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definitelynotshouting · 9 months

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hihiiiii i’m back and i promise i’ll spell grian correctly this time lmaoo (post-writing here, there are lots of words lmao sorry)

i’ll try and be a bit more coherent since i’m not half asleep but god. how watchers themselves work in the hunger au is already so so interesting to me, especially with how grian is basically playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing. like he is a predator, here. but he remembers being a sheep, remembers being eaten, so no matter how hungry he gets, he tries so hard not to do that to the rest of his friends. but he’s still a wolf surrounded by sheep who all think he’s just a fellow sheep and he can’t survive on the same things that they can. and the sheep are right to be scared of him when they find out he’s a wolf but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s tried so hard not to hurt any of them and GOD the narrative dissonance (i think that’s the right term?) is so good between the reader perceiving everything through grian’s eyes because like. if it was the hermits of the traffic smp members he’s be portrayed so differently, especially with how much incomplete and unique information every individual has. like the traffic members all being scared that they’re going to be dragged into a game again so even if they want grian back they have to get past that barrier, and the hermits having to learn to distinguish or accept the grian they knew and the grian they kicked. and grian being the narrator, especially with his own hatred toward his needs as a watcher and his own feelings toward his former friends, creates this super strange effect where you can’t forget what he’s done because they victims are there but also you can’t help feel sympathy for him purely because he is so scared of himself that he is forcing himself to die. i’m not saying he’s irredeemable, it’s just a super cool writing decision that enhances the emotional elements to the story so much.

that shines a lot with how watchers enhance emotions, but it’s also soooo clear with pearl specifically because they’ve known each other for so long and through so much. and it’s such a highlight to both their relationship and grian’s situation that grian still struggles so much to read her. it’s dizzying almost, the way that grian is so good at reading emotions because it’s a latent ability he has but this one person foils all of it. and he knew, back when they were friends, how to traverse that because he didn’t need that ability to know her as a person, but now that there’s so much distance between them he has absolutely no idea how to traverse that. because he knows the minefield pattern has changed, knows that he was the one to change them, but all the soils settled and she’s acting like he still has the pattern memorised so what is there for him to do but do the same dance they used to. and then when those mines blow up as he knew they would he has no idea how to recover because he’s seen them explode but he’s never been in the blast area. and it’s so so interesting because for everyone else he can infer, and with pearl he still knows enough about her to guess, but she’s not giving him information in the way he knows her to frequent and it’s. it took me until my second read to fully understand the implications of their conversation (the couch thing, tilly, the cows) but i did and it’s so well written. i don’t know if it was your intention, it might’ve just been a side effect of me having to reread it while more attentive to that stuff, but somehow that only sucked me into the narrative further because i felt just as confused as grian for half of it and it all hit harder somehow so massive kudos lmao!!

grian and mumbo’s relationship, especially when juxtaposed with scar’s is also super duper interesting. like, on their own they’re so nice to pick apart too, but there’s so many additional flavours when looking through them as a trio. like, mumbo is angry, rightfully so. grian got kicked, ran from them for months, and then when they actually caught up to them it was because he (in their eyes) tried to overdose on weakness potions and begged them to kill him. and from what tango said they likely didn’t all know his biological resistance to potion effects, and tango doesn’t know that he’s purposefully making them think he’s more resistant than he is so that he can confidently have enough to od on and. god they were best friends. and he dragged you into a game, slaughtered you over what to a red life was just a little joke, kept the fact that he was behind the games a secret, then when you see him after a year it’s him dying in the void begging you to end him. and mumbo’s angry, and the anger is all his even though grian keeps unintentionally heightening it (both with his abilities and his not-quite-resigned attitude) and. and you can’t pretend this is in any way normal bc that is your former best friend and that’s so stark when compared to scar who tries to meet grian where he is and keep him comfortable. like, mumbo isn’t used to grian in the games, but scar was betrayed him and was betrayed by him in turn. they know this dance, they’ve lived it thrice over, this is anger that he’s learned and he recognises and he can let go of. and that doesn’t mean it’s gone, but he’s used to it, he knows that letting it fester between them won’t change anything, especially when they found grian half-dead and their priority has to be getting him better. so he jokes and he falls into their old habits because he misses that, and mumbo does too, but neither of them know what to do to help him, and they show that in such different ways. and neither of them are unfair or incorrect in their anger or their comfort, because both of them are hurting people trying to navigate another hurting person.

i love love love the way you write tango too. i’ve already said the whole peak guy thing so i’ll skip that. but i love how honest he is about why he’s there. like. he’s angry. he’s angry in the same way that mumbo is, he feels betrayed by someone he trusted, he doesn’t know what to do to help (both because of his biology and because no-one knows what to do when someone else is in a crisis, especially with complex feelings about that person). and it’s so realistic that the thing that makes him want to help, that got him to follow xisuma and pearl and mumbo and scar wasn’t any sense of anger or duty or anything but was that someone who mattered to him couldn’t go. tango wants to give jimmy that sense of closure, regardless of his own feelings, because grian and jimmy were close and then they weren’t and then grian just up and disappeared. and that’s supposed to in and of itself be the solution but it isn’t, not when you don’t even know why he created these games in the first place, not when you knew each other for so long, not when your relationship dynamic was about as “cruel” as you knew this person to be. and even in those jokes and jabs the grian you knew never would’ve revelled in that suffering enough to make a game out of it, enough to drag fourteen to sixteen other people into it. and even in those games, grian was supposed to be the ringleader, so why did he seem so miserable during (and after, though jimmy wouldn’t know that unless a hermit [LIKE TANGO] told him) (also excluding the more lighthearted moments [southlanders aha bit] and red lives [semi-unpredictability is average red life behaviour]). also the trust that he gives grian and what he says because grian can barely do anything on his own anymore because he’s so weak and tango doesn’t want to make him think he’s taking away more of his agency and grian is much less likely to lie than he is to bend the truth or avoid subjects altogether and. something something the fastest way to earn trust is to give it also applies to rebuilding trust.

also xisuma and. i said the gold star on his helmet as a joke but now i can’t stop thinking about hermits just petting stickers all over his helmet until he can’t see and has to get another one (he would never remove the stickers, those are special!!) (let him rest he already has a wall full of helmets he can’t used not even because they’re destroyed but he can’t see there are too many where do hermits keep finding them!!). i can’t keep saying the relationships are interesting but they are and i don’t have a better adjective sorry lmao. but the way that xisuma, especially in the world they’re on, has to be so many places at once; he has to take care of his hermits, and keep the world stable because its not meant to be multiplayer, and he has to keep up with grian because that’s the whole reason they left, and he has to try and help build or gather supplies when he has the chance. and he’s spread so thin that when grian says something concerning (as he’s wont to do) there isn’t much he can do because he’s stressed and he’s busy and grian is so emotionally constipated it’s not even funny. and because he’s so busy and everyone’s so busy and concerned none of them are even thinking to put all of their information together because they just assume grian doesn’t say anything (AS HE’S WONT TO DO) or they all know the same stuff about him. and xisuma is too busy to pull everyone together because that’s usually his role as admin (when he’s not being a wet rag of a man [affectionate]) on hermitcraft and everyone is struggling so much with their own emotions and grappling the fact that the weak and depressed guy they chased down for two months and is half-dead is the same grian that would regularly pull pranks and didn’t even argue when they decided to kick him from hermitcraft. and xisuma also looking at grian and seeing his own failure as an admit because even though he made a reasonable decision that was backed by his server members looking at the ramifications is shaking him, especially considering the fact that grian is someone he used to consider a friend. and now he’s looking at a man that begged them to kill him and is slowly starving to death and doesn’t even seem that upset about it and what else if there for him to do but question if he could’ve changed this if he put his foot down and kept grian on the server despite the danger that could put them in (especially since they don’t know what directly caused the games, they just know that grian was responsible, not why he did or if he could even control that he did it).

ok i had more thoughts than i thought i did about these guys. and your writing!!!!! quality!!!!!!!! delectable!!!!!!!!!!! gourmet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you for the meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have a lovely day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! drink water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANON,,,,, you flatter me SO MUCH with this analysis oh my gods???? I am SO so happy that all of this is shining through, the complexities that im going for and the different, subtle dynamics. Also very very grateful that the fact that everyone so far has different information is something that is very apparent; i was admittedly worried it would cause a lot of confusion, so its really nice to see someone picking all of that up!!!

Oughhhhh i am ESPECIALLY super glad the subtleties of the pearl and grian convo in chapter 5 were picked up on. I think my actual and legitimate "stage direction" for myself in that chapter was, and i quote:

"PEARRRLLLLLLL. they should talk. well okay they NEED to talk. but they should talk abt anything OTHER than what they want to" 😂😂😂😂😂

Which then birthed that EXTREMELY roundabout conversation with the cows, and tilly, and pearl not necessarily knowing everything but making some highly educated guesses. Honestly, the play-by-play of that convo was so interesting to write-- if anybody ever wants a sorta behind the scenes review abt it, i would be SO happy to explain what i was going for during that entire scene

Anyway anon i LOVE your thoughts you have SPOILED ME with them and i appreciate you so so much, this is so kind and sweet and i am vibrating as i continue chugging away at chap 6 bc i hope i can make that just as enjoyable as the rest of the story

#shouting speaks #asks #compliments #hunger au #THIS IS SO!!!!! IM YELLINGGGG!!!!!#❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#anon u are an angel actually this is every writer's fucking dream comment fr #hoping chap 6 lives up to it all bc ive been staring at this bastard for like a week straight #so the brain thinks it sucks even tho its probably fine #MAN. IM SO. CRIES AND SOBS FOREVER /POS #long post #ALSO. I AM DRINKING MATCHA LATTE RN. HOPEFULLY THAT COUNTS AS WATER DJEHDJENDJDJ #txt

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chezzywezzy · 2 years

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Yandere Birdbox (1/5)

Word count ; 4.0k

*Edited.

*Dedicated to @horrorfan-666-anoynmous. This is gn!reader. The plot will be on the abstract side and it’ll be only me that’ll actually know what’s going through my head explanation-wise. Enjoy :)

The citizens of small town Lacombe, Alberta were already starting to bundle up. It was late October and already the middle-of-nowhere area was starting to feel chills. Many had stocked up on new winter jackets; the shop keepers were already starting to run the heater in the early morning; and those that wandered late at night could see their breath.

It was safe to say the local clothes store was having a run on the winter jackets. And, alike to the other customers, Y/n was quick to hop on the trend. Their cane was outstretched in front of them while a plastic bag dangled from their other hand, tearing at the seams from how large the wooly coat was.

Y/n always appreciated that Lacombe was easy to traverse. There was rarely traffic or people to run into to begin with, and the town was so small they could probably manage to walk from one end to the other in under an hour. It was a quaint place. And, for someone labeled as disabled, that was certainly appreciated.

They ran their cane over the sidewalk, avoiding another street lamp. They came to a grinding halt as they found the ledge, and they pulled their phone from their pocket. Y/n started,” Hey, Siri, is the traffic light green?”

The quiet voice was easily overpowered as cars flew past the curb. That was answer enough, and Y/n expected that the tiny app would tell them when the lights changed, as per usual. They clutched the bag closer to their side, and despite the thick sweater and jeans and boots, Y/n was still feeling the chills of the quickly cooling weather as the days passed.

“Hey, do you need some help getting home?” A young man around Y/n’s age, tatted and pierced up the wazoo, approached. He eyed them in worry, continuing,” If you need directions —“

“Do I look like I need help?” Y/n snapped irritably.

The man was taken aback, and despite recognizing that they were blind as a bat, held his hands up defensively. “Geez, asshole. I was just trying to be nice. You clearly woke up on the wrong side of the fucking bed.”

Y/n didn’t reply. They were ever so slightly irked - even though they consciously knew they shouldn’t be - but chose to ignore the random man. Their foot tapped against the concrete impatiently and their fingers were itching to get back to work.

“…Huh?”

The man furrowed his brows, eyeing the sky. He wasn’t the only one to stop in pure confusion. The entire town of Lacombe came to a screeching halt and perhaps even the earth stopped spinning. Because, descending from the sky, was a large, grey blob. It was far too circular to be a plane, but far too small to be a ship of some sort.

And it was rocketing right toward the center square.

From Y/n’s phone, Siri’s robotic voice chirped,” The light is red.”

Y/n used their cane, stepping off into the street. However, their movements shook the young man free of his paralysis. In horror, he saw that the late, egg-shaped monolith was barreling to the center block, right to where Y/n was intending to walk through.

“Hey, asshole, stop. Don’t walk out into the middle of the street —!”

They paid him no mind. Some women screamed, others gasped, but generally, the consensus was to gain distance from the large, metallic thing. And Y/n, in their blissfully unaware state, had no idea that they were heading into an immediate danger zone.

“Jesus fucking christ!”

The man reached out, grabbing their upper arm. Y/n yelped, the cane being torn from their hold. The young man jerked them back, and Y/n tripped on the ledge. Both went barreling to the ground, the concrete tearing into their clothes, but that was immediately the least of their worries.

It hit. No more than a couple yards away, the unidentified flying object collided into the ground. Smoke and steam poured from it, and very quickly, the streets were rolled over with a thick fog. Y/n and the man began coughing viciously. They covered their mouth, propping themselves up on their elbows.

“The light is green.”

The man peered up, trying his best to stumble to his feet. He was anxious, and his eyes flitted with concern to and from the blind individual, even more confused than anyone else. When he was on his feet, he waved some of the mist away, but he could no longer see the metal sheath as the fog seemingly dispersed into nothing.

And that was what was left. Nothing. The only indication it was there in the first place was a large dent and rapture in the pavement, large cracks crossing all the way to the sidewalk itself. Everyone was slowly gathering, and even the cars had gone into park to see what the commotion was.

“Hey, dude, let me help you up,” the man mumbled, grabbing out to Y/n’s arm.

Y/n, not arguing and far too shaken up by how the earth had rumbled, grasped onto the man and made their way onto their feet. They continued to grip the man tightly, and questions threatened tho escape their lips. The man was still staring warily at where the object once was.

And then, one of those questions escaped.

“What… happened?”

“I - I don’t fucking know. There was some thing in the sky coming right toward the street. It hit not too far from us and, uh… now it’s, like, gone.”

Y/n was too shaken up. Their brows furrowed and they aimed to prod further, but they knew damn well he was as unknowing as the next person. They decided they would just shake it off. They were going to try their best to get to the safety of their home, because whatever happened could’ve been a bomb for all they knew.

They detached from the man. They crouched down, reaching around for their walking cane.

“The light is red.”

A piercing shriek broke out from across the street. Y/n was on their hands and knees in search of the cane, still abandoned a few feet in the street ahead of them. However, both them and the man froze in here confusion. And I ust like that, all panic broke loose.

“Holy fuck!” he exclaimed, stumbling back to a store window and pressing himself against him. “What the hell…”

The woman from across the street suddenly stepped up to a lamppost. All at once, she began bashing her head against it. Others screamed, but what was more terrifying was how certain citizens were completely silent. A hoard began to circle the lamppost, doing the same exact thing.

Suddenly, the cars started up. From each intersection, cars went flying toward one another. Screams echoed the plaza, and all at once, explosions from those imploding in the center ensued. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs.

But Y/n was far too shocked and baffled to know what was going on. For all they knew, a war started. A smoke grenade was set off and everyone was going insane. But what they did know was that screaming wouldn’t do a damn thing, especially with how the wind had picked up and was now howling just as loudly as the shrieks themselves.

Y/n curled up into a ball in on the ground. The cane, finally found, was clutched in their grasp. It didn’t do much, but they shut their eyes tightly and rolled ever so slightly back and forth. Siri’s voice was greatly silenced by the pure mania surrounding them.

“Wh - what…- Hey, asshole, we need to —“

Just like that, an engine roared. The man was cut short as a large truck came barreling across the sidewalk, totaling the man into the store front. The window shattered. Y/n let out a mangled sob, hearing the engine burst. The scene was hardly the most gruesome of their surroundings, but it was bad.

The man’s body was but a splatter of blood and torn flesh. It was a large lump inside the hardware store, and the truck itself had the entire engine shoved through the window. The airbag poured out the open windows, masking the imploded head on a once living human being’s body. The glass had shattered and scattered around the ground, but the tiny shards that dug into Y/n’s pant legs were hardly the greatest of their worries.

“Jace!” a mother bellowed, grasping at her child’s shoulders, not even a hundred yards away. “Jace, what’s wrong? What are you looking at? You’re alright, baby, you’re alright —“

And just like that, a fog passed over her vision. She was not afraid, no; but, alike to her son, she looked so very depressed. Nobody would ever know why, too preoccupied with their own hallucinations. It was frightening how, once the cars went silent, Y/n became dutifully aware of how silent the screams had become.

Because, not too far away, that single mother and her young boy were clawing out their own eyeballs. They did not care how deep their fingers dug into their sockets and how badly it stung to rip their eyes free entirely. They did not care that blood spewed and darkness clouded their vision.

And that was soon because both dropped dead to the ground, too enchanted by the visions they’d witnessed.

Y/n was only half aware of the fact that people are seeing things. They were being possessed, and whatever that fog was made everyone around them kill themselves. The wind was howling so viciously, whipping Y/n’s body around. They clutched the plastic bag and one to their chest, trying to ignore how wet their jeans were.

‘Look.’

Clear as a bell, a feminine voice whispered to them. Y/n clawed into the ground the best they could, covering their ears. They rocked back and forth, terrified tears continuing to spill from their eyes.

‘Look, Y/n.’

All at once, it was a chorus. So many different voices, ranging from a small toddler to an old man, were crowding their head. It was awful, because they couldn’t. They couldn’t look and they weren’t sire they wanted to even if they could. Whatever people were witnessing was horrifying and grotesque.

‘You saw once and you can see again. Look.’

‘To see is beautiful, Y/n. To look is heaven.’

“Stop,” Y/n muttered gruffly, shaking their head. “Shut up. You’re not real.”

‘Look, look, look. To witness is divine.’

