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#meanwhile i was forced to spend so much of my life living for these people and for them alone

moonit3 · 5 months

Note

Can I get a uhhhhh dragon yandere (it's ok if u don't btw!! I just love getting presents and the unusual)

yes, you can get a yandere dragon, anon.

WARMTHLESS

➥ warnings/notices: yandere male, obsession, manipulation, kidnapping, forced relationship, age gab (like the dragon is imortal and reader is a young adult), there is a child here, gn! reader, readers uses a cane later in the story, implied violence, implied death.

➥ yandere! dragon x gn! reader

➥ synopsis: the great dragon of the south never expected to become a caretaker of a human child, but luckily he has someone to help him with the task.

➥ a/n: did I love writing this one? yes. however, be warned that it takes a while to the yandere show up his tendencies as I try to make this one feel more ‘realistic’, to make the dragon slowly fall in love with reader with everything going on with their lifes. also, be aware this is quite long.

the great dragon of the south always lived by himself since the beginning of humanity. staying by his own lair on the coldest mountains, he spend most of his cleaning his treasures and watching the humans from a village nearby the mountains.

it’s a lonely life, but that was dragon made for, to live by themself til one day their bodies stop working and then to ascend to the afterlife. that’s what oberon’s ancestors told him, he is destined to be a lonely dragon til his last breath on earth, but that changed after a day.

during the coldest winter that passed in earth, oberon was waking throughout the abandoned path once used by merchants and to his surprise, he finds a human shelter. it’s destroyed, corpses are everywhere and so is blood. what did happened here? it couldn’t be simply raiders who attacked, the marks on the now dead bodies shows sharp claws and the scene is too messy to be made by humans.

his eyes notice one the tents moving, so he steps closer to see what is inside and he made a great discovery. a baby.

“oh, a tiny human.” shaping into his human form, oberon hold the children into his arms as gently as possible and analyze the little one. few drops of blood in their face and despite everything, they aren’t crying like he thought they would. “a brave one, i see…”

the first thing that came to his head was going to village nearby and hand the child to the people there, hoping to find a living relative to raise them. however, there is too much snow for him to travel and using his dragon form is out of question, it would only scary the villagers. so another idea came to his mind, he would take care of the child in meanwhile until the weather changes for good.

inside his lair, the great dragon managed to make a makeshift bed for the tiny human made of old vests and fur of ancient animals he once hunted for fun. despite not being the most appropriate place to a baby rest, the little one probably found to be comfortable as their eyes closed in seconds, leaving oberon alone with his thoughts.

why would an expedition bring a baby with them? any human should know how the cold mountains aren’t a suitable place for a newborn, but he can’t ask it as the child’s probably parents are dead, meaning that he will have to go the humans’ village soon.

the next morning, before the sun raise on the sky, oberon put the heaviest coat to cover his human form and the little one who rest on a handmade baby sling on his chest. with that, he began walking down the mountain and sing a sweet melody to the child stay calm during the trip, it’s working as the two made their way to the village.

step by the step and a three hours late, oberon arrived at the small village after a snowstorm had calm a little, luckily no house or building seems to be torn apart. and pulling the hood down, the baby awake by the soft light of the sun and their giggles made the dragon smile as both approach the closest house.

he knocks at the door and someone opens it quickly, “oh my! what are you doing in a weather like this? please, come in.” oberon enters the tiny house and takes off the hoodie when the door closed behind him. “take a cup of tea, dear traveler.”

the dragon observes how small is the house. the bed serves the same purpose of a couch to watch the fireplace and the only walls inside are the one to separe the bathroom from the rest of the home. it’s so small, but it’s fit a human to live in comfort on their own.

“thank you for let us in.” oberon sit on the edge of the bed, carefully holding the baby and put them to rest on the warm blankets. with his hands now free, he removes his heavy coat and grab a cup of tea to take a sip from it. “may I ask if you have anything to feed a child? if that isn’t too much to ask, my fruits are long gone to the child’s belly.”

“I do have some berries,” the gentle voice of the human make oberon smile, this person simply didn’t notice the horns on his head or they just don’t care at all? “and I think that I might have some strawberries that I brought some days ago…”

as you search for the fruits, oberon analysis the interior of the house. there are a few portraits on the walls, photos that include you with other people he believes to be your family. it’s something that oberon envy from most humans, they can have family and relationships without worrying about immortality, as they live together til the end. while dragons get to live forever with one at their side.

“here I found some, mr…”

“oberon, just oberon.”

a small basket of fruits is now at his side, waiting to be eaten by the time when the child wakes up later. for now, the two share true same roof til the snowstorm ends and for what it’s look, they will have to be together for a while.

“so, why did you came to the village? the snowstorm won’t stop anytime soon and bringing a child so young isn’t the best idea.” the human pour another cup of tea to the dragon before taking a seat on a close chair to take a better look at the baby. “this child isn’t your, am i right?”

“indeed. i found them at destroyed campsite at the mountains, their parents are long gone.” the smile on the human’s face vanish by his words, sad about the true reality of the baby’s parents. “i would take care of the child on my own, but i lack the ability to raise them as I don’t know to take care of another living being.”

oberon felt guilty for what he is going to say next, but he has too. “could you help me raise them? just for a brief amount of time and then i can leave afterwards.”

the humans stay quiet, taking about the proposal gave by the dragon, unaware of his true intentions, “well, it’s sound a good deal.” a smile grown on their lips, a tint red on their cheeks of the idea of getting close to the mysterious man.

“then it’s a deal, mx…?”

“call me [name] and you are?”

“oberon, just oberon.”

times goes on as oberon began to raise the little girl at your side, feeling happy knowing that you let stay at your home without expecting anything in return. it’s a generous act and the dragon knows that not many people would be as nice as you, so he makes sure to keep his value at your small house.

you continue doing the hard work such as cutting the wood for the fireplace to keep the house warm, fishing at the frozen river, going for the market to exchange your products to supplies for the cold winter, that’s your role in the house. while oberon become the main caregiver for the young girl, learning how to take of a baby who always need his attention, changing diapers and teaching her the old tales of mythological creatures he once meet in his dragon form.

life is going smooth, oberon can’t deny that. having someone to help him raise a human kid in an environment with other children sounds better than raising it at his lair, where no one would know their presence. but this life isn’t going too good for you, he can see the dark circles growing under your eyes for working long hours and he notice how sometimes the money wasn’t enough to cover the food, so you would just starve yourself to let him and the child eat. an generous, but foolish act as he doesn’t need to eat as much human does.

“you should eat more, oberon.” that you always say to him every time you give your barely touched plate of food to him. “taking care of a child on your own requires more energy than fishing.”

he tries to talk about it with you, but Oberon always lose the discussion as you give that sweet smile to him. the same smile you have when playing with the child after a long day of working, the very same smile that he has seeing for the last two years. you have endure so much because of him and the kid, oberon feels guilty about it. he sees himself as a failure for not giving or making your life easier, maybe things will change for good when the three of you start living at his lair back at the mountains.

it was another day of work for you and definitely it was exhausting as there war almost nothing that you fished today. the villagers didn’t brought any the tiny fishes you offered, but they felt compassion knowing that you are the sole provider of the house, so they handed you the food they didn’t sell. it was a great gift as you won’t ever forget about it.

going back to your home, you’ve expected to be welcome by the child’s hugs and oberon’s sweet words, asking about your work. however, that didn’t happened. walls empty of the many family’s portraits, the clothes oberon sewed missing, food is gone and the worse, none of them are here. almost like they were nothing, but hallucinations.

you yelled their name, searching the surrounding area of the cabin as the snow gets heavier and the wind colder. there are no footprints of them, no trace of they could’ve been, perhaps your mind is playing tricks. if so, how can you stop it and how can you find the two most important people of your life?

the idea of them simply vanish made you uncomfortable, made you cry in the middle of the snow and scream of frustration. things got worse and you have no idea of to fix it. but a thought came to mind, maybe they went to the village to buy firewood when you were out.

the small chance of seeing them made you get up from the cold snow and clean the tears away from face, ready to go back to the village and ask the others.

unfortunately that never happened.

claws met your shoulder and in a blink of eyes, a dragon began to fly away from your cabin. his wing flapping and creating strong winds as you desperately try to get away from it. you try to yell for help, but the dragon was too high in the sky to anyone hear you scream and no one would be a fool to help you in this situation. so you had no other option than just stay still and hope for the creature don’t drop you. the high ground made you dizzy and without option, your eyes closed by the moment you saw the clouds.

above the clouds and hide from danger, there is a lair of the great dragon do the south. he lives there’s along with two another people and those are his most important treasures, ones that he will never let it go.

the travelers brave enough to climb up there to exchange good with oberon, report the two people living with him are completely opposite.

the oldest, the spouse, always wearing the same expression in the face of tiredness. they use a cane to walk around the lair (now transformed into a cozy home) and some more aware travelers could see the scar on the spouse’s leg. it’s huge, definitely the reason why they need to use a cane to move.

some ask how them how was the accident, curious about the reason behind it. the spouse always replied there was a slippery ice that resulted in them becoming this way, yet some travelers doubt that by seeing fear in their eyes when answering it the dragon is always watching them talking with outsiders, but none pushed forward to know the truth.

and the second treasure is his daughter. an energetic and intelligent girl who is always reading about the world outside, dreaming to go out and explore the many places from the books she have read. her eyes sparkle whatever a traveler tell about the magnificent places she could visit when getting older and she is always writing in her journals about it.

and that’s what she did. finally of age, the little girl now grown as a smart and kind lady left the lair to adventure herself into the unknown. she doesn’t forget about to send magic letters (that literally just spawn at the lair) to her parents, telling about the world and the numerous cultures she has learned.

it’s great to know their daughter is doing okay, but for the great dragon, something is missing of the lair. it’s the silence that irritates him, the lack of a reason behind those make his spouse act happy and joyful with him and the fact they are begging to see the outside world again. it’s been years since the dragon let them walk at the mountain’s feet and the last time they did, the human tried something idiot and got to use the cane for their rest of their life.

they began to make him angry, always asking to be outside for just a little and they won’t stop talking about it! the dragon wanted to keep them occupied to ever think about it and so he found a way to chain them inside the lair once again.

one day, returning to the lair after flying around the southern region, the dragon brought someone else in his arms, a baby. the view of a small figure in the arms of their husband made the human just stare at it, fully scared to ask why there is blood on the child’s face, but brave enough to ask why he brought a kid to the lair.

“it’s our second born, my dear.” what? “you looked so sad after our daughter left, so I believe that being parents once again will make us happier, closer and of course, you will stop nagging about brainless things of going outside. now, you should give our baby a bath, right? I will make dinner for the three of us.”

@moonit3 writings

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our-flag-means-love · 8 months

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by popular demand (aka the 63 people who voted "yes" in my poll (six months ago oops) for whether or not i should do this)

here's why ofmd is a romcom, beat by beat

so for the purposes of this analysis, the ten stages outlined in this article are what i'm using for reference.

(and for the sake of everyone's dashes, i've added a cut because This Got Long. like, genuinely, 1.6k and 24 images. you've been warned.)

1. Unfulfilled Desire: something important is missing from the love interests' lives.

before the love interests meet, both of their lives are lacking in some way, often in a way they hardly realize. and this unfulfilled desire doesn't have to be romantic love in and of itself, and quite often it's not. and the things missing from ed and stede's lives are not romantic love. not at first.

what stede's missing is skill and structure. to put it bluntly, he has no idea what the fuck he's doing as a pirate, and without the guidance of someone more experienced, he'd likely get himself and his whole crew killed soon.

meanwhile, what ed's missing is interest. he's just about as bored with his life as anyone can be. every day is the same, and he needs something new—a new environment, a new challenge—to bring the spark back into his life.

2. Meet-Cute: the love interests meet, and at first, their personalities clash.

now, granted... in most meet-cutes, one of the protagonists isn't like three-quarters dead and nearly unconscious. but, as we know, ofmd is not like most shows.

but when we fast forward a bit to their real proper first meeting, we can quickly start to see how their personalities differ. in many meet-cutes, the love interests start off on bad terms, but in ofmd it's more of a contrast than a real clash, as stede and ed take a liking to each other right away.

in their very first conversation, stede is self-conscious and fretting, while ed is relaxed as can be. and as they talk, ed is in awe of stede's eccentricities, and stede is in awe of ed's powerful reputation.

and nothing exemplifies their contrast better than what they spend the rest of the episode doing—literally switching clothes and switching roles, getting a taste of what it would be like to be each other.

3. Happy Together: the love interests spend time together and grow to enjoy each other's company.

the classic honeymoon phase—not necessarily denoting romance yet, just a bond that continues to grow stronger the more time they spend together.

one of their first, biggest bonding events, just a few days after they met, is of course the fancy french party. while the night ends in disaster, the two end up much closer after the experiences they shared.

however, i think by far the best example of this stage is the montage at the beginning of episode 6, narrated by none other than my favorite (derogatory) terrible little rat man, izzy hands, who will become relevant soon. in romcoms, this stage is often shown through montages, so it only makes sense that that would be a great demonstration of it here as well.

4. Obstacles Arise: the love interests' original lives and obligations catch back up with them.

it's no longer possible to avoid the hard truths their happiness let them ignore. while both ed and stede go through this, i think stede goes through it differently and at different, non-linear times, so i'll talk about him first.

the pre-edward life that stede has been forcing to the back of his mind is, quite obviously, his wife and children back on land. and he's done a very effective job of ignoring it while he's been around ed.

he was fretting about it before—like in episode 2 with nigel's guilt ghost—but it doesn't seem to fully hit him again until he learns in episode 9 that he'd been declared dead. (in my opinion, the dreams/flashbacks in episode 4 feel less about stede's guilt, specifically, than these other instances do. but even if they are, that's still before he properly met ed.) so he does go through this stage, but it happens in slightly different ways and at different times.

ed, on the other hand, has a very specific and concrete obligation that catches up with him: a promise he made two weeks ago.

this is where izzy comes in. just as mary is the personified symbol of stede's old life, izzy is the equivalent for ed. whether ed initially intended to follow through on the plan or only said it to placate izzy is up for debate (and my personal take is that it's somewhere in between, but that's a story for another time), but izzy is going to hold him to it regardless.

and when ed can't bring himself to do it, because of both his growing feelings for stede and his trauma around killing people himself, izzy is determined to carry out the act for him.

