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someonestolemyshoes · 3 years

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Helplessly, Hopelessly

Cutting it a little close to the deadline, but here’s my entry for @levihan-drabbles Angst Monday! My prompt was: Levi and Hange are in an established long distance relationship, Levi surprises Hange by showing up right before midnight on New Year's Eve.

Once again, I got a little carried away :’) it’s not my favourite thing I’ve written this week but it’s done ahaha, please enjoy! And a HUGE thank you to the mods for running this whole thing, it’s been a lot of fun actually writing again.

Warnings: mentions of cheating (but I’m a big ol’ levihan sucker so worry not), body weight, anxiety/depression

It took him three attempts to knock. He even considered turning back and trying to change his flight, to head home and pretend this never happened, to live in blissful, agonising ignorance over Hange’s sudden, disinterested quiet. It was shameful, that he’d rather keep Hange ostensibly his than face any outcome where he lost them.

Levi hadn’t intended on turning up quite so last minute.

His flight was supposed to land at noon, which would have given him ample time to make his way over to Hange’s part of the city. But the weather had not been in his favour—his first flight had been delayed due to intermittent snowstorms, the chill air so thick with snow, Levi could barely see his own hand in front of his face. In consequence, he had missed his connecting flight by well over an hour, and spent the majority of his evening sitting on the floor in the overcrowded airport, surrounded by his bags, sipping piss-water tea and waiting for the next available flight taking off to London.

It had been almost eight months since he had last seen Hange in person, and even then, they hadn’t spent nearly enough time together. Hange had returned home only briefly to attend their grandmother's funeral. Levi had seen them at the service, and they’d snagged a few hours together between family engagements and the regular study periods Hange had set aside for themself during their stay, but it felt rushed, lacking. Hange had seemed flustered, then. They had confessed that their studies were proving a lot more demanding than they had initially anticipated, that they were tired. That they were beginning to feel a little burnt out, but they had no time to take any substantial break without getting too far behind to catch up again.

Levi missed them. He and Hange had, from early in their childhood up until Hange left for university, spent almost every waking second in one another's company. It was impossible to recall a time when they weren’t together, excluding a handful of miserable periods during which Hange’s family had whisked them away on some holiday or other while Levi sat in his mothers tea shop and made himself as useful as any child could.

They had grown together, through school, through their awkward, angsty teenage phases, through Hange’s stuttering realisation that gender and sexuality were incredibly confusing things, and they had no idea where they stood on either spectrum. They had tried alcohol together for the first time, tried holding hands, tried kissing and fumbling with clumsy, nervous, eager hands in Hange’s old treehouse, a touch too small for two grown teenagers, but just big enough.

They had been each other's first partners, in every sense of the term. The progression, Levi remembers, had felt equal parts strange and yet completely natural. Expected. He and Hange fell into step with the same absent simplicity as breathing; it took little thought and even less effort, to love Hange as more than a friend.

And then, Hange left for university, and Levi stayed behind to help his mother with the shop. And things had still been easy, in a way. Hange was only a phone call away, and they made sure to call or text at least once a day, even if they only had the time to spare for a quick good morning or good night or did you shower? I can smell you from here or I love you, too.

It was okay. Not ideal, but manageable. But in the last few months, Hange’s texts had grown infrequent. They were busy, they’d told him. Too many deadlines, not enough time. They would get back to him when they could.

They never did.

It was always up to Levi to reach out, and Hange, to their credit, was always incredibly apologetic about the time elapsing between points of contact—I completely forgot, Levi! I’m so sorry. Now isn’t a good time though, I promise I’ll call you back when I get a minute?

Levi had tried to reason that they probably were busy. But there were terrible, guilty, nagging doubts, and they had only grown more as time went on, as Hange’s texts and calls dribbled down to almost nothing.

It wasn’t that Levi didn’t trust Hange. He did, implicitly so. But they are young. A young couple from a small town, where a handful of kids their age are all they’ve ever known. And suddenly Hange was living in the big city, surrounded by like minded people—people who were astronomically smart, academically driven, who shared Hange’s interests. Who could do more than just listen while they chatted endlessly about plants or bugs or the vastness of the ocean, the movement of the Earth’s crust, the stars, the atmosphere in outer space, anything and everything that caught their interest. Levi had never been able to keep up, could only lend an ear and let Hange ramble until they were spent.

But they would meet people now, who could match them word for word and raise them facts they’d never even heard before. People Hange could have discussions with, debates with. People who could engage with Hange in a way Levi could never even hope to. The thought of it made his stomach hurt, and it crossed his mind too often, a guilty little echo in the back of his head every time Hange was too busy to talk to him. Every time his texts went unanswered.

And so, he had dipped into his savings and, with a little help from his mother, had bought a ticket to surprise Hange with a visit on New Years Eve. His mother assured him it was a sweet idea—romantic, she’d said, which had made Levi flush and scowl—but in truth, Levi had only decided on surprising Hange with the visit in fear that they wouldn’t want him to come, if he told them he planned on it.

Now, he was stuck navigating an endless network of underground trains, staring hopelessly at the maps on his phone and trying to figure out which line he needed to be on to make his way out to Hange’s apartment. It was already 11pm. Levi felt drained, his back and shoulders aching from carrying his luggage. The weather was cold and wet, the streets lined with slush that splashed up his legs and soaked into his shoes as he walked, and by the time he made it to what he hoped was Hange’s apartment building, an icy rain had started to fall, soaking into his pants and running in great rivulets from his coat.

He paused at the entrance. There was no keypad on the door, no way to buzz up to Hange’s room to get them to let him inside. He could ring them, but it had been weeks since Hange had answered his calls. Levi groaned, huddling under the small canopy above the door. It offered little shelter from the rain, and no barrier at all to the biting chill of the wind.

Levi had resolved to at least trying to call Hange when, by a stroke of luck he hadn’t thought possible today, the door opened, and three rather drunk and incredibly underdressed people tumbled out. They apologised to him as they stumbled by, but had the decency—or else the stupidity, Levi thought—to hold the door open for him. He thanked them quietly and slipped inside.

Hange’s apartment was on the third floor. Levi took the lift, which clattered ominously as it crawled four stories before shuddering to a stop. Levi’s stomach churned as he stepped out into the quiet hallway. There was a bubble of excitement, a thrill at the prospect of seeing Hange again after such a long time, but more than that, he felt nervous. He had no back up plan if Hange couldn’t, or wouldn’t, accommodate him. He wasn’t sure he had the money for a hotel even for a night or two, and he had optimistically booked his return flight for seven days’ time. If Hange had really changed their mind about him, about them, he had no idea what he would do.

Marking this off as one of his worst ideas to date, he dragged his luggage down the hall until he found apartment 3C.

But he was here now. He had made his bed, and he would lie in it, whatever the outcome turned out to be. He rapped three times on the door, and waited.

And waited. And waited.

His mind wandered back to the party-goers he had passed in the doorway. It was New Year's Eve, and Hange was in university. It hadn’t crossed his mind that they might have plans, since he and Hange had always spent the night together, before now. But Hange couldn’t have anticipated Levi’s appearance; it would make sense, if they had taken one night off to enjoy themselves. Pass the occasion away with friends. With someone special, even. Someone who wasn’t him. Levi’s gut turned unpleasantly at the thought.

Lost in his musings, Levi almost missed the door opening. He blinked dazedly, took in the figure in the doorway, and his stomach dropped.

There was a man standing there. Taller than Levi, with a mop of light hair and a sweet, open face, wearing a somewhat rumpled, baggy shirt and a pair of threadbare sweatpants. He took in Levi’s appearance with a startled expression. Levi swallowed hard, mouth dry, tongue thick behind his teeth.

“I’m looking for Hange,” he said. Cleared his throat. “Are they home?”

The man jumped at the sound of Levi’s voice. He rallied himself well enough, then nodded, and turned to call over his shoulder, “Hange? There’s someone at the door for you.”

Levi mumbled his thanks. He felt lightheaded, heart thudding in his chest. For a moment he and the strange man simply looked at each other, until he heard a familiar voice from inside saying, “Moblit? If it’s Nanaba, tell her to go away. I already said I’m not going.”

