#OH AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THE COLORED TEXT IS HARD TO READ AND I’LL CHANGE IT

[findmeabowlofundertale]

PART 7 IS HERE

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It might be the longest yet but to be completely honest I have no idea. So uhhhh read it when you have plenty of time bc I thrive on reactions there’s a lot of important stuff in here, just like with part 6.

I took tons of inspiration from many, many sources. I feel like I should have a works cited page or something haha ^^;;

But yeah, as usual there will be notes at the end.

I really wanted to give a better progression of time, but between part 6 and this one, not gonna lie, I got a little mixed up moving things around. So. Sorry, as usual, for the lack of realistic relationship progression. (Though, it has been several weeks for them…) It should be slower, but for one, I’m excited, and for two, when you don’t spend much time around others and then suddenly meet some you really click with, you can get attached pretty fast. I just want them to be good friends already! Realism be darned, this is primarily for myself, so… yeah. Anyway, enjoy(?)

- - - -

Hey! I was just checking if tomorrow was still a good day to meet? <

> HELLO. YES. TOMORROW STILL WORKS FOR ME

> ALPHYS WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US. BUT IS TOO SHY TO ASK.

A new message in a different conversation popped up on Asteri’s phone. It was from Alphys. She opened it.

> HI PLS IGNORE WHATEVER DR G IS SENDIGN

She rolled her eyes with a good-natured sigh.

Alphys chill. You’re welcome to join us if you want. <

Back to Gaster.

I let her know I’d be happy to have her. <

> THANK YOU

> SHE JUST GETS LIKE THIS. SOMETIMES

No problem. See you tomorrow! <

Tomorrow she was finally going to ask him why he texted like that. Her phone dinged. Alphys again.

> If ur like totally sure! I dont wanna impose

You’re not imposing. <

Besides I think I worked out some of the Japanese from the books you guys found. I found a few things in the dump that helped. I wanna run it by you, if you’re free. <

> OMG REALLY?!?

> Ok yeah i’ll totally be there!!

> Happy to help!

Turning it around as an invitation seemed to work well. Asteri smiled. She almost put her phone down, but then an idea struck her.

Can you do me another favor, actually? <

Tell me what you two have eaten lately. <

The typing message came, went away, returned, and went away again several times before Alphys answered.

> well uhh haha so he tried making pasta last week i guess but it didn’t turn out, so he’s just been bringing in the leftovers and “forgetting” them in the break room fridge??

> I was going to eat some so it didn’t go to waste but

> asteri it’s So Bad

> so

> Idk

> but theres been a new box of donuts in here like every day so…

Asteri dragged her wing down her face.

How good of friends do you have to be with someone before you can strangle them <

> LMAO

> u want me to ask him?

Asteri sat up straight in her chair.

DO NOT TELL HIM I SAID THAT <

> LOLLL ok i won’t

Alphys I MEAN IT. <

I don’t want him to take it the wrong way. <

> lmao i won’t tell him don’t worry

> don’t think you can strangle a skeleton anyway

I doubt it. Not when their heads can come off <

> hIS WHAT

Asteri grimaced. Whoops.

My bad I thought you would have known about it considering what happened <

> wHAT DO YOU MEAN CONSIDERING WHAT HAPPENED

She snorted a laugh.

> ASTERI

Apparently skeletons come apart. <

They can move their bodies from their head but if they go too far they lose control of one or the other. And apparently one time he tested that without warning anyone ahead of time and got too far from his head so it was just his body wandering around blind until he ran into someone and freaked them out <

> Oh My God

> I wanna say ur joking but that would literally be just like him

Ask him if he knows he dropped a phalange in the break room and see how long it takes him to tell you that story <

> asdjklf;hsk I can’t just say that!!!!

Trust me he’s way too excited to talk about it. <

If it goes badly you can say I dared you. <

> omg ok i’ll do it

Asteri chuckled and put her phone down. Alphys was a lot of fun to talk to. They had kept in touch since the dump, since she was more adept at texting than Gaster. He absolutely texted like an old man. Which was hilarious considering that he had absolutely no excuse for being out of touch with technology. He quite literally worked with it every single day. Well, who knew? Maybe he just wasn’t one for written communication. After all, people wrote much differently than they spo—

Wait, no, that really didn’t make sense for him.

…Is that how he would talk, if he spoke aloud? Geez.

She shook her head and got up. Not worth thinking about. She should go get her notes on Japanese in order for Alphys.

⁂

Bread was shoved against Gaster’s chest.

“Sandwich.”

He looked down at the plastic baggie-covered-sandwich and took it, then gave a grateful but confused smile. “Thank you, but… why?”

Asteri didn’t have arms to cross, and her wings were too big, but she approximated the gesture well enough and her tail flicking in agitation against the red rock beneath her made her mood clear. “Because I said I would start bringing you food if you didn’t eat.”

A startled, somewhat indignant noise caught in his metaphorical throat as he straightened in mild offense. “I made pasta when I got home last time!”

“Did you eat it?”

The silence and the way his eyelights immediately flitted away were answer enough even if Alphys hadn’t filled her in yesterday.

“Gaster!” she scolded.

He threw his arms in the air and signed with a blue pair of hands that blinked into existence instead. “It was inedible!”

“It can’t have been that bad.” Surely nobody who had been alive this long didn’t have basic cooking skills. No matter what Alphys said.

“H-Hi, um, am- am I interrupting?”

The very same lizard had walked up to them without either of them realizing. Gaster lit up, though more in triumph than delight. “Not at all.”

“Hey! Good to see you again,” Asteri greeted. “You’re just in time to watch me lecture an old man.”

Gaster made another offended noise. “I am not the only monster who fought in the war, you know!”

“Alright, fair enough,” Asteri conceded. “But you’re the only one of my friends who has, so I’m teasing you about it.”

The finger he had held up in anticipation of giving a rebuttal drooped as the indignation melted away, and a slight smile pulled at his expression instead, eyes flicking away with a hint of green. He still wasn’t used to being called anyone’s friend.

Asteri looked down at Alphys. “Did you get some of it?”

The lizard monster nodded and pulled a container out of her bag. Monster food didn’t spoil, so the fact that it was a week and a half old didn’t matter, fortunately. Which was not the case with human food, as Alphys had learned the hard way from scavenging at the dump. She handed the container over. Gaster’s flattered smile immediately disappeared, replaced with dawning horror.

“Asteri.”

She manifested a green hand.

“Asteri, wait.”

She took the lid off. Well… no, it decidedly didn’t smell great, but…

“Asteri, please! Do not eat that. It is inedible.”

She huffed and swung her head back over to look at him in mild annoyance. “It cannot be that bad. Look. I’m a decent cook, so I’ll try it and give you some tips on what could be improved. I’m not going to judge you.”

That was a lie, she had already judged him a little bit.

He looked mortified. “I am begging you.”

Asteri raised an eyebrow and glanced at Alphys for input. She gave an awkward smile, so stretched it was more like a grimace. “I-It’s, um…” The question put her in an uncomfortable position between her two friends.

“Alphys, tell her! It is horrendous! Nobody could eat that!”

“Oh come on! Nobody can be that bad at cooking. It’s PASTA, how bad could it possibly be?”

“BAD! It’s terrible! You will take damage from that penne!”

Asteri scoffed. “You can’t accidentally put malicious intent into food, now I know you’re exaggerating.”

Alphys looked back and forth between them, growing increasingly anxious as they argued, until finally she screwed her eyes shut and clutched her bag and blurted, “Okay, i-it’s awful!”

They both turned to look at her again. There was a beat of silence before Gaster lit up in a triumphant grin.

“See?!”

Asteri made a face. “Hmph. Well, even if it somehow does deal damage, I’ve got plenty of HP.”

A green, drippy hand reached into the container and picked up a fistful of pasta. The two scientists looked on in terror as she opened her mouth and tossed it in. She chewed. They held their breaths. She swallowed.

There was silence at first. The anticipation was tangible. She closed her eyes, took a breath, then opened them again.

“How do you two feel about heading to my place?”

Alphys blinked. “O-Oh! Sure…?? I-I don’t mind the walk.”

“I am not opposed,” Gaster agreed, slightly confused.

“Good. Because I’m teaching you two how to cook. My god, that is the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.”

⁂

The attempt ended four and half hours later with the three of them covered in sauce stains and on the kitchen floor. Asteri held her face in her wings, Gaster was face-down, and Alphys was flopped over onto her side, staring at the various spills and the overturned pan and bowl across the floor from her.

Asteri raised her head and stared upward. There was a splatter of something on the ceiling. She heaved a sigh. “Terrible job everyone. But at least we tried. Let’s get this cleaned up.”

With a grunt, Alphys righted herself. “Okay…”

“Gaster, are you conscious?”

The man didn’t move at all, but a pair of blue hands manifested above him. “Unfortunately.”

“Alright, well, get up. This is no time for embarrassment. You’re helping clean.”

He sighed silently but obeyed, pushing himself up from the ground and onto his knees. His glasses were barely hanging onto his face. He made no effort to correct this. “I am so sorry about this mess. What can I do?”

Asteri stood and dusted herself off with her wings, then gestured upward with her tail. “Help me wipe that splatter off the ceiling.”

He craned his neck to look where she was pointing. “Ah...” How did they even manage that?

She looked around, utterly overwhelmed by the chaos her kitchen had descended into. “Alphys, can you get the dishes in the sink? Then we can collect the rest of the dishes, and… ugh, wait, no. There’s the pans. And I didn’t put away the plates on the drying rack. Uh, okay. I can get the counters, but the leftover ingredients that are still good can… no, um. The rags are… But first, the floor. No.”

There was nowhere to put anything, and stuff was everywhere, and there was ruined food to scoop up, and good food to find containers for, and she needed to find a bucket for the mop, and… This was too overwhelming.

“Th-There’s containers with lids in that cupboard, but the fridge is… If you, uh…”

It was exhausting to even think about. Looking at it just drained her. All she wanted to do was sit back down, but then the spills would just dry and get even harder to clean. She didn’t know how this had even happened. She was exhausted from trying to keep the both of them on track, and as patient as she was, it had run out after two or three hours of damage control. This was so far beyond reckoning, she was beginning to shut down. If she didn’t get a grip, she was going to end up crying in frustration, and nobody needed that right now—

“Asteri.”

She turned her head. Gaster had approached without her having noticed until she saw his hands move. Whatever dismayed look was on her face must have been bad, because he set a hand on the closest thing she had to a shoulder and looked at her with an level of concern she really, really wished she didn’t warrant. He shouldn’t have to worry about her, this was her idea, and… and…

He looked into her eyes, his own flared in a deep blue, almost indigo. She couldn’t seem to look away. They burned like fire magic, warm and captivating. There were shades of blue she didn’t even know existed. The colors danced like flames, swirled like milk in coffee. The stress bled out of her. Her posture relaxed; She felt… calm. Serene.

The color in his eyes slowly faded, and he smiled softly.

“Do not worry about it. Let us clean up our mess.”

“How did you do that?” Asteri asked, a bit hazy, as he steered her to a seat at her kitchen table.

He signed something with his blue hands that she didn’t recognize first, then realized his mistake. “Lighting our eyes with color, or—” He repeated the sign, which she interpreted as “eyeglowing”— “was one way skeletons expressed certain emotions, but it was also how we calmed each other. It was context-sensitive. I was unsure if it would work with you,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepishly, “but I acted instinctively.”

“It was really nice,” she murmured, leaning forward on the table until her head was resting against her wings. “Made me tired though.”

“It simply calmed you enough to realize that you were already tired.”

“Mm…”

He stepped away. “Just rest.”

“But there’s so much…”

“Alphys and I have cleaned up far worse.” Several more pairs of blue hands manifested around him once he reached the center of her kitchen.

“D-Definitely,” the younger woman chimed in. She wasn’t thrilled to be cleaning up the entire kitchen, but could tell Asteri needed to sit this one out. “Me and Dr. Gaster got this.”

“Technically,” Asteri mumbled into her wing, “‘t’s “Dr. Gaster ‘nd me.””

Alphys stared at her and ignored the correction. “Where are your dish towels, Asteri?” she sighed instead.

The shapeshifter pointed to a drawer with her tail.

She then watched as each of Gaster’s several floating hands went about doing something different, all while he stood in place, real hands folded behind his back except to levitate a few heavier things to different places. Alphys worked on whatever he wasn’t doing at a given moment. They worked in perfect sync, like they had done this dozens of times before. It was fascinating to watch.

They were finished within an hour. It passed in a blur.

“Thank you guys so much,” Asteri said once they finished. “I really appreciate it.”

“It was the least we could do after making such a mess.”

“I know we were going to talk linguistics, Alphys,” she said as she sat up and stretched, “but I don’t think I have the mental energy for it. Do you guys want to watch a movie instead?”

“I can’t remember the last time I watched a film,” Gaster mused. “I would like that.”

“Y-Yeah, a movie sounds nice!”

Asteri stood. “I don’t have much to eat though… I’m sorry.”

“I-I can make sandwiches, if, um, i-if you don’t mind. That’s not really cooking, so…”

“That’s fine with me. Here, I’ll help. I can do that much as a host, at least. Gaster, do you want to look through the movies I’ve got?”

Once they finished making the sandwiches, they met Gaster in the living room. After agreeing on a movie, they sat on the couch, Asteri in the middle. Too tired and distracted with the film starting, she forgot she had wanted to try to watch how Gaster ate. Oh well. She was exhausted. She didn’t last much past the halfway point of the movie, soon thereafter conking out and beginning to slump over. Being much taller than Alphys, the shorter woman had to keep pushing her back up.

“Doctor,” she hissed after the third time. He startled, having been completely engrossed in the film, and looked to his coworker. “Doctor, c-can you help, please?? She keeps falling over.”

“Oh! Yes, my apologies, Alphys.”

It would have been easier to turn her SOUL blue and pull her upright, but this wasn’t a battle, and she wasn’t conscious so he couldn’t ask her if it was alright. So instead, he turned and carefully clasped her not-quite-shoulders, then gently pulled her upright. She started to fall over again as soon as he began to let go, though, so he tilted her towards himself instead. Her head fell limply against his shoulder. She sighed in her sleep, but otherwise did not stir.

Alphys watched the way he smiled down at her before turning his attention back to the movie, noticed the way Asteri settled against him, and she smirked.

The movie ended after midnight, and the two reluctantly woke Asteri up to bid her goodbye. She was only half-awake, but thanked them for coming and told them to be careful on the way home. In the back of her mind, she realized she had ended up leaned on Gaster’s shoulder, but told herself not to think about it too hard and went to bed.

⁂

In lieu of the cooking lesson disaster, Asteri and Alphys met up at the former’s house on a different day to go over Asteri’s notes on Japanese.

“I am s-so sorry about, um, a-about the other day,” Alphys stammered as they approached the house. “I d-didn’t even! I-I didn’t even kn-know cooking c-could go… l-like that.”

“Honestly, neither did I,” Asteri said grimly, holding the door open for her friend. “But it was nice of you two to clean up for me. I appreciate it immensely.”

“I-It was mostly him! Thank goodness f-for blue magic, right?”

“And multiple pairs of hands.”

“O-Oh, r-right!” Alphys chimed as they walked through her front room. “You never saw him with a bunch of hands before, right?”

Asteri led her into a room toward the back of the house, something like an office, where she kept her notes. This room had magical fire burning in a few alcoves to lower the humidity. She flipped the lights on.

“Yeah, I didn’t know he could summon that many,” she mused. “He had three summoned when he showed me green magic, but I assumed that was about the limit. I didn’t expect— what was that? Ten?”

“Y-Yeah, I think ten is- is it. I think he f-felt really bad about the mess, so…”

Asteri gestured to a chair if Alphys wanted to sit, and sighed as she dropped into her own seat at the desk. “Yeah, I know. I told him it was fine, though. I hope he didn’t push himself for my sake.”

The lizard monster plopped into the offered chair and waved a hand. “He’s fine. Just, um, y-y’know, he gets. Self-conscious.”

“I do know that,” Asteri mumbled with a knowing sigh, sitting at her desk.

Alphys’ eyebrows furrowed. “W-Why, um, w-why did he need three extra hands to show you green magic, though?”

The memory of the skeleton shrugging out of his dark coat and yanking his sweater all the way up to his armpits brought heat back to her face. She pushed the feeling down and managed to maintain an otherwise calm expression. “We were discussing SOUL magic, which I wasn’t familiar with since I don’t make a habit of fighting. He said that because we didn’t know each other very well, he didn’t want to use it on me. I didn’t understand, um… turning a SOUL a certain color, so he…” She swallowed, beginning to struggle not to look as embarrassed as she felt by the memory. It wasn’t a big deal, it was educational. Surely it would be more embarrassing to make it a big deal to a scientist of all people. She shrugged as casually as she could manage. “…He showed me.”

Alphys’ eyes turned into dinner plates and she giggled incredulously. “He turned his own SOUL green and SHOWED you?!”

Asteri’s whole face flushed. “I-It stayed in his body!!”

Alphys was grinning, claws over her mouth. “Oh my god.”

“It was purely educational!”

“Did he- D-Did he, like, take his shirt off??”

“He pulled it up,” Asteri muttered. “But it wasn’t a big deal, alright‽”

“You’re preeeeetty defensive f-for it not being a big deal, Asteri,” Alphys teased.

“I-I just didn’t know what to expect! It’s not like I’d seen a skeleton’s body before!”

Alphys wiggled her eyebrows. “Why’re you blushing so hard then?”

“BECAUSE I SAW THE MAN’S SOUL, ALPHYS! That’s not exactly an experience I’m accustomed to having with someone!” She sighed and rubbed her face with her wing, tail reaching over to grab her papers.

Fortunately, Alphys dropped it, though the smirk didn’t quite disappear.

“Here. Look. These are some words I believe I have the meanings of.” Asteri shoved a handful of papers at her with her tail. “But since you’re familiar with the actual speech, I was hoping you could help me by giving me the pronunciation of any words you know. Then, once I know which letters make which sounds, hopefully we can meet again and compare what else I’ve transliterated. The writing has almost no spaces, so I can’t tell where words end and begin. I was hoping you would be able to help with that once we make some progress.”

“A-Ah, okay!” Alphys shuffled through the papers. “Um, so you have the word for “goodbye,” and I know that one!” She held the paper out and pointed to it. “It’s, um, “sayonara.””

Asteri frowned, leaning forward. “That can’t be right. The text is only five letters.”

Alphys’ expression withered into confusion, then uncertainty. “Oh… um, okay, let me look again.” She searched the papers once more. “Okay, here- here’s “yes,” I know that one is- is definitely “hai!” And, um, here, you have a few! A-A few different ones. For “wait.” I’ve heard, uh, “matte o,” uh, th-the most.”

Again, Asteri looked at the papers, and it didn’t make any sense. “None of these have enough letters to be those words… Did I get all of these wrong??”

Both of them stared at the columns of words in silence for at least a solid minute.

“Maybe… M-Maybe you should watch some of, um. Some anime?”

Asteri sighed and flopped back against her seat. “You know, you’re probably right.” Her head turned back to the other woman. “Alright. Hit me. What are we watching?”

Alphys lit up like a lightbulb. Before she could answer, though, Asteri spoke up again.

“Just! Know. That there will be a lot rewinding and pausing.”

“Th-That’s okay! I know exactly what we can watch! And!” Alphys reached into her bag, then pulled out a DVD case and held it aloft. “I always bring my favorite with me in case I meet someone who wants to watch it!”

Asteri squinted at it. “Sailor… Moon?”

It was a lot more productive than Asteri anticipated. Seeing Japanese text in the background occasionally along with hearing the way it was spoken helped her get a better sense of how the language worked. Brief segments of seeing a character write something or sound something out helped immensely. By the time Alphys left, they had tossed around theories ranging from the language not having written vowels to each letter being a word. Some of the words in Japanese that she heard translated to a whole phrase in the subtitles, or vice versa, which fascinated Asteri to no end. She had spent almost the last two decades studying monster languages, but now, to try to puzzle apart a brand new one? Oh, it excited her like nothing else. Words for things that their language didn’t have, entirely different grammar, and most immediately interesting: a new alphabet.

It left her with much to think about. Alphys promised that next time, she would bring some of her other series to pick from. That was great, and Asteri was looking forward to it, but more than anything, this had made her all the more determined to learn more about fonts and speech-based magic from Gaster. The next time they met, she was getting to the bottom of it.

(The next time they met, she did not.)

⁂

This time, their walk was less meandering through Hotland, and more making a beeline for New Home. Gaster had been having actual meals all week, so Asteri agreed that they should get donuts together.

“I feel like you’re the only reason this donut shop is still open, Gaster.”

He grinned, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as they walked in. “They know my orders by heart here…”

That pulled a little snort from her. “Of course they do.”

“Doctor!” greeted the man behind the counter. “Where have you been!? We haven’t seen you all week, we started to worry you tripped and fell into the CORE!”

He laughed humorlessly. “There are safety rails to preventing that, fortunately.” In most areas, anyway. “Asteri here has been trying to get me to eat a more balanced diet.”

“Oho! Good for you! We sell sandwiches too, you know!”

“Perhaps I will try one, sometime. But today I am being rewarded with donuts for eating well all week.”

The man laughed, hearty and loud, and turned to Asteri. “You’re taking good care of the doctor for us all, huh!?”

“I’m certainly trying,” she answered, unable to help her smile. The worker— owner? —knew Gaster well. She was glad he knew that there were other people who cared about him.

“You picked a good one, Doctor! I’m happy for you! It’s about time you settled down!”

Oh.

Both of their faces flushed with magic. “No, no no no, it’s not like that!” she clarified, while Gaster frantically signed more or less the same thing. The monster behind the counter just shrugged and let it go.

“My bad! I’m sorry, I just got excited for ya, Doctor! But still, glad you’ve got a good friend! So! What can I getcha!?”

After they ordered (though Asteri insisted it not be an entire box of donuts this time, just a couple), they found a booth to sit in and made themselves comfortable.

“He seemed very excitable,” she giggled.

“Every one of his sentences has at least one exclamation point,” Gaster informed her with a chuckle. “Even his questions. I have never seen him use a period.”

“Wow, really? Is that tiring to read?”

He picked up a donut and hummed for a moment. “No, not any more than it is to listen to.”

Alright, this was good! This time, she was finding out more about speech and text magic, and she wasn’t going to let anything derail her!

“Speaking of which, Gaster,” she began, looking up from her own plate, “I was going to aaaaaaa….sk…..”