5. The Journey: the love interests face and overcome the obstacles together.

what better way to overcome adversity than by getting thumbtacked to a mast by the same Very Angy Little Guy who's the source of the adversity in the first place? with izzy banished, the biggest obstacle to ed and stede's love is out of the way (for now).

stede still hasn't overcome his big obstacle, of course, but as i said, that happens very non-linearly with regard to the romcom structure.

the two also overcome other minor obstacles, like their bickering during the treasure hunt adventure. the key is that they face what's in their path and settle into a new normal with each other.

6. New Obstacles: despite solutions seeming effective, more hardships arise.

the next big issue thrown into ed and stede's relationship has a name, and its name is calico jack rackham, my favorite (affectionate) dumpster fire of a man. which makes sense—after all, his sole purpose in meeting up with them was to separate them before the english navy arrived. and he does a damn effective job of it.

and even once he's gone, they're still faced with chauncey badminton, stede's near-execution, and his and ed's eventual surrender to the english. they may have escaped chauncey's wrath (for now), but they bought it at the cost of their freedom.

and on top of all of that, now they finally confess their feelings for each other and make plans to run away together, and the choice—really, stede's choice—of whether or not to go through with running off to china looms in the distance. speaking of which…

7. The Choice: the love interests have to decide if the relationship can work.

a turning point is reached, and a decision has to be made. can they go through with it? are they really the best thing for each other?

the choice stede makes here is helped along in no small part by chauncey badminton, whose encounter just solidifies the beliefs stede already held—that he abandoned his family, and that ed is better off without him.

so stede makes the choice to run.

he goes home to his family, and ed is left to return to the ship alone.

8. Crisis: the love interests—now apart��ruminate and face the consequences of their choice.

the winter of their discontent. stede has made his choice, they've separated, and they're both worse off for it.

ed is depressed, retreating to his blanket fort and writing sad songs while eating marmalade.

and meanwhile, stede is back with mary and the kids, but learns that they'd all moved on and were much happier without him around. so he's left trying to force himself back into a space where he no longer fits, and all the while he misses ed more than anything.

and of course, ed takes it one step further by going full emo kraken mode. he's so distraught about stede leaving that he too forces himself back into the shell of what people expect of him—of what he was supposed to be before he even met stede—despite not fitting there anymore.

it's obvious that without each other, they're both in pretty rough shape.

9. Epiphany: one or both of the love interests conclude that they belong together and rush to reunite.

think of this stage as the person running through the airport to reach their love interest before the flight leaves.

in ofmd, it's clear who has the epiphany, because we watch it happen in real time. stede sits down with mary and asks her how it feels to be in love, and while she describes it, all he can think of is his time with ed. he finally realizes that what he's been feeling all along is love.

once he knows this, he knows he has to leave his family again, so he can reunite with ed. he and mary stage their fuckery, and stede rows off in a dinghy bound for wherever ed is, because he knows that as long as he's with ed, he'll be happy and everything will be okay.

10. Resolution: the love interests are reunited. desires are fulfilled, and all is well.

sooo… stay tuned for october 5th, i suppose?

#the show is the relationship y'all #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd analysis #stede bonnet #edward teach #blackbeard #blackbonnet #gentlebeard

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criminalskies · 3 months

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You and Aaron on a Museum Date Together HC's

Photo credits after the cut.

Aaron buys your favorite cup of chai and you go to The Met together.

You spend all day roaming the galleries enjoying the blend of old and new art.

You tease him for not having a favorite artist, but he reminds you that you don't have one either. So you both decide to try and pick a favorite painting.

In the wing with the statues Aaron tries to find the statue that looks most like you. When he finds one, he tells you that you're more beautiful than any work of art.

Aaron goes full dad mode in the ancient art galleries and he has to read all the little signs with information on them. He makes you look to because he's holding your hand.

When the museum gets a little too busy for his liking, you lead him out of the grounds where you stroll around leisurely taking in the pretty day.

Aaron can't help but look at the security measures at the museum and tell you how he'd change them.

The next week, Aaron gets a package from you, it's a print of his favorite painting. He hangs it in his living room and thinks of how you are the most beautiful thing in his life. That you are the living embodiment of perfection.

______________________________________________________________

Photo Credits:

Center Row: Middle (@catsadams)

Bottom Row: Left (@doomed-introvert Center and Right (@reading-books-in-the-moonlight

Holy smokes Levi I am so sorry time got away from me in replying to this but !!!!!!!!!!!!! Awwwwwww I love this 🥺. Let me run through these oh my goodness it's just so cute.

I should have known something was up when you were asking me about my favourite drinks 🥰 but awwwwwww that's so sweet. whenever people greet me with a little treat in hand I am reduced to a blushy lump.

The way Aaron would be so so educated on all these artists, old and new, and their styles and the works meanings, meanwhile I'm looking at it and saying it feels like a warm blue blanket and hes just like ??? yeah okay so they actually had to feed their family and-

favourite painting is so much more doable. I was that kid that couldnt even have a favourite toy bc the others would feel left out, so talking about favourite artists in a museum full of art??! awful, I can't do it. A favourite piece, I might be able to manage 😅

STOP IT AJHJDFKHDSJFHS YOU CAN'T JUST DROP SOMETHING THAT SWEET ON ME?! god i'd kiss him until he got dizzy for that one. Or i'd just go beet red. Hopefully both.

He definitely has to read every word on the plaques bc we both know he prides himself on being so well-read and well educated. Like sure he's no Reid but by god Aaron is so fucking knowledgeable on damn near everything and it is so so sexy. Meanwhile if it doesn't have a pulse I know nothing about it. But of course if he's going to hold my hand I'm going to do absolutely anything he wants to.

MUSEUM GARDENS ARE SO SEXY AND HE DEFINITELY KNOWS HOW MUCH I FUCK WITH CUTE PLANTS fjsdhfjshkjfh I would 100% force him to spend equal amounts of time in the fresh air outside just sitting or walking and holding his fricking hand (i forget how badly I just want to hold his silly frickin hand)

He watches the guards swap shifts and he's like pfffft one of them checked in his firearm to the safe before the new guard had even retrieved his, and they had an almost EIGHT minute conversation. That's plenty of time for any thief to- and I'm like aaron aaron it's okay. they're just paintings. It's okay.

LEVI YOU ALWAYS WANT ME TO CRY AND YOU ALWAYS GET ASTONISHINGLY CLOSE TO ACHIEVING IT. what do you meeeeeannnnn he hangs it and thinks I'm the most beautiful thing in his skfjskljsldfkjkflsddjshfjjhgkjfhdkjghdkjfghd what if this killed me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Also also also, may I please note that all of these images are just so elegant and set such a tone like they''re so perfect for this little date you're picturing. Gosh I don't know how you do it honey but thank you for sharing these headcanons, they have really brightened my day. Thank you sweetheart 🫂💖💐✨

#rome’s wonderful moots! <3 #the lovely levi!#rome’s got mail!#love mail 💌#Aaron mail!#hotch mail!#aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner headcanons #aaron hotchner fluff #aaron hotchner imagines #aaron hotchner thoughts #hotch imagines #hotch headcanons #hotch fluff #hotch x you #hotch x reader

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dunmeshi-darlings · 1 month

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Hi! Are you new? Love your works btw.

If it's okay. May I please request Marcille ?

Scenario: Her human s/o passes away from old age, leaving her and their grown up kids sad and depressed.

Then, centuries pass, we're now in the modern age. Marcille finds herself working for her reincarnated s/o, who's now a CEO, as their secretary. Unfortunately, s/o doesn't remember their past life.

Hello!! yes i am indeed new, only made my blog just recently, and aWwww thank youu! OOooh first angst ask, and of course its for marcille lol.

As much as she hated it, she always knew this was eventually going to happen, this is perhaps the long lived races greatest curse. That unless you love another long lived race, you will be forced to watch the people you love grow old and die meanwhile you still have centuries ahead of you...This understanding didnt comfort her at all when your time finally came and you passed away. It was all so much of a blur for her...She remembers crying for days on end, heart wrenching sobs would tear through her for hours and hours on end. it felt like she was drowning in this pain, that it was choking her and that it was all consuming. She is lucky to have your and her kids (now grown up) there for her or she may have gone mad with this pain.

Of course while the wounds of loss never truly disappear, they do turn to scars and those scars fade over time. And time (as it is want to do) continued ever onward, the world moved onward and eventually so did marcille. She would always love you no matter what and the memories of you, despite being centuries ago still ache in her chest. However she did eventually relearn to live her life normally, especially with the support of all of your kids. As the world grew and evolved into an age of magical and scientific wonder, she to evolved and grew.

Eventually thanks to Marcilles Centuries of magical studies and experience land her a job that is fitting of somebody of her grand knowledge....as a secretary (even in this world, Years of knowledge and training doesnt mean much to the world of capitalism but i digress). She ends up getting an incredibly well paying career as a secretary for a particularly famous Magical tech company, moving up the ranks and finally getting the promotion to secretary for THE CEO of the company.

On marcilles first day she wanted to make a good impression for the Ceo, she wore her fanciest office dress, made sure she looked as best she did, and had spent the night prior Organizing the CEOs entire schedule ahead of time, that way she would show up to work with an entire days work already done. She wanted to impress them after all.

She did note something odd, Each time she read the CEOs name she couldnt help but feel a soft blush across her face and a warmth in her chest. She wasnt sure what it was and eventually chalked it up to perhaps anxiety getting to her, but something about this feeling felt so familiar to her and she couldnt put her finger on it.

As she walked into the office that day with a stack of paperwork she heard a voice that struck her like lightning. She felt all the blood drain from her face as she dropped all of the papers she had. That voice...oh god that voice...she had almost forgotten what that heavenly voice sounded like...but this was impossible...there was no way. "Woah hey, are you ok? your marcille, the new secretary right? My names Y/N"

The moment Marcille raised her eyes to look at the owner of the all too familiar voice, an all to familiar face greeting her again after centuries. Marcille could feel the tears streaming down her face...there you were....after so many centuries...there you were again...the love of her life... there you were, the same face she vividly remembered centuries ago. The same face she woke up to countless times smiling lovingly at her, the same face she remembered promising to spend there days with, the same face she remembered in there most intimate moments, the same face she remembered crying over as they lowered it into the earth all those centuries ago. She cant help but reach her hands out, wanting to cradle the lover she lost so long ago

However the person takes her hand and helps her stand up, telling her that its ok and there is no need to be so nervous. That you had heard nothing but good things about marcille and that not to let you being the CEO fool her, you are actually quiet down to earth. However marcille shook her head as the tears continued. " Y/N....dont you remember me?....its me...marcille......dont you remember our children...?"

marcille takes your hands in hers and looks up at you, her eyes pleading as you look down at her. Marcille was hoping for something...a spark of revelation, a shout of happiness, a deep embrace...something special.. But her heart shattered when you only looked down at her sadly and shook your head. In this magical world the concept of reincarnation was a well known thing, so you knew that based on this reaction you must have been the reincarnation of Marcilles loved one. "i...im sorry marcille...but no, i dont remember anything..im sorry, i know this must be hard and i wish i could tell you that i remembered everything...but i dont."

Marcille breaks down in sobs, wailing in sorrow..it was like she lost you all over again, but this was so much worse. Before when you died she lost you and it hurt, but she knew that there wasnt anything that could be done. It wasnt like the dungeon, she couldnt have brought you back to life (plus the two of you had agreed for that she wouldnt revive you, that you were old now and when it was your time you wanted to rest.) This was worse though, you were gone but so very close..you were literally standing in front of her, but you may as well have been dead to her. You were now like a specter, a ghost of a happy life long since passed that would haunt her, reminding her of the suffering she felt so long ago, she thought she had finally managed to let you go, Only for this ghost of loves past to remind her every day of the love she lost so long ago.

Though this was the first time you had ever met marcille (atleast in this life) you felt so awful for her, you couldnt imagine what this must have been life. You sink down to your knees and hold her close as she sobbed, you weren't sure if this was making the situation better or worse all things considered...but you knew she needed somebody to be there for her in this moment. you hold her close and let her weep centuries of sorrow in your arms, holding her close as she weakly clings to you, hundreds and hundreds of years of pain finally spilling out as you hold her. This moment feels familiar, holding marcille in your arms feels so familiar to you... if you had any doubts about being the reincarnation of her old lover, this moment thoroughly wiped away all those doubts

Eventually the elf woman's sobbing slows down to a soft weak whimper, you use the spare tissue you have and wipe her face off as you look down at her with a soft smile. "like i said...i dont remember anything about our past together, i am so sorry about that...but, i wouldn't mind getting to know you better, maybe it will spark some old memories...or we can make new ones of our own." you say down to her, causing the elf woman to sniffle and finally smile again, a smile that you couldnt help feel like you had been missing for so long without realizing it. "yeah...that sounds nice"

#marcille #marcille donato #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi x reader #marcille x reader

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takerfoxx · 2 months

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Okay, with Return to Walpurgis or Walpurgis Rising or whatever they're calling it coming out later this year, we have to expect that it's going to totally destroy all of our headcannons about how Homura's post-Rebellion world looks like and works. So, until then, let's get a few more additions to my "And they were roommates" KyoSaya AU, in which Kyoko moves in with Sayaka's family and doesn't realize that they're a couple for several years, because she is, in fact, an idiot lesbian god.

Now, the assumption I've seen a lot of times is that Sayaka's parents would be put off by Kyoko, as she has that edgy delinquent energy. However, people often forget that the whole rebel thing is fairly new, and Kyoko actually grew up as a happy church girl who loved her parents and was probably close with all the church elders and stuff. So, while she has interesting views regarding the natural order of things, she still has a lot of respect for things like the family unit and the parent/child bond and stuff like that. As such, while Sayaka was nervous AF to introduce Kyoko to her family, Kyoko shocked her by turning up the charm and makes an amazing first impression for them, so much so that when Sayaka questions Kyoko about where the heck this socially competent and respectful Kyoko came from, Kyoko is all confused like, "Isn't that how you're supposed to treat other people's families?"