“Not Nanaba,” Moblit called back. Levi heard the shuffle of footsteps, and then Moblit stepped aside, and he was face to face with Hange.

It seemed to take them a second to register who he was. Their tired eyes landed on him, bloodshot and bruised purple behind their glasses. Levi watched slowly as realisation dawned on them. Their eyes grew wide, lips—dry, cracked—parted in surprise, and their skin, already sickly looking, paled further. Levi’s gaze darted to Moblit over their shoulder and back again. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but no words would come. Blood pounded in his ears.

He never should have come. He had thought he was prepared for any eventuality, ready to accept that Hange might have found some happiness in somebody else. Ready to let them go. It would be painful, he knew; it’d suck, more than anything. But he had thought he was ready for that.

In front of Hange now, staring the prospect in the face, Levi realised he was terribly mistaken. He could not have anticipated how sick he would feel, how dizzy; his chest felt heavy, full and leaden and yet hollow all the same. The most painful kind of emptiness. He looked at Hange and tried to find something to say, but his mind was blank. He could think of nothing but Hange, and the man still standing a little way behind them, watching curiously out of the corner of his eye.

The silence was long, and dreadful. Neither Levi nor Hange spoke. Levi, for his part, couldn’t find words to say, and wouldn’t have been able to push them past the lump in his throat either way. Hange had tears welling in their eyes. They built up thick and heavy on their lash line, swimming in the light from the hallway, before spilling down their cheeks.

A terrible, bitter part of him thought that Hange had no right to cry.

And then, without any warning at all, hange launched themselves at him. Their weight hit him full in the chest, their arms winding around his back and squeezing tightly, punching the air from his lungs. Their face pressed into the side of Levi’s neck and he could feel wetness on his skin, an endless flow of tears as something wretched and agonising ripped from their throat; a sob, the heavy, desperate kind that bursts up from the gut and hacks out like a terrible cough. Again, and again, Hange sobbed, sucking jumpy, shaking breaths and crying them out again.

Instinctively, Levi’s arms came up around Hange, too. One hand carded into their hair—it felt limp and greasy and knotted between his fingers—and the other flattened against their back. Something twisted in his gut. Hange felt thin. Too thin. He could trace the knots of their spine and the ridges and valleys of their rib cage; their skin pulled taut over their shoulder blades; their hip bones dug into him where Hange had pressed themself impossibly close.

Levi’s pain was replaced abruptly by concern. He held Hange a little tighter, but they felt breakable in his arms now. Fragile. Hange had never felt so small before.

Moblit’s voice broke Levi out of his stupor. He had a kind smile on his face, though his eyes held the same worry Levi felt.

“Maybe you should come inside?” He suggested. Hange sniffled against Levi’s neck. They took a few big, gulping breaths to steady themself, pulling away, though still remaining close. Levi watched as Hange pulled the sleeve of their jumper over their hand and rubbed at their cheeks, at their eyes. Something in his chest ballooned, pressing hard against his ribs, his throat. Hange looked a complete mess. Levi felt concerned, and confused. Even still, looking at Hange now, he felt terribly certain of one thing: he loved them. Helplessly, hopelessly, he loved them.

He let Hange step out of his grip slowly. His hands lingered, slipping around their waist and down their arm, but before he could move too far away, Hange closed their fingers tight around his. Levi stared at their knotted hands, then at Hange, and wordlessly let them drag him inside.

Belatedly, Levi remembered he was drenched. He could see wet patches on Hange’s jumper where they had been pressed against him, and the chill of his wet clothes seemed to sink into his bones as he crossed over the entryway. They passed Moblit, who watched them with some intrigue, then wandered out into the hallway only to return with Levi’s luggage in tow.

Hange’s apartment was open plan, the kitchen separated from the sitting room only by a countertop. It was small, and cosy, cluttered in the way Hange’s spaces always tended to be. They kept plants on every available surface, but Levi could see that some were in desperate need of tending, with dry, shrivelling leaves and sagging stems. That wasn’t like Hange at all.

By the sofas, Hange stopped him.

“Give me your coat,” they said. Their voice still sounded thick and choked, and they sniffled pitifully, but they were no longer crying. Levi obliged them in a daze. Hange took his dripping coat and tossed it, uncaring, over one of the stools by the counter. Moblit quietly collected it and hung it on a hook on the back of the door.

“What are you even doing here?” Hange asked, sitting down and pulling on Levi’s sleeve until he dropped down beside them. “How did you get here? When?”

Levi’s eyes roved over Hange’s face. He couldn’t figure out how they felt. It was an uncomfortable realisation—Hange had always been an open book to him, easy to parse no matter what they were feeling. Now, they seemed...reserved. Subdued. Not the Hange he was used to.

“I had some savings,” Levi said slowly. He cleared his throat, debated on what level of honesty he was going to reply with, before saying, “I hadn’t heard from you in a while. Wanted to make sure you hadn’t up and died on me.”

At that, Hange’s expression grew somber. They grimaced, and Levi watched fresh tears well in their eyes. He reached for their hand without thought, and Hange gripped on tightly. Levi let his thumb brush lazily back and forth over their knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” Hange said. “I’m really sorry. I just—things have been—I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Hange rubbed a hand tiredly over their face, then let their head drop onto his shoulder. They felt warm, a welcome weight against him. Levi let his cheek rest against their head, felt the tickle of their hair against his skin. Hange pressed closer, and Levi turned to nudge a kiss to their hairline.

The sound a stool scraping the floor turned Levi’s attention to Moblit. Levi shot him a look that was probably a little more murderous than intended, but fought to relax his frown at Moblit’s wide-eyed expression. Moblit scratched a little awkwardly at the back of his neck.

“Would you--ah, would you like a drink of anything?”

“Tea,” Hange mumbled. “He likes tea. There’s early grey in the cupboard, I think.”

Moblit nodded, and turned quickly into the kitchen. Hange adjusted their grip on Levi’s hand, until they were palm to palm, fingers slotted loosely together. Levi could feel them taking long, measured breaths.

“I’m really sorry,” they said again. Levi half wanted to tell them to stop apologising, but—well, until he knew for certain what they were apologising for, he couldn't be sure if they really needed to say it. “I know I’ve been a little...distant, lately. I’m sorry. I kept—I wanted to get back to you, I promise I did. I wanted to talk to you more than anything, but everything is just—God, Levi. Everything is going wrong.”

Levi gave a quiet, questioning hum. He knew Hange; there was no need for him to prompt them. If Hange had something to say, they would say it whether he probed or not. He waited, and eventually, Hange let out a distressed little sound and turned their face fully into his neck.

“Everything’s...so much harder than I thought it would be. There’s so much work to do, all the time. I’m struggling to meet all the deadlines. I keep failing my tests. I’m so tired, Levi. I just want a break, but there’s no time.”

Levi unthreaded his fingers from theirs and looped his arm around their back instead. He ran his fingers lightly up and down Hange’s spine, settled his face into their hair.

This side of Hange wasn’t wholly new to him. He had seen Hange upset and overwhelmed a handful of times before, but it hurt all the same—and more still, when he considered the fact that Hange had been feeling like this for who knows how long, without him even being aware.

“You can tell me shit like this,” he said. Hange flinched a little.

“I know,” they said quietly. “I know I can. But I...you’re so far away. And I knew you’d want to help, if I told you, but travelling this far isn’t—I couldn’t ask that of you. I didn’t want you to worry.”

Levi knocked his knuckles gently to Hange’s head. “Stupid. Look how that turned out.”

Hange let out a wet laugh. “Yeah, it kinda backfired, huh? Or did it? Maybe it was a ploy to get you to come out here all along.”

Hange sounded tired. Drained. The joke was weak and hollow without the right injection of humour, but Hange, it seemed, didn’t even have the energy to pretend to sound amused. Levi gave a scoff of a laugh anyway.

“Congratulations,” he said, deadpan. “You got me.”

The conversation fell flat. He was so used to having Hange talk his ear off that the quiet between them felt awkward, stifling. Hange only breathed, long, measured breaths, while Levi held them loosely against him. Moblit pottered around in the kitchen. While Levi felt mostly certain that things between them, at least, were okay, he was still curious about Moblit’s presence—but it felt like the wrong time to ask.

