the comics, but they either juuust precede or jumpstart a kind of 'soft reboot' that produced IDW1's main powerhouse comics they came to be widely regarded for, and they're a lot easier to recommend as jumping on points.

Start with RiD #1 if: you like large ensemble casts and a rotating list of plotlines in an ongoing comic with a large scope, you are interested in Cybertronians-on-Cybertron and worldbuilding relating to that, you are more in the mood for a comic that takes its setting and premise moderately seriously, and you want something that ties together into a big overarching plot. Well, plots, really. RiD is a little bit less newbie friendly than our next two picks, but it doesn't really require you specifically know IDW1 lore or backstory, just that you can pick out well-known TF characters and know a bit about the franchise's core assumptions. It's famous for including a lot of intricate continuity in its overall story, but it mostly (re)establishes that continuity internally, so it's fine to start here. It has political intrigue and lots of Schemes and some really great characters- Barber writes most issues from a certain characters' implicit perspective, so you see a lot of different points of view on what's going on. The short version: RiD picks up when the Autobot-Decepticon war has just ended under uneasy circumstances, and neutral Cybertronians have started coming back to the planet en-masse. It's got a cast of Autobots, Decepticons and neutrals trying to work out how to run the planet in the wake of that.

Start with MTMTE #1 if: also if you like large ensemble casts but more in the sense of character-focused plotlines with an interest in interpersonal dynamics driving the storytelling, you want something that falls more into space sitcom/dramedy tone wise, you are interested in a comic that looks at the franchise through a very different lens than most other incarnations, you enjoy high-concept story ideas. This one is even more newbie-friendly than RiD, because it mostly features characters who either have not appeared in previous IDW1 stories, or have only appeared a few times. The short version: MTMTE picks up when Rodimus, upon the end of the war, decides he doesn't want to stay on Cybertron and watch people bicker over who's in charge and manages to persuade around 200 other people to go on a wild goose chase around the galaxy looking for the mythical "Knights of Cybertron" to fix things instead. This has pretty much gone off the rails by issue two because he gets the ship stranded in a kind of Star Trek Voyager style initial setup, and also everyone on board turns out to have about a million personal issues that makes everyone being stuck together probably not a great idea. Ultimate road trip from hell. Sidenote: this is The Comic What Has Some Romance Plotlines in it, if you like that, you'll wanna check this one out- but contrary to popular belief they are subplots, and there's plenty here if it's not your bag, haha.

Start with Last Stand of the Wreckers if: you do not want to read 50+ issues of a massive ongoing comic, haha. LSotW is a standalone miniseries that is only five issues long and tells a complete story that requires basically no prior IDW1 knowledge to just jump into, and it finishes that story in those five issues. It has a smaller, tighter cast and knows where it's heading, so if you want something you can just pick up and read, try it. This one is an action story with some serious horror crossover elements and is notable for being significantly darker than the vast majority of TF media, and specifically at parts for being very violent (think, oh, homages to slasher or grindhouse horror, I guess). It's all still cartoon robots of course, but do be aware. The short version: three years before the series, the Autobots lost one of their wartime prisons to the Decepticons and it went radio silent. The series follows the black ops Wreckers team, newly assembled after things went tits up for them on Earth, who now have to go in and try to fix things. Anything more about the reasons for sending them in would be a spoiler, but since the entire point of the Wreckers team is to do suicide missions in which most of them wind up dead, it obviously doesn't go super well. Sidenote: LSotW does have two sequels (Sins of the Wreckers and Requiem of the Wreckers), but was written to be standalone.

These are by no means the only IDW1 comics you could try, but they're the easiest ones to just hand to someone like, 'here are some comics that are readable and fun and cover most bases, and you will not have to prep by reading 37254 articles first'. So. They are my go-tos.

Now if none of the above sounds a hundred percent what you're looking for, there's also IDW2! This one is nice and simple by nature of being a shorter-lived project: start at Transformers #1. It was a hard reboot into its own new continuity and can be read 100% without any other comics knowledge. IDW2 might be a place to start if you enjoy worldbuilding-heavy storytelling at a slower pace, unique takes on pre-existing TF lore, heavily interconnected plotlines that gradually come together, and pre-war intrigue as opposed to mid-war action or post-war clashes of personality. It ran for a little over forty issues plus some side-miniseries, which the wiki lists for you. (My advice: try most of the Galaxies stuff if you want. Definitely read Escape. Then War's End is the actual end of the series.) Unfortunately they lost the license, and so IDW2 wrapped up wayyy ahead of what was intended, but they did have time to wrap things up with an ending.

...which brings us to how to read the comics. Long story short: you can no longer legally buy them, at least in English! IDW lost the license in 2022, and as of yet the new licensee has not even been announced. It is looking increasingly likely these are gonna stay out of print for a while. Theoretically the new owners might choose to reprint them, but god knows if that will actually happen. Also, the physical trades are getting quite expensive, so frankly, you're gonna be pirating them.

Given this, here. (They're all in English.) These are issue-by-issue and not the collected versions, which sometimes have corrections in them or additional content. They're also in .cbr/.cbz format, which requires a comic reader app. So if a anyone needs anything else or wants the trade versions (which often have minor amendments/corrections in them) let me know, I have the whole lot DRM free for IDW1 at least, in formats including .pdf if you can't read .cbr/.cbz, and can always upload them.

#reference #idw #idw2

[mirror-to-the-past]

Finished KH3 and Re:Mind- holy shitballs.

So *much* was happening throughout that climax, and so little of it was cohesive, and Re:Mind made it so a double narrative was taking place simultaneously alongside the base KH3 climax so yeah, it's going to be hard to discuss everything I probably would've wanted to while playing throughout those fateful final hours. I'm definitely going to accidentally skim over some details or questions I have, purely as a consequence of my head whirling.

The two biggest criminals here impacting my understanding of the plot are one- the aforementioned double narrative and two- the obfuscating nature of Sora's POV (like, the one that comes to the forefront of my mind at the moment was when he came out of the light tunnel with Kairi after resurrecting everyone via Power of Waking and looked off somewhere and appeared confused/surprised). Re:Mind explained what was going on in some suspicious moments where Sora looked like... haha I don't know how else to describe it except by saying he looked like he was dissociating? But yeah, that post light tunnel moment was not one of those so. 👀 Literally have no inkling what they might have been going with there- just a feeling of significance I can't shake. I got that a lot throughout the end of this playthrough. Pain.

The time travel in this game was one of the most bonkers usage of time travel I've seen in media, and I salute the writers for sticking to it and making their plot happen. I think my brain would've fried halfway through and I'd have cried at the keyboard. I am but a mortal stuck on a linear scale. This falls somewhat beyond me. I'll try my best to make heads or tails of it, though.

While the execution felt somewhat... sudden/rushed, I appreciated the follow-up on Sora's crumbling self esteem. 10/10 mini breakdown, you motivated Riku to such a degree that he got you spirited to the Final World- good job, lad. I know Naminé said that Kairi was the one keeping Sora tied to the Final World, but I had to wrap my mind around that statement, assuming its validity, because it felt a bit out of left field for me. I only mention this because after everything I saw (Riku's sacrifice shown twice, a good number of the star people who had very similar sounding sentiments to Riku [lemme tell you some of those stars were very telling], and I thought I was bullshiting on this one at first, but after rewatching the Final World's title card animation thingy, it ALSO looks a lot like a reflection of the composition of the Riku death scene), I felt a bit surprised that it was not said to have been Riku's contribution that kept Sora chained to the Final World- it would definitely have made sense given the context. However, Kairi's love and hope for Sora is definitely not to be dismissed, alongside Riku's love and belief in him, so upon thinking on it more, I see it as a "Riku saved and tethered Sora's heart to the Final World and Kairi helped Sora retain his form" kind of thing. And if you think about the presence of each character in Sora's life, their contributions under that lense would make sense:

Kairi is a symbol of home and memory, maintenance of stability. She would be the one to hold onto her memory of Sora- strong enough that he would maintain some level of physicality and semblance of mortal self, even in near death. Similarly to what Joshua said in DDD: "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone- that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was someone to see them, connect with them." <- That fits pretty well with the situation.

Riku focuses more on new beginnings, and the casting away of things deemed as 'unnecessary' (body, home, companionship... debatablely happiness) for the sake of pursuing desires. It would match up with his history of possession and development where he learns relinquishing of control. Without Kairi's contribution, Sora would likely have just manifested as another faceless star person, as retaining Sora's heart would've been Riku's priority in that moment, regardless of what form he would take. (From moments before Riku's sacrifice- "We haven't lost them. They still have their hearts. But we have to protect them." Tie that into Riku's "Protect the things that matter" thing, and boom.)

So uh... go team! Sora may be determined to get himself killed, but with their powers combi- oh... (Looks at the ending)

Also I made sure the 111th Sora I grabbed was doing a funny little jig. I'm proud of me.

