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#and whether or not anyone 'gets' it :3c
komashkathesilly · 10 months
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I would be the forever grateful if you drew kanamizu or just Mizuki please and thank uyou
C:
sure :3c
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xannerz · 11 months
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Mask off for this one. I’m gonna have to freshen my pores with Cass x Hector. The world needs more deranged black haired gnc bob havers just obliterating each other.
YES, TY, TY 😌🙏
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cinna-bunnie · 1 year
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a girl's a fan of how they did that gundam anime. (spoiler) rewatching it again and i always like that scene where Suletta asks her mom why she lied about Aerial being a gundam and she's basically just being manipulative and saying bc sge loves her and wants to protect them - but they have her arms stretched out with the lighting behind her like she's a god or fanatic or w/e, but is like very clearly grooming her daughter for something and it's just like girl!!
I can't rly blame Suletta bc she's just a sweet anxious girlie w a bunch of love but geez.
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gibbearish · 7 months
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theres a kickstarter i backed back in march 2021 thats been going through issue after issue during the production process but has been keeping backers updated the whole time and a couple months ago they announced they were finally able to start shipping orders im excited
#had it been a scam it wouldve been fine bc as soon as i give money to things like that i just consider it gone forever so i take the#possibility of that happening into account when deciding whether or not to buy something and when i backed it $115 was Not Hard At All#that was like. two days' worth of tips at most? three if you picked really slow days?#so as far as im concerned i dont have $115 worth of money up in the air right now waiting for repayment#i simply donated $115 to a cool project almost three years ago and now will get a time capsule of a present in the mail at some point#BUT all that being said i dont think its a scam shes been very transparent and accommodating the whole time#like i couldve gotten most of my order by now if i wanted‚ there were wallets that came with the bag and they were the main problem point#bc the manufacturer she used first was Garbage but she wasnt able to get a refund from them#so she offered to ship out everything except the wallets to anyone who wanted it they just had to cover the shipping#n i was like. i dont /need/ any of this it was 100% a fun little treat for me so it being late isnt like. a problem#so might as well save like $20 its win win#and a bunch of people did take her up on it and have been posting abt the quality and they all seem legit#its very funny that ive had to update my address with her twice though KSBDKSBDKDN#and the extra benefit is it really will be a little time capsule present because its been so long ive forgotten most of what i ordered#like i know theres a bag and a wallet and some pins and i think one other thing?#but i dont remember the details of what they look like really or esp the pins i dont remember anything except they were there#maybe the other thing was a popsocket? that sounds probable#anyways. soon it will be bag time>:3c#oh and ofc ppl who didnt order the wallets have already gotten their orders shes not making them wait for us kwbdkshf#so theyve been posting reviews too#im pretty sure 'just refund me for the wallet and give me the rest' was an option#i don't remember for sure and don't want to dig through all FORTY TWO EMAILS to check but id definitely be way more salty abt#the whole situation if they hadnt because thatd be shitty#im bad at remembering things but good at holding deserved grudges so the fact i dont have one tells me she didnt#love having to fuckin. sherlock holmes my own past lmao#but yeah as is im just like. i cannot imagine how much it must suck majorly to be in her shoes so she can take as long as she needs#like a while back i had someone order a thing off etsy ans it didnt notify me at all so they emailed me like a month later like#'hey any updates on my order?' and i was like. FUCK#and i felt terrible for like a month afterwards and gave them a bunch of free stickers to make up for it#and that was yknow. one person who ordered $6 worth of stickers
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milksuu · 2 months
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can I get some headcannons based on Heartsteal being becoming fathers? Like how they were during the time their s/o was pregnant. :3c
Maybe a bonus on whether the child was planned or not.
❥ prompt: v!heartsteel expecting father headcanons with reader ❥ content/warnings: suggestive themes, foul language, pregnancy and all things related, baby genders mentioned ❥ characters/pairings: Heartsteel! (aphelios, ezreal, kayn) x pregnant!reader an;; forgive me, i am too sleepy tired to write for all the boys atm. ;w; fml my hc's for sett would make me fold errr maybe later
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░꒱♡‿ִ₊˚→ APHELIOS
When you break the news, Aphelios forgets he primarily uses sign language to speak. To your surprise, and to his own, he uses broken words and barely audible sounds. Almost like a child learning to talk again. You have to help him by taking his hands, and guiding him to use them instead of straining his vocal cords.
'Are...are you sure?'
At first, it's difficult to process all the emotions. Happiness. Fear. Excitement. Anxiety. Love. Overwhelmed, he presses your hands against his face, hiding his unraveling expressions. Afer a beat, he chokes up. His hands squeezes yours, deepening your touch. And within moments, you're wrapped in his arms. And he presses as much of you into himself as he can. Holding you so close to his heart, you feel it pound against your cheek. As if to say; 'is it really okay for me to be this happy?'
To any outsider looking in, Aphelios seems disconnected and unenthusiastic about the whole situation. A plus-one wasn't planned, after all. When anyone asks about you and the baby, he replies with a simple 'Fine. Thanks.' And promptly diverts the subject back to work or anything else. But on the inside, the poor man is suffering. Constantly worrying about you and the babies well-being. In reality, he's too afraid to indulge in his own happiness and share it with others. Fearing the moment he does, it'll all shatter like glass in front of him. And he won't be strong enough to mend the pieces.
It's no surprise that his new chronic obsession consist of only making sure you and the growing baby are safe. He texts every hour, on the hour. Makes frequent video calls. And installs motion sensor cameras around the house, especially in places you could easily fall. And no, he doesn't mind watching you fold laundry or wash dishes for an hour while on a face call. So long as he can see you smiling and healthy, that's all he needs to assure him when he's not physically with you.
He's also pulling all nighters until his bottom eyelids are rimmed red. Reading hundreds upon hundreds of articles, forum posts, and online material on how to be a 'Good Father'—especially one who can't speak. Jotting down everything he can in his notebook, bleeding pen after pen dry from ink. There's plenty of times you have to wake up in the middle of the night and convince him back to bed. But only after reassuring him a thousands times how great of a father he'll be.
When the baby bump begins to show, Aphelios presses his ears against your stomach. Listening to the life you carry inside you. The amniotic sounds ease his intrusive thoughts, and lulls him to sleep; he always imagines he's taking a nap right beside the baby. Plus, he loves getting the small bit of attention from you as you run your fingers through his hair. A moment of selfishness he can't help but relish all for himself.
As for sex...well, he's not always on board with the idea. As much as he craves to be inside you everyday, especially when your body looks so heavenly full, he just doesn't want to risk anything. Especially in your later months. Last thing he wants to do is induce an early labor. But he's more than willing to devote his hands and mouth to satisfy every inch of you that he can. Worshipping you with adoring kisses and soft touches from head to toe. He's happy to please you, and doesn't expect anything in return in your state. (Of course, you do anyway.)
Familial genetics is one heck of a thing. Aphelio's eyes are blown wide at an image screen that shows two babies growing side-by-side. When it's conclusive you'd be having identical twin boys, he almost collapses in front of the ultrasound technician. So not one—but two—surprise gifts waited for him at the end of the third-trimester. And if they would be anything like him, their house would be a pranking death trap to all who entered. No one would be safe, except for mom.
░꒱♡‿ִ₊˚→ EZREAL
When you show Ezreal your pregnancy result, he looks at it with complete shock. He's locked in silence, which is never a good thing for someone as talkative as him. You almost have second thoughts about revealing the news until he bounces to you and gathers you in his arms. Eyes brimming with tears of absolute joy.
"No way—No way! Are you telling me I'm going to be a dad? Babe, for real. Is that what these two lines mean? Are you kidding me? This is the happiest freakin' day of my life!"
Ezreal has always been a fan of surprises, and this big news was no exception. Everywhere he went, no matter the conversation, he'd just casually state he was becoming a father. Didn't matter the person or group setting. Family. Friends. The neighbor; his neighbor next to him. The young teen delivering packages to his door. The grandmother and her toy-poodle waiting in line at the convenience store. If anyone was around him, he was boasting about you and the now expected bundle of joy.
Ezreal tries his bestest to help you around the house. He's never been great at chores, but he's a happy little helper eager to listen and please. You tell him exactly what you need from him, and he'll do it with a smile on his face. Anything that keeps your stress levels low, he wants to be the one you rely on to ease your burden.
Ezreal can't lie and say he understands everything about pregnancy and what you're going through. It all seems to go right over his head. The only thing he seems to get is your morning sickness, because he's literally feeling it too. Seeing you nauseous gets his own sympathetic response going. So while he's trying to comfort you, holding your hair as you hover over the toilet, he's also cradling the nearby trash bucket for himself. (How romantic!)
When your stomach grows, Ezreal can spend hours and hours talking to it. He never runs out of topics. Even mentioning the most mundane parts of his everyday life. These moments are when he feels he's bonding most with his child to be. He'll pretend to tell the baby secrets that you don't even know about, and whispers out loud with a wink, "but don't tell your mom about that one, 'kay?"
Ezreal is literally terrified to have sex with you. And not because he doesn't find your body attractive. But he actually believes he'll poke the baby's eye out, or pop you like a water balloon. And if that ever happened, the guilt would forever destroy him. It takes a visit to the obgyn and for a professional to explain that it's perfectly safe to have sex during your pregnancy. He's hesitant at first, but after the first go around, his confidence and sex drive picks right where it left off. (He regrets not going at it like rabbits sooner.)
When you're at your routine ultrasound appointment, Ezreal can't stop the tears parading down his face, even before he knows it's a boy. Hiccuping and siffling, one hand squeezes yours tight, while the other points at the imaging. "H...He...looks just...like me." It's endearing for him to think that. When the monitor only shows splotchy and fuzzy spots of the babies butt. The copied images to take home are his favorite photos taken. Ever.
░꒱♡‿ִ₊˚→ KAYN
When you break the news to Kayn, he doesn't hesitate to pull you in by the waist, pressing your hips together. Guiding a hand to the back of your neck, in a manner that was gentle and not comparable to how he fucked you senselessly. And with all the care in the world, he takes your lips.
"Damn. You're fertile as Hell. It only took us one time after you stopped your birth-control. Honestly, it's really fuckin' hot. How about we—you know—to celebrate?"
Counter to popular belief, Kayn brought up the idea to start a family first. When you asked him the reason, he first joked around a bit, telling you how hot and sexy it would be to 'impregnate you with his seed'. But, he put aside his usual impulsivities, and explained his desire to move on to the next part of his life. He was done with the partying and drugs. Over the one night stands and dating random no-nobodies. And just wanted to have a more meaningful, family oriented life—with you.
To show he's committed to the whole idea, he takes days off from his idol schedule to go to every prenatal check-up appointment. He plucks and stuffs every pamphlet into his pockets he can find around the waiting lobby. He asks tons of questions to the obgyn, and stuffs more educational brochures in his pockets. You have to scold him when he tries to snag a small uterus replica from the exam room. Kayn defends himself, wanting it for "educational" purposes. (Rhaast just wanted it as a neat souvenir.) He settles when a medical assistant gives him a sperm shaped pen.
Kayn is another one that isn't great with house chores. (But he'll gloat and say he's mastered cleaning the dishes, at the very least.) He's generally better at being sent for errands outside the home. If you need an extra ingredient to make dinner, he'll hop on his motorcycle and get it in record time. And if you're not feeling up for cooking, he'll order pick-up from your favorite place in town. You need to send a package at the post office? He'll wait hours in line on the busiest day of the week. Whatever he can do for you, he makes sure it gets done. So you never have to worry about something once you pass the responsibility to him. Showing you he's a more than capable partner and future father.
When your baby bump starts to show, Kayn's favorite thing to do is touch it. Applying the softest pressure as he runs his hands and finger across your rounding stomach. He's always enamored whenever he feels the baby move; another reminder of how amazing you are. And he never forgets to vocalize it. "You're so goddamn beautiful, you know that?" he'll say like you've cursed him. Cradling your face and taking your mouth.
You never have to tell this man more than once to touch or have sex with you. It's part of his daily routine a this point. And definitely one of his favorite ways to bond with you. But now that you're pregnant, it's as if the sex between you two has shifted into another plane of pleasurable existence. Never getting enough of it, even moments after finishing. But on the days you're not up for it, he respects it. And doesn't mind defaulting to cuddling, before dozing off to sleep with you in his arms. (But he eagerly counts down the time for when you're in the mood again.)
Kayn tries not to show to much of his softer-side; he rather be the one to have his shoulder wet than yours. But at your ultrasound appointment, once it's confirmed you're having a girl, his whole punk 'fuck only the hot police' persona collapses. You notice him clear his throat, and quickly swipe a knuckle at the corner of his eyes. He masks this dent of composure by huffing a laugh, "Guess I'm, uh...going to be kicking the crap out of a lot of asses later."
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web1entropy · 2 months
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[redacted] & ren headcanons (1/?)
characters: [redacted], ren, angel | reader word count: ~900 (not proofread) content warning: other than typical yandere themes, light angst, & wiretapping, the post is fairly tame a/n: i'm using the term 'headcanons' very, very liberally here. this post serves as a way for me to get a better feel for ren\ [redacted] (more so the latter than the former).
–whereas ren types in a way that exudes warmth\ friendliness by injecting as many emoticons (as socially acceptable) and tries to match your texting energy by responding in kind (sending memes back, responding with a sticker, or reacting to your messages), the opposite is said for [redacted].
–[redacted]'s texting style leans more towards being terse and straight to the point, thereby coming off as a bit... dry. moreover, they prefer to abbreviate most words to save milliseconds from *being away from you typing. you could write the most long-winded paragraph with multiple subtopics nested within and they'll respond with a simple "lol yea" or "oh?" before maybe offering a further commentary on whatever you wrote.
–they try to offset this effect by responding with a (purple) heart (if it's contextually appropriate).
–to further elaborate: it's not that they're uninterested in talking with you (as if such a concept is even possible; their leg rapidly bounce from exaltation as their eyes are glued to the screen because holy shit-- you're talking to them over anyone else, which means that your attention is on them and no one else!), it's more so that they don't have anything to share and they prefer that the focus of the conversation shouldn't shift away from whatever you wish to talk about.
–80% of the time, the conversation will conclude in [redacted] asking if they could call you instead. in general, they'll always opt for voice-to-voice communication since a little indelible past incident that had occurred on an online forum (?!) made them detest texting.
–chatting with you through video or voice calls assuages past memories of staring vacantly into nothing, one hand partially covering their face while the other picks up lint from their clothes, a frigid sensation spreads from deep crevices of their heart to the end of their limbs as they listen to the audio from their monitor of you speaking with some person (i.e. your friend). in your voice, they hear a vivid lilt that is a sharp contrast to the tone you've used with them when they attempted to approach you in real life.