As if they could read his mind, though, Hange said, “Moblit’s been helping me study for the catch-up exams.”

“Oh?”

Hange hummed. “He’s good. I think I’ll give him an aneurysm one day, though.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Oi,” Hange grumbled, digging their fingers weakly into his sides. Moblit chose that moment to come into the sitting room juggling three cups of tea. He looked a little apologetic as he handed one over to Levi, who took it with a mumbled thanks.

“I’ve been telling Hange they should speak to you,” he said. Hange made a quiet, affronted noise, lifting their head and sitting up straight to take the tea Moblit offered them. “I thought it might help if they had someone to actually talk to. I can help out with the academic stuff, but the rest…” he trailed away, and Levi caught his gaze flitting to Hange’s thin frame, then back up to Levi’s face.

“Moblit, you’re a whole traitor,” Hange said.

In unison, Levi and Moblit rolled their eyes. Hange had settled their weight against Levi’s side again, feet tucked up on the sofa next to them, and was busy glaring at Moblit over their steaming tea cup. Levi laid his hand on Hange’s knee and gave it a small squeeze.

“I like him,” Levi said. “He’s got good ideas. You should listen to him more, Hange.”

Moblit looked pleased with himself, though there was nothing smug about it. He seemed like the kind, earnest type—pair that with his intellect, and Levi wasn’t surprised at all that Hange seemed fond of him. He felt a pang of jealousy at the thought, then considered their positions; Hange was nestled into his side, had cried on his shoulder, and was holding his hand. It was petty, but Levi took some small delight in it all the same.

Hange poked out their tongue at Moblit, who wasted no time in telling them he knew he had been right. Hange struggled to find a compelling argument against him, and resorted instead to more petulant, childish gestures. Moblit looked perfectly used to the behaviour and retaliated little, only reiterated his stance and pointed out rather happily that Levi agreed with him.

The atmosphere felt warm, calm. Hange seemed, for the moment at least, something close to content, with a soft smile that almost reached their eyes. Levi felt marginally more at ease than he had done prior to coming, though Hange's current state made him anxious—but at least he understood the problem, now. He could help in the coming days, and then continue to offer whatever support the distance would allow. He determined then that he wouldn't let Hange go silent on him, that they'd come to an agreement before he left, to ensure Hange would talk to him next time.

He listened as Moblit and Hange quietly bickered over their tea. Hange's usual energy was severely lacking, their tone less volatile. There was no indignant flush of colour to their cheeks and the shine in their eyes was dull, subdued. But they were no longer crying. No longer on the brink of breaking. Levi would take that, for now.

The three of them were startled suddenly by the loud crack and boom of fireworks outside. The sky lit up in vibrant colour, flashing and receding in tandem with each bang and pop and fizz that rent the air. For a moment, they all paused. Hange and Moblit turned to look out the window, while Levi—sappy, hopeless fool that he was, could only look at Hange. The light played across their pale face, glinting from their glasses, filling out the hollows of their cheeks and their sunken eyes until they looked almost whole again. Levi gave their hand a small squeeze. Hange's gaze remained glued to the sky, but they squeezed back just as hard.

Moblit was the first to speak, when the light show came to an end. He checked his watch, then looked up and smiled.

"Happy New Year."

Levi blinked. He had all but forgotten the day and the time, too wrapped up in his concern for Hange. He turned to look at them, and found Hange watching him already. Now, they had some colour—a light blush of pink on the apple of each cheek. Levi's heart stuttered in his chest. They'd been together for long enough, had years of sure kisses and even more stray ones, and yet, every damn time, the prospect of kissing Hange made his palms sweat, his chest tighten with giddy, childish excitement.

“Another year without breaking tradition,” Hange said, a little breathlessly. Levi felt gratified to know that Hange seemed just as affected as he did. “You made it right on time.”

Hange kissed him as softly as ever. Levi's hand braced on their narrow waist as he kissed them back. Hange melted against him, their lips rough and dry but pliant, opening easily to the gentle press of his tongue. It took a concentrated effort to remember himself, remember their company, to keep the kiss somewhat chaste; to stop himself nudging Hange to lay back on the sofa and cover their body with his own.

He pulled away reluctantly, entirely too pleased when Hange chased him a little way, stealing another quick kiss or two before leaning against the back of the sofa and looking at him. The flush on their face was more prominent, now. Levi quietly delighted in it.

Moblit sighed, almost wistfully, and gathered up their empty cups. Hange cooed quietly at him.

"Don't worry, Moblit," they said. "You'll get your turn soon. When does Nifa get back again?"

Moblit's face flamed. Levi had never seen someone colour so quickly, bright red from his neck to his hairline.

He stormed through to the kitchen, and choked out, "Next week, I think. And it's not like that, Hange."

"Not yet," Hange corrected. "We'll get you there."

Hange let out a great yawn. The little light of life in them, the small pleasure of teasing, snuffed out as they sat up straighter, spine crunching in several places as they did.

"We should get back to work," they said. They sounded dull again—Levi could hear the strain of stress in their tone. Moblit looked a little torn. Levi shook his head.

"It can wait," Levi said. "I've had a long, shitty day, and you," he pinched the skin of their cheek, tugging a little, "need sleep. You look like shit."

Hange's face twisted. Levi could see the anxiety building in them, churning. He cut them off before they could say anything more. "A few hours, four-eyes. You're not gonna remember shit when you're tired anyway."

"Levi's right, Hange," Moblit interjected. He looked tired, too. Levi felt a pang of sympathy for him—how many hours of sleep had he sacrificed trying to help Hange desperately prepare?

Levi tugged on their hand, pulling them in closer as he sunk back, reclining a little on the sofa.

"I'm tired," he said plainly. And then, embarrassed by the heat already flooding his cheeks, he added, "I've missed you. Just a few hours."

Levi was never blatantly vocal about his feelings. He considered himself very lucky that Hange knew him well, and could understand the intent behind his rude remarks. Right now, though, he felt desperate. And his honesty paid off.

Hange scrutinised him for a short moment, then said, "okay. But only a few hours."

"Deal."

"Just a nap."

"Fine."

Hange adjusted to tuck themself against his chest. They drew their knees up and curled into his side, dragging a throw from the back of the sofa and adjusting it to drape over them both. Moblit settled himself quietly on the other sofa.

Levi drew absent patterns over Hange's back with his fingertips. His touch bumped over their spine, bones even more pronounced with their back curled the way it was. How long had it been since they ate a proper meal? How regularly did they ingest something more substantial than a protein bar? He knew Hange was prone to fits of forgetfulness when they became too fixated on one task or another, easily bypassing meal times and leaving it too long between showers, but hunger always won out in the end. Hange had always been a little on the skinny side, but this, now; it scared him. They looked, and felt, unhealthy.

He dropped a harsh kiss to the top of their head. He wanted to say so many things, felt full with the weight of it all—I'm worried about you, you're scaring me, please look after yourself, I love you. Instead, he kissed them again, roughly, nuzzling his face into their hair, and hoped somehow they would understand.

Tomorrow, Levi will drag them for a shower. He will make them a good breakfast. He will make sure they drink water, and take small breaks during their studies, even just five minutes to breathe and regroup. Tomorrow, he will stand by as a silent support. He will let Moblit guide Hange through their studies, help where Levi cannot, and then, if things get too much, if Hange needs something to ground themself again, Levi will be right there.

Tomorrow.

But for now, Levi will make sure they rest.

#levihan #snk #my writing #angst

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nock-and-bolt · 3 years

Note

What’s In A Name/Josh Fight 2k39?

The way my eyes ZOOMED in on this lol! I must know. Please elaborate on the Cyberpunk Josh Fight! 🌻🤗

Ahaha okay so when that Josh Fight stuff was going down in late April, and obviously the DBH connections to our Josh were being made, naturally an idea for a cute little almost-crack one shot idea came to me, which I half zero-draft stream of consciousness rambled on about here. Basically it’d be fleshing out the lil relationship with Josh and the kid you see with him in Time to Decide who I thusly dubbed Little Josh for reasons xD (so not Cyberpunk haha).

And I even started writing a bit for it too lol (under the cut)

“Aaaugh!”