Something suddenly smacked across their cheek. It smeared, and Y/n yelped, but it kept returning. Smack. Smack. Smack. Over and over again, the wind brought it back. And then, it was only duplicated. Two wet items were hitting Y/n, and they swatted it away.

At a final swat, they ended up enclosing their hand around the object.

‘Look.’

Y/n squished it. It felt slimy, like jello. And, as they felt around the circular object, they noticed a long thread escape a part of it. The object was so wet, and it didn’t take more than a moment for them to connect the dots. A howl escaped their lips and they dropped the crushed eyeball to the ground.

And then, the wind stopped. The voices stopped. Everything stopped. No more screams, no more crashing cars. Nothing. And that terrified Y/n to their very core.

They released a shaky breath, propping themselves up on their elbows. Y/n eagerly wiped their hand on their jeans, reeling in pure disgust. Their jeans were soaked to the core, and they were more than happy to use their cane to stumble to their feet.

The wind was still howling, and yet, it was as though the entity itself was the wind. Some dead leaves slapped against Y/n’s body, and they used the cane to stabilize themselves. They were hyperventilating crazily.

“The light is green.”

Y/n took their phone out from their pocket. Immediately, they ordered,” Hey Siri, call nine-one-one.”

They wanted to begin shuffling away. But they were still paralyzed in fright, so baffled by the sudden - and seemingly supernatural - turn of events. The phone kept ringing.

And ringing.

Y/n gulped, connecting the dots. The local police station was as fucked as everyone else. They had no idea what was going on, but what they did know was that it was cold and scary and dangerous. And that they needed to go home. Now.

Gulping, they outstretched the cane. They made sure to be precise, waving it in every approaching inch. Halfway across the street, the cane collided right with a hunk of metal, and they scaled the piece, recognizing that a car crash happened right in front of them. They maintained a mental map - if they could even call it that - and made it around the vehicles.

They didn’t hear a single sound, except for their footsteps and the wind. It was deadly silent and it shouldn’t have been. It was odd how, in the span of no more than three seconds, Lacombe had gone from a friendly and quaint village town to a hell-scape.

They were often bitter about their blindness, but they were now glad they were left unable to witness the events. And, potentially, it had saved their life.

They made it down the sidewalk. There were so many corpses and detached limbs that they tripped frequently. And it made no sense, but it was like the bustling wind was following their every step. It was frightening to know but not see what was going on. But Y/n couldn’t have been more grateful for it.

As they made their way to the small apartment complex, hardly three stories tall and with roughly ten apartments for rent, they passed by the worst gore of all; there was a pyramid of crushed cars and bodies, towering almost as high as the building itself. The pile creaked and swayed with every burst of wind.

Y/n opened the front entrance. They shut and locked the door behind them, already feeling far more safe and secure. They used the cane to traverse the steep steps to the second story, and the moment they felt the familiar apartment door, a sigh of relief escaped.

Shakily, they removed their keys from their pocket. They felt around for the lock before it entered with ease and the door swung open with an eerie creak. Oftentimes, they hated that the neighbors threw constant parties since they belonged to some far more immature young adults. And the apartment directly above their’s was occupied by some abusive couple.

And nothing made them happier than the silence. Or, at least, that would’ve been the case if it wasn’t because an entire population had been slaughtered by unknown attackers.

They shut and locked the door, momentarily pressing their back against it to catch their thoughts. They panted profusely, waiting a brief moment to simply… catch their breath. Think. Because as far as they knew, it was either the end of Canada or the end of the entire world.

Y/n’s apartment was quaint and, right upon walking in, it was clear it belonged to an artist. There were various paint splurges on the wall. Several of their works - or, at least, the most successful - were framed. They weren’t the originals, as some very rich people were instantly captivated by them, but they were the best of the best. Y/n was an artist. And, thanks to her special background, a fairly well-known one.

To the right was a small kitchen with the usual appliances and an island with barstools. Beyond that, a small living room with a couch, coffee table, and their kindle. Right in front, without an especially acquired office, was the place where they painted. An easel, a small desk with a notebook. Drawers with supplies, and many, many blank canvases. Beyond the public living space was a small bed and bathroom, messy and cluttered because the maid hadn’t been around in a few weeks.

They sighed and pushed themself from the wall. They felt disgusting. The first thing they wanted to do was strip off their filthy clothes - even if it was rather chilly inside the apartment - and shower. So, they did just that. And a half hour later, they emerged, towel wrapped around their neck and snuggly adorning fluffy pajamas.

They sat at the island. Their thoughts were still racing, but at least they were more coherently organized. And, as much as they thought to their father, wanting to check up on him, they spoke,” Hey Siri, turn on CBC live.”

Siri did so. The wifi was abnormally slow, and much to their unawareness, didn’t even work thanks to the amount of cars that crashed into telephone lines and electricity servers. The world around them was dying, and the moment the news started, they started realizing it.

“—International tragedy has struck,” the news reporter spoke urgently. “Mass hysteria that leads leading to suicide is occurring worldwide. Scientists and politicians are scrambling to discover the contaminants of the air, if any, and suspect a far deadlier and rapid mutation of dancing mania.

“Religious communities are calling it ‘the end of times.’ Others are insisting it is a long-since-coming alien invasion. There are several videos circulating of egg-shaped pods shooting from the sky. The videos are as can be seen here.”

Y/n grumbled in irritation, hearing the screams and crash from the video. It was displayed in the corner of the phone screen while the news reporter was standing still, clearly sweating bullets. Even the camera man was trembling. The studio was oddly dark, except for the bleeding light from the windows beyond the camera. The video finally stopped.

“…This supposed virus was seemingly first appeared in Los Angelos, California, but many separate clusters have been spotted in Shanghai, London, New York, Brazil, Moscow, and Lagos. We advise that you stay inside your house at all costs. I repeat, stay inside and stay safe —“

The news reporter went silent. Y/n blinked in bafflement, concern growing in their chest. And then the camera man tittered,” John? John, are alright —“

A scream escaped the cameraman. It was live footage of the news reporter himself, John, pushing past the cameraman aggressively. The entire screen became blurry and some cracks covered it. The camera man was pushed and became far too quiet.

Although the view was tilted, it was plain as day that John crashed right through the skyscraper window. The glass shattered. The camera man was crawling toward it just as quickly, blubbering in awe. He was muttering something to himself.

But Y/n had heard enough. “Hey Siri, go to the home screen.”

The phone went silent once the report was completely minimized. Y/n’s ears rang because the silence was utterly deafening. They gulped thickly and their mouth was completely dry. They were thirsty, but for all they knew, whatever was killing the entire world population was in the water, too.

They rose to their feet and went to the fridge. They felt around, knowing it like the back of their hand. In the door shelves were rows of beer. Their immediate action was to pick one up. Y/n one drank a few times a month and saved it for special occasions - after completing a painting, for instance - and the end of the world seemed as good of an excuse as any other.

Their phone was left abandoned on the counter for the time being. They trotted over to the living room and plopped onto the couch. Y/n popped open the beer and took a quick swig. The flinched, not the fondness of the strength of the beverage, but if they was going to die, it was better to die drunk and unaware that one was dying.

Y/n was faced toward the small windows. The walls of the apartment was made of bricks and the floor of wood. It did its job, namely, housing someone, but a complaint of the building was that it wasn’t ‘modern.’ They couldn’t care less since it’s not like they could see the lack of modernity.

And, as proven in this day and age where aliens were apparently invading, it mattered even less. Y/n didn’t care too much about saving their hide. A part of them always wanted to die the day they went blind. That day… Y/n dreaded to remember it. Because they couldn’t. There was nothing to see. Only things to hear.

They laid back on the couch, kicking their feet up. The beer was abandoned on the coffee table. They crossed their arms after readjusting the pillow. Y/n was consumed by their thoughts, and it struck them as odd that, even in the apocalypse days, they were still consumed with bitterness and selfishness. They knew damn well their life wasn’t supposed to revolve around them being angry at a god that might exist for taking their sight.

Because they knew damn well that not only did other blind people have it far worse, but that other people had it worse. And sometimes, Y/n felt bad that they were so goddamn bitter and mean. But now, it was the end of humanity as everyone knew it. So they didn’t feel nearly as bad because it clearly didn’t matter if aliens were planning to take over.

Y/n forced their mind to become silent. And, somehow, amidst the world ending, they fell right to sleep. The apartment complex was a safe haven, because even upon exiting the front door, there were bodies upon bodies. It was frightening. And it was deadly silent except for the bellowing winds.

It was home. And, as cranky and miserable of a human Y/n was known for being, they were undoubtedly talented. They’d been on many late-night interviews. And even to this day, Y/n was still baffled as to why. Because somehow - despite everything they painted being replications of their dreams - they were ‘profoundly lifelike.’

For instance, one of their most recent paintings was recognized as an exact replication of the Kunlun Mountains, as if drawn from memory. And, seeing as they’ve never even left the memory and became blind before they could even think about taking geography, it was truly a miracle.

Next to that was a fairly abstract one; ironically, it was named ‘The End of Days.’ It portrayed a rather ghastly figure, its face scrawled and yet defined. Y/n often had help picking out the paints, but they custom ordered a palette with the brail inscriptions of the colors. And, despite how Y/n often had landscapes drawn that were colorful and captivating, this particular one was dark and dismal, yet used earthy colors such as maroon and brown.

And finally, the ‘portrait,’ as Y/n considered it, that was the breakthrough. It was the painting everyone knew and was the most popular work. It stung them to the core just thinking of it, but even decades later, it was burned into their brains.

‘Last Look.’ The title itself was fairly straightforward. Y/n remembered it like yesterday.

#yandere #x reader #x y/n #self insert #yandere x reader #bird box #bird box x reader #yandere oneshot #yandere horror #yandere bird box #yandere birdbox #birdbox #horror movies #horror movie

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miloscat · 2 years

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[Review] The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GCN)

I’ve been sent back, until my task is done.

So I took some time off from my quest to play Lord of the Rings games. Quite some time, in fact. But no matter. Previously, I’d wrapped up the movie-based tie-ins and was ready to start on sidestories. So, after EA Redwood Shores (later known as Visceral Games) finished the Return of the King game, they started on a game ostensibly called LotR Trilogy, teased at the end of the former. I don’t know if this is what they were planning it to be all along, but the name at least changed.

I’ve heard people call this a Final Fantasy X clone. I can't really speak to that, but it’s certainly a turn-based RPG with one of those initiative queue systems. Progression is streamlined: some areas have branching paths but many are straight corridors, the skill trees are simple, there’s no shops and no currency. The traversable zones seem like little more than set dressing until the next drawn-out battle. These are mostly prescribed (most areas have no random encounters) and give predetermined loot. You’ll be spending a lot of time in the menu between battles fiddling with stat numbers and equipping the new drops (they’re cosmetically reflected on the characters which is nice).

If it sounds a bit railroaded, well it is. Or you could view it as one of those miniature trains in a model village, a pleasant ride to see some sights. I do recommend turning on Easy mode in the options, as it will reduce the amount of time you’ll spend watching those belaboured battle animations. (Note that I tried to play this on my Xbox but the disc was too damaged and failed after my first session, so I continued using Dolphin; the blessed speed-up feature saved me figuratively millions of years.)

There is some freedom with your character builds and your choice of party. I chose three of the six available (Idrial, Morwen, and Berethor) and used them as much as I could, and got by just fine. There’s a mechanic where you gain skill points in one of your two ability fields for each time you use an action of that type in battle. This incentivises using your skills—and they are useful—to learn more of them. I literally never used the ordinary attack! The game throws restoratives at you and you’ll frequently level up for full heals too, plus the save points replenish you. OK, so I was on Easy but the way I see it the harder difficulties were just wasting my time, and there was some challenge later on anyway.

Anyway, as an RPG it’s fine, but how is its use of the licence? Well, it feels quite fanfictiony, for better or worse. The story plays it safe by following a B-team Fellowship, closely shadowing the actual Fellowship and cleaning up after them, and almost all the six party member are expies of other characters, at least on the surface. Berethor is a Boromir type, although you find out later that he was secretly brainwashed by Saruman... and also Sauron I think? He’s a paladin type with excellent party-wide buffs. Idrial is just Arwen in the Fords of Bruinen scene, has sword but mainly healing and magic. Elegost is Strider-like, a Dunedain ranged attacker and debuffer. Hadhod is a Gimli-esque dwarf, a tank with some defensive and fire spells. Later you find Eaoden aka Éomer-lite, a Rohirrim knight with some technical buff skills, and Morwen. She’s a bit similar to Éowyn but the most original, a woman of Rohan with a tragic past and a need for vengeance who fights with double axes and thievery skills.

There’s some developments with these folks, aided by cutscenes with new narration by Sir Ian over movie footage, lending some authority while bridging the narrative to the films’ events... and the events and backstories of the game and its characters. You see, it’s told in a disjointed way, and supposed twists are just tossed off, so it ends up feeling a bit half-arsed. There’s even an unnecessary forced love triangle. It doesn’t help that several of the actors seem to be Americans faking British accents, and the voiceover recording in general could have used a pronunciation coach, but this has frequently been a problem in the movie games with their proper nouns.

It is fun getting something of an original story in this world, but it sticks very closely to the movie events for most of the time, unlike the later and more ambitious War in the North. The new characters are fun but heavily retreading known archetypes. You do get a ridiculous climax by fighting the Eye of Sauron at the summit of Barad-dûr: this is the fun kind of nonsense the game could have leaned into more, and even it seems thrown in at the last minute with no lead-in at all. There’s apparently a co-op mode but it is separated from the main game in some way, and the touted “Evil Mode” where you play as the baddies is a minor side-event that’s just a series of battles. Basically I just wish this game had gone harder and more out-there, but it’s a fun fluffy bit of fanservice all the same.

#The Lord of the Rings #visceral games #the lord of the rings the third age #review #gcn

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inkofamethyst · 9 months

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September 3, 2023

Okay okay alright now for a bit more positivity because I didn't actually spend the last several days in a slump, I promise (not that I'm trying to minimize my feelings or anything of course).

Had a virtual lab meeting on Monday but had to leave partway through to go to the airport. Somehow managed to eat something in the car. Worked on my braids in the airport, on the plane, in the uber to the hotel. Disinfected my hotel room, ate dinner at a diner next to my hotel which was entirely empty except for me and a geriatric couple (the food was just okay and I think the waiter might've been flirting with me but I was too drained to engage and the food wasn't nearly good enough for me to want to go back). Went back to the hotel and worked on my hair for another several hours. Spoilers, even though I finished them that night I wasn't able to find boiling water to set them the whole week. Gonna do that first thing tomorrow.

Tuesday was the major event day. Started with a 9-am departmental information session followed by lunch with most of my cohort (a new guy was added to my cohort (he was also affiliated with the department prior to applying (I think this is important to note not necessarily because I think this was unfair but because.. I dunno I just find it interesting and can't really articulate why (don't get me wrong he's got a crazy amazing CV)))) followed by the snoozefest that was convocation (it was kind of nice but the theater was dark and I just zoned out a bunch) followed by a resource fair (where I scored some free stuff). I took a break and recovered in my hotel before heading back out to a social hour where I met some chem people who were really nice. Then I slept.

I should note that immediately after lunch one of my cohortmates and I went to get our student IDs in the student center. The thing about the student center is that you need a student ID to traverse the student center. So. We waited for a passerby to swipe us into the elevator area because you need an ID to get to the elevators. We got into an elevator with no clue where we were supposed to go and were stuck in there because you need an ID to use the elevator. Someone called it up and we got off on some random floor. We googled the floor we were supposed to go to and figured we'd use the stairwell to get there instead. We enter the stairwell and reach the correct door but couldn't enter the floor because you need an ID to exit the stairwell. We called the ID office and they were happy to help haha.

Wednesday morning was super rainy. I had a conversation and a walk with my advisor which was very nice and reassuring. Got some keys, found my office, met some people. Walked back to the hotel and rested for most of the day. Walked to a Chinese restaurant and got stuffed steamed buns which were amazing even if I couldn't tell whether I was supposed to eat them with my hands or with chopsticks (the table next to me used chopsticks so uh I'll try that next time).

Thursday was beautiful. I got brunch at a little waffle spot and it was delicious. I sat on campus in the shade for an hour or two, just watching the people stroll by. I explored the grad student center (not the one that caused me trouble lol) and it was really nice. My parents arrived and we checked into a hotel closer to my apartment then got Thai (had the best pad see ew I've ever had) and rested for the evening.

Friday was move-in day. Got even more keys. Transferred everything up, went to buy some things, and worked on construction (I built a set of ikea shelves!) until late that night. Set up wifi all by myself. We popped over to a latin american joint that was still open and I had the most amazing rice bowl with black beans and plantains and some incredible green sauce.

More errands Saturday morning until we had to return the rental car. Tried a vegetarian place and it was pretty good, though not a favorite. We took public transport back to campus and walked from there to my apartment. Unpacked bins and organized clothes until late evening. Several hugs later it was just me again (plus my roommate). Slept.

Today I'm thankful for the discord call with my photo- and cello- friends (with a brief cameo by my puzzle-friend). It felt really nice to laugh and carry on with people I know. I stayed on much longer than I should have. Very sleepy.

Lots to do tomorrow (meal prep, tidy, talk with roommate, set alarms).

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todayimgonnaplay · 10 months

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Today I'm gonna play: Transformers: Devastation

I loved Transformers as a kid, with the movies and some of the cartoons, namely Transformers: Animated and Transformers: Cybertron, and Optimus Prime was my favourite because I was obsessed with the colour red (even though he's got some blue too). I haven't been in touch with the series since. After playing Kingdom Hearts 3 a few months ago (I really liked the gameplay in that one to be honest), I needed something else to scratch that KH itch, and somewhere in a subreddit while looking for fast-paced hack and slash games, I saw this as a suggestion. Completely bewildered yet curious, I decided to give it a try. (Also as I'm writing this I realized this game was developed by Platinum Games. I've not really played anything in their library other than try a little bit of their TMNT game which I may try again, neither have I tried Nier: Automata, so I'm going in blind.)