She had looked up in time to see Gaster mid-bite. Yes, that was right: mid-bite. His mouth hung open as their eyes met in mutual confusion. Then, after a split-second, he finished biting the donut and signed while he… chewed, or whatever it was that happened next. “Asteri? What’s wrong?”

She gaped at him. “Your mouth opens‽”

Well, there went tact.

Understandably, he shot her a confused, mildly worried look as he took another bite. “Asteri, we have eaten together several times now.”

She felt her face heat up. This is why tact is important. Good grief Asteri, does all your sense go out the window when you’re around him‽ Pull it together!!

“W-Well, um. I was busy writing notes the first time we met… and the other time, with the pizza, I got distracted… then, um. Last time, we were sitting in the dark and the movie was starting, and I was exhausted. So I. I never… saw you… do that?”

He raised one brow and stared at her in what could only be described as a mixture of skepticism and concern, then opened and closed his mouth a few times as if to show that yes, it really did work that way. His teeth clicked together. Despite her best efforts, she just stared. It definitely made the way his head was shaped make more sense.

“You truly never saw me open my mouth, this entire time?” She shook her head, eyes still glued to his jaw. He breathed a single laugh and took a sip of his drink. “Perhaps I should teach you about skeleton biology, then.”

Her eyes blew wide and immediately flicked up to meet his, incredulous. If her face wasn’t hot before, it was now. For a split second that felt like an eternity, he just looked back at her, not comprehending what he had said that could have elicited such a response. Then it registered and his face turned red, eyelights blazing hot pink.

“I meant explain it!!! Here! In the booth! In an educational and—” He was signing too quickly, she didn’t make the second word out, but she imagined it was probably “professional” or something— “manner!! Obviously I would not…! Make any such advances!!”

“R-Right, yes,” she stammered, looking away. “O-Obviously.” She debated pointing out that he had practically taken his shirt off and showed her his SOUL a couple weeks ago, but decided that what had just happened was enough embarrassment to both of them for one day.

The awkwardness was palpable.

“I’m...” She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I was already a little flustered, so my mind jumped right to…” God, what was wrong with her?! She rubbed her face with her wing. “Th-That was beyond inappropriate of me, I apologize.”

“I certainly could have worded it better,” Gaster objected on her behalf, still embarrassed but fortunately not upset. “It is not your fault.”

Asteri sighed. “I feel like such a heel, though. I don’t know where my mind is today. God. I shouldn’t have even gone there. You’re my friend. Obviously you wouldn’t suggest that. Especially like… that.”

Yeah, it was way too smooth of a line, he’d never be able to swing tha— what is WRONG with me‽

“No, no, please,” he insisted, “do not berate yourself! I was careless in my wording, and neither gave any consideration that you might have been embarrassed by the misunderstanding at the counter. Forgive me.”

The misunderstanding at the…? Oh! Yes. She was a little frazzled by that. But mostly she had been flustered by…

The realization almost knocked the wind out of her.

It was his mouth. I was watching his MOUTH.

God, should she just tell him that? No, no, it would make things uncomfortable because he would think it was for a way weirder reason than it actually was and then he would never want to eat around her again. She just needed to get a grip. There weren’t a lot of monsters with teeth that weren’t covered by something like skin or a beak. The form she preferred to stay in was a lot like her parents’, and lacked lips. They didn’t kiss each other, they would just gently nibble wherever was convenient: shoulder, cheek, neck. (It was only once she got much older that she had learned that biting someone’s neck or shoulder was not considered an innocent display of affection by most other types of monsters.) She had just gotten caught up with the subconscious realization that he was like her in that regard. Skeletons probably didn’t kiss either. Maybe they bit, like her family. That was all. She was thinking about biting (kissing) and how nobody else did that, and then he said that and it completely threw her.

Shoot, she had been quiet a few seconds too long. “Don’t- Don’t worry about it, Gaster! Really. Um, look, I feel terrible about making you uncomfortable, and you feel bad about making me uncomfortable, so now we both feel bad and are uncomfortable. Let’s just start that conversation over, yeah?”

“Yes. I would like that.” He nodded, sitting up a little bit straighter with a grateful smile.

For a moment she hesitated, but then decided that embarrassment aside, it probably would be good to know. “If… If if isn’t too uncomfortable of a topic after all that,” she started, tentative, “it might be beneficial if you did tell me a little about skeleton… biology. J-Just the basics. So there aren’t any future misunderstandings.”

Gaster nodded once more. “I think that would be wise.” He shifted in his seat, getting more comfortable. “Since it has become relevant, I will start with our jaws. I can open mine, as you saw. However, I do not need to, technically speaking. Neither to vocalize, as you have no doubt noticed, nor to eat. Some skeletons had fused skulls, lacking this hollow here.” He pointed to the space between his back teeth and the hinge of his jaw. “They could not open their mouths, so they ate with magic. Like so.”

Asteri watched in stupor as he held a donut up to his closed mouth and it began to disappear.

“This is fine, and sometimes more convenient, but it takes more concentration for me, personally, so I prefer to simply bite my food.

“Some skeletons appeared to have fused skulls, but were just particularly skilled with distortion magic, and pulled the magic that made up their skulls around their mouths so that they could emote more similarly to monsters with skin, showing more or less teeth depending on their expression. All skeletons use distortion magic naturally, which is how our eye sockets emote and we appear to frown and smile.”

Asteri nodded. “Distortion magic is used by shapeshifters as well, to some extent. Though, our nature is to be able to change forms, so it isn’t what allows us to shift, only what we might use while in a particular form.”

“Then you understand.”

“Yeah. Though you use it so subtly I didn’t place it as distortion magic until you said so.”

He smiled at that. “Thank you. I have a decent amount of skill with it, though I am by no means particularly adept. Generally, skeletons emoted with a mixture of eyeglowing and changes in font. But only other skeletons could see fonts, and eyeglowing required knowledge of what each color meant in each context— something other skeletons knew innately— so when confronted with other monsters, or humans, some skeletons chose to use more distortion magic to make their expressions and emotions clearer.” He paused. “Being… the only skeleton left, I admit I am at times tempted to make more use of distortion magic so that others may better read my expression. But, at the same time, I do not want to act like something I am not.”

“That makes sense,” Asteri murmured. “I can understand the pressure to change in order to be understood, while also feeling like you shouldn’t have to abandon your culture.”

He looked on, waiting for her to continue if she wished. She hadn’t meant to get into it, this was about him, but if wanted to listen…

She took a breath.

“My parents were big on that. Shapeshifters were never especially numerous, even on the surface, I guess. Even so, there were many clans, never a single kingdom like other types of monsters had. The one my family was from didn’t generally take bipedal forms. They were more inclined towards the reptilian, amphibian, and piscine or other aquatics. Legs and tails were prioritized over arms. More legs, stronger tail, easier to run or swim, easier to hunt. As a result, the ability to form arms was slowly lost. I can become a many-legged creature easily enough, even something with grasping forelimbs, like a crustacean. But “humanoid” arms? Those are beyond me, no matter how many times I’ve tried over the years.

“When I was a kid, I shifted a lot more. My parents encouraged me, of course, to experiment until I found a form I was comfortable with. But I knew what came easily, I knew what felt nice to exist as. But… I didn’t like how it looked. I didn’t like that I didn’t have arms like everyone else. Even the dogs in Snowdin were bipedal and used their front legs like arms. I wanted to be solid, all in one piece, like everyone else, and I wanted arms. I was always trying to shift to look more like the other kids, especially the lizard monsters, but whenever I tried to form the arms…”

She held her wings out and focused. They condensed and solidified into two humanoid arms, but rather than finish turning lavender like the rest of her body, they stayed a bluish color. Within a matter of seconds, they started dripping, becoming almost goopy, and it only took a few moments for them to melt back into the semi-transparent cloak of magic that draped around her as “wings.”

“Doesn’t work. I learned how to form hands, like you’ve seen me do, but they’re drippy too, and they’ll fade if I don’t stay focused. I used to be really self-conscious about this form, but my parents reminded me that I didn’t have to pretend to be ‘not a shapeshifter.’ Shifting was for my own comfort, not the comfort of those around me. There was no need to imitate others, only to take inspiration. If I preferred to stay in multiple pieces, then the other kids would learn to just accept that that’s how I looked. I didn’t have to look like other monsters; we had our own culture, our own look. We didn’t have arms, or lips, and we didn’t resemble any particular animal like a lot of the other monsters did, but we were us, you know?”

She smiled, bittersweet for a moment as she remembered them, then looked back to him with a happier smile. “Did you know, the first time I saw you summon extra hands, I felt so validated?”

His eyes widened slightly. “Truly? Even though I have hands naturally?”

“Yeah. I’d never seen anyone need to summon them, so it was kind of nice to see that there are other people who do after all. I-I feel a lot less self-conscious about forming them when I’m with you. O-Or Alphys, I guess.”

He smiled down at the donut on his plate. “I am glad that I helped you in some way. There were… not many skeletons who signed, and as such not much accommodation for someone who needed their hands free. So I understand some of the anxiety that comes with summoning hands. Nowadays, though, nearly everyone understands sign language, and no one has ever questioned my extra hands. So don’t feel self-conscious, I am sure no one questions yours either.”

Asteri’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “You might also not get questioned because you’re a bit eccentric,” she teased.

“Heh.” He hid a smile of his own behind a donut. “Is there anything else you would like to know about skeletons?”

Plenty, like what it was like to grow up signing in a culture where speech was so vital to expression, but she wasn’t about to say that. Instead, she pretended to think about it while she chewed. “What do the colors your eyes turn mean?”

“An excellent question,” Gaster commended her. “It is heavily contextual, though...”

She materialized a hand out of her magic and took out her pen and notebook. “Alright, hit me.”

He chuckled at the fact that that was her immediate response, and launched into the explanation.

“Green is happiness, safety, or contentment. It may also flare up when healing or using green SOUL magic. If I had expended much energy or focus when I explained turning a SOUL green, it may have lit my eyes. Green is rarely seen in a negative context, but it can be associated with hope for change or asking for help from another person, such as healing.

“Pink is surprise, or embarrassment. It may also show hesitation or anxiety.

“Red is associated with physical pain, but may also show up as resilience or fortitude despite injury or impending harm.

“Orange, like it, may show resilience in the face of hardship; a call for bravery. An act of defiance, perhaps. However, that is red-orange. A more neutral orange, or yellow-orange, is typically confusion, puzzlement, or, more rarely, betrayal. Using orange magic extensively may light one’s eyes, as with green. This goes for any colored magic.

“Yellow may show stress, fear, or a feeling of righteous indignation. Other times, however, yellow can convey a sense of absoluteness or surety in one’s actions.

“Violet is associated with need. It can also be fear, when it is less saturated in color, but it is fear more in the sense of helplessness. It more often expresses exhaustion or hunger; a display that one is in need of something in order to go on. It can also convey a frightened anger. Certain shades of violet can show sadness as well. It is one of the more versatile colors, like yellow.

“Blue, specifically light blue, is calm, but not in the sense of contentment, as with green. It is a calm in spite of something. A sense of waiting, of…” Something clicked in his mind. “Patience. A conscious decision to wait, to endure. For this, eyes may also glow light blue when highly stressed as an outlet.”

Asteri wrote as fast as she could to get all of that down. When she was finished, she looked up. “What about dark blue, like the color your eyes turned when you calmed me down in my kitchen?”

“Ah,” he hummed. “That is where context becomes important. A skeleton’s personal magic has its own color, similar to how monsters with flesh may have different color irises, hair, fur, or skin. Mine is the deep blue you saw. That is also why the hands I summon are blue. Contrary to what it may seem, my skill with gravity magic—that is, colored magic of the blue variety— is entirely unrelated. Thus, if I glow my eyes intentionally—” His eyelights lit up blue— “it is this color blue. In terms of meaning, though, it is similar to red in that it is a call to endure, but also to green in that it conveys a sense of calm. It is something akin to wholeness, a feeling of completeness… Importance. Community, perhaps? Deep affection for those around you.”

“Love,” Asteri supplied, the word tumbling out of her mouth before she even gave it a second thought.

Gaster stilled, the simple answer taking him by surprise, then slowly broke into a smile. “Yes, that’s it,” he signed slowly. “It is love. Selfless love, specifically.”

She thought it prudent not to comment on how appropriate that color was for the situation in the kitchen.

“That’s fascinating, Gaster,” she said softly, instead. It was always so enjoyable to listen to him. She always learned so much. Even if, yet again, she hadn’t gotten to talk with him about fonts.

Appropriately, his eyes turned green.

“Colors mixed together, flickering, or alternating can also change the meanings,” he added, “but again, context is necessary. Knowing those basics will allow you to understand the essence of what is being conveyed, even if not all of the nuance.”

“Thank you for the lesson. Mm, I should tell you more about shapeshifters sometime,” mused Asteri once she had finished writing everything down. “Since I’m learning so much about skeletons.”

“I would like that very much,” he agreed, perking up more.

“Well, it’s not like I have to be anywhere, if you want to hear now. Is there anything in particular you want to know?”

Gaster thought for a few moments, and Asteri took the opportunity to finish her second donut. It had a lemon drizzle on it, and it was delicious.

“Can you take any form, disregarding arms?”

She grinned and nodded. “Yeah. Want to see something weird?”

He didn’t say no, so she went ahead. Her features melted away and shifted around, and a moment later Gaster was looking at an almost-mirror image of himself. He made a startled noise.

“Oh, this is really weird,” she said in her own voice. Her jaw— his jaw— moved as she spoke. She wasn’t accustomed to speaking in a form like this so she used distortion magic to enunciate, which looked very strange

He shuddered, grimacing. “Stars above, that is not how teeth work.”

She laughed apologetically and let herself melt into something formless again, then into a familiar yellow lizard. “How’s this?”

“Quite good!” Gaster grinned, a little more relaxed. “Alphys has one more head spine, though.”

“Oh, whoops.” With a little melting, she moved the head spines around and added another one. “Better?”

“Perfect.”

Laughing again, Asteri melted once more and then returned to her regular form. “Good! Alphys is easier, I’ve been different types of lizards before. I’ve never been a skeleton. That was my first attempt.”

His brow bones rose. “That was impressive for a first attempt!” He looked to the side and tilted his head. “Highly unnerving, but impressive.”

“Thanks,” she chuckled, flicking her tail out behind her. “Sorry if that was too strange.”

“It was only a little strange,” Gaster admitted with an awkward smile. “It was odd to see another skeleton— but not bad!” he added quickly when he saw her eyes widen. “I know you are going to apologize, but there is no need. It was not odd in a bad way.”

She rubbed the back of her head with her tail. “Ahah… you know me well.”

He might have puffed up just a little at that. “May I ask more about shapeshifters?”

“Oh! Yeah, go for it.”

“I have two questions. Please answer whichever you like first. Can you become larger or smaller? And when you imitated Alphys and myself, you appeared to have arms. How is that?”

Asteri nodded. “Ah, right. Well, they weren’t real, functional arms. Did you notice how it looked like my clothes changed to look like yours? That was all part of me. The imitations were only that: imitations. I couldn’t walk around like that. Well, maybe as Alphys, but not for long. It was more like I shaped my magic around myself like a shell rather than created an actual, functional form.

“And no, I can’t change sizes… exactly.” She held a wing up. “These “wings” are all of my unused magic. Since I can’t form arms, I keep it wrapped around me like a cloak, and I can use it to grab things or gesture. But in essence, it’s all the bodily magic that isn’t being used as part of my current form. If I used all of what’s available to me, I would be huge. And I’m already pretty tall! So I can get bigger, yes… within reason. Getting smaller is more complicated. It would leave more magic left over, which I would have to do something with, so it would likely end up as part of my wings. I prefer to be bipedal, and I think the size I am now looks best in proportion to my wings, so that’s why I stay like this.”

“Fascinating,” Gaster signed, exhaling as he shook his head slightly in wonder. “May I ask why you chose the colors you did for your form?”

“Sure!” She took a sip of her drink and shifted to get more comfortable. “But you may be surprised how little of it was actually a choice. My parents were usually shades of purple and blue, so it’s sort of a default. Shapeshifters do have “base forms,” so to speak. We’re sort of goopy. Not sticky or anything, but kind of… gelatinous? But not totally transparent; complete colorlessness is super rare, I guess. And just like most other monsters, what your parents look like will affect how you look. My parents’ families tended toward cool colors: greens and blues and grays and purples. So this lavender color is actually more or less the color I am naturally. I did decide to make my hair and a few other features green, because I like the color. Sometimes it changes shades, though. My eyelights are purple too, but that wasn’t actually a conscious decision. It’s difficult to go completely white, but I can if I focus for a second.”

Her eyes turned white instead of their usual heliotrope.

“How does it look?”

“A bit unnerving,” Gaster confessed.

She chuckled and let them return to normal. “Yeah, I bet. I think they’re purple because the rest of me is, too. Maybe I’ll experiment with colors, I haven’t done that in a long time.”

Gaster tilted his head, brow bones furrowing slightly. “You are perfect as you are.”

Asteri’s eyebrows shot up, and she gave him an incredulous smile to hide the blush that crept back up her face. “Alright, Mr. Smooth-talker…. You sure you aren’t flirting with me?” she half-teased.

Watching him get flustered again was funnier when she knew he hadn’t meant it that way. “No! I meant that your form suits you! There is no need to change what is already—” His eyes went pink. “I merely intended to say that you need not worry about how you look! That… That is all. You look… like Asteri.”

“You’re sweet, Gaster,” she cooed, propping her head up on her wing. “I knew what you meant that time. Well. Sort of.”

He covered his face with both hands, then dragged them down his skull. “I apologize. I do not know what is wrong with me today.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m feeling a little off myself. There’s one last thing, if you’re still interested.”

“Yes, please.” Anything to change the subject.

“So, when I melt, I’m mostly purple still, right? Well, if I melt completely, I’m actually more like a gradient. Purple in the center, around my SOUL, and then it fades to this blue-green the further away it goes. So my working theory is that the more “solid” magic is this lavender color, and the magic that’s easier for me to manipulate is this.” She wiggled her other wing. “So all the easier-to-manipulate magic subconsciously ends up together in my wings, rather than being intermingled with the rest of me. It can become solid, and it turns purple then, or whatever color, but this is sort of the color it is “at rest.” Which is also why the hands I make are green. They’re not “summoned” so much as “materialized,” since most of my extra magic is around me at all times.”

“That is very, very interesting.” Gaster studied her wings from across the table. “I did not know other monsters’ “extra” magic was colored, I thought it was only skeletons.”

“Maybe you should study biology next,” she offered with a snicker.

“Perhaps I should.” He thought for a moment. “That is a good idea, actually. Magical biology has much bearing on what I am working on. I know enough for the project, of course, but studying how various monsters’ magic works may be beneficial.”

“Oh?” She hadn’t expected him to agree. “What, like study their magic compared to their bullets or something?”

He perked up and pointed at her. “That is an excellent idea!” He pulled a pen out of his coat pocket and scribbled something on a napkin. Asteri only got a glimpse before he tucked it away, but she couldn’t read any of it.

“You have terrible handwriting, Gaster, yikes.”

His head snapped up so quickly she thought it would go flying off his neck. He looked mortified. Maybe it was a touchy subject. She immediately tried to backpedal.

“N-Not that there’s anything wrong with that! As long as you can read it, that’s all that matters!!”

His eyelights flicked to the side, pink and yellow magic blurring along with them. After a moment of uncertainty, he answered, “I am… a little self-conscious about it.” His signing was slower, more unsure. “Usually I write more… legibly. But I tend to forego that discipline when writing to myself.”

Discipline? Maybe she misunderstood his signing. Either way, she shook her head. “Uh, hey, don’t sweat it. I’m not judging you. I shouldn’t have commented on it, I’m sorry. Nothing wrong with writing however is quick and easy if it’s just a note to yourself.”

He just nodded.

Well, this was going nowhere. He had all but shut down, his eyes were still pink— she was guessing anxiety and embarrassment— and he was sweating bullets. Ah, bullets. Yes. She should change the subject.

“So, um. How would you compare a monster’s magic to their bullets?” She summoned a small one of her own and let it hover above her held-out wing with a big smile. “I made ones that look like asterisks! Isn’t that fun?”

He looked up at the bullet for a moment, just blinking. “You… made it look like an asterisk?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I thought it was sort of funny, considering my name and their uses as footnotes, and for marking reconstructed or hypothetical words in linguistics. Though I guess that last part is more of an inside joke—”

“No, I meant: you consciously decided what your bullets would look like?”

Asteri blinked at him, face blank, then slowly her mouth pulled in a sheepish smile and she stared down at her lap, letting the bullet disperse. “Is… Is this one of those things that I think everybody does, like biting each other, but it’s actually just a shapeshifter thing?”

“I—” He squinted at her. “I want to ask about the biting, but we can come back to that. Yes, most monsters do not consciously shape their bullets. Mine, for example, are almost exclusively bones. As were most skeletons’. I can change their size, damage output, and orientation, but I cannot change their shape.”

“Oh…” She frowned in thought. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Huh…”

He pulled the napkin back out and wrote on it again. Though, this time he held a hand between her and it so she couldn’t see. She must have really hurt his feelings. She’d have to figure out how to make it up to him.

“I am curious about what you said about shapeshifters biting each other, though,” Gaster prompted once he had put the napkin away again and moved to stand, one brow bone raised.

Asteri smiled anxiously as she stood to follow him to the door. They waved to the man behind the counter before she responded.

“Well! Um. We don’t— well, my family didn’t have lips. Usually. So I never saw my parents kiss, they always just… you know… bit each other.” She shrugged, still clearly awkward about it with the way she was smiling and looking everywhere but at him. “Like a little nibble! Not a chomp or anything!” That was probably more like bedroom stuff. She shuddered. Gross. The last thing she wanted to think about was her dead parents’ intimate life. “Just wherever was convenient: cheek, shoulder, neck…”

She expected him to look alarmed, like most people (including all two of her past partners, as brief as they had been in her life). Instead, he just nodded thoughtfully, looking off somewhere in the distance. “Biting as kissing. That makes a great deal of sense. I am surprised I did not see more skeletons do that.”

She swallowed. “What… did skeletons do to show affection?”

He looked back to her and smiled, fond memories that she couldn’t see playing in his eyes. “We tapped our skulls together. Romantically, yes, but also between family or friends.”

She wondered who he was remembering. His parents? Siblings, maybe? Dear friends? A partner? It dawned on her then that he might have lost children. God. How awful! She desperately hoped that was not the case.