Here's a speculative blurb from a previous attempt at a KH3 climax post from earlier that ended up getting scrapped:

"Because of what Young Xehanort said (EN: the "It's already too late for you" line), now I'm wondering if Sora's being baited into an illusion where his friends are safe, because he couldn't handle a world where that wasn't the case, paralleling DDD ending. That, or Sora's just doomed himself by going to the Final World, using the power of waking a bunch and attempting to carry on, business as usual."

While I'm glad that it didn't turn out as bleak as the initial speculation, I do still wonder post ending if, given Xehanort's level of anticipation of his opponents' moves on a metaphysical level, he took advantage of Sora's insistence on breaking reality for his loved ones as a way to bait him and shove him out of the way forever, or if sending him to where it looks like Sora ended up was somehow more advantageous for his ambitions in the long run. And let it be known I predicted my boy was going to sorta-die due to his everything-ex-machina. I cracked jokes about it to cope throughout the entire finale.

Examples:

"Boy Riku, the air that I'm breathing in the Keyblade Graveyard sure is stuffy, but I feel immensely grateful for it for some reason. *coughs forebodingly*"

"Y'know Kairi, I think I'm down to reminisce with you for once. I just feel like I should really look at where life's taken me so far. Oh, no particular reason. Lovely weather today."

On a less upsetting note-

ROXASSS

XIONNN

YYEAHHHH BABEYY 😎😎😎

Literally lost my MIND when Roxas showed up. The hype I felt was immeasurable, and my day was made. The "Other Promise" rendition during the fight was sick, and Re:Mind did the Org. trio even more justice with their attacks. When Xion started crying post fight I was just like... same, babygirl. It was just a lot, and I'm so happy Roxas was yoinked back into existence.

Still extremely intrigued about all of the unknowns in the Org. XIII lore. You can't just take away all the cool guys again and not tell me anything new about them (Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, Luxord). Especially after Xemnas previously made a big deal literally about how mysterious they all were. Dick. >:0

Very curious about when and how Luxord's wild card will come into play, considering it didn't get mentioned during Re:Mind, as I assumed it might in order to help Sora fix Kairi or perhaps get Sora out of his mess. KH4, maybe? 👀

Also XIGBAR MVP ONCE MORE LFG. OR SHALL I SAY, LUXU?? I really should've put two and two together for that one, because of how all-knowing Xigbar seemed to be at all times, but I wasn't particularly focused on figuring out Luxu's identity, so that's on me. Curious about how he summoned the Foretellers. Thought they were dead, for some reason, but I suppose there was no reason to assume so if Luxu was able to survive that long as well. Wonder what they've been up to? Ava noped out- wisest thing anyone has done this entire franchise, lol. I would assume the Book of Prophecies was inside the box, but as seen by the Union X stuff, Mr. Master was still enjoying prophetic light reading after he sent Luxu away, so all one can assume is that it's parts of the Book of Prophecies hidden away from everyone or perhaps another significant book altogether. We'll seeeee. *explodes*

Speaking of the Union X stuff, loved that moment where Ephemer phased into Sora's reality to stir the lingering wills of the deceased Keyblade wielders into action. I just felt so happy for what I assume were real players who are now forever immortalized in the game as people who come to your side to help you beat the tough baddie, y'know? I got a bit emotional- it reminded me of NieR:Automata. If you know, you know.

Riku and Xehanort's Heartless have finally finished their strange drawn out mentorship/insecurity demon/invasive clingy ex dynamic. I chuckled a little bit at Riku saying "I think I'll miss you." Oh dear, lol.

I love that one scene where all the Guardians of light minus Kairi and Sora were fighting in an Avenger-esque huddle in the sky, and they occasionally chatted with each other. Ventus complimenting Roxas made my heart warm. It's the little things!

Scala ad Caelum is so pretty! And fun to say, haha! It reminds me a lot of a The Mist/Sharlayan city lovechild from FFXIV. Very Mediterranean, bleached white coastal prettiness. Would live there- 10/10. Also, I appreciate the consistency of people's hearts manifesting physically as their homeland. You had Sora's heart in DDD as the island the kids played at in Destiny Islands, and now Xehanort where he was raised and trained (he felt more personal connection to it than say, Destiny Islands, where he seemed to have also spent part of his life). It's sweet, and a bit sad, as both have grown so estranged from their homelands.

The way I SCREAMED when I got to play as Kairi. So sad how she's been thrown into such a disastrous fray so suddenly after becoming a Keyblade wielder, her and Axel/Lea (I don't care about Merlin's time stopping magic man, I Know they needed more time) and suffered the most for it. She was really getting the Sora treatment of being talked down to by the villains (kudos to Axel/Lea, I love him so much for calling Kairi his trump card, they make me so happy), and being seen as easy pickings. It's so good that Sora was in her corner to help her, because like damn. Girlie went through it. And then she comes out the other end only for her best friend who risked life and limb for her to fucking DIE as a result of how hard he tried to make sure she was safe despite the universe working against her (gj for Sora finally stepping up as a Kairi bodyguard this game, by the way. About time 🙄 [I am light-heartedly referencing my own inside joke].)? DAMN. SHE'S PROBABLY GOING THROUGH IT EVEN MORE. Survivor's guilt, anyone? But yeah, anyway, her going "please work!" when fighting Xehanort was so sad... you're doing great, Kairi! Don't let anyone tell you different! Loved the "One Heart" attack her and Sora had! It was so pretty, and they're absolutely my little angels- they deserve the wings! Love how they're both like... the connection pieces between everyone, y'know? I love Kairi's attack pattern of her initial swipe being a long ranged hit that then zaps her to the target- thought that was great design! It was on par with Aqua's gameplay in this game, for me, and I admittedly like the feel of it a little more than Roxas' and Riku's. Side note- was Riku's AI as a party member just wack for me, or does he not have healing moves/items this game? I only ask because I remember how he was like 🫰 On It whenever Sora's health would drop a smidgen in KH2, but here he was like "I saved you in cutscene, if you die now, you die, fam."

That part in Re:Mind where Mickey becomes playable and gets a whole Price of Freedom last stand moment had me in tears, I was laughing so hard from the melodrama of it all. But also the music was genuinely beautiful. It's just... 😂 I'm sorry I loved it so much. I love these games, they're so ridiculous. If someone likes Kingdom Hearts, I can't help but assume they also have a brilliant sense of humor, as well.

Love how every day, Kingdom Hearts becomes more and more Doctor Who. That one battle line from Young Xehanort, the fanatical time traveling icon himself, where he stops time and says "Don't Blink" made me smile.

I really liked that one Vanitas line to Sora- "And I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast. How much closer could I be?" I am reminded that the main reason I love antagonistic characters is due to their cryptic and occasionally poetic speech patterns.

Speaking of antagonistic characters who are NOT poetic- Master of Masters my GUY! I am consistently delighted to see this guy on screen, he's so loveable- I don't care about his war crimes. Thought it was hilarious how he said "So you're saying the weak feel the need to justify their actions to maintain a sense of self." And it completely goes over Xehanort's head how hard he's justifying his intended actions in that scene. When a guy like the Master of Masters, who seems to pride himself on low involvement passively mentions your strong willed ideologies, I'd get the idea he's silently judging you in his head. "There's no class, really! What happened to letting human nature take its course? Kids these days just can't wait for things to fall into place over the course of millennia anymore." *Cracks open a cold one in the Keyblade Graveyard*

Oh also, Xehanort and Gaius van Baelsar from FFXIV are the same individual in goals and personality and that is immensely hilarious to me. They both have a propensity of taking in orphans that then go through psychological and physical trauma for his agenda, too. You don't understand him, guys! The weak were being propelled into a misguided agenda that controlled the masses, and SOMEONE needed to step up and be the voice of action that would allow the motherland- *ahem* Keyblade Wielders and the worlds to return to their true glory! All these teenagers and twenty-somethings raving to him about friendship and light are too sensitive- they'll give Keyblades to anyone nowadays, and he hates this new woke Keyblade society! Next time, on the Xehanort podcast-

As you can see, at this point in the post my sanity dwindles evermore. So, I'll finish by going over the last major thing that made me spiritually foam at the mouth a little bit:

SECRET ENDING CUTSCENE WAS SO WELL COMPOSED HOLY SHIT. Every single frame was desktop worthy. The LIGHTING. I also like how it looks more Final Fantasy, admittedly. The other style they had in the fancy cutscenes looked a little off-putting with everyone's porcelain doll eyes. But this one? MWAH. BELLISIMO.