And what a blast it was! But two cons to say about this first; It's a really short game, one you can finish in a single sitting. And what's really sad is that you actually cannot purchase this game anymore as Activision took it off digital stores, so I had to find another way to get it. But as someone that only has time to play during evenings, the first con isn't too bad for me. I have also played a few Transformers games over the years, mostly on PSP and one on PS2 based on the first movie, and none of them compare to this. It doesn't feel as clunky as them, and you can actually use your vehicle mode for both traversing AND as a way to find chests, destroy obstacles, or as a combo finisher in combat! I've never seen this in any other Transformers game before. For a game that's technically designed for younger audiences, this packs in a lot of good hard work put in. And for once it's actually nice to see a children-oriented game (and a licensed one too) actually be on par as a game that's meant for older audiences. The combat is flashy and slick, although sometimes awkward with the amount of options and lots of things happening in the background. But the controls are easy to master regardless. It can be button mashy if you treat it like one, but there are a nice couple of options that allow you to attack enemies both closed and long range. The game consists of 7 chapters, and each of them have a bunch of missions which are basically enemy spawns. I'm not sure why they made them as missions, but every time you do complete them, a quick little results screen pops up, giving your overworld a brief slow motion effect while the sound dims down, and it doesn't intrude for long. It's a really neat effect that keeps the action going. The missions are also non-linear and they're optional too if you just prefer to focus on story. One surprising aspect is that their synthesis system for your weapons which uses your other weapons as materials to upgrade them. You get a nice variety of them too, such as dual blades, hammers, axes, sword, and different types of long range weapons like blasters, launchers, and rifles. All of this depends on the 5 unlockable characters you use, as each of them have a compatibility with certain weapons. You also got these other upgrades called T.E.C.H which gives you random buffs. My criticism for this however is that this system is expensive, so it doesn't give you much room to upgrade unless you grind a lot. Another thing I like is that the game has a few optional reminders for certain things such as breaking through obstacles to go to the next area, or finding loot. I actually tried a bit of the prologue about a month or two ago so I forgot everything about this game. Seeing reminders quickly helped me get back up to speed and it would be nice to see more games do this. And as Transformers could come under sci-fi, a lot of unknown terminology tends to come with it. Luckily the game explains them in a very simple and concise manner, while still moving on with the story. Some games that come under the same/similar genre fail to note this, such as Final Fantasy 13, and Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. However, it does take a step back when it comes to loot from enemies. For a fast-paced game, you'd probably want to maintain that flow as you go from enemy to enemy, area to area. But at some point I realized, my character is not drawing in the loot! I have to physically go to the place where the enemy died and just run around it to collect everything, and THEN continue. Having that flow interrupted can be quite annoying. It's also sad that the environment design isn't very varied. I'm assuming it was on a smaller budget as it's a licensed game, but considering what the game has in terms of content, I'm not too disappointed about it.

I would like to say that this game has huge Hi-Fi Rush vibes going on, that at some point I mistakenly thought this was made by Tango Gameworks, or at least some of the staff. Everything from that saturday morning feel with your favourite cartoon series (and this fits here for Transformers), the flashy combat, and the rock music, and even the upgrades system, it has it all. It's literally like if Hi-Fi Rush wasn't a rhythm action game, and just action. Overall, I'm quite satisfied with what this game has to offer, and I think it's a hidden gem of sorts. I'll definitely be checking out more of Platinum Games' catalogue in the future!

Terms exclusive to the game:

Synthesis - Upgrades system for weapons using other weapons in your inventory as materials T.E.C.H - Equippable buffs that you can create which are randomly generated

#transformers #transformers devastation #game analysis #platinum games

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magicmalcolm · 8 months

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Malcolm Plays Final Fantasy IX

I Got The Burmecia Blues

(previous parts here)

Okay, so there's a few things to do before hitting up Burmecia.

First, a small optional area to the right of the exit from Gizamaluke's Grotto. The North Gate has a nice little scene between Freya and Quina, where the former envies the carefree nature of the latter. There's also a couple of Chests to loot. Yay!

Second, we track down a Nymph enemy for Quina to learn another Blue Magic Skill: Night. Night induces the Sleep Status on EVERYTHING in the current battle, friend and foe alike. Can combo quite well if everyone on your side has the Insomniac ability equipped (which we can get from the Coral Ring Freya won at the Festival Of The Hunt).

Third, we can dig up one more Chocograph location in this area of the map. Taking a detour past the left of the sand-tornado takes us to a secluded beach, where a set of Chocobo tracks lay. The treasure location is also on this beach and…

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IT'S A TRAP!!!

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Or…not?

Choco has acquired the Reef Ability! So this doesn't give Choco the ability to walk on all water yet, this one allows him to traverse the shallow light-blue waters. This will come in handy to nab a few more Chocograph Treasures back on the other side of Gizamaluke's Grotto, but we'll get them later. Burmecia awaits!

And what is the first thing that happens to us in Burmecia?

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Welp.

Another enemy can be eaten here in Burmecia for Blue Magic, eating a Magic Vice enemy will earn Quina the Magic Hammer skill. which removes a random amount (based on their current HP) of the enemies' remaining MP. Could be useful to help neuter some bosses down the road.

Also some of the chests in Burmecia are actually Mimics. Mimics can sometimes summon the aforementioned Magic Vices, so battling them isn't all bad.

Sadly, Burmecia is already in Ruins by the time we get there. Soldiers and civilians alike fallen at the hands of Brahne's Black Mage Army. Still, they were nice enough to leave a Lightning Staff and this Mythril Spear untouched for us to acquire.

We also bump into Stiltzkin again, who sells us a pretty sweet bundle of goodies for a barganimous price. And we also get another Kupo Nut and oh oh this another game spanning quest isn't it?

Welp. Burmecia's already wrecked, might as well head back and get sidetracked. Play the Backtrack Song!

So first we go back to Gizmaluke's Grotto and give Moguta the Kupo Nut we just got.

He's Kupo For Kupo Nuts.

Then we head back to Qu's Marsh to check on the Frog Spawn.

This goes immediately onto Vivi. Ability Up is going to be really useful for him soon.

And since Choco obtained the Reef Ability earlier, we can grab two more Chocograph Treasures! The Magician's Robe is nice, but the Oak Staff from Chocograph #11 is the real prize right now. Bio, Stop and Drain? For Best Boy Vivi? Yay!

After that it's heading back to prep for facing Beatrix. Everyone gets moved to the back row, Zidane gets the Coral Ring and then it's pretty much down to the whims of fate.

He's doing his best.

Kuja's so sassy.

My strategy for the Beatrix fight is pretty simple, Zidane Steals and hopes for a miracle to at least get that Chain Plate, Freya casts Reis' Wind to open and heals with Potions when not defending, Quina casts Vanish on Zidane and recasts as necessary, and Vivi tries to land a Slow spell on Beatrix. Getting the Mythril Sword is about as mythical as it gets during this hopeless boss battle. If Beatrix KOs Zidane before you can Steal the Chain Plate (let alone the Sword), you might as well reset. The remakes are nice enough to Autosave right before the Beatrix Battle, at least.

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OMG I actually got it what in the actual…

The real kicker is that it's not even a unique weapon...you can literally buy this in Treno in like five minutes from now...and it's almost immediately made obsolete in Treno too.

Unfortunately that's where the good luck ends. Beatrix activates her trap card: Hopeless Boss Battle. Fortunately it's still Disc One of Four so we're allowed to live for some reason.

And yet you do nothing. Aah, blessed be to Overconfident Villains.

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#malcolm plays final fantasy ix #final fantasy ix #final fantasy 9 #quina quen #zidane tribal #freya crescent #vivi ornitier #general beatrix #kuja #kupo nuts #burmecia #Youtube

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hlmowrer · 11 months

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Week 19: "Where's my Foxbabe?"

The party never stops up in here. Transfers loom, and I'm anticipating not having time for letter writing this Monday and I missed last Monday (again) so I'm DOING IT NOW.

On Memorial Day, we had a District P-Day! (My district is the group of 8 missionaries that all serve in adjoining areas...mine encompasses Traverse City, Kalkaska, Cadillac, and Manistee.) We started by enjoying a pancake breakfast together and then went out to play some beach volleyball on the waterfront in Traverse City! It's the first time since the MTC that someone has actually gotten me to enjoy sportsball. We got to meet some cool people there too! After that we cruised over to a famous ice cream place called Moomers, which I'm told was visited by President Biden so that's mildly cool. What's more cool than that is that they have my new favorite ice cream, a flavor called Cherries Moobilee. It's essentially Tillamook Oregon Dark Cherry (my previous favorite) but with more cherries and brownies mixed in. It's official. I have committed treason against Oregon, and there is no turning back now. We then capped off the evening at a member's house eating some of the best burgers on the planet. It's been a while since I went to bed as satisfied as I did that night.

That's not to say that the rest of the week didn't contain cool stuff! Kami has continued to be on fire, this kid is incredible. We went to support her at an honors track meet that she made it into and met her parents which was fantastic. She's getting better and better at understanding scripture and remembering what things mean, and she's always willing to study and pray. She's even started talking to her friends about what she's learning! And she's not even baptized yet! We had a particularly awesome lesson on Tuesday about the temples, and she spent the entire rest of the day learning about them and sending us pictures of her favorite ones. She agrees that the Portland Temple is the prettiest one, and I don't think I could possibly be prouder. It's so amazing to consider that despite how I've often felt about my progress this transfer, I've helped someone else completely change the course of their life for the better. Despite everything, God trusts me enough to send his children my way and teach them about the love their Heavenly Father has for them.

Thursday was zone conference...OUTDOOR zone conference! This is a transferly event in which mission leaders come to each zone (zone=large geographic group of missionaries) and give trainings and fellowship. It was an awesome opportunity to see some old friends (we were combined with the Midland Zone) and to say goodbye to President and Sister Heap, as I won't see them again in person before they exit the mission. Since it was our annual outdoor conference, we also went for a hike through the woods which was quite fun. Well, the mosquitos and ticks were less fun...but whatever. It was worth it. I managed to have a nice chat with President Heap at the front of the group, which was a real blessing to me and an unexpected bonus. He reiterated his appreciation for my ability to meet people where they're at and connect with them, which is something he shared when I arrived in the mission and also something I needed to hear this week. He then forgot he was with his missionaries and, upon noticing that Sister Heap had fallen back, shouted "Where's my Foxbabe?" into the forest. He quickly remembered that he was a mission president, but not before all of us died laughing. The Heaps' departure will be a major blow to this mission..their experience and dedication is well valued here. I've seldom met people who are as committed to their callings and as connected with the Spirit as them. I trust that their successors, the Peckhams, will have that same spiritual energy and will quickly be taught by the Lord the things they need to know.

On this most recent Monday my district achieved a goal of successfully inviting 21 members to lessons, so President Heap told us we could have another District P-Day! This time we decided to go out to some huge sand dunes outside of Traverse City, which seemed like a good idea until I actually had to climb up them. I made it about half way before literally keeling over and almost passing out. Apparently I'm even more out of shape than I thought I was, because I genuinely thought I was gonna puke. My near death experience aside, it was another fun day. I love my district, and just wandering around downtown TC was enough to fill my social tank for a while at least. I really hope transfers don't tear us all apart. We'll know on Friday!

My love for you all, until you hear from me on the other side of transfers.

-Elder Beren Mowrer

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dionysiospsychas-photography · 1 year

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PHOTO TRIP: VANCOUVER ISLAND, PART 3

… Firstly, there are lots of nice things to recount about our trip to Vancouver Island, which is why the story is divided in a few posts. And because there are many photographs that I would like to share with you here.

Secondly, an important item to have during a vacation away: un bon café. It is that intermediate spot between home base and the field to help start the day, and maybe even go to at the end of a day exploring. And by café I mean with baked goods. The photo amigos already know about the hilarious frustration I am about to tell: Zoë's Bakery and Café in Ucluelet. But all good things I assure you… During the planning for the trip, I of course looked for possible coffee shops on review web sites and saw the neat pictures of the café. And during our traverse Colin showed me a review of Zoë's Bakery that essentially stated that they had like the best croissant. He showed me that because he knows I lurv coffee and croissants, and I am "French" (well, Québécois). I bet I smiled and told him that we totally had to go there. Inside, I actually thought "we'll see about that, islanders, we'll see…" Our first morning in Ucluelet we were out of luck, the bakery was closed for the day. And like too-chill cats, we did not check their open hours… So the next morning, bummer, it was again closed. Colin and I laughed frustratingly, Sharon was like "c'est la vie, that's just the way it goes", and Syd was more concerned about parking… You know, we always made coffee for all of us after we got up and we had breakfast very early, but we wanted second breakfast and snacks… We did go across the street to Foggy Bean Coffee (the cutest little coffee shop) in some desperation to have another warm cupof, and their coffees were sooh good… And so the next day, very sure that the bakery would be open we stopped by again, and since we got up and out very early we were the first ones in line, and excited for no practical reason. Once inside, looking at all the baked goods, we had a little trouble deciding what to eat because it all looked and smelled so nice. When I saw the croissants and how they looked I was committed; I got two, bien cuit as I like them. The coffee was good, but the croissant… f!… putain délicieux (ah, you're not going to look it up). They were properly crunchy and flaky on the outside, smelled toasty, they gave a little when squeezed (to adequately put in my mouth), had a nice swirled structure on the inside (that pâte feuilletée tourée), were chewy (yes, chewy; you are not supposed to eat oiled air), rich, nutty, very slightly sweet, and light. Bravo. The size and shape of a croissant are less important. So in summary, the croissants and the other breakfast goods the amigos had were sooh delicious, the service genial, and the interior cozy that we would stop by every day after that. And that is our bakery story.

It was a cloudy morning again, thankfully, and the coolness felt very nice. We wanted to explore Pacific Rim National Park more, and see more rocky beaches and windswept trees under that soft light, so we decided to explore the area around the Kwisitis Visitor Centre (meaning the "other end of the beach" in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, and used to be called the Pacific Rim VC) and take the Nuu-chah-nulth trail to Florencia Bay. I had read that the forest trail was beautiful and the views of the bay were pretty.

Rock outcropping, Wickaninnish Beach, 2022

Incoming surf on Wickaninnish Beach, PRNP, 2022

When we got to Wickaninnish Beach the weather cooled enough that a cozy inner fleece was justified and it was definitely tuque mode. There was a very light rain or mist, and it felt refreshing. But not for my camera, so it stayed in my pocket. From the south end of the beach I could view it stretching northward and disappearing, and gazed at the broad carpet of rippled sand, the many parallel lines of incoming waves, and the soft, undulated cloud cover. We all went off to explore the beach first. I spent time observing the wave patterns and found incredible rock formations.

The visitor centre is a beautiful building, a set of gabled roofs set on the rock above the beach and clad in greyed cedar. We admired the panorama from the deck: the thinning line of the dark green fringe forest fading in the mist, between the wave whitewater and the gray cloud cover… And since the visitor centre was closed because it was so early, we took off on the forest trail. To be safe we took out our bear bells. It took us a while to get them to ring properly, but hiker/alpinist Syd fixed them for us.

Looking out onto the ocean from Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

Seagulls on the rocks of Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

Shortly along, I saw an opening in the shrubbery, peeked thru and saw it that it looked pretty, so I went down to the beach and called the others because it really was very pretty. This was Lismer Beach. There were lots of different ground cover like contours of brown seaweed and driftwood chips, carpets of mussel shells, cushions of green and yellow moss, more rock outcroppings, even one with tiny evergreens, and lots of gulls. From one high point, sitting a while amongst the rocks and looking out at the waves and the gulls flying about, I noticed a metal trap on the beach, and I suddenly felt like a castaway and that happy-calm. I was not "here". I was like those birds, looking out into the distance, feeling calm, enjoying the expanse, and maybe hoping for a sudden lost snack.

The little monolith on Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

We found an odd, marvellous piece of worm-eaten wood. We did not want to take it out of the park, so we all posed it and photographed it. Altho not a big deal I think, I did take a charcoal colour, rounded, triangular pebble I came across because it reminded me of someone, somehow, and I do not regret it.

Along the South Beach trail, PRNP, 2022

Back on the trail there was a nice boarded trail up the hill canopied by tree branches, and at one point a fallen tree arching over the path. At an intersection, I either gave bad directions or we decided to take the shorter trail to South Beach. The boardwalk trail and the trees were nice, but not spectacular, I thought. But down at the threshold of the beach… Wow! And I stepped down eagerly. There were big, rugged, black lava outcroppings in the sand and a set of boulders as a gate, perhaps marking a consecrated space. When I circled the quadruplet of boulders, the fine khaki sand transitioned to a greyscale of granules and pebbles.

Gateway to South Beach, PRNP, 2022

More seagulls on the rocks of South Beach, PRNP, 2022

Driftwood trapping rocks on South Beach, PRNP, 2022

Windswept trees on rocky outcropping in South Beach, PRNP, 2022

At one corner, I sat to observe the surf come in and crash lazily against the rock. The seagulls again were standing about, looking outward. And it was so nice to just watch the rhythm of the waves. This was the place I liked most in PRNP so far. I enjoyed the coarse sand, the huge buried boulders, the windswept trees, and the intimate setting under the overcast sky. Is not "windswept" such a wonderfully connotative word?

The sun was popping thru the clouds, so that soothing light changed to HDR and we suddenly felt like having a snack. So, blah, blah, etc. we went for a deserved lunch and I did not share my french fries with the murder of crows hanging about. We had more coffee. And then we finally went to Long Beach.

Rough rock and moss covered rock on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

There were layers of clouds. The high, shapeless cloud cover hid the sun again, and there were large, low, rounded clouds, some alien-looking. There was light drizzle too that did not keep people away from strolling on the beach. The waves were coming in faster, higher, and in quick succession now, so there were many surfers swaying and riding the waves, and surf boards about the beach. It was new to me and cool, and even tho there a few days it was also the same. I walked along the beach for a little while, watching everything go by, but decided to sit on a log and watch the waves. I slipped over my jacket hood for comfort. The sound of the waves crashing was pleasant, as always for me of course, but the swift cadence was soothing whispering to me. A surfer came onto the beach, set their board on a log before me, and knelt in the sand beside it. Like me they sat there for a long while. As I settled while listening to the shushing I became more aware of the images in my mind popping in, drifting, and disappearing. I saw… I thot about… I cried a little and thot a little more. And then I let go of myself and continued to cry softly for a while. And I swear it was relieving, there before the vast ocean.