“That sounds really nice,” she said instead. Bumping heads sounded more than nice, actually. She should focus on that. “I think there’s a shortage of physical affection between friends. As a culture, we should have more of that. Physical displays of affection are not inherently romantic!”

His grin widened. “I agree completely.”

Maybe he was thinking along the same line that she was. “Were there any particulars? Like, facing each other was romantic, but from the side was platonic, for example?”

“No. Though, naturally, facing each other could be more intimate. It was not necessarily though.”

“Was it specifically for greetings or goodbyes, or could it be anytime?”

“Anytime it felt right.”

Asteri smiled lopsidedly and leaned toward him. “May I, then, my friend?”

His eye practically turned into stars and lit up green. He leaned down to meet her. “Please.”

They tapped their heads together, his forehead against the top of hers. It only lasted a second, but both of them felt giddy.

“I have not done that in years,” Gaster confessed with a pleased laugh that squinted his eye sockets shut. “I forgot what a pleasant gesture it is.”

It was, too. Just enough to feel important. Not as impersonal as a handshake, but not as vulnerable as a hug. “I liked it,” Asteri agreed. “We should do it to Alphys.”

He giggled. “Good idea! I hope she will be agreeable to it.”

“I think she will be.”

They had started walking, slowly. Since they were all the way in the capital, she should probably head home soon. But, like always, she didn’t want their time to end yet. She hummed a sigh and swung her wings. “It’s too bad I live so far away. It’s like there’s never enough time.”

Gaster hummed softly, silent in thought for a moment, then seemed to settle on a decision. “Asteri,” he began, uncertain. “If I promise to go home and sleep at a reasonable time, would you mind terribly if I accompanied you on your way home?”

The thought was nice, but… “Gaster, you live right by this shop, I’m in the middle of Waterfall. That’s nice of you, but even with the ferry, that’s just too far. You’d have to turn around as soon as we reached my house if you wanted to get home at a decent time. And I know you work tomorrow.”

“Did you know that collapsed stars are so dense, they are thought to affect the fabric of spacetime?”

She squinted, then broke into a knowing smile. “That’s fascinating, but trying to get me wrapped up in something else so we can start walking in that direction without me noticing won’t work. I’ve got another friend who does that. Nice try.”

“No, I am getting at something,” he insisted. “Truly.”

He looked so unsure, it was a little unsettling. Asteri nodded. “Alright… go on.”

He took a breath. “Objects with large amounts of mass have more gravity. Spacetime is like fabric, and things like planets and stars are like marbles sitting atop it. They dip into it, warp it. A gravity field, ultimately, curves spacetime. So if one were to manipulate gravity just so, one could “fold” the fabric of spacetime and jump to another location.”

She blinked. He waved his hands as if to clear his previous explanation away. “Imagine this instead.” The blue hands appeared and held the edge of his lab coat out taut. He located two stray sprinkles from the donuts and stuck them to his coat a few inches apart. Next, he made a fist and gently pushed against the fabric. “It dips,” he explained with yet another pair of hands. “The pressure of my fist on the fabric is like gravity on spacetime. See those two sprinkles? Watch them.”

“Alright,” Asteri murmured. “I’m watching.”

“If I push harder, it pulls the fabric downward.” He did just that, and when the fabric was too taut to stretch, he moved the edges of it inward with the extra pair of hands. He kept going until his fist was all but enveloped in the fabric. “See how the sprinkles are now closer together?”

She nodded.

“Those are points in spacetime. With enough gravity, they get “closer,” even though there is technically just as much fabric between them.”

“I think I understand,” Asteri said. “What are you getting at, though?”

He smiled, lopsided and still a bit hesitant, and all the blue hands disappeared as he went back to signing regularly. “If one can generate enough gravity, one can affect spacetime. If the gravity is high enough, two points in space can be brought close enough together to travel in less time.”

He watched her for a response, his hesitant smile becoming a nervous grin.

It dawned on her. “And you can manipulate gravity. Hang on—” Asteri held one wing out and dragged the other across her face. “Gaster. Gaster. Are you- Are you implying that you can teleport‽”

He giggled.

“Yes?”

The sheepish look, like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar rather than had just told her he could do something largely considered impossible, was simultaneously endearing and infuriating.

“You’re offering to TELEPORT me home‽”

Actually he had meant that he would walk with her, and then teleport himself home later, but the excited glimmer in her eyes that she was trying to hide beneath her incredulity was too much. He shrugged one shoulder and let his grin stretch.

“If you would like?”

She had to bite her tongue to not instantly scream yes. “Please,” she said instead, though that barely restrained her excitement. “That would be so cool.”

Her enthusiasm was beyond endearing. “You will have to hold onto me,” he prefaced. “Tightly. The closer we are, the most smoothly it will go.”

“I can flatten, if that’s better?” Asteri offered, already beginning to spread her magic out. She could wrap around him like a piece of paper, if that was what it took. But he stopped her with a shake of his head.

“No, no, that isn’t necessary. I have taken others with me before, there is no need to change shape.”

“Oh, even better.” Within a matter of seconds she reverted to her usual form. “I’ll try to stay solid, though… in case part of me falls off or something.”

Gaster frowned in thought and rubbed his chin. It should be fine, but… “Just in case,” he agreed.

She focused, and her body fused together. She rolled her head on her neck afterward. “It feels so weird to make my actual form this solid. How do you deal with such a limited range of motion?”

He scrunched up his face. “I have never seen you turn your head especially far…”

Asteri smirked. “Would you like to?”

He tilted his head and returned the smirk. “Would you like to see me remove mine?”

She laughed. “Sure. Here, hang on. Let me turn around. Alright, count of three. One, two…”

She let her magic loosen from her neck—

“…Three!”

— and spun her head 180°. Just in time to see Gaster pop his head off and hold it in his hand. She shrieked in a mixture of surprise and amusement, and he gave a startled giggle. Several passersby did spit takes.

They returned their heads to the way they ought to be and laughed.

“Not many people take well to me doing that,” Asteri confessed.

“Not a single person in the underground thinks it funny when I remove my head either.”

“You do it that often?” she asked, snickering.

“Well, no…”

“That may be for the best, actually.”

“I am glad that you, at least, enjoyed it. We should get going, though. This way.” He led her around the side of a building. “It is better to do out of sight; less questions. As you are no doubt aware, this is not a common ability.”

“Ah, right.”

Once they were away from the main thoroughfare, she moved closer. After making sure she was all in once piece, she nodded. “Alright. How close should I be?”

He shuffled closer. And then closer still. “You will have to hang onto me.”

Oh, that was right, he had said that. “Just…?” She held her wings out.

“Yes. And I will hold onto you, also. Just so you are aware.” He looked a little unsure. “We will be very close.”

Was he uncomfortable with it? She hoped not, but maybe she should check. “Well… I don’t mind if you don’t?”

“I do not mind, I just did not want you to be uncomfortable, after the… misunderstanding earlier.”

She almost snorted. “It’s not a problem, Gaster, don’t worry about it.”

He nodded once and took a breath. “Alright then, here we go.”

They pressed their sides together and she wrapped her wings around him, her tail winding around his hips. Both of his arms curled around her torso. He seemed to realize that she didn’t exactly have shoulders that he could hold easily, so he needed to hold around her waist. They ended up mostly facing each other.

It’s not a big deal Asteri, it’s just for safety. …But good lord, when was the last time anyone held me?

“Ready?” A pair of blue hands asked.

“Ready.”

And the world shifted, blurred, darkening until it seemed it couldn’t possibly get any darker yet somehow it did, until was nothing but pitch black. In a matter of seconds, the bright light of New Home had given way to nothingness. It was the deepest, emptiest dark she had ever known. That such nothingness could even exist was beyond her. Asteri couldn’t see anything, anything, not even the glow of her wings. She couldn’t see her own magic! What was happening!? She was alone…! There was nothing. Nothing. It felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her breathing shuddered. She couldn’t breathe! The absolute and perfect darkness panicked her, and she cried out, grip tightening around the only solid thing there was to hold onto.

And then she was held closer in turn. The feeling of arms tightening around her pulled a gasp from her lungs.

“G-G-Gaster? Gaster?? Wh-Where- Where- Where are you‽” She could feel him holding her, still, that hadn’t changed, but in her panic she wasn’t thinking.

She heard a hum. No real melody, just a hum, but it was a familiar voice, close to her head. Close to her. Close to her. A voice, right there. Her breathing evened out, and she relaxed slightly. Gaster was with her. She wasn’t alone.

He tugged her, gently, in a direction, still humming, and they walked— carefully, awkwardly— toward what she soon realized was a teeny, tiny speck of light, very far away. But the darkness gave way to that light far more swiftly than she expected, and soon she could make out the cave that held her house, in Waterfall, within the light. Despite seeing it, she still couldn’t see herself or Gaster, like the light didn’t reach them somehow. But they reached it, and suddenly they were stepping out into the green-blue grass near her house.

She looked around frantically, still clinging to Gaster. The darkness was gone. She looked down. She could see herself. Her eyes flitted upward, and she realized Gaster was looking down at her with immense concern and, it looked like, guilt. His eyes were rapidly flickering between deep blue, yellow, violet, and red-orange. It took another second for her to realize that a pair of blue hands were signing near her.

“—SO sorry, are you alright??”

“I-I’m okay.” Her voice came out weaker than she meant for it to. “I didn’t catch… what you were saying. I’m sorry, um. J-Just give me a second?”

He gave her as long as she needed, which ended up being closer to a solid minute, after which she realized she was still clinging to him for dear life and disentangled herself, embarrassed.

“Are you alright?” he asked again, worry clear on his face.

“Yeah… Just, um. Just a little rattled.” The wording occurred to her only after she said it aloud, and her head snapped up. “UH! Sorry, not sure if that’s, um. O-Offensive??”

He shook an arm back and forth, rattling his bones. “Not at all.” She smiled a little at that, and he relaxed a little in turn.

Still, he practically dripped with guilt. “Asteri, I am so, profusely sorry for not warning you about the dark. I was so preoccupied with explaining how it works that I neglected to mention that strong enough gravity bends light. I am accustomed to it, but I should have warned you.”

“That was scary,” she admitted quietly, and hated how juvenile it sounded. “It was like it got dark, then even darker.” She wrapped her wings around herself. “I’ve never been unable to see my own magic before.”

He met her eyes. “I am sorry for putting you in a situation that made you afraid.”

The urge to deflect was strong, but once again, the look on his face silenced her before she could even speak. His eyes glowed ultramarine for her. Earnest, always. Never a modicum of condescension or mockery. She had been afraid. “Can we go inside?”

He nodded, and they went to the door. It was dark inside when she opened it; she immediately looked down at her wings. Still visible. Thank god. She wanted to cast some kind of fire magic, but she was embarrassed that the darkness of her own home had her so afraid. She knew where the light switch was, could have found it with her eyes closed, so instead of summoning fire, she took a deep breath to steel herself and then made a beeline for it. The lights came on, and she sagged against the wall in relief. Gaster stepped over the threshold and, after slipping his shoes off, approached her and crouched beside her where she had slid down the wall.

“Asteri…”

She looked up at him with some unnamable, weak emotion. “Gaster?” God, her voice sounded so pathetic.

“Let’s get you off the ground.”

He held out his arms, but she shook her head. “I’m too shaky,” she whispered.

“May I lift you then? With blue magic?”

She paused, unsure, then nodded.

“This will probably feel strange.”

There was a ting sound, and suddenly she felt heavy.

“You are blue now. Just relax.”

He stood. Slowly, she lifted off the ground. The whole time, she kept her wide eyes fixed on Gaster’s continually glowing blue ones. He moved her over near her couch, walking as he did so that he was never more than a few feet away. Once there, he lowered her to her feet, holding out his arms. She fell against him once he released her SOUL. This time she didn’t bother with dignity, she just wrapped her wings and tail around him and pressed her face into his shoulder.

She was still shaking, Gaster noted as he brought his arms around her.

He gave her a second, then carefully moved them until they were sitting on the couch. She clung to him like he might disappear if she let go.

“Can you… hum again? It’s okay if you don’t w—”

He didn’t let her finish, just hummed whatever tune he could think of. She relaxed a little. He wished he could offer her more than humming.

“Are your eyes open?” he signed with blue hands behind his shoulder after a minute or two. He wanted to check if she could see him signing before he tried to say anything. She nodded.

“I don’t wanna close them…”

His heart clenched. He supposed some took better to the darkness of tessering (or “teleporting”), but nobody had even been this affected. Then again, the only people he had taken with him before were Alphys, one of his old lab assistants, and… Well, that was it. He really should have thought this through instead of acting on impulse just to spend more time with her.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Not mad at you,” she mumbled into his sweater. “J-Just. Scared. I don’t even know why.”

“You do not need to have an explanation.”

“Gaster?” She hesitated, then asked, “Could you… do that with your eyes again?”

“Of course.”

His eyes actually had never stopped glowing from the moment Asteri had begun to panic during the tesser, but she couldn’t see him then; all light was pulled away. But he knew what she meant in asking him this. She pulled away, but didn’t completely let go of him. He made no move to let go of her, either. He waited until she looked up at him, then flared his eyes even brighter. Deep shades of blue whirled like eddies.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He didn’t sign anything, only nodded and hummed another slow tune and let her watch his eyes as long as she needed.

After a few minutes, she had stopped trembling and seemed to have mostly come back to herself. Once she looked away on her own, he let his magic fade. For a regular skeleton, the whole ordeal would have been exhausting. Using gravity magic to bend spacetime, using it again to lift her so delicately, glowing his eyes so brightly for so long, and summoning hands over and over— those things together expended a lot of energy.

For a regular skeleton.

But she didn’t need to know that.

“You have beautiful magic,” she muttered as she finally relaxed back against the couch. Their shoulders pressed together, but he didn’t mind. It seemed like the contact was helping her.

“Thank you.” His eyes glowed a soft, pale green. “I am quite proud of it.”

“No I mean… the stuff that comes naturally. Your eyes.”

His cheekbones and eyelights dusted with pink and he smiled, unsure what do with such a personal, genuine compliment. “Thank you… very much,” was all he managed to say, along with: “Your wings are quite stunning too.”

That warmed her face along with her heart. After another few minutes, she spoke again. “Gaster, you’re a really good friend.”

“Aha,” he chuckled humorlessly. “I do not feel like it after frightening you like this. But thank you.”

“You are though. You keep taking care of me. C’mere.” She pushed herself upward and managed to tap her head against the side of his. The smile it earned when he turned to meet her eyes again was worth the slight exertion.

“You take care of me too.”

“Bullying someone into eating well and making him sandwiches one or twice a week don’t count as taking care of somebody,” Asteri argued with a little smile that betrayed the way his words had warmed her.

“But creating two disasters and then trying to make up for them does?”

She laughed, and the sound made his SOUL feel lighter. “Well when you say it like that…! Maybe we’re both just a little bit of a mess.”

“Only a little,” he agreed with a quiet laugh.

They leaned back against each other, and the ensuing silence was amicable.

“Really though,” Asteri murmured after another few moments. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to calm me down and reassure me. I don’t even know what it was about the darkness that scared me, really. It was just… all-encompassing. It was darker than dark. I’ve never, ever been in total darkness. Maybe that was it. I always have leftover magic, my wings always glow at least a little. But in that… place, I couldn’t even see my own magic.”

Gaster nodded slowly. ““Darker than dark.” That is a good way to describe it.” He let a moment of stillness pass. “I do not know if it is a comfort or not, but so long as we were touching, you were in no danger.”

She looked up at him.

“It is easier to affect the gravity around a smaller area, which is why I said we needed to be so close. If you had pulled away, though, so long as I could still feel where you were, I could bend it in a larger radius around you. It is merely more effort and concentration, but it would not have hurt you.” He wouldn’t have let it.

“What if… someone stepped outside the radius?” She asked quietly, not sure she wanted to know the answer. “What if someone got lost?”

He shook his head slowly. “In truth, I do not know.”

It was probably best not to dwell on it.

“How do you know where to go if you can’t see anything?”

“Hmm…” How to explain it? “I need to know which two points I am traveling between. I cannot do it without a set destination. Otherwise, I would not know the exact way to manipulate gravity. It is much easier to do when I have already traveled to a specific location.”

“Like creasing paper,” Asteri suggested.

He stilled. Creasing paper. Now there was something he had never considered. “I meant that it was a familiar feeling, a better sense of how much gravity to use. But the notion that repeated travel creases spacetime, creates paths that are easier to follow with each subsequent use… that has fascinating implications.”

“Hopefully good ones,” Asteri murmured. “Creased paper is hard to write on, and you can never quite smooth it out again. Would that be… bad? For spacetime? Like if things got caught in the creases?”

What an intriguing concept. He hummed in thought.

“Because… you said collapsed stars warp spacetime, that things with a lot of gravity dip it. I don’t know much about outer space, but aren’t stars actually really, really big?”

He nodded.

“Then…” She pressed the end of her tail against a couch cushion. “They do something like this, right? Make a curve over a large area?” Another nod from him. “Then isn’t what you’re doing more like pinching spacetime? Not curving it?”

He raised his brows and gave a slow, conceding nod. “That is… not incorrect.”

“Is spacetime like lycra? Or like linen?”

He frowned in confusion and looked to her. “What do you mean?”

“Because stretchy material is hard to crease, it goes back to its shape. But linen wrinkles and creases so easily it’s infuriating.”

“I believe it must be fairly elastic,” he answered after a moment of thought. “Or else the movement of small celestial bodies would create permanent effects.”

“Hmm…”

Then again, smaller objects typically had less gravity. ‘Small (relatively speaking) object with a great deal of gravity’ would be approaching the description of a stellar remnant. But she didn’t need to worry about all that. He would do more research on it when he got the chance. For the time being…

“I think that with as long as I have been doing this, it is reasonable to call it safe for the universe at large. I am not the only monster to ever discover a way to traverse a distance in less time.”

“That does make me feel better,” Asteri admitted.

“Good.” He sat up a little, and she did too. “Have you recovered from our travels?”

She stretched and nodded as she began to yawn. “Yeah. I think so. Thank you. Do you want something more to eat? All we had was donuts.”

He waved his hands, “I don’t want to trouble you after all of that.”

“No, it’s no trouble. I would end up cooking for myself anyway.” She stood up and gestured with her head toward the kitchen. “Come keep me company. But I’m doing the cooking.”

That drew a dry laugh from him. “That is probably for the best. I am sorry I cannot help more.”

“Your company is plenty of help. Come on. I was going to make youvarlakia. It sounds… really nice after everything. It’s a soup. I think you’ll like it.”

Asteri cooked, and Gaster followed her around the kitchen, handing her things and making lighthearted conversation about people at work and silly things that had happened. She told him about some of her friends, in turn, and things they had gotten up to in the past.

“They sound like they are a great deal of fun to be around,” Gaster said as she finished a story about one of their last get-togethers. “I would like to meet them one day.”

She laughed. “They would flip. They still don’t believe that I’m friends with you, they think it’s some kind of drawn-out prank.” Granted, she hadn’t talked with them much in the past month or two, so there hadn’t been much opportunity to tell them more details.

“I still do not understand that,” he said with a huff as he helped set the table. “I am only a person. People speak about meeting the king with more nonchalance than they do me.”

“The king isn’t known as a recluse, or the underground’s most brilliant mind.”

His eyelights flicked away, faintly pink. “Hmph.”

“Alphys has mentioned some of her friends too. We should all meet sometime,” suggested Asteri as she dished out the soup.

He tugged at his turtleneck as the sat down, looking uneasy. “That sounds like a… greater than average number of persons.”

Oh, he didn’t like big groups. That made sense. “It doesn’t have to be everyone at once,” she offered instead. “We could just meet one or two people at a time.” She brought her spoon to her mouth to taste the youvarlakia. Ah, delicious. She loved that lemony tang.

“That would be preferable,” Gaster admitted. Turning his attention to the bowl in front of him, he tried the soup. It was thick, and savory, and warmed him from the inside. He smiled. “This is delicious. I was unsure what it would taste like, but it is wonderful.”

Asteri beamed. “Aww, thank you! I’m glad you think our supper tastes… soup-er.”

He snorted mid-bite and almost choked. She laughed.

“My family used to make it after trips to Snowdin,” she continued once he recovered. “Sometimes I just make it because it sounds good, even though never gets very cold here. It’s better with bread, but I didn’t make any this time.”

“I have not visited Snowdin in a long time…” He took another bite and then set his spoon down to sign. “Mm! If you make this again, may I have some? I can pay you for it—”

She reached around the table with her tail and smacked his hand. “You aren’t paying me for anything. Absolutely not. A meal with a friend is its own reward.”

He giggled sheepishly. “Alright. I admit…” His eyes roamed around the room, took in the light and the warmth and the feeling of being there. “…This is much better than eating alone.”

Asteri laughed in agreement and raised her spoon. “Exactly! That’s the spirit! “Better scraps shared with love than a feast shared with loneliness.””

His smile couldn’t get much wider. “Here we have the best of both: a feast, and good company.”

She beamed and lifted her bowl. “To good friends, and terrible jokes!”

He laughed and lifted his bowl in agreement. “Hear hear!”

- - - -

TADA

So, yeah, I know, kind of a weird place to end, but after putting Asteri through that I wanted to leave it on a high note.

I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD LIST SOME REFERENCES! Number one is Handplates, which is where the concept of bone-rattling, Gaster’s blue magic hands (along with ten being the upper limit of how many he can summon at a time), and eyeglowing is from. Though my take on it is a bit different. Glowing various colors happens more often (at least for Gaster), and I changed the meanings of some of the colors. But I really liked the idea that it helped skeletons who had more fixed features emote. However, I also love the idea of highly expressive skeletons, so I borrowed the idea of distortion magic from @ asktheasterfamily! I loved their Gaster, he’s great. (I should reread that sometime…) “Tessering” is a direct reference to A Wrinkle in Time, one of my favorite books as a kid. If you’re wondering how that kind of gravity doesn’t affect everything else around them, especially in such a small space, the answer is, “don’t worry about it.” Something something magic, [insert explanation.]

Oh, also!! Alphys’ favorite anime is Sailor Moon because Mew Mew Kissy Cutie hasn’t been made/released yet.

I felt like I couldn’t fully express just how much and why Asteri was affected so much by the darkness while tessering, but if you can imagine perfect darkness in every direction with no sense of up and down… yeah. Oh, and now imagine that you’ve never been completely immersed in regular darkness before because you glow naturally. Yeah.