–after doing it on photographs they own of you for years, it's no wonder one of their favourite act of physical contact is gently tracing your countenance: from the bottom of your chin, up to your lips, moving high to the arch of your apple cheeks— upon which their thumb lingers there for a few seconds, lightly stroking the spot below your eye —, then drawing upward from your temple to the outline of your eyebrows. finally, they consummate this gesture by placing a peck on the tip of your nose.
–[redacted]'s sense of humour is a derivative of a specific form of trolling -- being as provocative as possible while hiding behind the scrim of sincerity. it took time and practice to learn how to perfect and effectively manipulate a persona that can elicit a strong response from others. along the same vain, (affectionately) bantering with them is a bit of an issue since it's hard to get a rise out of them. it's further complicated by the fact that they know you more than you know yourself. nevertheless, it becomes easy to tease back once you find out that their weak spot is anything related to you :3c.
–it requires a decent degree of social and emotional intelligence to play a persona (whether it's acting out whoever is your current subject of affection or impersonating someone for nefarious purposes :3) and make it convincing to observers.
–Unfortunately, they don't have a meme folder on standby-- so they were taken completely off-guard when you hit them with a meme in lieu of a response. cue a distressed ren frantically searching up 'funny meme' on google images (of all places) while muttering 'not funny. gross. not funny. absolutely not. not funny. what the hell does that even mean?!'
–you're the only person [redacted] have saved to their contact list (and the only number they've memorised by heart). on nights that drag long and sleep deprivation begins to set in, hunched in front of the intense artificial light of their monitor, their gaze lingers on the 'dial' button on their screen as they can feel the dull ache in their heart stir over how easy it is to reach you; yet, they know good things never came easy to them.
–ren's freak out at the movie's jump-scare was a genuine reaction, not because he's afraid (as one might surmise), but because of how high-strung he is from that day's rollercoaster of events-- and now he's in your apartment watching a movie together like it's the most normal thing in the world?! he was deep in his reverie of domestic bliss and before it got cut short by the ear-piercing scream from the tv.
–they might or might not have attempted to make a short video game confessing their feelings to you. they'll resume their project after the events of the story and make it as an anniversary surprise.
–[redacted] being a fan of gothic music... i needn't elaborate more...(also I firmly believe from the bottom of my heart that pictures of you by the cure is one of their favourite songs.)
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jermer10 · 3 months
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TF2 relationship hcs + miss pauling
suggestive, gn reader | silly romantic hcs
drabbles under the cut :P
Scout:
- the most emotionally immature out of all the mercs, also the most inexperienced with dating so he can get pretty jealous over stupid things - a demo flirts with you? dead. a medic pockets you for too long? whoops didn’t see that enemy sorry medic. god forbid another scout even breathes in your direction - ironically he used you to make Pauling jealous and eventually realised he actually likes YOU (fake dating trope my beloved) - non-stop rambles about you to his ma, when she meets you she’s already calling you her child in law - dates with scout usually consist of going to baseball games or getting lunch together, he’s pretty simple and won’t plan anything too extravagant unless it’s an occasion (with spy’s help ofc) - not huge on pda, will hold your waist or sling an arm around your shoulders on occasion, in privacy however he is HUGE on physical affection he loves you sm <333 - stroking your hair and running his fingers along your back, kisses on your neck, throwing in a couple of cheesy pickup lines here and there - pretty much only refers to you with pet names, “doll, babe, toots, handsome, etc” he’ll only use your name when he’s emotional or during intimacy
Soldier: - the most dense man on god’s green american earth so unless you’re similar to zhanna, chances are he won’t even bat an eye at you. you need to be batshit and violent for this man to notice you first - wakes you up at 5am sharp every morning for “training” (forcing you to workout with him whilst he yells at you….lovingly?) expect to be buff as hell after a couple months because his routines are intense - “DROP AND GIVE ME 20 CUPCAKE” “GOOD JOB SOLDIER. HERE IS A KISS FOR YOUR HARD WORK” “PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN SWEETHEART” - his kisses are really rough, he lifts you up into the air and spins you around or dips you and it’s genuinely super sweet, he enjoys picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder as well :3c - he has no jealous bone in his body, only random accusatory statements towards anyone who shows kindness towards you and it deters them enough for soldier to never have to worry - dates with soldier usually consist of working out or going to war museums, will never plan fancy dates so that’s all up to you - does not care about public or private affection, he will makeout with you anytime, anywhere and is unapologetic about it, much to everyone else’s dismay - “EUGH! GET A ROOM YOU TWO!” “AFFIRMATIVE, WE WILL MOVE TO THE LIVING ROOM”
Pyro: - i hc pyro as being aroace so a romantic-platonic relationship between you guys would be more mushy and cute than anything else - going out on ice-cream dates and buying matching colouring books and seeing how differently you each colour the same scene - cheek kisses no matter where you are is a must!!! holding hands around the base, tapping on each-other when bored and to show affection <3333 - the other mercs have no fucking idea what your relationship is but none of them care as long as you’re keeping pyro in check - you’re the first and only merc to see pyro without their mask on, one of the most tender moments shared between you and something that they treasure - pyro doesn’t get jealous, but they will harm anyone who makes you uncomfortable, no questions asked - cuddle buddies!!!! you guys can be seen lying around the base in a sleepy huddle, i can see demo joining and medic or engie tripping over y’all 😭 - they are super attentive of your needs and compromise despite having trouble feeling romantic or sexual attraction, as long as you enjoy it, they enjoy it
Demoman: - more of a flirt than scout is, and that’s saying something. demo will chat you up at any time of the day, whether it be in the privacy of your bedroom or straight up on the battlefield - has died MULTIPLE times because he just cant keep his eye off you, he makes mental notes of how attractive you look while bashing an enemy spy’s brain in and uses it later (WINK) - a solid 80% of your relationship is shared in silly drunk moments and the other 20 is rooted in insecurity. demo being jealous? likely. demo being scared of you leaving him for someone with two eyes and their head on straight? definitely - there are nights where he feels completely sober just holding you in his arms and acknowledging that you’re here and you love him, warts and all - SUPER BIG ON PDA!!! he wants the entire world to know that you’re his, also super big on cheesy nicknames “beauty, my love, handsome boy/beautiful girl/gorgeous partner” - messy kisses, lazy cuddles, dragging his fingers along your body feeling every dip and curve <3333 even if the affection seems half assed, his heart is devoted to you - offhandedly mentions you to his mum after dating for a year or so, to which her response is to slap him upside the head for not telling her sooner and then asking about grandbabies - you’re demo’s rock, if you asked him to go sober for you he probably would. he adores everything you do, words are unnecessary just look at his face
Heavy: - the stern and silent type, he generally doesn’t show public affection towards you unless it’s to protect you or to calm you down - in private he is the most gentle merc, holding you close to him and stroking your hair, playing with your fingers and mentally squealing at how cute and small they are compared to his, rubbing your back with his palm - he is a man of few words, but it’s pretty obvious that he is completely enamoured by you just from the way he touches you and how his gaze softens when he sees you - would plan the most personal dates, things that he KNOWS you would enjoy doing or seeing just so that he can see you smile up at him - “Любимая (darling), Дорогая (dear), Любовь моя (my love)” are the most common pet-names you’ll hear him calling you, he’s a more traditional guy - heavy is not a flirty man, he’s too blunt and would rather say what he means in the most direct way possible. thaaaat doesn’t mean he discourages you from flirting with him however - his family is extremely weary of you to begin with, heavy doesn’t talk about you much and so they’re going to be on guard (despite the fact that he could crush you with one hand if you did have malicious intent) - after a while though they warm up to you and consider you apart of the family- baking with you, teaching you how to hunt bears, making bearskin clothing, cooking the bear meat, talking about marriage and children, ANYTHING they can do to include you
Engineer: - it’s tough dating engie - he’s either working or passed out from the exhaustion of working, so you never really get quality time with him - he still takes every chance he can get to show you a good time, whether it’s cooking dinner with you or writing songs for you, he is much more romantic than he leads on - “darl, darlin, sweetheart, honeybee” sweet and simple names that roll off the tongue - the merc most inclined to shower with you. not even in a sexual way, he just enjoys the calm heat of the water and how intimate it is to share such a space - creates devices to make your life easier; need a new weapon? no need to buy a faulty mann co one, he can build you anything you want. need your very own kitchenette so you the other mercs can’t keep stealing your food? he was already drawing up the plans a week ago - the type of guy to bring you breakfast in bed every morning, putting on some slow romantic music and peppering your face with kisses to wake you up - always keeping tabs on you in battle, making sure that you’re safe and unharmed (despite knowing that you can respawn he still hates seeing you hurt) - the least jealous man to exsist, he is completely secure in himself and knows that if you didn’t wanna be with him, you simply wouldn’t
Medic: - another workaholic over here, it’s a mission getting him away from the operating table, or his desk right next to it - quiet, soft moments are few and far between, but when you do get them they are spent in each other’s arms lazying around the base - medic isn’t the romantic type and would likely just take you out to a traditional dinner or would want to teach you how to perform certain medical procedures on dates - don’t get him wrong! he loves you entirely, he just doesn’t see the need in being overly romantic with you, his way of showing love is letting archimedes anywhere near you or letting you lie on the operating table while he finishes up his paperwork - his pet names for you include “schatz (treasure), maus (mouse), meine taube (my dove)” - will pocket you 1000% and the other mercs HATE it - they have to strategise a way to keep you separated from eachother during battle - it wouldn’t matter if you were invincible or on the verge of death, this man would protect you to the ends of the earth. that being said he is also a massive shithead, will tickle you randomly or poke fun at you when you’re in a bad mood. its sweet. usually - in that middle ground of jealous but also chill af, he will only really become jelly if you’re flirting with someone else, but if they’re flirting with you he does not care unless you’re uncomfortable
Sniper: - simultaneously the most chill and anxiety ridden person on earth, the way he can go from 1 - 100 in five seconds should be studied - it takes him a VERY long time to actually warm up to you, let alone DATE you, so be wary that you’re in it for the long haul if you want this man - the first 6 months of dating are torturous for the both of you, he is far too nervous to touch you and instead of telling you this he will literally just ignore you, but once you start being physical he is one of the most touchy mercs - you will have to be the initiator in most situations until he becomes more comfortable with affection, this man has spent most of his adult life in a van isolated from society so its no kidding that he would be awkward with you (even though he adores you) - “love, babe, darling, honey” generic nicknames, if he’s feeling more comfortable he’ll use “sweetheart” or “roo” if you’re getting on his nerves - he doesn’t do dates. like sorry to burst your bubble but he would consider eating dinner together in his van or even just having a bath together a date - extremely jealous but will never admit it and it is VERY obvious. this could be said for most of his feelings though and reassurance is all he really needs - will spy on you using the scope on his gun during battles, killing enemies who might try to sneak up on you <3
Spy: - spy is by far the MOST romantic merc out of the bunch, will take you out on date nights every week, intimacy regularly, affectionate both in private and public, etc he is the dream - in saying that he is also a player, he needs a partner who can keep him feeling fresh, and someone who is just as cunning as he is - will intentionally try to make you jealous in order to get a gauge on the kind of person you are. he is entirely mind games babe and will play it off as if he doesn’t care about other people trying to flirt with you (he wants to kill them with his bare hands) - he is either going to be obsessed with you or mildly attached, there is no in between and it will be strikingly obvious which it is - often refers to you as “mon amour (my love), beau/belle (handsome/beautiful), mon bébé (my baby)” - most likely enemies to lovers, if you’re good at your job he sees you as competition, if you’re not he sees you as a nuisance, either way you’re initially a problem to him - but then he starts to wonder: why can’t he stop thinking about your skin? and the way you say his name? and the way you bashed that sniper’s brains out? he is smitten without even realising it - occasionally cloaks and follows you around to keep you safe from enemies, but mostly sticks to trying to win the match
Miss Pauling: - if you thought engie or medic were bad you have NO idea with pauling, she quite literally has one day off a YEAR - and you bet your ass she is spending it in bed all day cuddling with you - doesn’t use pet names, she’ll either call you by your last name, or some nickname variation of your first name. she called you “babe” once and cringed so hard she couldn’t even look at you - as much as she doesn’t want to put you in any danger, she LOVES bringing you along for missions. she gets to finish earlier and spend time with you, its a win-win situation - coming home from work and eating dinner with you is the highlight of her day, she could be completely exhausted and yet you bring life back into her with just a smile - yes you had to “fight” scout for her and there was absolutely no competition, he didn’t even know you two were together until she rolled her eyes and kissed you in front of him (he was surprisingly supportive) - she’s far too busy to be jealous, if someone was flirting with you she wouldn’t even notice until it escalated and the person was on the floor with you standing over them triumphantly - she dreams about being able to go on museum dates with you one day, but for now bubble baths, dinners, and morning kisses are all you both get <\3
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moraxsthrone · 11 months
Note
OK I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY AND PROUD OF YOURSELF BC YOU SINGLE-HANDEDLY GAVE ME ITTO BRAINROT HOW?? WHY?? W H A T???? DFCVHBNJNKMLAG
Indulge me with this little thirst
Imagine you're wearing the cutest lacy frilly lingerie set (bonus if it matches his colors black/purple/red) that just accentuates all the right curves and spots, crisscross stripes over your skin aND WHEN HE SEES YOU HE JUST GOES 👀!!!!!!! jaw hits the floor blushing drooling and repeating "babe" your name and freaking out, brain stops working just pulls you up on his big strong arms and sits you on his lap (and BOI his not-so-little friend downstairs is already excited huh)
and you just go :3c all coy and cute and delicate leaning in pressing your chest against his, scooting closer "Itto baby you gotta be careful unwrapping your present, it would be a shame to tear up something so pretty... right?" finger drawing circles on his skin making him SHIVER
AND IMAGINE HIM JUST S T R U G G L I N G TO KEEP IT TOGETHER and be delicate untying the lacy strings like NAH MAN he's got BIG HANDS NOT MADE FOR THIS TASK LMAO
plus you're making it REAL hard kissing and chuckling at his neck and rolling your hips against his crotch slow and sensual
by the time those panties come off they're soaked through with a mix of his pre and your slick asxdcvghjbnjkl
*HSAKING BITING MY PILLOW HORNY GRIP*
MA'AM I WROTE AN ENTIRE FIC WHAT HAVE YOU D O N E i think.... i think you gave me a size kink........ BUT GODS YOUR WRITING IS SO!!!!! *rabid horny crys noises*
i’ll have you know i am quite pleased with myself for making you (and anyone else who will listen) foam at the mouth for arataki mf itto.
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‧₊˚ pairing — arataki itto x f!reader
‧₊˚ wc — 1.3k
‧₊˚ cw — nsfw. mdni. fem!reader. praise. oral (m. & f. rcv'ing). implied squirting.