Driftwood shelter on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

Found object art on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

The photo amigos were in the distance. I could tell because they were the only tiny figures stopping often and holding up something to their heads, and with objects rising from the bulges on their backs. So I slowly walked in their general direction to meet them.

There is an important surfing culture in Tofino. Hell, it is the surfing capital of Canada, and Long Beach one of the most popular surf spots. We saw young and old surfers, even parents and their children surfing together. And along the edge of the fringe forest just down on the beach there were all shapes of shelters and lean-tos made from driftwood. They were of various degrees of sophistication, and some would be best described as found object art. I have never seen such things before, they were fascinating, so I walked along the beach just looking and photographing them. They were imaginative structures. And there was even more driftwood on Long Beach than I have seen so far. I had a lot of fun photographing their shapes and texture. Yup, I lurv driftwood.

We did not stick around for the sunset. Feeling we had a long fruitful day we decided to head back to base and relax. So, we sat around the fireplace conversing about the day, having a drink and snaking, and Mr C grilled us delish salmon. A little later on, I gladly drifted on to the land of nod.

How about you; have you visited the beaches of Pacific Rim National Park? What did you like about it? Send me an email and tell me what you think.

DP, 2023-02-12

#Vancouver Island #photo trip

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pondtop2 · 2 years

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Why You By no means See Minecraft Server That truly Works

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#minecraft server list

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gale-gentlepenguin · 3 years

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ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 37

Shout out to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for me and making sure I actually got this out.

Check her writing out on AO3 as Ramblingwren

(Master post)

(Read the fic in a more condensed on Ao3)

(The latest chapter will be up on there once this reaches over 300 notes on tumblr)

_____________________________________________________________

Simularé looked out over the city from the top of the school. Using her replicated powers, she took the form of Volpina so they'd be able to alter the illusion quickly should something pop out and accidentally reveal the true form of the school. Thankfully the sentimonster didn’t need to do much in order to maintain the illusion; Paris was a surprisingly quiet city.

As far as they could tell, no one in the city outside of the school had any idea what was going on. And that worked out perfectly for them.

“So, this is where Lila has you stationed,” a voice called out, resulting in the faux fox turning around. The figure behind them was a woman clad in dark blue, with blue skin and a feathery fan. She looked confident and the sentimonster instinctively felt that this individual was very much aware of what it was.

Mayura had quickly deduced it was the sentimonster as it was in Lila’s previous akuma form, Volpina. With Lila now Masquerade, it was unlikely she would choose to take such a form. She would likely want to stay in her new form to show it off.

“Do not be alarmed, Simularé, it is your creator. Mayura,” Mayura spoke again.

The shapeshifter leveled a sharp glare at the woman. What made her so certain of that?

“How do I know that is true?” Simularé questioned.

The villainess took a moment to examine the sentimonster. Mayura had to admit that this sentimonster was her finest work to date. The amount of emotion harnessed from Lila to create it made it far more unique, much less of a mindless creature than her previous creations. Amoks were created much like akuma were, locking on to intense emotions before sending off. But unlike akuma, amok can be shaped and tailored with enough focus. Simularé was a special case, as it was made from the conclave of emotions that Lila was experiencing during her breakdown. It had been quite difficult to focus on one specific feeling but Mayura had pushed through. Simularé was sculpted to be Lila’s ideal ally, but it was also so much more than a simple asset. This Amok embodied Lila’s core personality. Her cleverness, her cunning, her mistrust of others, her playfulness, her pride and so much more. To put it simply, this Sentimonster was Lila’s spirit given a new form.

“Trust me Simularé, you would be best not to ask that,” Mayura warned.

The sentimonster felt as if it was being talked down to and clearly did not approve of anyone talking to them in such a tone, save for its master. It charged at the peacock villainess, ready to make contact, But, before it could get close, Mayura stuck out her hand and pinched her fingers together, causing the sentimonster to feel as if some force was pulling its essence out. The pain it felt was indescribable! It felt as if its very being was being ripped out. Mayura was in range to sense the Amok and could easily remove it without difficulty, much like Hawkmoth could with an akuma. Though Mayura had a feeling that letting the Sentimonster know that keeping her out of range of the item was the key to its survival would not be wise. It was best in this moment to display power.

“Stop! Please!” Simularé begged. “I … I believe you! I will do whatever you ask, just please stop the pain!”

The villainess smiled, it seemed there was even more to this Sentimonster than Mayura had anticipated. It had a powerful sense of self preservation, something controlled sentimonsters didn’t seem to have. She took note of that.

“Good. Now, you are going to explain to me your master’s end goal and where Ladybug and Chat Noir are in the building.”

Simularé felt the grip that Mayura had on its essence and held back its burning resentment towards the blue bird villainess. She would behave. For now.

“Okay… I will tell you everything.”

_____________________________________________________________

“Duck!” Ladyice called out as she had Ice Noir lower their bodies to avoid oncoming ice projectiles.

“Surprising that she's only attacking us with ice. She's Stormy weather. You'd think she would be attacking with more, maybe some rain or like a vol....” Ice Noir commented.

“Don't talk about that! Do not give her any ideas!”

The two had skated out of the room and made their way through the now icy hallway while Stormy Weather gave chase.

“I was just saying it seems weird how...mediocre her attacks are.

“It’s like we saw before, the akuma servants are like robots, they can’t react quickly so changing up her powers is likely just as much of a problem. She's probably not as dangerous as we initially thought.”

“So maybe we should face this problem head on now that we aren’t cornered?”

Ice Noir changed direction and began skating towards the umbrella-wielding akuma.

Stormy Weather noticed the approaching cat and raised her umbrella, creating a mighty gale to blow him back and ending him flying past Ladyice to the end of the hallway.

“She can use her other powers… can confirm,” Ice noir commented as he got off the wall, still dazed.

Ladyice skated up to the dazed cat and helped stabilize him. Despite seeming like a wasted effort, the cat’s brash antics actually inspired Ladyice with a way to take her out.

“I just figured out how we can stop her, think you can give her one last charge for me?”

“Why Bugaboo, asking me to rush headfirst into danger? How heartless.” He feigned hurt.

Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“Silly Kitty. Just be ready to hang in there when she blasts you with wind. Don’t get blown back this time.”

“Got it.”

Ice Noir quickly skated across the ice as he drew his weapon. He was ready for her this time.

“Hey breezy weezy! The weather today was supposed to be sunny with a 20% chance of raining Cats and Dogs!” Ice Noir called out, clearly happy with his lame joke.

Stormy Weather saw the cat approaching once again and prepared to send another wind blast at him.

But the cat was prepared this time around and extended his staff to anchor himself to the walls on either side.

“Nice try!” Ice Noir snarked. “But a small little puff of wind won't blow me back again.”

The storm akuma decided instead of creating just another wind blast, she was going to step it up with a cyclone attack! A powerful tornado tunnel would surely blast the cat down for good.

“We were wrong! She can amp up the power too!” Ice Noir exclaimed as he held onto his staff with all his might while his body was being blown back by the massive winds. “This was not well thought out!”

He focused on digging his claws into his staff and doing his best to remain in the wind tunnel. The powerful winds blew into his face and he could see Stormy Weather slowly approaching.

“I don’t think I can hold on much longer, Ladyice!”

He felt his grip slipping. Any second now, he was going to get blown back.

“Don’t worry, Kitty. I got this.”

Stormy Weather didn’t get a chance to react when she felt something tackle her full force and rush her into the wall on the opposite end of the hallway.

The wind died down and Ice Noir was able to land on his skates. He released his grip on his staff and fixed his windblown hair to resemble its original state before quickly skating down the hall to help his partner.

“Nice job, Ladyice.”

The red-clad heroine stood up from her grapple with the storm akuma.

“Actually…”

Ice Noir looked up to see that his partner had shifted power ups. Her skates and ice skater aesthetic were replaced with a suit that had red spacesuit-like plating, a jetpack with retractable wings with red and light blue colors that matches her helmet.

She had changed into her space form, Cosmobug.

“Space power up! Because you can fly through the wind! Genius!”

Cosmobug smiled.

“Well, Stormy Weather is dazed but probably not for long.”

The two heroes noticed her about to grab her umbrella, but Chat Noir’s cat-like reflexes helped him snatch it first.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Ice Noir broke the umbrella over his knee.

“I don’t think she will be as mobile without her powers.”

Stormy Weather tried to stand but slipped on the icy floor she had created.

“Let’s just make our way to the boss,” Cosmobug said. She used the jet on her back to swoop up Ice Noir and fly slowly down the icy hall.

“Just like you to sweep me off my feet. But don’t think I will be a smitten kitten like usual.”

“Oh? Is that so?” The bug heroine raised an eyebrow. “It’s hard to imagine that you haven’t been dreaming about this scenario.”

“It helps that you aren’t riding a horse with the wind blowing in your hair,” Chat Noir joked back, catching Ladybug’s teasing.

Cosmobug quickly moved them to a part of the hall where there was no ice. Both undid their potion transformations, reverting back to their usual hero forms.

“Not keeping the jetpack?” Chat Noir asked. “It is really cool.”

“The room halls are pretty limited, and there's not much mobility, otherwise I might have,” Ladybug confessed.

The two heroes took a moment to catch their breaths and figure out their surroundings.

“We should thank Stormy Weather.”

The cat looked at his partner skeptically, remembering how a few minutes ago, the wind had nearly sent him flying through a brick wall.

“What makes you say that?”

“Lila probably had Stormy Weather out and about to flush out other people in the school and make sure the area was difficult to traverse. She likely sent out a bunch of other akuma to do the same, which means her forces are scattered and we have a better shot of dealing with her with fewer obstacles.”

Chat Noir nodded. He would not have deduced such a thing from one encounter with a weather akuma.

“Good to know, so the plan is to locate her and save the day.”

“No need to figure out where she is, I already have a good idea where she should be.”

Chat Noir noticed Ladybug had already started moving. He quickly followed behind, though he didn’t need an explanation this time. He already knew where Ladybug was heading — to his homeroom class, but he couldn’t say that without revealing what he knew.

_____________________________________________________________

‘This was a ridiculous decision.’

That was the thought running through Chloé’s mind as she ran for her life from a large group of Reflekta clones.

The two or three she had run into early were easy to avoid, but now it seemed like a horde of those tacky clones. And all of the ice that surrounded certain hallways made it impossible to traverse. She was limited in her running space and she was running out. But what made it all worse was that now those Reflekta copies had adjusted to running.

“HOW CAN YOU RUN IN THOSE HEELS!?” Chloé screamed as she ran down the hall.

She just had to try and be a hero. Why was she even doing this? The assistant probably got turned into one of those gross clones or got masked like those other students. She could have just sat back and just waited for Ladybug and Chat noir to find her or let them handle it.

“You can’t run forever” The crowd of clones sang in Rather impressive and creepy harmony.

Chloé took a turn down the hall and went into the door of the nearest room.

She closed the door and locked it before smelling the musty wet air.

“What the… EWW!” She spat in disgust as she realized she had locked herself in a janitor’s closet.

“Why did it have to be in such a gross smelly room?” she moaned.

Unfortunately, her comments caught the attention of the crowd chasing her.

She heard banging on the door.

“You can’t hide, we will find.”

Chloe put her back to the door to keep them out and felt herself slide down it in despair.

Was this how it was going to end? Getting turned into one of those fashion nightmares after hiding out in such a rank smelling closet? She didn’t even save… wait. She did save someone. She saved that old man. It hadn't been glamorous, but she did manage to save at least one person.

“I guess I did do something good after all. May not have been exceptional… but it was something.” Chloé smiled for a brief moment.

She took a moment to look at the positives, Ladybug and Chat Noir would likely come in and save the day, plus there were those other two heroes. Perhaps that would be enough. But she had to admit, finding solace in that was getting harder to do when the smell of the closet was destroying her nostrils. Just then, she remembered she had some nice perfume in her bag that she could spray to alleviate the smell.

“Well, at least I won’t smell awful when they capture me.”

She put her hand in her bag and felt around for her perfume. As she searched, she felt an unfamiliar object in her designer handbag. She pulled it out.

“What is this?”

She noticed a note on top of it. It was a bit dark to read so she pulled out her phone and turned on her flashlight.

“Return to Ladybug after mission?”

Chloé’s eyes went wide. Could this be what she thought it was? How was it possible? She didn’t have time to question it.

She opened the box and out came a floating bee creature, who Chloé recognized right away. It was real.

“Pollen!” Chloé exclaimed with cheer.

“It has been a while, my queen.” the bee kwami said.

Chloé would have loved to revel in this moment more but she knew that door was going to burst open any minute. She needed to be the bee heroine.

“As much as I would love to talk more, we need to hurry. We have some akuma clones that need bashing.”

“Right away, my queen!”

Chloe put the bee miraculous in her hair.

“Pollen, Buzz on!”

_____________________________________________________________

“It is a good thing there are so many copies,” Ryuuko stated as she leaped over a few Reflekta copies.

Viperion swerved and dodged the replicas of his sister’s akumatized form while avoiding getting caught in the bubbles that froze them and floated them up in the air.

Deadzone had been doing a lot of friendly fire thanks to its single minded obsession.

“After this, I really hope I never have to see my sister take this form again,” Viperion commented.

“Right, Adrien mentioned that you were Juleka’s brother. Older brother, right?”

“Older twin brother. But yes.”

“Really? You seem older.”

“I am a grade ahead of her, but we are the same age,” he explained.

“Could have sworn you were at least a year or two older.”

“A lot of people think the same thing. Even my mom forgets, sometimes. Rose, my sister’s girlfriend, says I radiate ‘big brother energy’ or something.”

“You learn something new.”

“What about you? Any siblings?”

“Sadly no. I was an only child.”

“Too bad, I think you would have made a great older sister,” Viperion encouraged

“A snake charmer, are we?”

“Well I am the snake, and I am not charming myself, so I think the more correct term would be dragon charmer.”

“Change that to fun killer because you killed my fun right there.”

Before Viperion could retort, they had made their way down to the end of the hall and noticed that it was frozen off.

“Dead end,” they say at the same time.

“No, Deadzone.”

The two turn to see the deadly akuma amalgamation pointing its blaster at them.

The two heroes looked at the deadly akuma.

“Any ideas?” Ryuuko questioned.

“Just one.”

Viperion moved his hand to his bracelet.

“Second chance!” Viperion activated his power.

“Now we have some options.” Viperion explained.

The akuma fired a bubble blast at Ryuuko, and she was frozen.

“Second chance!”

Things reset to how they were a few seconds before. Viperion grabbed Ryuuko and pulled her out of the way of the oncoming bubble blast.

“Thanks. For a minute there, I thought that thing had me.”

“It did, but I used my power to stop that. we still have to get out of here.”

“Look out!”

Ryuuko got hit with another bubble as they got up, protecting him from an attack.

“This might take a few attempts…”

_____________________________________________________________

Hawkmoth paced inside his lair.

Mayura was out there, his son was out there… and things were not going the way he planned. Masquerade seems to be building a base for herself and was more concerned with that than getting the miraculous. Adrien is MIA, and Mayura isn’t responding.

“I might need to step in. But there is a lot of risk in this. Far too many variables that I can't account for”

Hawkmoth never liked leaving his lair. It had too many risks to it. After Heroes' Day, he had nearly been exposed. And after that fiasco in Shanghai he didn’t want to risk getting taken out by his own akuma. He had already taken plenty of risks that had blown up in his face. Would this be another one of those times he would need to risk his miraculous?

“But it could also be just what is needed to beat Ladybug and Chat Noir once and for all.”

With an akuma this powerful, the two would likely have to use their special powers multiple times. If he can just locate them and wait for them to do so, he could potentially gain the advantage. Maybe Mayura was on to something with her actions.

Hawkmoth walked to the window.

“There will be a right time. I just need to wait for it.”

He felt an itch in the back of his neck. He wasn’t sure what it was but he could tell one thing, something big was going to go down, and he needed to figure out the right call soon or it could cost him dearly.

_____________________________________________________________

“…And that’s her plan.” Simularé finished. “As for Ladybug and Chat Noir… I am unsure. I lost track of them before I was given a new assignment. But they are in the building and they have not tried to leave.”

Mayura smiled at the information. While it was quite unfortunate that she didn’t have the exact location of the two heroes, it was good to know that they were still in the building, and Lila’s plan was certainly something interesting.

“Indeed, that is quite a clever plan. Ensuring everyone in the school couldn’t escape was pretty smart. You likely had a few escapes anyway, with how clumsy some of the akuma were. You are fortunate that neither one was Ladybug or Chat Noir. Still, though, it isn’t your master’s fault for that. They are basically mindless puppets. But then again, it seems that there might be zero escapes since there seems to be no new reports on the subject of a school takeover.”

Simularé let the peacock villainess muse, analyzing her movements as if trying to figure out any advantage it could handle.

“So, the next step now that all communications are cut is to send out a message that Ladybug and Chat Noir have already been defeated, so as to cause massive despair in order to create even more minions. Sounds a bit derivative, don’t you think?” Mayura mused.

Simularé said nothing. It held its tongue. Deep down, it knew that starting any dispute with this peacock was not wise. Especially given that crazy power she had over their being.

“Still, it is quite a plan. And with all those extra akuma recruited and Ladybug and Chat noir cut off from their guardian, they wouldn’t be able to get any sort of back up. They wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight before all of Paris is under Masquerade’s thumb. I approve of the plan.”

“I am glad you do,” Simularé stated with a forced smile.

Their conversation was cut short when an akuma appeared. Seeing one it did not recognize, the artist akuma prepared to fight. But thankfully the shapeshifting sentimonster stepped in.

“Stand down Evillustrator, this one is not our enemy,” Simularé ordered.

Evillustrator eased and walked over.

“Masquerade has ordered that we start reinforcing the building. She wants this place to be like a fortress,” he parroted.