She and Gaster are in that awkward friend stage where you’re not sure if the strong feeling of really really liking someone and wanting to be around them all the time is platonic or romantic. Hence all the awkwardness. I guess that isn’t a universal experience, but it sure has been a consistent thread through most of my friendships. So, yeah, no. No real romance yet!! Just the awkward beginnings of a deep friendship~ (Which is the basis of romance anyway.)

Okay wrapping this up, there’s a lot of stuff in here that sets up future events and plots points!! But it might not be the things you expect… ;)

Thanks for reading!! I absolutely love screaming in the tags or replies (YOU ESPECIALLY BENANA), so if you haven’t commented but feel inclined to, don’t be shy!! Even a “!!!” is appreciated. Maybe I should just post this on ao3 man idk

I’ll be working on part 8 soon!!

#WOO IT’S DONE #But as always I’ll probably edit it later pfft #OH AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THE COLORED TEXT IS HARD TO READ AND I’LL CHANGE IT #Asteri backstory #(gonna make another poll for the title soon) #seeker writes #seeker oc #asteri #gaster #⁂ gaster #long post #good lord this is SO long #⁂ fic #⁂

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Special Chapter: Comments and Analysis

WELCOME BACK, CCS FAAAAAAAAAAAANSSS!!!!!

Oh my god 3 months went already by from that December 1st and chapter 80, didn't they?? Feels like yesterday 🙈But we're finally here, finally ready for the release of the definitive, last SPECIAL CHAPTER of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!!!! After this, no more CCS for at least a while!!

Why do you see me so euphoric?? WELL, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE VERY GOOD REASON 😂 But let's not jump the gun and let's introduce this post properly: this time around, I won't be posting pictures to "illustrate" the analysis/commentary, because this special chapter was treated differently from the other ones. It didn't get, in fact, a free release on CLAMP's Youtube channel, in any language, and wasn't even uploaded for digital purchase on Comic Days like all the rest of the chapters. The only way to obtain it was via the April issue of Nakayoshi, either with the physical or digital version. Since it is clear to me their intention to keep this gem of a special chapter away from the internet jungle, and since lately I used only the screenshots from Youtube to illustrate my analysis, this time around I won't be posting anything (aside from the color page, which was released by the official account themselves).

AND! I won't be mixing analysis and summary, because I have already conveniently prepared some screenshots with a detailed summary of the chapter for the people who were curious to know, but didn't get to see the chapter yet or did see it but couldn't read Japanese. I have already posted these screenshots on my Twitter account, and I'll put them here too under the cut (please don't repost them around or in other social media), so you can immediately get a broad view on the content of the chapter (I don't have to point out translation mistakes, haha 😅), and then, afterwards, I'll write my commentary. And there is SO MUCH to say!!

But before starting, we can't break the tradition right at the LAST ROUND of our chapter commentaries, right?? So off we go, with the GIF OF THE MONTH!!

Yes, I think this is the GIF that can represent this chapter the most. 😂

The Color Page

This special chapter is composed of 33 pages, and of course I can't avoid starting my commentary precisely from the color page!!

I admit it, I hoped for a color spread with the four main characters of Clear Card (hence, including Kaito and Akiho too), but since the other two appeared with their own color page just in chapter 79, we'll gladly take this single color page with SyaoSaku too!! ❤️ The JP text reads "We've been together till now, and we will always be! Featuring a long-awaited special chapter!!" Syaosaku look absolutely adorable....and so, so happy!! Looking at us, from a wreath made of cherry blossoms, of course dressed in their image colors pink and green, in a "pair look"...I think their shiny smiles conquered the hearts of the entire fandom (saw many comments about it) and it is certainly a perfect introduction to a chapter that is, indeed, completely made of this happy, leisurely, warm atmosphere. I feel like it tastes even better, after all the anxiety they made us go through, right? I'm pretty sure that was CLAMP's goal all along, giving us this little reward after all the hard situations they've put their characters through. This color page looks like Sakura and Syaoran are saying "goodbye" to us, holding their hands in a lover's hold, but seeing them so cute and happy definitely soothes the sad feeling 🥲 Until we meet again...hopefully!

Letters From Around The World

But it's when the chapter starts that we get our first surprise: the time skip is of one entire year!!! We left our little heroes at the end of the first year of Tomoeda Middle school, ready to go in spring break and then start the second year...here, Sakura says she's in her spring break of the next year, ready to become a 9th grader!!! I almost couldn't believe they actually went that far, I knew from CLAMP's podcast that there was a timeskip, but I expected just some months! Although....I have to say the characters don't look that different, Mokona said she made them a tiny bit older and she kept true to that, because it's barely visible! 🤭 But if you compare them with how they looked at the middle of the story, of course the difference is visible.

I was so happy to see that the chapter started right away with a letter from Akiho: a letter or a videocall was definitely among the type of content I wanted to see in this chapter, because of course I still was quite preoccupied about the difficult journey Akiho and Kaito embarked on, so I wanted to see how they were faring. The amount of letters Sakura accumulated over the span of this year tells me that they moved around quite a lot, and she had always something to share with her "long-distance sister" 🤭 Kero praising Akiho's skills and even feeling some sort of "reverence" for her insane talent to find all the crazy and rare books was so funny and nice!! 😂Sakura is adorable, feeling all proud about the talent of her "sister" 🤭 Loved that they actually mentioned the place where Akiho and Kaito are currently at!! (cause they didn't reveal where they'd go first, in chapter 80, and I guess we'll never know). I appreciated SO SO much that they let us see that Akiho didn't drop, but actually continued to practice her sewing skills like she was doing before everything went down the drain with the Alice in Clockland play: moreover, finding out later that this skill is also helping her greatly with the true ambition of her life made me incredibly satisfied. How cute of her to send outfits for Kero and Suppy, even from far away??

I was quite surprised to find out that Akiho sends all the rare books to Eriol, and then laughed my as* off at Kero saying he's selling them off (the way Kero phrases it in JP makes it look a QUITE shady activity 😂). This shows there's a continued collaboration between the "group" in England and YunaAki, and it's very nice. They're not only "taking" support from Eriol, Akiho also does return the favor, providing Eriol with the books he needs.

And then....got really emotional to know that Kaito wrote a letter to Sakura, back when they left one year ago 🥲 I DID feel like some kind of acknowledgement or apology from Kaito to Sakura was missing from chapter 80 (but honestly, with everything they had to explain, where they could fit that?) and so this little mention completely fixed that sense of "he made a mess and barely managed to apologize to Akiho before leaving". Kaito isn't an ass*ole so of course he would've done something like that, and a letter seems perfect for an introvert boy of few words like him. I imagine the letter wasn't really long either. The little moon on the sealing wax...❤️The fact that Sakura is storing that single letter together with Akiho's letters in a specific box makes me almost cry. She cares for those two so, so much! 😭 Sakura wishes to receive more letters from Kaito and I really hope he will open up to her along the way, because he could benefit ENORMOUSLY from her advices and perspective! Also THANK YOU CLAMP for giving us a little "still" of those two next to eachother from the moment when they were leaving Tomoeda, with the suitcases and all 🥲that last faraway shot of all four of them together in chapter 80 was so great, but I wanted to see them like this too!

The SyaoSaku Date

Aaaaaand then we get to the long awaited, craved, coveted SYAOSAKU DATE!!! 🤣 I can't count how many people I've seen wishing for this....to be honest I was going to be ok with any kind of sweet moment between the two, but gotta admit that a carefree afternoon watching a stage play and then taking refreshment at a café gives this sense of normal, complete fun that was missing a bit for them. They are dressed in a very fancy way (loved that Sakura isn't wearing her usual long one-pieces but something different, with puff shorts! A sign of her growing up?) and even though they're not exactly wearing a "pair look" (too corny, maybe?), they are well matching eachother's outfits. And of course we find out that Tomoyo made Sakura's cute outfit and even the decorations on Syaoran's collar! The fact she was the one asking Syaoran to wear them at the date is kinda funny, like some sort of guidance into looking like a couple, thanks to the matching decorations! Tomoyo really takes care of everything....yes....everything. 🥲 The mention of Sakura's wedding dress of course made me go "OH MY GOD" and made me realize that if Tomoyo is already mentioning that.......we aren't *that* far away from that day (I always imagined SyaoSaku marrying early, since they're soulmates and got together so young!! 😆). Truly an emotional, sweet moment that was reinforced by Tomoyo's tender expression in the flashback. Her resolution to devote herself to learn to design even normal everyday outfits, or date outfits, everything that could accompany her dear Sakura everyday, reminded me that Tomoyo found her very own way to be with Sakura, and she's perfectly content with that. Tomoyo's happiness is seeing Sakura happy, and she will do anything to achieve that. ✨

Syaoran and Kaito's Friendship

And then my blushy blushy Sakura changes topic and suddenly throws me on the floor in a fit of laughter, because seeing Syaoran's confused look while he was trying to make sense of the pictures Kaito sent him on his phone WAS HONESTLY PRICELESS. 😆 My god, how long have I wished to see them like this? Moving their timid steps into a friendship (since their girlfriends are like sisters and Sakura literally saved Kaito's derriere), being their awkward dorky selves...they surprisingly get along so well and Syaoran doesn't seem to hold resentment towards him, which is GREAT for me!! He's learning from Sakura to just let go of hard feelings, when you've found out the person who acted in an oppositive way was just in a very desperate situation and had actually no ill intentions. And that makes me incredibly happy. Kaito needs all the support he can get, to make the right decisions in his life, and I can totally see him finding a particular connection with Syaoran, due to how they're both moon boys, who would give their life for the person they love. I think precisely for this, precisely because Syaoran can understand to a degree Kaito's situation and behavior, he wouldn't feel judged and would feel more free to establish a connection with him. I was k*lled with laughter and endearment when I saw that Syaoran felt confused, but still tried to understand Kaito's peculiar way of communicating with him 😂 And guess what? I think he doesn't realize it, but he's totally starting to get it! 😂The way our wolfie boy snaps that picture IMMEDIATELY as the cat passes by, and how he only framed the ear, really shows how in the end he's speaking "the same language" as Kaito 😂 Seeing Sakura so excitedly think to herself that the two became such good friends made me scream "SAME SAKURA-CHAN, SAME!!!" 😂 All in all, seeing these two having such a relaxed, comfortable date talking about their friends and stuff that happened lately made me completely feel that one year that elapsed, and now they act totally like a couple that's been dating for quite some time. 😊 Ooooh thank you sensei, really. Thank you so much for this scene. 🙏

The Moon Is Really Beautiful, Right?

BUT! The real reason why CLAMP will always have my heart and my gratitude is hidden in the next scene. 😂

Oh my god, the screams I've belted out when I saw them. And when I've read THAT. But let's go in order, let's go in order and not jump the gun! We're in Germany, Akiho and Kaito now seem to be living in an apartment in a nice building! They're still talking in keigo, and still calling eachother "Akiho-san" and "Kaito-san". 😊

Kaito SMILES genuinely at the picture Syaoran sent him!! And answers, to an observant Akiho, that he's having fun!! 😭HIM! The one who couldn't understand what was fun in interacting with others!!! He looks honestly so radiant and happy, a sign that his mental recovery is going strong. And that he's slowly expanding his "trusted people" network. 🥲🙏Also, he looks younger than ever!!! 😂

It made me INCREDIBLY HAPPY to see that Akiho didn't drop the "hobby" she had started in chapter 26 (ages ago!!), remember this scene?

I remember how much I loved to know she had started learning how to do this, because together with my friends, at the time, we all thought this could easily become her aspiration in life......and guess what?? CLAMP confirmed she wants to take on a job revolving around books and book repairing!! This is all canon!! T___T oh my happy tears.... There's a sense of pride in seeing that this journey for Akiho isn't only revolving around finding the cure for Kaito's shortened lifespan (which hurt his body terribly) and restarting his "stopped time", or finding Momo and the Alice in Clockland book, but she's also got the mental resolution to do something for herself, for what she wants to do in life, something that is completely disconnected from Kaito. Again, I cannot reiterate enough how this girl doesn't have an unhealthy codependent relationship with Kaito, and she's completely capable of thinking about her own future, aspirations and wishes. She wants him with her, and she could never live happily without him, but the love of her life isn't the only thing that exists for her. It is incredibly satisfying to see her working hard for her own future, where she'll be able to contribute (especially financially) to their livelihood. I can see Kaito helping her and assisting her with that. The other day I was dreaming away with my friends about Kaito and Akiho managing a "book cafè" together somewhere, how impossibly sweet that would be?

Seeing this volitive, ambitious, strong-willed Akiho once again filled my heart immensely. And I wasn't the only one, apparently.....

Oh god, you have no idea of the SHRIEKS I belted out when I saw Kaito saying "the moon is really beautiful, right?" in full daylight. Like. It is absolutely unmistakable at this point what kind of love he feels for her, and while I always knew, I'm sure the character took his own sweet time and personal introspection to reach that conclusion. If you remember, I've always said it and reiterated it at the end of chapter 80: Kaito won't understand things overnight, it will take a long time. And one year, at that age, is enough of a long time to come to terms with one's feelings and understanding what exactly they mean. They lived all that time together as two "equals", no more butler/boss bullsh*t, so they had even more opportunities to see eachother's true colors. And Kaito couldn't help but fall even more in love with Akiho, to the point that seeing her working so excitedly for her future made him gently overflow with that feeling....and said that sweet quote of Natsume Soseki that we all know, by now, what it means. I think the mere fact that what made his heart explode was seeing her so independent and strong, is a good sign that Kaito's love for her is the healthy and supportive kind, too. He doesn't love her and feels attracted to her soul because she's a weaker, younger, malleable being that he can dominate (as a toxic relationship would portray), but at the contrary, because she's free and strong and wonderful on her own. The more he sees her shining, the more that feeling grows. Throughout this scene, he looks at her and talks to her in such an intensely sweet way, you can totally see he's smitten with her.

The most popular reply to someone who confesses with "the moon is beautiful" is the equivalent of "I could die for you/I can die happy now", in Japanese. And Kaito had been unconsciously replying that way, with his actions, the whole damn time during the serialization of Clear Card. But since he took it way too literally, things were really heading to tragedy. Nobody wanted him to die for real, and yet, subconsciously, that was the only way he had found to give outlet to an enormous amount of feels that he couldn't express (because it wasn't appropriate, and nobody would ever love him, and he only caused her pain, and he had to let go of Akiho anyway at the end of it).

So considering all of THAT, this "I love you very much" he said now (he added とても, "very", like Akiho did ❤️) in this way, makes me think even more "yes, you finally understood what was the best way to convey it!" and therefore, it represents another character development for our moon boy. 🥲

There's debate over whether he had already understood what Akiho had meant, in chapter 48. I stand firmly by my convinction that, even if he was informed of the Japanese folklore tale around it, he quickly dismissed it as "no, she's meaning it literally for the moon", since he couldn't really believe that anyone would ever take interest in him, and was sure he would've always been alone. Otherwise, if he really understood and believed that Akiho was in love with him, I don't think he could've ever said that "I thought you didn't need me to be happy". It doesn't make sense. But everything that happened at the fake moon, and all her angry tears, and all her resolution to find a way to cure him, made him finally see that she really meant it in that way. ❤️So his own acceptance and introspection could finally start, and....it brought to this. ❤️ If you want to know more about the popular phrase "the moon is beautiful, right?", I invite you to check my first Clear Card Trivia post, focused on the literary and musical references portrayed throughout this story!

And LOL, I couldn't help but noticing several things in how this scene played out: first, he immediately "runs away" blabbering about the breakfast being ready, a very similar way to how he "ran away" in chapter 52 when Akiho could see right through him and was trying to express her support and feelings to him. This is definitely an indication (taking into consideration also how he acted when he was little) that the reason why Kaito walked away back then, slamming the door, had a sprinkle of embarrassment embedded in it, too. Yeah. I mean, look at the face he's making here, just before he notices, puzzled, that his hand is shaking:

He's smiling so tenderly, among the pain he's feeling because of his poor health. He even laughs! He's happy he heard that! But he just couldn't stay hearing any longer, back then. Now, in this scene of the special chapter, he literally throws "the bomb" and runs away without hearing her answer or reaction 😂😂😂this is definitely embarrassment, and I'd like to think there's even a hint of teasing streak that I've always seen between the lines in his personality. It came out particularly with Syaoran and Momo, but Akiho isn't excluded from this dynamic! 😂

And excuse me, but Akiho's reaction literally made me roll on the floor laughing!! 😂The poor girl is probably so used to live abroad, and Japanese folklore isn't probably coming up immediately in her mind anymore, despite it's a phrase SHE used HERSELF back then! 😂Or maybe it's because she didn't really expect it from him, and so she took a moment to connect the dots. Either way, it was extremely funny! And I can't absolutely avoid pointing out how our girl isn't blushing like mad anymore, but just slightly.... I mean. It must have been quite clear to her too, by now, that her feelings were in some kind "reciprocated", be it for what Sakura said back at the fake moon, his decision to go back to her, and his decision to reveal his true name, hence giving her his most vulnerable part of himself... This isn't a shock for her, and she probably waited patiently, patiently, for him to finally say something like this. So maybe, more than embarrassed, she's surprised that the day finally came! 🥲 Goodness. This really puts all my worries to rest, Akiho will truly be happy. And it makes total sense that CLAMP made him say this now, and not at the end of chapter 80. As I said, more time was needed. This entire scene leaves me with a sweet, soft, comfortable feeling, and it's totally how I've always imagined their relationship to be. Also....no more of that "he loves her as a daughter/sister" crap, not canon-wise at least. 😊

One last thing I have to point out about this scene, which curiously reconnects everything together, is that recently CLAMP have announced the themes to which their upcoming exhibition will revolve around: among them, there's LOVE (of course!), and among the decorations surrounding the featured character on the key visual (Sakura, for now, but there's at least another one coming!) there are a couple of birds too. Birds are, in this sense, a symbol of love in CLAMP's language. I couldn't really help but noticing all the birds flying outside the window next to Akiho, the moment Kaito says that "the moon is really beautiful, right?". Basically, CLAMP were trying to scream it all over the place, however they could. 😂

"Momo-san?!"

It was so nice to see Yukito and Kero-chan gossiping about Touya right in his face, with the complete intention to tease him 😂in that sense, Yukito really seems like a sweet and harmless character, but don't be fooled! His teasing power is over 9000!! 😂Touya's killing glare made me crack up! He's so done for, now that both Kero and Yukito can tease him in the open! 😂😂😂

But please, please, let me scream about MOMO!!! Oh my god I would've never accepted a special chapter that didn't feature her!! Aaaaahhh I'm so glad to see that she's fine 🥲 The conversation between her and Sakura made clear to me that she isn't that free to move how I imagined her to be. Certainly, she decides where to go and who the book stays with (and when to leave), but the impartiality imposed on her role doesn't allow her to act freely like she wants, unless she pays a price. And she decided to pay a price, not to see Akiho and Kaito, but to go and thank Sakura herself first. Because, as her "those kids" suggests, she of course still feels some kind of maternal instinct towards them, and as any mother would do, she wants to thank Sakura from the bottom of her heart for having helped and saved those two. Even her body language (the position of her hands) portrays that. And excuse me, but I A B S O L U T E L Y loved how CLAMP clarified once and for all, addressing directly the complaints of their own fandom, that Sakura wasn't forcingly dragged into a matter that wasn't related to her. Everything she did, she decided to do it because she felt it touched her personally. From the moment she became Akiho's friend and came to care for her, everything that happened and everything that she was involved with was related to her too. This wasn't "somebody else's business" anymore. Because Akiho is one of her most beloved friends, no matter how "fast" that happened. Some relationships bloom almost immediately, because the connection is just that strong. And so, this turned into just another expression of "your happiness is my happiness", with Sakura acting according to what her heart suggested. As Kaito is Akiho's most beloved person, Sakura couldn't help but care for him too, because doing so would've made her friend happy, in a wonderful "circulation of love".

Special mention for the scene with pregnant Lilie, oh my god I didn't really expect this either. How long ago I wrote that Tumblr post about cosmos flowers and the origin of Akiho's name? A couple of weeks ago? It's like CLAMP answered my curiosity, with this scene. I still keep my interpretation in my heart, but I also love the logic "it is a flower that keeps the same name in many countries". Of course. "Wherever you'll go, you'll always be your unique self". (And now I want to cry, mama's heart is so big😭) The way Lilie keeps her hands over her womb made me tear up. The ring isn't there anymore, a sign that she probably already gave it to Momo (understandably, since once Akiho would be born, she wouldn't really have much time left). The baby bump isn't that noticeable, probably because she's at the beginning of her pregnancy. Who knows if she kept seeing little Kaito while she was pregnant. 🥲Who knows if in the scene where she's telling him about how wonderful it is to have something you love, especially a person, she was already pregnant with Akiho. 🥲

Momo and Sakura's final words made me understand that Momo cannot go back to Akiho and Kaito till the circumstances and the moment is right. Whether it depends on Akiho's wish, or the right cosmic arrangement, it's surely not in the short term. Especially considering the limited scope of Momo's agency. It cannot come from Momo (unless she pays a huge price), it needs to come from them, strongly enough. I also want to think that, again as an acquired mother figure, Momo wants those two to find their own way, identity and figure out their relationship on their own, without her interference. I'm sure she's keeping an eye on them from faraway, though. 🥲Even though this still feels bittersweet because I wanted to see them reuniting in canon so badly, it gave me lots of hope for the future. Momo is just waiting for the right moment, and she'll be ready to embrace them when the time is right. Maybe, who knows, we'll see that reunion in another series or in a special publication in the future?

The End

And then....the final scene 🥲NOW it is finally clear what Ohkawa meant in that one Twitter Space, when she mentioned that there was a reason why they never featured Sakura's birthday!!! THEY NEEDED TO KEEP THE EXCLUSIVITY FOR THIS!! 😂 I'm so glad they did, really...it's so sweet to see her reaching 14 years old (the "standard age" of many shoujo heroines! 😂) and seeing Syaoran giving her a present, with that strikingly sweet smile full of love...but most importantly....the breathtaking final double spread 🥲🥲🥲🥲 The way she pulls his hand close to her chest, to her heart, while saying that Syaoran will be forever and ever her most important and special person.....really, this chapter is meant to k*ll us all with feels!🥲and I love how CLAMP keep finding ways to portray their physical displays of affection without resorting to the classic, most wanted (but also probably considered not appropriate yet) "kiss". The very final page is a direct parallel of a page from chapter one, where Sakura was going to school alone and looked back down the street to admire the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Now, she's not alone anymore, but actually hugging the love of her life on her special day! Really, what a wonderful and fulfilling way to give the final touch to this amazing story! 🥲 Her very last line also contributed to this. Sakura leaves us again, 24 years after the first ending, with words of positivity for the future, and love for her important people. This wraps everything up nicely, but it still keeps things quite "open-ended", hopefully in the eventuality to return to this wonderful series in the future. Sakura is growing up, as CLAMP wished, and it might be possible to see her dealing with more "grown-up" situations, magic and non-magic wise. But one thing is for sure, her relationship with her loved ones will always take top priority. ❤️

Well well well, we came to the end of this looooooong commentary for this special chapter too. I can't help but thank once again all of you who followed my posts all these years, and commented with your POVs on the story.