Anyway, Kyoko becomes a regular at the Miki residence, though Sayaka's family does notice how dodgy she is whenever asked about her personal life. And she sort of latches onto Sayaka's parents as a sort of surrogate family. Meanwhile, they start to suspect that there's something going on between the girls, but decide to respect their privacy.

However, when Sayaka's dad is out running errands one day, he notices a commotion at a local convenience store, which turns out to be some ragged street kid getting caught shoplifting, and he's shocked to find out that it's Kyoko. Like, isn't this our daughter's polite and upstanding best friend?

Mr. Miki steps in and offers to pay for anything damages in exchange for the girl, and takes Kyoko aside to talk in private. Kyoko is humiliated and freaking out, but Mr. Miki manages to calm her down and, over ice cream, coaxes the full story out of her. Naturally, he's horrified, and calls his wife.

Kyoko moves in with them that same night.

At first, Sayaka has no idea what to make of this new turn. She's relieved that everything is out in the open and her parents were so accepting, as she had been terrified of how they might react were they to learn of how Kyoko was feeding herself, but by then her crush is in full force, and now Kyoko is literally living with them. As for Kyoko, she seems a little broken and depressed at first, feeling like a total mooch, and it takes her some time to accept that they genuinely do care about her and aren't just taking her in out of pity. However, over time she comes to love her new life, especially since she no longer needs to shoplift just to have breakfast. Plus, she gets to spend all her time with her best friend!

However, the Mikis pretty much figured out that Sayaka is down bad, and they're pretty sure the feelings are mutual, but Kyoko's behavior is so perplexing to them that while they consider putting them in separate rooms, they eventually decide to back off and let things play out. They do try to ask Kyoko about it, only to be hit with, "Yeah, Sayaka's great, isn't she? I don't know why Kyousuke didn't go for her. If I were a boy, I would never let her go!" And they're like, "Has no one told this girl that lesbianism exists?" And when they hesitantly question Sayaka about it, she, being a terrible liar, avoids and deflects like crazy, so they leave it as is.

Anyway, years later after the girls have gone to college and they finally get the call that Kyoko has figured out that girls liking girls is an option, they're enormously relieved but so very confused as to why it took so danged long.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #kyoko sakura #sayaka miki #kyosaya

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gabessquishytum · 9 months

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I realized recently that one of my favorite regency romance novels is so incredibly dreamling-coded, you truly don’t need to change much (probably make it a/b/o for regency proprietary reasons), and ironically enough its title is “The Corinthian” 😁

(As I’m typing this I realized that another book by this author is also very dreamling-coded, might follow up on that later)

Sir Dream Endless is a titled, wealthy, and handsome alpha, but has a reputation for coldness and disinterest for the eligible omega debutantes of society. His family is nagging him to marry and produce an heir, and since he’s never expressed any interest in anyone year after year, they say that he might as well have a marriage of convenience with a family friend.

The thing is, Sir Dream Endless is in fact a romantic despite his reputation, and wants a marriage based on mutual love and affection; his standoffish reputation is because no omega has ever showed interest in him for himself as opposed to his wealth or position, not even the family friend (who in fact thinks love is only for gross lower-class poor people, and is therefore looking forward to a “mostly uninvolved in each other’s lives” marriage of convenience with Dream, which is his personal notion of hell).

One night he’s out walking while seriously considering succumbing to his family’s nagging and propose to the family friend despite his distaste for it all, only to pass by a random house and see a young man trying to shimmy down a bedsheet rope out a window, and Dream decides to investigate to distract himself.

Meet Hob Gadling, an orphan omega living with his aunt and uncle, who is running away because they are trying to force him to marry his cousin to get their hands on his fortune. His plan is to make his way to the country, passing himself off as a beta with scent suppressants, and seek out his godmother for help, possibly marrying a childhood friend if need be. Dream, feeling empathy for Hob’s situation and already charmed by his friendly manner and determination to live his own life, decides to escort the young omega to his destination, basically all but running away with him.

Shenanigans ensue as what should have been a 1-2 day journey turns into a week of shenanigans (including having to spend a night at an inn where there’s *gasp* only one room they have to share!) and being dragged into other people’s drama, as well as falling head over heels in love with each other.

-🪽anon

First of all - lowkey hilarious that the book is called The Corinthian, that's so funny.

Second of all - I am so obsessed with this, hell YES.

Hob is deeply suspicious of Dream’s intentions, he doesn't generally trust alphas (or rich people), but this seems like his best option and Dream does seem to be behaving himself very nicely. He also just straight up throws money at Hob to buy him new clothes, suppressants, whatever he wants. Which is very nice, because Hob likes nice things!

The shenanigans inevitably ensue, they come across people who want to tag along with them, like Matthew (who used to work for Dream and accidentally got fired) and Rose (who is also running away from questionable family shenanigans). Matthew ends up taking Rose to one of Dream’s properties for safety, and Hob and Dream are left alone...

Now, just because Hob's on scent suppressants, doesn't mean he won't have heats. He can feel it coming but he's too embarrassed to say until it's too late. Hob is shaking and sweating in Dream’s arms, in terrible pain from cramps and therefore too distracted to be horny... meanwhile Dream has to pull in his worst instincts and try to be a good person.

If Hob turns up and his godmother's home with a husband, well, short engagements are ever so fashionable these days! He doesn't mention the part where he lost his virginity in Dream’s velvet lined carriage. Dream was such a gentleman - he waited until Hob was out of the worst of the heat before declaring his feelings. Hob obviously jumped into Dream’s arms as soon as possible and begged to be taken there and then.

Hob does have a small fortune, so Dream’s family don't go absolutely apeshit. At least there's a chance of him finally producing an heir. Dream is absolutely disgustingly besotted with his omega, though - completely gross. And you can bet that Hob is just as bad <3

#🪽anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft #cw omegaverse

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found-wings · 6 months

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wait but actually speaking of spars . . . if their strength aligns with canon- it'd legit be very worrying for wilbur n techno to see phil engage in multiple friendly spars with etoiles and be regarded as one of their strongest people they know yet over and over and over again he loses and loses and the two are constantly excited durring them ('that was a good one !! almost got me down' 'aw really?? yknow what, gap up- we're doing another round)

like if I was watching my friends new sus friend like a hawk and the sus friend consistently had the upper hand during test combat in fully safe places, I'd be terrified for what would happen to my friend if they ever genuinely fought in real battles aaaaaaa angst potential especially for the idea of techno 'suddenly' spending much more time doing 1 on 1 training with phil after seeing these fights ;-; - 💿

This is a very important point, because their strength is somewhat aligned with what we see and know in canon, but in different ways.

Phil is the messenger of Death for a reason, however the tournament he’s holding is specifically looking for that. The winner at the end would have to beat Phil in an actual fight to receive the chance of being chosen. Phil knows his way around combat in a way that he doesn’t show it in spars for a reason.

The only times Phil goes all in has been in 'sparring sessions' with Techno.

Techno knows that - he‘s had personal experience of it. Wilbur isn‘t as aware of it but he definitely trusts Techno in judging it and reacts based on that.

Is it still worrying? Oh definitely, because it still gives the possibility of if Etoiles turns on them, that Phil could be taken out.

One of the bigger reasons on why Etoiles, unrelated to canon based strength, is actually well able to beat Phil from what we can see - based on sparring sessions - is the fact that he knows a lot of things.

Phil is not specifically an avian, but he does mainly present as one because it‘s the closest to what his actual species is in a simplified manner. He has the same structure and similar instincts as one, which also goes into his combat. Etoiles has spend almost his entire life hunting these, so in the sparring sessions he becomes very quickly used to how Phil seems to fight.

So.. would Etoiles be able to win against Phil in an genuine fight? Definitely, there is a chance. They are more evened out in an actual battle and it could end up either way most likely.

Would Etoiles be able to win against Techno in an genuine fight? For a simple answer, probably no. Etoiles isn‘t well versed in nether hybrids, nor specifically how Techno fights.

Techno is a force for a reason, especially once even the smallest drop of blood comes out.

Techno would definitely spend time pushing Phil again in their own sparrings, especially against the way he observed that Etoiles fights.

Meanwhile on the other hand, Phil is beaming and so excited in his spars with Etoiles. Like, Etoiles is an actual challenge even in their silly spars and Phil is having the time of his life getting to mess around with him.

Like c‘mon, he‘s waited hundred, maybe thousands of years for someone like this who can actually potentially beat him like this! Someone who‘s well versed in and skilled in combat, and honestly he‘s living off of Etoiles‘ humor just as much.

Phil is a liiiittle bit upset that he didn‘t get to fight Etoiles in the actual tournament because of a silly little kidnapping attempt that shut it down :D

#also unimportant detail but I need it. Phil does have a little halo over his head!!#it‘s the main detail that reminds people of the fact. Phil is not a normal avian hybrid #majority of the times Phil has been beaten by anyone who isn‘t Techno comes from leverage. being under the effect of a potion #generally things like these where Phils perception or mind is changed - or entirely catching him off guard #<— his sensitivity to sudden noise also is an advantage People have tried to take #living for as long as Phil has comes with a ton of experience and desensitising!! He wasn‘t always the Angel of Death #💿 anon #winged.rambles

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nanaosaki3940 · 1 year

Text

Something About Us [Tokyo Revengers]

|| Tokyo Revengers ||

(Almost follows the canon storyline of TR & is up-to-date with the manga.)

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Angst.

Pairing: Keisuke Baji X OC

Mentioned pairing: Mikey X OC, Shinichiro X OC

Note: A snippet from my original Tokyo Revengers fanfic "A Condition Called Love". I know this is an xOC fic but you can read it as self-insert if you want.

Read the second part here - Part 2

TR masterlist

3rd Person’s POV (Year 2010 – The New Timeline)

It had been 12 years since Mikey, Takemichi, Baji, and Nana traveled back in time to fix the previous disastrous future from falling apart even further; 7 years since they and the others formed the Tokyo Manji Gang again from scratch; 4 years since their battle with Tenjiku and the Black Dragons; and 2 years since the disbandment of Toman. So much time had passed by since then and so many experiences they encountered all throughout these years. And now that they were out of that delinquent life for good, the time had finally come for them to face and experience a new chapter of their lives which was adulthood.

It was the year 2010 when Nana Osaki and Keisuke Baji became the 3rd year students at Tokyo University located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. In that university, at the age of 20, the mentioned young adults were studying in two separate departments of their personal preferences as they had totally two different dreams that they were following and pursuing. The former Advisor of Toman was majoring in Medicine since she was planning to become a researcher in the future while the former 1st Division Captain was majoring in Veterinary Medicine because he was dreaming of becoming a vet one day, which would give him the opportunity to spend more time with animals.

They weren’t a part of the legendary Toman anymore as the infamous delinquent gang was dissolved way back in their high school days when they were at the peak of fame and glory. And soon after the disbandment, almost everyone graduated from high school and went in different directions in life. While people like Nana, Baji, Mitsuya, Chifuyu, Kazutora, Kisaki, Kokonoi, and Takemichi went to attend their preferred colleges or universities inside Tokyo city, others like Mikey, Draken, Izana, and others went in different routes to pursue their own dreams and passions.

Now coming back to the two main protagonists (Nana and Baji), on one fine weekend, Baji went to visit his mother (Ryoko Baji) after getting a phone call from the older woman early that morning. He went to visit her at their old apartment where they once lived together and now Ryoko was the only one living there, all on her own.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Baji and Nana were now living together in a shared apartment just a bit away from the university campus location. It was something they both decided back when they were in their final year in high school, that they were going to live together once after getting into college. They always wanted to live independently away from their families after becoming college students yet they also wanted to stay with each other since they were dating; so this current living arrangement of theirs was the most convenient way to fulfill their both college and dating life desires with no difficulties whatsoever.

Baji was still out and hadn’t returned home yet, so Nana decided to spend her lonely spare time watching TV since she didn’t have anything better to do at that moment. Going through the channels with a bored look on her face, the sound of the doorbell suddenly went off and it caught her interest; Baji was back home.

“Welcome back, Kei.” Nana greeted him with a smile as she opened the door for him.

“Hey, I’m back…” Baji responded, smiling back at her and immediately Nana noticed something was off about him.

Something seemed different about Baji’s smile. It looked a bit tired and forced. Nana wanted to ask if anything was bothering him, or how his visit at his mother’s place went but nothing came out of her mouth. She simply let Baji walk into the house before he freshened up and changed his clothes and after that, he joined her on the couch in the living room. The look on his face was telling her that he was feeling conflicted about something.

“Nana, there's something that's been eating me up. Can I talk to you about it?” Baji asked, wearing his infamous frowning expression on his face, and in response, Nana turned down the volume of the TV so that she could pay attention to his words.

“Yeah, sure. What is it?” Nana asked in a soft concerned tone, leaning to his side while Baji leaned back on the couch to get more comfortable.

“My Dad is staying at the hospital. Should I visit him or not?” he asked in a quiet voice and Nana’s eyes widened a bit in surprise.

She was shocked to hear Baji mentioning his father all of a sudden like that. After all, his parents got a divorce a few years ago just because his father was cheating on his mother, Ryoko. Baji took his mother’s side and supported her meanwhile despised his father for what he did to her.

“What? Hospital?” Nana questioned back in confusion. “What about Ryoko-san? Does she know?”

“She was the one who told me to go and see him.” Baji sighed in response while Nana reached out and gently took his hands in her smaller ones.

“What happened? Is he in a critical condition?” she asked worriedly.

“I couldn’t stand Mom talking about him. So I didn’t listen to a word she said and just stomped out.” He groaned in frustration, running a hand through his long raven locks.

“Geez… what are you, six or something?” Nana sighed, slightly shaking her head at him. “So… What do you wanna do?”

“I don’t want to see him. Even now I still hate him.” Baji revealed, furrowing his eyebrows even deeper as he sounded conflicted.