Mayura looked at the artist.

A fortress? Yes, Simularé mentioned that Masquerade wanted to reinforce the school so that she could ensure Ladybug and ChatNoir would have less chance of escape.

Simularé nodded at the akuma servant.

“Alright, so she wants us to drop the illusion, then?”

“She wants the place to be like a fortress.”

“Go ahead and start,” Simularé motioned. She figured that her master likely didn’t care about the illusion much as she was prepared for stage two. But she would maintain it for a bit.

The akuma moved to the end of the roof and begins working to reinforce the walls

Mayura began moving to the door of the roof to get back down into the school.

“Tell your boss I will be heading to her, and she best be welcoming,” Mayura ordered.

“As you command,” Simularé replied, hiding a large amount of anger and resentment towards the blue bird.

As soon as the blue peacock is out of sight.

Simularé contacts its master.

“Simularé, what is going on? Did Evilustrator reach you?”

“Yes. He is working to make this place a fortress. You want me to maintain the illusion, right?”

“I am about to go public shortly. After I make the announcement. Drop the illusion and make sure this place is a full-on fortress. After that is done, report back to me.

“Yes master. By the way, I had an idea.”

“Oh?”

Simularé smiled sinisterly. She was going to show Peacock why she was sorely mistaken.

“I will report the details to you shortly.”

_____________________________________________________________

“Everything is set up,” Robostus noted.

“Excellent. Let’s do it now.”

The Reflekta camera crew was all set, and Gamer had set it up so the moment they went live, every screen in Paris would show Masquerade.

Masquerade got off her call with Simularé. Something seemed a bit off with her sentimonster but she was intrigued that she had a plan.

“We are live in 5….4…3….2…” the gamer stated before pressing the go live button.

Masquerade smiled.

“Good afternoon, citizens of Paris. You may not know who I am, but don’t worry! You will be very familiar with me very soon. I am Masquerade, and I have decided to make Paris my personal kingdom.”

She paused to let that sink in.

“Now you are likely very alarmed by this declaration and that is normal. It will only be a matter of time before I spread my influence to everyone in Paris.”

She paused to let her words hang in the air before continuing.

“Do not be afraid, I am no monster. I plan on being a fair leader. All I ask is for your undying admiration and absolute loyalty. After that, you are free to live your lives as you normally would. Do not resist and you will have no problems. However, if you do… well, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

Masquerade took a calm breath before finishing.

“This last message goes out to the heroes of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I know you are here, I know you believe you will stop me, and I know you have allies here. But you will fall to me. Your days of superheroing have come to an end, your miraculous will be taken from you, and I will expose you as the failures you are,” Masquerade finished with venom.

She ended the transmission.

“Now make sure that it is being looped,” she ordered.

“Already is,” Gamer confirmed. “And panic is starting to rise.”

Masquerade smiled. Her plan was already working.

It may have seemed like a simple ego boost, but that speech of hers was a crucial part of her plan. Her charm bracelet could hyper focus on anyone that was akumatized in the past and have their biggest insecurities exposed. But that one by one process took far too long, if the hope of the entire populace of Paris was already demoralized. Then all she needed to do was send out her masks and let them take hold. And all she needed to do was go out there and send the masks.

She could already feel massive amounts of negative emotion from outside of the school. As soon as she headed out of the school, she could easily go and get more akuma soldiers. She could feel her bracelet trembling with all the potential additions.

She was prepared to leave, activating one of the charms to give her black angel wings, but something she remembered caused her to stop.

“Simularé I am moving to phase two of my plan. Get down here.”

It only took a few seconds for the sentimonster to jump from the roof and knock on the window.

One for the Reflekta copies opened the large window to let in what appeared to be Dark Cupid, before it shifted into the phantasm form that was its base.

“Right on cue. So, what is this plan you wanted to suggest?” Masquerade inquired. “And be sure it is not a waste of my time.”

“What if I told you I could get you a Miraculous?”

The sentimonster could feel that Masquerade was very pleased with that idea.

_____________________________________________________________

37 attempts.

It took thirty-seven resets before Viperion figured out what they needed to do.

“Ryuuko, follow my directions exactly,” Viperion instructed. “I know how to win.”

He quickly pulled her towards him to make sure she dodged the first bubble.

The akuma was surprised by the avoidance.

Viperion smiled.

“Your next line is, ‘How did you know I was going to blast at her?'” Viperion stated confidently.

“How did you know I was going to blast at her?” Deadzone parroted in shock before realizing they had said exactly what Viperion had said they would say.

The dragon heroine looked at the determined expression of the snake. She could see experience and certainty in his posture. All her years of fencing taught Kagami the art of reading body language, and the hero in front of her was someone that exuded an aura of confidence. She knew she could trust him.

“Alright, Sassy Snake, I will let you take the reins.” Ryuuko responded.

“Jump to the left in 2 seconds and start running.”

Ryuuko followed the instructions and sure enough avoided yet another bubble attack from Deadzone.

“Head to their left and bounce off the locker at the end.”

Ryuuko dashed past the akuma and jumped as Viperion instructed, perfectly avoiding the barrage of blasts sent her way. Viperion had perfectly mirrored her motion as he explained the next steps.

“Now somersault twice and draw your sword.”

Ryuuko somersaulted as Viperion leaped over her and the dragon turned to draw her sword, now on the other side of the hall.

“Now as soon as it fires a bubble at you, activate your wind! No matter what! I believe in you Ryuuko.”

The last words seemed a bit strange to the fencer. What did he mean by that?

“Will you shut up!?” Deadzone shouted before sending a bubble at Viperion.

“For my final glimpse into the future, you will say, ‘Not so tough now are ya?'”

The bubble contacted Viperion.

“Viperion!” Ryuuko cried out.

The bubble enveloped the snake and floated to the ceiling, taking his frozen form along with it.

“No…” Ryuuko muttered. She looked down in sorrow.

I failed to protect him. He ended up protecting me. He had been backing me up to make sure I wouldn’t do anything reckless.

Ryuuko felt her mind flashback to a few days ago which now seemed almost like it happened a year ago. They had made such a good team back then and now… they get a chance to be heroes again and she couldn’t cover him like he did her.

“Ha, not so tough now are ya?” Deadzone stated with confidence.

Ryuuko’s ears perked up at the statement. That was the line Viperion predicted they would say. That means… Viperion knew this would happen! Which meant his previous statement was to show he planned this. She knew what to do.

Deadzone turned its attention to Ryuuko.

“Don’t worry, you will join him shortly.”

Deadzone fired another bubble right at her, but this time Ryuuko wasn’t moving. She was at the perfect distance to do what she needed to do.

Ryuuko smiled.

“Wind dragon!”

The dragon-themed heroine turned into a cloud and blew the bubble right back at the akuma.

“What!”

The bubble encapsulated the akuma, causing it to freeze in place and then float to the ceiling.

Ryuuko returned to her original form and smiled, seeing how they had finally incapacitated the akuma.

“We did it, Viperion. We took them down. I'm sorry it cost you so much… I won't let you down!”

She raised her blade, upon realizing that her partner was indeed trapped in a bubble.

“Wait a minute…”

Ryuuko walked underneath Viperion’s bubble. She wasn’t entirely sure if this would work, since akuma magic was weird and often unpredictable, but it would make a lot of sense if it did.

“It is a bubble, so this should work right?” Ryuuko questioned as she used the tip of her sword to touch the bubble. She pushed it forward a bit causing the bubble to pop.

Her partner dropped to the floor.

“Ugh… my head.”

“You’re okay!”

Ryuuko hugged her friend, but then realized her sudden action and quickly jumped back up. A bit flustered, she could swear Marinette was rubbing off on her.

“I am glad you are alright, friend. You had me concerned — slightly,” Ryuuko corrected herself.

Viperion was surprised by the quick motions but managed to steady himself.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. But make it quick, we will need to get a move on.”

“Okay… Who am I?”

Ryuuko froze at the question. She could see the confusion on his face. He was completely serious.

“Oh… that is not good at all.”

_____________________________________________________________

Masquerade is on phase two of her plan and Simularé is starting to make waves.

Who will get to the akuma first, Mayura or our heroes.

What will happen to Viperion now that his memory is gone?

Will Queen bee be the right choice?

Reblog and Comment . Your support is invaluable in keeping this fic alive. And I love hearing your thoughts on it

#ml #ml fic #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #ladrien #miraculous fanfiction #drama #ladybug #chat noir #slight ladynoir #fan akuma #masquerade akuma #ml au

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doublelsatan · 2 years

Text

Space Is A Lie[SPOILERS FOR ISWM 4/2/22 TRAILER]

[Just a heads up, I talk in first person for this since I'm placing myself, ideas, and conclusions into this theory. Cause we're all watching the trailer and going to be a captain of Invincible. But for this, its coming from my perspective. Got it? Cool :)]

Let me be honest with y'all, it's 11:25 AM PST time as I'm writing. I just woke up and I wasn't expecting to get hit with a nuke of depression. Thanks for that Mark, didn't know I needed that instead of coffee. Off to a great Saturday morning for me.

Before I go to the main bits that concern me I noticed something. The main hub area going dark, the hallway with the posters saying "Don't Open the Door" that shifts to the spire structure, and the cryo chamber with glowing eyes and a hand also having poster plastered around seem familiar. It's like a call back to WKM(Who Killed Markiplier) when we walk through the house with a green sickly filter. It's like traversing through limbo, being alive but possibly dead. The three shots I listed have that same look to me but it's blue with snow or dust particles floating around. It's pretty cool to see, nice shots bro.

Getting right to the point, the happy crew shot is gone forever and I'm the reason why. The only time we see them is in the hallway scene where Mark isn't trying to spill his drink and at the end giving a run through of new/old faces. But my pride and joy, "The" pride and joy, reason to exist pride and joy is gone. And it's all my fault. Haven't even boarded the ship yet but the trailer is telling me I'm the problem. Always has been.

To stab you even more in the feelies that you can't out skate in heelies, we get new phrases. "You won't save them" and "You can't save them." Like wow, thanks for telling me honestly so I just go in with no soul and watch people die from my mistakes. Which is interesting that I guessed this in another theory before. Now he's just rubbing it in my face. Great manipulation strategy in writing there Mark, 10 outta 10 would recommend. That was sarcasm but in actuality good job on that cause it worked. Every person I meet in Space is just set up to die at a specific timeframe and it's my fault. It will always be my fault...

But what if I told you, that it wasn't real? This is a guess and a real big one too. What if it was all just a simulation of sorts? Like this nice fun fancy cosmic endeavor was just an act for us to play in while something real goes on behind the scenes? We get this idea with the consistent glitching, scenes repeating or changing, the codes telling us a story, words and phrases getting cut out to give a sentence new meaning. I can't be the only one that thinks this right? And it's done intentionally too. Someone or some thing is trying to get us to know the truth of what's actually happening. Now I think we're the one's really asleep and someone from the outside is trying to wake us up. So the "Captain needs sleep" poster makes a lot more sense.

I won't rule him out entirely but it could even be Darkiplier helping us out. He's done it a few times before in the past. So he could be finally breaking out and getting what he wants. Mark's channel. Did you think I would say "me?" Mark doesn't allow his egos to give us affection so the original plan for him stays. And I feel like he's going to be painted as the villain but have the moment to prove himself. Cool if it happens, missed opportunity if it doesn't.

Honestly, I don't mind if you guys think this is stupid and rip this idea to shreds. Not gonna harm me none, it's an idea, a theory I came up with due to the information given. Besides, Mark and the one's that worked on ISWM know exactly how the story unfolds. And it's just an edited trailer to keep us busy until the final project releases. So it's fine, just mindless thoughts into an endless galaxy of theories.

Things just don't happen by accident, especially this. Welp won't know until Monday which is around the corner. We can figure it out, it'll be fine.

#markiplier #iswm #spoilers for this version of the trailer!#did someone order a venti truth bomb of depression from the trailer? cause i didn't ask for this #my thoughts #a theory #only a day left and it's all coming togther #who can really trust? that's the main question

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chaoticrumii · 3 years

Text

FIRESIDE

summary : while on the way to albedo’s, you and diluc end up in the midst of a nasty blizzard.

genre : fluff

perspective : second person pov

pairing : diluc x gn!reader ( they / them pronouns )

word count : 2.3k

warnings : mentions of hypothermia / mentions of death / fight scenes / mild sexual references

“i still have a lot to do at the guild, how about you take a rest while I go back ?” - diluc ragnivindr ( in-game voicelines )

Visiting Albedo was practically a hobby of yours at this point. As a long-time friend of the genius alchemist, you had decided his icy home in Dragonspine had to be lonely when only a mere few would muster up the guts to enter.

It wasn’t a problem with Albedo specifically, just the location he had chosen to make his experimental grounds. The low temperatures in Dragonspine already warded away most adventurers, but surprisingly Albedo had chosen that desolate place to become his man-cave, if you could even call the bones of an old beast and danger-filled mountains that.

He had found a certain exquisite beauty in the freezing cold climate, sketching icy flowers whilst the chilling breeze was numbing his face. Knowing Albedo, he had probably already gotten used to it and had made a potion to warm himself up to boot.

Knowing the lonesome man was probably up in the mountains with his beautiful Geo flowers, you had decided it was time to visit, and bring some warm food for him.

The temperatures in Dragonspine were unsettlingly low, so bringing a Pyro-vision wielder along with you was most likely the safest option when traversing those rigid peaks.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem right for you to ask of Bennett’s assistance every time you were to go. He loved a good adventure, and strived to explore the entirety of Dragonspine with you, but only last week he had come home, staggering up to Katheryne at the Adventurer’s Guild all banged up. You would see Fischl eyeing you sometimes when the two of you passed along the streets of Mondstat as well, and it just didn’t sit right with you if you were putting the young adventurer in danger.

To be fair, you had somehow come out of each and every wreckage with Benny unscathed, and with Benny all beat up, but it was most likely his horrible luck. Most likely.

Regardless, it wasn’t like you were about to ask for the help of Klee. She’d probably run to the Yetis first thing. Although, bringing her to visit her big brother wouldn’t be a bad decision. Alas, that would have to be left for another adventure.

Who else to ask of in Mondstat for assistance travelling through the icy blizzards of Dragonspine? Of course, you were able to convince your loving boyfriend to go with you.

When you had told Diluc you wanted him to go with you to meet Albedo instead of Bennett, he didn’t give much of a visual reaction, but you could sense that he was probably quite excited. You had never actually asked him to go on a trip with you even though you had been together for a few months. And how wonderful the months you had together were.

The day of the trip, you had waited for him at the Angel’s Share, swinging your legs at the bar table. Your boyfriend was a successful bar owner after all. And a bewilderingly dazzling one at that.

“Would you like an Apple Cider, Y/N? The traveler stopped by and purchased one earlier, but there’s still another in stock. It’s on the house, of course.” Charles offered, wiping the counter with an orange towel.

“Charles, you really need to stop spoiling me with drinks because I’m dating your boss.” You said, laughing.

“Doesn’t that mean I have even more of an incentive to do it now?”

Just then, Diluc strode into the bar, Wolf’s Gravestone heaved over his shoulder. He headed towards you with an expressionless face, but you could see the corners of his eyes softening when he saw you waiting for him.

“Good afternoon, Charles. I’m here to pick up my lover.” He announced, stoic as ever.

“Have a nice time then, to the both of you! Safe travels.” Charles said, bidding us farewell as we headed on the way to the dragon’s final resting place.

The two of you walked along the overgrown path, chatting about the tiniest of things, and you could see that Diluc was smiling just the smallest bit. He rarely tore down his blank mask, but when he did, it was only during times when you were the sole person that could see him. To you, his smile was sacred, and the one thing you would have over any person in Teyvat and beyond. That besides his heart and undying devotion.

But of course, that part of it was mostly already implied.

Waving at the team of adventurers camped out beside the frost-coated bridge, you carefully stepped between the broken planks with Diluc’s hand in yours.

“Be careful, if you fall into the water you’ll get too cold. You of all people must know how Dragonspine is.” He mumbled, his brows creased.

You chuckled, slowly hiking up the steep mountain path. You were admiring the scenery around you, the snow falling gracefully from the sky as you trekked up the marked path through the centre of the mountainous area. You felt a tug from the hand intertwined in yours.

Diluc pulled you behind a rock as he poked his head from the side, surveying a group of what looked like members of the Fatui that were positioned by a small camp on the side of the path. His mouth curved into a snarl as he watched the overly dressed Fatui holding their weapons menacingly.

“Stay here.” He whispered gently, pulling the hood of your coat over your head.

He hefted his black claymore, the crimson lining evident against the cascading snowflakes. As he dragged the huge weapon along the ground, the Fatui looked towards him, unsheathing their respective weapons. With two guns aimed at his head, Diluc simply brushed a hand through his hair and charged.

Wolf’s Gravestone sparking, fire ignited along the blade as it collided with the side of the Electrohammer Vanguard. They were thrusted backwards as a result of the overload, their hammer dropping to their side as they raised the weapon once more, slamming down onto the ground that Diluc had just stood on. Your boyfriend dodged the bullets from the Pyroslinger Bracer and the attacks from the hammer swiftly, getting a small distance away as he hefted the claymore over his shoulder once more.

The weapon burst into flames, and he thrust it forward as a great Phoenix rushed forward, trampling over the Fatui enemies. The Electrohammer Vanguard crumbled to dust before your eyes, their body disintegrating into blue and yellow.

Diluc walked back towards you, grasping your hand in his as he lifted you up onto your feet from your sitting position behind the rock.

“The Pyroslinger Bracer got away, must’ve been because of Pyro resistance.” He muttered.

“Diluc, we don’t have to go hostile on them. It’s fine if we let them go.” You scolded, hitting him on the arm lightly.

“I just didn’t want them to hurt you.” He mumbled, looking away.

You laughed, placing your cold palms on his cheeks, squeezing. He smiled gently, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into him.

“You really are adorable when you’re all soft. But seriously, the Fatui aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be. I had a talk with Childe the last time I visited Liyue with the traveler. He’s not all that evil, just flirty and mischievous.” You comforted your boyfriend, nuzzling into him.

