#much confidence in my abilities AND i probably would struggle a bit but

[istoleyoursk1n]

How do you think the companions would react to a Tav that's shorter then them but physically capable of carrying them around be it over the shoulder or princess style carry?

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How would they react to a short Tav who could carry them easily?

(I’ve made brief mentions of this type of scenario in a previous post so you may check that out as well.)

.

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: ̗̀➛ ASTARION

“My, my, if you would've done this for me sooner, I’d be swooning much more quickly than you realize, you know that darling? Now be a dear and carry me over there!”

He would have been the one teasing you/urging you to try and lift him up in the assumption that you simply cannot. He was merely messing with you at the time.

Though, he didn't think you’d actually do it.

He would be startled by your offer/assurance that you would be able to lift him up without so much as a struggle which he then laughed at, not believing a word you say but allowing you to try anyways.

He was just about to say another snarky remark the moment your hands were on him but the words quickly fell flat on his lips the moment you managed to carry him in your arms.

You've never seen him so wide-eyed and confused than this very moment.

His mind would be too muddled on whether he should continue to be snarky or at least show how surprised he actually is about the whole situation.

Probably ends up being both snarky and impressed because his mind was too much of a mess at that very moment.

Besides, there's a strange sense of security he feels when he has your arms wrapped around him like some sort of shield.

Regardless, he now demands you to carry him like a princess for however long you can as he’d prefer not to walk throughout the entirety of your tiring journey.

: ̗̀➛ WYLL

“Are you- am I- are you carrying me?! By the hells, am I not as heavy as I thought I was? Or are you that ridiculously strong? Ha! Though, I can’t say I’m against this at all!”

Was a bit apprehensive when you offered to carry him, he was afraid that he might crush your poor arms with his own weight.

Definitely needed you to reassure him three times before he finally agreed. It's not that he wasn't confident in your abilities (sort of), he just wanted to make sure you didn't hurt yourself.

Was quite shocked when you did manage to lift him so easily, so much so that an awkward little laugh escaped from his lips.

This was certainly a situation he never thought he’d find himself in.

Even so, that awkward little laugh soon turns into a genuine one, his grin is one of the many things that drive you to carry him for as long as he wants.

He can't stop laughing at the absurdity of the moment but he has no qualms, in fact, he's having a blast!

Now you’re both off being absolute goofballs with Wyll playfully referring to you as his own ‘knight in shining armor’. The scene alone would be sweetly sickening to anyone who caught a glimpse of it.

While he’d never ask for you to carry him again (he’s far too worried about exhausting you), he’d always be willing to find himself lifted in your arms once again if not but a temporary relief from the hard journey ahead.

: ̗̀➛ GALE

“Well. I never quite envisioned myself being in this particular predicament… there seems to be a handful of lovely little experiences that I have yet to indulge in, this included. Now, how do you suppose I’d get down?”

Similar to Wyll, he was a tad bit apprehensive when you first proposed such a thing to him. He wasn't quite confident that you had the ability to carry him nor did he really think he wanted to be.

It would take a tad bit more convincing to get him to be on board with it.

He keeps reminding you of the worst-case scenario where you’d find yourself with broken arms and him with a broken back. Truly something he isn't looking forward to.

He probably closed his eyes the moment you lifted him off the ground, half expecting to fall to the ground right then and there.

His limps were all over the place, grasping at what he could to the point where it landed him in an awkward position. It was fairly obvious that he hadn't been carried like this before.

He was pleasantly surprised when he found himself up in the air in your arms. At first, he thought that this may have been the work of some sort of strength elixir but he had faith in you.

It doesn't take long for him to become a flustered disaster who doesn't quite realize what to do or say. He’s in your arms and he’s far too close, he’s being far too awkward about this and it’s rather amusing to watch.

He’s simply holding on as tightly as possible, asking again and again if you are certain that this isn't something you struggling with. I mean, is he truly this light?

If he wasn't smitten with you before then he sure as hell is now. It would take him a while to come around to ask to be carried again but when he does so, he does it with the biggest puppy eyes you've ever seen.

: ̗̀➛ KARLACH

“No fucking way! I’m up in the air?! Me?! You can lift me?! Bloody hell you're a strong one, soldier. Never thought big ol’ Karlach could be so easily swept off her feet. Gotta repay you for that one!”

She believed that there was no way in hell you’d be able to carry her. She would have crushed you the moment you tried.

Even so, she agreed, it doesn't hurt to try after all. Besides, she's a tad bit curious about herself. However, she does constantly remind you of how heavy she is and to let go if it's something you truly can't do.

She would have backed out last minute to save you if it weren't for the fact that she suddenly felt her feet lift from the ground below.

She would be surprised that your little form somehow has the power to lift her, she’d think it's the coolest thing ever! She's practically laughing her ass off from having you carry her around.

This is the most fun she’s had in a while and she hopes for it to last for as long as your body could handle. Both of your combined laughter would be enough to startle the entirety of the camp.

Right after she’d be more than happy to carry you as well! Consider it a favor after doing the same thing to her. You’ll be having free piggyback rides for days to come! In exchange of free carries from you of course.

She’ll never not laugh every time you pick her up. She's felt so strong and impenetrable most of her life until you came over swooping her off the ground like it was nothing. It makes her fiery heart soar.

: ̗̀➛ SHADOWHEART

“My hero, and just when I thought I’d have to use a quick healing spell or two. I suppose I don't mind playing myself as the ‘damsel in distress’ if that means I get to end up in your arms.”

She wasn't quite on board with the whole idea of you picking her up just yet. She was confident that you’d drop her and you’d end up falling alongside her.

Though eventually, she did come around to it, not that it took too much convincing. She was a Cleric so if both of you ended up hurt somehow, she’d be there to heal both of you.

She was very careful with choosing how she’d like to hold you just before you lifted her up. She tried to get into the most comfortable position possible that would cater to both you and her.

She was delightfully surprised when you did manage to lift her up in your arms, a warm smile plastering itself across her face from witnessing such a shocking act of strength from you.

If this isn't the perfect moment for her to tease you then you are greatly mistaken because she would be teasing you relentlessly for as long as you keep her in your grasp.

Even so, it's all in good fun. She finds herself loving how feather-light she seems in your hold, reassured that you wouldn't drop her despite her previous apprehensions.

She’d never doubt your abilities again in this case, and she’d be more than willing to be held within your strong embrace once more.

: ̗̀➛ LAE’ZEL

“Chk. The fact that your arms remain intact is a surprise. Still. I am capable of walking on my own if carrying me like this was your plan. Your strength is noted but I’d rather set onwards with my head held high and my feet on the ground.”

Her immediate answer was no.

She’d think of it to be a rather stupid idea, she didn't even believe that there would be a slight chance of you carrying her properly.

It would take a lot of convincing for her to ever allow you to carry her with her consent. Doing so without it would result in her punching you right in the face. Ingrained reflexes I suppose.

She’d be annoyed but she’d reluctantly agree when the moment comes around. However, she would make a blatant reminder that if you were to be crushed, it was over your own stupidity.

She instantly tensed the moment you lifted her off the ground, her eyes went wide, and she couldn't believe that she was somehow being lifted by you.

She also generally hasn't been lifted before and she doesn't completely realize how she should be feeling about it. It's strange, and it definitely takes her a while to relax.

Eventually, she’d finally sprinkle some form of praise onto you, seeming rather impressed by your bold display of strength. She might even find it somewhat attractive that you could so easily lift her up.

It would take a while to get used to but I doubt she’d be against it anymore. Your strength is truly a perk of yours that should never go overlooked and she thankfully realizes this now.

: ̗̀➛ HALSIN

“Oh! Well isn't this quite the shocker? Not only do you have a strong heart but it appears that you have strong arms too, haha! And just when I thought I’d undergone everything life had to offer.”

He thought you were joking with him at first. There was no way you’d be able to carry him, he's never seen anyone successfully do so either.

Perhaps he’d let you try if not for his own amusement/pity, but he pretty much was certain that you’d hardly have the strength to lift him an inch off the ground.

Of course, this wasn't to undermine you, but he knew all too well that a man of his stature couldn't possibly be carried like some sort of fairytale Princess.

Safe to say that he was utterly baffled the moment you began to lift him. In all his years alive he has never once encountered someone who was able to carry him with the use of their raw brute strength.

The first thing that came to his mind was worry, he wasn't sure how long you’d be able to hold him or if this was too much. He understands how heavy he is and he’d be absolutely devastated if he were to accidentally crush you.

As fun and ridiculous as this all was, Halsin would be too concerned about somehow crushing you down with his weight so you wouldn't be carrying him for long.

After a few shared laughs, he’d be the one to politely request to be let down. Softly asking if you are okay and hoping that carrying him wasn't too tiring.

Nevertheless, he’s enamored by your display of strength and the new experience truly did make his heart skip a beat. Now there's yet another peculiar thing about you he’d add to his reasons for adoring you.

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#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 headcanon #bg3 headcanons #bg3 x reader #bg3 wyll #bg3 astarion #bg3 gale #bg3 halsin #bg3 shadowheart #bg3 lae’zel #bg3 karlach #astarion #wyll #gale #halsin #shadowheart #lae’zel #karlach

[rosie-kairi]

I don't think I've ever really spoken in depth about how much I love Lauriam as a character, which is honestly a crime because out of all the Union Leaders I'd probably have to crown him as my number one favorite.

I love Lauriam not only as a character (pink, sibling plotline) but also as an example of how much prequels can recontextualize an entire character. While Ventus is also an example of this, I think we all knew that he probably had some sort of messed up past that landed him in the clutches of Old Man Xehanort. Marluxia, on the other hand, had absolute zero background to infer from his screentime. He was the villain, you're not really meant to think too hard about him and how he became who he is because he sucks and you hate him.

I don't think there were many people chomping at the bit wanting to get info about his past. Like, it would've been cool to get, but I don't think a background for Marluxia was necessary for the story at that point in time. His role was to establish the organization as a threat to Sora and the other guardians, and that was pretty much the extent of it.

And then Union X happened, and Lauriam entered stage right into a tragedy where his fate was already sealed. You look at Lauriam with his polite little smiles and cute little chibi animations and immediately think "what is this man up to" because you are already primed to distrust him on principle due to COM. Did not help his case that he was introduced in the cutscene immediately following the death of Strelitzia, painting a huge target on his back. Fandom reaction was hostile towards him before he was even fully on screen. Occam's Razor, the most obvious answer is the correct one. Lauriam is the obvious suspect because of his actions in the future, so he must be the killer. Literally him just existing in a scene caused more ire to build against him.

But then the Shift Pride cutscene happened. Then it was revealed that Lauriam and Strelitzia -the girl who so many thought he killed- were siblings, and that he was quite worried for her wellbeing, actually.

Every cutscene a clearer picture of who Lauriam is a person was painted, and soon you stopped looking at him with distrust, and it's replaced with the question of "What happened to you?". What happened that caused Lauriam, someone who has been shown to care deeply and immensely about the people he loves, someone who is willing to do anything for those people, become Marluxia? It became increasingly obvious that they were incredibly different people, even though Marluxia came from Lauriam.

And this isn't to say that there was no connection between the two. Lauriam seemed to be incredibly self-confident in his abilities, enough to be pretty steadfast in his resolve to square up with goddamn Maleficent of all people (even if he did get his ass kicked). There's also his very intense anger, as seen in the cutscene where Ventus confesses to being the reason why Strelitzia "vanished", as well as a bit in the scene where he's at Ventus's bedside.

This is all to say that Lauriam was not a necessary addition to the khux cast, he very well could've been swapped with a random new character and the plot probably would've worked fine, all things considered. But because it's Lauriam -the somebody of a character that has already been established to be a prick- it gives his whole plotline a hell of a lot more punch. If it was a new character, people probably wouldn't have been as distrusting of him right of the bat, the sibling plotline would be sweet, but because it's Lauriam and we know how he ends up in the future, it becomes a hell of a lot more tragic. How did the change happen? He's tragic because we know that whatever he does will lead to the outcome of him losing his heart and falling to darkness, something that is essentially the exact antithesis of the keyblade wielder mission statement.

Lauriam is someone who was made to struggle against the destiny that was written out for him with a neat pen and ink, and someone who was doomed to fail in every regard. He could not save his sister, he could not defeat Maleficent, he could not help Ventus, he could not keep his memories when thrown into the future. He couldn't do anything about it.

I realize this is all rounding back around to "the inherent tragedy of prequels" but it's true.

...and yeah that's basically it. I have a lot more thoughts about this guy but I feel like if I write anymore I'm just gonna sound completely incomprehensible bc I'm very tired. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to sparkle on

#Rosie rambles #lost the plot a bit but I think it's decently comprehensible #kingdom hearts union x #khux #kh lauriam #lauriam #kh marluxia #marluxia #character analysis #meta #i think

[markrosewater]

"It varies mechanic to mechanic, but they don’t score any lower as a group against other mechanics. Some, like Monarch, are quite popular."

People are criticizing the helper card mechanics because they are very complex, require specific varied tracking and they are virtually impossible to play with unless you constantly refer to helper card (compared to most cards that you can understand by simply reading its oracle text or reminder text).