“But the reason you’re bothered by it… isn’t it because you wanna see him?” Nana asked, tilting her head to the side.

“If you were me, would you go?” he asked as he looked back at Nana with anticipation.

“I’m not sure, Keisuke... Wouldn't it be good to visit him, just once?” she trailed off in a confused tone, furrowing her eyebrows a bit as she didn’t know what to say to him. “I mean, he’s sick… Once you see him, it will be clear whether it was a mistake or not that you met him.”

In response, Baji let out a heavy sigh again before leaning his head back on the couch and closing his eyes for a moment. Taking the opportunity, Nana then reached out and began to run her dainty fingers through his raven locks, slowly massaging his scalp to ease him and calm him down.

“Maybe…” he muttered, calming down a bit and Nana gave him a soft look in concern.

Nana wanted to help him out with his family issues and everything but also at the same time, she didn’t want to appear as pushy or forceful in his eyes. She knew for sure that Baji would open up his heart to her on his own sooner or later and so she decided to remain silent and give him the time and space he needed to understand and figure out his own feelings.

“I hope he’s not seriously ill.” She whispered in response as she placed a kiss on the side of his head.

“Yeah…” he whispered back.

After that a few more days went by and Baji then finally decided to go and meet up with his father in Kyoto. While on his way heading there as he traveled in a bullet train, Baji began to recall back to those old days and times when he was still a kindergartener himself and his parents were all lovey-dovey to each other as a happy married couple. Baji really loved the type of relationship his parents had with one another at that time and he always dreamed of becoming a good partner or husband like his own father when he would grow up. Back then, Baji looked up to his father as an inspiration when it came to romance and relationships but now, that admiration was long gone and he felt nothing but hatred towards his father.

After reaching Kyoto, Baji wasted no time and went straight to the Kyoko City Hospital. He tracked down the room number before finally entering the ward where his father was staying over. And upon seeing his son, the first expression Baji’s father flashed out at him was utter shock and confusion.

“Yo, what’s up, old man?” Baji greeted his father calmly with a stoic expression as he walked towards the bed.

“Keisuke…” Baji’s father trailed off with widened eyes, sitting up on the hospital bed.

“So you have liver cirrhosis?” Baji asked as he put down the fruit basket that he bought for his father on the bedside table. “I brought some fruit but the nurse said you’re not allowed to eat anything. You should have taken better care of yourself. Then you won't have needed this operation in the first place. You can eat this later or give it to someone else.”

And just when he turned to face his father again, he noticed tears rolling down the cheeks of the older man. Baji’s father was crying; he was sobbing his heart out, happy with the fact that his son had finally come to see him at the hospital. He got so overwhelmed that he couldn’t stop tearing up in the end.

“Huh? Dad, are you crying?” Baji asked in a concerned tone, furrowing his eyebrows a bit as he reached out and patted his father’s shoulder. “Why are you crying, you dummy?”

How could I forget this…? Both Mom and Dad start tearing up whenever they get emotional… Such crybabies…

Minutes after that when the older man stopped crying and calmed down a bit, the father-son duo then decided to step outside of the hospital ward and go to the garden which was inside the hospital boundary where they could sit on a quiet bench and talk privately without anyone listening to them or interrupting them.

“Let me take a look at you, son.” Baji’s father cooed happily as he held his son’s face in his hands, squeezing his cheeks. “Geez, you're good-looking, just like me. Girls must be crazy about you.”

“Shut up and let go.” An annoyed Baji scowled in response and swatted his hands away from his face.

“You’re 20 now, right? Are you attending college?” his father asked.

“Yeah…” Baji replied, slightly nodding his head.

“What university do you go to? And what’s your major?” his father inquired even further.

“Tokyo University. And my major is veterinary science.” Baji replied to his father’s questions again.

“Oh! that's wonderful! Good for you.” His father grinned widely. “Do you have a girlfriend? Of course, you do, right?”

“Is this an interrogation or something?” Baji scoffed at his father. “What about you, Dad? I heard you broke up with that woman you remarried to.”

“How would you know?” the older man asked in surprise, his eyes widening a bit.

“Aunt Akari told me...” Baji responded back, referring to his paternal aunt (his father’s younger sister). “I kept in touch with her and my cousins.”

“But Akari never told me anything about it…” his father mumbled, pursing his lips a bit.

“Aunt said that your 2nd wife was a gold digger and you fell for it. And that she took half of your business from you.” Baji added, furrowing his eyebrows at his father again.

“You can’t trust anybody these days…” his father sighed with a sad smirk.

“That’s your punishment, Dad. For leaving Mom like that.” Baji scoffed again.

“Maybe… I guess you’re right…” his father agreed with his words, his face softening a bit.

Dad has aged a lot since I last saw him… He has wrinkles around his eyes and he looks gaunt… I could tell he lost weight too…

“You should make the best of what’s left of your business. And take care of your health.” Baji sighed heavily as he looked away from his father.

“Hey, Keisuke…” his father spoke up again, trailing off a bit. “If I go back to your Mom, do you think she'll accept me?”

And hearing that, Baji froze in his place. He snapped his head around, quickly looking back at his father again, and wore a deep scowl on his face.

“What…? Are you crazy? Did you just say that with a clear mind?” Baji snapped, scoffing at his father as if the older man had lost his mind or something.

“Also, you must have had a hard time not having a father around…” his father added in a soft tone, trying to convince his son to agree with him and help him out. “I’m going to say I’m sorry about everything and beg on my knees to have me back, So, I was hoping you would help-“

“Stop. Don’t even think about seeing Mom. If you do, I’ll beat the crap out of you, whether or not you’re my Dad.” Baji growled out in a low, threatening tone, frowning down at his own father with hatred swimming in his bronze-colored eyes.

If he was teen Baji, he would have immediately punched his father in the face and beat him up black and blue without any hesitation right then and there. But since he was a responsible adult now, he tried his best to maintain his cool and composure at that very moment. Sure Baji was somewhat still the same as how he was in the past, but with the passage of time, he started to change his attitude as he aged and grew older. Because he knew he couldn’t keep up with that aggressive attitude for the rest of his life, especially a life which he was sharing with his beloved Nana. Sure he was still somewhat aggressive and violent like his teenage self, but he also knew how to keep his cool and immediately calmed down whenever the situation needed.

“Are you the one who’s out of his mind? Watch what you're saying, boy.” His father scoffed back and Baji’s scowl deepened even more. “What did I do that was so terribly wrong? Was it that bad that I need to take this crap from my own son? Of course, it was wrong to cheat on her. I’m not denying that. But the one who asked for a divorce was your Mom. I even told her if she wanted, she could go and have an affair herself! Whatever it took, I begged her that we stay together! Do you know why I did that? It was all for you that-“

His father’s blabbering was quickly cut off when suddenly Baji stood up from his seat and grabbed his father by the collar of his hospital shirt.

“If you had any idea what Mom had to go through all this time, you won't talk bullshit like that!!” Baji yelled out in his father’s face. “Don’t ever think about seeing Mom, or me ever again!! Got that?!”

This shocked his father causing the older man to not know how to respond to that. Baji tried to maintain his composure but in the end, he failed after hearing all those words coming from his father’s mouth. He then let go of his father with another scoff before turning around and quickly walking away from there.

I shouldn’t have met him… I’m so disappointed… After all, I used to love him… I wanted to take after him… Am I going to turn out like that too…?

Baji wasted no time and took the next bullet train to come back to Tokyo later that day. After reaching his city, he went straight back home, back to his beloved Nana. He needed Nana. He needed her to hug him. He needed her to comfort him.

“Hey, welcome home, Keisuke.” Nana welcomed him as soon as he walked through that front door. “How did the meeting go? Is your father seriously-“

But she was cut off when Baji threw his arms around her and pulled her into a bear hug. And this concerned the girl.

“Are you okay, Kei?” she asked lovingly, immediately hugging him back.

Baji wanted to cry his heart out but he couldn’t do it. He was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. In response, he tightened his grip around her, hugging her with his dear life, and buried his face deeper into the crook of her neck, inhaling the fruity scent that was coming from her long raven locks.

“Please, Nana… please just let me… just for a little while…”

A few months later

Months passed by since that incident. Baji thought he didn’t have to deal with his father ever again but destiny had its own plan for him and it was frustrating as hell.

“I went to Kyoto three days ago, where your Aunt Akari lives. I went to see your Dad too.” Ryoko stated in a soft tone with a distressed look on her face.

That evening, after getting off from work, Baji decided to drop by his mother’s place to visit her before heading back home. He usually did that whenever he got the time, so it was nothing unusual what he did today. But after getting there and listening to what his mother had told him just now left him in complete shock.

“Why?! Why would you want to meet Dad?” he gasped in surprise with a scowling face.

“Keisuke, why is not important right now…” Ryoko sighed in a quivering tone, looking down at her hands on her lap. “What should we do about your father? That poor thing… His condition is getting worse. He might die like this. Akari took care of him until now. But she has come down with uterine cancer and has to have an operation herself. She had to work and take care of your Dad at the same time, so she must have overworked herself… There is nobody to take care of your Dad… What should we do?”

“Why should we do anything for someone like him?!” Baji snapped again before grabbing his mother’s hands in his larger ones. “Mom, don’t contact Aunt Akari anymore! I won’t contact anyone on Dad’s side either. They have nothing to do with us anymore. Please let's just forget about them all.”

Even though he said those words, he could definitely see the pain and distress in his mother’s eyes and face. His father cheated on her and yet she still cared for him to some extent. Baji just couldn’t comprehend this. How could she even care about that man? And why did she care about him? Did she seriously forgive him even after what he did to her years ago?

Although she looks scary, Mom is actually so kind… She still cares for that man while I hate his fucking guts… God forbids but if I ever cheat on Nana, would she forgive me like how Mom forgave Dad…? Would she still care for me even if I leave her for another woman…?

Baji hated doing this but he didn’t have any other choice. He didn’t want to see his mother cry again. So he decided to go and visit his father once again in Kyoto. He again took a bullet train to travel towards his destination and on the way, he was typing down his report on his laptop which he had to submit within the next few days.

I have to write my report since I won’t be able to take the midterm exam. But I can’t concentrate… Why on earth do I have to waste all my time on Dad? How frustrating... I spent almost two whole hours on the train, but only managed to write a few lines, making me feel anxious…

Soon he reached Kyoto and went straight to the Kyoto City Hospital. There at the front door, he was greeted by his aunt Akari who looked exactly like the younger female version of his father.

“Keisuke, I’m sorry…” Akari stated in a soft concerned tone. “I’m really sorry for making you come all the way here…”

“Aunt Akari, why did you tell Mom about Dad?” Keisuke asked in annoyance. “Did you have to tell her? You know very well what Mom had to go through because of him.”

In response, Akari looked down at the ground with a sad, guilty expression on her and that sight softened Baji’s eyes a bit.

I wanted to shout at my Aunt for using my soft-hearted Mom… But my Aunt's face had become so pale and lifeless, it was obvious how much suffering she had been through. I couldn’t stay angry at her… My Aunt always looked so young and beautiful back then, but now that youth and beauty of hers were long gone… It was evident that she was sick too…

“He’s in here…” Akari noted before opening the door of the ward where his father was staying over. “Nii-san, Keisuke is here to see you… He must have been so worried about you. it took him two hours to get here.”

Akari and Baji walked into the room and he noticed his father sitting on the bed and was looking out at the window, his back was facing them. As soon as Akari said those words, his father turned around to look at them and his gaze fell on Baji’s form. Immediately his expression changed from neutral to anger and it threw Baji off-guard.

“Why are you here?!! Akari, you crazy bitch!!” his father suddenly screamed out in pure rage and threw a pillow at his sister. “It was you, wasn’t it? You brought him here! Are you out of your mind?! Get out! Get lost! You have rotten a lot! Never come here again!!”

Baji quickly stepped in and held his aunt in his arms before looking back at his father. He was about to scold the older man for yelling at his aunt but immediately cut off himself when he noticed his father was now standing up from the bed with an enraged expression and clenched fists, glaring at them. Dull skin, abnormally swollen belly, skinny body, wrinkly face – that was how he could describe his father’s current appearance now. And seeing his father like this left Baji in utter shock.

“Keisuke… Let’s get out of here for now…” Akari whimpered out in pain and Baji immediately stepped out of the room, pulling his aunt with him.

“Aunt, are you okay? Is Dad always like that?” Baji asked in concern.

“Nii-san… He must have been so embarrassed to see you… He’s not always like that, I promise. He must be having a hard time too. He can't control his body. He must feel so stressed.” Akari muttered in embarrassment.

She just said that he’s not always like that… Which may mean that this isn’t the first time…

“Keisuke, I’m sorry for calling your mother… I'll look after Nii-san, whatever it takes. Tell Ryoko-san that I’m sorry for being so selfish. And thank you for coming all the way out here.” Akari added and Baji simply nodded his head in response even though his heart was conflicted.

“Okay… I’ll get going now.” Baji mumbled to his aunt.

“All right. You work hard on your studies and stay healthy.” His aunt added.

“I will…” Baji replied and with that, he left the scene with a heavy heart.

I want to run away right now… Skinny cheeks and hands, dull-colored skin, a stomach abnormally swollen up from ascites… When I saw him I could see how serious his condition was… Perhaps, it's my fault… Maybe it’s because I was so mad at him and turned away like that… No way… It's all Dad's fault… But if Dad dies like this, what on earth am I going to do…?

As Baji traveled back to Tokyo, he began to recall his mother’s words again.

Your Dad is really sick, Keisuke. Your Aunt is suffering a lot too. Couldn't we help out…? Just until your Aunt recovers from her operation? If we are by his side, he might get better…

Baji let out a heavy sigh and leaned back on the seat of the train he was traveling in. He then received a text message from Nana saying that she would be waiting for him at the train station to pick him up. And seeing her text brought a small smile to his face.

I want to lean on Nana… I want her to comfort me… I want to talk to her about what I should do…

Later after reaching Tokyo, Baji met up with Nana at the station and the Osaki girl threw herself in his arms as soon as she noticed her boyfriend.