The MUSIC. The COLORS. The red/blue thing Sora and Riku kept locking onto while they were gaining their bearings and trying to find each other? The warm/cool tones between each of the boys' sides, both still within an urban setting? The dynamic camera movement that started as slow, unfocused, lingering shots to reflect Sora's (especially) and Riku's disorientation of their new surroundings, all before switching to sudden, sweeping shots over the cityscape as the realization of their circumstances crashes down upon them? Them walking into each other's shots while looking around, showing how they're searching for each other even subconsciously? OH, OH, AND THE RED/BLUE THING CARRIED OVER FOR THE DEFINITELY NOT PLOT RELEVANT (it's not like the game drew attention to how he looks like Sora [I don't see it but whatever] and Riku, and this series has never made character designs plot relevant ever) HETEROCHROMIA IN THE VIDEO GAME GUY TOO, AND YEAH, HE'S THERE LMAO?? Literally did not have "the spoof Riku-esque character from the damn Toy Story World is important and potentially the MCs' secret lovechild" on my Bingo card, but I'm adaptable. I hope that once he and Riku meet there's a Spiderman meme moment. I also hope Sora's like "What? How am I talking to you? You're from a video game!" And Yozora is like "You also are from a video game" and we finally shatter this paltry meta narrative barrier we've been poking at once and for all. Give me more chaos, I must feed.

I was extremely confused as to why Riku was in the same place as Sora, and was like "maybe it's another DDD parallel world separating them from each other" thing, but still, how did he get there in the first place? But then I laughed as I envisioned the natural, sensible progression of this situation in a hypothetical post-Sora disappearance cutscene where everyone stares on, shocked, and Kairi wobbles down the Paopu tree, sobbing, to everyone else on the beach.

Kairi: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he said he didn't have much time left, but he was happy to spend it with everyone, and he's happy I'm safe and- *sniff* and- I should've asked him something that could help us go after him and-"

Riku: "Don't worry, Kairi. I'll handle this."

Aqua: "Riku, we don't even know where to start, we need to assess the situation!"

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking away."

Ventus: "What do you think he's planning on doing?"

Terra: "It's Riku. He's a man with a plan. He'll do what he has to to... uhm."

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking into the ocean."

Kairi: "RIKU, NO-"

Naminé: "RIKU, YOU CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN-"

And from where I left off before getting mercilessly slaughtered by my first Data fight, it's now been a whole year of Absent Sora. Damn. One squad's in hell, Kairi might be in another coma, and Riku's probably gonna take up blindfolds again at this rate. What no Sora does to a mf part 2.

Riku: "We NeEd to BeLieVe in HiM. HiS hEaRt aNd HiS miNd aRe MaDe uP." *Puts his face in his hands* *Silently sobs*

#kingdom hearts 3 first playthrough #kingdom hearts #kh3

[imperical-shop]

A Bit of Extra Luck

For the Luck Potion design, I made another Zonami drabble ☺️ Hope it brings a little 🍀 to your day!

Summary: Zoro loves drinks so he decides to try on the “special” liquid he’s offered on a new island. Nami is pissed at his recklessness in taking offers from strangers. Little do they know, sometimes those mysterious things turn things around.

Words: 2040

Tags: Angry Nami at first but will come around, protective Zoro, both like the other but won’t act on it, slightly fluffy, open ending

“Don’t drink that you buffoon!” Nami yelled at the top of her lungs as she jumped in front of the swordsman and smacked the vial out of his hand. The object broke, glass shattering everywhere on the pavement. But that was it—it was just glass.

“What the fuck?” Zoro lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms, his tone even, eyes dulled down to piercing black dots digging daggers into her.

“You idiot! Do you know what was in it at all?”

“No,” he stated calmly, turned around, and started walking back to the ship.

“What do you mean no?!” The navigator ran up to him and slowly eased into his pace, trying (and slightly failing) to match his long strides. “Do you just go off randomly drinking from bottles that gypsies sell to you on the street?”

The Strawhat Crew had arrived on a new island that day, planning on restocking and taking a break for a while from crazy pirates and Marines out to get them. Nami had made a full list of all the things they’d need for their following trips and had taken off with Sanji—the cook wanted to choose the ingredients for himself, so what was she to do?

Halfway through it, Nami had spotted a rugged woman, dressed in torn clothes and a small jute sack in her hands. She probably wouldn’t have paid the lady any attention if it hadn’t been for the mossy pop of color skidding in the crowd and the fact the woman seemed to follow him. So, purely out of curiosity, Nami had carefully walked behind her until she had witnessed Zoro purchasing a vial filled with a green liquid and something that looked like tiny clovers inside.

Nami had seen a lot of things in her life. Murderous pirates, fishmen trying to kill all mankind, swordsmen who could cut a mountain in half without even flinching. But she had never believed and would never believe in magic or potions.

“Sometimes.” Zoro shrugged, making her huff in anger. They had no medic on the ship and paying for one would cost her a lot of berries. Plus, they all (especially the captain and his reckless first mate) had a hefty bounty on their head, making getting around that much harder.

“Seriously, do you know what was in it? How can you-”

“Something about luck.” The hunter shrugged again. “Honestly, I was looking for booze. The woman said it was better than any alcohol I’ve ever tried. So…”

“You can’t be serious.” Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide, looking at his relaxed features from the side. It just didn’t make any sense. Nami had believed that out of the whole crew, maybe he had been the one with a brain cell more than the rest. But this now…

The navigator faltered in her steps, the tip of her shoe getting stuck between the cobblestones. She saw the whole world shift upside down, the ground suddenly coming too close. Before she landed face-first, a hand wrapped around her torso and pulled her up. Her back hit something hard, but Nami was still wide-eyed and stumped at how for just a millisecond more she would’ve dove right into the pavement.

The smell of sea salt mixed with a musky note and the undeniable hint of booze on his breath sent chills down her back. The sun was blazing above her head but she was sure that wasn’t the reason why her cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire or why her whole body got an inexplicable urge to morph into a puddle on the ground.

Turning her head slowly, she was met with dark eyes enshrouded in mystery. Zoro tightened his hold around her waist, bringing her even closer to him, still not breaking their eye contact. He looked calm but then again, that’s what he always looked like. Yet, the tiny sparkles in his eyes reflecting from the sun’s rays urged her to believe there was something more. His thumb brushed over the exposed skin of her stomach, making her shiver in response—an action Nami desperately wanted to believe he had missed. But the small curve of his lips proved her wrong.

“Nami-san!” A loud and saccharine drawl of her name echoed from behind them, making Zoro quickly loosen his grip and distance himself from her. Nami cleared her throat and turned around to look at Sanji who was dangling several grocery bags in his hands and desperately trying to wave with one. She cleared her throat again, as if that would help the light awkwardness lift from around them, and turned to walk toward the cook.

“Let’s go back to the ship. Luffy and Usopp are surely waiting,” the ginger said slowing down her steps. For a brief second, she wondered if Zoro had heard her or if he had and decided to ignore her. But once his familiar scent and the clinks of his swords surrounded her senses, Nami smiled and kept walking.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚���⊹

Zoro had his hands tucked behind his head, legs propped on the ship’s railing, eyes closed, and enjoying the sounds of the sea hitting the ship as they sailed toward their new adventure. Well, he tried to. Ten minutes into his nap, the navigator had begun screaming for the rest of the crew to come clean the deck and had proceeded to order them around. Interestingly enough, she hadn’t asked for his help at all.

He tried to ignore them; ignore the constant cries of Usopp and Luffy as they scrubbed the deck; ignore Sanji’s constant gushing over Nami’s words. To be honest, the cook’s antics irked him in a different way and way more than anything else.

The swordsman opened one eye and immediately found the ginger, walking around the deck and trying to find new spots the guys could mop up. She had a map in her hand, glancing at it from time to time and turning toward the sea, squinting her eyes, looking for something, before going back to the paper in her hands. Zoro tucked his chin and crossed his arms, smiling—it was amusing watching her nag the rest and work on getting the whole crew ashore at the same time.

He lifted his head once more, this time in an attempt to rest it on the barrel behind his back. A glint in the sky caught his eye, making him forget everything else and focus on it. At the top of the main mast, the shroud seemed as if it was dangling by its last thread. But the sun’s blazing light obscured the vision so Zoro wondered if that might have just been a few seagulls circling around.

The next few seconds played in slow motion for him. The shroud ripped apart, its whole weight falling down on the deck, right on top of Nami. If it had been just the shroud there might not have been any damage, but the distinct sound of metal coming down with it, urged the swordsman to act fast.

Zoro grabbed his sword and in a split millisecond, made a sharp cut from where he had been lying. The sheer force of it slashed the air, spreading the power in long, wavy ripples that reached the shroud and cut it in half. The lower part fell in front of Nami’s legs, while the upper went over her head and landed behind her, the gear of the pulley system hitting the deck and making a small hole right on top of the kitchen below.

Nami stood rooted to the ground, her eyes popping out, mouth dropped open. The map in her hands was scrunched and slightly torn in the middle from the force she was applying by fisting her hands. Cold sweat washed over her at the thought of the gear aiming directly for her head. She kept looking at the top of the main mast where the shroud used to be attached. Only now, there was just a long rope swinging in the air, pushed and tugged by the breeze.