The Monarch doesn't have any of those issues. It's an elegant and masterfully designed mechanic. The Monarch is very simple and straightforward, so much so that the oracle text from The Monarch token could fit as reminder text on several monarch cards. That can't be said about Day/Night, The Initiative, Venture in the Dungeon, Rad counters or Tempted by the Ring. I've probably looked at the double sided Tempted by the Ring helper token over 100 times and I can't confidently tell someone exactly how the mechanic works if I don't have the helper token to read from. It's an extremely complex and multifaceted mechanic. I would say more complicated and wordy than 98% of other Magic mechanics.

Can you please make more "outside of the game" helper card style mechanics that are easy to comprehend and intuitive?

The Monarch and Ascend are examples of mechanics like this. More of that please! The more complex mechanics that create outside of the game elements are intimidating (i.e. Venture into the Dungeon, Tempted by the Ring, The Initiative, Day/Night) and in my experience, they slow down the game because players can't understand them easily.

Lastly, I'm offering this feedback as a major Magic enthusiast and long time veteran player who also plays with experienced players regularly. I can't even begin to imagine how daunting these types of mechanics must feel for novice players!

I talk a lot about how different players enjoy different aspects of the game. What I talk far less about is different players struggle with different aspects. Some can’t handle excessive processing; some have issues with sequencing; some don’t understand the nuances of the rules; some aren’t good with memory.

My best guess with you is you internalize (aka work from memory) card abilities most of the time, so cards which exceed your ability to memorize cause you issues.

Because players see the game through the lens of their own experience, the feedback they tend to give is “stop doing thing X” because thing X is the element that they personally struggle with.

The challenge is there are players that don’t struggle with that element of the game and thus enjoy thing X. For example, my biggest note on this blog about dungeons isn’t they’re too hard to process, but there aren’t enough of them.

So, it’s a balance. We need to understand the ways in which people struggle and help accordingly where we can. I agree that we need to be cautious how complex and wordy we are on elements off the card. And we have to be careful how often we use that tool.

Now there is a threshold where enough players struggle, that we have to question if a particular aspect is worth it. I don’t think we’re there yet with external game pieces, but I do loudly hear the note that we have to be better with as-fan of the helper cards showing up. The note that we need to auto-include more helper cards in the prerelease kits is also a strong one.

So yes, I’m aware that outside game pieces come at a real cost for a certain type of player, and it is something we have to keep in mind when designing them. I personally think we could have simplified Tempted by the Ring a bit, for example, but I do think it was right to include in the product.

Thanks for your feedback.

[ghostofskywalker]

May I please request something where the (gn preferably) reader breaks their glasses during a mission so tech makes them a pair of goggles like his?

anon this is actually the cutest idea ever and as someone whose eyesight is terrible without my contacts (i used to wear glasses but not as much anymore) i understand the struggle <3

words: 2,454

summary: when an accident on the marauder leaves you without your glasses for an unknown period of time, tech takes matters into his own hands and makes you a replacement pair of goggles that match his own.

clone troopers masterlist

Seeing Double

“Kriff!” you swore slightly louder than you originally wanted to, but in your defense, this situation warranted it.

“Everything okay?” Hunter’s voice echoed from the device on your wrist, and it was at that point that you realized you had apparently forgotten to mute yourself on the comms, so the entire squad had just heard your outburst.

“Yeah, just that my glasses broke,” you said, trying to find collect the pieces from the dashboard of the Marauder. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact that it was currently nighttime and you needed them to see where you were going.

“Can you still steer the ship?’ Echo’s voice came through the device next. “We’re going to need a pickup soon.”

You weren’t too confident about your abilities at this point, but you also couldn’t let the team down. “It’ll be fine for a little while, but once you get back someone else needs to handle the controls.”

“Alright, as long as you don’t need one of us to go back there now.”

That was the last thing you wanted, because you were still a new member of the team and you definitely didn’t want them to think you weren’t capable. “No, just let me know when and where you need to be picked up from.”

The communication device went silent not long after that, and you were left to sit down in the pilot’s seat and attempt to repair your glasses. The actual lenses themselves seemed to still be intact, but one of the supports that rested behind your ear had come off (due to the fact that they had fallen to the floor and you stepped on the one side before you realized what had happened). But there was one flaw when it came to attempting to appraise the damage, and that was the fact that when they weren’t on your face, you couldn’t see all that well.

You weren’t blind per se (they had let you into the GAR after looking at your eye charts and seeing the glasses you wore every day), but you certainly didn’t see the world in high resolution when you didn’t have the lenses on your face. You had previously considered those tiny clear things that you saw friends put into their eyes, that would completely negate the need for you to wear glasses, but at the same time the idea of putting your fingers too close to your eye was a little bit nerve wracking (you knew the process certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart).

And you hadn’t experienced any issues with your glasses interfering with your work so far, or at least, not until now. Clone Force 99 had accepted you with open arms (well, it had taken a while in the case of one particularly grumpy sniper) when you had been assigned to them. Your technical title was “medic,” although you were also well-versed in mechanics and was qualified enough to repair the ship if necessary. You sometimes wondered if that acceptance had something to do with the fact that one of the members of the squad also wore lenses of some kind on his face, and if was, you were grateful to Tech.

If asked, you would probably cite Tech as your favorite member of the squad, and it wasn’t just because of your shared facial accessory. Even if you didn’t know whether or not his goggles were prescription or he just simply wore them for convenience, the two of you got along fairly well, which was a surprise because you were essentially assigned to them to do some of Tech’s job. But even though others might have seen you as a threat, you and the squad’s resident genius worked well together.

Bringing your focus back to the situation at hand, you realized that there was going to be no way to reattach the arm of your glasses without some kind of bonding agent (due to the place that the material had fractured and split apart when you stepped on it), and you gently pulled them up to your face. They certainly drooped on the side that had no support, but you would be able to see well enough to fly the ship for a few minutes until someone else could take over.

And it was a good thing that you could see at all, because the batch radioed in just a few minutes later, sending you a set of coordinates and telling you to step on it because they had met some hostiles.

Getting in the air was the easy part, but a flying animal that came out of nowhere shocked you to the point where you had to stop short, and your glasses came flying off your head. There was nothing you could do but watch as they clattered down the dashboard of the ship and once again fell and skittered across the floor, so far out of your reach that you knew there was no chance you could recover them before you had to move again. Instead, you would be flying blind (in the literal sense of the expression).

You were sure that the rest of the squad could tell that something was up when they saw the ship arrive at the coordinates, flying slightly tilted and having stopped short before you extended the ramp for them to get in. “Can someone come up here and take the controls?” you called out.

No one answered, but soon footsteps approached the cockpit and you turned around to see Tech walking towards you with his helmet under his arm. You stood up to greet him, but right as you opened your mouth to speak, the sound of transparisteel breaking filled the space, and the two of you looked down in horror as Tech lifted up his boot slightly to reveal your glasses, now completely shattered beyond repair. “Oh my,” he said as he looked at the carnage on the floor. “I deeply apologize, I did not know that was there.”

“It’s okay,” you said, still in some form of shock, but you didn’t want to make Tech feel bad over something he couldn’t control. “It wasn’t your fault, we’ll just need to put in an order with the Republic for some new glasses the next time we reach out to them.”

“That may be quite a while,” Tech responded, having reached down to collect the bent and disfigured remains of the glasses frame off the floor. “I may be able to-”

“Tech,” you cut him off gently, and he looked up at you as you placed your hand on his shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, I’ll be able to survive without them for a little while.”

“Alright,” he said, standing up. “In the meantime, you should rest. The assignment was a success and I will fly the ship until we stop for fuel or the next mission objective comes in.”

You just nodded and headed off to the bunks. You knew that sometimes if you went for a while without your glasses it could lead to headaches as your eyes strained to perform their usual function, so you wanted to avoid that as much as you possibly could (especially if you weren’t going to get new ones for a while). And as you drifted off to sleep to the sound of Gonky moving across the ship in the background, you really hoped that you’d be able to contact the Republic soon.

***

As he watched you leave the room, Tech couldn’t help but feel bad. You had assured him that none of this was his fault and that you weren’t angry at him, but he also knew how stressful it was to be living a life without corrective lenses when your eyesight was not that good. He had seen your glasses before and guessed that your level of nearsightedness was similar to his, and he would never want to spend any amount of time without his goggles, let alone an uncertain and extended period of it. He cleaned the small pile of debris off the floor and placed them in a small container once the ship had entered hyperspace, and for a while he just watched the blue streaks pass him by.

And it was as he watched out through the windshield of the ship that he had an idea.

His goggles were a thing of his own creation, and sometimes different parts needed replacing. Because of that, he had began keeping a small box of parts and pieces on the ship, with enough to make at least two other sets (just in case his primary pair was ruined beyond repair). If your prescription was similar to his, you might be able to wear a matching pair of goggles for a while, or at least until they could contact the Republic and order new glasses for you.

Right as he got up from the pilot’s seat, Hunter stepped into the cockpit. “Oh good, I was just about to call for you,” Tech said. “Can you watch the ship for a little while? I have something urgent to attend to.”

Hunter just nodded, and Tech was thankful that his brother didn’t ask too many questions so he couldn’t be slowed down. He wanted to have them ready for you by the time he next saw you, this way you didn’t have to go too long without any kind of visual aid.

He found the box of parts under his bunk, and after checking to make sure you were asleep in yours, he got to work, pulling the curtain around his cot to keep some privacy about what he was doing.

The shattered pieces of your original lenses turned out to be of some use to him, because he was able to calibrate the goggles to perfectly match your needs. It was much easier than he originally thought it might be, and by the time he could hear movement from outside his bunk, he was just putting the finishing touches on the goggles.

Wondering whether it was you or Wrecker that had woken up, he poked his head out to see you yawn and stretch. Quietly calling your name as to not startle you, Tech got out of bed and beckoned at you to follow him. “Is everything okay?” you asked, blinking as a brighter part of the ship came into view, and Tech quickly moved the hand that was holding the goggles behind his back so you couldn’t see what they were.

“I still feel terrible about your glasses,” he said. You opened your mouth (no doubt to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault), but he held up one of his hands to stop you and the other with the pair of newly constructed goggles in it. “And since I know the repercussions of spending extended periods of time without them, I made you something. I apologize if it is not a style you like, but I only had the materials to reconstruct my goggles and I figured it was better than nothing.”

You were silent as you took the goggles from his outstretched hand, but from the smile on your face, Tech knew that you weren’t spurning his gift. “Thank you,” you eventually said as you placed them on your face. “I love them.”

“I was able to use my scanner to match and calibrate this pair to the same level of magnification as your glasses,” he said.

You nodded, looking around the ship. “Thank you so much Tech. I really can’t believe you would do something like this, I’m so grateful.”

Tech went to respond, but you pulled him into a hug before he could get any words out. “You are very welcome,” he eventually managed to say.

“If you ever need anything from me,” you said. “Please don’t hesitate-”

He cut you off before you could finish your sentence. “I don’t want you to think that you are somehow in debt to me,” he said. “I did this because I wanted to help you, not because I wanted to gain something.”

For a fleeting moment, you looked like you were going to cry, and Tech’s eyes widened as you leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek, your goggles knocking slightly against his. “I know,” you said. “But still, I want to thank you somehow. Maybe if we can get away from your brothers, I can take you out to dinner the next time we’re on Coruscant?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Those words were accompanied by a surprised (and hopeful) expression. He had of course taken you in as a member of the team, but it had recently been more apparent to him that how he felt about you was different than how he felt towards other people. He had always hoped that you felt the same way, but was never sure how to broach the topic.

“Yes,” you said, a smile on your face. “Are you accepting?”

“Yes.”

Tech stared at you for a moment, and you stared right back. He started to lean in, and you mirrored his movements. He was just finishing up calculations on how to best kiss you without bumping either set of goggles when he heard footsteps approaching, and he instinctively pulled back.

You apparently had the same idea, and the two of you turned in shock to stare at Hunter, who had just stepped out of the cockpit and had an exasperated look on his face. Whatever hope Tech had of keeping this new relationship development a secret was now completely dead, because with Hunter’s enhanced hearing he must have been able to hear everything before this moment.

And with the two of you wearing both matching expressions and goggles, it must have been a sight to behold for his brother. Hunter opened his mouth, but then closed it before taking a breath. “I’m going to take a nap,” is what he eventually settled on. “Can you two watch the cockpit?”

Tech was halfway through a confirmation of Hunter’s request before his brother had walked completely past them to disappear in the direction of the bunks, and right as he disappeared you quickly leaned in to place a soft (and far too quick, in his opinion) kiss on Tech’s lips.

The cockpit offered a better view anyway, and although it wasn’t completely shielded from his brothers, it was much more private than just standing in the middle of the ship. They didn’t have a lot of time before everyone else woke up and their little secret spread like wildfire through the ship, and Tech wanted to make the most of the peace and quiet.

- the end -

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#tbb tech #tbb tech x reader #tbb tech x you #tbb tech x gender neutral reader #tech x reader #tech x you #tech bad batch x reader #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #bad batch x reader

[jarofstyles]

Sugar Sugar 11

they are back 😜 next part is the smut I promise don’t yell at me.

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Wc- 3.9k

Warnings- mention of cheating, witchcraft, relationship traumas

Series Masterlist

—-

Y/N was still thinking about the woman the next day. She hadn’t mentioned it to Harry yet, wanting to gauge his reaction in person. It had unsettled something, made her wonder why the hell she needed to contact him. It also made her realize that Harry really didn’t tell her too much about himself.

It wasn’t that she was necessarily suspicious- though her gut was urging her to ask questions- it was that she realized she had given him a lot of information and he hadn’t done it back. She was a pretty rational person, and figured it was probably because he hadn’t wanted to overshadow her sharing. It probably was. But something made her think Harry was hiding something he didn’t want anyone to know yet.