“Keisuke! Welcome back!” Nana greeted him with a sweet grin and a warm hug, something which he really needed after his long tiring journey from Kyoto.

“Hey, I’m back.” Baji chuckled in response, hugging her back.

“How was the trip? I’m glad you arrived safely.” Nana stated as they pulled away from the hug.

“Yeah, it was okay.” Baji responded back calmly, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

“Did you eat anything on the way?” She asked and he shook his head as a no. “Okay, come on then. Let’s go eat something nice. It's on me.”

“Sure. You choose the menu.” Baji smiled at her and Nana noticed something was strange about him.

Baji just flashed out a small, tired smile. He wasn’t smiling or grinning like how he always did; he wasn’t flashing out his signature wolfish grin from time to time, something that Nana really loved about him and now she missed seeing that smile. He wasn’t being his normal energetic self lately and it was concerning Nana a lot. She knew how it was rough for him to deal with the issues related to his father and he had been dealing with those issues ever since his parents got that divorce but then again, these issues weren’t unavoidable. Baji just couldn’t pretend that his father didn’t exist or anything. He just couldn’t run away from it.

As they both settled down at a nearby restaurant and ordered Baji’s favorite yakisoba noddle for their today’s lunch preference, Nana noticed how Baji hadn’t talked about himself this entire time.

“Didn’t you say you have to hand in reports for both your summer school courses? How's that going?” Nana asked as they waited at their table for the food to come.

“Oops, I forgot.” Baji groaned in reply, slapping the palm of his hand on his forehead before running that same hand through his raven locks in frustration. “I’ll have to write them as soon as we get back home tonight.”

“Also, I forgot to ask... How's your dad doing now?” she asked carefully in a concerned tone.

“His condition has become worse. So I think I’ll have to stay in Kyoto for the summer break.” He replied in a nonchalant way and that surprised Nana.

“I didn’t know that…” she trailed off, raising an eyebrow at him.

“That’s because I didn’t tell you.” He replied with a smile.

“Isn’t there anyone else who can take care of him? Are you sure you’ll be okay, Keisuke?” she asked as she reached out and gently grabbed his hands in hers.

“I’ll be fine. All I have to do is just sit next to him.” He reassured her, giving Nana’s hands a light squeeze.

“Don’t you have any other relatives? Or maybe you can hire a care worker…” Nana stated, throwing out some options at him.

“There’s no need. I can handle it.” Baji responded back, reassuring her once again but Nana knew how he was feeling at that moment.

Why is Keisuke pretending to be okay? I get that he’s worried about his father and everything, but it’s also stressing him out so much… I feel so helpless right now… I can’t do anything for him to reduce his problems or ease his anxiety…

After that a couple of more days passed by in peace and it was the time when Baji was ready to leave for Kyoto.

“You didn’t have to come here today though.” Baji stated with a smile as he and Nana arrived at the train station.

“But I wanted to see you off at the station.” Nana countered back in a sweet voice and Baji’s heart just melted away at the sound of it.

“There’s no need.” Baji chuckled softly. “It’s not as if I’m going somewhere special.”

“I want to stay with you for as long as I can. I won’t be able to see you for quite a while. I’m gonna miss you…” Nana noted, revealing her true feelings and Baji’s face softened at her sight.

He then opened his arms widely at her and a bright smile adorned his face. It wasn’t one of those tired smiles he had been giving her lately. This smile he was flashing at her right now was genuine and loving.

“Nana, give me a hug.” Baji stated in a tender tone and in response, Nana wrapped her arms around his torso, giving him a warm embrace.

“Don’t get stressed out while you’re there.” She mumbled into his chest causing Baji to smile and press a soft kiss on top of her head.

“Okay. It's gonna be boring, so call me as often as you can.” Baji stated as he hugged her back, tightening the grip around her.

“You too… And you have to tell me if you are having a hard time.” Nana added in a concerned tone, bringing another smile to Baji’s face.

“I will…” Baji reassured her once again.

And with that Baji left for Kyoto once again and this time around it was for almost a month and a half.

Since then Baji had been taking care of his sick father at the Kyoto City Hospital but the older man was someone who didn’t listen to any word that anyone said.

“Damn it! Why won't you just let me drink?! Leave me to die already!” Baji’s father cried out in anger and frustration, squirming in Baji’s hold as the younger male was dragging the older one down the hallway and back to his ward.

“Shut up, old man!” Baji snapped at his father, scowling as he threw him onto the bed once they reached the ward.

“You too, Keisuke! You don’t want me around either, do you?! Damn it! You’re the only son I have got and look at you!” Baji’s father continued to cry and nag.

“Be quiet in the hospital. Please.” Baji begged in frustration, his patience running thin right now.

Soon later the doctor came with a nurse and checked up on his father.

“He’s suddenly started coughing and his condition seems to be getting worse…” Baji informed the doctor while his father was now sound asleep.

“That’s because his liver is functioning poorly and he cannot detoxify anything. After the ascites puncture, I’ll inject some pain relievers. You as the guardian must keep an eye on him, so that he doesn't drink or smoke. I have informed you already. this isn't the first time this has happened. I’m sure you are aware of it.” The doctor stated.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Baji apologized in embarrassment but there was nothing he could do about it.

As days went by, his father was becoming even more childish and was throwing even more fits and tantrums in unnecessary situations. And because of his father’s antics, there were even days when he couldn’t sleep that well or study properly even though he had his books in his hands.

One day when Baji came back to the wardroom, he found his father having a heated argument with some other patients.

“Turn the volume down, man!” his father yelled out, enraged.

“Everyone's fine watching TV! What’s your problem?!” the other patients yelled back.

“My head’s throbbing! Turn the volume down! How many times do I have to say it?!” his father countered back.

“What’s wrong?” Baji asked, stepping up to handle the situation.

“These people have the remote control, so I told them to turn the volume down! And all they did was press the volume button once!” his father complained.

“There’s nothing to be mad about. Stop it.” Baji stated, requesting his father to calm down.

Even though his father later cooled off, that didn’t change the fact he tried to cause chaos earlier.

“The patient is making too much of a fuss. The other patients are complaining. He has changed wards so many times already. This has to stop.” The nurse complained to Baji later that day in the hallway.

And Baji being Baji, accepted all the faults and mistakes.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Baji apologized, bowing his head to her.

The nurse simply scoffed at him in response and walked away from there. Baji couldn’t even complain about it because he knew she was right. Baji went back to the room and sat down on a chair beside his father’s bed. His father was laying down there on his side, his back was facing Baji.

“You go home now, Keisuke.” Baji’s father stated in a tired, monotone voice.

“And who will take care of you if I do?” Baji scowled in response, picking up a textbook to read.

“Since when do you care?” his father scoffed. “There is Akari. What’s she doing? Why isn't she coming?”

“Aunt is tired too. Just let her get some rest.” Baji replied with a sigh, turning the pages of the book.

“Why would she be tired? Geez…” his father sighed and Baji scoffed silently in response.

You know nothing, Dad…

At that moment, Baji began to recall back what his aunt had told him a few days ago.

Keisuke, please don’t tell Nii-san that I’m ill… He might get ideas… You know, he might do something drastic… I’m so worried… Keisuke, you understand right…? Please take good care of him for me…

Baji let out a heavy sigh at the thought of his aunt’s words.

I feel like I’m suffocating… this situation… everyone… I’m suffocating… How frustrating, all because of him… I wish he would just die…

As soon as he realized the last thought that came to his mind, Baji froze in his spot. With a conflicted heart and feelings, Baji stood up from the chair and began to walk out of the room.

“I’m gonna step outside. I’ll be back.” He informed his father.

“Since when did you start telling me when you were leaving? Have some dinner while you are out there. The hospital food is foul.” His father responded back through his coughing but Baji didn’t say anything back and simply walked out of there.

To Baji, being around his father was suffocating for him. He needed to take a breather for a moment.

I’m fucking crazy. I really am. What was I thinking? I’m supposed to be taking care of Dad… Get a hold of yourself, Keisuke.

Baji then went to the terrace of the hospital which had a small beautiful garden up there and after going there, he lit up a cigarette to smoke. While taking a long drag from his cigar, Baji ran his hand through his loose ponytailed hair in frustration as he watched the sunset from the distance, observing how the color of the sky was changing in the time of twilight.

Dad looks dead and he smells bad… There’s nothing about him that’s living… At the hospital the subtle scent of medicine and the ward's atmosphere… It takes away all my energy… Even when someone screams in pain, nobody cares… It's the same for me… When will this be over…? Even if Aunt Akari has her surgery, I’ll probably still be the one that has to take care of Dad. I would not be able to pretend he doesn’t exist like I used to. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with me wishing he were dead. I have always hated him so much… And it will be better for Mom and Aunt if he isn't around… It would be better if he didn't exist…

Baji was keeping himself so busy these days that he didn’t even realize his own health was deteriorating too. One day after using the bathroom, when he was washing his hands at the sink, he noticed his own reflection in the mirror. He looked so exhausted and lifeless as if he was done with his own life.

I have dark bags under my eyes… My skin is pale and dull… Why am I breaking out all of a sudden? Geez… I’m freaking ugly…

The only time Baji could calm himself down and be happy for once was whenever he talked to Nana over the phone. She would tell him about her studies and her part-time jobs, about the people she hung out with that day, about Shinichiro or Mikey’s stupid antics, about Kazutora or Chifuyu’s craziness and so many other more. Baji loved hearing her talk but sometimes it ached his heart whenever she mentioned Shinichiro or Mikey over the phone given that he was fully aware of their crush or romantic feelings for her.

I miss Nana a lot. But she's studying and working day and night. I can’t ask her to come and meet me all the way here. I want to hear her voice. But it’s getting harder for me to talk to her. All I can say is “I’m hurting”. And I honestly can’t enjoy listening to her stories the way I used to. Above all else, though… Please don't talk about other guys, especially Shinichiro-kun and Mikey… You’re making me nervous, Nana…

A few more days passed by and it was the time when Baji’s aunt was about to have an operation for her uterine cancer. One afternoon, Aunt Akari dropped by the Kyoto City Hospital to check up on her brother and her nephew, to see how they were doing these days. Baji’s father was laying down on the bed with his eyes closed while Akari sat on the chair beside the bed and by her side, Baji was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Aunt, has your operation been scheduled?” Baji asked his aunt while his eyes were fixated on his sleeping father.

“Yeah, it’s in two weeks.” Akari muttered tiredly in response.

“Don’t you have to be hospitalized before that?” he asked further.

“Just the day before the operation.” She replied before looking up at Baji with worried eyes. “Can't Nii-san have an operation too?”

“If it was liver cancer an operation would be possible, but in the case of liver cirrhosis, the liver itself hardens, so a transplant is the only way. There are so few donors and so many people on the waiting list… Usually, a family member with the same blood type donates a part of their liver.” Baji replied and that’s when he noticed the change of aura around his aunt.

“If that’s the case…” she trailed off in a nervous tone, her voice quivered. “Keisuke, what was your blood type again…?”

In response, Baji frowned at his aunt and looked at her in a way as if she had lost her mind. Why was she being so selfish now?

“Shut up, you crazy bitch. Have you lost your mind?” Baji’s father suddenly spoke up and this caught their attention, throwing them completely off guard.

“Nii-san! I thought you were asleep.” Akari gasped out in surprise, noticing the said man was now wide awake.

“If you plan to keep talking bullshit, don't come here ever again, you damn witch.” The older man snapped at her again.

And this comment hurt her feelings once again. Akari had tolerated his verbal abuse, profanities, and offensive comments since he was admitted to the hospital for his liver cirrhosis disease. For months she was keeping up with this but her brother’s attitude towards her never changed nor even softened a bit.

“I need to use the bathroom…” Akari excused herself in a quiet tone before quickly walking away from there.

Baji watched his aunt walking out of the room and in that moment, he felt bad for the older woman.

“Hey, don't listen to a word she says.” Baji’s father spoke up again. “She’s just stressed, that’s all…”

“I know. Don't worry. I’m not gonna go to all that fucking trouble for you.” Baji scoffed at his father with annoyance, ending the conversation right then and there.

It had been a month since Baji left Tokyo and came here to Kyoto to help his father. He wasn’t in contact with his friends that much lately, but the only person he had been talking to every single day was Nana. Because she was the only person who understood him from the inside out. And that’s when Baji received this text message from her earlier this morning.

Nana: I’m on the train for Kyoto. I’ll be there in half an hour. It’s Kyoto City Hospital, right?

Baji felt like his heart just skipped a beat in shock and happiness. He then wasted no time and immediately texted her back.

Baji: Yes. But you don’t need to come alone. I’ll meet you at the station and pick you up. If I leave now, I can meet you right when you arrive.

Nana: Okay! See you at the station then. Love you!~

Baji: Love you too, babe!

The conversation eventually came to an end and Baji walked down the hallway of the hospital with a bright smile on his face as he was making his way toward his father’s wardroom, feeling fuzzy and giddy on the inside.

First I have to shave. I also need to brush my hair. Geez, I wish I was wearing something nicer today…

But as soon as he stepped inside the room, he noticed his father was missing once again and wasn’t in his bed. And that brought an annoyed scowl on Baji’s face. He let out a loud scoff in irritation and stomped away from there, heading out to find his father again. In the end, he finally found the older man who was drinking alcohol at a nearby restaurant.

“Stop drinking! You have been doing a good job staying sober these days! What's wrong with you now?!” Baji scolded his drunk father as he grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up from his chair. “What on earth’s wrong with you?! Don't you know why you're paying all that money to be hospitalized?! Do you really want to die or something?!”

“It would be better if I were dead…” his father muttered these words out in a dejected tone, feeling regretful for his actions.

“Fine! Fucking die, then!” Baji snapped again before successfully pulling his father up from the seat and was now dragging him back to the hospital.

“I’m giving Akari a hard time… and you too… I’m so stupid… Why am I still alive…?” his father cried as Baji helped his father to walk with his arms on his shoulders.

“If you have the sense to say stuff like that, quit drinking first.” Baji scoffed in response.