“What do you mean by the Harbinger being flirty?” He asked, his lips curving into a frown.

“I mean he’s a flirt. The first time we met, he said ‘Hey cutie, hold still’. It was a little hilarious, but there are relatively good people in the Fatui.” You explained.

The wind picked up, snow glazing over your view. You looked towards the sky, and the grey emptiness only responded with darker clouds and harsher winds. Diluc opened up his black coat, tucking you under what he could as the two of you continued your journey into the mountains.

“A blizzard is approaching. We need to get to shelter, and fast.” Diluc quickly explained, grabbing a hold of your hand and dragging you towards the nearest cave.

As barrels of snow plummeted towards the ground, the cold made you shiver down to the bone. The storm itself was grappling with your clothing as you struggled to walk forward. How much longer would it be? Your body couldn’t handle the cold for too long, hypothermia wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for wanderers in Dragonspine. Diluc only grasped your hand tighter, and you continued to make your way towards the small opening in the rock face.

Once you had ducked your head and entered the small cave, Diluc pulled out some sticks from his coat and proceeded to use his elemental skill to light up the small campfire he had created. You huddled close, rubbing your hands for warmth. It wasn’t a lot, seeing as the opening in the rock was just that. The cave was about as small as a cave could be. There wasn’t really a back area you could lay in and shield yourself from the cold. It seemed as though the storm could blow out the fire instantaneously.

“Are you alright?” Diluc asked, seemingly concerned as his fingers ghosted the skin of your cheek.

“It’s just really cold.” You stammered, trying to keep the cold air from entering your mouth.

Your teeth chattered, and you were sure that Diluc could hear it too. The subtle noise was invading your brain, and you couldn’t do much about it. The small fire just wasn’t enough to keep you toasty. Diluc didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. He was leaning against the rock face, keeping his eyes on you.

You curled up into a small ball on the rocky floor of the cave. Wrapping your arms around yourself and keeping the body heat was the best option you could go for, other than setting yourself on fire. But Diluc definitely wouldn’t stand for that. As time passed, the blizzard that had you trapped only got worse. Was there anyone that could save you? It wasn’t safe to leave the cave.

Without realizing it, Diluc had crouched down next to you, placing his large coat over you. His brows were creased, but his face was still stoic as ever. It was Diluc’s way of saying he cared. He gingerly wrapped his arms around you, as if trying to shield you from the blizzard raging only mere feet away.

“I’m almost out of energy particles, and there aren’t any enemies out here in this storm. I won’t be able to light another flame.” He confessed, sighing as he looked out towards the bleak spread of white.

He squeezed you tightly, but you could barely feel it from the numbness of the cold. Maybe it was because of Diluc’s pyro vision that he could last so long in the barraging snow. How could you even begin to do that?

Struggling in that state was futile, the air only getting thinner and thinner as the cold got harsher and harsher. You closed your eyes for a moment, and let yourself have a brief respite. Diluc’s guttural shout could be heard, from someplace far away, as red flashed so bright you could see the glow behind your closed eyelids.

And for just a while after, it was dark.

You opened your eyes once more to a rocky ceiling, and an incessant noise, the scribbling of a pencil on paper. You gazed to your left to see the chalk prince in all his glory, sketching mindlessly. You quickly recalled the events of what happened previously, and you carefully sat up.

“You need your rest, Y/N. Your body temperature is below what it should be. Besides, I haven’t yet completed my drawing.” He said, continuing his art piece.

“Y/N?”

You turned to see Diluc, who immediately leapt forward and encased you in his arms. You sighed, snuggling into him as you felt the warmth radiating off his body.

“He sent a Phoenix to my laboratory, nearly singed Timaeus’ eyebrows off. If given the chance, I’d like to study it. It’s not exactly a familiar, nor a beast. Although, I’d have to run some tests first to be sure.” Albedo muttered, tilting his drawing towards you, which displayed a great Phoenix, much similar to Diluc’s elemental burst.

“The food! What happened to our food?” You realized, looking around the floor for any sign of your rucksack.

“Timaeus, Sucrose and I were able to find you two in the cave. Unfortunately, the food was not a fortunate as the two of you. It’s been taken in, don’t you worry.” He said, smiling gently.

You let out a sigh, flopping back down onto the bed Albedo had prepared for you, with Diluc in tow. Diluc lightly pressed a kiss to your temple, hugging you even tighter and burying his face in the crook of your neck. You chuckled, leaning into him as you peppered his neck in small kisses. Gentle ones, that left your face burning at the heat of his skin. You could feel his heart beating in the veins below your lips.

“Unfortunately, I don’t really do many biological experiments or observations of the human sort, so you two can have the laboratory to yourselves. Please get rid of the samples as well, I won’t need them for my tests any time soon.” Albedo said, his cheeks slightly red as he watched you and Diluc, leaving the cave with his sketchbook, presumably to meet up with Timaeus and Sucrose.

“Did he just—”

“He’s definitely got the wrong idea.” Diluc huffed, his face flushed, as he pulled away from you.

He picked you up, carrying you bridal style as he lowered you both next to the nearby fire. You leaned your head against his, and he wrapped an arm around you gingerly.

The wholesome moment by the fireside could only be described as incredibly heart-warming, as the fire gently cracked, and Diluc leaned in to press a kiss to your lips.

written = 07.08.2021

proofread = 09.08.2021

#diluc ragnvindr #diluc x y/n #diluc x gender neutral reader #diluc ragnivindr x reader #diluc x you #diluc fluff #diluc #genshin impact #fluff #fanfiction #one shot #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact content #genshin impact fanfiction #diluc oneshot #fanfic #gaming #ru's fanfictions #ru's imagines

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shoichee · 3 years

Text

Rose-Tinted

Craving for angst with kise please!! Like both are afraid to act on their feelings which ends up hurting the both of them unconsciously. Idk, maybe kise is trying to “test” the girl, but went a bit too far i guess. Whatever floats your boat!! I just want angst but maybe hopefully still HEA in the end (or whichever your muse takes you) ;-; thank youu ❤️

Kise x Reader

Word Count: 6975

Note: oh my GOD, HELP THIS WAS 17 PAGES ON MY GOOGLE DOC I COULDNT STOP MYSELF………. angst, happy ending, fake dating!au, mean old kise ….. girl idk WHAT I WROTE I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT ????? reader POV first half and kise POV second half~

@knb-kreations

»»—————　☼　—————««

He holds you so gently, the touch so feather-light as he cradles your head and dips his own head in for a soft peck. The warmth of his lips makes you feel things you shouldn’t feel, things that you still chased for more in a never-ending cycle. You hold onto his hands thumbing your temples to try to anchor yourself further into the bliss, but it ends all too soon when he separates from you and gives you a radiant smile.

You were rudely pulled out of your rose-tinted trance when you heard gasps and chatter amongst the gawking students nearby, particularly Kise’s fans. He doesn’t pay any mind to their reactions and turns his friendly demeanor towards them.

“So you see everyone,” he cheerfully says. “I’m sorry I can’t accept any of your affections, as much as it flatters me so… after all, I have my dear (y/n)-cchi by my side!”

Groans and cries rung throughout the campus as most wail about missing out the opportunity to be Kise’s romantic partner, but before you can listen to their laments, Kise hurriedly tugs you away to the privacy of the back of a building nearby, away from prying eyes and ears. He drops your wrist just as fast and yawns with a stretch.

“What time should we meet up tomorrow?” he casually says, taking out his phone from his pocket.

“Huh?”

“Well, we can’t exactly sell our image of us being a couple unless we walk to and from school together consistently, right (y/n)?”

The rose-tinted lenses on your self-indulgent fantasy shatters to the ground instantly. You gulp, the swallowed spit hitting down to your stomach in heavy dread, where it was previously occupied by fluttering butterflies just moments prior.

This isn’t real.

“Ah… um,” you hesitated, thinking of a reasonable time, so you can wake up and get ready accordingly. “How about this time…”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he replies, shutting off his phone before he walks a few steps away from you but then stopping. “Huh, uh… should I walk you home first? There might be some nosy people around, and we might as well get some practice in as an official couple.”

“W-Why don’t we start tomorrow morning instead?” you suggest. “A lot’s happened today, and well, I wanna have some time to myself.” Kise impassively stares at you for a couple of seconds before he forms a grin.

“Ah ha, well then, (y/n)-cchi,” he shouts jovially, making sure that his voice rang throughout the area for anyone nearby to hear. “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning, my love!”

“Y-Yeah…” you mumbled, your hand held up in a half-hearted wave. “See you…”

With that parting, you turned to the opposite direction to exit through the side gates to get to your home. Your mind scrambles to recall the impulsive decisions you decided to take on a whim today. The grip on your bag tightens as you finally realized what sort of situation you got yourself into.

You like Kise, plain and simple. You’ve always gazed longingly at him whenever his presence entered within your line of vision. You couldn’t even fault his fans for being so whipped for the basketball player in the first place, not when you felt like you were more enthralled by him than anyone else. So what does a love-stricken fool like you do when the source of attraction directly asks you to partake in a “relationship?” You immediately accept his conditional proposal on auto-pilot before he barely finishes his sentence.

It felt so wrong, yet so right. How can you hate this arrangement when you enjoyed that first kiss you shared with Kise earlier? But how can you love this arrangement when you knew Kise only kissed you to drive everyone off? You stopped on the sidewalk and heaved a huge exhale, and you continued to walk again, the action not even remotely able to clear your head. Your mind continues to swirl and race.

You agreed to this. He even laid out his intentions very clearly to you, and he was more than ready to leave you alone if you didn’t consent to this. But stupid, desperate you did. You were ashamed to feel even a shred of flattery when he told you that you were the only one he can ask to drive off his fans in this only effective method: a relationship.

“Why me?” you said, looking up at his casual posture. “Don’t you have someone you like to ask to be in a relationship? I’m sure they’d be more than happy to accept you…”

“Well,” he mumbled. “I don’t really have someone in mind… you’re kinda the only one who doesn’t drool over me whenever I’m near, and I just ought to ask for your help.”

“W-Well,” you slightly stammered. “I’m okay with helping you, right, so…”

“This isn’t something to accept so readily, you know,” he said, raising a brow. “I know this is super sudden, and it wouldn’t be fair for me to force an answer out of you right at this moment. Besides, I don’t think there’s any incentive for you to be in this either? It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“N-No!” you interrupted, but you coughed to regain your composure. “I mean, I do have something in this… maybe if I got with you, people would stop trying to harass and tease me if I had someone like you by my side.” That was a half-truth, but you knew there was no way you could reveal your crush to him… not when he believed you were “different” from the others. But can anyone blame you for sticking up for Kise when someone was talking about him like a piece of meat rather than a normal person? “Besides, for you to get to this point, things must’ve gotten too chaotic to simply tell them to stop, right?”

“Huh… is that so,” he said, stretching his neck, but you didn’t know whether or not he intentionally ignored your last question. “Well, if you’re fine with this, I’m letting you know now that we’ll be doing actual couple stuff, like…” He pauses for a second to gauge your reaction. “Hugging, hand-holding… probably kissing too…”

“Y-Yeah,” you nodded. “That’s fine with me! And we’ll have a code word in case either of us overstep our boundaries in any way… maybe…”

“Unagi,” he said.

“Huh? Why?”

“Because they’re the bane of evil…”

“It’s just a dish, but…” you laughed, giddy at how he already showed a different side to you apart from his cool persona. “Alright, let’s go with that.”

How long were you able to keep this up? You pat yourself on the cheeks to dismiss the rest of your fantasies. If you keep this up, Kise will soon notice how you actually were head-over-heels for him all this time, and surely you’ll lose any future chance with him. Besides, maybe you can use this unique arrangement to learn about Kise and his hobbies other than basketball. Yes, you tell yourself, jogging the rest of the way home. It won’t be so bad, after all.

———

Starting today, you’ll be officially dating Kise.

That’s how it is on paper, anyways.

How are you supposed to act while dating the Kise Ryōta? Equally cool and flamboyant? Athletically capable? Would you weird out Kise if you were the one initiating physical affection?

“(y/n)!”

You flinch, not expecting anyone to call for you so early in the morning, and your walking route to school was never shared with another student as far as you were concerned. After all, your path was a little more obscured and unorthodox compared to the majority of students traversing the main neighborhood paths.

“Sorry… did I scare you?” You stop and turn to the source of the voice, only to be surprised when you see Kise himself. “Why do you look so surprised? Didn’t we agree on the time to meet up and walk to school together?”

“Oh… yeah…” In the midst of your thoughts, it seems that you forgot the arrangements you made with him yesterday evening. “My bad?”

“Oh, come on,” he gives a mock-hurt face with a hand to his chest. “Am I that forgettable, (y/n)?”

“N-No!” you immediately deny. You knew it was more like the other way around, the way constant thoughts of Kise preoccupy in your head too much. How can you ever forget him when he constantly runs through your mind everyday for so long? Kise merely gives a good-natured sigh before he changes the subject.

“Kidding,” he says, holding out a hand to you. “Seriously though, get your act together. We gotta start acting the part if we want this to work.” You stare at his hand, hesitating for a split moment before you put your own hand on top. His large hand easily encompasses yours, and the warmth makes you widen your eyes. It… felt nice.

You were so entranced by your linked hands that you failed to notice how Kise was staring at your face with a sharp glint in his eyes, but when you look up back to his face, he easily morphs his expression into his signature grin. He swings your hands around like an excited kid and turns to walk ahead to tug you along.

“Alrighty!~ Let’s hurry together before I get chewed out by Kasamatsu-senpai!”

“Kise, have you ever considered that it’s not really your tardiness that gets the captain mad but more so about the way you seem to irritate him with the way you skip around?”

“(y/n),” he says with a pout, “you know you’re not being convincing when you use my last name to address me as your boyfriend.”

“R-Right,” you stammer, still not used to the entire situation. “Ah… wait. Don’t you uh… call people who are close to you with -cchi?”

“Huh…” he mumbles, looking up at the cloudy sky before looking ahead of the path. “Not necessarily people who are close, just people who I really admire. I guess I addressed you like that yesterday without really thinking.”

“U-Uh, right… sorry.” He stops walking with your hand still in tow, and you almost bumped into his back at his sudden movement. He turns to you with a quite serious look.

“Do you want me to call you that?”

It was a normal question, but for some reason it felt like the next sentence coming from your mouth would make a huge impact on the way the two of you would interact in the future. From the way Kise looks at you with such a scrutinizing gaze, it feels like a trick question, and you’re not sure how to answer it. Your mouth goes dry when you try to reply.

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Kise’s eyes widen a fraction before he gives an unexpected chortle. “Pfft… how do you not know what you want to be addressed as?”

“Arrgh, oh shut it!” you frown, hitting his arm in a fluster before stalking off ahead. You remember that you were supposed to go to school together, and you begrudgingly stop and turn back to wait for him to catch up. “Ryōta, just call me whatever you want. You’re already calling me by my first name, so I doubt anyone would care if you added -cchi or not.” Still, your cheeks turn pink at the realization that Kise would be uttering your first name for the next couple… whenever this relationship will last.

“You… wait up!” Kise wheezes dramatically, despite the both of you knowing full well how easily he can catch up to your stride. “You really shouldn’t be treating your boyfriend like that! Especially on the first day!” Kise holds your hand again to lead you to the rest of the way to school.

All the while, you’ve been staring at his back, your heartstrings being tugged so mercilessly at the cacophony of emotions you were feeling the whole time. He felt so warm, so inviting, but the way he held your hands felt cold and transactional.

———

You’re not sure how to react whenever Kise introduced himself as your “boyfriend” to everyone or whenever nosy students inquired about your new “boyfriend.” All you could do was gulp and manage the most convincing act you could do within different contexts. Smile, laugh, get bashful, be modest in talking about how Kise managed to “like” you, pretend you know many embarrassing stories and sides to him that no one else did. Truthfully, you were just as in the dark as anybody else.

You think the only reason why everyone bought the couple-act was due to how enamored you were in talking about him. This was the only response you could be truthful about. At least you could use your huge crush to your advantage in portraying yourself as the “lovey-dovey” half of the couple. Yet it feels unbelievably wrong.

You knew you had to prepare yourself some preset answers for curious students, but you didn’t expect yourself to be participating in neverending “interviews” in these social settings. You thought this relationship would entail a closer access to Kise’s true self, but things suggest otherwise.

“Ryōta,” you say, peering up at his face as the both of you walk down the hallway to your designated spot for lunch together. Even as you two walk, he puts a reasonable distance between the two of you when there is no one in close proximity. Even when you two are together, he only grabs your hand when it’s socially convenient. Even when Kise approaches you to talk, you know it’s never anything beyond for the sake of acting. And you agreed to this entire thing.

“Hm?” He spares a glance to your figure before returning his gaze ahead.

“Uh, I brought extra food today,” you say, trying to use this situation to try to express your genuine feelings to him in small increments. “I brought an extra bento box too… in case, you don’t wanna actually share one…” He was about to reply before a pair of students turned around the corner to head towards your direction. Kise narrows his eyes at the unexpected turn of events, and immediately turns to you brightly.

“(y/n)! You really thought that I wouldn’t like the idea?” he pouts. “Of course I wanna share a bento with you! Silly…” He slightly bends to your level to place a chaste peck on your forehead.

“Ah…” you freeze at his soft touch, your legs stiff in place as you stop walking. Kise, in response, moves his lips to your ears, and you slightly shiver at the unexpected intimacy… it was the closest he’s gotten to you ever since that public stunt when he kissed you in front of everyone the other day.

“Hey, don’t just stand there… you can’t overreact like this over something couples do everyday.” You bit your lip in an attempt to stop your heart from sinking from disappointment, but in turning your face to him to spill an apology, your face ended up right in front of his. Your eyes widen but he only stares at you with such an intensity that makes you hold your breath in anticipation.

But he immediately draws away and stretches with a yawn. “Looks like those people left right after they thought they intruded on a private moment between us,” he says. “Sheesh, people really do the most to be so nosy nowadays.” You wonder how he can be so casual about this all. Perhaps it was a mistake to be here like this when you were so in love with him, overthinking every single thing he did.