It wasn’t something horrid. That would have made her senses alert when she met him- but it was something that she wanted to know. She was patient but also a little nosy.

Y/N was broken out of her thoughts when warm hands wrapped around her body, making her squeal as soft, cool lips connected to her neck. As soon as she realized who it was her body relaxed, melting into his own as he let out a deep sigh. “Missed my Sugar today.” His voice vibrated against her skin, raising chills over it. “Long fucking day.” It was 7 right now and she had been closing up shop when he had snuck inside. It was a sort of a routine now, her smoky pink cloud of infatuation swirling around and engulfing the two as soon as his presence braced her.

“A long day?” She placed the swiffer duster down on the table, turning in his arms to look at his face. He looked tired. Slight dark circles under his eyes, hair flopped over on his face and more stubble than usual, she felt her bottom lip slope out in a bit of a pout as she rose a hand to cup his cheek. “What’s the matter?” She could feel he was tired. Just being around him, she could feel his energy was off. Murky instead of the normal crystalline pool of soft blue green she was used to sensing around his aura.

He leaned into her warm hand, visibly relaxing as he rubbed his scratchy cheek against the smooth skin. Y/N had an ability to soothe just with her touch, he was positive about that. Any time she got her hands on him he felt like he could melt. Sighing, he debated on telling her.

It wasn’t something he fully felt ready to talk about. As much confidence as he had in the fact that she was definitely not at all like the people he had walked away from in his old life, he was still paranoid. Nervous that at some point she would look at him differently, in a bad way. The circle he used to run in wasn’t known for the things he had tried to implement in his personality now, with her. He had effectively gotten away without a trace, and he didn’t need that to ruin the carefully cultivated dream world he was living in now.

“S’just… you know when old thoughts haunt you?” He asked, eyes closing when her fingers continued their soothing. “Couldn’t sleep well. Missed you. And I just can’t get some thoughts out of my head. It’s a bit ridiculous too, cause it’s irrational. Doesn’t mean my head got the memo.” The weak laugh was supposed to make her giggle as well, but it didn’t. His eyes opened to see the concern on her face, the rings on her fingers cooling his skin as she inspected him.

“I understand that.” Boy, did she fucking ever. Y/N had struggled with her own personal demons herself, things she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy, and sometimes they still found little cracks and crevices to hide in. They popped out of the dark to taunt her, to try and ruin her moods but she had worked hard to protect her energy. “Doesn’t mean I like seeing you upset. Your energy is off.” She murmured, sighing as she went to remove her hand from his face. Harry’s palm stopped it, pulling it back.

“Wasn’t done.” He tried to lighten the mood slightly. “Dunno how you can read energy like that, but I trust you in saying it’s off. I just… don’t know how to fix it. All day I’ve been waiting to see you.” There was a pause as he decided to just speak how he wanted, not worrying about being too much in their little bubble. “You always seem to make it better. Make me forget a lot of the bad shit.”

Y/N had a feeling that Harry was struggling with some things. It’s partially why she was waiting to question Claire's appearance. Something told her that he would know, and selfishly she wanted to ignore that for a little bit. Her gut was usually never wrong. How he knew her was a mystery, but her inky, cloudy energy had been radiating possessiveness. Something Y/N didn’t do well with.

Not when this pretty, tired man was hers.

“I’m glad.” She felt the heated tingle in her stomach, leaning up to catch his lips in a kiss. A supposed chaste kiss that he followed when she went to pull away, opposite hand curling around the back of her neck and dragging her back in. Warm and sweet and slightly chapped, his lips pressed against hers harder and made her forget why she had even wanted to pull back.

She gave in. Harry wanted to kiss her and she didn’t see why not, the firm hold on the back of her neck and the thumb brushing her wrist as he held her hand to his face making her shiver slightly. Every kiss with him, she could feel his attraction and fondness for her. Feel how he was holding himself back a little because he didn’t want to scare her. They’d been taking it somewhat slow but Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to wait too much longer to get intimate with him.

A startled squeak left her mouth as her back hit the counter, his slow steps backing her up having been ignored until right now when she succeeded in pulling back. With a laugh, she pressed her hand to his chest and craned her neck back, smiling at his pout. The man wanted more of her, the greediness evident in his grip on her and how close he had pressed his body to hers, but she didn’t want to do this here.

“Hi.” She peeped, looking up at him. His soft hair that had fallen from its usual pushed back state, evident that it was the end of his day and he had worked hard. He was beautiful, this man.

“Hello.” He replies, his voice grittier than it had been before. “Too much?” His tone didn’t give away much, but a flash of nervousness had gone through his face when she had stopped him. It was always a learning curve, as he reminded himself. Every relationship was different but there was something so familiar about her. Like he knew her soul. The comfort was so natural that sometimes he felt like had known each other their whole lives.

“Not at all.” The girl’s breathy tone made her want to wince. “I just… I was thinking that maybe we can go to your place. We can get food delivered or… we don’t have to.” She peeled up at him, looking away from his chest where her hand was resting on his thundering heart. “Probably more comfortable than the shop.” And if Delilah knew they did anything in the front she would hex her.

“Oh. Oh.” He blinked at her suggestion. “Yeah. Course. Did you want to like… stay over? Cause we have the day off tomorrow?” They were going to see one another anyways. It made sense, and he really, really wanted to wake up to her. He wanted his sheets to smell of her, he wanted to see her in his kitchen with messy hair and sleepy eyes.

“If that’s okay.” Her smile was shy, excitement blooming in her chest. “I’m just gonna run home and grab some stuff, some clothes for tomorrow and I’ve got t’feed the cats. Then I’ll be over.”

“Well, don’t be too long. Or M’gonna come and drag you over to mine. Or worse.” He teased. “I’ll set up camp there. You’ll never get rid of me.” It was a slight joke. Harry was obsessed. He didn’t think she could do much to have him leave her at this point. It would be scary if he didn’t like the feeling so much.

“I wouldn’t want to, but okay, pretty boy.” She shook her head at his antics. “I’ll be 30 minutes at most. Go home and decide what you’d like to eat.”

—-

Harry was panicking slightly.

After a quick shower, he realized that he needed to change his sheets. And his laundry basket was full. So he struggled with the fitted sheet, cursing to himself as he changed the pillow cases, lighting an incense stick Y/N had left and pulled on loose gym shorts. He had thought about dressing in jeans again, but Y/N would want him to be comfortable at home.

“Fucks sake.” He groaned, dragging his hand down his face. Why he was this level of nervous; he didn’t know. It was just the crippling need to impress her. She had helped put together his place, she knew what it looked like and what his bed felt like, but his mind was racing as he walked around to pick up the clutter that had accumulated and put it in its rightful spot- stuffed into the hall closet.

The food had been delivered and sat hot on his kitchen counter, Chinese food being the choice. She had texted him her usuals that he could choose from to surprise her and he had gone with his veggie lo mein, vegetable dumplings and fried rice. He wasn’t a full vegetarian, but he limited his consumption. Taking out two plates, he set them on the counter neatly before he shook his head. “Get a grip, mate.”

Harry had been dying to get his hands on her. When she had gone down on him and sucked his cock into her soft mouth, he was pretty sure he had his soul sucked out of him and she had held it in her soft palms ever since. His hands were greedy and grabby all the time, feeling her softness against his hands and he had been itching to uncover her in any way he could- but now he was nervous.

Y/N wasn’t just a hookup. This was his girlfriend. This was the first time he had done things properly, the first time it had been fully his choice to do so and he wanted it to be as perfect. As understanding as Sugar was, he would die of embarrassment if he fucked this up. The need to make her happy, to make her know that he was the one for her was so strong. All he wanted to do was prove it.

But he couldn’t deny the idea of finally getting to be inside of her, being truly intimate wasn’t making his body hot. He wanted to see her soft body exposed for him, see her laid out on his bed without a stitch of clothing hiding the body he had come to drool over. He wanted to feel her plush thighs against his face and squeeze her waist, watch her as ripple as he fucked into her- he wanted every bit of her raw and vulnerable so he could return it.

The knock at the door broke up his horny daydream, a thick swallow taken before he nearly jogged to the door.

There she stood. His pretty girl, soft gray cotton shorts hugging her hips and a flowing tank top with her shop’s logo on it on her body. It was disgusting, how his body was so unhinged that he felt the twitch in his cock as soon as his eyes dipped down to see a peek of cleavage. He felt like a mere boy getting his first glance of tits. God damn it.

“There she is.” He cooed despite his obvious check out of her body. “Come in. Do y’want me to put your bag away?”

Her smiling face was his reward for all the panic he had been feeling prior to her calmness walking through the door. “Course. Sorry it took me a minute, I grabbed a quick shower.” Her hair was still slightly damp, a sunflower shaped claw clip holding it back with two tendrils in her face that were seemingly too short to be held back. “I brought some dessert. I had this at home and thought I’d bring it.” From the plastic bag she pulled two cartons of Ben n’ Jerry’s. “I realized on the drive here that I wasn’t sure it was smart to bring sweets to your house since you’re always making them, but ice cream is different, right?” She had to laugh.

“Oh! Yes, I actually love this flavor.” He saw the name written on the tub, the swirly writing declaring it as ‘Half Baked.’ Mayhaps ironic, but he really did enjoy it. The fact that Y/N had thought to bring it over was only a plus. “You can put it in the freezer if y’want, I’m going to go tuck your bag away. I’ll be right back.”

Harry left her in his somewhat familiar kitchen, Y/N doing as requested by placing the softening treat into the freezer so it wouldn’t be soup by the time they got to it. Turning around, she got to observing how he had changed the place up. It hadn’t been much, but she saw that he had finally filled the frames that they’d gotten on their excursion. Walking into the living room, she went to the mantle over the fireplace and smiled as she saw that he had, indeed, been using the incense. The ceramic cup that held the incense sticks had far fewer than had started there, ash from the burning on the bottom of the holder still. It made her feel good that he hadn’t used it just to humor her- Harry actually liked it.

Eyes dragged back to the main event, the photos in the frames. One held him in a suit along with a younger woman that resembled him quite a bit in a blue gown. It had to be his sister. He didn’t often speak of his family but he had mentioned her in passing. He was smiling in the photo, just barely. Looking at it made her a little sad. It wasn’t the dimpled grin she had come to adore, the one that would rise right before he said a terrible joke. It was lackluster. Something she had never known the man to be.

The others held other men, a bigger smile on his face as a younger Harry looked back at her. The theme ran along them, Harry being younger and with the same group of boys.What surprised her was some of the locations. One looked to be a beach, the other in Paris in front of the tower, another in a lush looking pool. All places that didn’t look cheap in the slightest. She didn’t want to judge at all, but she had to wonder if he had money- why had he gone for a bare bones place? Y/N loved it, don’t get it wrong. It was comfortable and open, someplace she could be very comfortable living if she had the choice- it just wasn’t the type that had that air.

Maybe it was just some budget vacations? He had wealthy friends? Who knew. She was going to worry about it later. Even with the slight tug in her belly, she turned to look at how he kept the rest of the room. She had set it up a certain way when they’d come back to fix it up and he hadn’t strayed from it. If anything? It was just more clean. A tad more personal. The couch had a new throw pillow, an ornately beaded cartoon tiger that was very cute. She hadn’t thrifted that with him so he must have had it or ordered it later. Her eyes did a sweep, impressed on how the floor was spotless and he managed to keep clutter away when his footsteps interrupted her train of thought.

“I need to know…” She crossed her arms over her chest, startling Harry as he entered the kitchen to hear her voice coming from across the living room. “Have you always been this tidy? It looks immaculate in here.”

“I regret to inform you that I unfortunately have not been.” Tha man sighed, brushing a hand through his hair while he made his way over to her. “I tend to kick my ass into gear when I’ve got pretty girls coming over to spend the night.” Greedy hands reached for her, his fingers digging into her waist as he tugged her into his body to feel some of her warmth. It was obsessive and maybe a bit gross but the man was clingy. Clingy with a capital C.

“Oh?” Y/N’s brow rose on her face as she uncrossed her arms to rest her hands on his chest. “You have lots of pretty girls here to spend the night?” It was a tease, knowing what he meant, but she could see the flash of panic in his eyes as he blinked down at her.

“No! No- not here, not since meeting you. I promise-” His words were interrupted by her laugh, head falling back with a trill of her giggle. Her hands clutched his shirt, a shake of her head given as she righted herself.

“H, m’just joking.” She soothed, gently scratching over his shirt to smooth out where she had grabbed. “I know. I would know if you were cheating.” It was a reassurance but also a warning. Y/N always knew. Most women did. “A woman’s intuition is sharp and precise, darling.” Fingers gently pinched his blushing cheek, leaning up to peck the opposite one.

Y/N had felt it in the past. When her partners would pull away, when they’d avoid subjects. Even people she wasn’t in real relationships with. She could feel that deep rooted icky smoke billowing up from her stomach to her chest, making it squeeze. Harry had never once made her feel like she had to worry- even if her insecurities tried to suffocate her at night when they’d sometime slip through her confident wall’s cracks.