As I've said multiple times, Cardcaptor Sakura gave me so much ever since I was a kid, and this sequel was no exception. This special chapter, in particular, overflowed with things I wanted to see, and I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking so. I once again want to congratulate CLAMP for wrapping everything up nicely, and thank them from the bottom of my heart for these almost 8 years of emotional journey. 🙏

See you around with my other tumblr posts, and let's look forward to the release of volume 16 on April 1st, and hopefully, news about the anime sequel of Clear Card!!

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #syaosaku #yunaaki #special chapter #translation differences #how come this post is so freaking long even without translation differences? #well dammit I had A LOT TO SAY #and even some itches to scratch #aaaah the satisfaction #😊so happy

[hunny-bean]

Sugar & Spice

Pairing: Frank Castle x F!Reader

Summary: Frank likes you best in blue. Happy Anniversary!

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings: 18+ (Minors DNI), Explicit Sexual Content, Oral Sex (M & F Recieving), Fingering, Unprotected P in V, Obnoxiously Fluffy at Times, Lingerie, Teasing, Light Bondage, Kinda Mean Frank, Sub Reader. Ok, I think that's it! Let me know if I missed one.

A/N: Needless to say, I'm expanding my comfort zone. I added a splash of mechanic!frank because he's a guilty pleasure of mine. Sorry if he's a little OOC, it's hard to imagine Frank untraumatized and in a happy relationship. Anyway, I hope this turned out alright. Enjoy! Let me know what you think! XOXO.

P.S. I'm open to requests, if you've got any cool ideas! I love writing, but I have experienced writer's block many times before, so I may need a little assistance at some point. I'll write for any Jon Bernthal character as well as a plethora of others that I don't have time to list. If you want to ask for another character, just take a gamble and I'll let you know if I can do it! Also, nothing immoral or illegal, please. Sorry for the insanely long author's note.

You may proceed :)

Read on AO3

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'Curse this stupid lighting,' you thought, examining your makeup in the floor-length mirror. The dim yellow light bulb in Frank's walk-in closet was seriously throwing off your perception of colors. For example, you were pretty sure your blush was looking natural and sweet, but there was always that slim chance you would look like a clown in a different room.

You were tragically forced into the closet by the sound of Frank's keys rattling in the lock. Before that, you had been enjoying the luxury of a bathroom counter. Unfortunately, Frank only had one toilet and you figured he might need it, so you grabbed your bag and sprinted to the closet the second he opened the door. Under no circumstances would you let Frank catch even the slightest glimpse of you. At least, not until you were finished getting ready. You were planning a surprise, after all.

When Frank finally got home, he instantly knew something was off. Usually, when you spent the night with him (which was most nights), you'd come meet him at the door whenever he finished up at the garage. You'd slide through the kitchen in your fuzzy socks to give him a hug and a kiss and ask how his day was. It had become such a routine for the two of you, that when it didn't happen, his first thought was that you weren't there at all.

Frank pulled his boots off and hung up his jacket before wandering into the kitchen to see if you had left a note. Maybe your roommate had another "crisis," he thought, or you had to make a quick run to the grocery store. Finding nothing, he grew slightly concerned. It was very unlike you to just take off without so much as a text explaining why.

Then, Frank heard a faint rustling noise coming from the bedroom. He smiled softly, all of his previous worries evaporating as he went down the hall to see what you were up to. You were probably just taking a nap, he thought, but when he got to the bedroom, you were still nowhere to be found. Frank was just about to try calling you when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the light on under the closet door.

"Hey, baby. You in there?" he asked, knocking gently.

"Be out in a minute!" you called back, fluffing your curls that you barely got done before he showed up.

"Whatcha doin' in the closet?" Frank asked, and even through the door you could hear the amusement in his voice.

"It's a surprise," you replied deviously.

"Come on, darlin', you know I hate surprises," Frank griped.

"You'll like this one, I promise," you proclaimed. "Just be patient."

Frank sighed dramatically. "I wanna see you," he grumbled. Smiling, you meticulously straightened the bow you added to pin two small sections of your hair behind your head.

"Oh, trust me," you muttered. "You will."

Taking a step back, you admired your full body in the mirror. You had bought this underwear set a while ago, and were just waiting for the right occasion to use it. It was a beautiful baby blue color, and it hugged your body perfectly. The bra was a short, sheer corset top that showcased your cleavage without being too obnoxious. The panties were soft and lacy, pulled up high in the sides to accentuate your hips. They weren't quite a thong, but they certainly came close. Decorating both pieces were small embroidered cornflowers that made you feel pretty and delicate. On top of it all was an elegant lace robe that you somehow managed to find in the exact same color. It was almost completely see-through and it barely brushed your mid thigh, so you weren't worried about it obscuring any of your best assets.

You looked good. There was no denying that. In fact, you couldn't think of a time you'd ever looked better. You just hoped Frank's heart was strong enough to withstand the sight of you.

Quickly, you added your finishing touches, brushing on your favorite lip gloss and putting in a pair of dainty diamond earrings that Frank got you for Valentine's Day that year. You gave yourself one more once-over in the mirror. Everything was perfect. At long last, you were ready to execute your master plan.

You were a little nervous, but what you were about to pull off wouldn't work if you let it show, even just a little bit. With that in mind, you took a few deep breaths and rolled your shoulders back. Holding your head up high, you slowly opened the closet door.

When you stepped out into the bedroom, you found Frank laying on top of the covers with his arms positioned behind his head and one leg propped up. He was barely doing anything, and still he was the picture of dominance. Even while wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans, he looked incredible. In fact, just seeing him was enough to have you fantasizing about crawling on top of him and hiding your face in his chest. But alas, you could not. You had to stay strong.

As soon as Frank saw you, his eyes lit up like a little kid's on Christmas morning. He immediately sat up straight, looking utterly dazzled. It seemed you were right. This was one surprise he could get behind.

"Do you like it?" you asked beguilingly. You gave him a small spin, showing off all the intricate details.

"That's the stupidest question you've ever asked, sweetheart," Frank replied, rising to meet you across the room. "You're a fuckin' angel."

He pulled you in by your waist to leave a soft peck on your lips. Seeing his mouth shine with your lip gloss when he pulled away made your heart skip a beat. You weren't always a possessive person, but that changed when you discovered what it felt like to leave your mark on someone. Especially someone as desirable as Frank Castle.

"Happy anniversary, baby," Frank drawled sweetly.

"Happy anniversary." You were sure you were smiling like an idiot, but you couldn't help it. You and Frank had been together for four years now, and it felt like the shortest lifetime you'd ever experienced. The love you felt for the man in front of you was stronger than anything you had ever felt before, and you knew in your heart that would never change.

Frank wrapped his arms around you and pulled you back in for another kiss, this one considerably longer than the last. The two of you stood there for a while, making out while your hands explored the familiar planes of each other's bodies. Frank was fucking your mouth slowly with his tongue, kissing you like a promise in the way he knew made your knees weak. You almost gave up on the plan right then and there, but your excitement for what was to come later that night saved you from falling into the trap.

You reached a hand down between you to palm at Frank's growing erection. You heard him let out a low hum, and you felt the vibrations travel from his chest through yours, relaxing you from the inside out. It didn't take long for him to start pushing back against your warm hand, seeking some relief, but he didn't find any. . .

because that was when you stopped moving. You pulled away from the kiss, keeping your hand perfectly still and looking up at him sweetly through your eyelashes.

"What time is it?" you inquired, focusing all your energy into keeping a straight, innocent face.

"Uh. . . 'bout 6:30?" Frank was obviously not thrilled that you had stopped kissing him to ask that of all things. 'Perfect,' you thought maliciously. Unable to fight it any longer, a sly, excited smile slowly overtook your face.

"It's dinner time," you whispered.

Before he could react, you slipped out of Frank's grasp and sauntered away to the kitchen. You went straight to the pantry to gather everything you would need to make spaghetti and garlic bread, and set it on the counter next to the stove.

When Frank was finished staring blankly at the wall, mystified, he joined you in the kitchen to find you filling up a pot with water at the sink. He crept up behind you, wrapping you up in a hug and leaving a soft kiss on your cheek.

"What'd you do that for, hmm?" He was using a voice that you were all too familiar with. It was the voice he used when he wanted something from you, and most days it had you folding instantly. He sounded so condescending, and it was playing right into your more submissive side. He was being an asshole, but he was just such a hot asshole, and somehow it always. freaking. worked.

Except it wouldn't work today. You would make sure of it.

"Go sit down, Frankie," you requested, gesturing to the bar behind the sink.

"Dinner can wait a little while. Your tomatoes aren't gonna go bad in an hour, sweetheart." You shut off the faucet and tried to move over to the stove, but Frank tightened his hold on you, refusing to let you go.

"I'm hungry," you complained.

"So am I," Frank teased, making sure you could feel the proof of his statement pressed up against you. You rolled your eyes at how audible his stupid smirk was.

"I'm trying to make us a special anniversary dinner. Now go sit down, Frank."

Frank knew you weren't actually upset with him, and he wasn't stupid so he knew what you were doing. You weren't stupid either, so you knew he secretly liked it. You were having a competition, and you couldn't wait to finally beat your insufferably headstrong boyfriend at a game of wills. All you had to do to win was hold out until you were finished eating, and this time around you had some tricks up your sleeve.

Frank groaned defeatedly. No matter how much he wanted you, his chivalrous upbringing prevented him from denying his lady what she wanted. So, he gave in and trudged around the counter to sit on the barstool across from the sink. You could feel his eyes following you as you went about making your dinner. His gaze was burning holes all over your body, heating up your core and exhilarating your mind. Every movement you made was intentional, perfectly executed in a way that kept Frank on edge and his jeans too tight.

When you needed something from the lower cabinets, you would bend over to show off your panties, and the fabric would stretch tighter around the swell of your ass. When you needed something from the top cabinets, you would stand on your tiptoes and stretch to reach it, revealing more of your tummy and causing the underwire to push your chest out a little further. While you were reading from the recipe book, you would "absent-mindedly" twirl your hair around your fingers or lean forward on the counter, subtly arching your back.

Once, when you were finished blending your home-made spaghetti sauce and it was heating up on the stove, you dipped a finger in the pot and delicately licked it clean. You didn't look at Frank while you did it because you're sure you would have laughed at how ridiculous it was, but you knew he saw it (and liked it) from his small frustrated sigh.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked, semi-sarcastically.

"Nope!" you replied happily, dropping your handful of dry spaghetti in the boiling water.

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah." You smiled at him, walking past the bar to put your leftover garlic in the pantry on the other side.

As you were walking back, you failed to notice Frank had hopped to the barstool closest to you until he had already sprung his attack. Lightning fast, he snatched you up and pulled you towards him, slipping a hand under your robe to grab at your ass and wrapping the other around your waist to hold you still. He buried his face in your neck, and you felt him shudder and tighten his grip as he inhaled deeply. The special occasion perfume you wore never failed to drive him wild.

"It's just that I feel so useless sitting over here, doing nothing," he purred, his lips tracing patterns across your collarbone.

"You're definitely not doing nothing," you mumbled.

"That right? What am I doin' then, hmm?"

When you didn't respond, Frank slid his hand away from your ass and dragged two of his fingers gently over the lace covering your arousal. When he drew his hand back and held it up, you saw his fingers were significantly shinier than they were before. That was the biggest downside to fancy underwear. Sure, they look nice, but they do nothing to absorb moisture.

"Is that what I'm doing?" You nodded. "Yeah? But I've just been sitting here," Frank teased.

'Goddammit,' you thought. 'How did I ever think I could make it past dinner with this asshole?'

"Know what I think? I think you just like attention. You put on a show for whoever's watching and you get soaked right through, is that it?" He moved his hand back down to start rubbing gentle circles on your clit through the fabric.

"No, I don't," you fussed, pushing at Frank's bicep to try and dislodge his hand. He just pressed down harder, making you desperately wish you could squeeze your thighs together and grind on his fingers until you were dripping on the floor.

"No? Then what is it, sweetheart? What's got you so wet, huh?"

"Just you," you mumbled. "Just your attention."

"Yeah? That's sweet, baby. Well if this is all my fault, then I should do somethin' about it, shouldn't I?"

Unable to fight back any longer, you nodded. The ache in your core was running too deep, and the relief Frank promised seemed more satisfying than any victory possibly could. Grinning dangerously, Frank released you and stood up before pulling you back into a feverish kiss. You got so lost in the contact that you didn't realize Frank was pushing you until your back hit the counter.

Suddenly, Frank's hands traveled down to settle on your upper thighs. This was a signal you were all too familiar with. Barely a second after you felt it, you jumped, wrapping your legs around him as he set you down on the counter.

As soon as he had you where he wanted you, Frank latched onto your neck, kissing and biting wherever he could reach, leaving faint red marks in all your most sensitive places. You squeezed your eyes shut tight and bit your lip hard as voltaic sensations zipped up and down your spine. Frank slipped your robe gently off your shoulders, leaving light kisses along the newly exposed skin.

Frank left a darker bruise on the base of your neck before tenderly grabbing your jaw to trace his tongue along your bottom lip. With one hand (and a little cooperation on your part), he pulled your robe the rest of the way off and tossed it to the side. Then, he began moving slowly down your torso, stopping to nip lightly at your rigid buds through the flowers hiding them and lick a few gentle stripes up your stomach. When he got too far down to bend over comfortably, he pulled his barstool up behind him and tugged you to the edge of the counter before sitting back down.

At first you didn't know what he was planning, but you figured it out pretty quick when he grabbed your legs and tossed them over his shoulders. Your tailbone was aching and the faucet was digging into your back, but you couldn't bring yourself to care when Frank began leaving hot kisses up your thigh. His stubble was rough against your skin and you were secretly hoping you would still be feeling it in the morning.

You felt Franks nose bump against your clit as he swiped his tongue over your obvious wet spot. The sudden feeling surprised you, and you didn't have time to prevent a small whine from slipping out. Smirking, Frank drew his tongue tortuously slowly from the very back of your cunt to your sensitive nub. When he reached it, he sucked gently at it, feeling your thighs tremble around his head.

"Frank, please," you gasped, throwing your head back when he sucked harder.

Frank finally started slipping his fingers in your waistband, and tapped your hip to get you to lift up. He tugged your panties down to your knees and-

*hisssssssssss*

"Oh, shit!" you cried, pushing Frank away from you. Your spaghetti was bubbling over! You hopped off the counter and pulled your underwear back up, running to stir the pasta with your wooden spoon. As soon as you got the water to settle, your timer went off, signaling that it was done.

You grabbed Frank's strainer (which was actually one of yours that you brought over to encourage Frank to eat better) and drained your spaghetti over the sink. While you were shaking out all the water droplets, you looked up to find Frank moping with his head resting in his hand.

"Oh, come on," you said, noticing his pouty face. "What did you want me to do, let your kitchen burn down?"

"You can't start a fire with spaghetti."

"You'd be surprised."

"I just needed five more minutes, baby. That's it," Frank complained.

"Five more minutes and we'd be eating spaghetti-flavored mush," you retorted. "Besides, dinner's just about ready now. You've only gotta wait another half hour, and then you can have whatever you want."

Frank brightened slightly at the prospect, though he tried to hide it. Turns out, after four years of dating, you learn to spot the little emotions flickering behind your partner's eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Don't pretend like you're not enjoying it."

"I just wanna touch you. Why won't you let me touch you, hmm? I know you want me to," Frank grumbled.

"I did let you touch me," you argued back lightheartedly.

"Yeah, but that wasn't part of the plan, was it baby? You're still trying to stay away from me."

"Why does it matter what I'm trying to do if you got what you wanted anyway?" you reasoned.

"I didn't get what I wanted."

"Tough luck. You will."

"You would've lost if it weren't for those fuckin' noodles," Frank jeered.

"Why do you think I set so many timers?"

*ding*

You switched off the oven and grabbed some potholders to extract your garlic bread.

"Go sit at the table. I'll bring you a plate," you ordered.

Frank sighed, but he did as he was told. As the two of you ate together, you actually had a very nice conversation, laughing and talking about your days as if nothing had even happened. Frank told you about a guy that was trying to save the ugliest, most broken car that had ever entered the shop. You told Frank about the return of one of your nightmare customers. For the entire time you were seated at the table, there was no torture whatsoever on either part. You were both content to celebrate your anniversary with good food and the best company you could ask for.

When you were finally done eating and talking, it had been well over half an hour, but it didn't feel like it. Your time spent with Frank never dragged on endlessly like it seemed to elsewhere. His presence was like a multipurpose drug to you, and it worked better than any stimulant or depressant you could find in even the sketchiest of back-alleys in Hell's Kitchen. There was no doubt in your mind that you had found the person you would be spending the rest of your life with.

You stood up to begin clearing your dishes, but Frank caught your wrist before you could touch a single utensil.

"Oh, no you don't," Frank said, pushing you back down into your chair. "You did the hard part, let me handle all the easy stuff."

"Yes, sir," you giggled, watching him work. When everything was cleared, you joined Frank in the kitchen, where you found him rinsing the dishes with warm water and loading them into the dishwasher.

Copying what he had done to you earlier, you wrapped your arms around his midsection, hugging him tightly and pressing your face against his back. He patted your arm with his wet hands, and you smiled into his shoulder before wiping it off on his shirt. Closing your eyes, you relaxed into him, enjoying his warmth and his familiar scent.

"You can just leave them in the sink for now," you suggested sleepily.

"Now who's impatient?" Frank teased.

Groaning softly, you gave him one more big squeeze before letting go and walking away down the hall.

"When you're ready, you can come meet me in the bedroom," you called behind you. Frank finished up pretty quickly after that.

He entered the bedroom to find you laying down with your eyes closed. Smiling at how peaceful you looked, he carefully laid down on the bed next to you. Almost immediately, you rolled over on top of him, enjoying the feeling of his warm chest against your face. He was like your own personal space heater, which made him very useful to have around in the colder months.

You shivered at the feeling of his hand running through your hair. 'How did I ever relax before I met him?' you wondered. You felt dangerously close to falling asleep, and as good as that sounded, there was something you had been looking forward to for a while that sounded significantly better.

Forcing yourself to sit up, you sat straddling Frank's stomach, staring into his eyes and waiting for him to make the first move. You had been having fun all evening; the night belonged to him now.

"I know what you were after earlier, sweetheart. You look a little tired now, is that still what you want?" he asked. He was always so gentle with you. Even when he really wasn't.

"Yeah," you confirmed, "But I want you to do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, huh? That's a dangerous thing to say, baby."

"I trust you," you whispered. "And I already know I'm gonna like it, whatever you decide."

Frank hummed, running his hands up and down your thighs as he thought about what to do first. You knew he had reached a decision when he grabbed you and tossed you onto the bed beside him. You yelped at the sudden motion, looking over at him to see exactly what it was he was trying to do.

Frank was taking his belt off. He slid over to sit in front of you, belt in hand, and pulled you back onto his lap.

"You know I can't let you get away with all that bullshit you pulled back there, right?" he asked patronizingly.

"I mean. . . you could," you responded.

Frank scoffed. "You should shut your mouth before you make this worse for yourself. You wanna get to the fun part, don't you?"

"This is the fun part," you confessed.

Frank grabbed your jaw roughly with one hand, forcing you to maintain eye contact with him.

"You're gonna take that back in a minute, baby," Frank growled. He released your jaw to catch both your wrists in his hands, pinning them behind your back.

"All I wanted when I got home was to make my pretty girl feel good, but you decided to be a fuckin' brat." There was a darkness in his eyes that you knew was just for show, but it thrilled you all the same. "I'm gonna show you exactly what that feels like."

Holding both your wrists in one hand, he took his belt and wrapped it tightly around them, latching the buckle and securing them together. When he was sure it would hold and wasn't too uncomfortable, he pushed you off his lap so you were laying on your back on the bed.

"Now," he said, "I'm gonna finish what we started."

He immediately sprung into action, forcibly spreading your legs and slipping your panties all the way down. He tossed them aside and fit himself between your legs, leaning in to kiss you. At first you weren't sure how this was supposed to be a punishment, but you figured it out pretty quickly.

Frank kissed you so deeply, tugging at your hair and tracing your curves with his fingertips. He gripped your waist and your thighs, his dull fingernails leaving behind little indents when he'd get carried away. He could put his hands all over you, wherever and whenever he wanted, but you couldn't do the same. You wanted to pull him closer and squish his biceps teasingly to make him laugh. You wanted to feel his stubble in your hands and rub his shoulders as he bit your neck. You never realized how important your hands were when kissing someone until they were taken from you.

As Frank took to reinforcing the fading red marks he left earlier, he slipped a hand between your thighs to cup your dripping pussy in his palm. You gasped as he used the heel of his hand to rub it a few times, the pressure creating an addictive friction that had you grinding down against him.

Without warning, he slid two fingers inside you, finding your g-spot with practiced ease and stroking it gently. You cried out softly at the sudden stretch. Frank's fingers filled you up so much better than yours ever could. Sometimes you swore he knew more about what made you feel good than you knew about yourself.

Your thighs shook as he began pumping his fingers slowly in and out, stopping every so often to grind his palm against your clit. Your arms were falling asleep underneath you, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of Frank's hair tickling your stomach as he moved down to replace his fingers with his tongue.

You whined at the loss when he pulled his hand away, but your disappointment didn't last long as he truly began to finish what he'd started. Your thighs clamped down around his head when you felt the first swipe of his tongue, but he forced them back open, his wet fingers marking your thigh with your slick.

You moaned as he gave your cunt several long licks, cleaning up the moisture that had pooled between your folds. The need to reach out and push his head down or grab onto his hair was overwhelming, but you couldn't move. All you could do was take what he gave you. When he decided you'd had enough teasing, he dove in fully, eating you out like it was his favorite thing in the world. He tongued at your clit, sucking it at random intervals to see what noises he could coax out of you. Sometimes, he would lap gently at your entrance, just barely dipping inside so you could feel how empty you really were. He gave you one more rough lick before plunging his fingers back inside you and sucking hard at your clit. You almost sobbed as you came over his hand, trembling through your release. Frank groaned softly against you, enjoying the feeling of your walls fluttering and pulsing around any part of him.