“I have already failed… my life’s a failure… my last days… why are they so pathetic?” his father sobbed out again but Baji remained silent this time around.

Slowly they came back to the hospital and as Baji was about to enter the main entrance, he noticed someone familiar standing outside the hospital, leaving him in utter shock. It was Nana, all dressed up nice and pretty.

“I was waiting for you at the station but you didn’t come, Kei.” Nana smiled sweetly at Baji, clutching onto the straps of her bag before her eyes traveled over to Baji’s father. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Baji.”

The said older man simply nodded his head at her in response but Nana could tell that he wasn’t able to recognize her. She was about to introduce herself to him but suddenly Baji spoke up.

“Let me take my Dad back to his room. You wait here, Nana.” Baji replied in a gruff tone, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

Baji was irritated right now, yes. But he wasn’t irritated at Nana; he was actually irritated at his own father. Furious to be more exact. Because of him, Baji wasn’t able to pick up Nana from the train station and she had to come here all on her own. And on top of that, Nana had to see him and his father like this. How embarrassing. He had never felt so pathetic as he was now.

“Keisuke, do you need any help?” Nana asked softly, walking towards them with a concerned look as she noticed the flushed, sweaty face of Baji which was caused by the heat of the summer sun shining above their heads.

“It’s okay. It's gonna take some time for me to take Dad to his ward. How about you wait for me at the café on the main street, yeah?” Baji stated, walking past Nana while dragging his father toward the entrance with him.

“Oh, okay…” Nana muttered in response, watching them walk away.

And that’s when Baji’s father let out a scoff and slightly pushed Baji away from him, removing his arms from his shoulders.

“Let go, Keisuke. Stop treating me like an invalid.” His father stated in a deep tone, trying to act in front of Nana that he wasn't helpless and pitiful at all. “I can go by myself. You go with your friend.”

The older man tried to walk on his own and he did just for a little bit before tripping on his own feet and falling onto the ground. Nana let out a gasp in concern as she and Baji immediately dashed toward him to help him get up. Baji was faster than her, so he was able to grab his father before Nana could even touch him.

“You can’t even stand by yourself. What are you talking about?” Baji scoffed at his father. “Stand up. I’ll help you walk.”

“Sir, are you all right?” Nana asked the older man worriedly before looking back at Baji. “Keisuke, I’ll help too.”

Nana was about to reach out and help the older man to stand up, but Baji beat her to it by gently grabbing her by the wrist, stopping her from reaching out any further.

“Nana, I said it’s okay. I can do it by myself. I don’t need your help. I’m already embarrassed as it is, so just please… Go and wait for me, okay?” Baji stated in a tired, annoyed tone and the tone of his voice softened Nana’s expression even more.

Nana didn’t say anything after that and watched Baji walk away with his sick father in his arms. This sight ached her heart.

Nana never realized how much Baji had changed within these last few years. Unlike his teenage self, the current adult Baji was responsible, sensible, and reliable. Sure, he was still pretty much aggressive, violent, and unpredictable like he was back then, but at the same time, he had also become quite calm and collected like how a responsible adult should be. He could take on any task even if it was hurting him physically, mentally, and emotionally. He never complained about anything and did everything on his own within his own capability while not saying a word to anyone. It was something that didn’t change in Baji; he would always try to figure out the solution by himself. If he believed that he could tackle the situation on his own, he wouldn’t ask for anyone’s help and would get extremely annoyed if anyone tried to interfere in his business.

As Nana waited for her boyfriend at the café, she sat at a table and had her head down on the table surface, slowly hitting her forehead in frustration and annoyance. She was frustrated and angry at her own self. She wanted to help Baji but she didn’t know how to.

Just then, at that moment, someone placed a hand on her forehead and stopped her from hitting herself. Nana immediately looked up to see who interfered with her and it turned out to be Baji.

“Oh, hey, Keisuke.” Nana greeted him again with a sweet smile.

“Why are you banging your head on the table?” Baji asked, raising an eyebrow. “You'll hurt yourself. Have you had lunch?”

“Not yet. Oh, what do you want to eat?” Nana asked, her smile widening even more. “Do you want me to buy you lunch?”

“You came all the way here.” Baji smiled softly at her in response, even though his eyes were telling him that he was tired and exhausted. “Tell me what you want to eat. I will pay.”

Nana didn’t reply and simply stared at the Baji with an intent gaze. She noticed his pale skin tone and the dark bags under his tired eyes. This simple sight of him ached her heart even more.

“I look pretty bad, huh?” Baji chuckled in humor.

“Yeah, real bad…” Nana trailed off in concern but didn’t say much after that.

Hours later, after having lunch together and talking for a while, they went to the train station as it was time for Nana to go back to Tokyo.

“Hasn’t your father been alone at the ward for too long? He seemed very unwell.” Nana pointed out worriedly as they waited for the train.

“I’m gonna head back as soon as you get on the train.” Baji replied calmly with his hands in his pockets before giving Nana a reassuring smile. “Don't worry. You came all the way here for me. I’m so sorry you have to go so early. I feel bad that all I have done is whine to you these past few days. I even acted harshly toward you today. I’m sorry about that too.”

“I’m the one who is sorry. I couldn’t do anything for you.” Nana responded back in a sorrowful tone, reaching out and grabbing Baji’s hands in her smaller ones, her heart was filled with a lot of regret.

Baji had always been like this. Whether it was him dealing with Kisaki in the previous timeline during the Valhalla incident or him dealing with his father in this new timeline, Baji always chose to solve any issue on his own. Although during the Valhalla incident, Nana herself was involved in that situation and was able to help him out just for a little bit, but in this case and situation where his sick father was involved, Nana couldn’t do anything for him.

“Attention to all passengers waiting to board. The 6:30 PM train to Tokyo will be arriving soon. Passengers, please…” The announcement was suddenly made.

“So don’t apologize to me...” Nana added as she looked up at him with teary eyes. “I’m the one that’s sorry. I’m so sorry I feel like I could die. I love you so much, Keisuke. I know that I can’t do anything for you right now. And I have been so cranky with you these past few days just because I have been busy. I hate myself for that and…”

“Why are you crying?” Baji asked in a soft concerned tone while cupping her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs on her rosy cheeks.

“I’m not.” Nana sobbed out quietly causing Baji’s gaze to soften at her sight.

He then leaned down a bit and kissed her on the forehead.

“Don’t cry.” He mumbled into her skin.

“You’re hurting, aren’t you?” she asked, her lips quivered a bit.

Baji then looked at her again and flashed out a small smile. It was a weary smile but it was loving and genuine.

“Yeah, I am.” He finally admitted his true feelings.

And it broke Nana even more, causing her to tear up again. This time Baji pulled her into a warm bear hug, giving her the reassurance she needed.

“You’re so silly, Nana.” Baji chuckled softly before placing kisses on top of her head, trying to calm her down. “You're here for me and that's all that matters. Don't worry. Thank you.”

Baji was grateful, really. It didn’t matter to him whether or not Nana was able to do anything for him. She was worried about him; that’s all it mattered. She cried for him, shed her own tears for him when he couldn’t do it himself; that’s all that mattered to him. And he was content with that. As long as Nana kept on loving him and wanting him, Baji didn’t need anything else in this world.

After Nana left, Baji immediately went back to the hospital only to not find his father again in the bed.

“Not again…” Baji groaned, letting out a heavy sigh before looking over at an elderly patient who also stayed in that same ward. “Sir, how long has my father been gone?”

“About half an hour maybe?” the man replied. “He was coughing a lot and then left the room. You know people should age gracefully and not be a nuisance to those around them.”

“Thank you for telling me…” Baji responded back politely with a bow and walked out of the room.

I bet he’s drinking again… Maybe I should look for him at the convenience store.

And just then, he remembered his aunt’s words.

Nii-san might get ideas… You know, he might do something drastic… I’m so worried…

Baji let out a small sigh and eventually made his way to the hospital terrace. There he found his father standing at the edge of the rooftop, looking up at the twilight sky. Feeling relieved that his father was okay, Baji pulled out a cigarette packet and a lighter from his pocket. The older man noticed the presence of his son behind him and so he turned around to face him.

“Since when do you smoke?” the older man asked in confusion as Baji stood a few feet away from him, lightening up his cigarette.

“Since a couple of years ago, I think? I was in high school back then.” Baji replied, taking a puff from his cigar.

“Don’t smoke. It’s bad for you.” His father advised in genuine concern.

“You stop drinking first, old man.” Baji scoffed in response.

“Don’t live your life like I have, Keisuke…” his father added. “The girl that came to see you today... Was she your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, it’s Nana…” Baji confirmed. “You know her.”

“Really? Her name does sound familiar though.” His father stated.

“Remember the Osaki couple who lived beside the Sano residence?” Baji asked and in response, his father nodded his head at him.

“I remember now. So she’s Daisuke-san and Junko-san's daughter.” His father noted before a sad smile adorned his face. “Shame she had to see such an ugly sight. Does she know you smoke?”

“No. I never told her. She’ll get worried.” Baji sighed heavily, slightly shaking his head.

“Then quit smoking already. Don't make her feel worried for you.” His father lightly scolded him and Baji’s eyes softened a bit before he tossed his cigarette away.

Baji began to wonder that one thing he thought about months ago; would Nana ever forgive him if he ever cheated on her. That thought itself made him feel sick to the stomach. He felt like puking at that moment. How could he ever do something like that? How could he ever hurt his precious, beloved Nana? Baji would rather kill himself off and die before even having the thought of cheating on her with someone else. Nana was right; he wasn’t like his father. He could never cheat on Nana. He would never do that to her.

“Hey, Dad… It was really difficult for Mom after the divorce…” Baji stated in a calming tone and his father listened to him carefully. “Did you know that? She had to take a year off work. She didn't want me to know, but she was taking antidepressants. But even then she didn’t want me to feel lonely. So she stayed at home all the time and cooked for me. Underneath her rough and tough exterior, Mom is so kind and gentle. You know that too, don't you, Dad?”

“Yeah…” his father trailed off in a low tone as he looked away from his son, guilt and regret washing through his veins.

“So, I don’t want Mom to worry about you anymore. I’ll donate my liver to you.” Baji went on in a firm tone with a serious look on his face and his father’s eyes went wide open in shock. “Take my liver and get well soon. Get on with your life and try harder than you are now. For me. For me and Aunt Akari. Please.”

His father was too shocked to come up with a response and that conversation ended that day.

A few days later, one early morning, when Baji went to visit his father at his ward, he noticed him not resting in the bed and was packing up his bags. He also wasn’t wearing his hospital clothes; rather he was on his normal casual clothes.

“Dad, where are you going?” Baji asked in confusion, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

“Pack your things. I’m leaving the hospital. And… can you find a treatment center for me? One that treats alcoholism…” his father stated and that left Baji in complete shock.

But he didn’t say anything to his father. He did what the older man had told him to do. Hours later, they reached a treatment center which was located on top of a hill, just a bit far away from the Kyoto City Hospital.

“This is the treatment program.” The lady at the treatment center stated politely and handed them two forms to fill up their information. “As you can see, the course for smoking is best taken together with a guardian. Generally, patients are hospitalized for three months and then move on to an outpatient treatment program for one year.”

Baji and his father followed the instructions and carefully filled up the forms just as the lady had told them to do. And after going through some procedures and formalities, Baji’s father finally got admitted to the treatment center where he could treat his alcoholism problem now.

“The bus is taking so long. Maybe it’s because we are halfway up a mountain.” Baji let out a sigh as he and his father waited for the bus to arrive; the bus which would lead Baji back to Tokyo.

“You don’t have to come if it’s too much trouble.” His father stated softly.

“You heard the doctor. You have to take the Friday course together with your guardian.” Baji responded back in a nonchalant way, bringing a smile to his father’s face.

“It feels like just yesterday you were a middle schooler. Now you have grown up so much, you're acting as my guardian.” His father stated, reminiscing about the old days while also appreciating his son’s responsible behavior.

“I grew up to be a nice guy, didn’t I?” Baji smirked teasingly. “Mom did a good job raising me.”

“Yeah, yeah. You grew up well.” his father chuckled in response.

Later that day, in the evening, Nana was at her home in Tokyo, chilling by herself in the living room while reading some shoujo manga that she borrowed from Chifuyu a few days ago. In the middle of her reading session, she heard the sound of the doorbell just went off. Wondering who it could be, Nana got up from the couch and went towards the front door. She then opened the door and came face to face with a certain familiar person; it was Baji, standing there with a wide grin on his face.

Nana was so shocked to see him there. She couldn’t believe in her own eyes that he was there. And before she could even come up with any word, Baji threw himself in her arms and pulled her into a bear hug.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming back today.” Nana chuckled in response, hugging him back. “I thought you were staying in Kyoto for a few more weeks.”

“I wanted to surprise you…” Baji responded with another grin before leaning down and pressing his lips against her. “I missed you, princess.”

“I missed you too, Kei.” She whispered back into the kiss, smiling as well.

A moment later, after pulling away from the sweet kiss, Nana looked up at him with concerned eyes.

“How is your father now? Is he okay?” she asked.

“He is in a treatment center for alcoholism...” Baji replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her even closer to his chest. “He said he's going to quit drinking.”

“Will he get better then?” she asked in worry and in response, Baji simply smiled at her.

“I guess he won’t get any worse…” he replied, hugging her again before burying his face into the crook of her neck.

“What about you? Are you all right, Kei?” she muttered, her face pressed against his chest as she listened to his heartbeat.

“I said I’d give him a liver transplant, but he said no...” Baji mumbled into her hair, his minty breath hitting her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. “He said that no matter how useless a father he may be, he didn't want to leave a scar on his son's body. And then he decided himself to enter the treatment center to cure his alcoholism. No matter what kind of person Dad is, I could tell that he does love me…”

“Well done. You have been through so much. I hope you’re okay now.” Nana sweetly smiled at him, causing Baji to return the gesture.

“Yeah, I’m okay… everything is okay now.” He whispered out to her in response.

This time, it’s not a lie. I really am okay...