Simon jumped back from the dumpster with an agility Josh hadn’t seen in months.

Since the supplies in Jericho ran out and they started casting lots to see who’d have to risk the humans’ wrath to scavenge spare parts and blue blood, most everyone had gained a sort of lethargy. Conserving energy, they told each other, but Josh knew it was more than pragmatism that left them all sitting motionless in the dark. There was an oppressive air to the place now, stuck in a holding pattern awaiting discovery and a brutal end, or languishing in fear of that threat until their batter life finally ran out.

Simon had drawn the short stick to go scavenging this time around, and Josh had volunteered to keep him company. He knew how anxious the PL600 could get about these trips.

Usually, there was nothing to worry about if they stayed vigilant, kept to the shadows, and only moved at night when there were no humans around.

Usually, however, the piles of refuse they were digging through didn’t move.

“Did you—?” Simon gestured towards the dumpster.

Josh nodded. He’d seen it, too. A flash of movement, a shuffling behind towards the back of the alley way.

Josh crept forward.

“Why would you—”

The blond-haired android threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, and the rest of Simon’s statement screamed over their nonverbal communication system.

Why would you go towards the strange noise in the sketchy alley in the dead of night?

“Relax, Simon,” Josh called over his shoulder, “it’s just a kid.” Crouching down, he lifted a hand non threateningly and retracted his synthskin.

“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” he told the boy hiding behind a pile of cardboard boxes. “We’re like you,” he said, because even if the kid had removed his LED, Josh recognized the look of a male YK500 model.

...

Yep that’s about as far as I got haha—who knows if I’ll ever finish it 🤷‍♀️ tho writing this ask answer kinda makes me want to—but it’s such a weirdly specific thing ahaha so yeah who knows xD

Thanks for the ask, ma dude! <3

#dbh josh #dbh pj500 #dbh fanfic idea #nock stuff #dbh josh pj500 #answering asks #asks answered #detroit: become human #detroit become human #detroit josh #time to decide

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cremeriie · 2 years

Text

I posted 27 times in 2021

27 posts created (100%)

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For every post I created, I reblogged 0.0 posts.

I added 125 tags in 2021

#maddy draws - 20 posts

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Longest Tag: 39 characters

#999: nine hours nine persons nine doors

My Top Posts in 2021

Calling all Zero Escape fans and Aoilight enjoyers, I wrote a fanfiction. It took me four months, which is a day less than four months longer than I usually spend on a fanfic.

It's a canon divergence fix-it fic with embarrassing uses of the morphogenetic field, team bonding exercises, and cheesy intense dialogue. Also, they're all SOIS agents because I love a good spy fic. Honestly, I'm not very good at summarizing my writing but I hope some of yall give it a try anyways. (You can always close the tab if you don't like it, I promise that I'll never know.)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32106613

(god i hope this shows up in the tags)

23 notes • Posted 2021-06-22 14:01:57 GMT

noooo don’t commit acts of domestic terrorism ahaha you’re so sexy

fun fact: this is a slightly different version than the one i posted on my instagram bc that one looked kinda weird. i can’t be bother to go repost it though, so only tumblr gets to see this one ;)

yeah anyways i played the zero escape trilogy last week and loved it alot (well, i loved 999 & vlr. ztd was good but i rlly think those budget constraints bit them in the ass.) i have many thoughts about the games but i dont think anybody cares so i’ll spare you my rambling (for now lol).

SPEAKING OF INSTAGRAM you should follow me there @cremeriie (same username as here)

26 notes • Posted 2021-04-01 02:23:44 GMT

i couldnt decide which version i liked better, which was hard considering the fact that i kinda hate both of themmmmmmm.

follow me on instagram and twitter @cremeriie whatever whatever yk the drill.

36 notes • Posted 2021-10-11 14:05:50 GMT

let's go to the beach each 🏖️

two versions, click for better quality blah blah blah you know what to do.

anyways i started this and then left it for two months bc i was in a funk but its FINE because i finally finished it. i love these two so much they make my heart full!!!!!!

follow my instagram and twitter (@cremeriie) for more!

51 notes • Posted 2021-08-08 20:39:05 GMT

[click for better quality please]

YOU CAN'T SHOW THAT ON TV!

ok before anybody comments YES the incorrect hand was on purpose. i was inspired by how spamton NEO's design looks like a broken down Mettaton NEO body, so i tried to make Mike look like he had a broken/messed up Metal Crusher body.

ANYWAYS i keep seeing these vids on yt for hypothetical mike songs, battles, and segments, and they all looked so cool!! i had to draw him lol.

insta and twitter: @cremeriie

54 notes • Posted 2021-11-06 19:53:57 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #my art #anyways cool and thanks tumblr for the spotify wrapped I MEAN tumblr wrapped

2 notes · View notes

to1vity · 4 years

Text

too’s jisu “tickle attack”

requested!

— “Hii💓 it's really hard finding writing blogs about TOO, i'm happy i found ur blog!! Could you write a fluffy scenario about the boys exposing Jisu's crush pls?? Thank u in advance💓 ”

wc. 1,364

summary. you and jisu are ‘just friends’, that is until the boys are forced to endure one tickle attack too many

warnings. minor swearing

(a/n: aw, i’m happy you’re happy you found my blog lol)

“jisu-ya!”

the nine boys, aside from the one whom you were at the mercy of, stared at you with expressions ranging between frustration and annoyance. you were visiting the ten oriented orchestra dorm for the fourth time this week, which also meant you were suffering your fourth tickle-attack that week—from none other than choi jisu. the first time it was cute, the second it earned a half smile, the third it was annoying and the fourth, well… let’s just say the boys could only endure so much.

“yn-ah…” he replied as he continued to tickle you, mocking your tone. the two of you engaged in this ritual, this back and forth, every time you were in each other’s company. it wasn’t like you two were born yesterday, either; it was pretty well understood by you both that this was, yes indeed, flirting.

but the question of whether either of you were ready to do anything about it? yeah- that’s another story.

the members were themselves ready to put a stop to the seemingly endless cat and mouse game that you and jisu loved to play, but there was a problem. they all feared what a forced confession would do to, not just jisu’s relationship with you, but also theirs with him. would he be mad? or would be he grateful that they could say the words that he couldn’t? would you be awkward? would jisu resent them if your demeanor towards him did change? these were all considered, as the boys had discussed it among themselves on an occasion. but, as mentioned, these poor boys could only handle so much.

“i cannot take it anymore.” chihoon mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for donggeon and kyungho, who were sitting next to him, to hear. the other members who were out of earshot sat somewhere on the floor or on the arms of the couch.

donggeon stifled a laugh—not that he necessarily needed to do so, you and jisu were in your own world.

“seriously, i love jisu-hyung and yn and all but….” kyungho trailed.

“it’s getting weeeeeeird.” donggeon teased, laughing louder this time. this gained the attention of the other members, as well as jisu who lightened up his attack on you once his attention was focused toward his friend.

“what’s so funny, hyung? i wanna laugh.” woonggi, the maknae, pouted up at his older member. various versions of “yeah”s and “what’s funny”s colored the room—you even joined in once you came down from the effect of jisu’s ambush.

donggeon looked at chihoon, then to kyungho, then back to chihoon; chihoon looked at the younger member with an expression that read “you’ve gotta dig yourself out of this one”, accompanied with a small smirk.

“seeing yn get tickled was just funny, ahaha…” donggeon ‘confessed’ with an awkward laugh. “guess tickling is contagious! who knew…”

the mood in the room had changed, it’d become a little- erm- awkward. you noticed this, and spoke up.

“what’s up with you guys?”

the nine boys, excluding jisu, looked around at each other with wide eyes. the left out man in question looked to his members with confusion.

see, jisu didn’t know that the boys were on to his romantic interest. not that he thought he did a particularly good job of hiding it, he just didn’t think his friends cared enough to pay attention. they’ve got their own things to worry about, right?

when your question solicited no response, you decided to make up some kind of excuse to leave the room. “uh, okay. i’m gonna run to the corner mart and grab a snack. you guys want anything?”

you didn’t expect anyone to speak up due to the tension in the room, but when minsu (your favorite member, don’t tell jisu) asked for a candy bar in the sweetest little voice you ever heard, you couldn’t help but crack a smile. grabbing your hoodie, phone, and their spare key, you made your way to the dorm’s elevator. the entire trip to the store you couldn’t help but wonder if the boys had you figured out, and if that’s why the mood dropped so quickly.

meanwhile, back at the dorm, chaos ensued.