He patted your thighs lovingly, coming up from between your legs to kiss you. You were still slightly out of it and breathing heavily, but tasting yourself on Frank's tongue brought you back to the present.

"See what you did to me now?" he asked when he pulled away.

"Yeah," you breathed.

"Think we're even, then?"

"Uh-huh," you answered, struggling to sit up with your hands tied.

"I don't."

"What?"

"I didn't let you touch me, but I still made you feel good, didn't I? All you ever did was tease me. Do you still think we're even, baby?" Frank questioned, stroking your lip with his thumb.

"No," you mumbled.

"So what are you gonna do about it?"

Instead of responding verbally, you parted your lips and sucked his thumb gently into your mouth. After a few seconds, Frank pulled it out and replaced it with the two fingers that had previously been inside you, encouraging you to clean them off.

"That's a good start." Frank pulled his fingers back, satisfied with your work. "But you're gonna need to do more than that, sweetheart."

You hesitated, trying to figure out how you were supposed to lean forward without falling flat on your face.

"You know what I want, baby," he encouraged. "What are you waiting for?" Frank knew very well what you were waiting for, but his sadistic side wanted to watch you figure it out.

Rising up onto your knees, you spread your thighs apart for better balance, and slowly began to lower your head towards Frank's zipper. You made it all the way down without crashing, but you refused to make a fool out of yourself by trying to unbutton his pants with your teeth. Instead, you gazed up at him desperately, pleading for assistance with just your eyes.

Unfortunately, Frank wasn't budging. He raised his eyebrows at you expectantly, letting you know you were gonna have to work for it. Huffing, you lowered your gaze back to the zipper, bracing yourself for your impending embarrassment. You were just about to attack his button with your tongue when you were struck by an idea. There was more than one way you could work for it.

Leaning in closer, you started mouthing at his bulge, kissing it wetly through the fabric. You could tell it was affecting him by the way he twitched under your tongue when you licked lovingly at (what you hoped was) the tip. Using your nose, you nudged at the hem of Frank's t-shirt, and he pulled it up for you so you could leave little red marks and sweet kisses across his abs. Frank grunted quietly when you sucked at a sensitive spot, petting your head softly so you'd do it again. He was really enjoying the sight of you bent over, begging for his cock with your mouth. So much so, that he almost didn't want to give it to you.

He held out for a while, only giving in when the warmth of your mouth soaked fully through his jeans, wetting his dick and making him want more.

"Shit, alright," he groaned, reaching down to unzip his jeans. He tugged them down just enough to get to his boxers, reaching inside to pull out his hard, leaking cock.

"There," he murmured, tapping it sweetly against your cheek. "Have at it, pretty girl."

You were concerned about catching it in your mouth without your hands, but Frank generously decided you didn't have to everything on your own. When you turned your head towards it, he held it still and fed it to you slowly, stroking your hair as you went at your own pace.

You paused for a little while in the beginning to pay attention to his dripping head, laving at the sensitive bottom and sucking softly at the tip. You left a dainty lick on his slit before you took more of him in your mouth, hollowing your cheeks around his length. You stared up at him as you dragged your tongue teasingly along the underside, tracing a prominent vein that you were very familiar with.

Frank's breathing was getting heavier, letting you know you were doing a good job. Feeling emboldened, you carefully took him all the way to the base, choking softly as he hit the back of your throat.

"Attagirl, fuck," Frank breathed, pushing your head down farther. He held you there for a moment, subtly grinding his cock against the roof of your mouth. Jolting at the feeling, he pushed a little too hard by accident, triggering your gag reflex. You pulled back to catch your breath before continuing to bob your head up and down along his length, taking him as deep as you could without coughing. Before long, your jaw was aching and tears were streaming down your cheeks from choking a few too many times.

Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes of working Frank over with nothing but your mouth, he groaned deeply, signaling his impending release.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna-" he warned, sighing as he came in hot ribbons down your throat. You closed your eyes and relaxed into the feeling of his cock pulsing on your tongue, waiting for it to soften slightly before letting it fall from your mouth.

You sat back up and watched Frank pull his pants the rest of the way off before tucking himself back into his underwear.

"Are we even now?" you asked.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Frank smiled. "Come here, I'll get you untied real quick."

You turned away from him so he could take the belt off you, wiggling your fingers and rolling your wrists to regain the feeling you had lost in your hands. Twisting back around, you pounced, knocking him flat on his back and pushing his shirt up as far as it would go. Making up for lost time, you began rubbing at his chest and his shoulders, and tracing his abs with your fingertips. He chuckled at your neediness, pulling his shirt off to give you better access, which you happily took advantage of. Cradling his face in your hands, you left dozens of little kisses all over his mouth and his neck. It felt so good to be able to touch him again, you didn't think you would ever let go.

Still holding you close to him, Frank turned so his back was against the headboard and he could cuddle you in a more comfortable position. For a while, you laid in silence, syncing your breathing with his and seeing if you could find a way to match your heartbeats. So far, not much luck, but you were sure you'd figure it out someday.

Checking the clock on the nightstand, you saw that you'd been laying there for about ten minutes. "That should be enough time," you thought. You looked up to find Frank's eyes closed, but you knew he was awake.

"Frankie?" you called, almost inaudibly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it's time for the 'fun part' now?"

Frank smiled. "Do you want it to be?"

He opened his eyes, watching you closely as you unfastened your bra in the back, and slipped it off slowly. You dropped it on the bed beside you, leaving you completely exposed for Frank to admire you.

"Yeah, I do," you whispered.

Frank surged up to kiss you again, this time much gentler than before. He ran his hands up your sides to tenderly massage your bare chest. You whimpered into the kiss as he rubbed at your nipples, the little buds sensitive from being previously neglected.

Feeling impatient, you tugged his boxers down and quickly began stroking his growing length. Frank hissed at the shock, but he was thrusting up into your hand before too long. As soon as he was half hard, you lifted up and positioned his cock at your entrance before sinking down all the way. You cried out at the intrusion, feeling him curve perfectly inside you to brush your sweet spot on every thrust.

You sat there for a minute, just barely circling your hips as you focused on the feeling of him hardening fully inside you. When he was finished growing, you began to ride him, slowly pushing your body up and down on his cock as he raised his hips to meet you half-way.

Frank punched little noises out of your chest with every bounce, leaning in to hide his face in your neck. He breathed in the wonderful scent of sweat, sex, and expensive perfume, groaning desperately into your skin.

After a while of thrusting and grinding and bouncing, your thighs began to ache, and you weren't able to maintain the same speed anymore. Picking up on your sudden change, Frank took charge almost on autopilot, and flipped you over so you were underneath him.

You moaned at the relief and the change in tempo as he fucked into you faster and harder and deeper, but still with so much love and care behind every movement. When you caught his eyes, it felt like you were staring into your future, and you saw nothing but inevitable happiness.

Your gasps and whines got louder and louder as you chased your release. Your soaked cunt was pulling Frank back in harder, squeezing tight around him to try and keep him from pulling out. Every sensation you were feeling kept building and building until finally, the tension snapped. You almost screamed as your climax washed over you like a rising tide, whiting out your vision and sending waves of pleasure washing over you.

Frank was right behind you, as the feeling of your walls constricting and fluttering around him pushed him over the edge. He came deep inside you, filling you up perfectly before pulling out carefully and collapsing beside you.

The two of you laid next to each other, holding each other tightly and soaking up the afterglow permeating the air all around you. You couldn't have asked for a better anniversary, or a better special someone to share it with. In that moment, as you got ready to drift off to sleep, everything was perfect.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

#frank castle #frank castle smut #frank castle x reader #jon bernthal #jon bernthal smut #jon bernthal x reader #frank castle fanfiction #frank castle x you #the punisher

[saey707]

*heavy breathing* pls, feed my thirst with a little heartsteel kayn pls I need him -I-I need to read some yandere heartsteel kayn *coughs* I can't breath I need him to be angry at me for his own feelings omg omg I need it I need the water

✿ Prompt: Kayn is a toxic boyfriend ✿

♡ champion focus: kayn ♡ tw: npd, yandere ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author's Note: Your request made me laugh so hard that I had to respond as soon as possible LOLOL ૮꒰⸝⸝> ̫ <⸝⸝꒱ა I'm always down for writing toxic yandere boys! So let's get into Kayn ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ Enjoy!

Most days, you couldn't help but feel like you were trapped in a relationship with Kayn. Yes, you loved him, hell you even accepted him the way he was... But really, that was only because you feared what he could if you did try to speak up.

The warning signs were always there- People constantly reminding you... no, warning you that Kayn was toxic. But, you chose to ignore them. You wanted to believe there was some degree of good inside of Kayn. You wanted to love him like no one did before. You tried to convince yourself that you could even change him!

However, seeing Kayn in all his selfish, narcissistic colors made you realize far too late that you were stuck with him... and Kayn loved the power he had over you.

He loved having control over your shared relationship and felt like he could do as he pleased whenever he pleased. Time and time again Kayn would exercise unscrupulous control and influence over you. And you let him.

The control issues Kayn harbored at the beginning of your relationship were small. So much so, that you believed he was just obsessive-compulsive. He spoke devilish whispers that persuaded you to do things you would never do. He had you wrapped around his finger. He had you in his possession. His trap.

And as the devil's web unwound, it was only a matter of time before he was only just beginning to control every aspect of your life, from deciding what you wore out to events together to who you spoke to.

"I saw Aphelios looking at you the other day. You shouldn't trust him. You never know what the intentions of the quiet ones are..."

"I heard what Yone said to you the other day. You shouldn't listen to him... He has no idea how happy we are together!"

"I don't want you talking to Ezreal anymore!"

While the rest of the band felt it was wrong to enable Kayn, they kept quiet. They kept their distance when you all were alone. Because Kayn knew as much about them as he knew about you. And Kayn wasn't afraid to abuse the information he knew he sabotage all of them if they crossed him and his relationship.

The only sigh of relief you ever had was when the group performed interviews out of the country. Even though you could tag along, you chose not to. You made the excuse that you had work, and that saved you every time. Work was the only thing you had in your life that gave you some sense of control. Kayn couldn't take that away from you... yet, at least.

"Why aren't you texting me back? Are you listening to me?!" "Answer right now!!" "You're seriously going to put your phone on mute this long?! Who the hell do you think you are?!!" "Fine then. You did this to yourself. Keep that in mind." "LMAO" "When I get back you better hope that I'm fucking happy!!"

And he made sure to let the world know how frustrated he was.

"So Kayn, how is your relationship with your partner? You both are still together right?!" The interviewer happily questioned, your boyfriend playing the part, showing off that devilishly smug smile in front of his awestruck audience.

It made you feel sick to your stomach. It made you dread what he was about to say and what he could say.

"Oh, we are! Things between us are better than ever. We're both so happy..." His smile fell. "But..." He began to brood, looking off to the side for a moment. The audience ate up his vulnerability.

"They get so busy with work sometimes. I just wish they could respond to me sooner! Babe, if you're watching this, answer me!! Ahahaha!!" His smile returned, the others trying to hide their discomfort with joyful laughter.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you when you get back Kayn. Don't be so discouraged!" The interviewer reassured him, Kayn rubbing the back of his neck, staring forward at the camera. Staring forward at you.

That was the telltale sign: That you were absolutely, most positively, fucked.

#saeybaewrites #request #short #headcanons #heartsteel kayn #kayn #heartsteel kayn x reader #heartsteel x reader #kayn shieda #shieda kayn #kayn lol #x reader #kayn league of legends x reader #kayn league of legends #kayn lol x reader #kayn shieda x reader #shieda kayn x reader #lol x reader #league of legends x reader

[holdinbacksecrets]

Oh in conjunction to the last ask by an anon can I request something like svt taking care of drunk s/o?

Looking forward to more of your works 🥰

thank you for saying that and requesting! cheol’s is suggestive 18+

seungcheol: is shocked to receive a call from your friend that the evening’s designated driver is trashed. probably laughs to himself as he grabs his keys and drives to the bar. takes a minute to coax you into his car because you’re having a hard time believing he’s your boyfriend. “are you sure? you’re incredibly attractive, and i’m not saying that because i don’t think i’m hot or something. i am. i’m so hot, but shit. have you seen me naked a lot? can i see you naked? maybe that would jog my wine mind.”

jeonghan: opens the front door of your apartment to be met by you and your exhausted looking friend. “she’s a bit…sad” but he knew what to expect. you’re consistently sad after drinking, and he offers soft coos as you waddle to the living room, asking him to lay down before covering his body with your own. “do you feel better, sweetheart?” “mhmm” 

joshua: tries not to laugh at your permanent frown and flushed cheeks. your hands are fisted, constantly rubbing your eyes, clearly exhausted but far from ready to end the night. you finally let him take you home when you fall asleep on the table after screaming along to cher with all the energy you could muster

jun: sends texts throughout the night to make sure you’re alright. reminds you he can come at any point if that’s what you want. ‘i’m pine. wit mah girlz’ but he sits in the parking lot reading and drives you home, gets you ready for bed, stays the night, and makes your breakfast in the morning 

wonwoo: sits with you on the curb outside of the bar for 3 hours while you watch the moon

soonyoung: in the morning, you wake up to a hundred messages in the group chat, realizing someone dressed you up as a tiger because it was the only way he’d ever get you in that damn halloween costume. “please don’t be mad at me. you looked adorable! orange is your color” “…i’m going to the cafe around the corner to get something highly caffeinated. that costume better be gone by the time i’m back” 

jihoon: *laughter* but he carries you home (it’s only up the street, though. no biggie) 

seokmin: fully engaged in your senseless stories that sound a lot like your weirdest dreams. gets you ready for bed and giggles every time you start sucking any part of him your lips capture

mingyu: “babe, please let me put your socks back on. your feet are freezing.” instead, you cover your hands and cry when you can’t find your thumbs 

minghao: the poor guy thought it would be a good idea to take you to the convenience store for a hangover cure, but you’re embarrassing him. “ok, now everyone knows that i’m from seventeen. there are some plushies by the door. should you tell them too?” but he kisses your forehead as soon as your expression falls. “…i love you” “and he loves me! did you all hear?!” “i’m so sorry. this moment will plague me for life” 

seungkwan: he’s never seen you drink anything besides a single glass of red wine, but tonight you got your hands on whiskey and a 2000s playlist so… lol. finally convinces you it’s time to head home after mumbling your way through genie in a bottle. rolls down the window as soon as you’re in the car because he’s afraid you’ll vomit, and then he’ll vomit, but you don’t mind because the cool breeze feels like heaven on your hot skin. “dogs are so smart, boo. they’ve got life figured out. i could stay like this forever” 

hansol: looks so endearing helping you down the hallway to your front door, with your purse around his neck, and your right shoe held tightly in his grip. “honey, let’s not knock on everyone’s door, ok? it’s nearly 3am” 

chan: he keeps a little pouch in his glove compartment with all the necessities for “drunk you”. drunk you pouch includes the following: starbursts(only the yellow and pink ones), a picture of your cat wearing a hat, dried lavender, and the keys to your parents garden store because sometimes you like to stop by and play a song or two on their jukebox

#this was fun to write #boyfriend things #seventeen reactions #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seungcheol scenarios #jeonghan fluff #joshua fluff #jun scenarios #jihoon scenarios #wonwoo fluff #seokmin fluff #mingyu fluff #minghao scenarios #seungkwan scenarios #soonyoung fluff #chan fluff #hansol reactions

[romanarose]

On Top Of the World

Steven Grant X Reader

Summary: Steven plans a nice date for you

Based on a request from @minigirl87 IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER IM A BAD WRITER I KNOOOOOOW

Warnings: Not much, its pretty soft. Little hints at soft dom Steven, illusions to smut, little bit smutty but the gist happens off screen, playful choking (you'll see what I mean)

*****************

“Come on, I have a surprise for you.” Steven pulled on your hand, grinning as he dragged you up the stairwell of his building.

“Steven! Where are we going” You ask, giggling.

“The roof!”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“You’ll have to see”

“Steven!” You squeak as Steven stops at the top, right before the door, and turns around to hold you, nuzzling his face in your neck.

He teases. “I’m not going to kill you.” 

.

Wrapping your arms around his thick waist, you hug him. “Really? I thought for sure you had another of my shit”

“Hmmm” Steven pretends to reconsider. “You did text us asking if we’d still love you if you were a worm… again…” Steven slides his hand up and around your throat, not squeezing hard, just a gentle reminder of his dominance.

“I promise I’ll stop!!” You can’t help but laugh as he turns you, pressing you up against the wall, pressing his body to your, squeezing you; but there was a soft smile on his face.

“If you were a worm I’d make you a terrarium and read you books every night” Steven kissed you roughly, before taking pressure off your body and going to the door. “Come along, darling.”

Steven opened the door and you couldn’t help but gasp a bit at what he set up for you. There was a little table and chairs with food set up for you, fairy lights set up that twinkled in the darkness against pink tool along the walls of the roof. Music was playing, string music and- it was violin covers of your favorite music? How did you get so lucky?

“Oh Steven…” You turn to look at him, at a loss for words. “All this for me?”

Steven took you into his arms, holding you lovingly. “All this for you, my love, you deserve it and so much more.”

“It’s beautiful, Steven…” You’re gaze drifts from his face to the city under you. “From all the way up here, everything looks so different.” 

Steven nodded. “Marc likes it up here, on the roofs. He’s up on them a lot when he’s patrolling the city, but I know he finds it peaceful.”

Peaking out as much as you could over the high walls, you try to look at the city to see what Marc sees, but you couldn’t see much.

Steven presses up behind you, wrapping his arms around you and swaying a bit. “Would you like to see the city how we do?”

Turning around in his arms, you look up at him hopefully. “Can I?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, I’ll hold onto you, and if anything happens, I have the suit, and I promise you’ll be safe.” 

You grin at him brightly. “Yes please!!” You start jumping excitedly, making Steven laugh. 

“Okay, but none of that.” He references your jump.

Stopping dead in your place, you stand straight as a soldier, saluting. “Yes sir”

Steven had a cheeky look on his face and lightly smacked your ass. “Good girl.”

With the suit summoned, but face showing, Steven jumped up on the wall, reaching his hand out to you and pulling you up with ease. Steven’s arms were tight around you, assuring there was so way you’d fall, safe and secure in your lover's arms that you gripped so tightly. The city was bright and colorful beneath you, loud and lively and yet so distant; you could see why Marc found peace up here, even among the chaos. Slowly, you let go of your grip on Steven’s strong arms, opening your yourself to spread your arms out wide, knowing your love had you.

“I’m on top of the world!!” You shout, the bright, clear moonlight illuminating the world beneath you.

Vaguely, you register someone in a building yelling at you to ‘shut the fuck up, bitch’ and you can’t help but bend over in a fit of giggles. Steven laughs to, loud and bright, but stops when all the laughs cause you both to wobble. After steadying you, Steven scoops you up bridal style and jumps down to the roof top again, going several feet in the air before heading down; you felt that was just for you, how way of showing off what he could do, what he was capable of, the power he held… and it worked.

“Steven, sweetie?” You spoke softly, holding tight onto Steven as he set you down so he wouldn’t let go off you.

He didn’t.“Yes, darling?” 

You kiss him, deep and harsh and with as much tongue as you can get, inexplicably turned on by his sweet gesture and display of power. Steven returned the kiss just as hungrily as he pulled you down to the roof floor, the suit starting to disappear.

“Suit stays on” You say, breathless as Steven kissed dark marks into your neck.

With a devious smile, the suit reformed, but not his mr. knight suit this time.

“And just what are you planning to do with that suit, Mr. Grant.” You tease, reaching a hand down to feel his erection that the material did fuck-all to hide.

Steve grabbed both of your hands in one of his and held them above your head, pinned to the cool concrete, the wrappings slowly extending to wrap around your wrists. “I’m going to make sure you behave, little one. Can you do that for me?” Steven cocked his brow at you in the way that always made your stomach warm.

With a smile that said you were lying, you nod. “Yes sir.”

*****************

This was kinda funny for me to write bc the last time i wrote a scene with the top f stevens roof, it was hella dramatic (sunshine starlight sweetheart brightside readers know what i mean lmfao)

Anyway enjoy some soft steven!!!!

@welcometostayingawake @in-between-the-cafes @writingforcurrentobsessions2 @luciannadraven33 @jake-g-lockley

#steven grant #steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #moon knight #moon knight fanfiction #steven grant reader #steven grant fanfiction #moon knight reader #steven grant fluff #steven grant smut

[thisismysecondrodeo]

I'm having post episode feels. What about just finding ways to cheer Ted up and telling him how much you love and cherish him 🥺

AN: Boy do I know those feels! It's SO HARD waiting between episodes, so here's a short little blurb

Rating: General

Tags: caring for Ted Lasso, Comfort, Romance, Love, Affection, Established Relationship

Fic Masterlist

-

You weren't surprised that you were the only person that noticed Ted hadn't been himself lately. He was very good at appearing like he was okay, and that he was taking care of himself, but as his girlfriend, you spent so much time with him that you could see the chinks in his armor: the bags under his eyes when the two of you spent the night separately, the quiet that descended after an awkward call with Henry and Michelle, the ever-diminishing liquor bottle that always seemed significantly emptier after talking with Dr. Fieldstone.

Ted didn't say that he was overwhelmed, but you didn't want to push him to talk about it if he wasn't ready...but you did want him to know that you cared. You got off work a little early and fired off a quick text to Coach Beard, a plan quickly forming.

Ted arrived home from a long day at Nelson Road feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. He wanted to talk to you, but he couldn't help but want to protect you from his own mood. You deserved upbeat, optimistic Ted, not...this. He was so preoccupied with feeling bad for himself he almost missed the note you'd left on the door as he put in his key and found it already unlocked.

Welcome home, love! Borrowed your spare key from Beard, hope you don't mind <3

Ted couldn't help but smile that in some ways it felt like you could read his mind. He couldn't help but think that he didn't deserve you. He stepped into the house immediately looking for you and instead found his own sparkling kitchen. His dishes were washed, dried, and neatly stacked up for him and the space felt lemony and fresh. Ted shook his head in disbelief and guilt that you'd cleaned up after him. He toed off his shoes and found the same story in the living room; blankets folded, floor vacuumed. He took a deep breath before walking into the bedroom to find you organizing his sneakers. You heard him behind you and turned with a smile.