Why didn’t he kiss you this time? Did he not find you the teensiest attractive enough to want to kiss you even without an audience nearby?

“Come on,” he mumbles, waving a hand through your face. “Quit making that face. I won’t be doing that to you without warning anytime soon. My bad, okay?” Kise sheepishly holds out a hand for a handshake to make peace, and you wordlessly take his hand. One day, you’ll stop being his special someone to savor his warmth…

No, you thought, you’re an idiot… he’s never considered you as someone special.

You debated in telling him that you were fine with him kissing you, but you hold your tongue, afraid that he’ll realize your true feelings about him. Besides, were you really okay with him kissing you when he didn’t reciprocate the same feelings?

“It… wasn’t like what you think,” you hesitate. “It just caught me off guard.”

“Well,” he laughs. “That’s a relief! By the way…” He stops to settle himself on the bench. “What’s exactly your lunch? Since you went through the effort to bring extras, I guess I’ll eat them.”

“I packed salmon from leftovers I had from home,” you reply, taking out your bento box and utensils. You decide to shake off your negative thoughts and shove them to the back of your mind. He makes a horrified face at the lunchbox. “Kise, what’s wrong?”

“Do you… happen to have anything else packed?”

“Rice?”

“Well,” he coughs. “I’m not a fan of dishes with boned fish.”

“Didn’t you say you hated unagi too?” Kise shyly averts his gaze before he reluctantly confirms it so. “They’re delicious though! Especially when they’re grilled!” At first, he refused to answer, but the more you tried to poke and prod (literally too, at his ribs), he finally gave in.

“Alright, alright! But I swear, you better not tell anyone!… I choked on a fish bone one time…”

“… And?”

“And yeah.”

“You choked on a bone once and you got scared out of eating fish—”

“Shhhh!” he hushes, emphasizing his hiss with a finger to his lips. At this very moment, you saw a glimpse into who Kise really is, and you can’t help but bust out a genuine, carefree laugh for the first time in front of him. In embarrassment, he bonks your head with his fist to get you to stop laughing, but it only makes you more conscious of how close he is to you.

But just as quickly and telepathically, Kise puts some distance between the two of you, sitting closer to the edge of the bench. He opts to hunch over casually and keenly watch you scarf down your meal in minutes without a care.

You wonder if you should feel guilty for enjoying this moment with Kise, even if he was only waiting with you out of obligation of being your “boyfriend,” but right now, you allowed yourself to indulge, letting your heart beat sporadically without guilt and fear for once. You continue to savor your lunch in silence, concentrating on munching around the fish bones, while Kise sat in contemplation all the while.

———

“You should come watch our practice game today, (y/n).”

“Eh?”

You tilt your head at him in confusion. It’s been two weeks since you started this arrangement with him, but nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking happened between the two of you, much to your despondency. But you knew, you shouldn’t be asking for too much when you already have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be close to him like this.

“There’s going to be a lot of people coming,” he explains. “Even if it’s just a practice game… it’d be weird if you weren’t there, because, you know, we’re dating.”

“I don’t mind going,” you reply. “It sounds fun.”

“You know, you’ve been agreeing to everything I’ve been suggesting the entire time,” he mumbles to himself, but he zips his mouth shut when he sees you instinctively moving closer to try to catch what he said. “Uh, in any case… just stop by the gym whenever you can.”

So here you are a few hours later, being the first person to settle yourself on top of the 2nd floor of the gym. You rest your arms on the railway, fascinated by the Kaijō basketball team and their skills. As they warm up on the courts, it’s the first time you see Kise truly at ease and happy with the people he cares about, and your heart pangs in jealousy seeing his genuine smile. You were pulled out of your thoughts when you realized the gym became completely crowded, the constant chattering announcing huge crowds along the entrance and the lucky watchers at the 2nd floor with you.

You didn’t mind the onlookers when all you were focused on was Kise throughout the entire game with a smitten look, and you weren’t surprised when his team easily won against the other local school.

“That’s Kise isn’t it?” You were about to turn to leave the higher floor to wait outside the gym when you heard his name. You stop to eavesdrop on the conversation next to you.

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing about him way too much. Something about him dating now?”

“He’s dating (l/n) right now, which is super weird because they never even talked… and all of the sudden, they’re dating? I didn’t think of him to be into short-term flings.”

“You think he’s using (l/n) in some way? What an asshole.”

“Yikes. You’re probably not even that far off the bulls-eye. He’s a really heartless guy, from what I’ve heard.”

“Hey,” you interrupt, scaring the two girls out of their wits before they turn to you. “I don’t think you should talk about Kise like that when all you know of him is through speculation.”

“Ugh, here we go again with his fans…” one of them groans, rolling her eyes. “Look, I get it, he’s good-looking and all, but I don’t understand how you can defend him to death when he doesn’t even spare a glance at you… ah… shit, you’re (l/n)?” A flash of hurt was visible on your face for a split second before you frowned. Their words unintentionally hit the nail in the coffin.

“Whether I’m (l/n) or not doesn’t really matter,” you say angrily. “Gossiping about anyone like that isn’t something you should make a habit out of.”

“Jeez, let’s just leave,” the other girl whispers, dragging the first girl along.

You simply stand there watching them leave, but you can’t shake off what they said. They were right… how could you be so whipped for him when you know he’ll never see you the same way?

“Oy!”

Kise’s voice brings you back to your consciousness as he waves at you from the court. “You’ve been standing there for a while! Hurry up, or I’ll leave you behind, (y/n)-cchi!”

“Coming!” You race from the 2nd floor to the ground level to catch up to him, your heart pounding all the while. Did he… did he just…?

You shake your head before you reunite with him to walk home together. Stop it… don’t overthink it.

———

Kise waits at his usual spot to wait for you before walking to school together. It’s been three weeks since he’s approached you to “date.” He’s grown quite comfortable with this arrangement, being close to you and backing off when it’s convenient. After all, if you somehow showed a gruesome true self of yours, he’d be able to separate himself from you with no consequences… even if his heart would cry out not to.

“Ryōta!” There you are, running down the path towards him so cheerfully. Could you really be an awful person when you have such a pure smile like that?

“Ah, (y/n)-cchi,” he says. “We should hurry if we wanna be inside campus. It’s a little chilly today, so being indoors sounds really nice right now.” He peers over to your face to see your nose slightly red from the cold, and he huffs out a chuckle, noting the warm puff of air escaping from his own lips.

“I guess it’s a little cold today,” you say, looking up at Kise with a slight childish wonder. “Hey, that’s a pretty cool cloud that you puffed out.”

“You have some clouds around you too.” He gently smiles, and he notes that your eyes widen at the sight of him. “Wha? Is my face that horrific, (y/n)-cchi?” You avert your gaze as your cheeks grow just as red as your nose.

“Nah… i-it’s nothing…ah—” He holds your cheeks to turn your face back to him, and he draws near with a serious gaze, bumping his forehead against yours.

“You’re actually really cold…”

“Uh, um… I don’t think I’m c-cold anymore—” you stammer, your eyes darting to look everywhere but his face, and Kise’s eyes only scrutinize your behavior further.

“Hm, if you say so…” he mumbles. Your eyes flutter close at the anticipation, and he feels the pull towards your lips, closing his own lids shut…

Wait, what was he thinking? He snaps his lids open and slightly draws himself away to look at you, still vulnerable with your closed eyes. It’s only when he drops his hands from your cheeks and turns to walk ahead when you flutter your eyes open again. Don’t let your feelings for (y/n) blind you into figuring out who they really are.

“Come on,” Kise calls out to you. “We should get going… we don’t wanna be late.” Besides, what if there’s a possibility that you don’t really like him at all?

“Y-Yeah…”

The rest of the walk was in silence, with Kise slightly ahead of you. Perhaps if he turned around at least once to check on you, he would’ve seen the consequences of his actions.

You were silently crying the entire walk.

———

Nothing seems to change much for the entire month. The way the two of you dance and sway around each other, while never being too close, never being too affectionate, never being completely honest. In this shared rose-tinted world, the frail glass that holds these moments together threatens to break with every fickle interaction. Every shared kiss constitutes another small crack to the rose-tinted crystal.

And both of you are content with just the way things are.

Or that’s what you both mutter to yourselves like a mantra.

“Ryōta!” you call out to him. “Did you wait long?”

“Not really,” he says. “I just barely got out too… the teacher was really lenient on dismissal today, actually.” His heart swells at the sight of you as usual, but just as quickly, he’s always managed to quash his emotions in check.

For the first time, you initiate physical touch with him without hesitation, linking your hands with his and snuggling up to him. He flinches, not fast enough to process the sudden warmth of your body, and he immediately separates himself from you. Do you actually like him after all?… No, something is up, right?

“Ryōta…?” You flinch just as severely from the sudden reaction, and he turns to avoid looking at your face, knowing that his resolve would crumble right in front of you. He’s a coward, and he fucking knows it.

“S-Sorry, (y/n)-cchi! I don’t know what came over me like that, but you know you don’t have to force yourself to do things like that, right? There’s no one here, so let’s just walk home together like we always do, yeah?”

He turns to already walk ahead, too afraid of hearing your response and hoping you would follow and catch up to him… like you always do.

You simply stood there for a few moments, anguish clear as the sky above you as you keep telling yourself to manage your own expectations. Still, your voice croaks out quietly to respond to him, even if you knew he wasn’t going to hear it.

“… But I wanted to do these things with you, Ryōta.”

———

It’s been several days since that incident.

It was very awkward for the most part, the walks to and from school silent and suffocating. He’s not quite sure how to go about it while trying not to sound disingenuous about it. Nonetheless, even through his quiet apology, your face still lights up, and he’s confused about why you would ever be so forgiving of him.

Although today, lines have been crossed and this shared secretive world between the two of you have completely shattered to the point of no return.

It was quite a blur, an instinct that Kise has developed over the course of this relationship. Every time a group of students drew near, he was always ready to tug you close for a kiss until they left and carry on with their day. Today was usually no exception.

Another group of students was hanging around the corner, presumably spying on you two, and Kise did what he’s always done, grabbing your hand and embracing you for a kiss. Your eyes were blown open in surprise, but when you saw Kise’s eyes elsewhere, something finally snapped inside.

You push him away at his chest.

“U-Unagi… unagi…” Your voice trembles, and you use your arms to cover up the fresh tears. The code word sounds unbelievably stupid out of context, but at this moment, the word alone stabs Kise in his chest. “I-I… just stop… please.” Kise stares dumbly at you, processing the fact that you just used the agreed safe word against him.

“… (y/n)-cchi?” Kise asks with a confused smile. “You’ve never objected to kissing before… I’ve even told you what we’ll be doing if you agreed to this…?”

“How…” you choke on tears. “H-How can you kiss me like that while your eyes are on someone else…?”

“I don’t understand—”

“A-Am I that atrocious to kiss unless you stare at something else or there’s some convenience?”

“I don’t get it, (y/n)-cchi,” he frowns. “Did you expect more out of this or am I missing something?”

“There was no reason to kiss me like that,” you softly wail. “Everyone already knows we’re a thing for… o-over a month now. There’s no reason to kiss me around people anymore when they won’t suspect us anyways…”

“So you don’t want me to kiss you anymore?” Kise’s heart sinks in thinking about where this is going.

“No!—you don’t… you don’t fucking get it! I don’t get it—! Why are we doing this anymore—I just, I see no reason to continue this anymore… you already shooed off your fans, right? Why haven’t you ended this?!”

“(y/n)-cchi—I…” He reaches out for you, but you immediately recoil.

“No—please… no more, I can’t do this anymore!” you sniffle. “I can’t fucking do this… I’m done, I’m tired—please… just look for another person to take my place… I… I’m done—I can’t pretend with you anymore when I always expect more out of it like a love-stricken fool!”

“I…”

“Look—see,” you choke. “I’m just like everyone else who’s in love with you, I’m no different than everyone else R-Ryōta… so that’s why, I-I… can’t do this anymore!”

Kise stands there, staring at you running away from him. It was like everything had gone silent, save for the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.

“You think he’s using (l/n) in some way? What an asshole.”

“Yikes. You’re probably not even that far off the bulls-eye. He’s a really heartless guy, from what I’ve heard.”

He hated rumors, he really did… but for the first time, he feels like he deserves every word thrown at him around the hallways and classrooms. His memory flits to the time when he felt warm from seeing you standing up for him, even if he wasn’t bothered by them before. Now, the warmth is replaced by agonizing regret and guilt wracking through his entire body. His hands feel cold with you gone from his side.

What has he done?

———

He’s grown quiet for the next week.

It’s been a week since you ran from him, and it’s been a week since he last talked to you.

Even his teammates were concerned about his reserved behavior, but just as always, he’s managed to shoot them a convincing smile. Kasamatsu was more persistent about this but eventually dropped it seeing Kise’s refusal to talk about it.

That day when you pushed him away, he couldn’t sleep, his thoughts keeping him awake the entire night. He resolved himself to talk to you the next day… but he changed his mind the last minute… and then he told himself he’d do it the next day… and then he changed his mind again.

He tells himself that it’s because you rightfully hate him, with the way you’d surround yourself with other crowds and groups to prevent him from walking up to you when you were alone. He tells himself that it’s because both you and him needed space to cool off and go back to the way you two were. He refuses to tell himself that it’s because he’s an honest-to-god coward.

He misses you. He misses you damn badly. Why the fuck did he go through such lengths instead of confessing to you straight up? He tells himself that he was being cautious. He tells himself that he doesn’t want his heart to be broken again. He refuses to conclude that it’s because he’s a fucking coward.

“I don’t know what’s been on your mind, idiot,” Kasamatsu says. “But you better solve this yourself quickly if you’re not opening up to me about this. We can’t have your performance quality be dropping even in practice. Hurry up and fix this shit with (l/n)-san already.”

“H-How’d you know?!” Kise raises his head from his desk in astonishment.

“Tch, idiot,” he glowers, chopping Kise’s head with a swift hand. “It’s too obvious from the way you’re moping around… from the way you two stuck together all this time, who wouldn’t notice something happened from the way you’re at your desk watching (l/n)-san like that?”

“O-Ow…” Kise grumbles rubbing his head. Ironically, his captain’s hit cleared up his doubts and he took a deep breath before exhaling. “Got it, senpai.”

“You better.” Kasamatsu goes back to talking to his classmates during break, and even despite not knowing the truth of the relationship, he manages to give solid advice as usual.

Tomorrow. He’ll find you tomorrow.

———

He doesn’t know where else to find you alone other than the place he’s always waited for you before you two used to walk to school together. So he stands there, almost an hour earlier in case you had the idea to walk to school extremely early to avoid him at all costs.

He was right.

Here you are, shuffling your feet as you trudged yourself along the path and looking down at your feet. You even manage to walk past by him without noticing his presence.

Even if you’ve grown to hate him, he’s willed himself to come completely clean about his feelings to you for once. But a part of him is thinking to change his mind again and just let you slip away from his fingers. It’d spare the both of you the inevitable, right?

“R-Ryōta…?”

He was pulled from his thoughts, startled to see you staring at him from a short distance away. Apparently you did notice him after all.

“… (y/n)-cchi…” He swallows his words, knowing full well that his stupid words might blow this up for him again, his words responsible for all the rumors at school, his words responsible for hurting you and will hurt you again.

He wordlessly walks up to you and holds your cheek, and waits. He waits for you to push him away again. He waits for you to say the code word to let him know that you don’t want him near you again. The thought of you running away from him nearly brings him to tears, but he gulps his emotions down and stares at you calmly, with only his upturned brows hinting to his inner turmoil.

“Ryō—”

He swiftly brings his head down and kisses you. In feeling the warmth for the first time in a while, he greedily drinks from your lips, holding your temples more firmly as he searches for more, more, more.

You push him away.

Kise immediately lets go and stares at you like a lost child, unable to mask the devastation from the implications of your actions. But you’re still gripping his uniform tightly, almost as if you didn’t want to let go.

“W-Why…?” you croak, biting your lips to stop any tears from breaking through. “There’s no reason to kiss me. Don’t you know that we’re done? There’s no one to watch us here, no reason for you to walk me to school anymore. You know that, Ryōta. After all, we haven’t talked since a week ago, and you have the audacity to come here and kiss me like everything is okay—”

“… I want to kiss you, because there’s no one around, because there’s no other reason for me to.”

“Why…?” your voice softens to a whisper. “Don’t you hate anyone who likes you in that way? I… I already told you that I see you in that light, like many of your fans do. Don’t you hate me? Don’t you hate me for using this arrangement to get closer to you? Don’t you hate me for expecting something real out of this?”

“I already had an inkling of suspicion that you liked me, (y/n)-cchi,” Kise turns away to look at the bright morning sky. “I just didn’t know if I was wrong or not.”

“Then… why did you ask me to do this whole thing with you…?”

“Because I’m a coward,” he says, looking back to you. You were stunned into silence. For the first time, he finally admits what’s been weighing on his mind for weeks out loud, and his eyes, while drenched in shame, were full of resoluteness. “I liked you, but I was too afraid for the day when you ended up being not like the person I ended up liking. I liked you, but I was afraid of a real relationship that would tie me down. I liked you, but I was afraid of making huge decisions that involved another person into my life. I didn’t want to end the fake relationship because I was too fucking selfish… if I ended it, I’d lose the only connection I had with you… I’m sorry.”

Both of you went silent, bathed in the light of the rising sun. Kise drops to a squat to hide his face from you, and you knew he was trying to stop himself from tearing up. He knows how uncool he looks, but he had no right to cry when you were the one who got hurt the most.

“Ryōta, did you really find it difficult to kiss me…? Just… be honest.”

“Yes,” he looks up from his squat to stare at you with an intense look, even despite his puffy eyes. “Everytime I kissed you, I found it hard to control myself. I thought, what if you were using me to somehow get a kiss from me? or what if I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you and I ended up taking things too far? Looking anywhere but you at least stopped me from getting too invested…”

By now, both of you had turned completely red at his honesty, but he still found you frankly stunning even with your red, puffy eyes. “Look, (y/n)-cchi, don’t you hate me? I used you. The rumors are right—I’m a complete asshole. Just… I won’t blame you if you walk away right now.”