‧₊˚ a/n — okay, so crys sent me this WEEKS AGO and every time i sat down and tried to answer, the words just wouldn't come out right? BUT THEN i realized itto's bday was only a few weeks away (at the time) and since she describes you as being his "present" IT HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS...THIS WOULD MAKE THE PERFECT BIRTHDAY IDEA FOR OUR ONE AND ONI KING ARATAKI ITTO!!
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poor itto’s just sitting there, looking down between his claws and the cute frilly bra you have on, his big oni head full, debating with himself over whether he should try to be delicate and slowly work the lacy underthings off of you, or throw caution to the wind and get the things off of you as quickly as he can by Any Means Necessary™️. as ravishing as you look in that dainty lingerie, he decides it's worth sacrificing in the name of getting his mouth on your tits as quickly as possible. his hands are trembling a little and his cock is throbbing underneath your thigh when his pretty crimson eyes meet yours, full of unspoken apologies.
but then he gets another idea. a better idea.
what if he can do everything he wants with you without taking the lingerie off at all????
itto grabs two handfuls of your ass, squeezing your plush flesh between his big fingers as he guides your hips, rocking them back and forth to feel the heat of your cunt dragging along his clothed length. he’s so hard and big you can feel the ridge of his cockhead through the thin material of your panties, which are getting wetter with your slick by the second.
you huff a breathy laugh against his neck, shuddering a little when your clit catches on the front seam of his pants. you’re moving on your own when he captures your chin between his thumb and index finger, guiding your face away from his neck so he can press his lips to yours. his kiss is needy and passionate, a quiet groan escaping his throat when you push your tongue into his mouth. oh, he likes that very much, especially when you lick at his fangs with a playful moan.
he cups one of your tits in his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, making you whine a little in his mouth. he can feel your hard nipple through the lacy material and pushes the cup of the bra down to let your tit spill out into his hand. he temporarily abandons your fervent kiss to trace the tip of his tongue around your pebbled bud before closing his lips around it to suckle, his tongue still swirling. You push your fingers into his hair, holding onto his horns as your head falls back in pleasure. 
he picks you up and puts you on your back before getting on his knees and pushing your open legs back, spreading them wide so he can see the dark wet spot that has formed in the fabric that's covering your juicy cunt. he can smell you and it’s making his cock drool inside his pants. he kisses your folds through the flimsy cloth, the tip of his nose nudging your hard clit as he goes. soft presses of his lips turn into open-mouthed kisses just before he teases your sweet little pearl. he flattens his tongue against your cunt, making you moan at the feeling of his hot, wet muscle as it makes pinpoints of contact with your skin through the lacy panties.
“mmm baby, your pussy tastes so good…fuck,” itto mutters, his voice heavy with lust.
hooking his finger inside the crotch of your panties, itto moves the lace over to one side, exposing your pink, glistening slit. the sight of your beautiful pussy has him licking his lips...then slowly licking yours. you flinch beneath him, heels digging into his hard shoulders when he flicks and rolls your tiny hard-on around with the tip of his tongue before wrapping his lips around it and sucking it in. your oni may not be the smartest guy, but he knows how to eat pussy like no other. he pulls off long enough to stick his middle finger in his mouth and get it wet before carefully pushing it in your hole, watching your face with a mischievous grin as your back arches for him when you feel the slight stretch of his thick digit. he slowly fucks you with his finger before adding another.
and you certainly don't have to take anything off to be able to swallow his thick cock. he thinks it’s so sweet when you choke on it bc it shows how much you wanna please him and make him feel good. so he brushes his thumb over your hollowed cheek and there’s so much adoration in his fiery eyes when he groans and tells you how good you are to him. you treat him like a king and he dotes on you bc you’re his queen. 
and when he's ready to fuck you, he just rolls you onto your belly and pushes those purple little panties to the side. the thong is hooked around his thumb as he holds onto your hips and pushes his leaking cockhead inside you. little by little, inch by inch, he fills you with his thick oni cock and starts hitting it from the back. your whimpers and gasps of his name spur him on, driving his big dick in and out of your juicy cunt. he watches the way your tight little hole stretches open around his wide shaft, his fang leaving an indentation where he bites his lower lip to keep from cumming too fast. “nhnnn…fuck yeah, baby! takin’ my cock so well…” he praises you as the front of his muscular thighs clap against the back of yours.
a few more thrusts and he pulls out, making you whine. but before you can protest, he’s got you on your back and his huge hands around your ankles, pulling them against the hard plane of his chest. itto’s bedroom eyes are burning into yours when the tip of his tongue swipes across his lower lip as he guides his fat tip back to your hole. he pushes inside you again, his open-mouthed groan harmonizing with your pretty sigh as your wet heat stretches around him, tight and welcoming like he’s right where he’s supposed to be. leaning forward, he puts you in a press and starts fucking you again, but this time it’s slow and deep. irises of molten rock peer into your watering eyes as he tells you how beautiful you are, how good you are to him, how much he appreciates you and the way you’ve given him the best birthday present of all:
you. you, and your love.
your legs are hanging helplessly over his beefy, marked arms. the red straps of your bra have long fallen off your shoulders, your tits spilling out of the flimsy cups and bouncing with every hard thrust of itto’s strong hips. his long, white hair has fallen over his shoulders to tickle your skin, and your eyes soften.
“mmm, happy birthday, my king…” you sigh.
he leans in closer, pressing your knees to your chest, his hips still snapping into yours as he cups your jaw in his big hand. “i love you, my queen…love you so fuckin’ much,” he breathes, then kisses you hard. your tongues swirl and his hips begin to stutter. “fuck, m'so close. cum...cum with me, baby…” 
with the way his thick, bulbous cockhead has been tugging at your sweet spot for the past few minutes, you don't need to be told twice. you place your hands on either side of his face and nod, panting. he buries himself deep and grinds into you, his coarse thatch of white pubic hair rubbing your clit as his heavy balls draw up tighter and tighter against your taint.
“oh gods…” he sighs, “...fuck…”
“cum for me, itto,” you gasp, beckoning him as your own orgasm takes hold and he feels you gush all around him, soaking his lower abs and crying his name.
he plants his lips against one of your palms and squeezes his eyes shut, grunting, “cumming…i- nngghhaa fuck!” his hips twitch and jerk into you as the first jet of his hot semen erupts inside you. his oni ancestry ensures that he cums in massive loads, filling you to the brim and spilling out of you before he’s even done emptying himself inside your womb.
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‧₊˚ itto m.list || happy bday you big sexy oni *kisses his horns, one at a time*
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tw1l1te · 2 months
Text
The Final Promise₊˚✩⊹
Chapter 2
Linked Universe x reader
Warnings: Angst, fluff, soft and domestic, suggestive themes
Authors note: I was too excited to not post this lmao :3c
Time seemed to stop, and you didn’t mean by the Old Man.
Time literally seemed to halt. You stared at Rusl, trying to find any signs of lying or amusement in his eyes, as if this was some joke. A cruel, twisted joke.
“W-what?” you asked, the only word you could muster. You could feel your fingers shake on the table. You didn’t want to believe what Rusl said, or did you? You weren’t sure. 
You weren’t sure if you’d accepted the fact on whether or not you were coming home ever again, but you didn’t think it would happen now, or so soon. Maybe Hylia wanted to see how your head would react. A twisted game for her, like it always is.
“Are you sure that’s what she said? Maybe she meant something else-"I know what she said. I may be old, but I saw what she wrote clear as day. There’s another mirror.”
Before anyone could say anything else, you stormed out of the cottage, the door squeaking on it hinges as you storm out.
“Y/n! Wait!!” Hyrule yells after you.
Before you could stop yourself to calm down, you break into a spring, heading straight towards the forest. You needed to run. Run. RUN.
This couldn’t be happening. You researched and combed through Hyrule Castle’s archives to find any sliver of hope that you’d be able to come home. Even if it said it was impossible, you never found anything to begin with. You had no answers.
You don't know when you stopped running, you panted as you sat up against a tree, silent tears running down your cheeks and down your neck. Breathing was so difficult, you began hiccuping and hyperventilating, gripping onto your hair for any kind of grounding back into reality. That’s when you felt something wet on your forehead.
Looking up, you were relieved for it to just be Wolfie, or Twilight. 
“Twilight you shouldn’t have followed me.” you whispered into his fur.
Twilight turned back into his Hylian form, your face still in his pelt. 
“I needed to make sure you were okay. Can’t leave you alone, especially in Faron Woods. Who knows what’s still out here,” he murmured into your hair, combing through your sweaty locks. He kissed the top of your forehead, hesitating before pulling back.
“It’s gonna be okay, Y/n. I promise. We’ll be with you, every step of the way, ok? We’re gonna find you a way to go home. Whether it be this lead or if we find something else.”
You sighed. Twilight was always the more outwardly calm person in the chain, alongside Time and Warriors. 
“Twilight that’s the thing… I’m not even sure if I want to go home. It’s probably been years back home, hell I don’t even know if I have my apartment or my friends or… But its not like I don’t want you, y’know? I’ve been dreaming of going home since I first came here, I’d been up for nights at a time just researching in the underground library archives. I-I don’t know what to do or think, Twi.” you rambled, voice breaking at the end, letting more tears slip out.
“Although I don’t know exactly what you’re feelin’, I’m here for you, whatever it is that happens. We’re all here for you.”
He takes a breath.
“Speaking of the others, we should head back to the village, the others are probably worried sick about you.”
You nodded without a word, getting up and making back to Ordon Village together, Twilight wrapping his pelt around your shoulders. It smelled like him, you thought. 
~
Twilight never gives anyone his pelt, its the one thing he sees as his. So why’d he give it to you? He has no idea. Instinct, he thinks. It’s cold, you needed it more than him. He looks down at you, your pink cheeks and wet lashes making you look more fragile and doll-like. Your cute nose sniffing every few seconds, breathing in the cold air. Your ears were so small, littered with at least 3 or 4 piercings, one of which was a triforce. 
Twilight smiles slightly. He always liked the little pieces of “memorabilia” you had of them. It was incredibly strange and unsettling when they first found out, but he sees it more as like your belonging to them admiration of them.
Twilight’s train of thought stopped for a moment.
Where the hell did that thought come from?
Before he could ruminate on his psyche, he’s shaken out of his thoughts by Wind yelling “Oh thank fucking Hylia!”
~
You came back into Twilight’s treehouse, heading toward the bathroom to take a warm bath. You noticed that the tub was already filled, hot steam coming off the surface of the water. You’d have to thank whoever drew you the bath.
Stripping your clothes, you set them in a pile near the door. You step into the tub, wincing slightly at the hot water making contact with your skin. It was a bit too hot for you, but you knew the water will cool off fast enough, so you powered through it.
You sighed. This was nice. Even with the chaotic stream of thoughts coursing through your head, the bath seemed to dull it, even for just a moment. You grab your hair and start combing through it, no doubt getting knots from running through the woods earlier. You look at the necklace Four made for you a few months ago. It was to commemorate a year being with the Chain, which in retrospect should’ve made you sad, but it made you extremely happy and grateful for everyone in the group
You knew it was much easier to come across rarer metals and jewels here than back home, but you were still just as in shock when you realized what it was made of. You remember sobbing from joy when you received it, as you never held something so expensive and meaningful in your entire life.
The necklace was made of metal sourced from Death Mountain but you had no clue what the gem in the triangle shaped cavity was. It looked like emerald, but the boys said it wasn’t that, and that they won't tell you. They were so petty at times.
You were startled out of your thoughts when there was a knock at the door.
“I brought you some fresh clothes, Dove.” Ah Sky, honestly you were a little relieved it wasn’t Legend or Wars, knowing they’d say something snarky or suggestive.
“Come in Sky.” 
You could hear the cogs turning in his head for a moment before he entered, red in the face. You almost laughed at what you were seeing.
Sky turned his head away from you and covered his eyes, just to spare you some dignity.
“I-uh gave you one of my older shirts since you don’t have any other clean ones and its thicker, so it’ll help keep you warm and it has-”
“Sky, for the love of god you’re making this more awkward than it has to be. You’re sweet for being so thoughtful, but we’re both adults Pumpkin.” you mused, chuckling a bit.
Sky finally made eye contact with you, but still avoided your eyes for the most part.
“Right. Um, well, I’ll just leave these on the chair then.”
Sky then stared at you. Not in a creepy way, just in admiration and awe. Luckily, the rest of your body was hidden under the bubbles of the soap in the water, so its not like he could see anything anyway.
He then walked up to you and sat down outside of the tub, still gazing at you.
“I was so worried about you earlier, Songbird. Are you alright now?” he asked, worry crossing his face.
You sighed. Ever the most thoughtful. Bringing your hands from under the water, you cup his cheeks looking right into his eyes.
“Don’t worry so much about me, Sky. I’m fine now. Twilight calmed me down a bit, but you know how shocking such information can be. I just need a bit to process, y’know? I’ll be fine though.”
You gave him a small smile, trying to read the thoughts behind his eyes. He just kept looking at you. You swear he looked at your lips a few times. Biting his lip, he asked “Can I wash your hair for you? No offense at all, I just wanted to offer because you never know when the next time we’ll get to be clean again.”
You nodded with a smile, sitting back against the porcelain tub, handing Sky the glass bottle of soap. As soon as he lathered his hands, he started massaging your scalp, a feeling you’ve missed so much. 
“Fuck, Sky, that feels so good.” you said, not realizing the tone or implication you said it in.
Sky’s breath hitched, but you didn’t catch it, too busy on the sensations on your scalp.
“Yeah?” he whispered, looking at your bare shoulders that were littered with scars from your journey with them, wishing he could wash them away. He felt his ears get hot from your soft sounds, happy that you felt so comfortable and wishing you’d make those sounds more often  domestic with him.
Suddenly the movement stops. Opening your eyes, you turn your head over your shoulder, almost jumping at how close his face is. Your gaze flickered to his lips, almost as if it was instinct.
“Sky… I-” “I’ll let you finish up.” And with that, he left, softly shutting the door behind him.
~
What the HELL is he thinking???
Sky gripped his hair, walking down the hallway, panting slightly.
He was so… close to you. He could smell the soap on your skin. He could see the different colors in your eyes. He felt strange. He knew he liked you… and not just as companions or friends… he wanted more. He felt happier, lighter since you came around. He genuinely laughed for the first time in ages.
It seemed like there was a spark of sorts between the two of you, but he didn’t want to assume or jump into anything… yet, at least. He needed a minute to calm down.
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sunshine-jesse · 5 months
Text
The Incest End is Not The Bad End, Part 3: The Only End I Know For Real
Alt title: We're roleplaying the endings, not choosing them.