"Hi, darling....oh, Ted what's wrong?"

Ted scrubbed at his face—he had no idea he was crying until you looked at him with that soft expression. "No, nothing. I just—you're so good to me. I don't..." Ted ducked his face into his hands for a moment trying to pull himself together, "I find it hard to imagine that I deserve all of this effort."

You looked aghast. It was hard for you to imagine a world in which he didn't. "Come here," you said quickly, standing and gesturing to the bed and Ted joined you, stiff and embarrassed. You tugged him over until his head was resting on your shoulder as you rocked slightly. "I love you so very much. And I came over and picked up because I could tell you were having a tough time. I just wanted to make you feel as loved and cherished as you make me feel."

Ted shifted and you could tell he very much wanted to argue so you kept going before he could. "There is no shame in taking an offered hand. And I am very much offering. So if there's something else besides washing the dishes and color-coordinating your shoes that would be helpful please let me know. I want to know. I'm begging to know."

Ted was quiet for so long you thought he might have just fallen asleep on your shoulder, but he finally sighed, "thank you," as if you'd just taken a very heavy weight off his back, his body sagging with relief. "Can we...Would it be okay if we just....took a nap?"

"Of course it is," you laughed lightly, shifting lower in the bed so Ted could slot his head in the crook of your neck, sighing deeply. You brushed your hand lovingly over his back as he slipped into an easy, supported sleep.

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso x reader #x reader #reader #reader insert

[antilocaprine]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ POV ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

(Ask Game)

POV: something that’s already happened, retold from another character’s perspective

This is a super fun one to consider, and right away I thought of Sweet Dreams Are Made of Bees, because Benrey is being SO weird for that whole fic due to The Situation. So let's see a small snippet of what was going on with him that covers a short span between Chapters 2 and 3:

"Hey, Benrey," Gordon says, and how is he so calm? Benrey nearly ripped his arm off just a few minutes ago, but he's - it's like he's ignoring it, and that's never happened before. He's not making any sense, he's not working right, and there's nothing Benrey can do about it but continue to listen. “I’m...having trouble with this. How do you think Dr. Coomer would explain this situation to me?”

Oh. Now there's an idea. Benrey thinks about it for a moment. He's never had another person in this space - another real person, like really real - but it makes sense that since they both know Dr. Coomer, they should be able to come up with a pretty accurate...puppet, or whatever they're called. He can't think of the word right now. He can't think of much without his thoughts circling back around to - yes, that, exactly. Stop thinking about that.

Benrey huffs quietly and shrugs. Only one way to find out if this will work, and that's to try it. “Why don’t you, uh, why don’t you ask him?”

"What?" Gordon sounds distracted, and Benrey risks a quick glance at his face. Luckily, he's peering over Benrey's shoulder with that focused expression that suggests Joshua is about to do something that Gordon believes is reckless. Here, in this place, his green eyes glow like the slime Dr. Coomer loves so much (and claims to be allergic to).

Benrey knows better now than to try to mention that - apparently "slime" isn't an acceptable thing for human eyes to be compared to. But Benrey likes the color, and doesn't understand why - oh, right, can't think about that. Can't think about this. Think about - think about Dr. Coomer, and his way with words, how he can describe things, how he's so smart even if he says dumb things about Benrey wanting to stay with Gordon...

"Wait, what?" Gordon says, startling, and Benrey slams his eyes closed and wrenches at the image in his stupid dumb brain. It's worked before - don't think about that - it can work again, he has to make it work again -

“Hello Gordon!” Dr. Coomer says cheerily as he lands heels-down on the ground several feet away.

“Dr. Coomer?!” Gordon yelps as Coomer steps forward and collapses soundlessly into a cross-legged position next to him and Benrey.

“Hello, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer says again. “Hello, Security Chief Boper!”

Wait, why would he - oh, right, that tracks. Benrey was trying to make a version of him that would put Gordon more at ease. But he still has to check for himself, and there's only one way to be sure. “Hey, uh, you got credentials? Passport, or...can I see it please?”

“Hang on -” Gordon starts to say, but Dr. Coomer is already handing Benrey a brown leather bifold with an embossed seal on the front. Benrey nearly sighs in relief when he can read the words on the seal. He forgets why that's important right now, and he doesn't have the brain-space to think about it. (Don't think about it don't think -)

To distract himself, Benrey flips the bifold open and peers at the inside. There's a picture of Dr. Coomer - oddly blurry, but that might be Gordon's influence, Benrey's not sure - and another set of seals and stamps and information that Benrey honestly doesn't care about right now. Normally he could use it to verify where he was, but he knows all too well at the moment. He doesn't need a reminder in text.

Instead, Benrey flips the bifold closed and sinks his aching teeth into the soft material, the taste of dusty leather bursting across his tongue. He's been clenching his jaw so hard that it's a relief to bite something like this, something with give. For a moment he almost considers -

Dr. Coomer coughs discreetly, and Benrey yanks the verification out of his mouth. He can't go down that path, no matter how easy it would be. He can't think about it. (Don't think -)

When he hands the bifold back, Dr. Coomer winks at him, a genial smile tucked into his mustache. ...Maybe Benrey made sure he was a version that would put his own mind at ease, as well. Wouldn't that be nice, for once?

“All present and accounted for," Benrey mumbles. "You’re, uh, good to go."

“What the fuck,” Gordon says.

“Hello, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer says again.

Benrey sighs to himself and squeezes his aching eyes closed. This version of Dr. Coomer should be able to keep Gordon busy and help him figure things out. They're both way smarter than Benrey is when it comes to thinking things like this through - probably from all the theoretical...whatevers they have so many of. Doesn't help Gordon when he's trying to figure out how to put together Joshua's newest LEGO kits, but it's gotta be good for something, right? They'll figure it out, and Benrey won't have to think about anything, and then both he and Gordon can wake up and everything will go back to normal and be fine forever.

Right?

Don't think about the other possibilities, don't think about the blood or the gun, don't think about it, don't think -

#hlvrai #sweet dreams are made of bees fic #fic snippet #askbox #i-have-a-gender-crisis #fic writer ask game #blood mention #gore mention #was very tempted to do the mentioned arm-ripping scene #but i feel like it's good enough in the fic for what it is #benrey is Not having a good time #technically spoilers for sweet dreams fic #but i tried to keep it vague #thank you my friend! this was fun! #my words

[quirkthieves]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: viverra ! but ive also been called vixen, dogma, gabe, etc. any works

PRONOUNS : he/him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : big big fan of discord. tumblr ims are hard for me to read </3

NAME OF MUSE(s) : monoma neito, ibara shiozaki, chitose kizuki/curious, kaina tsutsumi/lady nagant, setsuna tokage, ryo inui/hound dog, natsuo todoroki, kendou itsuka, hinata haruka, nobimaru, inari yoko, marik ishtar, ishizu ishtar, rishid ishtar, atem, and lacramioara strigoi.

jesus christ who let me do this

BEST EXPERIENCE : ummm gee okay i cant just name one it turns out life is actually about the accumulation of small joys and not just a few big ones but every time i get in the car and listen to my music and go OH! THIS REMINDS ME OF THIS PERSONS MUSE AND OUR DYNAMIC! or when talking to people inspires me to draw little comics (esp while im at work let me live) it really just makes me so so happy

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : im pretty chill for the most part i think like ive definitely mellowed out a lot over the past few years but. i gotta say it:

formatting. the over-formatting of everything is killing me. i cant read most peoples carrds. i dont even know how they read it, because of how insanely tiny the text is. eye strain colors, hard to see icons, weird fonts... i dont mind a little bit of formatting, naturally, like go girl give us everything, but its getting to the point of being genuinely frustrating that almost every new blog i encounter has me fighting for my life just trying to learn the important info. i have visual and neurological issues please lord im only seven

MUSE PREFERENCES: seconding cam on if the "when someones pulled a muse apart like the spaghettification of a star and then put them back together". its fascinating. i think the fun part about rp is that i get just as invested in my partners character and what they get out of each thread as much as i do mine, so when people sit there and talk about their ideas and meta and really dig into that thing like . WHOOO NOW WE'RE COOKING

PLOTS OR MEMES : I like both! I think memes are good to kick things off regardless, and I dont mind building off of it. I like to plot a lot ooc but more in a loosey-goosey kind of way; i really like to get to know other muns and their characters and also talking is just sort of how i think through things so its very helpful to me. i also just get a lot of ideas because these things live rent free in my head but to me a natural progression is more important than like, sticking to a script.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : i write insanely long replies because i have things wrong with me. theres NEVER any pressure to length match-- a lot of the time im just doing it to establish exposition or setting so the other person finds it easier to work with. just give me something i can work with and we are a ok :D

BEST TIME TO WRITE : it really depends... i typically end up writing in the evening/afternoon because of my schedule. i think the biggest thing is that i work on weekends, so you may only hear from me ooc on those days. im also really trying to fix my sleep schedule.........to varying levels of success. sometimes the thread is too good

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : just talking about monoma here... i've also got a pretty snappy mouth and natural love of finding loopholes, but i just went into paralegal instead of making it class A's problem. i also love to laugh, but id like to think im a lot less meanspirited about it

tagged: @dynmghts

tagging: @veroxins @cloistress @killerhubby @enignoema @eclipsemuses @yeonban @starshinc @ofluminance @paracide @ohcruel

#ty cam :D #PURE MUSTELID CRAZY://OOC

[hykar]

🌷Was eating a shawarma when I thought of this so why not. Hehe.

💫🌷I miss you•°

[SCHNKXG sent you a message.]

Your phone vibrated with a notification, you put your pen down on the table and picked up your phone. A smile curved on your face as you read Sucheon's message.

"SCHNKXG: I miss you."

You sent him a reply before turning off you phone and continuing with your work. He sent another message, you picked up your phone again.

"SCHNKXG: I'm gonna call, I can't stand it anymore."

You chuckled reading his text before replying. "Okay :)."

Your phone rang and vibrated as soon as he called, you answered. "Hi Sucheon." You smiled. "Hi, I miss you- Wait... Sucheon? What happened to Suchy?" He asked, his brows slightly furrowed. "Oh my bad. Hi Suchy." "...Better."

You leaned your phone against your pencil holder and continued studying, and Sucheon silently watched you doing so.

"Suchy, I can hear the shutter sound of the screenshots you're taking."

"What screenshots?" He asked, clearly playing dumb and his ears are giving it away with how red they are.

You couldn't help but laugh with how he tried to deny it even if he knew that you already saw right through him. He loves how your laugh sounded, its such a sweet sound of happiness to his ears... And your smile? Call him delusional or in a hallucination but he swears he sees a light yellow aura radiating from you whenever a genuine smile curves on your face. Everything felt lighter and calmer whenever you're around, everything looked much more colorful and vibrant in his eyes, You're ethereal to him. His source of warmth. Who would've thought that you, a non-awakener would be someone deeply loved by him?

As deep as he loved you, the pain in his heart was just as deep as it too. The tears streaming down his face felt warm... But not the kind of warmth he liked, no. It's not your warmth. He's even unsure whether he'd view the feeling of warmth the same after this. He hated everything that's happening right now, he loathed it.

"What's taking so long, Sucheon? Don't tell me you've fallen hard for a pathetic non-awakener." Supil glared at his own son. "It's Baekdu, or them."

Sucheon's hand trembled, his breathing unstable and more tears streamed down his face. Choosing Baekdu means He'll lose you and betray himself. Choosing you, means He'll betray Baekdu and lose everything he worked for, Baekdu is dear to him. But not dearer than you. And he knew that, he knew he will always choose you.

But if Sucheon chose you, both of you would be killed. Afterall, the act of betrayal makes you a traitor. And what do people mostly do with traitors? Kill them. Be it physically or figuratively. What is Sucheon there for if he's no longer the heir? But what would people make of Baekdu if their heir left for a non-awakener? Who would take over Baekdu in the future if Sucheon is dead?

You raised your hand and pointed a makeshift gun at him with your fingers. "You're not the only one with a gun now, Suchy. Don't be afraid to shoot me." You softly smiled at him, knowing that either-way... It's you who'll wind up dead.

This is the first time Sucheon ever hated your smile and the warmth it brings him. How could you still smile at him when he's pointing a fucking gun at you? How could you smile at him when he's about to kill you? Stop smiling please... I don't want to remember your smile like this. Please. My dearest please. PLEASE STOP SMILING! LOOK AT ME WITH HATRED!

Baekdu or you...? Baekdu or...

Sucheon dropped the gun and for the first time in his life, he knelt down to the floor and begged. Begging to spare you, begging to let you live and he will ended things with you. Supil however, only looked at his son with a mixed expression. Is it disgust? Dissapointment? Dismay? It's not known. Yet it screams pity. Pity for his son that fell hopelessly in love with someone who isn't even an awakener like them. Pity that his son was this soft.

"I miss you." Sucheon softly sobbed, Looking at the photo of you in his phone. Regretting and wishing that you died in his hands instead of his fathers. Maybe your death wouldn't have been so painful. "I miss you." The tears streaming down his cheeks were warm... he hated it. He hated its warmth. He hated how it reminded him of you.

#sucheon kang #kang sucheon #sucheon x reader #sucheon x non-awakener reader #eleceed #surprise motherfucker #angst #angst galore #you thought it was fluff? nah bro #it's angst bitchesss

[ladyzirkonia]

The Crossing

This one is for you my beloved @lightwise. I wrote my thoughts down while the episode was released and decided to take some screenshots. Not profread just copied the text and added the pictures.

This is still one of my all time favorite episodes.

Well, first of all, the scenery, the planet, the colors, the music that really appealed to me. You have to know that as a geologist I love deserts and sandstone formations. Unfortunately we don't have much of that in Europe, I was in America for three weeks once, that was the most wonderful thing I've experienced from a geological point of view.

Back to geology. The mine and that mineral they're supposed to extract. Needless to say, I would be there right away? Super interesting, I would of course pee my pants with fear, but what the heck. That sounds like an adventure to my taste.

I can't stop staring at Tech's tight Star Wars ''jeans''. This episode it's even a bit dustier and dirtier from the environment. Please don't blame me! (Where the thirst started ;))

I just have to mention again how beautiful these sandstone formations are. I read somewhere that someone wrote about Space Utah and I think that's 100% correct.

(And just a random Sergeant picture for you, because he's hot and we can, look at this man.)

And then comes the absolute lion king moment! That can only be intentional, right? I was really scared for a moment because I associated the scene so closely with The Lion King. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and the scene where Mufasa dies still makes me cry sometimes. I mean, those critters literally look like space antelopes, don't they?

Oh man and I felt SO sorry for Wrecker! How heartless Tech sent him back down to get the Ipsium. ''What about protecting me?'' I just wanted to shout I protect you. And again a very uneasy feeling watching the animals trample over him, maybe that traumatized me more than I thought as a child.

And how Tech then just take the container himself, hello? I mean we already talked about him being a good fighter just like his brothers. But you're just not used to the autistic nerd being so physically fit. That's pretty hot. (Edit: Still a shrimp, we love it)

And the next argument between Tech and Wrecker. It's hard to defend Tech because he's really acting like an ass. You can tell how depressed Omega is in this situation and Hunter is just trying to hold everything together. I really feel sorry for him because I can't imagine he's doing really well, but as a parent, you always have to hold back your emotions. But isn't it clear here that the group has been thrown off balance? That they obviously care that Echo is gone, as some have complained after the last episode?

''What is your issue'' really wanted to make me scream.

And Omega's angry face afterwards. I just want to jump in and smooth things out. I mean it's nothing new that kids get traumatized in Star Wars. Boba didn't exactly have the dream childhood either, but I don't think it was worked out anywhere and thought about it, it's so wonderful.

And props to Wrecker I had to laugh SO MUCH as he looks at Tech afterwards and shakes his head in slight disappointment after she left just wonderful, so many little details anyway and the facial expressions just lovely.

And then comes THE moment. I mean this man just doesn't hesitate for a second and jumps after Omega, into the dark, into the unknown, he could just die but he doesn't hesitate. I'm just so speechless, if this isn't even a complete unconditional love father/brother moment I don't know what is.

It just seemed to me, but the way Hunter looked after they both fell, it felt like he could really sense that something was wrong and that they were both in danger, which I found really interesting.

The cave they end up in is so beautiful. But apart from that, I would have died of fear if I had been pulled under the water like that. And the moment when Tech is on the ground and lifts his goggles slightly to let water run out, another cute little detail!

And then comes the conversation, I don't even know if I want to go into all of this here, you could probably write an essay about that alone. I'll just sum it up, it was wonderful, it touched me and I think a lot of people who can identify with it did too. That there isn't just one way to express your feelings, that just because you don't show obvious feelings doesn't mean you don't have any or don't care. Most of the time when I'm feeling really bad I don't talk to anyone and you might think the same thing that I don't care about anyone and don't care, but that assumption couldn't be more wrong. I feel for Tech, I feel his words, I think that's one of the best lines of the season as well as his ''Understanding you does not mean I agree with you'' from season one. I'm jealous that despite everything he can express exactly how he feels, that he doesn't know how to feel about the changes.

And the first time, the first time they say they're a family, not just a squad, and Tech confirms it, that made me so happy. The scene is so beautifully acted, the facial expressions are so good. How Tech falters in the meantime and struggles for words, not at all self-confident and precise as usual. That made me so happy.

I may process moments and thoughts differently, but it does not mean that I feel any less than you. The sentence!!! And if he feels that way about Echo, how about Crosshair? His brother, who he's known since they were little? I'm crying! I really can't wait to see you all again Crosshair, it's getting so emotional!

And that it's just Tech who is allowed to shoot the Ipsium, no, not Hunter but Tech, how he holds the blaster with both hands, yes, we already had the topic of weapons, but that's just hot too. Now imagine some target practice with Tech or Crosshair, or best of all with both, I'd be a nervous wreck!

Did I mention that Tech sometimes walks a bit stacked, like a giraffe? It's hilarious, I had to remember that Penny once called Sheldon a giraffe. These tall, lanky nerd boys, I'm in love. (Here comes the shrimp again!)

And the perfect ending as Omega just uses Tech's words to keep morale up and he gives her a slight smile. Bonding mission successfully completed I would say!

Lot's of love and may the force be with you my space sister.

#the bad batch #the bad batch season 2 #the crossing #zirkonia rambles #zirkonias edits #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb omega #family bonding time #space utah

[supersuperdupersecretnerd]

Hell to Pay & Latin Analysis (From a user who doesn't study other languages or Latin, so apologies for any inaccuracies) (Brainrot is oh so real)

If you haven't watched the pilot or checked out the website for this page, this entire post won't make much sense; so here's a link to both!

The Pilot:

The Website: https://helltopaywebcomic.squarespace.com

Ok now the actual analysis is beneath the readmore since it's a bit long.

Beginning with Profundus' summoning papers!

[IMAGE ID START A screenshot from the Hell to Pay Pilot Episode. Two uncolored hands with black claws hold onto a yellow piece of paper with red borders. The paper has a colored image of the bee demon Profundus on it surrounded by bees. In the top right corner is a small bee symbol and in the top left corner is the name Profundus written in red and black. Some text is written beneath the name, with some letters covered by a claw. IMAGE ID END]

So I had a hard time reading the handwriting, so I zoomed into the screenshot and wrote over the letters to try and see what matched. The words in dark brown are repeat words and the last section is in orange as the claw covers up most of the letters needed.

[IMAGE ID START A zoomed in image of the text from the previous screenshot, with letters written over the original text for easier understanding. There are translation notes as well. IMAGE ID END]

The legible text is as follows 'Vita avaritiae et vita gloriae providebit soporem mellis et ornatum et omnia desiderabillia'

From my research (aka googling various Latin dictionaries and using Wikipedia for 31 minutes) the words mean the following:

Vita = Life

Et = And

Avaritiae = Greed

Gloriae = Fame or Glory

Providebit = Provide or Foresee

Soporem = Deep Sleep or to Figuratively mean Death

Mellis = Honey

Ornatum = To Decorate or to mean Jewelry

Omnia = In all respects or to mean all things

Desiderabilia [I only found Desiderabilis] = Desirable

So, if we wanted to translate this to English, you could say 'Life of greed and life of fame will provide sleep of honey and jewelry and everything desirable'

There is also more text beneath, but most of the letters are covered up by Profundus' claw. The only Latin word I can make out is rex, which means king.

I'm curious to see how his powers as a tormentor demon of bees will relate to this passage! We already know he can create (or sneeze) honey, but I'm curious if he can do anything else in regards to material goods-

(Also Infortunii totally fucked Profundus outta a better demon position, I could totally see him being a sin demon of greed; plus I think it's a little suspicious that the main cast on the page have the rest of the seven deadly sins represented but not a demon representing greed)

[IMAGE ID START A black image divider. IMAGE ID END]

Now let's go over the demon's names and see what they mean! (I separated the images by four as I'm running tight on Tumblr's image limit :( ). Photos are taken from the official character pages on the website linked before (seriously please check it out, the pages have additional details that are super interesting; such as the fact that Infortunii is the only demon born that has a list of sins committed)

[IMAGE ID START An image of four characters lined up. The first character is a yellow humanoid bee with a crown and four arms. The second character is blue skinned and blue haired humanoid; she has a grey animal wrapped around her neck and a black body. The third character is a typical red demon, who is completely nude and is only covered by his long ponytail. The fourth character is a short, pink and blue goat plushie with pins and cotton coming out of her. IMAGE ID STOP]

From left to right are the characters Profundus, Infortunii, Cupido, and Mollis.

Profundus in Latin can mean deep, dense, or mysterious. Could be intentional but I would also like to add how the name makes me first think of 'profit' or 'fund'. (Or maybe it's cause he had to get his name randomly generated that it doesn't fully match) (Or maybe his levels of greed is deep I don't know-)

Infortunii is Latin for misfortune and punishment. She is a tormentor demon of misfortune and has to be a guide demon as punishment for something she did.

Cupido is Latin for desire, longing or for lust, passion, and greed. He is a sin demon of lust who longs for a genuine romantic relationship with another.

(Also can I just say how fucking funny it is Cupido fell for Profundus, the literal only straight man in the entire cast who is still VERY MUCH in love with his wife. True disaster bisexual rep.)

Mollis is Latin for soft, calm, or mild. Mollis is an old plushie-like demon that is a tormentor of plush. I don't know how mild or calm in personality she is, as on the website she's described as having a god complex and impulsivity, but she seems to be able to give some good advice still with the pilot's events in mind.