“You do know that I used this opportunity to get closer to you, right?… I wasn’t a saint about this either, so… I’m sorry too.” Both of you go silent again, and you slowly drop yourself to his level in a squat of your own in front of him.

“… C-Can we… can we start over?” you whisper, your warm breath tickling his chilled nose.

“(y/n)-cchi, I don’t think I’m capable of continuing this arrangement…”

“No,” you huff, before you tentatively press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I mean… can we… start over, but this time, as a real couple? I… want this relationship to be substantial. I really do like you, Ryōta.” You murmur against his lips with your hands on top of your knees, waiting for him to rebuke you away with an easygoing comment or a plastered smile.

But he doesn’t do any of that.

“I… guess we can try that,” Kise mumbles, gaze averted as his cheeks flame brighter than his nose and ears.

“Can you kiss me again?” you ask, your voice cracking at the end out of fear he’d turn down your request. Kise flicks his gaze back to you to see you equally red with a hesitant expression.

“Could you… close your eyes?” he asks with a frown.

“H-Huh?”

“Y-You don’t need to see me looking like a mess, I don’t look charming right now.”

“I… guess…” After a few moments of hesitation, you flutter your eyes shut, waiting apprehensively for his lips to descend onto yours again. Kise holds your cheeks and takes the time to admire your features for the first time, and his smile grows wider with every passing second.

‘R-Ryōta…?” Afraid of the fact that he actually may not like kissing you after all, you worriedly open your eyes, only to be greeted by the most brilliant smile from Kise, his figure illuminated by the sunshine hitting the back of his head at the perfect angle.

“(y/n)-cchi,” he teases with a small pout. “Didn’t I tell you to close your eyes?”

Who needs a rose-tinted lens when the sight before you is already so radiant to behold?

390 notes · View notes

canyouhearthelight · 3 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 141

Last week I posted a day early because vacation was doing vacation things to my sense of time.... This week I forgot to queue the chapter up because Monday was a work holiday, so I forgot today was Tuesday. *insert facepalm here please*

Thanks on this one go largely to @baelpenrose who rightfully pointed out that one part made very little sense to him and therefore was unlikely to make sense to a reader. The clarification smoothed things out quite a bit, I think. Just in case, whoever spots the area I’m talking about gets a cookie as soon as travel restrictions lift.

As always, thanks go also to @the-raven-fae, @charlylimph-blog, and @anotherusrname for completing the corners of my support system. And, a super-duper extra-special to @drinksteawithcake! I don’t know if I am allowed to tell everyone why, but you know why you get the extra-special, and I hope you are having fun!

BWAAAAAHP! BWAAAAAHP!

“Uhhh?” I squinted in complaint as flailing arms clambered over me. One pair snagged me around my waist to drag me from bed before depositing me shakily on my feet. “What are you - ?”

BWAAAAAHP! BWAAAAAHP!

Any trace of sleep was shoved out of my system, replaced by sizzling alertness when I realized I was hearing ship-wide alarms. Shoving myself into the first clothing I grabbed, not even bothering with shoes, I was hot on Conor and Maverick’s heels as we raced out of our quarters and into the corridor. We paused only long enough for both men to kiss me and for “I love yous” to be exchanged before they turned and headed toward the areas indicated on their datascreens, while I hauled ass toward the Archives, ducking and twisting to avoid anyone in my path.

“Forty minutes,” Tyche told me crisply as I basically fell through the door, panting. “The Ark could be invaded and the battle over by the time you make it.”

“I ran….huff….the whole….ugh….way….” I managed to gasp out. Part of me felt like puking, but I was pretty sure the muscles in my abdomen were too busy to figure out the logistics.

Clicking her tongue, she pulled me up from the floor. “Alistair, make a note to suggest to Xio that Sophia’s quarters be relocated once we have a better idea of when we are dropping into real space.”

I nodded numbly. “And probably… amp up… sensors… give… earlier… warning.”

“Nice outfit, by the way,” she laughed quietly as we finally reached the shelter point within the Archives.

Glancing down, I had to suppress a sigh. The first thing I grabbed to dress myself had apparently been a pair of Conor’s boxer shorts and a very filthy t-shirt that I assumed belonged to Maverick, since Conor’s was usually under coveralls. “At least you can’t say I took my time getting dressed.”

Her shaking head was greeted by faces in various states of wakefulness - this had been a drill, and woke nearly the entire Ark during their sleep interval on Delta shift. But we weren’t out of the woods, yet: the drill didn’t end until all of Xiomara and Evan’s scenarios played out, including the mock combat and various tests of concealment for the other shelters. As such, Tyche stood guard over the choke-point into this section, while Alistair had stayed behind at the entrance.

Early on, when the drills started, there had been fifty-fifty odds that the mock-invaders would make it this far, but over the past few weeks, that had narrowed to maybe twenty-percent. It was still too high a chance in my judgement, and Xiomara clearly agreed as she stepped up training schedules and randomized the timing of the drills.

Taking a swig of water from a stash of bottles, I queued up my datapad and stood next to Tyche, watching the ‘casualties’ from a point where no one could see over my shoulder to avoid panic, which I would have done in a real situation. “They didn’t find mess hall seven this time,” I murmured.

She glanced at my screen. “Acoustics are still too damned high. She must not be simulating for that this go around.”

One of the decoy locations lit up. “Looks like this time it’s heavy on thermal.” The location in question had been equipped with a cooking surface, triggered to activate when the klaxons that had woken me up went off. Which Xiomara knew, but did not tell the ‘pirates’ for authenticity.

“How did they get past the combatants this time?” She asked, both curious and slightly worried.

Rolling back the sensor data, I watched it carefully. “Looks like these got in during the initial breaches, multiple points. But the line has held since, that’s good.”

Doing another check toward Alistair’s direction, she didn’t seem to see anything concerning. “How many?”

“Four,” I confirmed. “Sam’s thermal camouflage is working beautifully, though.” I couldn’t help but grin, and Tyche snorted at the same time. ‘Thermal camouflage’ was a bit of overkill as a name, but it was working well in every round. Potential access points were equipped with fast-acting environmental simulators - originally designed for temporary habitats on inhospitable moons - modified to release atmosphere like a Terran equatorial rainforest within one minute in an enclosed space. It was a much more simple and elegant solution than any others we had found for giving combatants defending the Ark an advantage - instead of trying to create technology to make them look colder, make the entire area match human heat signatures. Boom, instantly blinded enemies.

A tense half-hour later, the ‘all clear’ sounded, queueing grumbling from those who had dozed back off as everyone stood to make their ways back to their quarters. I waited with Alistair and Tyche for everyone else to be accounted for on the way out, and the three of us headed back toward our quarters together. Alistair peeled off first, living closest to the Archives, and no sooner had my sister and I reached my door than the page sounded for the post-drill meeting. She waved me off as she answered on her databand, and I did the same as I pushed into my quarters and flopped on the couch. “Councillor Sophia Reid, present, audio only,” I answered. “And no jokes, Pranav… I look like I smell awful.”

“Alistair Worthington, present, audio and video. I can confirm that she does, and she does.”

Laughter filled the comms and the rest of the group leaders and Councillors joined the debrief. Finally, everyone was present and Xiomara called the meeting to order. First, the leaders of each shelter reported in, as those usually went the fastest. There were a couple malfunctions in the deployment of the shielding to disguise the entrances and hide heat and electrical signatures, but nothing Huynh’s team couldn’t fix. Tyche and Alistair made the recommendations around earlier detection and the need to move those sheltering in the Archives closer as we approached time to drop out of relativistic space.

Once that was out of the way, it was on to the combat and invasion teams. Overall consensus was that Sam’s trick with the portable environments was a rousing success and would be installed at each point determined to be most likely as a breach, with trigger conditions to be determined later. “I hate to say it,” Michael sighed, “but we also need Charly’s team to crank up the scovilles on the arrows and grenades.” His team had played the ‘invaders’ this go around, equipped with sensors and readouts to simulate the effect our defenses would have on the various species who most commonly were found on pirate vessels. Evan had worked intensely with Pranav and Derek to ensure that the strategies provided by the readouts were modelled after similar strategies based on which ever species each team member was assigned, to ensure we weren’t accidentally drilling against human tactics.

Michael hated it, but he was strict about his team complying nonetheless.

“Seriously?” I squawked, and I wasn’t the only one. “One of those things accidentally went off in my quarters…. Can confirm, they’re pretty potent.”

“They dissipated too fast against my team, and also the contact element left a lot to be desired. Charly, you may want to consider adding a sticking element.”

“Duly noted,” she chimed in with a yawn, her normal pep doused by being woken up and then the drop in adrenaline post-combat.

“What about the sonic weapons?” Xiomara asked, moving the meeting along.

“Still less effective than Nixe is on her own,” a familiar voice I couldn’t put a name to responded with a sheepish tone. “How hard would it be to train more people to shatter glass with their voice?”

“Incredibly,” Grey stressed. “It takes a very unique combination of training and the right vocal chords.”

“Then we may need to work on adding a projection component. The sonic devices can match the pitch, but not the actual tone and direction. They’re very effective given time and especially contact, but we need something more immediately disabling.”

Xiomara groaned. “Are we back to Mariah Carey on this one?” Objections exploded until she muted the comms. “It’s that or opera.” Votes started scrolling up the screen, and I could see Xio nod. “Opera it is. Let’s find a suitable piece and try using more analogue-style speakers.”

“I still say that death metal would work better,” Arthur suggested as soon as the comms were back on.

“Annnnd we already tested it, I will remind you. The volume works, but the pitches aren’t high enough to hit a broad enough population of species sensitive to sound.” After that nearly-obligatory objection, the meeting continued going through reports from each combat team until finally Xiomara announced the end results. “I have to admit, this was one of our best drills yet. Ten percent casualties of the combatants defending the breaches, only two percent among non-combatants, and the invaders were only able to traverse three decks before they were subdued.” She let the cheers go for a couple seconds before getting everyone’s attention again. “Yes, great job on the improvements, but let me remind everyone - those numbers still leave us below threshold for a healthy genetic population. Engineering teams, make the necessary adjustments with whatever resources are necessary. Shelters Three and Seven, you will start training for armed and unarmed combat with Shelter Fourteen and Combat Team Two daily. Sophia, your team will coordinate schedules. Any questions?”

There were no arguments, not even a groan or mutter as the meeting was dismissed. Before I could even add the new task to my agenda the next day, I received the notification that Alistair had beaten me to the punch.

Glancing at the time, I wanted to hit something. I had to be back up and at work in four hours, and the realization weighed me down with exhaustion. The guys had come in and gone to bed while I was in the debrief, and I could already hear synchronized snoring coming from the bedroom. Rather than risk waking them with my now-frozen feet, I pulled the quilt off the back of my couch and rolled myself into it. Only minutes later, a heavy weight oozed across my hip and started purring furiously.

“Yeah, buddy. I agree. We need a nap.”

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jokertrap-ran · 3 years

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(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Osborn’s 5✩ Inspiration: Sleepless Starry Sea [星海无眠] Date Translation (Prologue)

“So, are you covering my ears now because it's thundering in the exhibition hall?”

*Light and Night Master-list | Osborn’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *This 5✩ Inspiration has 5 Endings!! *Osborn’s tag will be #For Night, For Freedom *Requested by a friend, reblogs and likes appreciated! *This Date comes after this Event! Please read it first~

I've heard many stories about the ocean, but I've never actually gone and understood the ocean.

And now, as I mulled over my new design that had "the ocean" as the theme, Osborn had suggested bringing me to the Oceanarium.

❖☆———————————★❖

Standing in front of the long, winding corridors, it was only then that I realized… that the very ocean had been slowly unravelled before our very eyes.

Clear and bright blue light encased the entire area as huge fishes swam past overhead. Their scales glinted faintly in the light, reflecting a multitude of colour down below. And beneath our feet was the ocean, deeper, darker…

My footsteps faltered as an instinctive terror gripped me. For a moment, I didn't quite know what to do.

Osborn: Why aren't you walking?

MC: Oh… The corridor's too attractive, so I'm walking slower because I want to look at it longer.

The corners of his lips curved upwards as he headed towards me.

Osborn: Sorry, but I can't wait for you.

He then smoothly took my hand, balled into a fist from my nervousness, into his own.

He tugged gently, dragging me alongside him as we traversed the deep sea together.

MC: Thanks.

Osborn: Mm.

Then, I felt his long, slender, fingers slide between my fingers, domineering and powerfully intertwining our hands together.

Osborn: I much prefer this method of showing gratitude.

MC: …...

I gripped back, feeling the warm response from his palm.

❖☆———————————★❖

It was only after I passed the transparent corridor that my "leisurely stroll through the sea" really started.

My vision became brighter as colourful tropical fishes endlessly swirled around. It was almost as if we'd been pulled into a fantasy; of the wondrous Oceans in Fairytales

MC: The colour schemes of these tropical fish are really bold…

MC: Looks like I won't be going back empty-handed this time!

A faint smile played at the corner of his lips as he turned around to ruffle my hair.

Osborn: I hope the same goes for me too.

Before I could react, Osborn tugged me along, moving deeper into the depths of the oceanarium.

After a while, we strolled into a vast, open and bright area.

The ceiling in this area was inlaid with a huge transparent sheet of glass. The afternoon light shone in, spilling into the waters. There were a couple of huge fishes leisurely “lying” at the surface, basking in the rays of the sun.

MC: Fishes sun tan? But this one’s so huge and it looks really strange… What kind of fish is this?

Puzzled, I suddenly noticed the explanatory board that was partially obscured in the dark.

MC: Lemme see… this fish is called Hoo-

The words “Hoodwinker” came into view. I jolted, subconsciously letting go of Osborn’s hand as I darted in front of the explanation display board, physically blocking it.

MC: H-Headfish! This fish can play cat's cradle; can you believe it? Aha, it's really amazing!

Osborn raised his now empty hands, arched an eyebrow, and looked at me with a playful expression.

Osborn: It's pretty amazing, yes.

MC: Haha, there's nothing worth looking at here. How about we go somewhere else?

Osborn: Not gonna wait for this fish to do some cat's cradle thing for us?

MC: No need. What's so nice about watching a fish play cat's cradle? I'll do it for you next time if you want to see it that badly!

Brushing it off with a laugh, I pushed Osborn into another direction, unable to help feeling a little miffed.

MC: Why’s this fish called “Hoodwinker” of all things? Osborn has a competition tomorrow; that’s way too inauspicious!

In order to prevent Osborn from noticing anything amiss, I could only do one thing: Keep “self-sacrificing” till I divert his attention elsewhere… I purposely stepped on his shoelaces, telling him that fishes were flying above as I held onto the explanation display board, feigning dizziness.

My acting was clearly over the top and forced, but fortunately enough, Osborn didn’t seem all too interested in the “Headfish”, so everything proceeded smoothly enough.

We were just about to leave this area for good when a little boy suddenly exclaimed from behind.

Kid In Passing: Mommy! This fish has such a weird name! Hood-

MC: Wait a minute-!

❖☆———————————★❖

A cacophony of alarm bells went off in my head! As quick as wildfire, I quickly rushed before Osborn, jumped up, and tugged him downwards by the neck

Osborn was pulled down, his frame bent over mine in surprise as he was caught off-guard, my hands tightly pressed against his faintly red ears.

Osborn: …!?

It wasn’t till the little boy walked off with his mother that I slowly lightened up.

Osborn: You…

Raising my eyes, I collided with the depths of Osborn's clear and bright orbs.

He stared at me for a fleeting moment, his warm breath hitting the top of my nose, brushing against my cheeks in a ticklish manner.

I blushed, attempting to withdraw my hands that were still covering his ears, only for him to hold it firmly back down.

Osborn: So, are you covering my ears now because it's thundering in the exhibition hall?

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Y-Yes! How smart!

MC: The equipment up in the broadcasting room collapsed earlier! It sounded way more terrifying than thunder, it frightened me...*Coughs*

The words came out in such a rush that I accidentally choked on them.

Osborn chuckled, helping me pat my back before taking out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewing it before handing it to me.

Osborn: Have a drink. No rush.

Osborn: Must be hard putting up an act the entire way through, no?

MC: ...Huh!?

As I looked at him in astonishment, Osborn held my shoulder and turned me to face the other side.

Osborn: Look.

I glanced in the direction he was pointing at.

There was a lazy hoodwinker basking leisurely in the sun in one of the glass tanks of the exhibition area.

MC: Oh! It's a Hood...

Osborn: Yeah. Hoodwinker.

Osborn: But you can always call it a “Sunfish” if you don’t like the name that’s been put onto the display board.

MC: You…

Osborn: D'you think I'm similar to that dumb-looking fish?

MC: Of course not!

Osborn: Then, what are you so panicky about?

Osborn raised his fingers and gently flicked them against my forehead.

Osborn: There's no need to let your thoughts run wild. The one standing here right next to you now is none other than Osborn himself.

Rubbing my head, I stared at his usual devilish smile in slight disbelief.

MC: You already knew what it was called?

Looking at the unfazed smile on his face, I then realized that all my blatant efforts to cover it up were all for nought, and that I must have looked exceedingly stupid in his eyes.

MC: If you already knew it, then why didn't you tell me?

Osborn: Because…

Osborn: Letting you be all considerate about me like that feels rather nice.

The magnetic and deliberately lowered tone of his voice graced my ears, and I could suddenly feel my heartbeat pick up.

Osborn: Shall we continue?

Osborn instantly took my hand into his again, and the previous embarrassment I felt melted away, giving way to the faintly growing sweetness that started to well up from the bottom of my heart.

Where do I want to go next?

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

✥ Choose your Ending:

END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]

END 2 + 3 | Choice: Approach [亲近] ⊹Touch⊹

END 4 | Choice: Listen [倾听] ❖ASMR

END 5 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★

❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Freedom⊹ —————★❖

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #萧逸 #Osborn #For Night For Freedom #星海无眠 #Sleepless Starry Sea

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