I've focused a lot before on how sickly sweet the chemistry between Ashley and Andrew is and how unproblematic their relationship would actually be under different circumstances, mostly societal ones. I mostly did so to counter the idea that the incest end was primarily a bad end and bring up the assertion that it was the one with the most hope. In doing so, I basically interpreted all of the text within the game in a very positive light, giving off the impression that I think it'll be all sunshine and roses. The reality couldn't be further from the truth? While I think it's the end with the most hope, I ALSO think it'll be incredibly difficult for everyone involved.
As a matter of fact, I think the Questionable end will be the most difficult one to navigate through for Ashley herself.
"But wait," you say, alarm bells ringing in your head, "doesn't she literally fucking die in the Decay ending?"
And I don't think it's that obvious.
First off, why do I think the Questionable end will be difficult to navigate through? After all, Andrew is calm, collected, and Ashley is just a little bit nervous about how he's changing. She also has that ultimate leverage over him, knowing that he's sexually attracted to her and she can use it to keep him by her side. There's little for anyone to worry about, right? Well, no. Not really. As another analyst has pointed out, in the Questionable ending, Ashley has no OTHER leverage over Andrew.
The trinket? Shown to be only situationally useful to them. The future visions don't always show danger, sometimes the demon can just troll them. Sleep? No, he no longer needs Ashley for that. A scapegoat? Not even that. In the Burial ending, he starts to take responsibility for the violence he inflicts on others and has no need to pin the blame on Ashley.
Outside of sex, Ashley is more or less useless to him now, at least in her own mind. Truthfully, Ashley is still the most important person in the world to Andrew and doesn't seem to need a reason to keep her around anymore, but Ashley doesn't realize that; it's part of why she's so confused and uncertain. Their dynamic is changing, and she doesn't like it. But in the Questionable ending, all Andrew has to do is not have sex with Ashley (easier said than done if the fanbase [myself] is any indication) and she'll have nothing left. She'll likely have no other choice but to look inward at this point, especially if Andrew doesn't give off any of the usual red flags that make her think he'd leave her.
There's a good chance at this point that their dynamic will flip entirely. Ashley will be the one who needs comfort, and Andrew shows every indication of being emotionally stable enough to provide it. We'll see some Real Mental Illness instead of Possible To Infer But Maybe Problematic To Do So Mental Illness. Whether or not she changes for the better or worse will likely determine the ending we'll get.
Except probably not.
Sane vs Questionable can't be THAT different, or we'd be getting 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D instead of 3A and 3B. And, y'know what? Now I'm gonna start reaching really hard into theory territory rather than just analysis. So, hear me out here.
Both dreams are canon no matter the ending. The only difference is whether or not Andrew sleeps or not; if he does, the vision he gets is for HIM, and Ashley only incidentally sees it. It's much more important to him than to Ashley, because Ashley doesn't get a clear vision like she did in the motel. If them fucking was actually relevant to Ashley, she likely would've seen it no matter the ending. Her reactions reflect this; at first, she appears weirded out, maybe uncomfortable. Then she finds it hilarious. She considers it as a means of manipulation, sure, but the writing is on the wall: She won't NEED to do so no matter what.
Unfortunately, due to her not being able to open both doors, she won't be able to realize this. Oops!
At this point in time it's basically impossible to ascertain what her own personal vision means. I've given my interpretation before, but I ultimately have my doubts that the specific sequence of events is all to relevant. Most weird dream metaphors are clear parallels to past events, but the dream seems to be a metaphor for what the future will hold. The most relevant part is not the ghosts, but instead how Ashley reacts to what is clearly Andrew's soul. She jokes about trapping it in the bottle, but it being as a joke more than anything is a far cry from how desperate her attempts to keep him normally seem. So what gives? What does this mean?
I think, funnily enough, the Decay ending holds the answer.
My most-distanced-from-a-literal-or-metaphorical-reading-of-the-text-but-is-relatively-easy-to-accept theory is that the choices we are given in the game aren't asking us what we want to see from them, but rather, how we see the characters and their relationship. People are distracted by the idea of choice, but the reality is that we're being asked to roleplay (this is an RPG after all) as the siblings and do what we expect them to do. This isn't about choice. This is about BEING them and DOING WHAT WE THINK THEY'D DO.
Here's what I mean.
If we interpret Ashley as having trust in Andrew and his judgment, then it makes perfect sense she'd trust him with her parents. She might be a little worried, but it's pretty clear that her overwhelming desire to keep Andrew by her side is underscored by genuine love and trust. From there, if we interpret Andrew as having genuine love for his sister and a desire to take care of her, then it becomes everyone else's problem that they can't be together; not his. In killing their parents, he comes to terms with this and self-actualizes. He's willing to take responsibility for the violence he inflicts on others and has no discomfort with dismembering them.
But if you interpret Andrew as viewing Ashley as a burden and a problem, he can't bring himself to save their parents and have a better life because he views himself as too far gone. He hates himself as much as Ashley hates herself for being unable to break free from her influence. He still feels like she's his responsibility, but the love that exists there is greatly muted and overshadowed by his sense of responsibility and a carnal, physical desire for her. Knowing this is likely part of the reason he hates himself; part of the reason he can't let go.
He, crucially, also squanders Ashley's genuine display of trust. It's HIS fault that things break apart, which is why the skull appears over his head when you accept the mom's offer. Ashley genuinely, seriously loves Andrew and wants what's best for him. She's posessive, but her care is a lot less selfish than Andrew thinks, and he can't see that because he's too blinded by his hatred and (partially sexual) frustration to see who she really is.
On the other side of things, if you view Ashley as being a primarily toxic influence that views Andrew as more of an object than anything, she doesn't trust Andrew to deal with their parents and it's HER fault that things break apart, as the skull appears over her head. She sees him as an object, as a child or toy. She sees him as Andy, not Andrew, and can't process the fact that he can change. It's very overbearingly maternalistic, and I believe this specific choice is the only one where Ashley is actually more like their mother than Andrew, eye colors be damned.
In Burial, she wants to share the vision with Andrew, and he wants to share it with her, because their feelings are genuine and mutual and they want to share the experience (because they might get two visions from it, sure, but the principle isn't that much different) But in Decay, she keeps it to herself. She doesn't trust him or his input, either because she doesn't view his feelings as important or because he either almost squandered her trust (if she was listening in), or because he was generally hostile and disincentivized her from wanting to share.
There are other examples too, like when we're allowed to control Andrew to kill the hitman. If we view him as unprepared or unwilling to kill, we empty the whole clip because he's nervous and doesn't want to do this. If we view him as prepared, calm, and in control, he kills in one clean shot without much of an issue. Washing the [REDACTED] out of the shower drain? We basically get to see if Ashley is actually all that competent at housework or not, and if we don't know the right order, neither does she.
This comes to a head in both of the endings.
In the Questionable ending, we're shown that Andrew slept through the dream. We see what he really wants and the depths of his true feelings. He has very obvious romantic feelings for Ashley, and it's not just physical desire. Ashley's very obviously obsessed with Andrew still, but the fact that he can be present in every painting shows that she ACTUALLY views him that way. She's not just seeking validation; her feelings are real, and she knows it.
Remember, this dream is SHARED. We are seeing how BOTH of them feel.
In the Sane ending, Andrew isn't present, and Ashley is never given a chance to view their relationship as anything other than platonic. We don't know how Andrew feels, and we're arguably never given a view into Ashley's true feelings either, because that would-be revelation is cut off by a vision (indicated by eyes). We're just shown what she should do, needs to do, or will do.
Because we don't view their relationship as romantic, light is never shone on the reality of their dynamic. We never see how obsessed Ashley really is (if anything, we're being misdirected by being shown the opposite), and we never see that Andrew has romantic- if buried- feelings for Ashley that can't just be passed off as carnal physical desire. But since it's still the Burial ending, the dynamic still clearly exists; the endings would be too different otherwise. We CHOSE how we see their dynamic in the basement scene.
In other words…
Without love, the truth cannot be seen.
Reader who is in the know: "…hey wait a fuckin' minute" Me: "MOVING ON"
At some point- probably early on- the Sane and Questionable endings have to converge. Andrew and Ashley will have to have the nature of their dynamic laid out for them in a way they can't deny, and the likely only difference between Sane and Questionable will be whether or not Andrew is surprised/embarrassed, or just goes "I guess that dickhead demon wasn't just tricking us after all" and then the route will proceed as normal. Whether or not they have sex will likely be determined by your choices in Chapter 3 itself rather than Chapter 2 with this in mind. Either way, I think Ashley will go through most of the chapter confused and uncertain and will be forced to develop as a person, for better or worse.
In the Decay ending, as said, we're shown that Ashley doesn't even attempt to share a vision with Andrew, so we get to see a vision where Ashley's frame of mind isn't one driven by mutual affection. In this route, we see Ashley constantly running from -something,- and given dreams are metaphors, I think it's reasonable to assume that it's showing us that Ashley is primarily motivated by a fear of Andrew. Fear of what, exactly, isn't really clear; we know for a fact that she's afraid of losing him, but she's also afraid of the violence he can inflict upon her. Either way, she runs away, we can see the demon say "hmmm how interesting," and then we get a vision of the future.
But it's important to note, that vision is a metaphor, not a literal vision of the future. It takes place in the dream world- unlike any other vision, which takes place in the real world- and there are no out-of-frame eyes in the CGs like there are in the Questionable route. Also, (albeit less convincingly), all the eyes are in the background rather than on the map themselves, like they are when we see the hitman vision. The eyes only exist in the background in the Sane vision too, further adding to the idea that they're a metaphor.
So. If it's not a literal depiction of what will happen, then what exactly is it a metaphor for? Okay. Hear me out. This is my wildest fucking theory yet.
It's a metaphor for the Burial route. Or rather, the kind of event that happened in the Burial route.
What we are being shown in the metaphor is a reconciliation of their relationship, where their true feelings are laid bare. We are put in a situation where they are forced to decide how they feel for each other once and for all. If Andrew holds all the power in the relationship but has no control or awareness of his feelings- represented by whether he was composed enough or not to unload his entire clip-, he unceremoniously kills Ashley. Without that awareness, Ashley cannot even defend herself. She has no control because she isn't dealing with someone who has any either.
(Whether he actually kills Ashley or just some abstract representation of Leyley isn't clear, but it doesn't matter much for the purpose of analysis.)
But if Andrew does have that awareness of his feelings- represented by only shooting one bullet- they can negotiate. Because Andrew is in control, Ashley is also in control, and she can make one of two choices:
She can choose to save herself (and either maintain the status quo or just fucking kill Andrew depending on how literal the vision is). With this choice, she lets her fear overtake her and discards Andrew- the cause of her fear- like trash. He is an object that only exists for her sake, after all, and she can discard him just as easily as he seemed like her could discard her during the strangulation scene.
She can choose to trust and accept Andrew. And given a heart appears over her head, she can choose to love him, and overcome her fear, even at the cost of either her life or their prior dynamic (once more, depending on how literal it is).
Decay is asking us if we think Ashley is primarily motivated by selfish fear or genuine selfless love. But both exist either way, and their relationship must be understood and reconciled at some point; this route might honestly be their only hope for a platonic good ending, but it's going to be dismal and painful either way.
So with that in mind, why is the gun not relevant to the Burial route (yet) if it's such a strong metaphor?
Because the reconciling event WAS the basement scene.
We had to make that same choice there. Was Ashley too afraid of Andrew's interaction with her parents to let him handle it? Or did she love and trust him enough to make that choice? In choosing yes, the ball in Andrew's court. If he chooses to care for her needs, their relationship evolves. If he or Ashley refuse make that choice, that can is kicked down the road, and their relationship continues to deteriorate.
Or decay, as it may.
But in Burial, with that reconciling event having happened, the ball is in Ashley's court. With Andrew having come to terms with many of his feelings (minus his sexual desire), most of his arc is finished. There's probably still a lot of him to unpack on the Burial route, but in the Decay ending, as long as Ashley shows love for him, the final choice always falls on his shoulders. And with his final choice having been made in Burial, all that's left is Ashley's.
And what final choice will she have to make?
I don't know, I'm not a prophet.
But either way, she'll still have to make the choice of whether or not to be ruled by her fear of losing him, and desperately try to grasp for control she no longer needs, or cast aside that fear and allow for genuine, mutual love to flourish. Think about it this way: When you see a corpse, how do you react? If you don't care for the corpse or fear it, you stay away and let it decay. If the corpse belongs to someone you love, you tend to it and bury it.
And what do I think the best case scenario is? Well, I've made my opinion obvious, but I think there's one final thing I need to emphasize:
You don't claw at someone's back like a wild fucking animal if you're not really into it.
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tangledinink · 7 months
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Well! It's not a Monday, and it's been a hot second. BUT!!! :3c Here! Chapter 27 of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is here! Raph and Casey finally get to have some long overdue bonding time together. Read it on ao3 or below the cut.
[ prev ]
“Why the hell is she ALWAYS HERE?!” Donnie cried in complaint, just barely twisting out of the path of a kunai’s bite, twisting backwards to retreat from his opponent’s assault.
“Great question. Honestly, it seems like you’re kind of obsessed with us. Sort of embarrassing,” Leo chirped in reply, grinning big as he spun into the fray, leaping in defense of his twin. The Foot Ninja easily dodged him and the sweep of his odachi, all but spitting at him in reply.
“DIE.”
“Damn, okay. Touchy,” Leo muttered.
Their opponent shrieked in response, throwing herself at her enemy, but was easily rebuffed by their father, jerking forward to shove her away from his children. Raph would admit she was an impressive fighter, but she was certainly no match for their dad. It took almost no time at all for him to pin her down to the ground, and Raph was just beginning to get a sense of deja vu when Leo heaved a great sigh.
“At least there’s only one of--”
“WHY? WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!” Donnie squawked, whipping around to absolutely glare at their twin. 
And god, you would not imagine what happened just a few seconds later.
Raph managed to punch out two Foot Clan ninjas and throw another through a storefront before he came about five centimeters from being knifed, and he was finally forced to seek temporary refuge, ducking behind the cover of a nearby sunglasses kiosk to catch his breath and attempt to get his shit together.
C’mon, Raph, focus. You got this. Everyone’s counting on you. You just gotta keep it together, and figure out where the Dark Armor piece is so we can grab it and get out without anyone getting--
“Raph!” 
His younger brother’s excited, breathless cry severed his frantic train of thoughts, and his head bobbed upward just in time to watch Leo rush over to join him-- nearly skidding out in his rush. “I think I have a plan--”
Raph froze.
He swore he felt his entire body seize for just a second, his heart clenching up tight in his chest as though someone had just reached through him and grabbed it with ice cold hands.
“No,” he snapped in reply.
“What?!” Leo protested. “You didn’t even let me expl—“
“NO,” Raph hissed, harder this time. He didn’t let himself look back over at Leo, because he knew that he would just glare at him. And he knew that it would just make his body freeze up even more.