“we know you like them, and your painful attempts at flirting are obnoxious and annoying!” chihoon, unable to hold back in your absence, blurted out.

“yeah, hyung, the tickling- that’s like, gotta stop.” jeyou added, the layer of hesitation in his voice softening the firmness of what he intended to sound like.

jisu argued with his members back and forth—every time he would try to deny his feelings for you or say that flirting wasn’t his intention, another one of his friends would come with a rebuttal that instantly shut him up. not for long though, as he would go back to denying or making claims soon after. this cycle continued over and over and over and over again, never seeming to end.

not even when you stood in the doorway, hoodie on, black ‘thank you, come again’ mart bag in hand.

you swore it was a good five minutes that you were just standing, listening to jisu and his members talk about you like you weren’t there; in all fairness, to them you weren’t. you heard jisu deny any feelings for you (which hurt) and then another member say that that was absolute bullshit (which gave you hope). the cycle would have truly been endless, so much so that you forced yourself to stop it.

“ya!!” you yelled at the top of your lungs. “shut up!” all eyes were on you now, some shocked and some apologetic. the tension in the room had grown to be the same as before you left.

“listen, you know i love hanging out with you guys but, clearly, you have a lot going on. i’ll just-” you fumbled into the black bag, pulled out minsu’s candy bar, and placed it on the table nearest you. “i’ll come back later when you’ve got this whole...thing...figured out.”

without hesitation, you turned around and exited the door through which you had just come. also without hesitation, jisu jumped up to run out the door after you. he thought it’d be easy to sort things out when it was just the two of you.

he was wrong.

you turned around to be greeted by jisu’s company in the hallway, half shocked half not. the way your hair fell and the expression on your face made it nearly impossible for anything to come out of jisu’s mouth. however, he managed.

“how much of that did you hear?” he shyly asked, hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“more that i would’ve liked to. i mean, not in the way that i was offended or anything- i just wanted you guys to shut up, haha…” you offered a weak joke to lighten the mood between yourselves. it might not have taken the tone from cool to warm, but it did earn a small chuckle from the man in front of you, and that was enough.

“listen, yn, i do like you. a lot. i mean, i kinda thought you knew but i didn’t want to say anything because...you know? i don’t want to ramble or anything…”

“yeah, yeah...i get you.” you said, your and jisu’s eyes meeting. all the pressure in the room seemed to have disappeared in that moment, and you found yourself smile. jisu returned the small action.

“i’m still gonna head home. you guys have schedules tomorrow, you should rest.” you gulped, preparing yourself for what you were about to propose next.

“but, next time, let’s hang out- yknow, just the two of us? we don’t have to do anything fancy, and you can still tickle-attack me!”

“i mean, you had me at the two of us but i definitely would not have refused after the tickle-attack promise!”

you and jisu shared a laugh and one more smile. as much as you didn’t want to, you oblige yourself to depart from your...friend? honestly, it didn’t matter what you said you were, because the entire ride home you wore that same stupid grin; that told you everything you needed to know.

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chockfullofsecrets · 4 years

Text

Critical Role: One Minute

(Read on AO3)

Rating: Gen

Summary: The third time that Jester’s Wand of Smiles fails on Caleb, she gives up on any pretense and just whines. “Cay-leb!” Jester is determined to see Caleb smile. Molly has an idea.

Wordcount: 2018

A/N: Hi, it’s been a while! I have a graduate degree and a new fandom and no idea how I got here... there’s a lot of stuff I need to clean out of my inbox/drafts, but I hope you’re all doing well!

The third time that Jester’s Wand of Smiles fails on Caleb, she gives up on any pretense and just whines. “Cay-leb!”

“Ja?” he replies, not even looking up from his book. He looks comfy, legs stretched out on his bed. Molly can’t help but snort at how unruffled he sounds - when plied with literature or magic, their wizard can ignore almost anything.

Which is good, because he’s been in a room with Jester and Molly as they make their way through Tusk Love for nearly two hours now. Jester insists on reading the novel out loud, voices and all, determined for Molly to enjoy the racy scenes along with her despite his own lack of reading ability. Unfortunately, her favor’s gotten them rousted from their own territory - Fjord is in their shared room, sharpening his falchion (and Molly’s scimitars, upon receiving a solemn promise that Molly will never tell him a single detail of the plot), and across the hall Beau and Nott are napping off the last of their celebratory hangovers, Beau grumpier than usual after Yasha disappeared again last night. In a begrudging concession to their team of boring people, the two of them have ended up cuddling on the spare bed in Caleb’s room, cackling over every other page as the writing reaches increasingly lurid and inept new heights. Emboldened by Caleb’s inattention to their antics, Jester appears to have taken on the additional goal of catching Caleb off guard with her smiling spell.

It’s not going well, but Molly is more than content to sit back and watch her try.

“Why doesn’t it work on you?” Jester demands. “Did you do something to it before you gave it to me?”

“Of course not,” Caleb says mildly, still fixed on his reading. Then he keeps going, because stoic as the man is he seems to have an innate talent for winding Jester up. “Although why would I tell you if I did?”

At Jester’s barely muffled scream of failed pranking frustration, he finally turns to look at them. “That was a joke. It’s not such a hard thing to resist, Jester.”

“Then stop resisting! I just want to see you smile one time! Just for one minute!” She’s serious in her demands, if not outright upset - Molly can feel her tail lashing around behind his back. “You don’t have to be embarrassed or anything if your teeth are dirty, you know, it’s just me and Molly and we won’t tell anyone!”

Caleb frowns a little. “You are oddly invested in this.”

“I’ve been trying so hard!” Jester cries, jabbing a finger in his direction. “For a whole hour! What if smiling will actually kill you, but we don’t know, and then we’re fighting someone, and they have a wand like mine or Nott’s laughter spell or maybe they just tell really good jokes and then you die? We have to know these things!”

Molly is appropriately amused by her rambling. Caleb just looks concerned. “Was - Jester, is this something you’re actually worried about?”

“Well, I am now,” Jester grumps. It’s endearing how much she cares about the group, even when her caring is intense and a little embarrassing and almost entirely nonsensical. Cuddled up against him as she is, Jester can feel him laughing and turns to pout at him instead. He pouts back and ruffles her hair, tugging lightly at one of her horns - he knows from experience that it feels a little weird and a little nice, and sure enough it’s not more than a couple seconds before she can’t keep a straight face anymore.

Which, now that he thinks of it...

Molly thinks it through like he does most things: not at all. Then he gets up with one last pat to Jester’s cheek, stalks across to Caleb’s bed, and shoves his legs over until there’s enough room for him to perch on the edge and get decidedly into Caleb’s personal space.

Caleb doesn’t hold his book up like a shield, but Molly suspects it’s only because he values the paper more than his own flesh. “Ah… Mr. Mollymauk?”

“Mr. Caleb,” Molly purrs. Gets an inch closer. “I have a question for you.”

Caleb’s eyes very pointedly fail to meet his. “... You could not have asked this question from back over there?”

“Nope, this is part of the plan.”

“And what,” Caleb asks, slow and steely, “are you planning?”

Molly sees his fingers twitch towards the Message wire wrapped around his wrist. “Nothing bad,” he soothes. Waits until the furrow in Caleb’s brow smooths out a little, and then springs his trap.

“Are you ticklish?”

Molly has determined from observation and a little practical experimentation that Caleb has two reactions when someone who isn’t Nott invades his personal space. The first is the stoic look of someone who figures they’re about to get a beating and is somewhat resigned to the fact. The second, infinitely more interesting, is the red-faced fluster of enjoying oneself despite oneself’s very best efforts.

He watches the red gather on Caleb’s cheeks and feels a thrill that runs all the way down his spine to a last sharp flick of his tail, chases it by leaning in just a bit closer and reaching out to play with the edges of Caleb’s coat.