[IMAGE ID START An image of five characters lined up. The first two characters are fused together, with one side being a smiling sun and the other side being a frowning moon. The third character is a smiling jester with red locs coming out of his big hat and a ruff around his neck. The fourth character is a purple skin humanoid in a green outfit shaped like an umbrella and a green hat with floating horns. The fifth character is a thin plague doctor holding a stick with a lamp attached; the character is emerging from a pool of black with some small ghost-shaped creatures popping out of it. IMAGE ID END]

From left to right are the characters Serenum & Lunares, Fastus, Nolite Flere, and Aegritudo.

Serenum is Latin for bright, cheerful, or fair weather. Serenum is described to be a very joyful and optimistic character, and is also a sun (the sun is very bright, very painful to look at)

Lunares in Latin means to make a crescent shape or relating to the moon. Lunares is shaped like the moon (she is also the tormentor demon of moons).

Fastus is Latin for pride, arrogance, and destain. Fastus is the sin demon of pride.

Nolite is Latin for 'Do Not' and Flere is Latin for cry or weep. So their name means 'Don't cry' and they seem to have crying makeup stains under their eyes. (I don't associate crying with envy, but their page also mentions feeling negatively nihilistic and poor at being a symbol of envy in death so perhaps the crying is related to that?)

Aegritudo is Latin for sickness and disease. Aegritudo is a tormentor demon of illness and works as a surgeon, doctor, and pharmacist (and botanist). (Also conducted experiments on ill patients during the bubonic plague)

[IMAGE ID START An image of five characters lined up. The first two characters are together, with the smaller red one standing on the shoulder of the taller blue one; the blue one has an eye covered by an accessory with a cookie and whipped cream like hair with a straw poking out. The red one looks like a small doll holding a phone and has very long red pony tails. The third character is a green humanoid gumball machine. The fourth character is a pink humanoid with visible lungs, heart, and guts in her torso; only has a visible mouth on her face. The fifth character is drawn like a child's messy crayon drawing; she is an orange demon with red horns and a red dress with black hair. IMAGE ID END]

From left to right are the characters Lac & Pupa, Bullatio, Mendacina, and Furor.

Lac is Latin for milk. Considering her blue and white color scheme, cookie jewelry, and her straw hair-accessory this makes sense (as milk does go with cookies).

Pupa is Latin for both doll and for little girl. Pupa is a character that looks like a puppet (and is very small in size).

Bullatio is Latin for either bubbling or for a blub-like formation. This name is a bit harder to relate to the character, but perhaps bubbling could relate to bubbling gum? Or maybe certain bubbling sounds involved with cooking candy? It could be a reference to his face shape (glass circle or blub shape).

Mendacina is a bit mixed in the meaning? Google Translate claims it means lies in Latin, but I can't find any other source confirming this. Google thinks I'm trying to find Mendocino, which is a county in California, US. Supposedly in Spanish 'Mendocino' means 'a man from Mendoza', a city from Argentina. I cannot relate any of these definitions to the character.

Huzzah an easy name to translate! Furor in English means 'an angry or maniacal fit; or to rage' or 'an outburst of public excitement or indignation' (in context of rage). In Latin Furor means madness or rage. Furor is a little demon of wrath, of these definitions makes sense!

[IMAGE ID START A black image divider. IMAGE ID END]

So yep, that's all I had to ramble about! If you actually read this far, thank you and I hope you enjoyed it! All character art is found on the linked website and is by @ misseligon (not @ing to be polite!), I just used it here so y'all could have a face to associate with the names being defined!

Also feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong!

Uh bye now!

[IMAGE ID START A screenshot of a black and white drawing of Infortunii giving the thumbs up. The background is orange. IMAGE ID END]

#hell to pay #hell to pay pilot #hell to pay webcomic #latin #<- tagging so anyone who's into latin and wants to correct me can! 👍 #Youtube #....i may be a little too obsessed with a not yet started webcomic series 😓 #but it brings me joy so its whatever! hopefully i ain't being overbearing about it- #also sorry for not citing anything- over halfway through writing this when i realized i should've been saving where i found this info #also apologies if the image ids aren't great-

[ceilingfan5]

22 (Hey I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?) w blupjeans please :O!!!! thank u <3 -ise

“Hey, Bear?” They’ve been on the phone for at least an hour now, and there’s been pleasant silence for a solid chunk of it, Lup working on a project and Bary idly re-reading the same page over and over in the text book he’s meant to be approving or denying for use in his class next semester. On the one hand, it sure does have many words inside, in a particular order. On the other, his mind is entirely elsewhere, and it may as well be word salad with a noticeable lack of ranch dressing. 

“Huh?” he says, incredibly intelligently, genius level, Nobel prize and a half, tell the news, et cetera and so on. So big-brained he lugs the thing around in a wheelbarrow and can’t see because the implications of that, physically, are horrifically comical. Jesus, what kind of flesh nonsense crimes would have to be committed to manage such a thing? Now, maybe if he carried it around in a backpack…no, that’s still pretty awful. 

“Bear,” Lup says, a multi-pack of the amused flavor and the getting-at-something flavor, which is a bit spicy, honestly. “Back to the planet, hon, reel your ass in and turn your gravity boots on.”

“Click click woosh.” Barry shakes himself and tries to focus. It’s easy to daydream about other things, one big thing in particular, if he’s gonna be real with himself here. He keeps spinning the roulette wheel, or maybe one of those things that makes the different animal noises, and, swish, moooo, he’s thinking of a white dress and a veil and rice from above, and swish, baaaaa, he’s back to a number with far too many digits and its place on a check he’s going to have to write, and swish, quack quack, it’s the tin cans after a limo, the Just Married :) he can’t wait to write…How can a guy focus on the here and now when the most important event he’ll ever be a part of is looming? 

“One more time, paging Doctor Bluejeans, you’re needed back on the planet, Doctor Bluejeans?” Lup snickers. “Hey, come on. You’ve been in the clouds a lot lately.” 

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot of clouds up there, and, you know, as clouds go, they’re pretty fluffy and inviting and, uh, up, there. What’s, what’s the thing?” He knows she can’t see him, but his cheeks burn and he rubs his neck anyway. 

“Listen. Listen. Listen.”

“Listening, I prommy.”

“Stop letting Taako teach you slang, I swan to John. But uh. Hey. I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?” 

Barry freezes. Had he…did he…what? He didn’t think…But…oh dear. 

“Your credit card?”

“That’s what the numbers business do say. On the bank’em cruncher and everything. Several dollars, my fucking beloved, and, uh, Barry, Bear Bear. Barrold. Barty Juhbullgens.”

Barry is sweating whatever comes after bullets. Very quiet armistice, maybe. 

“Should I put you, my fuckin’ betrothed, on blast, right here, right now, to an audience of you and moi, or do you, are you aware of my uh, confusion on this front?” 

“Um,” Barry says, throat dry, dry dry. 

“Too late. Trendy Watermelon Inflatable Pool, $57.95. Fuckin’, 1,000 Bright Colors Ball Pit Balls Crush Free with storage bag, of COURSE. $99.04. Entire Gallon of Fake Blood, $24.98. Burritos Tortilla Blanket, X-Large, $34.99. Fort Builder Kit, $35.99.”

“Um. I, um. I, I, um. In, in my defense,” Barry pushes up his glasses. “I thought I was using my card. And just your Prime, I’m so sorry, incredibly remorseful,”

“I’m not worried about the money, doofus, although I would appreciate you taking care of that, but no. No, uh, my question is more on the order of what the actual fuck.”

“Um,” Barry says, swallowing. “If I said honeymoon prep, would you believe me?” 

There’s a beat. 

“You know what,” Lup says, before absolutely losing it and laughing so hard she almost asphyxiates. He can practically see her smile, all screwed up and wiggly, trying to hold in the mirth like she’s trying to keep marbles in her armpits. “Yeah. Yeah, I would.”

#blupjeans #barry bluejeans #lup #lup taz #lup adventurezone #lup taaco #taz #tazb #the adventure zone #the adventure zone balance #fan5fics #taz balance #thank you!!

[thatdeadaquarius]

My guy, I love how your blog looks but please think before you use colored text because I can't read.

Here's a screenshoot of how your blog looks for me (I use a laptop):

And the text is even smaller for me, bc I gave you a closed up picture.

Like, it's beautiful, but I can't see anything you write.

Oh thanks for this!!

I'm glad you brought this to my attention!

🤲💛 have my heart Im happy when ppl lmk this stuff-

I put it in passing on another post, but I wasn't sure if I should just make it a seperate thing, but this gives me that opportunity!

I have stopped using colored text for this exact reason!

I saw an advice list from another writer on tumblr, fml I'll find and tag them if I can, and one of the things they said was to avoid colored text because of this exact reason!

It impairs visibility, and the last thing I wanna do is make it hard not only for 20/20 vision but lower visibility as well!

That being said, I think I'll start to overhaul my old posts so their also non-colored, bc it sucks that you can't read them! >:/

I promise I only ever did this bc I wanted ppl to know if their favs were in that post, but I'll just be doing a better job with prefacing stuff like

"Type: Headcanons, scenario, etc.

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, etc.

Content Warnings: N/A

Trigger Warnings: N/A"

◇

Or something along those lines!

ALSO, the reason I add these shapes

◇♤♡♧☆

Is to better divide a post/break it up, but please let me know if that's not helpful! I wanna know what works and what doesn't, and u guys r always free welcome to lmk!!

Its important to me, rlly!!

I think also to some degree I expect most ppl to be on mobile, so I haven't considered what in the hell the PC ver of my blog is doin lmao

◇

Again, thanks for the heads up!!

Also I totally forgot what tf my laptop blog looked like omg- thats so blinding 😭😭

That's pretty outdated, and I dont usually see that on mobile, so I didnt think about it, or my laptop actually... hmmm weird

◇

So it's in dire need of an update too, which will happen soon/this week!

Thanks for putting up with my madness no more LMAO <3

Safe Travels Lelakae,

💀♒️

#blog reconstruction #writing blog things #writing blog #see now other writing blogs wouldve known this #my ass? #impromptu writing blog ass? #nope #genshin impact #genshin sagau #ask box open #sagau #my asks #genshin imagines #genshin isekai #gender neutral reader #genshin sagau ideas #my replies #we just gonna tag it all to get the word out srry guys #genshin impact self aware #genshin impact sagau

[sunnydreams17]

(( this is the next chapter to my fanfic for " Hannibal"

I've decided to name the story "A Heart That Bleeds Gold"

If you've not read part 1 of the story here is a link to it!

Hope you all enjoy! ))

" ....please... please let me go... I gave you enough information on the reds! I gave you enough! I told you everything you wanted! I went against my own people to be able to go under the golds radar! Why are you doing this to me th- AH UGH "

A shout of pain rings out in the jail cell. The cold hard floor starting to soak with red blood as the man's stomach was stabbed. Above him was no other then the warlord himself, Hannibal Lector.

" I apologize for leading you on piggy but you've already seen to much and know to much about my activities. I don't need the people under me knowing what I do for fun " Hannibal hums and pushed the knife just a little deeper but made sure not to damage the things he wanted to eat " then again I'm a gentleman and I can make this less painful for you and allow you to live" Hannibal bends down slowly making eye contact with the man " do you know of anyone named Will Graham? Anyone at all? Come come speak to me~ or I'll just have to get you to speak in other ways "

The pain was to much and the man felt as if he would pass out but hearing he might live allowed him to have some fighting chance " Will?" He whispers and closed his eyes " there are many people with that name.... most of them already dead or missing in action in the war." He opens his eyes again " though there was one said to have just ran away for some reason. I....I heard it was because of what he is"

" and what is he?" This peaked Hannibals interest now " what is he?

" i....I'm not sure it's classified even to me " he groans and lifted his hand " please I've told you all you wanted....I beg you let me go "

Hannibals eyes showed no light in them as he slowly pulled the knife out. Whoever Will Graham was he was a naughty man. A man that could face death for being a red living as a gold or even worse " hmmm~ yes, you're right. " Hannibal got up looking at the soaked knife " you've done well

" you'll let me go then!?" The man held his stomach trying to cover up the wound and stop the bleeding

" oh? What made you think I would let you go? You're a naughty boy~ I only said you can live. I never said how long" Hannibal turned away walking to the wooden door " be grateful " he said before he left the room closing and locking the door behind him.

.............

It had been a few days after the huge party the king had held. Will was grateful for the end of his suffering and glad he rushed out of there before he could lose it anymore then he had already. Though in his rush he realized right when he got home that he had taken Hannibals suit. Which meant that Will had to find someway to return it but it's been a good 2 weeks and his not seen the man for so long. Will was thinking of just selling it off because he didn't want anything to do with the ruthless warlord. Though it seems luck was never on Wills side now was it?

Will had walked into the headquarters of the "Royal FBI Academy" he was a part time teacher here and also did some cases when Jack needed him. Today was one of those days where Jack didn't stop texting him to come to the office. Will didn't have much of an idea on what was going on. Though once he got to the office and looked through the glass window seeing other people in the room who were in the royal military uniforms. This peaked Wills interest and also worried him. What was the military doing at the academy? Though the more Will looked around the more worried he got and that's when he spotted Hannibal himself standing in the room. His uniform was a black color and neatly pressed on. Everything seemed to fit this man like a glove. As if no clothing in the world would ever dare make this man less then what he was.

Will wanted to turn away and rush home but he pushed open the doors to Jack's office and walked in. The room was filled with chatter. Young men from lower ranks in the military sat on the sides of the table while Jack was at the head and Hannibal at the other head of the table. Will spotted one seat and walked towards it sitting right next to Jack.

" will? Glad you made it " Jack nods his head to the side a little. He was dressed up in a nice dark blue suit. If Will knew that this was a damn fashion show he would have just worn the suit Hannibal let him used.

" what's going on? " Will asked and glanced towards the soldiers sitting next to them. He leans in so Jack could be the only one to hear " why is the military here?" He whispers softly and felt the hairs on his arms stand up. He glanced to the side of him and saw Hannibal watching him with amused eyes.

" no need for whispering " Hannibal smiled and placed his pen down. The candle lights around the room lit up everywhere except where Hannibal was. It casted a dark shadow around him and made it seem like his eyes were glowing. " what is your question dear Will? "

Will frowns and moves from Jack before he turns his attention to Hannibal " I was just confused on why the military is here. Our unit handles civilian problems so I'm shocked the military is here

" indeed I am too " Hannibal hums " but as you know the war has taken a turn for the worse and even though we are on the winning side...it doesn't mean we aren't facing challenges" Hannibal crossed his legs and grabbed a report passing it to one of his soldiers. The soldiers started to pass it down till Will had it in his hands. Will opens it and was greeted by a picture of dead soldiers. Their bodies shaped in a inhuman way. The birds eye view of the picture showed the bodies had made some sort of face " what is this?" Will whispers

" that's what we are here to find out. More deaths have been reported to be.... not war related at all but our men are dying and that means less soldiers for the golds. Which means we could be outnumbered by the reds "

" which means " will finishes " the reds could use this to their advantage " he gulped

" indeed, that's why we're here to ask for help. My hands are filled with other matters of war and I don't have time to have my men investigate this " Hannibal taps his finger softly against his pocket watch " but as the leader of the military I also need to know what is endangering my men at all times and whoever this person is... clearly is a threat to not only my men but also the war effort. I heard your mind is a special one Will"

" special? I wouldn't call it that " Will places the photos down

" though that is what I would call it. I heard you've found almost 90% of your killers because of that mind of yours. I can't help but wonder what goes on in it " Hannibal sits tall, this man even with sitting made it seem he was demanding for power and respect " I've already spoken to Jack and his said that it's alright for you to join my unit and help us in the war

" what!? " Will lost all his composure. He didn't care if he got rude looks from the fellow soldiers who respected Hannibal " join your unit? Your unit fights in the war.... i... I've already did scannings and it says I'm unfit for war! " he looks at Jack fast " you can't agree to this if I didn't even know this was happening!

" will calm down! " Jack raised his hand slightly " listen, you won't be fighting in the war. You'll be just under commander Hannibals orders and that's it. You won't have to fight at all. Your job is to look into what happened to those men and what is killing them

" his right " Hannibal kept calm pushing the excitement down as he kept a cold yet stern face " you won't be fighting in the war at all. You'll be under me so I'm able to get a deeper understanding on what's happening to my men out there and also so I can protect you from the war.

Will felt like he was falling down a deeper hole that he couldn't get out of. The commander of the military is basically telling him he had to join his unit and Jack was no help either because he basically gave him up to Hannibal " but joining your unit has special orders by the king. The king will have to personally allow me to join you

" that's all taken care of dear Will" Hannibal takes out a paper " the king has already allowed it. All we need is for you to say yes. Will, I know this isn't something you might not want to do but you'll be saving lives. You'll be saving your fellow country men's lives "

Though those men weren't his country men. The golds were Wills enemies and it made Will sick to know he would be helping the golds out. He half hoped the reds would find someway to destroy the golds but with Hannibal leading the golds it was unstoppable. Though, whoever this killer was it could pose hope or even a threat. Who knows if this killer wasn't doing the same to the reds.

All eyes were on Will and Will knew he couldn't say no at all. That would make him suspicious and he couldn't be suspicious in front of these men " .... okay, I'll do it then "

Hannibal claps his hands softly " good, since that's settled. I think we can all rest easy tonight. We can dismiss this meeting."

Jack nods " agree and will be sending Will down to the outer walls of the kingdom to where the military camps are by tomorrow " Jack gets up " thank you commander "

Hannibal nods and gets up. This movement made the other soldiers get up too " no need to thank me " he gave a small nod and left the room. His soldiers following after

Jack turns to Will and sighs " don't give me that look"

" I will give you this look because you handed me over to the military like a golden goose egg! You think I'm happy about this? Just because I'm under the protection of the commander doesn't mean I'll be 100% safe. War isn't 100% safe anything could happen! " Will shouted but went silent when Jack gave him a look

" Hannibal is a very carful man he can handle even you. I trust him with you and you should know that I wouldn't put you into danger"

What a damn lie Jack was spitting! Will was always in danger because of Jack. Maybe not physically but mentally this man pushes him to the edge and everytime his close to falling over he has to fight his way to stay balanced. " next time something like this happens come to me before you send me off to a war zone " is all Will said before he left the office. His whole mood was ruined that was for sure. He was so angry that he started to walk faster and didn't see that he had bumped into someone till he looked up to come face to face with Hannibal. This time the man was alone " I'm sorry" will stumbled back and frowns trying to fix his wrinkled shirt

" oh? Will, no need to apologize it was an accident " Hannibals voice was soft " you seem to not be in a good mood. It must be because of the news yes? "

" no...no of course not. I'm happy that I'm able to serve under the military " though Will couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. This earned Will a hard chuckle from Hannibal

" I don't like when people lie to me " a brush of Hannibals hand against Wills cheek was all that had gotten Will to pay attention to the older man " don't lie to me ever again understood?

Will gulped and his eyes widen as he felt the very soft touch against his cheek. He sighs softly " it was a small lie not a big one "

" yet still a lie nonetheless " Hannibal added " it's important for us to build trust and not a bridge of lies. Trust is my main thing, especially when it comes to being at war. " Hannibal moves his hand away slowly " I didn't get to see you in the suit at the party I'm sorry about that. I couldn't see you at all it's a pity everyone else got to see you but not me

Will tried so hard not to roll his eyes at the word trust but god it slipped and he knew Hannibal didn't like that but he couldn't care less " the suit? Oh yes, thank you for it. I still have it I'll make sure to bring it with me tomorrow so you can have it back

" no need " the annoyance Hannibal felt was pushed down and he gave a smile in return " you may keep it. As I said it was my ex- husband's and I have no need for it anymore. " Hannibal looked at the pocket watch and sighs " I really must get going " he takes Wills hand bring it close but instead of kissing Wills hand he kissed Wills wrist " till tomorrow dear Will. " and with that Hannibal turned away and left leaving Will in shock yet again with this man's boldness. Will just had one thing running through his mind. Why did he feel like he was stepping into the lions den?

#hannibal lecter #hannibal #will graham #hannigram #jack crawford #murder husbands

[dancingundermoonlight101]

Aaaall righty you gave me the chance and I'm taking it!

Sun, uranus, taurus, sagittarius, 1H and 5H!

If you don't feel comfortable answering any of these just ignore them :)

1. Name 5 things you like about yourself

- I like my body

- I like how understanding I am. I dont wish to toot my own horn, but I am just not really the judging type or someone that would be rude just because.

- Oh! I actually really like how I don't really care about strangers' opinions on me. Curious as hell? Of course! I would love to know how I appear to others. But is it a constant worry or need to please others? Nope.

- I like how genuine or authentic I am. Again, I'm tooting my own horn, but authenticity is something I deeply value in people! And that I have it within myself is something I won't ever not be happy about

- I just like myself in general. Sometimes, I dont like my thoughts or things I am feeling, but overall, I acknowledge that I will continue to grow and mature. Becoming the person I wish to be and never stagnant.

2. What things do you think should change in society

Oh boy. A lot of things. Right now, I'm leaving school so teacher's wages should be higher. College in America should not be as ridiculously expensive as it is. Voting for third parties should not be as complicated as it is. The rich should actually pay taxes. Home prices should decrease. The news should have put a lot more importance to the genocide of Palestine, and all those reporters that were targeted and purposefully killed so that there was as little information shared to the outside world as possible. Wages should be raised. It should not be so hard to just keep living, unable to even afford life-saving medications. Oh and let me not even MENTION the laws most states have against LGBTQIA+ stuff. There is just so much man, so so much.

3. What's your favorite food?

I have specific foods I like. But I don't really have a favorite. Maybe my mom's posole. It's delicious ✨️

4. What places would you like to travel to in the future?

Any place I have an online friend on! Or I guess Oregon. Just to see how it is.

5. Describe your style

Tries to wear dark clothing. Fails miserably. Throws on whatever clothes I have. Tries to match colors. Successful(?) A gramma with no style would wear it.

6. Do you have a hobby? Which one(s)

Does watching my phone count? If it does, then that's my main hobby! Micro hobbies I have that are a result of me watching said phone include

- Reading ao3

- Writing stuff on Tumblr/scrolling

- Watching anime

- Reading manga on illegal websites

- Watching YouTube

And

- Texting on ✨️ Discord ✨️

Yeah, that's it!! Thank you for asking!! ^^

#trusting only people that stalk my page will read and see lol #or people that have their notifications on for me #hehe