“Raph, I promise this will work, it’s—“
“Leo, STOP. I said no! What part of that don’t you get!?” Raph snarled and there was this horrendous tickling crawl running up and down his spine like there was a damn millipede under his skin, and he didn’t want to fight with Leo, so he just—
Ran.
He had to get back out into the fray sooner or later, anyway. They couldn’t just hide forever.
He didn’t wanna be angry at Leo. He didn’t wanna take things out on him. It wasn’t… his fault. Exactly. Totally? Maybe? And he didn’t wanna think about who’s fault it was, anyway, so this was easier.
He didn’t have to think about whether or not he was angry at Leo if he was taking it out on someone else.
And luckily, they were literally surrounded by evil ninjas right now. So. That was actually pretty convenient.
And yeah, okay, sure, there were a lot of them. But here’s the thing-- Raph was no scientist, but he had crunched the numbers, and he was pretty sure their dad was badass enough to count as at least two dozen ninjas, which meant their odds were actually pretty good. 
And if their dad was at least two dozen, Raph couldn’t just sit back and let himself be just one.
There were a lot of Foot Clan soldiers, yes. But they had shown up here for a reason, and it was important. And this time, they weren’t just gonna retreat. Raph knew what was at stake-- they were gonna get what they came for.
(That’s what he had told himself at the time, anyway. That was the mantra in his head the entire time-- roaring through the fray alongside his family.)
Raph had been to this mall before. In fact, he’d been to this mall lots of times before. It was overall unremarkable, but the one thing that had always stood out to Raph was the elevator. And this was because Raph had always HATED it.
He didn’t want to say afraid, per se, because that would involve him openly admitting that he was afraid of the elevator. But really, could you blame him? It wasn’t that elevators in general frightened him, it was that THIS elevator frightened him. He remembered visiting this mall back when he was small with the rest of his family and begging his Dad to let them take the escalators instead.
Because how in the world could a glass elevator possibly be safe?! And who the heck would even enjoy that!? Let alone think it was a good idea to build one?!
His first thought he had upon his body careening through the glass, shattering on impact, having been sent flying after a particularly large, brutish member of the Foot slammed into his side, was “see? I was right. This was a bad idea.”
It was pretty much the only thought he had, actually, his brain a bit too caught up in the fact that they had just been thrown through an elevator shaft to really process anything else right away.
Thank god the rest of his body didn’t need his brain in order to react.
He didn’t need conscious thought to tell him to grab onto the remaining metal edge of the elevator, clinging to the closest thing he had to solid ground with his arm as the rest of his body dangled over open air.
(What floor were they on again? The third? The fifth?)
He also didn’t need conscious thought to tell him to grab onto the girl that had been thrown with him— the girl he had been locked into combat with about ten seconds ago.
With his free arm, he bundled her up as close as he possibly could to himself, and he hung on tight.
And for half of a second, they kind of just… hung there. Raph’s feet scrabbled against the smooth surface of the panel of glass below them, surrounded on all sides by thick glass and metal save for the hole just above them that Raph was now hanging onto for dear life.
He could feel little pieces of shattered glass falling down the back of his shirt and tickling at his skin.
He was vaguely aware of screaming from up above him, and while he could pick out his family’s voices amongst that of strangers, he couldn’t quite tell what they were saying. It was hard to hear anything over the heartbeat in his ears.
He glanced down at the girl shoved up against his side. For every bit he was hanging onto her, she was hanging onto him just as desperately, fistfuls of his clothing clenched up in her fingers.
Her eyes were so big.
“Hang on,” he heard himself saying, kind of distantly in the background. “Just hang on. I’ll get us back up.”
And almost as soon as he spoke, her eyes narrowed again.
About four things happened in very quick succession over the following five seconds.
The first was the girl hoisting herself upwards by her grip on him, twisting around with shaking fingers so she could draw a knife from her belt and lunge towards the arm that was not currently wrapped around her.
The second was a flash of crimson light overhead, tickling around the edges of the elevator car that currently sat about three stories above them.
The third thing was a horrific, shrieking groan of metal, followed by a sickening snap.
And the fourth was Raph letting go of his hold on the elevator shaft.
---
Casey was honestly a bit surprised to find that she had, in fact, not been killed in the ensuing fall.
She didn’t think she was even… hurt. At least not badly.
Now that the world had stopped spinning, she began to take quiet inventory, a soft groan escaping her as she strained to gather her bearings again. When she moved, shards of shattered glass fell off of her like snow, joining the mounds of it underfoot with little clicks and clatters. Upon moving, she also realized that there was still an arm wrapped around her, pressed up so tight around her middle that it was nearly hard to breathe. But it wasn’t quite painful.
She had just fallen about four stories. And yet, she was pretty sure she wasn’t even seriously injured. No broken bones, at least. Everything could still move. She could feel her arms, her legs, her toes. She could still feel all her fingers.
She had heard her clan members yelling before. Heard the command to cut the cable. If the fall didn’t kill her, then being crushed by a falling elevator car really should have. It should have killed them both. It was supposed to kill them both.
But it didn’t. They were both alive.
Because the person she had been attempting to murder, who still had an arm wrapped around her middle, hunched over her as if to shield her, currently had them both shoved into the very corner of the elevator shaft, shoved up against the concrete walls of the lower level they now resided in.
They hadn’t been crushed because he was holding up the elevator car that should have killed them, his arms encrusted in shimmering, crystalline red light.
He was also definitely not a human anymore.
“Are you okay?” He bit out, his voice tight and strained but still soft and wobbling with concern, and Casey gaped rather than answering. He shifted slightly, readjusting his stance. His upper body was braced up against one corner of the metal panel that made up the bottom of the elevator car— creating just enough of a pocket for the two of them to take refuge in, tented beneath the wreckage up above. His long, alligator-like tail shifted as he moved, sweeping through the broken glass.
Shhhh shhhhh.
“Oh my god,” Casey responded, her eyes wide. “… You’re actually a mutant turtle.”
“What?” He bit out, his eyes just barely flickering over to her, and Casey quickly bit her tongue.
“Nothing,” she spat, bristling slightly. Jesus christ, why was she talking to him? What the hell was she even doing…?
Come on, Recruit, get it together. Focus. You’re not dead. You didn’t die. So you still have a job to do.
Though her hands were shaking horribly, she lurched a bit to grab for her belt, only to realize with a dawning horror that her kunai were no longer there. I must have lost them in the fall… She bristled for a moment, wriggling from the other’s grip just enough so that she could back away— pressing herself up against the cold concrete wall. The space they had was incredibly limited, however, and the distance she could put between them was… minimal, to say the least.
She could feel her heart beating in her chest as she patted herself down again, and then a third time, not daring to take her eyes off the enemy but at the same time searching frantically. 
She was unarmed.
And he was… a giant mutant reptile.
(And, look, she hadn’t exactly thought that Draxum was… lying, per se, but oh my lord. Seriously?)
She didn’t take her eyes off of him. And he didn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Hey, uh,” he shifted slightly beneath the weight of the elevator, wincing a bit at the press. Shattered glass shivered softly beneath him as his feet moved. “Can you, uh, not stab Raph, please…? ‘Cause that’s gonna make holding this thing up… a lot harder…”
… Ah. She supposed he had a point.
A little voice in her head said that that didn’t matter. The benefit of eliminating a member of the Hamato Clan weighed far heavier than the loss of her life would to the well-being of the Clan. Killing him, and, in turn, herself would still measure out to be a win at the end of it all.
She should kill him.
And herself.
… But she… didn’t have her kunai anyway, right? So… 
Perhaps she… wouldn’t.
She was still waiting to see if her heart rate was going to slow down any time soon, finding herself a bit annoyed with how rapidly it was still banging away in her ears, the skin there throbbing as blood raced through her veins. She kept sucking in long, steadying, calming breaths, trying to push it down, but the adrenaline had not yet run its course, it seemed. 
“I… Will not stab you,” she finally said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, her body still tight and tense, muscles coiled. “IF… you do not make any attempts to harm me.”
She had no weapons, but he was one. Even if he was holding up a fucking elevator right now.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he wheezed, his voice caught somewhere between a shaking grunt and a laugh, and she scowled. “You’re not hurt—?” He prodded once more.
“Don’t ask me that,” she snapped, bristling in response and clenching her jaw. She didn’t understand what benefit he thought he would reap by pretending to be concerned. She wasn’t that stupid.
And if he actually was concerned, and it wasn’t an act, then it simply meant that he was the stupid one, and nothing else.
“Alright, okay…!” He bit out, once again adjusting his grip slightly, rolling one shoulder forward slightly to shift the weight he was carrying from one side over the other. “… It’ll be alright. My family is… gonna come get us. Any second…”
“You don’t know that,” she scoffed.
“They will,” he insisted, though now his eyes shifted away— staring hollow at the corner of the little pocket they were now trapped inside of. Casey could just barely pick out the movement of his lips and tongue, ghosting some sort of whisper to himself in between his heaves of breath. Seven, eight, nine, ten…
Counting. He was counting to himself. From one to ten, and then again, and again.
“You’re hurt,” Casey said— not really asking, but rather stating. 
“’S just heavy,” he deflected. “… ‘M fine. Raph’s sturdy.” 
Raph. Right… Short for Raphael. She knew their names. Of course she did, she just… hadn’t known their nicknames until now.
Or rather, hadn’t thought of them. What would she ever care what they called each other? What they answered to?... 
… But she supposed she couldn’t actually disagree.
He was sturdy before, when he was a human.
She wasn’t sure she could find the words to describe how absolutely immovable he appeared to her now. It was equal parts impressive and absolutely infuriating. 
God. She hated to fucking look at him. Especially now, like this. 
It somehow felt like a goddamn threat. He was holding an elevator up over her head, hunched over to provide a shelter for her body, and it felt like he was fucking threatening her. 
Well, it wouldn’t work.
“I’m not afraid of you, mutant,” she snapped, her lips curling back over her teeth.
“… Alright?” He said, sounding a bit confused, and Casey bristled in offense at the audacity he had to be baffled by her completely rational statement. 
“I could still kill you,” she said.
For a long moment, it was quiet. Aside from her heartbeat. And his ragged breathing.
“… I’m not tryin’ to scare you,” he said. “… Sorry.”
There was another long moment of silence.
“What’s your name?” He asked. Casey stiffened slightly.
“I don’t have a name,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes, and then absolutely snarled when he bit out a bark of laughter in response.
“What do you mean you don’t have a name?” He wheezed. “You… You don’t gotta tell me if you don’t want…!”
“I don’t have a name,” she pressed, harder this time, narrowing her eyes— hesitating for just a second. 
“… The Foot Clan doesn’t have names. We renounce them,” she said after a moment. “…. We only take titles. They reflect our rank and our power. Names make you weaker.”
She didn’t know why she was telling him this. It was stupid. He didn’t deserve to know. Because she was angry that he would look down on her for it…? 
Because she was still mostly convinced that they would both die down here?
“… That’s sad,” he said.
“It’s not,” she said.
“It is,” he said. “… I think it’s sad. You deserve to have a name.”
“I don’t want a name.”
“What’s your title, then?”
“… Recruit.”
“Alright, then, Recruit,” he bit out, a tiny bit of a laugh still coloring his voice. “… I’m Raph. And my family is gonna get us out of here. I promise.”
“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep,” she growled in response, narrowing her eyes.
“I don’t,” he assured.
And then, for a while, it was quiet again. 
“Are you actually eighteen?” He said, and Casey scoffed.
“YES!” She yelped in response. “What, you don’t think I am!? I am clearly eighteen! I am very obviously an ADULT!!!”
“No,” he admitted, grinning just the tiniest bit. “Not really.”
“You’re an idiot,” she accused.
“Yeah, people say that sometimes…” He mumbled with a huff. He shifted again, readjusting his grip ever-so-slightly and twisting his feet, and the metal groaned ominously above them. 
Just for a second, his footing slipped, and he jerked— and for just a single moment, the top of the world was falling again, and they were both about to be crushed.
His foot hit the side of the wall, and he braced, tensing all his muscles properly once more and holding steady.
Nothing fell.
The creaking up above quieted.
“… Ow,” he muttered, quietly, to himself, shakily, jerkily moving his foot again after several long seconds of both of them not daring to move or breathe— cautiously inching it away from the wall. A smudge of blood was left behind, Casey noted.
Her heartbeat had never slowed, and she was beginning to think that it never would.
“… You’re standing wrong,” she said.
“… What?” Raph bit out, glancing over at her after a long beat of silence.
“YOUR STANCE IS WRONG,” she spat, scowling slightly and fixing him with a hard glare. This is why she had to yell— no one ever wanted to fucking listen to her when she said things, and the things she said were important. “You’re going to hurt yourself or fall like that, you’re doing everything STUPID. Move your leg this way, and twist this leg out. And bend your knee, and… and move your arm over this way a little if you can. And it’ll spread out the weight better.”
At first, Casey didn’t think he was actually going to listen to her.
And then, very, very slowly, moving at a crawl, he shifted his body— following her instructions and making the corrections until he settled into place again. He was still shaking, and still panting, but just… the tiniest bit less now.
“… This is better,” he finally said.
“Of course it is,” she huffed, shifting just enough to shoot him a glare. “God. Doesn’t the Hamato Clan teach you anything?”
“Kinda,” he laughed. “… Is this what the Foot Clan teaches you? Seems… kinda… kinda niche…”
“The Foot Clan teaches me everything,” she hissed.
“Are they, like, your family?”
And Casey hesitated. Because she wasn’t sure how to answer that.
Yes, her brain said.
No, it said immediately after.
“… They are now,” she finally settled on, squaring her shoulders slightly. “Stop asking me questions.”
“Why?”
“You’re my enemy. I’m not giving you any information.”
“We ain’t got nothin’ better to do.”
“I don’t care.”
“You can ask me questions if you want,” he said. “Raph don’t mind.”
She scowled, and he shot her a weak, shaking, almost pleading sorta grin.
“C’mon,” he bade. “… ’S easier if I got somethin’ to think about.”
She narrowed her eyes, and her frown deepened.
This is to your advantage. You can get information from the enemy, right? This is good. Come on. Focus. Stop getting distracted.
“… Are you cold-blooded?”
“… What?”
“Stop making me repeat myself. ARE. YOU. COLD. BLOODED.”
“I don’t think so?” He said with a soft snort. “… I mean. Maybe? I’m not sure.”
“How do you not know?” Casey hissed.
“Well, I don’t… I don’t usually spend a lot of time in, uh… this body…!” He bit out. 
“You’re stupid.”
“Quit sayin’ that.”
“No.”
He laughed a tiny bit, shaking his head ever-so-slightly. “Why do you wanna know?”
Casey frowned. Why did she want to know?...
“… I’m just curious.”
“How old are you?” Raph asked.
“I’m eighteen. And I told you not to ask me questions.”