“Ah,” Caleb stutters. “No?”

The blush intensifies, and Molly chuckles mock-ruefully. “Was that a yes? Jester, did you hear a yes?”

“Yes,” Jester practically shouts. “Get him, Molly!”

The coat doesn’t have any buttons, expected given its wear, but there are buttonholes and Molly loops his finger through one of them as he withdraws a little to catch Caleb’s eye. “I’ll be nice; I know we’re interrupting your reading. One minute.”

“One minute?”

He taps Caleb on the forehead. “You can keep track of time, right?”

Caleb is clearly playing catch-up. He nods jerkily. “Ah, Ja.”

“Great,” he says cheerfully. “One minute, count it out, let me know when to stop.”

“Wait, when to stop what-” And then Molly shoves his hands into Caleb’s coat and pokes a finger into each of his skinny sides and starts tickling. Caleb’s stutters morph into these little noises of protest that slip out every time Molly’s fingers so much as twitch, climbing rapidly higher-pitched and more giggly as the attack continues.

Molly offhandedly tells him exactly how cute those little noises are and earns himself even more of the same, along with a breathless little “Scheiße!” that delights him even further. Feet digging into the bed for purchase, Caleb twists away to the right, flopping sideways onto the mattress and jamming his arms against his torso to keep Molly’s hands from advancing further.

Molly chases him down, propping himself up with a knee so he can loom properly to watch his prey squirm. “Hiding in your coat?” he teases. He can barely see the red of Caleb’s cheeks above the upturned collar. “Maybe I’ll have to get you out of it. Tickle tickle!”

“N-nein!” Caleb squeaks and tries to duck his head even further. Eager to reap the fruits of his labor, Molly sacrifices one implement of torture to reach out and tug the collar down.

Caleb is - not laughing, really, he’s still doing a pretty impressive job of keeping it together and it’s a little offensive, but his face is scrunched up in the most enormous grin behind a curtain of lank hair and Molly feels his lips curling to match. “Alright, Jester,” he calls over his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure we can establish that smiling doesn’t kill him.”

“Wait! I want to see!” Hearing the scrambling noises of an approaching Jester, Caleb makes a sound like he’s dying and presses his hands over his face. Molly tuts disapprovingly and, taking advantage of Caleb’s torso being newly unprotected, proceeds to force his way under Caleb’s book holsters to pinch at the tops of his ribcage.

This, finally, gets Caleb to crack. “Ahaha-HA! Molly! Bit-bitte-!” He wheezes between peals of husky laughter, curling in even tighter on himself and swatting ineffectually at his coat as he tries to dislodge Molly’s hands through layers of cloth and leather.

Jester pops up behind him, squealing in delight as Caleb succumbs to mirth. “Aw, Caleb, you have such a pretty smile!” She reaches out to tilt his face at some predetermined angle, then giggles mischievously and tickles him under his chin to make him scrunch up all over again. “There, perfect! Now that I know what you look like when you’re smiling, I can draw it later!”

“You want to help?” Molly offers. “Honestly, I think he’s just getting more ticklish the longer this goes and I’m kind of curious to see how that’s going to end up.”

He stops tickling for the moment, giving Caleb a breather in case Jester does decide to jump in. Caleb takes this gracious opportunity to bury his face in the mattress and makes a tired little noise, now flushed bright red to the tips of his ears. He’s curled around Molly’s planted knee like a cat, and Molly can feel the press of his chest against his calf as Caleb catches his breath.

“We could do that,” Jester muses, hooking her chin over his shoulder. “Orrrr… Caleb can come read Tusk Love with us!”

Caleb goes still for a second. Molly’s honestly not sure if he’s breathing. Finally, he turns his head, one shining blue eye visible in the shadow of his face. “Those are the only two choices?” he asks, deadpan. “There can be no negotiations?”

“Nope!” Jester replies cheerfully.

Caleb sighs heavily. “Fine, I will read your smut with you.”

Jester cheers and flounces away, kneeling to drag the book out from where she chucked it under the bed in her excited dash. “Good choice! I am so good at tickling and you are very squishy, so you would die, probably.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, our cleric.” Molly tugs himself free of the holsters, waits for Caleb to uncurl and roll onto his back and start to sit up.

Then, sword-slash quick, he pins Caleb at the waist with both hands and leans over to speak lowly in his ear. “You didn’t tell me to stop.”

Caleb’s ear hits him in the side of the face - obviously, he doesn’t startle well. “What?”

“I told you to let me know when the minute was up.” He rubs a thumb gently over Caleb’s side, relishing in the flinch and startled huff of breath. “So.” Presses lightly, rolling on the ball of his thumb until Caleb can’t help but giggle. “Either that was a very long minute, or I’m going to have to start doing this more often.”

Caleb’s face is too blurred to make out, this close, but red is never that hard to see. “I… I forgot,” he blurts, a little too loud.

“You? Forgot?” Molly laughs despite himself, then straightens a little and plants a kiss on Caleb’s forehead just because the poor thing is pinned and he can. “Oh, dear.”

“What did you forget?” Jester interrupts, clearing her throat noisily. “That you two are supposed to be reading with me, and not whispering in each other’s ears?” She pauses. “Or you could keep going, I guess, but then you should probably tell me to leave if you’re going to -” She clicks her tongue suggestively.

Caleb sits up so fast that he knocks Molly over, then stumbles to his feet for good measure. “Nein! Jester, we aren’t going to - we’re not - you are reading too much smut.”

She shrugs, unashamed and grinning a very, very wide grin. Molly suffers no illusions that his face doesn’t look exactly the same. “And plenty of watching my mamma work before that! Now come read! Maybe it will give you i-de-as!” She sing-songs the last word, and Caleb looks about ready to fall right back down.

Molly gets up, clapping a hand on Caleb’s shoulder to keep him upright. “Well, can’t argue with that,” he says, and walks the both of them over.

Although, he thinks, looking over at Caleb, he’s got plenty of ideas already.

#tickling #critical role #caleb widogast #mollymauk tealeaf #jester lavorre #chocfic

47 notes · View notes

dimensionslip · 5 years

Text

Tales of the Rays: Fairy’s Requiem Chapter 7 Summary (Parts 1 - 5)

I’m still not over this chapter, so here’s a summary of the first half. I’ll do the last half sometime soon or when I have free time. In the meantime, if you wished to check out some untidy ramblings about the story, I have linked some of my relevant tweet chains under the cut. Please enjoy!

Note: I am open to corrections, in case you find something iffy about what I’ve summarized/translated! There are clearly some parts I paid more attention to than others, ahaha...

Part 1

The chapter opens with Luke, Tear, Mieu, and Jade talking among themselves regarding Luke’s condition and the fact that Lorelei was exoflected.

Ever since he heard that Lorelei got exoflected, Luke had been worried about disappearing. So far, his body showed no signs of breaking apart, but he's worried all the same. On Jade's end, he explains that when the seventh fonon is exoflected, it's turned into an approximate equivalent in Tir Na Nog thanks to encoding. So rather than the Seventh Fonon being exoflected, it's already been changed to fit the laws of the world. And since Luke had already been exoflected, it means that there already is an encoded version of the existing seventh fonons.

Their theorizing and Luke's worrying is interrupted by the rest of the Abyss cast filing in (Guy, Natalia, Asch, Anise). Who, well, discover that Luke was due to disappear. Natalia says there's no use hiding it from them, since she noticed Luke had been broody since he learned Lorelei was exoflected, and noticed something was up.

Asch demands an explanation from Jade, but Luke opts to be the one to explain stuff, and there's a small fade to black as everything is explained…

Asch TL;DRs the whole thing by saying that Luke was undergoing fonon separation prior to getting exoflected, and was due to disappear. When Luke got exoflected, his fonon separation halted due to the change in environment. Luke looks to Jade for confirmation, and he says yes and follows up a bit. Jade says that because Lorelei was exoflected, the environment is becoming quite similar to how it was in Auldrant. And while Luke's fonon separation has not begun, they need to be on alert for the possibility.

Asch: ...Tsk. Wherever we go, you really need some delicate handling, replica.

Luke: ...Sorry.

Asch: Who told you to apologize?!