Luffy immediately jumped to her, asking her questions to which she had no answer. Well, her mind couldn’t come up with one no matter how hard she tried. Instead, her eyes started darting left and right, searching for the source of that forceful gush of wind she’d felt right before she’d lifted her head and seen the net split in two. Yet, there was no one around except the three crewmates pestering her about her state.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

The night had settled in quietly, a dark canvas spreading on each side over the ship, sprinkled with tiny stars here and there. The summer breeze was quite nice, softly caressing her skin and spreading around the sweet aroma of tangerines.

Nami marched toward his room, settled on finally thanking him for everything that had happened during the day. She wasn’t an idiot—it was obvious who had saved her. Twice that day. So, the only logical and nice thing to do was to at least say a simple, ‘Thank you’.

“Zoro?” The navigator tapped on the door, her voice barely over a whisper. She didn’t know why, but the idea of Usopp, Luffy, or (god forbid) Sanji seeing her walking into Zoro’s room made her rethink her initial thought of barging in as she’d usually do.

Since there was no answer, she called his name once again and waited for a few seconds before pushing the door open and stepping inside. The room was dark, illuminated by the grayishly white rays from the round window on one side of the room. Nami squinted so her eyes would adjust to the darkness faster and only then noticed the big hammock in the middle, with Zoro lying on it, lightly swinging left to right. His swords were, of course, right next to him, propped on the wall. She wanted to taunt him and ask why they weren’t lying on top of him, but seeing that only one move of his hand and he could grab them, she opted to skip that question.

One light step forward and Nami noticed the even breaths coming out from the pirate hunter. His features were relaxed; gone were the usual sharp edges around his jaw and the scowl that seemed to grace his forehead most of the time. At that moment, he looked at peace—he wasn’t chased by Marines, wasn’t gunned down by other pirates or hunters.

So call her nuts for not wanting to disturb his sleep. Yeah, he could take a nap at literally any place, but this somehow felt different. Like he was more comfortable, less alert. A weird feeling of trust built up in her, making her bite her lower lip.

Nami stood for a moment longer and turned to walk back. Maybe she could thank him some other day. But would she ever get a chance like this to really show him her gratitude? Probably not. And a simple ‘Thank you’ kind of lost its meaning in the few minutes she’d been watching the always vigilant swordsman, the one who always had her back, finally relax.

That’s when a simple, albeit stupid, idea popped into her head. Nami pivoted on her heels and walked back to the hammock, stopping right above him. She lowered her head and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, lingering a moment too long.

“Thank you for always being there,” she whispered and slowly pulled away, her eyes still glued to his tranquil state. Before anyone could see her or (even worse) Zoro wake up, Nami turned around and dashed for the door.

Zoro opened one eye just as the door was closing. He had wanted to start talking the second she’d entered but something told him that this way would be better. And somehow it had. It seemed the older lady on that island hadn’t lied to him—that thing had really been a luck potion. Because the swordsman could bet that Nami would never do something like she had a few moments ago.

The pirate hunter smiled, tucked both hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. Yeah, Zoro had a feeling his luck would change from now on.

#imperical #different designs for different needs ✨ #zonami drabble #zonami fanfic #zonami #opla zoro #opla nami #roronoa zoro #cat burglar nami #one piece nami #one piece zoro #nami x zoro #zoro x nami #nami #zoro #opla fanfiction #one piece fanfiction

[neverevan]

Weekend Wip Game ✨

I was tagged by the lovely @daffi-990 thank you mwuah 😘

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more)

(I cut it off halfway cuz I went long like always...)

1. WIP List:

so as you know my wip list is pretty long, but the active ones right now are:

• the mudslide fic

• the jealous eddie fic

• the breeding kink fic

• the accident fic

• the donation smut

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

the mudslide fic is currently standing at 38.6k and I expect at the very least 20k more... which wouldn't just make it my longest current wip, but also the longest fic I've ever written

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

the mudslide fic hands down, unless something drastic happens and one of my wips gets away from me (though from the inactive wips I expect two of them to be around the same length, possibly)

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I enjoy all of them, but the mudslide fic is surprisingly joyous to write, even though it's mostly just me putting the boys through the emotional and physical wringer lmao

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

listen. I love writing the mudslide fic, but I kinda wrote myself into a hole with it, in the sense that I included a couple of real life locations (though only vaguely) that I just had to make shit up for, which is fine cuz the show does the same, but... idk it's long and the boys spend quite a large chunk of the story separate and it makes me worry that people will find it boring or just idk will be nitpicky about it... like, I have confidence in my writing, but I'm also forever insecure about it??? ugh

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

uhhh I guess the accident fic?? because it's short and it's kind of written in the way I usually write ficlets, which means I don't spiral about the details that much and now I'm worried that it's gonna seem rushed or way too out of sorts 😓

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

none of them, I'm very much a fuck it we ball type of writer

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer’s block?

yeppppp. that's why I have so many active wips atm cuz I got stuck on both of my main ones 🥲

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

the mudslide fic – and she's barely even in it, but she grew on me anyway 💛

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

I have to say the donation smut... or the breeding kink fic, whichever floats your boat I guess

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

the mudslide fic, definitely

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

I'm not sure??? like, I try my best in all of them, but I can't necessarily say if I succeeded idk

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

again, I'm probably gonna have to go with the mudslide fic

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

👆 I've been doing quite a lot of research going into legal procedures, sixth grade curriculum and body decomposition in water, just to name a few (and most of these barely feature btw 🥲), not to mention looking at the map of LA constantly to gauge distances, but it's still kinda fun though

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

uhmmm I don't have high expectations for any of them, if we're talking about like, comments and kudos and stuff... usually the fics I just write in a moment of inspiration and just throw online get more attention than the ones I try to finetune for hours/days/weeks, so you know... I try to write fics for myself and hope that there are people they resonate with 🫶

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

listen, I have really hectic and weird dreams, but I don't think I ever dreamed about any of my wips

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don’t?

well, if nothing else, operating with this many characters is something I'm not exactly used to, so the mudslide fic and the jealous eddie fic are kinda unique in that regard, I suppose

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

I'm not... exactly big on writing goofy stuff, which is unfortunate because I love reading it, but I mean it a 100% when I say angst and smut is my bread and butter

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

not a very deep dive, but I do touch on a side character's background in the mudslide fic, no outside povs though

20. Tell us one thing we don’t know about one or more of your WIPs

idk?? uhh it's not an active wip, but all I could think about is that Homesick For Your Skin isn't my first parallel universe fic, but it's the first one I had to work out without magic 🪄

I'm sure most of you have already done this, but here are five no pressure tags anyway:

@forthewolves @jesuisici33 @callaplums @ladydorian05 @disasterbuckdiaz

#writing #tag games

[george-weasleys-girl]

Chapter 26 - Halfway Out of the Darkness

Warnings: one curse word

Summary: Love letters between George and Y/N

Start Here:

~•~

January

Y/N held the envelope to her nose, enhaling deeply. Gunpowder and caramel flooded her senses. His scent alone was enough to ease the near constant pang in her heart. For a little while, anyway.

After a few moments, she pulled the letter from the envelope and began to read.

Dear Y/N,

I got your letter this morning that you'd arrived safely. I think I'd been holding my breath this whole time. Airplanes are cool and all, but they still worry me. Maybe one day I'll understand the psychics. Isn't that what you said muggle science is called?

Anyway, things are going ok here. Fred and I have been seeing loads of magpies recently. I wish you could be here to see them.

I'm counting down the time until you're home for good. Five more months. We can do this, right? We survived the first half. We can survive the second.

I just wish it'd hurry up and pass. Even when I'm surrounded by my friends, I'm lonely.

It seems silly, doesn't it? Being lonely when I'm with Fred and Ginny and everyone else. Or maybe it doesn't. None of them are you, and you're the one I want most right now.

Anyway, that's enough of my mopiness. I hope things are off to bright and shiny start for you. How are things going with your apprenticeship? With the senior prank? Let me and Fred know how we can help. Maybe it'll help keep his mind off Angie. He's been trying to make up with her, but she's still barely acknowledging him. Or me and Harry for that matter. Damn that girl can hold a grudge. It's making him grumpy. Ginny has taken to calling him Grumpasaurus Rex. Ha ha! Fred is not amused.

And speaking of Fred, he's ready to go down to dinner. Take care of yourself and make sure you're eating properly. Please. I'd really prefer not to hear that the love of my life has collapsed from malnutrition.

I can't wait until I can love and spoil you properly again.

I love, love, love you

Georgie

~•~

George lounged on his bed after shooing Fred and Lee out of the room with Y/N's questions concerning the senior prank. He preferred to read his private letter in private.

Once he was alone, he tore open the envelope. George chuckled when a little origami magpie popped out of it. The tiny bird stretched before flapping its wings and taking flight, fluttering around the room. Smiling, he watched it circle the room a few times before turning his focus to the letter.