“You’re not eighteen.”
“I AM!!! I AM EIGHTEEN!”
“Nah! There’s no way you’re older than me!” He laughed. “You look like you’re in high school or somethin’.”
“I don’t go to school,” she growled, curling her lips with distaste. “And I am eighteen.”
“Why not?”
“I already told you,” she hissed. “I learn everything I need from my clan. Stop asking me questions.”
“Do you do, like… like, homeschooling?”
“I train.”
“You dropped out of high school?”
“I never went to high school, so I did not drop out, so there!” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “NOW STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS. I will not answer them! You are trying to get me to reveal secrets of my clan and it WILL NOT WORK.”
“I’m not! I’m not, I swear!” He insisted. “… Man, you should go to school. I feel like you’d be good at sports--”
A distant clamber of footsteps and a horrid, wrenching cry disrupted their strained conversation.
“RAPH!”
“Dad!” Casey’s companion immediately answered in kind, his head jerking slightly towards the noise. He had sounded so eerily calm up until now. “WE’RE HERE! W-we’re okay--!”
“Oh my god they’re alive--!”
“Raph--!”
“We’re coming, holy shit, it’s okay--”
“We’re gonna get you outta there, big guy, no problem, just hang on for us--!”
Everything moved really fast after that. Casey was sure they were saying other things, all speaking over each other and crying, clambering over each other and clustered about at the very edge of the elevator to peer down at them-- reassuring him, over and over and over,
‘It’ll be okay, we’ll get you out, we’ll save you, you’re okay, we’re here now, you’ll be okay.’
For some reason, everything else was kind of far off and muddy, but those things she could still hear. They sort of echoed, bounced around in her head.
And then a hand was thrust out in front of her.
She jerked back.
“Grab my hand,” the oldest of the group pressed, and it took her a second to hear him properly, but she could if she focused. “I’ll pull you out.” 
Casey bristled, pulling back slightly.
He was the only one not wearing the Hamato symbol-- but she knew he was one. 
“Don’t touch me,” she spat, and again, her hands instinctively moved towards her belt with no weapon in it, as if she had somehow forgotten her early discovery.
“I do not wish to fight you,” The Hamato insisted, his voice softening a bit, gentle and reassuring. Almost paternal in a way that Casey resented. “I just need to get you out. Please.”
“Raph ain’t tryna… complain or nothin’, but do you think you could maybe hurry up so I could get outta here, too? ‘Cause unless you wanna take a turn holdin’ this you really gotta go first--” 
Casey frowned.
She bit her lip.
She looked between the lot of them.
She could still refuse.
She could still attack. Even without a weapon. She could still do damage-- she might even be able to overwhelm the turtle one long enough that he might lose his grip.
She took the Hamato’s hand. It was warm in hers and surprisingly soft, despite the calluses and blisters. He squeezed her tight and firm, his fingers laced together with her own, and with one mighty heave, he yanked her up and out of the elevator shaft. 
And then she was out of the elevator shaft. 
And she was all by herself. Surrounded by the enemy.
There was no Foot Clan here with her. She didn’t have a little button she could press to call them. She had no weapon. It was just her and six enemies. 
Every single one of them had their backs on her, all hunched over the space she had just crawled from, focused on getting Raphael out from under the shattered fragments of the elevator car. No one was paying any attention to her. 
No one was looking at her.
They had all turned their backs.
For just a second, her breath was a stone in her throat. 
And she turned and she ran.
---
Casey sucked in a long, steady breath. And she slowly let it back out. She adjusted her stance, allowed herself half a second to readjust her footing to something slightly more comfortable-- and then mentally scolded herself for doing so. 
Focus. 
Her mother said that the key to success was discipline and repetition. That practice would bring her to where she needed to go. She should have basics like this down by now, her mother had said. “You should be able to do this by now. I don’t know how to help with that.”
Her knuckles hurt, and her body was tired, but she wasn’t weak. And she didn’t give up, either.
100 reps down. 100 more. And then maybe she’d get this right. And if she didn’t-- 100 after that. 
She would keep going until she got it right.
---
The walk home felt long.
Her body was, admittedly, feeling quite wrung-out and sore at this point, and it resented her for dragging it through the streets of New York, but Casey was quite good at tuning out its protests. No one bothered her, as they rarely did-- anyone who looked at her for too long typically thought better of it as soon as she met their eyes. She knew how to convince people to think twice before they approached her.
She was in no mood for pests on the streets.
Coward, she thought bitterly to herself. They were vulnerable, and you ran. Instead of attacking you fled. You could have at least tried. You might have been able to take one or two down, if you actually tried… 
She was certain she would have lost the fight. But at least she would have fought. 
Even managing to injure one of the Hamatos would have been more valuable than her return to the Clan. She hadn’t been surprised to find the rest of the mall devoid of life, the remaining members of her party having long fled the scene. She knew that that was what they would do. That was the correct thing to do. 
She was surprised by how it stung. She thought that she knew better than that by now.
Just a day full of disappointment, then… 
Though she was tempted to make a beeline back to their basecamp, she knew better, and she took the long way to ensure she wasn’t being followed by anyone. It was late by the time she arrived. 
Brute had turned to look at her and gasped loudly, and though Lieutenant had a bit more self-control, she noted the way his eyebrows shot up.
“You’re back!” Brute cried in celebration, immediately moving to her side, clapping her hard on the back. Casey braced herself well enough that she didn’t stumble, though she would admit that it didn’t exactly feel good. “We thought for sure you got squished!--”
“Excellent work, Recruit,” Lieutenant observed, a bit calmer as he approached, as he often was. “We’re glad you made it back in one piece.”
“My apologies, Senseis--” Casey bit out, gritting her teeth and throwing her head down into a deep bow. “I failed to eliminate any of the Hamato Clan members!!! FORGIVE ME!!!”
The two stayed quiet for a moment, and Casey swore she could hear them exchanging looks.
“Yes, well, there’s always next time.” Lieutenant assured, patting her on the head a few times. “We’re just glad you weren’t crushed in an elevator. It is so difficult to find decent ninja trainees these days… So, well done!”
“Yeah. Go hit the showers,” Brute encouraged, offering a thumbs up and a grin.
And that was about the extent of the conversation.
Casey felt oddly numb. But she wasn’t sure why. Or what she expected. 
This was praise. 
She should be pleased. So she was having a hard time figuring out… why she wasn’t. 
Despite this cloudiness, her head still shot up before Baron Draxum even spoke a word to her, turning sharply to meet his eyes. He didn’t flinch, and neither did she.
“I’m relieved to see you made it back to us,” he remarked, cool and thoughtful, tilting his head to the side slightly. “Losing you would have been quite the blow to our organization. It’s a shame that more effort wasn’t put in to retrieve you…”
Casey narrowed her eyes, her hackles raising.
“My senseis put the well-being of the mission first,” she spat in response, wrinkling up her nose.
“Yes, I suppose so… It’s just difficult to watch them not place more value into such a clear asset. It’s quite obvious to me that your experience and talent is… under-utilized here. You have a great deal of potential that doesn’t seem to be being taken advantage of…”
Casey didn’t quite untense, her jaw still held tight beneath her lips. And she frowned.
“...You think I have potential?”
---
Leo has no idea why he did this. Looking back at it later, he thought, what the fuck were you thinking? Not the time or place, moron. They had finally gotten back home, gotten Raph all patched up, and had been assured by him about eight thousand times that he was okay. It was only after eight-thousand-and-one, “no, really, Dad, I’m fine’s,” and a promise from everyone in the room to keep an eye on him while he was gone that their father relented just enough to escort April back to her own apartment, with the reassurance of “I’ll be right back.” Everyone was still pretty spooked, because duh, no shit, and he really should have just kept his mouth shut. That was obvious now.
Maybe he was just still shaken up over the whole evening. His brain wasn’t working right, or whatever. He’s not really sure. It just… it just happened. He just said things.
“How come you didn’t listen to me?”
The words had left his mouth before he had even processed them. Raph paused, glancing over at his brother, all four of them curled up together on the living room couch, and the unsteady peace they had been resting in just a second ago was suddenly gone.
“What?”
“Before, at the mall,” Leo continued, even though what he meant to say was ‘nothing, nevermind.’ “I told you I had a plan, and you wouldn’t listen to me.”
He could feel his brother stiffen next to him. There was a beat of silence, and then Raph heaved out a big, heavy sigh.
“There was-- there was a lot goin’ on, Leo. We can’t always do your plans--”
“But you didn’t even listen to it,” Leo pressed. “You wouldn’t even let me tell you what I was thinking.”
“Leo--”
“I had a plan,” he insisted, his mouth working all on its own. “If we had-- if we had had a plan instead of just rushing in, maybe things would have-- I dunno, have gone better?”
“It’s not--”
“If we had a plan maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. You could have-- you could have gotten for-real hurt, Raph!”
“Leo, st-”
“I don’t understand why you don’t trust me enough to at least list--”
“Trust you?” Raph snapped, whipping around to glare at his younger brother. Up until now, his voice had been strained, but now it was sharp and jagged, and he absolutely bristled. Leo found himself shrinking under his gaze. “Leo, how the hell are you gonna look at me and ask me to trust you right now?! The last time I trusted you, you almost died! You tried to freakin’ kill yourself! And you expect me to trust you!?”
Leo blinked in surprise. For a moment, he floundered, his mouth gaping slightly.
“Look, that was different! And I was the only one with a plan--”
“That doesn’t mean it was okay!” Raph cried.
“I--I mean. That plan went wrong, but I thought I was gonna be--”
“No you didn’t!” Raph bristled. “You didn’t think you were gonna be okay and you know it! You knew it was risky the entire time, so don’t try and tell Raph otherwise! I might’a been dumb enough to go along with it the first time, but I’m not dumb enough to believe that now!!! So just drop it, okay?! I’m not talkin’ about this with you anymore!”
Leo opened his mouth. And then he closed it again.
‘Cause he didn’t really… know what else to say. 
“Alright,” he finally said, looking down at his feet. Raph looked like maybe he still had more, but he bit his tongue, casting a long look at Leo before he finally tore himself away and stalked off. Mikey looked between the two groups, hesitating a moment, before he followed after their eldest brother with a weak ‘wait up.’
And for a moment there, it was just Donnie and him, sitting together in the awkward silence. Eventually, Leo found it in himself to speak again, laughing awkwardly, a bit bitterly, and hunching his shoulders.
“What the hell was that? Is he-- is he seriously not even gonna listen to me anymore?”
“Can you actually blame him?” Donnie said dryly, raising a brow, and Leo gawked.
“What do you mean can you blame him!? I have good ideas--”
“So?” Donnie scoffed, shrugging a bit. “It doesn’t matter if you have good ideas if they lead to you dying.”
Leo groaned loudly, rolling his eyes. “Look, I didn’t try to kill myself--”
“You kind of did,” Donnie cut off. “I mean. I understand that wasn’t your base intention, but we’re not stupid, Leo. You very obviously oversold your ability to get back down safely. You could barely stand after the Battle Nexus, and you thought you were going to be able to aim and land in a little pool of water? Not to mention that at that height, you would have been seriously injured even if the plan was entirely successful. We only went along with it because you were deceptive in what it entailed. And you could have died. Quite easily. And I don’t believe for a second that you didn’t know that,” he accused, though his tone was even and eerily calm, narrowing his eyes at the other.
Leo felt this little shiver run up his spine, and he wrapped his arms around himself. Suddenly, his feet were very interesting.
“I didn’t-- I didn’t think I would die--”
“Doesn’t matter,” Donnie dismissed. “It wasn’t okay. And just because you didn’t think you would die from this crazy, risky, self-sacrifice-y plan doesn’t mean you won’t. Or that you won’t in the next one, or the next one. So look. We’re not playing that game,” he said, his voice cold. “We’re not doing that again. So no. We don’t trust you. Obviously, we don’t trust you. You’re our brother, and we love you dearly. And that’s why we can’t trust you.”
Oh. Ow. Why the fuck did that hurt so bad? Leo’s stomach flip-flopped, and for a second, he bristled in retaliation, giving a soft little scoff.
“As if any of the rest of you wouldn’t try to pull off the same thing if you had the chance! Don’t stand there and pretend like I’m the only one in the family for a penchant for dramatics! You jumped on Angie before, too!” He hissed, throwing up his hands. “You guys would all try to take the bullet, too!”
Donnie shrugged.
“Yeah. Maybe. But I wouldn’t trick the rest of you into setting it up.”
Leo grit his teeth.
“We all trusted you. And we went along with your plan,” Donnie continued, his voice hard. “We helped you. And you almost died. You could have died,” he pressed. “You’re important to us, Leo. How do you think the rest of us would have felt?”
Donnie’s brows furrowed.
“How do you think I would have felt? Or Raph?” He challenged. “How do you think Angie would have felt? Good Galileo, how do you think Angie feels right now?”
Leo kept quiet, considering this for a second, rolling the thought around in his head. And he didn’t like it.
He was suddenly getting the feeling that he had fucked up really bad over a month and a half ago, and it was just now sinking in.
“Look, I know you want to protect us,” Donnie said, crossing his arms over his chest. “We get it. Raph gets it. Of course Raph gets it, have you ever met the guy? He’s basically the world’s number one advocate for any and all ‘protect my brothers’ campaigns,” Donnie scoffed. “But that doesn’t mean that you can just throw yourself around as an expendable variable. If he hadn’t caught you, you know how much that would kill him.”
Leo groaned softly, burying his face in his hands. “Aw, man…” He muttered. “Maybe I do need a therapist…”
---
“Cut it out,” Raph said, hooking out a hand to grab Leo’s ankle as he ran past him, promptly sending his younger brother stumbling down to the ground. Leo squeaked in surprise as he fell, turning to huff and give his brother an annoyed glare.
“Why?!”
“‘Cause I said,” Raph replied easily, a teeny little grin growing on his face. “And I’m in charge.”
And it was true.
I mean, really, he had been ‘in charge’ lots of times in the past, frequently tasked with ensuring his little brothers didn’t wander off or do anything dumb. But he hadn’t ever, in all his memories, been in charge like this. Never all by himself.
He wasn’t the only one excited, he knew. All three of his brothers were nearly bouncing off the walls with joy at the prospect of being left home alone for the first time. Finally! At long last! The day every pre-teen waited for… they had the house all to themselves for the whole evening with no supervision. No babysitter or neighbor watching them for the night while their Dad was out… Just him and his brothers with a whole empty house to themselves. They could do whatever they wanted, and they had every intention of taking full advantage of the situation, like a reasonable child might.
“That’s not a good reason!” Leo protested with a scoff. 