The original fic on Quotev and Wattpad -

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porcelain-giyuu · 2 years

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im not sure if this blog is abandoned d or not but I figured I might as well try lol

anyway, can i get your hcs for the nesting season au and the round up to five au??? pls and thankyou w a🍒 on top

ANON IM IN LOVE WITH YOU!!! this blog isn't abandoned, and it wont be bc giyuu is my special interest (literally just. giyuu. its kind of embarrassing lol) an I love writing. I'm just a fairly busy person and recently lost the entire outline for Of Many Colors, so I've been writing way less.

ANYWAY! of course you can have some headcanons, lovely!!

CW; mentions of canonical character death, some violence/injury, and minor warning for passive dismissal of ones own life

Nesting Season AU-

Giyuu is a very mellow omega, whose instincts have been mostly suppressed (something called Nulling, which can happen to anyone of any dynamic if their body shuts down for survival) so he hasn't really nested or pack bonded with anyone

he was raised by tsutako -who was also an omega- and secretly thought of her more as a mother. he was often very hurt by her joking about him being a "practice pup". as an adult he feels guilt over 'forcing' her to pretend to be his parent.

giyuu's instincts aren't fully awakened during the kamado's trial, but it's a close shot. he ends up furnishing two rooms in the water estate for the siblings but doesn't tell anyone due to a mix of confusion, shame, and defensiveness.

tsutako died when he was twelve and he stayed with his great aunt for five months before being sent away. the hunter that found him after he ran away was a friend of urokodaki's previous student, and thought that giyuu would be a good fit there.

giyuu's nesting instincts are fully kickstarted on a mission with muichirou.

basically, they're both heavily injured during a joint mission taking place in a blizzard. mui was impaled and cant move without taking a ton of damage, and giyuu can't run due to having a dislocated hip and multiple bones in his ankles/foot broken. giyuu finds a hollowed tree to hide in- to keep the blizzard out he must build a wall of snow in the entrance. they and mui's crow are stuck there for roughly five-ish days: in that time giyuu and mui fully imprint on each other.

after that, giyuu is much more prone to aggressively taking in children- even if he's super fucking awkward about it. it doesnt help that tanjiro keeps dragging people in to visit giyuu and his newly claimed son.

the kids aren't all fully presented, only genya, aoi, and zenitsu have started the process. the alpha children are nezuko, zenitsu, kiyo & naho of the butterfly girls, mui, and senjuro. the beta children are tanjiro, inosuke, and sumi. the omega children are aoi and genya

giyuu and sabito were courting each other for a long time, as in this au they went into final selection when they were sixteen instead of thirteen. sabito’s death is what nulled giyuu; and also vaguely impeded his development as an omega. if he had lived, they would’ve become the water pillars together and bonded.

Round Up To Five AU-

this au is overall lighthearted and tends to reflect that in the writing. the dynamic between uzui+his wives and giyuu is essentially “varying levels (all intense in their own way) of outward love and enthusiasm vs. very black and white autistic thinker who often forgets other people have Big Emotions too”

giyuu likes uzui, even if he’s jealous of his freedom and self-surety. the girls are kind to him when he’s blunt or doesn’t respond. he enjoys being around them all- very simply put he basks in their presences. they’re all too good for him, but they never push him away. he finds he doesn't feel too guilty about staying around them either.

meanwhile the Married Crew are actively including him in a bunch of their activities. they invite him to dinner, to celebrations and missions, and even just to spend time with each of them individually.

uzui gave giyuu his “ranking” of importance towards others lives, with his wives being the highest, giyuu being lumped in with citizens at second, then uzui last. giyuu misunderstands as he is the bottom, bc uzui didn’t specify. he of course delegates to who he believes is an actual hashira and gives his fuck-all to ensuring that the instructions uzui gave him are followed.

giyuu is a little dumb, but hell if uzui doesn’t admire a man who defends the lives of his beloveds with everything he has. unfortunately he’s also very frustrated with giyuu’s lack of care to his own life. him and his wives (who are suitably impressed with/curious about him) resolve to figure him out.

they end up falling in love with the crazy little fuck, of course, and shortly begin trying to invite him into their marriage.

giyuu is... kind of sure that they keep making passes at him, but none of them have actually asked him and he’ll be damned if he brings it up. if no one explicitly states that they want to marry/Romance him, he’ll just... not say anything. (if they actually asked he’d say yes at this point in the au. it’s been a few months and lots of development happens in their relationships)

the other hashira are either bewildered, amused, distinctly Unamused, or apathetic towards the shenanigans.

PS- sorry if these aren’t what you were looking for! i didn’t know what kind of headcanons you wanted so i just... went for it el oh el

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adrianasunderworld · 1 year

Text

ClaraxDire headcanons

Some stuff about Crowley and Clara

@marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @mangacupcake

Clara and Dire have known each other since they were teenagers. Clara was spending the social season where Dires family lived and they saw each other at balls and tea parties all the time. All their interactions were in secret though, so as not to attract his aunt's attention, because she would find some way to ruin their friendship. Either she'd take the opportunity to throw her son at Clara for a match. Or force Dire into one. Or she'd refuse to let Dire talk to Clara anymore. Any number of things were not out of the realm of possibility, so Dire kept his new friend hidden.

However, it did not last forever. Clara and her mother would be moving on to Briar Valley, and Dire would stay where he was. They tried to write to each other, but with his aunt around who would undoubtedly notice all the letters coming in for Dire, they eventually lost contact for a long time.

They did not see each other again until Dire took the Headmage position at NRC and saw Clara at the first meeting for an interschool event. He immediately recognized her, but since Dire had the mask on and had hit a growth spurt since then, Clara did not immediately recognize him. Eventually she did though.

Clara: I didn’t realize at first with the mask, you also got much taller since then. You look so different.

Crowley: Is it at least a good different?

Clara: It is.

They did not start their current arrangement though for a while. About a century ago, Clara was once engaged to a human man, but he broke it off and eventually married someone else. After that, Clara had little interest in a serious relationship and settled only on the occasional casual hook up and that’s where Dire comes in. Despite how often they butt heads sometimes, he was a source of comfort for her that helped her forget her ex-fiance.

Pretty much their entire secret-but not really thing is on Clara. Because as much as she likes Dire, she isn’t sure how serious he is because, well, it’s Dire. The only man in her long life she had wanted to marry was her ex, and he was far more well adjusted and mature than Crowley. Dire would actually like to be serious and public, but knows Clara isn’t ready for that, so he goes along with whatever she wants. It isn’t until the happy accident that is Sialia happens that kinda forces them to have the “what are we, how are we going to go about this?” talk. And Clara knows Crowley is sticking around for the long run.

Despite the fact that they argue a lot on school related matters (something that did not change from when they were young and enjoyed annoying each other), Dire genuinely trusts Clara and knows if he ever asked for help, she would, and the favor is returned.

Clara is one of the few people that sees Dire without a mask. He even allows her to take it off him when they're alone.

Dire is clingy when they are together and whines for attention. Like he will wrap his arms around her waist and not let go even though she’s doing something. Clara is not as vocal when she wants attention. More curling up with him on the couch or sitting silently on his lap.

Dire gets jealous on occasion. Even before they were serious and only hooking up, he would get so insulted if Ambrose offered to do the Headmage dance instead for the annual ball. “No, it’s my role and I’ll do it!” Meanwhile Clara tends to laughs off any single parents trying to shoot their shot with Dire, but if they are getting too close for comfort is when she glares at them.

Lilia has had front row seats to them since the start. After Clara and her mother left for Briar Valley, is when She met and befriended Lilia. Lilia has witnessed every relationship Clara has had over the years and knows all about her sneaking around with Dire. Crowley is blissfully unaware of how much Lilia knows. He's waiting for the Crow to slip up so he can protective best friend mode.

#twisted wonderland #twst oc #dire crowley #twst crowley #dire crowley x oc #clara cristaleria #the white ash institute

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steveharrington · 2 years

Note

But we’re not told WHY they’re vecna’d. There’s no reason why vecna targets traumatized teens EXCEPT to make it even more horror-movie-ish. Why do they get trash compacted like that specifically? It’s implied that’s how vecna a powers work but why? No idea.

The show has left so many unanswered questions already and this new element (vecna itself!) just over complicates everything

And I’m actually kind of pissed bc Patrick gets vecna’d and we know almost nothing about him. But stranger things… hates poc

I actually kind of hate Chrissy because of how differently she (pretty white girl) was treated from Patrick (black boy). And. her eating disorder existed SOLELY for exploitative purposes just to cause an emotional reaction it’s not something that adds to her as a character it’s just there to freak the audience out, meanwhile other REAL LIFE ACTORS are being forced to starve themselves for the roles. We get it eating disorders are scary good thing they’re not real! /s

Acting like this new girl will be important focusing on her ed only to kill her off in the most horrific way possible… i don’t like it it feels exploitative especially of a real world problem this show is absolutely complicit in spreading

We got a LOT less development for Fred than chrissy and didn’t fucking. Languish in such a triggering topic I think he was the happy medium.

Regardless the focus on traumatized teens with no other similarities was already so random they could have just picked literally anyone with no special backstory and it would have worked just as well? At the end of the day Chrissy ONLY matters as motivation for Jason, who only matters as motivation for Eddie ( and since Eddie’s death did nothing like. It didn’t seem like he was saving Dustin’s life or anything) who only matters to make Dustin kind of sad? She died for man pain except the ultimate man pain was for some guy she never even met

Chrissy isn’t a person or a character she’s a bafflingly written INTENTIONALLY TRIGGERING and misogynistic plot device with an outrageous amount of minute details they could have given to any of the real characters. They didn’t have to spend 10 minutes pretending she mattered only to beat her to death with a rock and then run over her a few times for good measure

well first of all i am no authority on the topic of whether or not chrissy's struggles with her ed were done correctly and therefore i will not speak on it because its really....not my place as someone who hasn't experienced that!

as for why vecna targets people with trauma specifically, i think it serves a greater narrative purpose and that's depicted best through max's arc this season. vecna's whole backstory as henry shows that he was obviously traumatized himself by brenner and when he appeals to chrissy, fred, and max he attempts to persuade them to just give up/join him/etc because it's easier than carrying on. he's using their trauma against them. and then when max is faced with this threat of losing her life to vecna, it motivates her to want to get better and want to stop isolating herself from lucas and the group, she literally says "i don't want to go, im not ready" and it kinda overall like. saves her life! vecna acts as a narrative tool to explore mental health and trauma and guilt. imo it's much much MUCH more impactful for our characters to overcome him through their bonds and their desire to live despite what they've been through than like.....killing a monster of the week

obv you dont have to agree with me and that's fine but i don't think chrissy is like...a misogynistic charicature in the slightest. like i said before i really don't think chrissy's treatment in the show was uniquely different than fred's or even max's. i don't really understand how chrissy's trauma was "languished in" any more than fred's? i feel like they got equal screentime and fred's vecna vision was just as brutal as chrissy's, even if they talked about two entirely different topics. and if im being completely honest (again not trying to be rude or demean your view of the show, but you did send this ask to me personally so im going to give my honest opinions back) i think referring to chrissy as a "plot device" and not a "real character" is intentionally reading the show in bad faith.

this season is a horror season. people die like they do in any slasher movie. i understand if the vecna plotline isn't for everyone because like yeah watching characters who are already suffering die very tragic deaths is hard! but i think the point of vecna like i said before is to personify trauma, guilt, and shame to allow our characters to overcome those feelings. chrissy's death worked both to establish what vecna does and to involve eddie. but i dont think that automatically makes her a "prop" or a "plot device" because she's given a personality, she's given a lot of thought and care from the actress, she's given people who mourn her. i think it was genuinely one of the sweetest moments in the whole show when eddie dedicated his little guitar solo to her because it showed that her death affected him and in motivating him to want to kill vecna and save his friends from her same fate, it had meaning

#sorry i feel weird for posting long asks disagreeing with ppl and i really am not trying to like Discourse or anything #i just love talking about the show and giving my perspective on it #i prommy im not going out of my way to argue or be defensive or anything i just feel like i should give my thoughts when someone asks #and if ive said anything here thats insensitive or out of touch PLEASE let me know #tw ed #anon #answered

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fennel-tea · 1 year

Note

just gonna lob some projmoon balls at you: binah/hod, ayin/angela, hod/yesod, yesod/netzach, and uh...binah/angela. 🗿

[rubs evil little hands together] aight lets fuckinnnn go

Binah/Hod - A+ OTP

I've basically already drawn a tongue-in-cheek manifesto of sorts as to why I like them, but.

Peak messy yuri. Morally Bankrupt Ex-Fed/Outwardly Sweet Virtue Signaller. I love. I love. It started as a curious thing I ran into on Ao3 once or twice (shoutouts to the people writing Binah/Hod and Garion/Michelle out there I owe you my life) and then gradually just completely took over my brain

general feelings on why I love it:

It's the contrast of someone who desperately wants to be seen as a good person for...reasons that are not entirely selfless! who frankly kind of sucks at accomplishing that and is (circa LC) so self-absorbed that until her core suppression leadup she can't even acknowledge it (side note: Hod Sucks is the reason I fell for her in the first place because she is...not a character type I'm normally into!)

vs. someone who choked down any sort of regrets and anxieties she might've even thought of having ages ago, who is a walking moral nightmare of a human, who openly tells you to your face that the only thing that really gets her going is human suffering.

Binah is unquestionably Worse but Hod is wayyyyy more fucked up about it. Binah doesn't actually care about whether or not Hod is a good person or not but is locked in a basement and bored as shit and would be happy to study this neurotic little undead scientist in her own personal petri dish to see what happens. Meanwhile Hod is the kind of person who Will Not Stop prodding at people she doesn't understand, especially if she thinks its for her own benefit, and Binah is a cryptic rubix cube of darkness. I like it for the same reasons I like Hannigram. It's just Yuri Hannigram.

It's a rarepair. It's not healthy. It's not safe or sane. But it IS fun and I'll pilot this ship with my own two hands if I gotta

Ayin/Angela - A

Ohhhh this one is a mess. You ever just make a clone of your dead colleague who you were probably sort of definitely in love with (and give her noticeably bigger tits to boot—holy shit, Ayin), force her to read off a rigid script for the next several millennia, and then refuse to even look at her despite her inherited feelings for you?