Dear Georgie,

Lots of magpies, huh? I wish I could be there to see them, too. Coming back here has been so much harder this time. In the fall, it was easier. I had to hit the ground running. I didn't have alot of time to dwell on being away from you . But now it's different. It's so quiet right now. Just like Januarys always are. Time is just plodding along at a snail's pace. I'm stuck here with my thoughts and missing you like crazy, when I'd much rather be cuddling with you during these cold, dark days.

I can't lie. Being away from you is really starting to get to me, but, I'm still eating, so don't worry about that. (You know me so well, my love.) I reasoned that if I end up in the hospital from not eating, it might prolong our separation, and that will NOT be happening if I have anything to do with it.

In other news, my apprenticeship and classes are going well so far. We've hit a couple snags with the senior prank, though. I sent a separate letter with questions for you and Fred, which I'm sure he's already swiped.

Tell Fred I'm sorry Angie's still being stubborn. I'll put in a good word for him next time I write to her.

I'm so glad our relationship is strong enough to survive all this. We will get through it. Like you said, we're halfway there.

Just like this time of year, I think. We're halfway out of the darkness.

Yeah. That's us.

I love you with all of my heart and soul,

Y/N

~•~

Next Chapter:

@milivanili99 @slytherclaw1978 @quackitysdrugdealer @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @ladylizzieofdarbyshire

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x fem!reader

[silver-wield]

The devs and these convoluted messy shit endings. 2 for 2. It’s like they remain mostly faithful then at the end just throw everything at the wall. Less is more sometimes. The OG handled everything at that moment so much better. I don’t give a damn about Aerith but that death was horrible. OG did it right. Sudden and final. She had an avengers endgame scene what the fuck lmao. Awful trash.

I'm over halfway through a chapter by chapter review, which is being done on a replay, but I did actually finish chapter 14 again last night and it's so much ass Idk where to start.

I'll get into it properly in a separate post, but pro tip for people messing with outfits, you wanna change Cloud back before you start that one. As hilarious as it is watching him fight shirtless, it's makes everything else so skeevy.

Oh but extra funny, no blood on Cloud's alt costumes, so when he's glitching between that whole sad happy crying not whatever tf was going on, he looks even more insane than he would in his regular uniform because you can't see any blood or tears on his face. I was fucking rolling with laughter I shit you not! 🤣🤣🤣

But yeah, in general, chapter 14 is a huge mess. To compare to ch18 of Remake, I'd say that made more sense.

But also to bring up a point in ch18 of Remake, Sephiroth talks about other worlds and how they all eventually die, and you see a clip of Zack taking the right path while the left disappears in that shitty my little pony rainbow sparkles garbage (I really hate that. They need to stop it) and in ch18 we see the arbiter of fate has an ability called "correction" where it changes the outcome of the battle so it survived. This is basically what the planet does with these choices, and while Sephiroth is a big fat liar about most things, this is the truth. The planet corrects the errant course and that pathway is reabsorbed into the planet to nourish it. So there's no alt timelines, just other choices that eventually go nowhere.

Anyway, it seemed both Sephiroth and Aerith were taking advantage of those pathways to kinda hop between them. Maybe she was trying to survive while he was cutting off any chance of that until we get to the final pathway where she's definitely dead.

I mean Cloud deflected the sword, but didn't, then she woke up, but died again, then she came back to get in the way (and what's with that stupid entrance like she's been gone for fifty years? She was dead for less than five fucking minutes. It was ridiculous and embarrassing. Does she think she's special?) then she's lying dead, then she's waking up again.

And by the end I'd also had enough of Cloud being crazy. I get it. We all get it. He's insane. Can he not be an embarrassing douchebag about it? Kinda felt like we'd got stuck with a Cloud from a different pathway and I was like "can we give him back and get the regular one returned to us?"

So I obviously have a lotta thoughts about chapter 14 🤣

Let's hope the end of part three isn't as much ass as the endings of part one and two have been 🤣

#FF7Rebirth spoilers

[thorin-baby-bear]

Rainy Days

a Killjoy agere fic!

Tags: Regressor!Kobra Kid, CG!Everyone else, sick fic, cuddles, mentions of the Hardy Boys

Note: This is my secretsanta gift for @lil-venom, I really really like this one and I hope you do to!

It didn’t snow in the desert. 

Winter never really got colder than the low 60s, but the storm clouds and the rain had become a bigger winter staple than snow had ever been to Kobra. He stared out the windows of the Station with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, his eyes wide as he watched the dark clouds roll in the sky and the rain start to hit the window. He huffed and plopped down, rubbing his nose with the corner of his blanket. He hated being sick. What had started off as just a little cough had devolved into a sore throat, stuffy nose, and exhaustion in less than a day. Needless to say he wasn’t going to go on any missions for a while. Which sucked because it meant he was stuck inside the station all day, everyday, with only Doctor D and Cherry to keep him company. 

Usually that wasn’t too bad, they could gossip or listen to music or play board games or do something cool, but when he was regressed it was different. Neither of them knew how to take care of a little, much less have fun with them. Kobra would toddle over to them and hold up some toy or a book and they would pat his head and go back to whatever else they were doing. So Kobra sat, his nose dripping as he flipped the pages of one of his books and squinted to try and make the words make sense. All he got for his troubles was a worse headache. He tossed the book to the side and flopped over. He wanted his friends, he wanted his brother, and he wanted to feel better right then. 

He was about to start whining for attention when he heard the tell tale rumble of the Trans Am’s motor and shot up. He raced to the window, not even caring that it made his headache worse as he watched the other Killjoys step out of the car with a stretch before heading towards the door. Kobra was there in seconds, throwing the door open and rushing to his brother. 

“Whoa– oomph!” Party wheezed as Kobra wrapped his arms tight around him. “Yeah, we missed you too. Now get inside, you’re sick you goof!” Kobra grinned and all but dragged Party inside, checking to make sure the others were following behind. “Books, Bubba!” He cried, pulling Party to the little den he had made in the corner and handing him a book. Party smiled and rubbed his eyes before sitting down. “Alright, but only one chapter little man, I gotta get some sleep.”  Kobra frowned but nodded. “Fine…” He mumbled, pulling up the blankets so Party could crawl in next to him. “Oh, that’s comfy.” Party sighed. Kobra beamed proudly. Then he tapped at the pages expectantly. “Yeah alright, uh…” He paused before starting to read: 

“What a reward!” Joe Hardy exclaimed. “You mean we can stay at Cabin Island over winter vacation?.....

They weren’t even halfway through the first chapter before Part trailed of into quiet snores with an arm snuggly around Kobra’s shoulders, who huffed in annoyance because he was definitely not ready to go to sleep. Ghoul glanced over and snorted. “Are they already out?” He whispered. Kobra nodded. Ghoul shrugged. “Guess there’s not much else to do but got to sleep too, huh?” Kobra whined and shook his head with a pout. Ghoul laughed and walked gently over to the corner. “If you can scooch over I’ll finish it for you, sound good?” Kobra grinned and scooted over, pushing Party gently to make enough room. Ghoul got under the blankets and picked up the book. “Bleh, the Hardy Boys? Really?” Kobra stared at him expectantly. Ghoul sighed and accepted his fate… 

Once again, right before the end, Ghoul had trailed off into his rumbling snores. Now Kobra was really annoyed, and he was still most definitely not tired.

He whined and Jet peeked his head in from the other room. “Everything alright in there?” He called. Kobra shook his head and pouted. Jet walked in and surveyed the scene, glancing from Kobra to the book and to the two sleepy guys next to him. Jet chuckled and shook his head. “Kind of stuck, aren’t you kid?” Kobra nodded sadly. Gently, he pried the book from Ghoul’s hand and held it up towards Jet with the biggest puppy eyes he could muster. Jet raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if you can scoot anymore, bud.” Kobra rolled his eyes and gently pushed Ghoul to the side, leaving just enough space for Jet to squeeze between them. “I stand corrected,” Jet said as he slid under the blankets and picked up the book. ‘Alright, let's finish this, for real this time.”... 

As the rain fell harder and the wind started to blow, the four Killjoys lay bundled and warm, a book closed safely beside them. Kobra slept soundly, his nose clearer and his throat not so sore as he cuddled up against his family. 

#agere #age regression #fandom agere #safe agere #agere writing #killjoys agere #regressor!kobra kid #ageresecretsanta2023

[wispofwillow]

FFXIVWrite Prompt 20: Anon

Prompt 20: Anon

Characters: Arc, Wisp Alsentia

Music: ODESZA – Light of Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtI_cscIpC4

“Arc?”

“Mm?….Oh!”

Arc blinked, pulling himself, slowly, back into the present. When his mind had stopped swirling with thoughts, words, images of the past – diagrams and spells and the dragons of Meracydia – he looked up, to find Wisp standing by the doorway to this new shared room, boots in one hand, looking at him in expectation.