“I would never.” His face was serious despite her joking tone. “I promise. That’s… I know how that feels. I would never cheat. I think it’s one of the worst things you can do to a person.” A thick swallow was followed by sweeter words. “I haven’t looked at anyone since I met you. I wasn’t… I had actually told myself not to date or hook up or do anything as soon as I moved here. Then you came into my bakery and that idea smashed to bits. I couldn’t… Not pursue you once I’d met you.” Strawberry tongue swiped over petal pink lips, hand fiddling with the clasp of her necklace. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk that. I know you were joking but I really never want to joke about that. Hurts to think about.”

Y/N felt bad immediately. Granted, she hadn’t known that would be a touchy subject with him, but she still didn’t like how tight his brows were knit and how he had seemed nervous about her not believing him. For once, she had a feeling a man was being honest. He wasn’t afraid of her knowing, it was a fear of losing her.

“I’m sorry.” She sobered up quickly, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. “I didn’t know it would upset you. I never thought you would. I won’t joke about it again.” Eyes gazed into his, a sad smile raising on her lips as her thumb brushed over the slight scruff on his jaw.

“S’okay. I know you were joking. I just hate that people do that to one another. Y’know? I’d never be stupid enough to put this at risk for something dumb like that. Besides, you’re the only one I want.” He leaned into her soothing touch. “It’s why I've been so.. Maybe weird? I dunno. Sometimes I feel clingy and it’s not normal for me. I’ve never been like this in a relationship but I just want to be around you all the time.”

The admission had taken her by surprise. “Hey… I really don’t think that’s weird considering I feel the same way.” Thank god she hadn’t been alone in this. “Had to stop myself some days from telling you to come over because I wanted to give you space and not crowd you. I was told a lot uh….” Her throat tightened as she went to speak. “When I was in my first relationship, he told me I was really clingy and he needed a break from listening to me talk. From being around me. It hurt my feelings a lot and even though I’ve healed a lot from that, It makes me feel really good that my urges aren’t one sided.” She paused. “But it was never as intense as this. It’s way worse with you. I was a puppy following him around because I wanted any attention I could get back then. I really enjoy just your attention now.”

That was the difference that Harry could relate to. He had been similar when he was younger, but as he got older he was much more picky with who got his time. Now? He hand picked every single person in his life to avoid any sort of conflicts, any betrayals the best he could.

“Well.. I’m glad that you only want my attention, cause if there was someone else I’d have to take up witchcraft and curse them for it.” He joked, watching her roll her eyes before pushing out of his grip. “Hey! Come back here. I wasn’t done holding you yet.” She could hear the pout in his voice as she walked to his kitchen.

“Mhm. You can hold me later. We can do all sorts of things later.” She shot him a look over her shoulder, finding exactly what she had felt. His eyes had been on her ass. Blatantly. He didn't even have the decency to pretend he wasn’t looking, eyes dragging up her body. As if the slight insinuation had rewired his brain.

“And god, am I looking forward to that.” He muttered, running a hand over his face before following after her.

#jarofstyles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfic #harry styles smut #harry writing #harry styles imagine #harry drabble #harry styles blurb #harry styles writing #sugar sugar #plus size y/n #plus size x harry styles #plus size harry styles #plus size fanfic #plus size fanfiction #plus size reader #baker harry styles #witch harry #harry smut blurb #harry smut #Harry styles au #harry styles fic

[theinnerunderrain]

Hewo!!! Can I have some childe x fem reader married life headcanons- I need to fulfill my fantasies-

Marriage [Yan!Childe x Fem!Reader]

Warnings: Yandere themes, infantilization, implied misogyny, mentions of sexual acts, marriage, manipulation.

Word count: 900+

Note: hi!! thank you for the request.

-

Despite being a reasonably strong warrior and a complicated individual overall, Childe would certainly make a great spouse and father given his desire to establish a family.

He is the kind of spouse who would assist you in trimming your fingernails while he rants about the potential appearance of your future children, giggling at the thought of trying to give the child a name from the combination of both of your names—which is obviously not going to work. He would certainly contemplated over your bloated stomach and visualize how supple your tits will be during the process of lactation.

"Would you rather the child have my hair or yours? I've heard that red hair is a recessive gene, so maybe the child will have yours? However, I wouldn't mind as long as the child is born looking exactly as lovely as you….which I am confident they will!"

Even if he has a hectic schedule, he would find a way to take a few days off and spend quality time with you, accompanying you everywhere you want to go. Even if you want to stay in and cuddle, he's fine with that. He might even read to you if you specifically request him to (well, he's probably good at reading considering he had to read for his siblings too). He is the type to cook for you as well since he is an excellent chef, but he wouldn't object if you cooked instead even if your abilities weren't as good as his.

It's cute watching you struggle, as you try to cook something, squealing at the way the hot oil would accidentally burst against your skin.

Even if it is utterly poisonous, he would nevertheless consume anything you provide but he's sure that the both of you are pass that stage.

Childe is absolutely the sort to lavish you with gifts, but not in the same manner as Pantalone does by using them as a negotiating chip to control you or further his own interests. The man actually enjoys giving you the most magnificent gifts; he always buys the things you might want but you're too bashful to ask for. He would still believe you are the most beautiful woman in the world regardless if you were dressed in the filthiest rag. But he wants you to be at ease, so buying the most luxurious silk and outfits is just his way of expressing his love language.

How nice of him, isn't that right?

Perhaps, though, he's also trying to gauge at how selfless you are. He understands that it's not a big deal given how modest and selfless you normally are, but every now and again he wishes you would demand more and behave more like a brat. Again, given that you were much more brattish when he first met you, perhaps it's just a shift in personality.

Childe can be fairly demanding when it comes to the sexual aspects of your marriage. While he won't directly demand you to do anything, he won't think twice about gaslighting to persuade you to carry out your responsibilities as a "wife." Basically making every justification under the sun, lamenting what a long day he had, and how he toiled so hard for you but you can't even suck him off?

"C'mon princess, I had such a long day. I would feel better if you…help me out a bit, please?"

How could you expect him to resist savouring his lovely wife, truly? He would almost fuck you every day if he could, making sure that you would cry and beg him to stuff his cock up your cute little hole. Don't be shocked if, while you're cooking, his hands accidentally slide down your hips to your ass. You have to consider that he's still a young man with a fairly strong pent-up sexual frustrations. Or perhaps you shouldn't be too startled if his fingers unintentionally brush up against your nipples while you're cuddling—you can't expect him to be sensitive when you're essentially wriggling in his lap, can you?

Don't worry; just anticipate your sexual life to be absolutely exhilarating and pleasurable (and be prepared to get fucked in unusual places). Childe values your enjoyment just as much! If he is incapable of even making his wife cum, what kind of a husband is he?

Surely not a worthy one.

Returning to more subdued headcanons, Childe is the kind of husband who will hold your hand through the cold months. He even has a tendency to unintentionally throw away all of your winter mittens; clearly, you wouldn't know it was intentional, but what good are his hands if he can't even hold yours? Regarding your independence, he wouldn't mind if you left the estate to go shopping or for a walk (as long as you were supervised by someone), but he isn't a big fan of having you hang out with your relatives or friends because they might have a negative impact on you (more like he's afraid they'll point out the flaws within your marriage).

You and Childe's marriage will be filled with surprises and maybe even tears, but maybe they'll be tears of joy rather than sadness. But don't worry too much—Childe is really a wonderful husband?

Right?

Just don't messed up too much.

#yandere #yandere genshin au #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin x reader #genshin impact #yandere x reader #genshin imagines #yandere genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin childe #childe tartagalia #childe x reader #yandere childe #headcanon #marriage #fatui #genshin ajax #yandere tartaglia #childe #ajax x reader

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

I'm not sure they'd get a good score given their gremlin nature, but how about morgrem? I think they'd be neat to keep around if you've got a black thumb (like me lol), but idk.

Let me preface this by saying that I also love morgrems. I love the whole evolution line. That being said, I’m not so sure that keeping a morgrem as a pet would be the best idea.

Morgrems are a good size for a pet, pretty lightweight for their height. Unfortunately, they don’t seem particularly friendly. Disingenuous is the word I’d choose. These mischievous pokémon are quite intelligent, using their charm and crocodile tears to lure people into a false sense of security before striking (Shield, Sword). They are known to falsely apologize for attacking targets in order to bring them in close enough to stab with their “spear-like hair” (Sword). They also have a bit of a history of disappearing people into the woods for unknown reasons (Shield). Unfortunately, morgrems draw strength from negative emotions (Violet). This has made them pretty popular with trainers who tend to think on the gloomy side, but it also incentivizes them to keep an owner in a bad mood. They’re anti-emotional-support pets.

There is one silver lining to morgrems, which you pointed out in your request. Morgrems are said to have a peculiar ability to make crops grow (Shield). This will no doubt make them popular among those who struggle to keep plants alive (those with black thumbs, as you put it), who are willing to look past the species’ antisocial tendencies. This isn’t a very kind-hearted species, so they would likely need some coercion through treats and prizes to get them to help you. I’d say there’s probably other pokémon who would make better gardening partners, but if you love morgrem like I do you’ll be willing to look past that.

Thankfully, morgrems aren’t particularly lethal pokémon. There’s a reason that this species relies so much on trickery to get by: they’re not very confident in their combat abilities (Scarlet). Like the other species on their evolution line, morgrems have sharp, hardened hair that they can use as a weapon, specifically through the spear-like length on the back of their heads. Using this makeshift weapon, morgrems can use a variety of dark-type moves like Foul Play, Assurance, and their signature move False Surrender to menace enemies. We don’t really know if morgrems go out of their way to harm humans through violence, but we do know that you’ll never know when they’re tricking you into a false sense of security to strike. To put it simply, it’s difficult to trust a morgrem. They could hurt you pretty badly if they wanted to.

Morgrems are, at the very least, an acquired taste. While they seem to have the ability to help plants grow, they are sneaky tricksters with a spear built into their hair. My cat often goes into goblin-mode, but adopting an actual goblin might be a step too far. But hey, I love goblins. If you really want to make a pet morgrem work, you could, but they’re certainly not going to be the best fit for every home.

#pokémon #pokemon #morgrem #pkmn irl #PR-C

[the-leafiest-leafwing]

I've seen a lot of people say that Kinkajou and Sunny are basically the same character, and I strongly disagree with that. What do you think?

HOOOOOOOOLY MACKEREL THIS ASK HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR LIKE TWO YEARS MAYBE. SORRY ABOUT THAT

this is gonna be kinda long, disorganized, and probably poorly written but it was fun to think about so 🤷‍♂️ i hope i am coherent

first of all, i feel like people who have no media literacy or character analysis skills are ALWAYS the quickest to make baseless generalizations like this. yes, kinkajou and sunny have very similar personalities (both bubbly and optimistic) but their character archetypes to me are actually completely different.

i see kinkajou as a character who is more focused on novelty and adventure, always seeking new experiences, new knowledge, new people, etc. she’s far less seasoned, mature, and responsible than most of the characters around her - not to say that she’s weak or dumb, as characters like them who are portrayed as happy and excitable are often equated to being dumb, by both the other characters and the readers/fans.

both of these characters are often underestimated, but sunny’s character revolves much more heavily around her proving herself to her peers and dealing with feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and not being listened to or being unimportant. we never really see examples of these types of struggles from kinkajou.

i think kinkajou is also especially underestimated in her resiliency; she was kidnapped, imprisoned, and essentially tortured by the nightwings, she was hit by that venom during the competition for the throne, and she was put into a literal coma for i forget how long, plus all the other various harrowing adventures, fights, and experiences she’s been through. she always bounces back very easily and never seems to be deeply/personally affected by any insults to her intellect or general character. she gives the impression that she embraces and even flaunts her odd characteristics, physical and personality-wise, but sunny seems to have more trouble with accepting herself. it’s all like water off a duck’s back to kinkajou, whereas i think sunny is much more easily hurt by other people’s opinions.

sunny spent her entire childhood being put down and shamed for her appearance, demeanor, abilities, “weakness,” basically just everything about her. so it makes sense why, even after founding jade mountain academy, she’s so worried about being taken seriously and also making sure she doesn’t make any of her students feel the way the guardians always made her feel. she’s also (in my opinion) a much more dynamic character than kinkajou, meaning over the course of the books we see her change a lot more. she becomes less of a happy-go-lucky character and more of a sweet, caring, good-natured adult figure (regardless of her actual age). she kinda reminds me of an aunt with no kids of her own who loves looking after her sibling’s children.

kinkajou, on the other hand, would be more of the aforementioned child that is being looked after. she’s still a very independent character, don’t get me wrong, but she’s also very young and often needs to recieve guidance and protection from others. at the same time, though, kinkajou seems a bit more sure of herself and confident in her optimism, while sunny probably used her optimism as an escape/defense mechanism of sorts.

of course, being happy and excitable is an important part of both these character’s personalities, but it comes from different places and experiences and is conveyed in different ways. they do fill similar roles in their friend groups, but feel like sunny acted that way because she had to, while kinkajou acts that way because she wants to. she’s more inclined toward spontaneity, exuberance, and drama, and sunny is more inclined toward peace, love, and unity - to simplify it, sunny is a “happy” character in a calmer way than kinkajou.

​i also think there’s something to be said about the fact that sunny and kinkajou are both women and that’s part of why wof fans lump them together as “basically the same character” and don’t take them seriously as individuals or pay much attention to them and their importance to the overall story, and to both of their respective story arcs.

i might come back to edit this later if i have any more ideas, but please let me know your thoughts on this! whether you agree or disagree with my assessment of these characters, you think there’s something i left out, or there’s something youre confused about!!