Natalia: Asch! You've also been acting funny lately. Since you've heard about Lorelei getting exoflected, you've returned to how you were when we were first exoflected.

Asch: …!

Jade: Indeed, because it seems that Asch is under the impression that he's going to disappear.

Asch: ……….

Natalia: Huh? What's the meaning of this, Asch?!

Asch: ---Necromancer, am I going to disappear?

Jade: This world and Auldrant's conditions are too different from each other. I cannot say for certain with regard to the future.

Jade: But at the moment, as an original, your life is not in danger.

Jade: Lorelei was exoflected as a spirit here. Already, seventh fonon studies material from Auldrant cannot be used as references.

Then Jade says that Asch's fretting and impatience in their original world is no longer necessary here. And then proceeds to say that he's cutting off the explanation there and thinks it's unnecessary for him to go more detailed, since there's no one else that knows anything about fomicry more than him. Asch snarks back by saying that Jade's manner of speaking, as usual, is quite irritating. But he buys what Jade is saying, because he can't really imagine Jade lying to reassure him. Guy is rather curious why Asch thinks he's going to disappear, but Asch decides to opt out of the explanation because it's a long story. He does apologize for snapping at Luke and Natalia as a result of his misconceptions.

But then, that brings them to the matter of being unable to rest at ease with regard to Luke's condition. Jade doesn't deny what Asch said, and says it's the reason why he wants to speak to the spirit Lorelei. As it seems, fonons have been replaced by chiral particles in this world, and Jade is concerned about how the special characteristics got translated, since there's more to fonons than meets the eye. He's not sure if those other characteristics got translated into a chiral molecule property or was incorporated into anima, which is unique to Tir Na Nog.

So the concern now is that Lorelei's exoflection may have caused those rules to change as well, because of "layered processing" done at the time. TL;DR, as mentioned by Guy, it's necessary to speak to Lorelei just to determine how the nature of the translated Seventh Fonon changed.

This time, they're interrupted by Ix calling them over mirrage comm. It seems that an overseer from the Empire has arrived in the Auldrant territory, and the person's name is in the nexus list. His name is Ion...

Part 2

Mercuria is not happy, wondering what's taking Demitrius. Chigal tries to reassure her, but she starts musing about how Demitrius is keeping so many secrets from her lately. Much musing ensues, and Chigal ends up bringing up that Nuadha used to call Demitrius "kind poison".

Demitrius eventually arrives. As a result of his bargaining with Glastein from the previous chapter, it is revealed that Richter got turned into a Living Doll β. Mercuria is devastated to find out what happened to Richter, who doesn't recognize her at all. Regal has also been β'd, and they've come to take away Chigal and Junior. Chigal and Junior make a promise to Mercuria to return.

Mercuria ends up excusing herself despite Demitrius' apologies, and quietly starts scheming a way to get her subordinates back, as she now has second thoughts about whether Living Dolls really are the right way to go about getting Bifrost back. Lukius tags along as Mercuria sets off to discuss more of her plans in private.

Part 3

Ix, Mileena, Karia, Kocis, and the Abyss cast arrive in the Auldrant portion of Tir Na Nog--Daath, specifically. Tear muses about the fact that the capital of the section is called "Daath", while Natalia and Asch worry about Woodrow given the previous chapter's events.

In the meantime, Luke and Ix are musing about the fact that this was around the place where the fake Jade had surfaced back in the day. Karia bemoans the fact that the real Jade isn't like the fake, who was kind and gentlemanly. Jade pretends to be hurt over this fact, much to Karia's consternation.

Luke then asks after Anise, who says she's fine. Ix then comments that she seems to be filled with sorrow whenever Ion's name comes up and wonders why that's the case, but then backpedals a bit and says she doesn't have to say it if the Auldrant people think it's unnecessary to say so. Jade encourages her to speak up about it--and Mileena as well (for a separate matter)--as the continued survival of the world depends on it.

But before they could go any further with this line of thought, Karia shrieks, as she finds something rather horrific in the middle of the town…

...a Jade statue.

Kocis: Whoa, what’s the meaning of this…?

Asch: What’s a statue of this guy doing here…

Anise: I-is this for real…

Guy: That’s a work of art right there, Jade!

Should Mileena take a souvenir photo?

Jade: I will kill you, Guy.

Their surprise tour is cut short by a familiar shriek, which Ix seems to recognize.

???: Khhh! Call the one responsible for this! Now!

Ix: ...Huh? That voice, could it be…

Jade: Oh? Is it your acquaintance, Ix?

Ix: What?! No, but, isn't that--

Local: Oh boy, it's Dist the Reaper. You guys should probably get out of here.

Local: That guy… He just came here yesterday, but he seems to consider St. Jade as some sort of rival.

Luke: Oh… And I was relieved that we haven't seen much of him lately.

Asch: …

Natalia: Asch?

Mileena: Everyone, it'd be bad if we ran into Dist, so let's hide by the shrubbery over there. It's quite troublesome.

Jade: I have no objections. Everyone will be keeping a distance from that broken drainage pipe.

To no one's surprise, Dist seems to have taken major issues with the Jade statue and wants to destroy it. And Jade, for once, finds himself agreeing with Dist.

It's around that time that the overseer Ion appears, who Dist greets. Asch proposes they strike, while Luke comments that the overseer Ion seems to be in the same state as Woodrow before. And Natalia surmises that this Ion got Living Doll β'd. It's around this time that Jade gives the go signal for them to jump in and try to save Ion.

Part 4

The party defeats the guards, and Guy asks Dist to hand over Ion. Anise still doesn't have so many words to spare and is acting a little strangely. Dist tries to shake her up by going as far to refer to Ion as the "master that she got killed", to which Anise responds that she's not easily that shaken up, and proceeds to go in for the kill...

However, Asch stops her. Anise is not happy and says he's attacking the wrong person. Asch says there's no mistake about what he's doing. Asch says he has some business with Lorelei. Dist asks if Asch is betraying Jade and the rest of the gang, to which Asch more or less roundaboutly says yes to. Though not without calling him "The Runny", much to Dist's chagrin.

Whatever the case is, Dist welcomes the prospect, since with Asch by his side he can further fomicry research, and he doesn't really care so much about the Empire's goals.

At this point, Dist has the group cornered with his robots, but Ix and Mileena have a trick up their sleeves, which is a transfer gate. The party (minus Asch) uses that to escape.

Asch is left with Dist, and demands that he be taken to Lorelei. Dist isn't too sold about being ordered around, as well as where Asch's loyalties lie. He needs more proof that Asch has betrayed Jade and the rest before doing so.

Back in the base, Ix suffers from side effects of using the transfer gate. Jade says he will explain things once they get Ix to their clinic.

Part 5

Meanwhile, in the Salvation Front, Marcus has gathered his troops to do some relocation work. He plans to start using the Altamira base they acquired from the casino event--a decision that is met with much protest. But it's a necessary decision given the danger of being in the Heimdallr from that point forward.

Phil continues to fret about things, and Sync pushes him to tell the truth to Ix. Because the longer he puts it off, the more difficult it would get.

One of the Salvation Front members pleads with Marcus again, but the conversation is interrupted by Sync, who spots an unconscious Barbatos, who was captured and turned into a Living Doll previously. The soldier with them speculates that Barbatos may have escaped from prison.

Marcus gets some info from an imperial soldier that had been chasing Barbatos, and tells the the Salvation Front soldier to escape along with the others while he and Sync take care of business there.

Some tweet chains I made regarding the chapter:

Untidy screaming about the chapter in general

A small correction to the above 2am rambling

Scene 6 stuff, regarding the OCs finding out about the events of Abyss and more Jade and Anise feels

Last scene stuff, mostly regarding Arietta and Sync and Asch’s “betrayal”

#tales of the abyss #tales of the rays #jade curtiss #luke fon fabre #asch the bloody #anise tatlin #tear grants #fon master ion #natalia luzu kimlasca lanvaldear #mercuria #sync the tempest #marcus #ix nieves #mileena weiss #karia #kocis #my translation

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izaswritings · 4 years

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E, L, and M for the fanfic ask game !!

Fanfic Writer Ask Meme

asdkjhfgj thanks for asking!!!! 💖

E: What character do you identify with most? Is there a certain fic of yours that captures these qualities particularly well?