Oh…

It was clear it was not the first time they had called his name.

“I’m sorry – what were you asking?” His smile was sheepish, and Wisp returned it with a lopsided, laughing grin.

They made a gesture – a sign that meant a dismissal, and that they used, often, to brush aside his apologies. “I was asking if you still wanted to come, to the meeting with the resistance medics?” They signed the words as well as spoke them, now that’d he’d picked up enough of the basics of the hand sign language to be able to learn more through watching. Though they had smiled, as usual, their tone now was serious. He noticed, then, belatedly, that they were not dressed in the patched and worn clothes they normally wore for botany work or lesser errands for the guild, but their full proper conjurer’s kit, robe shrugged back on over the loose shirt they wore around the room.

Their voice also carried a tone of uncertainty in the faint rise in tone at the end – and, glancing swiftly around – he could tell why. The morning sun slanted high through the tall windows already, and fell across his own robe, laid across a chair back, and his breakfast still untouched on the desk beside it. He could see why they might think he had changed his mind, even after their discussions across the past suns and moons. It was not a decision to be made lightly.

But he had not changed his mind. Only, lost track of time, again.

“Yes, of course.” He sat up, wincing, and shut the book before him. “Feel free to head down – I’ll see you anon.”

As he swung his legs off the bed, reaching for his robe – thankfully cleaned, at least, already – he sensed, rather than saw, that Wisp still stood, unmoving, by the doorway.

“What?” Arc turned to look, and found them trying – and failing – to bite back a smile.

“Nothing,” they said, simply, making that sign of dismissal again. He wrinkled his nose at them, knowing there was something, and they wrinkled theirs back, ears bouncing as their tail flicked once. But it was not until he turned back around and had his arms halfway stuck into his robe sleeves that they added, “Yes, I’ll see you anon.” And slipped out the door.

Arc sighed, tipping his head back as his color rose. Anon…

It was always like this, spending too much time in a tome with archaic text and coming out speaking like he’d absorbed the words onto his tongue.

Well, worse things could come from it, he supposed.

Things like making it seem like you’d gone back on an important decision because you got too caught up in a lost civilization to remember a meeting.

He sighed again.

_________

You would like it here, I think, with the night restored. The trees of Lakeland under the evening sky, looking out from the shore of the water below the castle in Il Mheg as the stars come up. Though I do not know if you would ever want to come back, I think you would like those pieces, at least.

__

I’ve told you about Selden before, I think. I must have. Perhaps you met him, even, on a trip to the Cabinet of Curiosity – I hope you did. I could ask Selden, but I try not to mention your name, much, in case he did know you and asks after you. It is hard to know what you would want said, and hard to talk about it, if I am honest.

I am hoping you are well. They will not tell me, if they know (but I suspect they do).

__

Earlier I got side-tracked: I never told you what I meant to. That Selden saw Basil, for the first time. I’d been so careful, seeing no other Carbuncles here in Norvrandt. But I suppose care only sees us through so far. He would not have bought that Basil is just some form of cat, which was my first thought – or a Fae creature, which was my second. In the end I told him the truth – about what manner of creature Basil is, I mean, not about our world. Though it becomes harder not to. And it is no longer a secret as it was when last you were here. I hope to have said the right thing. It matters to me what he thinks of me – like it did with you.

__

Though I know my thoughts don’t reach you, and certainly these letters – fragments and full, that I’m piling up in my nightstand – don’t. But sometimes I imagine what you would say in response, anyway. I wonder if you do the same sometimes. If you even can. But I cannot let my thoughts go that way – the spell must have worked, in some way.

I hope that you are well, and home and safe.

And I hope to see you anon.

#Another lunchbreak brief one #FFXIVWrite2022 #Just shrugs #Wisp Alsentia #FFXIVWisp #FFXIV Arc

[atalossofwords]

To Come Home - Bleach&KHR WIP

The first two chapters of this are published here. This is a Cloudy Sky!Ichigo bonds as Xanxus' Cloud Guardian, inspired by many other fics!

I've been stuck on this chapter for the last few months, so since I'm halfway through it, I decided to post it here to see if that got me animated to finish.

Ichigo was expecting the meeting to be hellish. He expected the two Skies in his city to be old men or yakuza thugs, and their circles not much better.

That's why, when a literal kid entered the meeting room, followed by an assortment of personalities that looked as diverse as Ichigo's own circle, he was surprised, and curious. He didn't know many other Skies, and none of the ones he knew were human, besides Yuzu.

He's used to a Shinigami's circle; old Yamamoto's small and distant circle, Aizen's fake circle. All very formal, distant, and almost hidden from the outside eye, nothing like Ichigo's circle, who are all very open and close to each other, even the Shinigami.

The kid introduced himself as Tsunayoshi, and the older sky as Xanxus. Interestingly enough, it seemed like Tsuna was the one leading the meeting. From where she's napping on the rafters, Yoruichi informs them that Xanxus is, actually, a Storm-Sky, just like Ichigo is a Cloud-Sky, and seems to be bonded to Tsuna.

As Kisuke greets them, Ichigo chances a glance at Byakuka, who tilts his head in confirmation. Huh. Ichigo doesn't know how he feels about that.

Ichigo introduces himself and his elements, noting how both Skies look interested when he says these are his main elements. Considering Xanxus is apparently Tsuna's second-seat storm, that makes sense.

The meeting in general is... okay. Ichigo hates standing in ceremonies, and explaining himself. Half the time he just does whatever Kisuke tells him to, how does anyone expect him to explain anything? He lets Kisuke and Byakuya take the lead, only speaking when prompted. He mostly pays attention to the Skies, and his guardians.

Tsuna's guardians seem... young. Most of them are either fifteen or sixteen, with the exception of the Sun and Mist. It makes sense, since Ichigo's human guardians are also the same age as him, but it is still... curious. Most of them don't give off the mafia vibe, even if all of them are wearing suits. The sun – Reborn? – and the Cloud – who Ichigo has the feeling would be a great fight; by the way Yoruichi settled on a beam right above him, she agrees. Ichigo would never escape his reputation as a Cloud-collector – look like they are the most used to all this ceremony.

Xanxus' guardians, however, do give off the mafia vibe. Above that, they give off the dangerous mafia vibes. Xanxus himself is full of scars, and with the exception of the Mist, all of them look like killers, even the child-storm.

For some reason, though, Ichigo can't really get his attention away from Xanxus. He doesn't know if it's because he's never met a human dual Sky before, if it's because, just like Ichigo, he has the kind of face that screams I'm one inconvenience away from murdering someone, if it's because he looks like he'd be one hell of a fight.

(Discreetly, he looks at Grimmjow, who also has his eyes set on the Storm-Sky. Yeah, Ichigo hopes they can arrange a less formal meeting. Grimm can have a go at the Sky, and Ichigo is dying to harry that Cloud into a chase.)

Soon enough the meeting ends, and Kisuke elbows him to get up and accompany them out. He can see Toshiro hurrying out, back to the basement where Rangiku and Nelliel are doing god-knows-what, and Grimmjow is heading to the same direction, but dragging his feet. Chad and Uryuu are huddling together, probably to head together to Inoue's, where they all have a study session after Ichigo is done here.

Kisuke puts a reassuring hand on his back, softly enough no one else sees except Byakuya, who huffs an exasperated breath.

Ichigo already feels better here, outside the shop, with sunlight on his skin. He looks at Tsuna's elements, specially at the Cloud, and offers a hand, sky flames bright on his grip.

"Hey, it's nice meeting another Sky. Feel free to drop by, yeah?" He says, scratching at his nape. He can feel Byakuya glaring. "Just... maybe send a letter first."

Tsuna laughs, clearly getting his meaning, and offers the same to him. Ichigo always finds it weird, the instant connection he has with other Skies, the understanding that, fundamentally, they were both doing what was best for their people.

Then, Ichigo extends the same hand to Xanxus, and it happens.

Ichigo remembers harmonising with all his elements, of course he does.

The warm, simmering heat of Chad, his first bond and his most reliable one, always there for Ichigo no matter what. Hands on each other's back as they rested, training together, long nights of silence spent on each other's company.

They were half-bonded the moment Ichigo's Sky flared to life, when Rukia was taken away. The moment they fully bonded it felt like the most natural thing, like something that was always meant to be there.

Kisuke's mist, the bond setting in place as his mentor kneeled and apologised, from them on the no-secrets policy between them, the promise that if Ichigo wanted the world, Kisuke would be the first to get it for him.

The days from then on spend with each other, first training and learning, and then simply... enjoying each other. Kisuke's several mental issues settled when he found the one person who would always, always accept him. Ichigo delighted in knowing there was someone that could match him, be it in conversation, studying or fighting, someone who would always be one step behind him.

The steady, calm drizzle of Shinji's rain, the bond settling and calming his hollow in a way nothing else could. With it, slowly, came the awareness of the rest of the Vizard; with their sky bonded to another, they couldn't help but be just that little bit more attached to him.