This one also falls under Tasty Parallels for me just because. They are both very hurt people who deal with that pain incredibly poorly and proceed to spend an entire game making it everyone's problem and I love them for it. I think this ship is a beautiful downward spiral of love and hate. Also the way Angela post-haircut looks more like Ayin than she does Carmen is [chef's kiss].

Also, please look at this fanart because it lives in my head rent-free.

Hod/Yesod - C

I never actually considered this one outside of an Asiyah Disaster Polycule until you mentioned it honestly but I can dig it! I can get behind it! I think Hod could make him Worse

Yesod/Netzach - C

Generally neutral-to-favorable, it's not a ship I actively seek out but I pretty much always enjoy it when someone puts it on my plate.

Binah/Angela - D/E okay i know i know let me explain

It's uh, definitely not for lack of trying! Objectively speaking, it's a good ship, it's got legs, it's got tons of content and if you're a fan you won't go hungry in the slightest

but I just....can't get into it.

Some of it is just the ship not clicking with me for whatever reason but I think a big part of it is that—unfortunately—my first couple exposures to it were via people being weirdly sanctimonious about it in a "ship this it's the only healthy option for either of these characters" kind of way

which causes the nasty little spitebeast in me to immediately recoil, also uh...healthy? Hello?

Binah's involvement alone injects a solid hit of questionable powerplay and General Freak Shit into basically any ship she's a part of, Angela totally sucks (I say this with unfathomable amounts of affection), both of them are a highly questionable mess at best. I also personally think a lot of fanworks tend to really file off both characters' edges in favor of something more palatable, which I'm personally really not into.

Unfortunately for me it's the most popular f/f ship in the fandom by leaps and bounds, so like, no shade at all if you're into it, I support your fun! I just can't join you sorry orz. Some of the art is nice tho

#Ask!#ciitrinitas #ship opinions #lobcorp spoilers

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curestardust · 11 months

Text

Dust Watched: Aggressive Retsuko Season 05

Genres: Comedy, Social Commentary // 10 episodes // S01 (x) | S02 (x) | S03 (x) | S04 (x)

Seeing as this is the alleged (I don’t trust anything Netflix says) last season of Aggretsuko, I thought a normal essay format would be better to express my frustrations with the run of this show.

If you asked me what I thought of Aggretsuko in the beginning I would’ve said without reservation that it’s one of the best anime out there. Unfortunately, with each season, it was beginning to be more and more difficult to recommend this show and this final season was the worst kind of icing on the cake.

Season 5 has some incredibly great moments sandwiched inbetween incredibly dull and non-sensical moments that ruin the flow and make the ultimately great message of this season get lost among everything going on.

I guess it speaks to how much I cared for Haida and Retsuko’s relationship that I didn’t even bat an eye to the fact that they’re dating from the very beggining of this season despite the last season ending on an (another) will-they-won’t-they moment. I never thought the two of them had much chemistry but the show was pushing them so hard that it was pretty much a given that they would end up together.

Haida having suffered a basically complete character assassination in Season 4, turning him from a wet tissue paper to an *annoying* wet tissue paper, almost made me give up on S05 from the second it began as we start out with Haida having taken over as the protagonist. This only lasts a few episodes but these few episodes surprisingly turned out to be the best this season had to offer. Alas, this plot thread still isn’t carried by Haida, but a new character.

Haida, who is now unemployed, spends his days playing a gacha MMO (the horror) where he hangs out with another player called Shikabane. We’re shown one scene of him being sucked into spending a shitton of money on some gacha pulls, which plays a lot less importance than it could have, and on top of that he is getting kicked out of his apartment as his family who’ve been letting him live there for free found a tenant.

This puts us into one of the best short arcs from the whole anime. Haida decides to live in an internet café where he actually ends up meeting Shikabane in person. She is a 21 year old girl, who actually does “live” in a net café. She has no house, nor has any interest in subjecting herself to the fake facade people need to put on in a “normal” 9-5, instead living off of occasional freelance work and sleeping in a net café. But.. is that really what she thinks? Put a pin in that.

From here-on I’ll speedrun the rest of the season with SPOILERS upcoming.

Haida gets himself a gruelling physical job that pays like shit, suffers a bit, Retsuko and gang find out about it, he moves in with her, there’s like 1 episode focusing on how their relationship isn’t sunshine and rainbows, while we get some scenes of how Haida struggles with getting hired (put a pin in that n.2).

The second actual arc is bonkers and starts way too late into the season for it to have a satisfactory conclusion. Haida and Retsuko meet Haida’s family, we find out his dad is a politician and his other son, Jiro, will be running in the election for their Ward instead of him. Meanwhile, Retsuko’s former idol group are hamfisted into the story for no other reason than to force the other half of the plot to happen. A politician from the “Rage Party” saw Retsuko’s death voice videos and thought that she could represent today’s society’s Rage and win a seat for the declining party. Thus a few episodes are spent on FORCING Retsuko to take part in the running against Jiro, we get some minimal social commentary on what this Rage is (put a pin in that n.3).

Then, I kid you not, we get literally 5 seconds of some papers flashing that Retsuko and Haida are getting married (????), the vote (Retsuko lost), Shikabane apparently being convinced to “get her life together” from a single karaoke session, Haida getting a job (we don’t even know where or what!).... and. That’s it. The final scene is a looping back to the beginning of the whole anime. Retsuko being smooshed in the train while on her way to her normal office job.

Yeah, so, this season was messy enough as is but as a final season, it was even worse. The pacing was catastrophic, it was too slow where it should’nt have been and too fast where things happened we actually would’ve cared about (the marriage??? hello???).

But really, my main disappointment comes from those few moments where the show shines like it used to.

Aggretsuko might be a comedy but it’s just as much a social commentary. Now, the names of generations and how they are seperated differs from country to country but for the ease of things I’ll just use the western categorization.

Retsuko’s original premise is what life is like for “millenials” starting out at their first traditional jobs. How the previous generation still rules how things should be done, the power structure, the fake facade, the overtime. While not exactly translating to the west, it’s an incredibly relatable setting for the generation who was in the same shoes as Retsuko and the show itself explores all of it quite well in the first 2 seasons.

The following seasons became more bonkers, focusing less and less on the office or realistic scenarios and more on the comedy from outside sources. It was easy to kind of forget just how grounded the show used to be.

That’s where Shikabane comes in. Shikabane represents the new generation who just hit adulthood, or as we know them, Gen Z. I’m a late millenial myself, but I definitely saw a lot of how I think but especially how my younger sisters think about the world as it is now.

There is no planning for retirement, planning on buying a house or a car, settling down to have the perfect family while working a traditional job.A lot of young adults have lost hope and the drive to make a future for themselves because they cannot see how it would be possible in today’s climate. Surviving one day to the next, with no particular goal in sight, because it seems impossible. Working a 9-5, putting on a fake smile, abandoning your own personality and *hating* every second of it just to make enough to live paycheck to payckeck is something a lot of them refuse to do. But at the same time, the world is still run by the same people it was 50 years ago. Times have changed so much but they themselves refuse to change. Society is afraid of change. So what else is there to do but... give up?

That is the story you can see told through Shikabane. And in the final episode there’s a metaphorical “torch pass” between her and Retsuko. “My life isn’t what people need to see now. It’s yours.”

And despite how many problems I had with this season, despite how I wish it ended seasons ago, I’m glad Shikabane exists today because she reminded me of what I loved about this show in the beginning.

I wish I could bid farewell to this show in a better way but hey, it is what it is. And for every Shikabane out there; keep fighting.

My Rating: 4/10

#aggretsuko #aggressive retsuko #dusty reviews #if y'all liked it im glad ok!!! but i have a mouth and i must RAGE #edit: i ended up finishing this at 5am so the last part got really sappy #i made myself sad

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sixofravens-reads · 1 year

Text

Finished Convenience Store Woman!

Been trying to type up my thoughts on it for almost an hour now, but it's difficult to describe. This is a book about finding your place in society, about the pressures put on people (women, especially) to progress in their careers, get married, and have kids.

(spoilers ahead)

There's a great contrast between Keiko (who I think we all view as being "acceptably" outside the box, though characters in the book criticize her) and Shiraha, whose behaviour is "unacceptable" - a miserable incel who only is motivated to do things when he thinks they will lead to him getting a rich wife (ie working at the store in order to stalk customers), and constantly talks in circles about how he should just be given a good life because....something about the stone age? He can't get a wife because he's a weak, bad "hunter" and yet feels he deserves one? And even though there are clear improvements he can make to (frankly) make himself a better person and more attractive to women, he refuses to do them because he believes society should give him the perfect life on a silver platter because he has a dick. Or something.

The book very much asks, how far on the fringe of society can you be before you can be rejected?

I think the book comes down where I personally do: there's nothing horribly wrong with Keiko, she's doing a job that she loves and she should stand up to people who criticize her for it. She doesn't deserve to be criticized all the time or forced to make elaborate excuses. Due to her mental health/neuro situation (tbh she's never diagnosed in-book, but I've seen people call her autistic or a sociopath, and I lean towards the latter bc her first thought when a baby started crying was "stabbing it would solve this problem easily." she has very low empathy and doesn't view herself as human) and the fact that she needs a very strict environment to excel, where she has a guidebook to follow and people she can mimic, she really is the perfect convenience store employee. In fact, she should be treated better for her work. She should have a higher pay so she can afford a place without roaches, at least. She rejects the societal expectations of her, while choosing to do something that she finds fulfilling.

Meanwhile, Shiraha gets fired for stalking a customer, spends like half the book first mooching off of Keiko, then tries to force her to change jobs so he can mooch off of her even more when his sister-in-law comes after him for running away and forcing his family to pay his debts. He "loses" in the end when Keiko decides she must return to the convenience store, but only because he relied on her to do everything for him, with nothing in return, even though he is perfectly capable of getting himself out of his position. It's a failure of his own making. He is not so much rejected by society as rejecting it himself--while Keiko finds fulfillment and joy in living off the beaten path, he only makes himself and everyone around him miserable because he refuses to let go of the idea that society "owes him" and find a path that suits him. I don't doubt that Shiraha was either kicked out or left Keiko after the events of the book, and was likely forced by his family to get a job and pay off his debts.

Keiko chooses her own happiness over this useless waste of a man, and realizes there are some things she is just meant to do or not do, regardless of how society views her. We can hope her sister (at least) and possibly her friends accept her for this, even if they wouldn't personally choose that life.

Anyway, I really liked this book. Will definitely be reading more stuff by Sayaka Murata!

#theres so much more you could say #but that's my main thoughts #also i love that the author really went 'oh incel boy. you want to out in zero effort? this is what you get!' and Siraha literally ended up #living in Keiko's bathroom while she treats him like a vaguely boring pet and feeds him boiled unseasoned food once a day.#thinking about reading

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duckmumbo · 2 years

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tell us about plant powers mumbo if you have any specific thoughts!! -mnd

I have so many thoughts you don’t even know

- I think Mumbo spent more time in the s8 world than the actual irl break was. There’s the almost 3 months that the actual break took place, but in my au I think Mumbo tried for the first month or so to contact them through his communicator, but he couldn’t reach them (bc void interference) so after a while he gave up and either lost it or broke it in a fit of rage. He spends the next two months trying to figure out a way off of the server, but he can’t leave because a part of him is still so reluctant to leave since as far as he knows, he’s the only hermit still alive, and he doesn’t want to know if that’s true or not, so the plants don’t let him leave.

Meanwhile, on the s9 server, boatem has arrived and they’re frantically trying to convince the hermits with admin powers to let them go back to the s8 world to see if mumbo’s still there, but they don’t let them go for at least another month because plot and safety concerns. Eventually, they get to go, and they bring Mumbo back and they all live mostly happily ever after <3

- When the moon crashed into s8 with Mumbo still on it, he panic grew a giant canopy of trees to protect him (think that scene in guardians of the galaxy when Groot sacrifices himself to save everyone else). It works, but he can’t figure out how to get them to go back, so this means he spends the next 3 months living with no lighting other than the torches and lanterns left behind by the hermits and some giant glowberry vines that he grew

This also means that when he gets to s9, he’s not at all used to the sun anymore, and he ends up taking refuge in Scar’s tree because it’s darker in there and he can’t relax if he’s not surrounded on all sides by the humming of plant life

- His vault. His main regret after s8 is spending so much time on the Mooners that he never thought to prepare for the worst, to have a safe place for his family friends to go if worse came to worst. So he builds a vault. He hides behind jokes of being the richest hermit, behind saying that nobody is allowed to enter the vault and it’s for his eyes only, but really he’s preparing a huge underground bunker for them to ride out anything he can possibly think of. It starts out as just for the members of boatem with his starter base, but then as he settles in more and spends more time with the other hermits he starts to draw up plans for a bigger one, one that all the hermits could fit in comfortably with room to spare

- I’ve been seeing a lot of aus recently where people invade hermitcraft and attack them (shoutout to test tube Zedaph au it’s a major source of brainrot right now), so I think Mumbo would also worry about that alongside the rest of his doomsday preparations. He sets up an elaborate network of modified plant seeds underground, including stuff like buffed wither roses, Venus fly traps, and other dangerous plants (shoutout to the Stepping Stones series on ao3 and how they wrote Tubbo with plant powers for the inspo for this) that are just lying dormant, waiting for him to activate it and let them grow in case of people coming to hermitcraft to hurt them.

- I’ve just realized there’s a bit of a plot hole with Bdubs and some other hermits canonically still being on the s8 world when the moon hit so I’m just gonna say the other hermits weren’t going to let this happen so they forced them to leave with everyone else. No hermit left behind (except mumbo but that’s not his fault) <3

#me making that last post: yeah I wanna talk about it but idk what I feel like I need a jumping off point or something #me getting this ask and it unlocking my brain somehow: haha words go brr #thanks for the ask hope this was what you wanted gksbkfbdjf #roy talks #peace love and even more plants au #answered #mnd my beloved #I’ve just decided you get a tag #mumbo #hermitcraft

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