Rapunzel!! There's a lot of characters I identify with, but I identify with Rapunzel a lot, especially with her fears and her struggles with responsibility, making people happy, fear of failure and making others upset… my view of Rapunzel is that her way of conflict management is either "make everyone happy" or to ignore the problem entirely, and while of course that creates a lot of problems, its also… how I tend to deal with things, ahaha. Her kind of forced optimism no matter what, too! I relate to her a lot, ahaha. It's why I love Tangled so much! Regarding fics that capture these qualities… I would say Labyrinths, I think? At least, that was the intention!

L: Which of your fanfics was the most emotionally challenging to write

Probably Labyrinths of the Hearts, for multiple reasons... It's an emotional fic, and I was writing it at a kind of difficult time for me. I was coming to terms with and accepting a lot of aspects of my identity that I had ignored or misunderstood, so writing that story of fate and destiny, acceptance and challenge, of standing one's ground despite feeling the world (or in this case, a goddess) is against you… well, it really hit hard! But at the same time it also helped me come to terms with a lot. (Still very emotionally tiring though, ahaha).

M: What’s the weirdest AU scenario you’ve ever come up with? Did it turn into a story?

I think the weirdest AU I have a is a grand Tangled/Kingdom Hearts/Undertale crossover AU I thought of once! I have some ideas, and an outline, but I've never written it in full… the basic idea is that Heartless take the Tangled world right after the end of season 1, and Rapunzel and Varian are the only survivors, waking in Traverse Town! It probably would have followed an older Varian (like 17 or so) being reluctantly roped into saving the worlds, and maybe ending up in a battle bros trio with Kairi and a displaced Frisk. (Or Kris. I couldn't decide if I wanted to it to be a Deltarune or Undertale crossover, tbh.)

It's such a weird idea, but I really love it! I have a lot more thoughts on it, but I'll spare you the long ramblings 😂 but yeah, I’d say that’s my most bizzare au idea!

#writing game #iza talks #fic: labyrinths of the heart #fic series: the long road back to home #tts #tangled the series #varian #rapunzel #fic ideas #tbh I still really want to write the kh au idea #it was full of really complicated stuff #cause raps and varian were still enemies when the world's fell #but also are the only survivors of their world #so there's a lot of bad blood and pain and grief but they really only have each other for a long time #and they do become a family of sorts eventually #but its a very slow going #and varian too is never fully redeemed #he's a little more worn; a little darker #he cant make up for what he did because those people are already gone #and he feels tethered loose #meeting sora and the others really helps ahaha #plus raps!!#I actually had an idea that she would run a bar in traverse town #she would meet some former villains from other worlds and like... kind of get along them??#what is good and evil when everything is already gone #AHHHH SORRY JUST #THIS AU HAS A LOT OF IDEAS AHDJSGKJH

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enstarsrequests-blog · 7 years

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Aaaa-!! //this looks like such a cute blog-// how about a fluffy scenario/headcanons for Ra*bits and Knights x S/O when they stumble in on their S/O wearing their (oversized) stage uniforms? q v q sorry to bother you, ahaha- ^^;

My first request!! Thank you, I haven’t even posted much yet;; other than the one ra*bits post,,, but now that I’ve gotten an ask, my motivation for this blog has gone up quite a bit ! And you’re no bother, these were super fun to write! This was such a cute request OvO !!

Also, sorry that I took so long to reply;; I was busy with pranks and such around april fools, so I didn’t even notice it until yesterday aa ;;; sorry for the wait, I hope you like it!

Leo:

Leo would stare at them for a moment. Just peering at them with wide eyes as he stands in the doorway. A huge grin would plaster onto his face. He would run over to where they stood, cupping their face in his hands and giving them a overdramatic and loud smooch as he yelled about inspiration and a soon-to-be masterpiece.

He would immediately grab whatever writing utensil he had with him, scribbling music scores on the floor. He had written many songs with them as his inspiration already, but he babbled on about how this would be the best.

After that incident, Leo continued to give his clothes or leave them with his s/o in hopes they would wear it.

Izumi:

Izumi froze up at the sight of his s/o, wearing the Knights’ uniform that was many sizes too big for them. His cheeks burned as he evaded his eyes, though sparing a few glances at them. He called them an idiot, asking why they would do something so dumb.

He would tell them to change out of it, despite how much he loved seeing them in that uniform. He gave them one of his extra shirts to wear, at least until he walked them home. They stated that they had their own clothing and he didn’t have to give his, but he cut them off, telling them to wear it. He hoped nobody else saw them in his clothes, as it was something he wanted to treasure alone; though he wouldn’t say such aloud, or even admit it to himself.

Arashi:

Arashi is known to love cute things, and cuteness is one of the many things he loves about his s/o. He would walk over to them, smiling as he examined them. He would pull out either a phone, camera, or both and take an abundance of pictures. He would claim how they looked like a royal trying to dress like a knight, and that he wished he could pull of a cute look like that.

He would want to try on his s/o’s clothes before realizing they wouldn’t fit. But he would want them to stay in that outfit for the rest of the day. Though they were the one in the knight outfit, he would protect them as their knight.

Ritsu:

After finally waking from a long nap, Ritsu woke up to see his s/o wearing his unit outfit. He would rub his eyes, blinking a few times. He would think he was dreaming, or even dead, until pinching his s/o’s cheek, deciding that meant he was awake.

After getting their “reward” of kisses, Ritsu would claim he’s sleepy again. He would give them another set of his clothes, which would be a bit more comfortable. Pulling them into bed, Ritsu would spoon them until falling back asleep.

Suou:

Suou’s cheeks would immediately start to burn. The uniform that he had been searching for was finally found, but he didn’t expect it like this. He would shake violently, wishing he had some leftover sweets to snack on. Not because he was upset, he was just… caught off-guard.

After regaining his composure, Suou would lecture his s/o about taking others’ things without permission. Also the fact that the outfit was so baggy on them, he began to worry if they were eating enough. But seeing them in his clothing… he couldn’t help but hold back a bit on the lecture.

Nazuna:

In an instant, Nazuna’s face would light up a bright red as he covered his eyes (of course, not completely). He would attempt to ask what they were doing, but his embarrassed self wouldn’t be able to get any understandable words out.

After his heart rate slowed down a bit, he would tell them to change back to their own clothes. He would mutter about how cute they were in the Ra*bits uniform, not knowing he was speaking aloud as he gave them their clothes and once again left the room for them to change.

Mitsuru:

After he went on a short run around campus, Mitsuru came back to where he left his s/o. He announced his return happily, opening the door to find them in his oversized unit outfit. At first, he had to clarify if the outfit was even his. If possible, his smile grew as he dashed to their side. He rambled on about how cute they were, engulfing them in a hug.

He added how he never noticed that he was taller than them, and he didn’t expect his outfit to be so big on them. He asked if they would like more of his clothes. Before getting an answer, he began to run home with them in tow as he babbled about how cute they would be in different outfits of his.

Tomoya:

After having to deal with the theater club’s president once again dressing him up, Tomoya was exhausted. He immediately went to get his s/o, startled to find them in his clothing. He began to worry that the pervert got to them and forced them to dress up like he did to Tomoya.

He calmed down once learning they did it themself, and the fact they would think to put his clothes on made him happy for some reason. He commented that they looked cute, and that he was glad Wataru didn’t torture them. He told them that he wouldn’t ever make them do anything that they didn’t want to, and that they could wear his clothes whenever they wanted.

Shino:

He had been searching the entire campus for his s/o, only to find them in the empty classroom that ra*bits had been using lately. He was relieved to finally find them- in his clothing? Shino giggled as he commented on how cute it was on them.

He asked if they liked how it looked, offering to make them one to match; as his was slightly too big for them. Though he liked the baggy look on their He would compliment them a few more times, joking about having them join ra*bits (assuming the s/o isn’t a part of the unit).

#ensemble stars #enstars #ensemble stars imagines #knights #ra*bits #leo tsukinaga #arashi narukami #suou tsukasa #izumi sena #ritsu sakuma #nazuna nito #mitsuru tenma #shino hajime #tomoya mashiro

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