(It was... An unique experience. Shinji was his Rain, ever-present and slippery, but he was also a Shinigami Sky, and it was with this bond that Ichigo learned what the difference was.

Sure, the Vizard were bound to Shinji, but Mashiro and Kensei orbited each other earlier, would always turn towards each other first, the Storm-and-Lightning of mayhem. Lisa, also a rain, was still hurt from leaving the almost-harmony she shared with Shunsui. A hundred and more years together, and they just now settled on anything close to steady. With Soul Society opening their captain positions back up, their bonds were drifting apart; Rose's cloud drifting further away, Love's sun setting to shine somewhere else.)

It meant Shinji wasn't used to his own attachment, to the way his hollow and Ichigo's clashed, to the way he wanted needed Ichigo close. It meant time spent together, discovering new limits and long talks about just what it meant to be bombed, to be a Circle, and more importantly, to be a Sky, with people who depended on you.

Ichigo is going to be honest, after that mess in Hueco Mundo, everything happened so fast he barely had time to actually pay attention to his new elements, in between training and planning Aizen's defeat.

It was Yoruichi, her Cloud mingling with his so slowly he didn't even notice it, at first. It was Ishida, animosity broken when Ichigo almost died in Hueco Mundo, the feeling of losing his Sky before he could have it properly. It was Nelliel, the injured Arrancar glueing her Sun to his sky the moment they touched, before even revealing her identity.

During the battle of Karakura, new bonds brimming with nervous energy of a not-yet-settled bond and the adrenalin of a dangerous fight, it was Grimmjow, defecting and turning sides with a snarl, his Storm tired of being caged under Aizen's false sky. It was Starrk, taking one look at Shunsui, longing and needy, and accepting Ichigo's extended hand, when the Captain wouldn't extend his own.

The aftermath, losing his powers... Without his bonds, Ichigo is certain he would not have made it.

No powers, and Soul Society and his own damn father trying to lock him away from his Circle, or at least from all the non-human ones. 

Ichigo could still see Chad and Ishida at school, and as much as he was glad for that, he was getting increasingly more irritable as time went on and it became clear they were dealing with the problems Ichigo usually dealt with on their own.

(It hurt, of course it did. He was supposed to be the one to protect them, wasn't he? Chad just clasped a hand on his shoulder, supporting, and Ichigo could see Ishida's eyebags as he scoured through his family's library, in the hopes the Quincy might have a way to help.

They were trying, and that was all Ichigo could ask for.)

It lasted for about three weeks before Kisuke kidnapped him to his basement, where Grimmjow, Nelliel and even Starrk seemed to be about to climb the walls; turns out, Hollows bonded physically a lot more than emotionally; being away from him was almost painful for them.

Shinji took five minutes to preserve his dignity before he, too, was climbing on the cuddle pile. Kisuke and Yoruichi were keeping an eye on them all, mist-and-cloud mingling together as they lounged on their own little bubbles.

What surprised Ichigo, however, was the white haori standing on the sidelines. Toshiro, nervously twisting his hands, scowl firmly in place.

He offered one hand to Ichigo, when Starrk was done with social contact and went somewhere else to brood, and Grimmjow and Nelliel somehow got in a tussle with Shinji.

He knows they can bond, he says. He felt it when they were training, before the battle, but everything was so hurried and chaotic he thought it was better to not say anything. Ichigo scoffed, got to his feet on his own, and put Toshiro in a headlock, their bond settling between them with a crackle of electricity, the rush of competition and understanding.

Ichigo had called him setupid, and told him to stop being a coward, next time.

The latest bond, and Ichigo hoped the last one, happened after Ichigo got his powers back.

(He'd hoped, secretly, that Rukia would be it, but it didn't work. Apparently, she was a Glacier Flame, and those didn't bond to Skies at all.)

It happened when Byakuya of all people shook his hand when he arrived at Soul Society to visit, his Cloud setting on the very edge of his senses. It was, funnily enough, the least compelling of all his bonds, the only one that was truly a Shinigami bond, and Byakuya still looked alarmed enough that Ichigo halfway thought he'd run away.

They worked it out, though. Ichigo couldn't see himself without any of them, now.

Even remembering how all his harmonizations went, Ichigo wasn't ready for this.

It felt... like he could finally relax, like a warm bath after training, the water eveloping all his body, a promise of rest and a safe place to let his guard down.

It felt like when he was on the battlefield, his elements at his back, looking out for him so he could keep going forward. Like someone would always have him covered, making sure it would be alright.

It felt like those late-night conversations with Kisuke or Shinji, baring his soul to them and knowing it would be accepted and understood.

It felt like having a whole sky above his head, ready to fall down should he need it.

Ichigo blinked, his flames still cloud-indigo and reaching for Xanxus' sky. Was this what his elements felt, when they harmonised? Was this tug to get close and bask in that flame normal?

If it was an all-time thing, he seriously needed to cuddle his elements some more. He almost felt bad for all the times he kicked one of them out of his bed.

"What the fuck." Xanxus swore, his eyes wide in surprise, flames unnerved and surprised and delighted.

Behind him, Ichigo could hear Kisuke crackling.

#bleach #katekyo hitman reborn #ichigo kurosaki #xanxus #ichigo x xanxus #writing #wip

[blahandwhatever]

Weird feelings

- This morning I was woken up by some noise outside. I looked out the window and saw the two trees in the middle of my view getting chopped down. I didn’t get that emotional about it - I didn’t have as much attachment to these trees as I have to others, and at least the view left behind is still pretty green - but it feels kind of naked, and I feel kind of naked, and another bit of beauty is gone.

- Last night there was a bug on the bathroom floor, so I grabbed the poor little hardcover art book from my desk that has become my go-to bug-killing implement, and, as usual (not wanting to get my hand too close to the bug, lest it LEAP UP AND TOUCH ME), dropped the book on the bug from a distance. Only this time, the book did a bit of a flip and landed with the pages down (i.e., the “fore edge,” as I’ve just learned this part of a book is called), and with my foot I flipped it over and pressed down on it to make sure the bug was dead if it was there, and then I stepped back and hyperventilated for about five minutes, and then I went and got some latex gloves and paper towels and cleaning spray, and then I stood there recoiling for a while until I finally built up the courage to squat down and deal with the situation. Carefully I took a look and there it was, sticking halfway out from between some pages near the end of this very thick book. Slowly and cautiously (lest the corpse be FLUNG IN MY FACE), I flipped through a few pages at a time, eventually reaching the impressionism section, throughout which bug guts were smeared and within which most of the body was lodged between two gross, stuck-together pages. Screaming inside, I unstuck the pages, collected the body in a thick layer of paper towels, cleaned off what I could of the guts, wrapped it all up securely, and threw it away. I think it’s about time to look for a new copy of that book.

- There are also some tiny bugs living somewhere in the vicinity of my desk, I suspect in my plant, which didn’t bother me that much because they were tiny and I only saw one sporadically here and there, and they never touched my food or anything. Until one day there was this meat for dinner, and I left it sitting on my desk for like 10 minutes while I worked on something, and when I looked back at it, there was a goddamn plague of these bugs all over the meat. I’ve been more cautious since and have not seen anything like it again, but I did see a couple trying to carry dropped pieces of my messy-ass Kind bars, so it is clear that they are there, and they are hungry, and I will need to get this sorted out.

- I went to bed with a random burst of anxiety, and I woke up (again, after the tree ordeal) with anxiety, and I went back to sleep again in hopes of having some dreams to wash away my sense of reality a bit, which I did, but I also washed away some mental acuity, and now I’m all groggy.

- Shortly after my last post on this blog (so much for that), I got hit with some anxiety about glaucoma because I’d read an article about the negative effects of Lasik (irrelevant to my life), and there was a bit about glaucoma in there, and a fear just implanted itself - because I haven’t had a comprehensive eye exam in a few years and am not sure when I will next, and the last time I did the people acted a bit weird like there was something off but didn’t say anything (surely if there was something truly wrong or that needed monitoring, they’d tell me?), and even though I have no symptoms and am a bit young for glaucoma, I do have an eye thing that is kind of weird for someone so young to have (maybe it was just that they were weirded out by - honestly, though, do eye doctors not get taught, like, bedside manner at all? Even if I’m not confined to a bed, I would like my doctors to not make me feel anxious or bad about myself, which a couple of eye doctors I’ve seen have very much done), which supposedly has no effect on actual eye health or anything but still worries me a little sometimes, and also glaucoma is an insidious thing that has no symptoms until there is irreversible damage, so, long story short, I should get eye exams more regularly, and not worry in the meantime because increased blood pressure also increases the risk of glaucoma. -_-

- Accordingly, one of my reality-avoidance dreams this morning involved me having glaucoma, which in this case involved my pupils getting all distorted and my eyes visibly falling apart at a rapid pace as I frantically ran from classroom to classroom in a school I was stuck in, searching for help. Another one I hardly remember involved some bad guy pursuing me, or us, or people in general. Another that I think was not a nightmare involved the uncle who visited us a while ago. And finally, there was one about Janelle Monae, whose music was some kind of complex interactive game, and for some reason I was among a bunch of hip young people gathered around a lake, and she showed up to show them how her new album worked, and they all were fans and already had it all figured out, and I felt out of touch and out of place.