#this was so fun i should do character analysis more #i really really hope this all made sense #AHHH THERE ARE SO MANY WORDS IN MY BRAIN #wings of fire #wof #kinkajou #kinkajou wof #sunny wof #character analysis #media analysis

[if-confessions]

Author here: my confession is i'm lying. My demoless intro blew up and i kinda can't be asked to write it anymore. I keep posting screenshots of snippets but i'm never gonna release anything. I feel bad cause there are so many asks but i seriously don't have an ounce of care. I love my cast and my story but it’s so hard to write. I've seen a lot of accounts with a lot of hype and asks but no demos so i don't feel terrible and we authors don't owe anyone content anyway. I know it's bad but i love getting sent questions and notes cause people are so interested and it's so fun to post new ideas. Once my hype dies i'll probably just create a new one cause i'm already writing a synopsis for this new story and it's so good.

Hi Anon,

I'm going to get real with you, buddy. I had to write this message multiple times because I ended up being a bit too... angry. And as much as I absolutely don't vibe with this whole position, it would still not be fair to you to get the end of my frustration with it.

So I am trying again, (more) calmly.

I honestly have been wondering if you are maybe lying to yourself when you said you can't be asked to continue your project. You seem to be very enthusiastic about the story and the characters (or you wouldn't be sharing snippets or answer asks about it. What jumped at me was: my demoless intro blew up.

I've answered a lot of asks in the past about creators worried about not being enough because their project didn't get enough attention, but very little when it came to the ones blowing up overnight. But just because your intro blows up, doesn't mean you don't struggle with all of this.

So I have a few questions for you:

Are you having this blasé attitude about your project and giving up because of the heightened expectations of having blown up?

Then you might find getting a break from interaction/the social aspect to help. Or maybe interacting with other creators outside of Tumblr and discuss experiences and what to do when the motivation is gone or it becomes to overwhelming (hint: it's often a break).

Another option is to set expectations about the project. And I mean yours. Creating a grandiose story spanning books and dozens of chapters each and a cast as long as your arm can be incredibly fun, but it might not feasible, and often becomes overwhelming. Maybe take a look at your story and chop it down to manageable bites or remove parts that don't fit.

Do you worry if you actually post it, people will not vibe with it?

In this case, consider alpha/beta testing, where you share more about the story to a select few and request feedback. Joining a writer's group or a smaller IF server to discuss or brainstorm or get feedback on ideas is also a nice way of getting confidence about what you are doing. Some community have even some sort of writer's circle, where multiple people get together and write for an hour or two.

Are you afraid you will be found out as not being a good creator (a.k.a. the imposter syndrome)?

We all start somewhere, and that somewhere is very often bad. Don't sweat it. The good news tho, is that it can't get worse. The more you write, the better you get. (but you have to write first)

Do you want a point of reference? Try reading the first version of my first game. It is cringy as hell, there are a lot of grammar and syntax mistakes... I hate it so much, so I made it public to everyone. Go roast me about it, then go read the much better version (or the other way around.

Do you feel like you are lacking confidence in your ability to finish the project because your experience with the medium is minimal, making it overwhelming?

Pause the project for a bit, and write a tiny game (not more then 1k). Join game jams to test some stuff out. Mess around with the program and see what can be done.

Did your struggle with writing come from realising the amount of work required to make it happen?

Time to break it down in smaller pieces, until it feels doable. Then take one piece at a time. And there is no timeline you need to keep...

Do you feel like you can't do this by yourself and would feel more confident continuing the project if you had more direct support?

Try to reach out to other people and see if someone would be interested in helping you make this project a reality. I've seen many projects being done in duo or trio (Harcourt, Lady Thalia...). It will be a different dynamic, but can be very fulfilling.

Are the characteristics of the IF medium something you can't see working? Does the story not work when variation is added? Is there only one path that works for you?

Maybe, IF is not the medium for this project (or for you). That is also fine!

Not everything will work with IF (hell, even inside the IF sphere, some stories fits better the parser-type or the choice-based one, or the hyperlinks one). Maybe the project should become a novel, or a poem collection, or be turned into a comic/webtoon.

~~~

Before you go on to make another intro post with your new idea on the hope that it will blow up so you can just talk about it and bounce when it becomes too difficult, maybe ask yourself:

why you entered this community in the first place,

why you wanted to try your hand at making IF too,

why this story stuck to you so much you wanted to share it with everyone,

what made the story fun in the first place,

what was the point where the fun in writing actually stopped,

whether you want to abandon a story you seem so passionate about...

Interactive Fiction is an awesome medium, and it's a shame to take it for granted...

Or you can go ahead and post that new idea of yours, continuing to blatantly lie to people to get attention rather than enjoying the medium and the craft for what they are, and toy with people essentially...

I might have been reaching there about the lying to yourself, or the fact that blowing up affected your love for creation more than what you message conveyed...

... and you might actually not give a shit at all about doing anything but throwing ideas at the wall, ignoring the rich and incredible history of Interactive Fiction and its captivating evolution (still happening today), neglecting the vibrant community just to con people for notes and attention that are insignificant in real life, lying to everyone just for the lolz...

You do you boo...

~~~~~~~~

Little reminder for people reading this: Don't send hate to people posting an intro post without a demo assuming they are like this anon. It would really suck if we end up gatekeeping a fun hobby because of one bad apple.

[old comments in tags: I'm sorry but I really don't like liars that do it for the lolz it's not cute gosh i tried to tone done the judgement on this really hard I honestly hope anon is just overwhelmed because they got more attention than they thought they would in the first place /]

#confession time #if-confessions #demo or no demo #dark side of if

[jemmo]

rambles on that last twilight ending

my thoughts on the last twilight ending are so??? im gonna need to sit on this one for a while, bc i loved this show so whole-heartedly that i don’t want to write it off bc of a ‘bad ending’, but it also means it’s hard to reconcile that the ending was… well, i don’t think it was bad. i think it deserves more thought than that, but i don’t think it did what it wanted to, nor did it keep with what the shows message was, or should have been. and we can say it’s as simple as day shouldn’t have got his sight back, but I don’t think that was the only thing. if he stayed blind, the ending still wouldn’t have hit right for me. none of it hit right from the end of ep 11 bc it’s like I could feel the intent of the writing, but it’s not what the writing actually was. and if it was given maybe 3ish more episodes and all these characters were given more time, i think an ending like this could’ve worked. but again, it all comes down to that damn ep 11 curse that I thought p’aof was better than, bc you can’t squeeze everything that needed to be reconciled after this breakup and everything they wanted to do into one ep, not with this show.

i didn’t hate the idea of a breakup. if you’re going with the narrative of mohk having a fear of being away from day bc of his trauma and so on then fine, that works. and so it works that they had to be away from each other to grow in that way, but I do think it was unkind to mohk to send him away on that note. some understanding, and day wanting him to go for his own good would’ve felt kinder, and even if they were his real intentions, they didn’t communicate that either. it just felt like day had no empathy for him. and yes he was probably hurting too feeling like no one was trusting him, but whatever, it could’ve been done better. and if they wanted to play on anything else, then hey there was that whole bit with the car and day thinking mohk was looking after him just for the money, why not use that and the fact the opportunities mohk got in his career were connections bc he was with day. day could’ve been like well that was the whole point, you don’t work for me forever, you can do whatever you want now, or even just played more on him feeling like he’s holding mohk back. idk, i just mean if this breakup was going to turn out to be 3 years, no contact at all, which it did, it should’ve felt bigger than a 5 second argument.

anyway, then the finale comes and again, if they’d given more reason for a breakup, i would’ve understand more why day keeps on denying mohk a second chance, which i already don’t like the phrasing of bc it makes out like he did something wrong and needs to earn a second chance which he doesn’t. the whole thing would’ve been more understandable if this was day realizing that they both grew and found happiness in what they’re doing and he didn’t want to ruin that when the breakup meant it could happen. or they could’ve completely 180-ed and shown that one of them wasn’t happy, or both, idk mohk had no one in the states and was incredibly hurt and lonely, day was struggling after losing mohk like he did and reinforcing the idea that he couldn’t be independent made him retreat again. just anything would’ve given more strength behind a need to push away, and would have made it more satisfying when love overcomes it all blah blah blah.

and as much as i liked the airport scene and the fact day did go after him, do you know what would’ve been more impactful? day, knowing his full ability, and going against his mom who still worries for his safety or going bc of his mom seeing that he’s not truly happy, bc both could’ve worked given different writing, getting on a plane by himself and going after mohk, seeing him be able to traverse it all. for once we watch day by himself and unlike at the start of the show, we’re not constantly scared he’s gonna get hurt, bc he’s confident and able now and we can just watch him go after mohk and be excited about it, like the end to any other romance story. and it would’ve meant mohk got this moment where, after looking after day so much and getting broken up with bc he cared too much, he gets to see day caring for him that much too.

and the sight thing. yes, with the time they had they shouldn’t have done it, it should’ve been that they manage to find their own happiness despite it all, then the whole show would’ve been about day accepting his situation and standing up for his own ability and his own right to independence and happiness, and it would’ve meant mohk could overcome his fear of loss and guilt over his sister and learn that he isn’t to blame for anything, bc now day can make his own decisions and is ok on his own. now if there was more time, i could’ve seen it working, but only with stronger writing. I would’ve loved to have seen a conversation over day getting his sight back, maybe him not wanting it bc he’s accepted the way he is much like how some deaf people don’t want implants, and the opposing argument of how not all people in his place can have the possibility of seeing again. we could’ve seen fear in the opposite direction now that he’s used to his life, and that damn first scene of part 4, we could’ve seen him then wanting to go out into the world and look after people like him, just like mohk did for him, bc mohk made him see the importance of having someone there for you that cares for you and sees you as a person, as normal, not as your disability. and funnily enough, do you know what made me cry at the end of it? then showing the pictures that were taken when day was blind. that’s the kind of thing i wanted to see, and wished i did if they had more time. day getting his sight back but still showing how connected he is to who he was at that time and while not being thankful for it happening, being thankful for the way he’s grown, and loving the person he sees in those pictures. to go from someone who hid himself and his blindness to someone who shares his story and helps and advocates vocally for those like him, despite not being blind anymore. that way you still get to give day his sight back as your happily ever after but manage to retain the message.

so yeah. they missed the ball. but i also want to remove this idea that an ending ruins a whole show. at the end of the day, it’s one ep, and when a show has done so much good in all its other eps, at least in my eyes, that’s the stuff I’d rather talk about and remember.

#for me this is a classic case of don’t just try to squeeze it all into one ep bc that’s all you’ve got left #you can’t just put it all in and rush through it doesn’t mean you convey the same message it all gets muddled #it might not be your original vision but you have to work with the time you’ve got #oh p’aof #this is me setting down a gauntlet to not separate your characters to different countries for years before a reunion #it only worked for bad buddy bc you played us #this? yeah. didn’t hit how it should #last twilight

[rosewaterraindrops]

Why Guillermo’s characterization in S5E1 makes sense to me 

(This ended up kinda long lol) I found Guillermo’s behavior to be pretty jarring in S5E1. He appears to have forgotten a lot of his newfound confidence and fallen back into more subservient patterns. I think it’s supposed to feel jarring, and that it tracks with his storyline.

At the end of S4, Guillermo thinks he can pay Derek to turn him, come back as a vampire every bit as “normal” and powerful as the rest of his housemates, earn their respect, and that would be that. Instead, he gets a horribly painful, traumatic turning, during which neither he nor Derek seem ready for the act. Then, after all that, he doesn’t even know if it worked. Is he a vampire? Is he still a human? Have his slayer instincts been impacted? Are there more changes coming down the line? Is this the end of his lifelong dream?

So he goes back to the household with a new state of disorientation and a dwindling sense of self. He’s dealing with scary changes without a support system - because as much as Derek wants to be supportive, he doesn’t necessarily know how to help, and the two of them are acquaintances at best. Meanwhile, Nandor himself has fallen back on prior toxic behaviors masked by vague self-help jargon in order to ground himself after a really rough couple of seasons, and he’s back to treating Guillermo more like a familiar than a protector/friend.

Enter the scene in Nandor’s crypt. Nandor is approaching Guillermo and seems angry. Guillermo’s a slayer who has beaten Nandor in multiple fights! Why does he cringe away when he thinks Nandor is going to hurt him?

My theory: in the past, Guillermo’s slayer confidence stemmed from his desire to protect Nandor, and that desire doesn’t apply to this situation.

In past seasons, he’s killed vampires, revealed himself as a slayer, stayed strong even when the housemates locked him in the cage - to protect Nandor. The fight in the S3 finale is incited because Nandor is mocking Guillermo’s ability to protect Nandor. In the Night Market, Guillermo’s trying to make sure he and Nandor both make it out of there alive.

But now? He’s going through traumatic changes that he doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know if he can confide in his vampire family, he’s probably struggling to hold onto his sense of self - and now Nandor is the one threatening him, so he doesn’t have the motivation of protecting his master like he did in the past. He’s not in the mindset to stand his ground and say “I’m a powerful slayer and you need to back off” - that’s just not where he is mentally right now.

Enter the scene at the restaurant. The vamps are laughing at the idea of him doing something that he already did, and you see some of his fighting spirit come back! He speaks up and pushes back! He challenges them and says, yeah, what if I did go to someone else to become a vampire, hmm?

...only to find out (from Nandor himself!) that Nandor would kill Guillermo and then kill himself.