“Well, the other reason is you’re startin’ to piss Donnie off,” he hummed, releasing his grip on the other’s leg, allowing him to squirm away. Donnie was happy for the reprieve of being chased by his twin, climbing over Raph and hopping up onto the couch behind him, grabbing the nearest blanket to wrap around himself like a shield and sulk. Leo sighed loudly, rolling his eyes, clearly displeased with the end of his game, but he didn’t protest either, sitting himself back up. 
“I got snacks!” Mikey announced proudly as he came bounding down the basement stairs, his arms filled with just about every form of junk food that they had in the house, and even some that Raph hadn’t even known that they had in the house. He dumped the loot down on the coffee table, and the brothers all immediately dug in, each grabbing at chips, Capri Suns, and ice cream containers and laying their claim.
“What are we gonna watch?” Mikey asked excitedly, curling up on the couch, bouncing up and down in place.
“Whatever we want,” Raph replied smugly from his own placing on the floor, continuing to scroll through the channels, remote in hand. “We just gotta find somethin’ that looks--”
“OH!” Leo gasped from the couch, jumping slightly and pointing at the TV. “Let’s watch the new Batman movie!!! Look! It’s barely even started!!!”
Mikey hesitated for a second, his brows knitting. “But Dad said we’re not allowed to watch that,” he fret.
“Which is exactly why we should!” Leo had countered. “We’re home alone. We can watch whatever we want. Besides, Batman is cool!”
“Do you think we’d get along with him if we met him?” Mikey questioned with a thoughtful sigh.
“Maybe,” Donnie said, shrugging a bit.
Raph furrowed his brows just a bit as he deliberated. Hm. Well. Leo did make a pretty compelling argument. They were home alone. Therefore, they could do whatever they wanted! Besides, he wasn’t afraid of a dumb movie, especially not a superhero movie. 
“Alright. Batman it is!” He agreed, clicking definitively on the remote to select the channel before tossing it aside. 
And goddamn, did he feel cool.
That lasted for maybe about forty minutes.
And the movie was cool! I mean. At first. But then evening had turned into night, and it had gotten dark outside. Even worse-- it had begun to rain. It rained hard, too, and Raph heard thunder rumble off in the distance, shaking the house ever so slightly. And the further into the plot of the movie they got, the more Raph began to understand why it was rated “R.”
They watched the whole thing, with all four of them frozen in place the whole time. It wasn’t until the credits rolled that Raph finally swallowed, turning his head slightly to glance at his younger brothers.
He was almost relieved to see that they were about as terrified as him. It wasn’t a scary movie, per se, there were no jump scares, it was just…
That was really messed up, what the Joker did to those people!!! Okay!?
Mikey was absolutely clinging to Leo for dear life, his eyes lined with tears, and Donnie had all but disappeared under his blanket, peering out cautiously from within. Even Leo looked shaken, even as he swallowed, forcing a very shaky, half-hearted laugh.
“Whoa. That was… cool,” he forced, even though he looked sort of like he was going to throw up. “Right, guys--?”
Thunder cracked outside and all four of them jumped. Mikey straight up shrieked, burying his face against Leo’s shoulder, and Raph had half a mind to leap up and throw himself into a pile with his brothers and hide there. 
But he steeled himself, just barely catching his nerves before they launched him into a panic, his hands curling into determined fists. 
He was in charge. Remember?
“It’s-- it’s just the storm, guys. It’s alright,” he tried to soothe, fighting to keep his voice steady. “It’s fine--!”
“THEY BURNED A GUY’S FACE OFF!” Mikey wailed tearfully in response, and Raph winced.
“Mikey, chill! It’s just a movie!” Leo insisted, a nervous grin on his face. “I mean. N-none of it’s, like, real, or anything!”
“What if it was?!” Mikey squeaked. “What if it’s based on a true story or something!? Or what if someone else watches it and it inspires them to break into people’s houses and put bombs in their chests!? And what if they come here and cut us open and put bombs in our chests!?”
“That’s… Highly improbable,” Donnie bit out, and Mikey whimpered.
“But it could happen!!!”
Raph grit his teeth, inhaling deeply, and then slowly letting the breath back out.
“It’s gonna be fine, Mikey. Leo’s right. It was just a movie. You don’t gotta be scared,” he insisted. He could tell his brothers weren’t quite convinced. He scooped up the TV remote again, switching the television over the cartoons. It was just re-runs of something they had seen before, but what did it matter? “Here. Hang on. I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going!?” Mikey squealed.
“Raph’ll go double-check to make sure no one can get in,” he said. “So you guys know for sure we’re safe. Alright? I’ll be right back.”
Mikey whimpered, but none of them had protested, watching with wide eyes as he approached the stairs. And if Raph was being totally honest with himself…? He really didn’t wanna go up there.
‘Specially not by himself.
But he had little brothers to protect. A part of him told him that they weren’t in any danger, but another bit said what if they were?! What if Mikey was right and someone came and broke into the house or something!? 
He was in charge. Dad left him in charge. And he had to make sure that they were all safe and could handle anything that came their way.
So that meant he had to go double-check. 
Biting the insides of his cheeks, he made his way up the stairs.
Somehow, the house seemed darker than usual, even though it was just the same as it always was. Rushing slightly, Raph hurriedly made his way to the front door to check it. And, just as he had expected, it was locked. Just like it was supposed to be. The back door was locked, too, and Raph sighed softly in relief. 
He checked all the windows, all the way up to the attic on the fourth floor. He checked every single room to make sure there was no one hiding inside, either. He grabbed blankets from each of their beds, as well as one of his stuffed teddy bears, and did a final sweep on his way back down to the Lair.
“It’s okay!” He assured as he made his way back down the stairs, re-joining his younger brothers. “I checked everything, and there’s no way anybody could get in!”
“Are you sure!?” Mikey questioned, his eyes wide. “What if someone tries to break in or something?”
“I’m sure,” Raph assured firmly. “Raph checked all the locks. And the windows! And look. I got extra blankets and stuff, too,” he added, tossing the covers over the couch and over top of his brothers. “Here. You guys scoot over, and we can play Mario Kart until Dad gets home,” he said, glancing down at his siblings with a grin. “And once he’s here, no one would be dumb enough to mess with us anyway! So don’t worry.”
---
For the thousandth time in this day alone, Yoshi wondered if it would be wiser to pull his children out of school, out of all their various sports and extracurriculars, and keep them home instead, with him, where it was safe. Or at least safer. Where he could keep his eyes on them and know that, if nothing else, he could act should anything happen. They would have more time for training, too, he sometimes noted, but that thought alone made every nerve in his body twist in on itself. 
How could he do that to them? The thought of keeping them here, away from school and from friends and from hobbies, and training instead made him feel sick to his stomach. The idea of training alone made him sick. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was his eldest child falling away from him.
He had tried at least a dozen times now to say, “no, no more of this, I won’t allow you to be involved any longer,” and every time his (darling, wonderful, beloved) bullheaded children resolutely denied him and insisted that they would find a way to be involved whether he liked it or not. And while he hemmed and hawed over somehow taking more drastic measures to keep them safe, over how he could possibly achieve this and if it was possible to do so without them resenting him for the rest of their lives, time marched on with the same degree of stubbornness. 
It was impossible not to feel like he was running out of time.
The apartment was too quiet. He resented himself for being in the safety of it when his children were not, even if they left of their own volition. 
Yoshi sighed deeply, and found himself sinking down into his reclining chair before he even knew he was doing it. Internally, he scolded himself. There were things that needed to be done; housework that needed doing, phone calls that needed to be placed, and children out in the world that he had to keep track of, even if they weren’t home at the moment… (All the more reason to stay on his toes…) but honestly, he was just…
Tired.
It had been some time since he had been able to sleep at night, and he was beginning to think that melatonin was a scam or something. How could he sleep? How was he meant to sleep at night with everything looming over him, dripping wetly down his spine, burning and hot and threatening…? When the safety of both the world and his family hung in the balance, and each were equally as precious…? He grumbled softly to himself, leaning his head back and staring up at the ceiling, glowering at it as though it were personally responsible for the current state of his world.
He had only intended to sit for a while. Just to take a moment to rest, to get a chance to breathe before he got up again and continued with all the things he still had to be on top of… 
But he must have fallen asleep.
Because the next thought he had was,
Oh. This hasn’t been familiar for a while.
Not just the place-- he hadn’t been here in many, many years. This long, endless expanse of inky darkness, somehow warm and cozy despite the utter, infinite darkness of it all. He could hear whispers off in the distance, just barely tickling up against the edges of his brain. He hadn’t been in this place in a long time.
But it was also him. Looking down at his own hands, outlined in this soft white light, he noted the differing shape to him. How the wrinkles were gone from his knuckles, and each digit instead extended out smooth and slender, calloused but confident, and yet perfectly manicured.
He didn’t have to look to know that the rest of him was this way, too.
It almost felt odd to be back in the body he had inhabited in his twenties; to look like Lou Jitsu the Actor again, to feel like him. Back before the mutation. Back before the Nexus-- to feel like a young man with a career and dreams and ambitions, to be that person once more who had broken away from their family and escaped, and who held onto all the hurt and guilt of it, but who kept moving anyway. That person that he used to be, but couldn’t be anymore.
It almost felt odd. But somehow, it didn’t-- not quite. He noted it, was aware of it, and thought to himself, hm. This is certainly interesting… But really, it didn’t feel all that strange to him. It felt completely natural. 
He felt so calm. He was sitting here, surrounded by nothing but darkness and his own aura, a halo of snow white silhouetting him. His body was different from what it had been a few moments ago, but he felt completely at peace. That almost felt odd, too, but still didn’t quite. It didn’t bother him that his body was different now. If anything, it was a comfort.
He wondered for a second why in the world he was here again, after so much time, when a voice rang out from behind him.
“Welcome back, Yoshi.”
Blinking in surprise, Yoshi turned to face the other occupant of his dream.
[ next ]
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pilfappreciator · 4 months
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Can you write about Veneer... Just, like, anything at all. I'm BEGGING. They could be headcanons, drabbles, oneshots, ANYTHING. My little gay mind can't handle it. If you don't have any ideas here are some that I have off the top of my head ^_^ (also if you could make any of these male reader I will love you forever BUT you obviously don't have to <33)
- Baking with him (but either veneer or the reader is a nightmare in the kitchen and everything goes wrong)
- Having a slumber party !! (Doing eachothers nails, hair, makeup, watching movies, just talking, possibly falling asleep in eachothers arms and being embarrassed in the morning)
- Playing hide and seek together
- CHRISTMAS WITH VENEER!!! (Decorating the house/Christmas tree, getting presents, playing out in the snow, just general festive activities:3)
- Reader who has a shit ton of stuffies and has named them all (introducing them to Veneer, cuddling, fluffy things)
- Eepy time (sleeping/cuddling hcs, shenanigans, not being able to fall asleep, weird midnight chats)
I had more but I forgot....
NAHHH UR LITERALLLY SO BASED I LOVE YOU FOR THAT!!! Veneer is literally such a criminal cuz like?? He kidnapped someone, tortured them, AND he stole your heart??? SOMEONE STOP HIM ASDKJALJSLD
Ended up combining a few of your ideas into one big concept! Hope you don't mind :3
Also heads up that this takes place before the events of Band Together took off! Just figured it'd be kinda hard to throw a sleepover when your ass is literally in prison lol
Veneer x Reader: when your favorite twink invites you to a sleepover
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Includes: Male! Reader, sleepover shenanigans, fluff, slight angst, gaygaygaygay—
💎 You and Veneer would have to be INCREDIBLY close before he even considered invited you over
💎 Tbh I feel like getting invited to hangout with this guy in any way is actually? Kind of a privilage?? Like his fame is obviously a big factor in that but growing up, I doubt he had any actual friends who weren't his sister. I imagine him as kinda shy and non-confrontational as a kid, and though Velvet wasn't the BEST sibling, she never hesitated to cuss out whatever poor soul chose to pick on her brother. She's always been the one to lead and Veneer has always just followed
💎 I mean... the guy literally participated in tortue just cuz his sister told him to. He sheep coded as hell 😔
💎 So yeah, this boy probably has like zero experience when it comes to having friends who don't use him for his fame and/or are related to him by blood. Luckily you came along! Now he's actually got someone with whom he shares a genuine connection with!!
💎 Whether that connection is strictly platonic has... yet to be determined >;3c
💎 WITH THAT BEING SAID!! This guy has never once participated in a sleepover (hanging out in his sister's room doesn't count), and he's got absolutely no clue what to do ://
💎 Will conduct numerous amounts of research days in advance! And by research, I mean he's binging all his favorite chick flicks and having Krimp take notes aslkdhaljsdl
💎 FR THO!! THIS BOY IS JITTERY AS HELL WHEN THE TIME COMES TO ASK YOU OUT OVER LIKE---!
💎 "Oh heyyyy, (____)! Fancy seeing you here!"
"This... is my house?"
"R-right, right! Obviously! Um, anyway, do you like sleeping?"
"Uh."
"Also, u-uh, totally unrelated but have you ever wondered what the inside of my house looks like?"
💎 Pls just accept his invitation. If he gets any redder he might pop a blood vessel or something
💎 Heaves out the BIGGEST sigh once you say yes. He'll try to play himself off as nonchalant even though he's absolutely ecstatic, but like... the boy is literally vibrating with excitement okay, he's not fooling anyone lol
💎 Once the big day comes and you show up to his house— sorry, MANSION? Prepare yourself cuz he is most definitely giving a tour. From the indoor pool, to the outdoor pool, to the personal studio/production room, to the many walk-in closets, to a room that is literally just one big ball pit, to a heigh-ceiling hallway just lined with photos/painting of him and his sister... he is NOT afraid to show off asdkajsdlkhjf
💎 (Sidenote: don't worry about Velvet potentially intruding on the sleepover. She's agreed to step out for the day on her brother's behalf. Was definitely pretty pissy about having to vacate her own home but eventually relented... but Veneer definitely owes her for her kindness)
💎 Yknow all those cliche sleepover activities people do in movies? Yeah, you guys are doing literally all of them
💎 Such a dumbass <33
💎 NO LIKE ACTUALLY THO?? Krimp made Veneer a list of popular and totally optional things to do at a sleepover and the second he saw it, he was just like "uugh, seems like a lot of work but I GUESS I'll do it 🙄"
💎 You guys are painting your nails matching colors, doing facemasks, messing around with each others' hair— the whole shebang!! And considering this dude is rich as fuck, you just KNOW he's got nothing but all the top-of-the-line products 😤😤. Only the finest for him (and you <33)
💎 LET HIM DO YOUR MAKEUP!! I feel like he really enjoys it as a whole! Like it's probably his favorite part of getting ready for shows or just his day in general, and the only person he's done makeup for is Velvet (tho those instances were VERY rare)... but if you just? Suggest that he does yours for you?? Like just sitting back so he can do his thing, allowing him to call the shots like he rarely ever does???