- Yesterday there was a package-like box by the curb in front of my neighbors’ house all day and it made me nervous because why would there be a box there; it was not taking-out-the-garbage time, and they hadn’t put out anything else, and if it were a package, then surely it would’ve been left by the door or by the mailbox, not in this random spot; it made me think of the package bombs in Texas recently, and I waited in suspense for that box to goddamn disappear. Today, the box is flattened, which is good enough.

- Father has been a whiny little bitch.

- I was out of soap for ~20 hours and had to keep going to use the soap in the downstairs bathroom, which was annoying.

- Too little exercise due to bad weather + busyness + some knee pain.

- Shady people: Are you stalking me or is this just coincidence? :/ (Head goes, as usual, to the most horrible possibilities.)

- I tried some dry shampoo and now my hair feels and smells weird.

- I have a long-ass work project I have to get back to; I just needed to unload this.

In conclusion, my brain is still kind of bad. But I am capable of engaging in some first-rate paranoia.

[justkenz]

Hey uh sorry so i don't know if this is the right place to ask but heck i have searched the internet for answers and i still dont have one, and i have no money to talk to some professional about it. So, when do you think it is appropriate to start looking into colleges? I am still in highschool, second year out of four and i want to study abroad, specifically in an english speaking country (i am not from one) and i want to study film. I am really serious about this, and i've got a ton of anxiety, so i feel a strong need to know my future point by point and also to know the deadlines for my decisions.

Hey! This is a great question, and honestly, it is different for everyone.

I think there is never harm in starting to explore your options, especially since you are in your second year of high school, it might be a great time to start figuring out what kind of classes certain programs might require for the program you'd like to pursue.

You can even just start by picking your top 10 schools, then go through each one with more detail (money, location, program, resources for international students, etc) then you can kind of narrow it down to your top 5 schools, and deep dive into the program and see if maybe some schools have more courses that interest you, or more opportunities or co-op programs, etc.

But, don't feel like you have to do all of this now, because things change, you've still got two years left. But if you start by narrowing down your top 10 schools, and see what kind of admission requirements they have you can see if there are specific courses in high school that are required, for example, maybe you'd need calculus instead of just regular basic math, does that make sense lol

Don't stress too much right now, and to be honest, you'd be surprised how much things change between now and graduation and then actually attending university.

I'll give you an example from my own life:

In high school, I was very much by the book, had a plan, wanted to follow that plan and had wild anxiety if I had to make changes to my plan.

I was stuck between wanting to study theatre and social work for a while, but then I decided I wanted to pursue social work. The thing is, the school that I wanted to apply to required at least two years of university before I could apply for that program, so I had to adjust my plan. So I went to a different university to study child and you care, but only ended up doing 2 years there and then transferred to a university in a different province to complete a completely different degree. What I ended up with, was a BA in Sociology with a concentration in family, community, and health, a minor in criminology and a minor in psychology. Now I am working on trying to go back for another undergrad in psychology.

so... with all that being said, just know that it's okay if your plan doesn't always end up working the way you thought, or if you decide halfway through that you want to change your mind, or if you need to take a year off to get some experience first, or if your dream school doesn't accept you, just know you will figure it all out and sometimes you just have to take things one day at a time.

So for now, just start exploring some options, but don't feel like you have to solidify our life plan, you have time, just be gentle with yourself🤍

Sorry for the long response hahaha I hope some of this helps 🤍

Keep me updated with how things are going, if you want!

#asks #applying to college #highschool #planning your life #advice #be gentle with yourself

[eurofox]

Yakuza 7 (like a dragon) review

I was dreading this one because of the turn based combat (I’m not keen on dragon quest for a start) and having an all new cast plus I had a major plot point spoiled beforehand but I decided to give it a chance anyway. Still prefer brawler style overall, but I did get used to it

The good shit: 

I ended up really liking Ichiban, he was just the character that was needed after Kiryu. He’s still as dumb ofc, but he’s really enthusiastic about everything he does. I still prefer Kiryu, but he was pretty subdued when it came to almost everything and he really did seem fed up by 5 so Ichi’s a breath of fresh air.

The villains were good this time round and Ichi’s connection to them made it all the more interesting. 

Sleep minigame was mad

No stupid enemies grabbing guns left about in cutscenes

Another great soundtrack

Lot’s of enemy variety, they really got wacky with it

I eventually got used to the combat. It’s ok, just a huge change. It does get a bit repetitive later though.

The special moves are all fun. Daigo and Majima especially. I think Majima was a sonic adventure reference?

Dragon kart is a nice distraction, wish we got more characters though, maybe next game

More locations and the uber app was handy given how big yokohoma was

Bringing back old theme songs was nice

I’m glad Watase made a re-appearence, he had a lot of potential and I’m glad he didn’t just get forgotten

Great news Wagi fans, he’s back (although how the fuck and why did no-one realise, did daigo not notice his captain never came out of hospital?)

The goon pokedex is a great 

Finally, playable female characters. Both are fine, although there was a strong smurfette feel to the group at times. Also I love that neither can be attacked by Kiryu in the boss fight, cool attention to detail. Seong hui was also cool but I wish she fought, it’d make more sense for her than the other 2 in all honesty.

The CDs are nice

I loved the whole dynamic with the group and the little bar chats. Kiryu’s chats in 6 were more awkward and brought back bad memories for me in school trying to add to  conversations so it hit to close to home. Ichi has more charisma. I hope they keep this for the next game, I’d love to see the Tojo gang discuss stuff, especially with Daigo as he never got to do much outside of chairmanning

They had a reasonable explanation for Han sorta coming back. He was OP tbh but still cool.

Date cameo, always good to see him

The kiryu fight was good fun

I got into Ichiban confections, but I did need a guide to get started. It wasn’t explained very well.

The tojo and omi being gone opens up a lot of possibilities.

Onomichio my beloved

The Bad shit:

OMG the fucking Majima fight is an absolute bullshit difficulty spike. Worst in any game I’ve played in years.  I was comfortably beating enemies/bosses before that, there was no real indication I was severely underleveled except a hint that I should use the arena (and i was halfway through on my first attempt). I get they are meant to be Tojo legends but that felt cheap. Then I overlevelled and it wasn’t fun. Kiryu’s and tendo’s fights were far more balanced

Dungeons are pretty samey, although they are mostly optional I suppose.

The stop motion cutscenes they used sometimes made me feel sick for some reason. Didn’t care for that design choice at all.

Ok, maybe Kashiwagi could have survived, but no way lau ka long should have.

Mirrorface was dumb as fuck, he only played a small role thankfully

Graphics seemed like a downgrade compared to judgement at times, maybe I’m imagining it though

That annoying noise adachi and saeko make when you stand still for a second drove me nuts

that same ice clink sound effect in the drinks (minor quibble, but yeah)

Food does not give experience, why does it say that.

Switching jobs was a massive pain at times, I just stuck with enforcer, idol, hitman and hero.

Some attacks just seemed pointless

Poundmates are way too expensive

Yokohoma isn’t as nice to look at, but that’s not the games fault. Lots of bland office buildings.

Nanba’s betrayel for a brother we don’t even get to see annoyed me. Didn’t let that fucker back in my party after that lol. And if he wasn’t actually homeless why does he carry on like a hobo.

Geomijul are filling in for the florist . i thought they got rid of him for being too convenient a plot device but here we are again.

Arakawa and Daigo seemed to leave a lot of shit up to chance imo.

Crafting felt kind of limited

Ichi’s capacity for forgiveness seemed a little delusional at times, it is pointed out and I guess he says himself there’s no logic to it.

Trying to make the brothel owner out to be some swell guy felt a bit cringe, it’s the whole grey area thing I know but he still seemed like a dick.

Substories took too long at times and there’s a few pretty boring ones

I’m happy I gave it a chance anyway and it’’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. No more ‘traitor in the Tojo clan’ ‘someone shot/abducted daigo’ or ‘omi vs tojo’ plots from here on out. IDK how Kiryu will fight as he isn’t a gaming addict so how are they gonna square that when he joins? 

The characters were well fleshed out and like judgement you can see they’ve gotten better with their story telling. 

The combat was jarring at first but I got good at it eventually and started enjoying it a lot more. It helps they were so creative with attacks but I’ll always prefer brawling

#yakuza #yakuza lad #yakuza like a dragon #like a dragon #yakuza 7 #rgg #lost judgement and Ishin next