In summary, Guillermo is going through it right now. He is dealing with an incredibly traumatic situation, and not only can he not turn to Nandor, he actually thinks he has cause to fear Nandor - the person he loves most in the world. I would be so confused if Guillermo were acting normal after all of that! I like that he’s dealing with trauma and fear in this way, because no one has the ability to stay 100% strong and confident through every scary situation, especially not without support.

And soon enough, we’ve seen from the promos that Laszlo is going to start helping Guillermo - so hopefully, Guillermo will be able to turn things around soon, because he won’t be alone anymore.

#wwdits #wwdits s5 #wwdits spoilers #wwdits s5 spoilers #wwdits season 5 spoilers #guillermo de la cruz #tw trauma #tw suicide #wwdits meta

[chanzies]

Hiii can you do lee know's ideal type?

Thanksssss

There was an ask that wanted ot8 ideal type but I can’t find it. Lee know is in this though! Please remember to take my readings lightly. This is for entertainment purposes and can’t be proven.

Chan

Someone who’s creative. Probably also in the idol industry.

Idrk how to word this but he finds innocence attractive? So someone who doesn’t have experience with relationships. He would like to be their first

Chan likes confidence. He’s not that confident himself so that influence could help him. Not someone who’s cocky but someone who is aware of their abilities and likes to embrace them.

He likes someone who is ‘the leader of the pack’ (for a lack of other term…) someone who people look up too and jealous of.

He wants his s/o to wear the pants in the relationship lolol

Someone’s who bold and can express how they are feeling without guilt.

He basically finds strong mentalities attractive.

Lee know

Someone who naturally takes charge of situations. He wants someone to guide him in his relationship.

He wants someone who is self assured, someone who doesn’t need his reassurance because they already know they are doing well.

Someone who has a hobby; he would love to watch you get all caught up in your hobby.

He wants someone who shows they care through small gestures. E.g: Making him soup when he’s sick, giving him little surprise gifts.

Someone who works at a university. Maybe a professor? Because he finds people who teaches others hot. Awooooga

Changbin

Someone who travels a lot and knows the world; they have been to a lot of places and can share stories. Maybe his ideal type is a air hostess?

Changbin definitely wants a nurturing person. He likes feeling pampered and loved.

Someone who isn’t new to love and helps him open up to the relationship. Basically someone who can teach him how to love ? He wants to feel INTENSE love.

They are healing just to be around.

He wants someone who resembles his fantasies. (goodluck buddy)

Hyunjin

He wants someone who believes in themselves and in touch with their emotions.

Someone who enjoys their work, they’ve achieved their dream job.

Someone’s who’s creative juices are FLOOOWING. They have so many new ideas, they might be a bit everywhere but that’s charming to Hyunjin. They are full of constant creativity.

They work a artsy type of job.

Someone who doesn’t worry that much, they tend to stay calm despite the rush of life. Who can help Hyunjin contain a relaxed mindset. They might do meditation dates together.

Someone who’s presence just makes people comfortable. They radiate love and acceptance.

Han

Someone’s who confident but down to earth. They don’t go out of their way to speak to crowds but if they have too they don’t mind.

I think Han likes his obsessed. He wants to know how much you adore him brushing his teeth lol

Someone who has a lot of drive and focus towards their dreams.

He would prefer for his s/o to be the powerful one in their relationship. They wear the pants?

Someone who stays true to themselves and doesn’t change themselves for him or anyone.

Felix

Someone who will take things slow. I think Felix struggles with commitment.

Someone who’s generous and likes giving. Likes volunteering and stuff.

They’ve achieved a lot but is still humble.

Someone who wants children. Felix wants many children.

They know who’s worth their time and who isn’t.

Someone who shows him other meanings to life (?).

Seungmin

Someone who he can test. He wants to know your opinion certain things but he also wants to know what you don’t support and disagree with.

Someone who doesn’t get attached easily, he wants them to be able to enjoy things by themselves and just know that he’s there for them at the end of the day.

Someone who he can bond with. They have similar personalities and he can joke around with them.

Someone who’s on the sexier side. Not in a revealing way or anything of that nature but in a simple way they make him feel hot and embarrassed.

Someone who is in control of their life and independent (so skz like a lot of strong people wowza)

Jeongin

Someone who relies on him and is co dependent on him. He wants to be there for someone and feel needed.

Someone who is willing for him to take control.

Someone with a lot of money and power, (he will probably find it hot if they have a job with a lot of powerful and then come home and let him take care of them)

Someone who is a joy to be around.

Please read my pinned before you request anything.

#kpop tarot #tarot #skz tarot #stray kids tarot #bang chan tarot #lee know tarot #Changbin tarot #hyunjin tarot #Han tarot #lee felix tarot #Seungmin tarot #jeongin tarot #i.n tarot

[cakeinthevoid]

Happy STS, Void!

What's your favorite common writing tip to ignore?

Happy STS!! This is so neat—I love these asks!

This one is super interesting…

After some thought, I think it’s a tip I heard that was something along the lines of ’develop your characters and know them well’. HEAR ME OUT—

For a majority of my characters, I truly don’t know that much about them. That’s why asks about them are so fun because most of the time it’s me trying to come up with something that would make sense/be relevant.

Most of the time, characters are simple my vessel to tell a story. That’s why I struggle so much with names and the like lol. There was a post where I rambled on in the tags about how my writing process is often like idea>scene>character. Part of it is because I’m not confident in my ability to make likeable/interesting characters that people want to follow, so I need to hook readers in with a premise. But also, that’s just it! There’s a story I want to tell and the characters are just people who do that job.

My oldest OCs are probably my most developed OCs, so much so that they damn near came full circle where I am not sure what their true personality is. Then you get stuck in the ‘would they fucking say that’ problem lmao. How to solve the problem? Build the character around what they need to say!

Ok final bit is just a disclaimer: I think it’s totally awesome to develop just a character. It’s very valid. Take a look at my OC Flange Gusset! That man is quite literally just a character. I just want to put him in other people’s stories honestly. But I hope budding writers don’t get bogged down in knowing every little detail about someone they create, because, like I saw in a post one time, you are creating the illusion of a real person.

Thanks for the ask!!!!

#WAHOO STS #I might need a dedicated tag for this!! #I just like to ramble incoherently lmao #but truly I appreciate the ask so much!! #I love the writing community <3

[icanbeyourgenie]

“ You know, I have a door, you should come from it, it's less dangerous. ” – Malachai to Yasmeen, who entered his room in the middle of the night by the window

Yasmeen smiled lightly while closing the window behind her. She didn't make a sound, outside of her knocks on the glass.

“Is it really?”

“I'm on the highest floor of the east tower. It's raining outside. The walls are slippery.” He said, and followed his words by handing her a towel. She liked how he kept a distance while doing so.

“I like the height. And the fresh air.”

She welcomed the soft feeling of the warm towel on her face, and then around her shoulders. Noble people always had such fluffy towels. Nothing compared to the rough fabric the servants were occasionally given. She could get used to it.

“What are you doing here? Are you in trouble? Did Rhys claim you ag-” He must've seen her tense, cause he stopped talking on his own.

“Nothing like that.” She tried to steady her voice. She had no reason to be angry, it could've very much been the truth. “You looked tense.”

Malachai looked puzzled. “What?”

“Earlier, on the church. You looked tense. Like something weighted on you.” It was not just the church, where they didn't talk much this time, but the entire day. Yet she wasn't ready to admit that she watched him that closely. “You helped me last night. I figured I could try to do the same.”

“You don't have t-”

“I know.”

He paused for a moment to look at her, deep in his thoughts. Like he was truly debating something. Yasmeen didn't know what exactly. But she knew that it was the first time she wasn't uncomfortable under a man's gaze.

Then, without a word, he went back to the table in the center of the room. The spy followed but this time, she didn't find checkers, but a real war board. She didn't understand. Triton and Morgana weren't at war. Not yet at least.

“The sirens.” Malachai said, like he read her mind. “They're gaining territory lately. ”

Yasmeen didn't know exactly why Malachai trusted her with this information already. But she could see in the way his shoulders sagged that he was truly tired, even if he hid it pretty well. She had just be trained to observe, and right now she could see him fixed on a board he barely saw anymore after hours of reflexion, the red of his eyes expending and his eyelids struggling to stay open until he found the solution to a problem he didn't explain to her yet. She felt the need to assist. She didn't understand why, but wasn't it why she came here? She had noticed him looking tense all day and had dread the worst - her mind had a way to make up the worst scenarios possible in second or less - and she had come to confirm one of them. So she came closer.

The war board was a pretty basic one, simply put on the table - which made sense since Morgana wouldn't have allowed a true war board to be built on the borrowed chamber of the enemy. Yasmeen stayed silent. She had seen enough war council to understand what was happening, but she wanted to let Malachai the option to either confide in her, or change the subject. Still, she was surprised when he started talking (She was always surprised when he told her little secrets about him when they were alone in the church, but this was another kind of trust entirely).

“This is the war base of the Greenland sea. If they manage to take it, they'll soon take control over the Norwegian sea, which would significally extend their territory, and persuade some of the most dubious sea lords to switch sides and turn against my father. If they win this battle-”

“The blow on your father's reign will be too big. And if he appears weak, Morgana will strike immediately.”

They looked at each other with some kind of understanding. Yasmeen saw a bit of mistrust in Malachai's red eyes. He wasn't stupid. It was Morgana that sent Yasmeen as a guard and maid for Calypso, and he was clever enough to know that Morgana probably used Yasmeen's abilities in some other way. It was logical to doubt her. So this time, she talked first, without breaking eye contact.

“And you're outnumbered.”

“Barely. But sirens fight dirty. They're stronger and faster.”

“Prince Nathaniel doesn't seem to be stronger. He seems rather weak.”

Malachai choked on a laugh. “My brother has not fed since he was a little boy. It does weaken him - don't tell him that, though. But those sirens will be freshly fed, and out for blood. And our army has taken a lot of blows lately, and some are fighting other battles. The men I was given are not enough to win this time.” Malachai looked away, which made Yasmeen realized that they didn't break eye contact once. He looked ashamed. “My father wants to send civilians.”

“But they'll die.”

“That's the point. They'll be used as a decoy, a given feast, so we can still win while the sirens are distracted.”

“I see. And do you want to do that?”

“Not really. But I might not have the choice.”

He looked at her this time, and found no judgment in her eyes. Instead she examined the board for a few silent minutes.

“Or you could use yourselves as a decoy.” Malachai raised an eyebrow. “You said it yourself, your army is weakened, and there's other battles to fight. The sirens won't have any idea how many you're supposed to be. You take one part of your army and you make them march to them. You should be amongst them, so the sirens truly think it's the entirety of your army. Meanwhile, soldiers will be hidden on both sides of the zone. When the sirens all came to you, they'll come out. This way, you'll encircle them. And any encircled army-”

“-is a dead one.” Malachai finished, eyes brighting up. “Great strategy.”

“One that doesn't involve sending untrained men, women and children to their deaths, at least.” She drew a smirk from Malachai with her remark but didn't dwell too much on it. “It might still be a bloodbath.”

“Yes, but as you said, only with people who chose this path. And we might actually win... Thank you. Truly.”

He looked at her and she smiled for the first time since she was here. A shy smile, but still a smile. She suddenly became aware of how close they became during this conversation, and took a step back.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Calypso doesn't know about any of it. Can you please keep it that way?”

“I wasn't even here.” She replied, and just like that, this night and many others to come became their secret.

She turned to leave, and she was almost at the window, when he started to talk again, which effectively stopped her.

“It's my home, you know? I was born in the Norwegian sea. I have responsibility over it. If they take it...”

He didn't finish, but Yasmeen could make up the rest in the silence that trailed. She took a decision, here and then. “When are you leaving?”

“In three days.” It bothered her. “Hopefully, I'll return.”

“Do you want to train with me tomorrow?”

His eyes widened. “I thought you preferred to train alone.”

“I changed my mind. Tomorrow, 8 o'clock?”

He nodded. “Also you... you can come here... Whenever you want, I mean.”

“Only if you return.”

“The maybe you could pray for me?”

“You truly think you have to ask?”

He smiled, and she turned away before he could see her own smile. In a breath, she was gone, window closed behind her like she was never there. She couldn't explain why she was so eager to start their training session the following day, but this was a question for later.

#okay i suck at battle strategy so i hope it makes sense #the struggle of writing characters that have knowledges that you don't lmao #but I love them talking about battle strategies together #and having midnight secret meetings #so I really wanted to write one #they're so cute I love them #they're both a bit wary but it's normal and it'll change slowly #they need to learn that they can trust someone else #yasmeen #yasmeen writing prompt #yasmeen x malachai #writing prompt #likeafairytale

[4straydogs]

ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA AND THE ONGOING STRUGGLE NOT TO KILL ANYONE

CHAPTER 7: A NEW WAY TO DIE

read on ao3

Atsushi is woken up early in the morning. This is normal when he stays with Ryuunosuke, the guy’s phone is never not going off. It used to be more of an issue, and would cause issues between them.

Atsushi’s ears are very sensitive and with Tiger hearing they pick up a lot they are not supposed to. In the beginning stages of his slow acclimation to the Akutagawa home, he would wake up in a strange place, think he was kidnapped, and lose his mind about it. He’d keep his eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep, listening in on every little sound to get a clue on his wherabouts.

The first thing he hears is always Ryuunosuke’s voice. This doesn’t reassure him of his continued freedom but only reinforces Atsushi’s belief in his kidnapping. 