💎 Literally swooning SO HARD ASLDHKALKJSJDLKJA
💎 Unfortunately the whole thing kinda backfires on him cuz: 1) you're already super cute without makeup, and 2) he knows what he's doing and could easily boost someone's looks with just some eyesliner and the right shade of lipstick
💎 He makes you look hotter, is basically what I'm getting at
💎 He's not sure if he's just done himself a huge favor or screwed himself over for the rest of the night
💎 Considering his crazy wealth and the fact he probably grew up pretty sheltered/spoiled, I doubt this boy knows anything about how a kitchen works lol. Like most of his meals were either made for him by Krimp or served at high-end hoity-toity restaurants with caviar that probably cost more than most organs sell on the black market ://
💎 So yeah, dinner is really gonna come down to you and your skill level
💎 If you know you're away around, CONGRATS!! You've just signed yourself up for cooking lessons with Veneer! And yes, the kitchen WILL end up a mess (but no worries, he'll just make Krimp clean it up). You'll definitely have to take the lead here and he's more than happy to let you do so! Just tell him what spices you need or what utensil to grab, and his ass is on it 🫡 If you wanna teach him how to knead dough or peel certain ingredients?? He won't complain (especially if said activity requires you two to be in close proximity hehe)
💎 Do NOT leave him alone in the kitchen for more than 10 seconds. You'll just return to find him trying to cut strawberries with the dull side of a knife u_u
💎 If you're also total shit in the kitchen?? No worries! Veneer may be living that high life but he's not above ordering takeout lol
💎 Remember those chick flicks I mentioned earlier? Yeah, you two are totally running a marathon of those. If you happen to have any good recs or other movies you happen to like?? He's totally willing to give them a try! Just know that if it's a scary movie… he's gonna be wrapped around you like a koala and screaming into your ear at every jumpscare
💎 He may be talentless but this boy can hit a high note if he feels he's in danger
💎 He may be different from his sister in some ways, but one attribute he shares with her is the fact that he's a TOTAL GOSSIP LIKE?? THIS BOY IS MORE THAN PREPARED TO SPILL THE TEA ON ANY GIVEN OCCASION—
💎 "Oh my gosh, did you HEAR about what happened to Nikki Mirage the other day??"
"No? Wait, who's that again?"
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO--- okay, sit down so I can educate you 😤"
💎 Him and Velvet literally thrive on drama, idk what else to tell you
💎 (he might also spill some tea about his sister... nothing too incriminating, but like, a few embarrassing childhood stories couldn't hurt, right?)
💎 Late night talks are a MUST!! At some point in the night the two of you end up like... nestled under the covers of whatever fort you guys threw together... you're facing each other, heads centimeters apart as you share a pillow... whispering and giggling for no real reason...
💎 Maybe he vents a little about his insecurities and the way Velvet treats him, less like a brother and more like a shadow she can manipulate as she pleases... and maybe you grab his hand under the blanket... yknow, just to comfort him or whatever...
💎 Veneer only ever gets physical affection when he visits his parents, and even then it's just like? The bare minimum?? Pats on the head/shoulder/back, brief hugs, chaste kisses on his cheek— that kinda crap. And it's so tragic cuz this boy is literally the biggest little spoon to ever spoon. Like actually pls just hold him
💎 If he wakes up the next morning to find you laying behind him? Arms wound around his middle?? You face burried against his neck/shoulder blades/top of his head????
💎 He is not moving from that spot even after you wake up too <33
Cannibal, I absolutely ADORE YOU FOR THIS ASK!! LITERALLY SO FUN TO WRITE SAKLJASADKJSD THANK YOU SO MUCH <3333 (was originally gonna split this into two parts but was like, "nah, this ask deserves to be hella long" uwu)
Veneer redemption arc when??
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kurooo-is-here · 4 months
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Hiii!
I was wondering if you’d be willing to write a fic or even just imagines about Arven and Drayton (separately) dating a trans guy reader who’s like, not the protagonist of the games but just a fellow student? Maybe the reader has a Sylveon as a partner? (I love trans-rights-eon)
No pressure of course, and hope you’re having a lovely day! 💖
LETS GOOO TRANSMASC READER!! I love the Sylveon idea too :3c
While I am not specifically transmasc (I'm nonbinary), I hope this depiction is mostly accurate!! We support trans people in this household!
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Drayton:
Drayton, as a bisexual, is SO in love with you. He's always wanted to call himself a boykisser LOL
He thinks you and Sylveon make a great pair, and he takes care of Sylveon like one of his own, despite being a Dragon user himself.
He supports you whether or not you decide to have transitioning surgery! He loves you all the same :)
If anyone ever deadnames or misgenders you on purpose, they better start praying to whatever God they worship because Drayton is going to FIND them. He definitely just wants to have a civil talk with them guys, no murder or anything!
Dotes on you a lot and is the best supportive boyfriend ever. He reminds you to take your meds and helps you pay for them too! He's always telling you that you look great, he loves whatever clothes you pick out, and of course, he loves kissing you. He has to live up to the boykisser title, after all.
Arven:
He's surprised when he finds out you're trans, but not for what you might think-- he's surprised you're trans because well.. he already thought you were a cis guy.. LOL
After the initial confusion though, he reassures you that this doesn't change his opinion of you at all! He's always willing to be supportive if it makes you happy.
You may or may not have to restrain Arven from punching someone if they misgender or deadname you. He does NOT tolerate that shit, ever.
Arven's so supportive to you on your bad days. If you still have your periods, he's there to bring you pads and reassure you that he still loves you. He makes you food and puts a blanket around you, making sure you're as comfortable as possible.
You and him both stay up late studying for your classes. Study sessions with his boyfriend, as he calls it.
Your Sylveon gets along with him well! It even helps him cook sometimes by lifting stuff with its ribbons. Your Sylveon ALWAYS gets excited whenever Arven makes desserts.
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akutasoda · 4 months
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Hihihi :3c do you write//would you be willing to write about a reader who is a system/w DID (dissociative identity disorder) ?? ^_^ I wanted to ask before requesting it because ik some people aren't comfortable writing about disorders that they don't have which I totally understand and respect!!!! I'm a system host and I haven't seen any readers with DID before so I'm asking around to see if anyone would be willing to write that ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა No matter what the answer is, I hope you have an amaaaaaazing day or night <33333
it's always me in the end
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synopsis - how are they with someone who has DID?
includes - atsushi, dazai, chuuya
warnings - gn!reader, reader has DID, fluff, slight angst, wc - 526
a/n: hiii! please feel free to let me know if i misunderstood anything!
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atsushi nakajima ★↷
↪he isn't that familiar with various disorders, especially one's such as this but he is very open and willing to learn.
↪more so for your sake. he wants to be able to understand you and therefore offer any support he can to help.
↪it probably took him a while to get used to your different identities. but he could always tell when your 'host identity' was present.
↪he is very good at helping if you experience any amnesia or have conflicting memories. so much so that it becomes rare for you to have confusion for long.
↪and after he gets used to it he barely bats an eye when you suddenly switch up. whether you've taken up a different age or gender for your identity he acts normal.
↪he knows its you somewhere in there and therefore any identity you throw at him he treats it as he would you. afterall it is always you at the end of the day.
osamu dazai ★↷
↪while he is aware of many different disorders and such, he isn't that great at helping out those with them. but he would always try for you.
↪and you could tell he was absolutely trying his hardest to learn and understand everything about it even if you couldn't help him.
↪he became very good at matching the energy if the identity you changed to. this way he could understand your new state much better and help any problems.
↪if you experience any amnesia or conflicting memories, it did scare him at first. he didn't show it but he truly did fear that you would forget him entirely. you'd forget him and he would yet again lose someone he cares about.
↪this made him work so much to help you overcome any amnesia. but after he did get used to it, he became more curious if anything.
↪ he understands that you might be scared if you have no control on when your identities take over and so he tries to comfort you when you return to your 'host identity'.
chuuya nakahara ★↷
↪it takes him quite a while to wise up and understand you slightly. he truly tries but he finds it difficult to truly understand you.
↪he wants to be able to help, to be somewhat of a comfort for your actual identity to return to but he just gets so confused by your various identities that it's difficult for him.
↪mainly because he stresses himself out by imagining how you feel. if you can't control the different identities he can imagine how scary that might be to you especially when amnesia is also a possibility.
↪but eventually he comes round to it and becomes the absolute best at helping you out. he's practically got all your different identities mapped out.
↪he can always tell which one's which and he wont lie when he say's that he always prefers when your 'host identity' comes back.
↪but he would always try his hardest for you, as he truly cares and he wants to be able to understand what you're facing and if he can help you in any way.
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toomuchambition · 4 months
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So there's a new Simply Plural update, and we feel like infodumping about it. That's it, that's all this post is.
One of the first things that caught our attention was something new added to the member count — "Archived members." And sure enough, in the member profile settings...
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We could see this being helpful for dormant members and in other exceptional circumstances. It doesn't seem like there's a way to browse a list of archived members, but there's an option in Advanced search that allows archived members to appear. It'll take a while to see if this helps our organization in the long-term, but it seems promising so far.
Also, the new Creation Date toggle is a lovely addition. We got into the habit of manually tracking when new members show up/are discovered somewhere in the middle of 2023, so anyone before then, we're not sure, so this is a great tool for history checking. Not all of our headmates get profiles on Simply Plural when first discovered, depending on many factors, the main one being said member's comfort with being included. But still, as small of a thing as this might be, it genuinely made us happy to see it.
Profiles seem mostly the same, except for two new things. For one, avatars got changed a little bit. Clicking on the avatar goes to a new screen titled, "Avatar editor." However, the web version (which is the only one we use) still doesn't allow for uploading files, so if there's anything else that's new, we wouldn't know.
But also new to profiles, and something we're excited to try out, is a whole section! The message board;
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Any other members can write messages on a specific member's message board. It operates pretty closely to direct messages. You can even mark them as read, however the member in question has to be logged in front in order to mark them. Typically, whenever someone comes to front, whether its been six days or six months, one of the first things we like to do is check their profile in order to ground them. So, this message board would be perfect for leaving reminders for headmates that can't be communicated with for one reason or another. And, also, the meme potential :3c
We'd also be curious if friends could also leave messages on these boards, and how that'd work. Can headmates from different systems leave messages? Can singlet friends leave messages? We're shy about sharing our Simply Plural so we might not ever know, but the curiosity is there.
There's also some new options in the options menu, such as hiding the time someone has been fronting. There's also a section called timeline settings, which we think are new but could be wrong lol
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We appreciate the option to hide how long someone has been fronting. Because of our OCD, if a headmate has fronted for more than like, 24 hours, then we sorta feel compelled to keep them in front, just to "keep the streak," so to speak, and from there its quite easy to become frontstuck. Of course, having such stability in identity for a long-ish period of time can be helpful, but when we're trying to encourage headmate diversity and an active front, that can get in the way. So, hopefully, being able to just hide it will help calm that part of our brain.
They also removed a section from the Members / Front page but we forgor what's missing T_T
Annnd that's about all that we noticed. Consider the info dumped.
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sunsetshifting · 1 year
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Important Things to Script For Your DR!
Now above all else, safety is the most important thing to script. ‘Safety’ is, of course, also quite relative to one’s DR, so when examining this list, please keep in mind what is and is not relevant to you.
That said, here’s my list of 20 important things to script for your reality shifting journey!
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You cannot die - Arguably the most important one to script, unless you’re experiencing some sort of Minecraft hardcore-esque DR. Dying in a DR is no less traumatic and terrifying than it is in your Original Reality, so please exercise caution and remember to script that you cannot die.
You have a high pain tolerance - This one is a bit of a matter of preference, but is generally a good idea to script in. Some people script out pain entirely, but this generally makes the DR feel less ‘real’, and so the safest bet is to simply make sure your pain tolerance is high.
You will never be tortured or kidnapped/You will never be SA’d - This is a given. Even if it seems unlikely in your DR, this is still good to have just in case.
You cannot lose any teeth or have them knocked out - I don’t really see this aspect talked about much, but I would personally prefer to err on the side of caution, especially considering just how likely I am to be punched in some of my DRs (MHA, for example.)
Time pauses when you are not in your DR - This one is easily within the top 3 of most important things to script. You certainly wouldn’t want to return to your DR after a shifting break only to discover that several months had passed without your knowledge!
You cannot be dragged out of your DR against your will - This is a good one for making sure you don’t accidentally shift back to your OR. Of course, it may still happen if you haven’t properly grounded yourself (don’t worry, it’s easy, you just have to touch and look at things around you) but this is still a good measure to take.
Nobody will know that you’re a reality shifter unless you tell them - This is a good one to have just in case. You never know how someone might react to this information. On that note…
The people in your DR are accepting of shifting - Another good bit to include if you plan on telling anyone (not necessary, but some people like to.) This ensures that nobody cuts ties with you or freaks out on you!
Everyone around you has good hygiene - This one is deceptively important. Whether you’re attending UA or slumming it in TWD, you definitely want to avoid as much rank smell as you can.
You cannot be maimed or permanently injured in your desired reality beyond scars that do not impede your ability to perform any sort of task - This is entirely personal preference. This just sees to it that you don’t suffer a non-fatal injury that debilitates or disables you in some fashion (such as losing fingers or an eye.)
You cannot be brainwashed or otherwise forced to forget how to shift out of the DR - Another safety precaution, just in case you come into contact with someone or something that can change your memories or take over your mind.
You will be safe from all potential diseases and illnesses/You will never be arrested or sent to prison/You will always have enough money to purchase whatever you want - These are moreso to fluff up and boost the experience of your DR, but some people choose to avoid these for the sake of a challenge or realism. I, personally, enjoy them. :3c
There will never be natural disasters or a risk of tragedy such as shootings or fires - As someone with a severe fear of both thunderstorms and shootings, this is essential.
You will remember everything your clone experienced while you were in your DR - This is a good measure to make sure that things are perfectly in order when you get back^^
You will never be involved in a car crash or plane crash - Good to make sure your DR experience doesn’t end prematurely/randomly, as well as to avoid unneeded trauma.
You will not remember the plot of your DR - This one is only relevant if your DR is based off a fictional piece of media. This helps to prevent you from 1. messing up the plot, 2. revealing things before you should know them.
People respect your name/pronouns - As someone who’s trans, this one is completely necessary regardless of where I shift.
You automatically know everything your DRself knows - Just a bit of insurance to make sure that there’s no problems with you slotting into your DRself’s position!
Your eyes open automatically once you arrive in your DR - This helps take away the guessing of when to open your eyes for awake methods, as well as comfort for other methods.
A SIGN! - This one is more abstract, but this generally just means something to make yourself aware that you’ve shifted! Generally, people will script that they either hear birds chirping, smell coffee, or taste something bitter. The key here is to use one or more of your five senses! Anything goes, beyond that point!
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