“I see,” Ryuunosuke said in a hushed tone. “Bring his daughter to the base, then. If he feels so confident as to parade himself around with the senator’s child, he should know what it is like to fear for the well-being of his own.”

“Yes sir,” came the other voice. “And if she resists? How much force are we authorized to use?”

Ryuunosuke snorts, something he only does when he’s tired or drunk. This begins to grow the doubt in Atsushi’s brain, to remind him that he and Ryuunosuke had another sleepover instead of another blowout fight. “Well, if she turns out to be an ability user, all of it. Otherwise the same amount for any unruly civilian. Don’t act like you’ve never done something like this before, it makes you seem stupid.”

“Yes sir, sorry sir.”

“You’re dismissed.”

“Yes sir,” the voice said. Atsushi heard the end tone of a phonecall.

The realization he was in Ryuunosuke’s bed of his own voilition came later. The realization that came first was that—  “There’s no way I’m letting you kidnap an innocent girl.”

Ryuunosuke was still in his nightclothes, staring wide eyes at Atsushi, who was on his hands and knees now on top of the bed, less sexy and more tense. A wild animal about to pounce. His claws began to grow in.

“Stop that. You’ll ruin my sheets,” Ryuunosuke drawled.

“Akutagawa,” Atsushi growled, saying nothing else.

They’d ended up fighting it out, but the girl went missing and her father wised up and followed the mafia’s demands fast enough that Atsushi hadn’t been able to stop it or save her. It was useless violence, wasted effort.

Now when Ryuunosuke rolls out of bed to take a phone call, Atsushi rolls away and tries to control his ability out of his ears. He doesn’t need to know. It helps no one. It only hurts. 

But his phone starts ringing as well. With a groan, he rolls back over, reaches to where his phone was charging on Ryuunosuke’s nightstand, and answers: “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Kyouka asks, urgently as she says everything.

“Um.” Kyouka’s old enough to know he’s sleeping with someone, right? He can say that? Should he though? What if she asks who, could she handle that information? Could he handle telling her?

He feels like he’s standing under freezing rain. Was starting a relationship of any sort with Ryuunosuke really the best idea? 

“You need to get over here now. There’s a zombie outbreak in Yokohama. Be careful.”

She hangs up.

Atsushi looks up at Ryuunosuke, who is still on his own call but staring at Atsushi, his jaw a bit dropped. Holy shit.

Atsushi’s jaw is also a bit low to the ground. “No way, really?” 

Akutagawa murmurs something and hangs up the phone. He nods solemnly. “Zombies.”

“Fuck.”

Atsushi has to wear his new clothes out because they were peeled off of him rather quickly last night and stayed fairly clean. His others are already in Ryuunosuke’s hamper, and Atsushi was half-convinced to just rewear them anyway to avoid getting questions from his coworkers but it turns out Ryuunosuke’s hamper is the grossest place on earth. Being covered in the rotting, life-giving fluids of other people probably has something to do with it. 

They get dressed and run out quickly. Atsushi elects not to stay for breakfast or even coffee, having snacks and caffeine in abundance at the office. He runs into Gin who is already on the floor at the front door and pulling on her shoes.

“I can’t fucking believe this town,” she complains, standing up and stomping her feet firmly until each foot is finally in the tight leather boot. Aesthetic over functionality, but she’s quick with her routine.

She waves behind her at Atsushi, who is himself still tying his laces. “See you soon, most likely.”

Yeah, probably. It already seems like one of those incidents. The kind that gets every organization in Yokohama involved. 

Ryuunosuke as an executive is just as important if not more so to the PM’s counter-zombie plan as Gin, but he will never skip a meal if he can help it, even if it is for the fate of the city. They have rice on already, because Atsushi always makes sure he has rice ready at all times in any house he’s staying at for the random cravings of his favorite food— the metabolism shit he’s got going on is no joke, without hijacking the Akutagawas’ rice cooker Atsushi could actually starve. Ryuunosuke wanders out of the kitchen to Atsushi right as Gin leaves. He nudges Atsushi’s back with his knee. “You don’t want your chazuke?”

It will be a cold day in hell before he says no to chazuke, but it must be snowing there today. “I have to go to work. You have to go to work. We can eat together later.”

“My life is not as promised as yours,” Ryuunosuke raises. Atsushi turns around so he can look Ryuunosuke in the eyes, as such a bold sentence deserves, but Ryuunosuke’s stare is unwavering. “Who knows? Maybe I will die, or maybe a zombie is the only thing that can kill you.”

This might be literal, but is more likely a test of Atsushi’s commitment to this thing they are doing. The answer is the same. “Don’t be so dramatic, that won’t happen. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Seems likely,” Ryuunosuke agrees, walking back to the kitchen. Atsushi watches him go, mostly to watch his bony ass, but also to laugh at the way he shakes his head and curses. “This city…”

Atsushi’s commute to the agency is likely fast enough that he still beats Gin’s time to her own job. He jumps across the roofs of buildings in a line of blue light, surprised that the very expensive clothes he wears don’t rip at his transformation, but instead just roll up as if they were made to give way to that kind of transformative force. His shoes still suffer, but those he wore were the cheap ones he always did. It didn’t matter so much. 

He perches over the ledge of a building, the one that he does his shopping in sometimes, the one that carries that brand of cereal Kyouka likes. He leans forwards, claws curling over the edge threatening an impossible fall. The sun has just barely started to seep over the harbor and so it can only cut thin trails across the street below. What Atsushi sees, peering down below him, is small writhing forms gathered together, shimmying against each other in vague directions. There are glinting metal cars stopped in the intersection with small forms as well, just starting to see the sun. The mass overtakes them in the time Atsushi has to blink and the screams reach him after.

He thinks, I could have saved them. He thinks, I am fast enough, there is no one but me fast enough.

 In the next breath he is at the office.

The windows and doors are boarded up so Atsushi enters through the roof. He walks down the stairs to the roof access and then out to the actual door of their office. He pushes the door open, not looking at anyone in particular, and sits on the couch. He’s not really in a desk kind of mood. 

“Fucking zombies,” Yosano is saying in her office. She walks out with Ranpo behind her and Poe behind him, the latter of them swaying dangerously. His eyes are wide and glittery and he keeps looking at his own body as if he doesn’t recognize it. 

“Mah, it’s a good thing I don’t have to. That would have been an issue,” Ranpo crinkles his nose in disgust as Yosano cackles, her hand at her stomach. “I can barely do so after he eats vegetables, I can’t imagine brains. Blech. Poe, if you ever become a zombie again, we’re going to have to break up.”

Atsushi hadn’t been aware they were together, but it makes sense. Poe looks sick beyond himself, ignoring Ranpo as he stumbles onto the couch with Atsushi. He raises his knees to his ears, his head bowing between them. 

Kunikida walks in similarly rattled. He’s stained in someone else’s carotid splatters, Atsushi knows by the smell. The angle the blood hit him was such that the person must have been maybe two feet in front of Kunikida when they got viciously mauled. This is the kind of thing that greatly upsets Atsushi, but could break Kunikida. 

Kenji walks in after, skipping with just a bit less heart than normal. That’s the kind of unfettered stability you learn to love about Kenji.

Kunikida walks like it’s a drill, heavy footsteps each punctuated by a military stiffness. His face is hard, but he does not meet anyone’s eyes, simply clings on to his notebook which he holds tightly clutched to his side. He has to walk past the couch to get to his desk and seems to be on that journey but stops right at the edge of the couch and turns to face the two taking refuge there.

Kunikida’s eyes beneath the glasses are too tinted in red. He hadn’t even bothered to wash the blood off his glasses or his face. He looks at Poe and opens his mouth to say something, but what it is seems to evaporate the moment he catches Atsushi in his periphery. His mouth, already open, drops a bit and his head suddenly jerks to better face him. “Atsushi, why the hell do you look good? What the hell?”

“I was gonna say!” Naomi jumps up from Tanizaki’s desk. “Like, hello?”

Atsushi looks down at himself and the way his sweater hugs his newly toned muscles. Eh. 

“Oh yeah,” Poe says, turning to face him. He’s a bit too close though, close enough that Atsushi can see the returning color of his cheeks contrasted against the black fabric of his turtleneck. It’s like staring at Atsushi’s tits is bringing him back to life. “I know this brand. I was planning to buy that top, but I don’t think it would look quite the same on me. Maybe Ranpo…”

Yosano flicks that thought away with a sharp turn of her hand. “Not a chance, Ranpo wears the cape for a reason.” 

“You don’t know that!” Ranpo insists, though they definitely do. “Poe, you should buy the pants at least. And Atsushi, keep letting your boyfriend pick out clothes for you. It’s good for morale.”

It does seem to be, because the rest of the chorus pops out of the woodworks and cubicles to ask: “Boyfriend?”

Kyouka in particular materializes directly in front of Atsushi and stares him down with intense black eyes. He feels in danger, or maybe like Ryuunosuke is. 

“Guys, people are dying,” Atsushi reminds them, weakly.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I got distracted by Atsushi looking decent for once.” Yosano shrugs. “I can cure zombies, and they seem to be staying in more or less one piece so they’re still intact for healing. They should be fine, but the sooner we act the better.”

Atsushi suddenly feels lighter and Kunikida looks the same. He can still save those people, he can still make up for his mistakes.

Poe looks a bit sick again. It seems like he was the zombie they tried it on, poor guy. He turns into a man-eating monster and the person around to comfort him when he wakes up is fucking Ranpo Edogawa. Tough luck all around. 

“The conference room is ready,” Haruno says from inside it, her head peaking out. “Come in. Oh wow, Atsushi—“

Dazai pops out too, and whistles appreciatively in interruption. It gets the point across.

“This is workplace harassment,” Atsushi says to his friend four years his senior. He walks into the room and sits down at a spot next to where Dazai usually does.

“Eh, probably,” Dazai considers seriously, like the thought of anyone caring about that sort of thing had never occurred to him. He looks down at himself in the distantly hollow way he sometimes does when the Port Mafia’s boss is brought up, then follows. 

It’s, like, the first real Agency mission Atsushi’s taken since he started hanging out with the Black Lizard squad… was it actually weeks ago? He hasn’t seen Tanizaki and the secretary squad outside of work in awhile, and to be honest maybe not Yosano or Ranpo either, and definitely not Kenji (for Kenji’s own safety, he’s pretty well integrated with Byakko now and it bodes ill for good meat), but he’s still been meeting up with Kunikida and Dazai for his weekly training sessions (separately, on different days) and when he’s not with the Akutagawas he still lives with Kyouka. 

It’s not that he doesn’t still show up for the 9-to-5 part of Agency work, or even the trips to local crime scenes during the week, but he doesn’t really hang around the dorms like he used to. The younger members of the Agency text in their group chat to make plans for movie nights and grocery trips, but Atsushi always somehow already has something with Gin or Dazai or Ryuunosuke. Sometimes he and Kyouka are staying home to watch a movie, or sometimes Atsushi’s so tired that all he wants to do is go home to his closet or even just to Ryuunosuke’s faux-tiger carpet and read one of Dazai’s books. He’s being sent on a lot of solo trips when he’s sent out of office, and on those he typically by some accident of fate sees any one of the Black Lizard squad, or one time even Kajii. Most times it’s easier to work together for the same end than fight a battle on two fronts. 

So, this job is rare. Not just because Atsushi is actually working with his co-workers, but because the whole Agency is involved. Because all of Yokohama is involved. 

“This man—“ Kunikida points with his stick at the whiteboard, where hung with a magnet is an eight-by-eleven photograph of a sickly old white man— “touched down in Yokohama between four and six hours ago. We do not know the true nature of his Ability, but it seems to be a ‘zombie’ type Ability. As Kenji and I discovered earlier when stuck in the train station—“ they had been coming home from a supervised visit to Kenji’s village— “All typical zombie-movie rules should apply.”

“I hit them in the head!” Kenji cheers. Atsushi imagines that Kenji is what zombie movie heroes want to be when they grow up. “That’s the best way to deal with vermin!”

Kunikida turns a bit green at the apparent reminder. Kunikida is what Atsushi imagines superheroes wish they were. Atsushi sometimes wishes he was as unshakably sure if his morals as to be Kunikida, but then he remembers all the problems that come with being Kunikida. Better to not.

“He also seems to be immune to the force of their bite in the same way he’s impervious to bullets, which again by movie rules is how the zombie ability travels,” Kunikida agrees. “Other agents that we believe should be able to withstand the bite are Atsushi, on account of your healing ability, and Dazai for obvious reasons.”

“Because he doesn’t have a brain!” Tanizaki jokes. Because this joke would have been better used on Kenji earlier, or even on himself, no one laughs. Instead, together, they mourn the killer opportunity for later, similar jokes. Tanizaki wilts. 

Dazai— for being such an asshole— is a surprisingly sensitive person. A classic ‘dish-it-but-can’t take it’ kind of person. He acts like the jokes and jabs fly right over his head, and for select people he does actually let them go, but horrible things seem to befall those who try to bully Dazai. It might be more accurate to say he is simply revenge-oriented. Tanizaki’s poorly thought out joke earned him the sense of an anvil hovering right above his head, and he seems to know it too, glancing nervously at a smoothly smiling ex-executive. 

“… Well, we don’t have any actual data on how the zombie ability interacts with either of yours, so still operate with reasonable caution,” Kunikida moves on smoothly. “We have determined that the Ability’s effects can be reversed in two ways. Firstly, we find the Ability User and have Dazai nullify the ability, preventing the spread in that way. Secondly, Doctor Yosano uses her ability on the afflicted, as seen earlier.”

Naomi stops in the notes she’s taking, pre-filling out the incident paperwork and insurance claims. “How does that work? Also, isn’t that kind of a lot?”

“It’s kinda a mortal injury, minus the fact they’re supposed to be undead,” Haruno muses. “I guess she, like, un-undeads them?”

“I’ll do what I can to save the people we find,” Yosano says, glaring around, obviously a bit miffed about the secretaries talking about her like a tool instead of a person. “Besides, it’s not like it’ll be pleasant for them.”

Atsushi grimaces as Dazai smirks. “No, I suppose not,” Dazai says.

Obviously, it would be best for Yosano to only have to use her Ability as few times as possible. Even without the insurmountability of the task of individually reversing the zombied Yokohamans as they themselves continue to infect others, Yosano is very particular about the use of her ability. For reasons that are none of Atsushi’s business but definitely have to do with her thing about the Port Mafia boss, she insists on putting people through extensive torture before healing them. It would be a hard ask to meticulously torture all of the zombies— Atsushi’s not quite sure their nerve endings even work well enough to appreciate it. 

Instead, their task is likely to corral all the zombies into a large clearing, cause some damage to them all— probably with low-power explosives, either Kajii’s or Kunikida’s, the former only likely because of the fact the Port Mafia is definitely already working on this case— and have Yosano use Thou Shalt Not Die then. Kenji is especially good for this because of his experience with herding animals, and Atsushi himself has predator-animal instincts that suit him to this task as well. They will probably coordinate in separate teams to accomplish the herding goal with Yosano waiting at one of the empty warehouses by the port, while Dazai works separately (probably with Ranpo’s help, but Atsushi doesn’t have a grasp on the relationship between the two of them) to find the original ability user. 

As Ranpo goes on to help Kunikida and the President explain exactly this, Atsushi sighs. Dazai, who is sitting to the right of him, rolls his chair over and nudges him with his elbow. Not to say anything, but to make Atsushi look at him.

There’s a self-satisfied look in Dazai’s eyes that doesn’t do anything to comfort Atsushi, even though Dazai’s smile is all warm pride. Whatever Dazai’s been training him for— the strategy, the deductive reasoning, the desensitization towards violence and murder, the manipulation and other social skills— he’s, if not there yet, pretty close to complete. 

It reminds him of the toast on the boat. The layers in it. To the Stray Dogs. Atsushi wonders if maybe he was the person then that he is now, he would have figured out what it was all about. 

Dazai himself is a black hole to most people, his intentions and machinations beyond comprehension. But as Atsushi was being made by him, learning him was inevitable. 

Whatever Dazai really is, Atsushi will know soon. Atsushi smiles back, and Dazai blinks twice quickly, like someone clapped their hands in front of his face. Like he didn’t expect that at all. 

The President clears his throat. At the front of the room, only Ranpo is looking at the two of them, Kunikida and the President ignoring them in a way that is scolding rather than allowing. Ranpo’s gaze, Atsushi can’t decipher. The President continues: “The herding team will split into two groups; Kenji and Kyouka; Tanizaki and Atsushi. Ranpo, Haruno, and Naomi will be directing you over a communications line from here at the Agency. Kunikida will go with Dazai to find the Ability user, again keeping a line with Ranpo. I will accompany Yosano to the herding destination.”

Atsushi looks at Kyouka first in brief bewilderment—he’s a little bummed and also surprised to not be working with his usual partner, but her and Kenji have been getting closer recently— and then meets Tanizaki’s eyes and nods. Though they don’t actually hang out often, they’re the closest in age to each other of the Agency members. They’re friends and they trust each other. They’re in this. 

 

Atsushi and Tanizaki are instructed to come in from the left flank. It is a lot farther away, but the distance is easily traversed by Atsushi’s ability. 

“Ah. Uh, I guess you’re carrying me?” Tanizaki shuffles awkwardly, the sleeves of his waist-tied hoodie swinging with the movement.

“I mean, do you have a better way?”

“No! I mean, I just… like can I choose how? Please?”

Atsushi does usually prefer to just potato-sack people, but he supposes everyone has the right to decide what is done to their bodies, so he shrugs. “How do you want me?”

“Don’t say it like that!” Tanizaki blushes. “And, uh, doggy style. Hands and knees, please.”

Atsushi’s face contorts into this wrinkled, appalled, jaw-dropped expression, but Tanizaki just shoos at Atsushi and in his shock he does as he’s told. He activated his ability, gets on his hands and knees, and allows Tanizaki to climb aboard before taking off. Jesus. And it’s not even nine.

They make it to their starting point, the widest edge of the ability’s projected range at this time, but need to wait until Kenji and Kyouka are ready to actually start. It needs to be simultaneous or else it cannot work at all. 

They stand on top of a building, watching the rumbling mass of people beneath them, and don’t look too hard at anything at all. 

Atsushi realizes he is alone except for the company of his peers. Tanizaki (next to him), Naomi (on comms), and Haruno (on comms) were senior to him in respect for time spent at the Agency, but of a similar enough age with him that the gap was easily bridged. This all to say that at Atsushi’s current position in the ADA, he has finally earned enough camaraderie and respect to shit talk about his seniors with impunity. “So… Ranpo and Poe are dating now?”

“Are they? I mean, how should I know, but Ranpo was being kind of a dick. Wasn’t he?” Tanizaki quickly takes the bait and runs with it. “Like, all love and respect to Ranpo. Always love and respect to Ranpo, but Poe was clearly going through it and Ranpo was just talking about his ass.”

“Wait, what? I missed that.”

“Really? It was when—“

“It was when he told Poe to buy the pants you have, ‘cause it’s apparently doing wonders. Borderline harassment probably, but whatever.” Naomi’s voice filters in over the comms. “Speaking of, who got those for you? C’mon, you can tell me.”

“Yeah, you can tell us,” Haruno says over the same line. “Pretty please?”

“Um. It’s kinda new,” Atsushi says like that’s even remotely the problem. “Besides, I don’t really know if we’re super dating. It’s kinda unclear. I don’t know what we’re calling it.”

“So a sugar daddy type?” Naomi guesses, but doesn’t wait for confirmation. “On this salary, I get it. Sometimes I wonder if a rich man will come and steal my brother away!”

“Never,” Tanizaki quickly affirms in that creepy way he always does. “Also we would share the money.”

“Oh, bet.”

“But, Atsushi,” Tanizaki turns to him with narrowed eyes, concerned like the actual living zombies could not seem to make them. “That kind of relationship can be really dangerous. I know you personally can have a certain amount of lenience towards your health, but you really have to consider your safety and emotional well-being.”

Atsushi blinks, head moving back in response to the abrupt force of this unexpected care. He figures it’s probably something that Tanizaki, as an overprotective older brother, has a lot of pre-formed strong opinions about. 

“Ah, he said no. Like, it’s not a sugar daddy thing. He actually called me a rescue animal, when I asked.”

“Oh, so you’re a furry?” Tanizaki gathered. “Huh. Guess that makes sense, not like you really have a choice in the matter.”

“What the hell is a furry?” Atsushi asks, but Haruno’s excited shriek over the comms promises to tell him.

“I’ll show you my fursona later though,” she says after a few minutes of dropping rapid-fire, horrifically enlightening information about just how much she likes cats. “I think something might be wrong with the Kyouka-Kenji group, cuz they haven’t checked in at all. Also, the zombies have learned how to climb.”

“What?” Atsushi asks, and then promptly feels a bite on his arm. Ah, shit.

#bsd fanfic #sskk fanfic #sskk #bsd sskk #atsushi nakajima #akutagawa ryuunosuke #bsd #bungou stray dogs #shin soukoku

[tifadoesnotblog]

My insane plot for a possible season 2 of Yuuri!! on Ice

Okay Yuuri on Ice stans, tear me to shreds xx

-set about two and a half to three years after s1 

-Yurio is setting up to go to the olympics for the first time and Yuri and Victor are still skating competitively

-Victor still has his whole complex about having to constantly surprise people and his big idea this year is for him and Yuuri to begin pair skating

-Yuuri is completely against this because I headcanon he’s a bit insecure in his masculinity due to his more feminine build and struggles with conveying traditionally masculine sexuality and traits. He’s is still a lot more confident in himself because of his arc in s1 but I think that’s a bit more tied to his abilities as a skater and the fact he’s just as talented and deserving of his title as anyone else

- so Yuuri is all like but Victor i would have to be the “girl” and idk if I’m comfortable with that

-Victor (because he’s still a bit of a self focused twat) brushes Yuuri’s insecurities off as silly, partly because he can’t comprehend the idea of anyone seeing Yuuri as anything other than the hottest most sexy man to ever, but also because he’s so wrapped up in this idea he cannot let it go

-so Victor is like please please please Yuuri we have to do this or I’ll die and spends a majority of the first episode haranguing Yuuri about it until he begrudgingly agrees

- I sort of headcanon that Victor kind of makes Yuuri insecure and intimidated in the sense that Victor is always so much and Yuuri consistently struggles to keep up (he might just be autistic but it  doesn’t matter either way) and this paired with the fact that Victor has a tendency to get wrapped up in himself and not think about other people's feelings leads to them not being on the same wavelength AT ALL and a good portion of their first season as pairs is absolutely dreadful because they both to refuse to communicate or even outright acknowledge these issues between them

-It gets even worse when Yuri’s grandad dies and Victor and Yuuri put their entire season on hold to fly out and parent this boy through his grief whilst managing his olympic training

-It all culminates when the pressure gets to be two much for Yuuri and like they’re in training and they don’t land a jump or something silly and small and Yuuri just blows up

- Yuuri screams to Victor about how he never wanted to do this and how he cannot cope with the anxiety having to skate as a pair is putting on him and Victor is so wrapped up in his own shit that he refuses to acknowledge Yuuri’s feelings in any meaningful way, and how this is all on top of them having to try their best to support Yuuri who has all of his own stuff going on and needs them because he’s at the peak of his career and it’s far more important than their stupid pais skate and Victor’s ego. 

-Victor gets angry too because Yuuri calls their pair skate stupid and goes off on one right back about how Yuuri is just being selfish and how he’s jealous that he’ll never shine as bright as Victor did. Loads of stupid petty things that he doesn’t mean and more so says because he struggles to comprehend the fact that what he’s done could’ve hurt Yuuri when he was doing it for the both of them (I think at this point since Victor is turning 30 he probably has a bit of a complex about being washed up and just doesn’t want Yuuri to feel the same way about himself which is why he puts double the effort into surprising everyone as he did prior to their relationship) He’s also probably angry at himself for having not realised he’s hurt Yuuri in such a big way. (I honestly headcanon Victor as having ADHD which is why he’s so forgetful and for lack of a better term muchy. And also why he struggles with empathy at times)

-Because of what Victor says Yuuri is rightfully really upset and they basically break up and go their own ways for a while

- I think Yuuri probably flies back home to Hasetsu and Victor finds himself wherever Yurio is (Wherever the Olympics is that year. The next winter olympics is in Italy so let’s say there)

-This bit of the plot get’s a bit muddy but I think Yuuri probably just mopes and Victor get’s a serious talking to from Yuri about how he’s a narcissistic pig and that Yuuri is constantly doing the most for him and he’s kind of ungrateful (this is all explained in a very angry Yuri way of course)

-Victor realises the error of his ways and probably makes some sappy Victor-esque comment about how proud he is of Yuri and how much he’s grown. But then he’s like But how could I ever apologise after what I’ve said s Yuri makes a joke about romcoms and grand romantic gestures

-Victor being Victor takes it completely seriously and flies all the way out to Hasetsu on a whim to apologise to Yuuri in a grand romantic gesture

-They talk it out and Victor apologises and reassures Yuuri that it doesn’t matter what stereotypes negate and that he’s a man if he says he is and nothing will ever change that and he’s beautiful irregardless of nonsense tradition (Victor Nikiforov gender non-conformities number one fan)

-Yuuri also apologises for not being more plain about his feelings and just expecting Victor to be able to read his mind

-They both make up and decide to finish the season together as equals 

- they make it to nationals by the skin of their teeth but once they’re there they are so gay and in love and perfect for each other that they skate their very best

-From here I can’t decide if they make it onto the podium and don’t win as a parallel to season one or if they do win and it just conveys how perfect they are and how much they love each other

-whatever happens the two of them are content because they did it together

-Nationals finish just in time for them to fly back to Italy and see Yuri compete

-He doesn’t win but it’s fine because he’s only 18 and has plenty of time to and they're both so proud of him anyway and his grandpa would be too

- From there they live happily ever after i guess

-I think maybe Victor and Yuuri retire and decide to just skate for themselves and for fun. I think they probably also become Yuri’s coaches

—--------Other things of note—--------------------

-I think throughout the season we do spend some time with Yuri and see him trying to cope with the loss of his grandpa

-Otabek and Yuri bonding because I think their friendship is something really special to Yuri

-Phichit is also competing at the Olympics because I love him and he deserves success

-I also think Phichit is the only person Yuuri properly confides in about how stressed out and dreadful he’s feeling so he emotionally supports him through a lot of that

-I don’t really know what Chris will do throughout the season but he’s definitely there because I also love him

#yurionice #yuri on ice #yuri plisetsky #yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #phichit chulanont #makkachin #otabek altin #christophe giacometti #jean jacques leroy