#they’re not doing too badly they just seem a little sad and off

[spocksgotemotions]

I need to figure out how to care less about my job. I can’t keep crying over kids that aren’t mine, I can’t keep doing this

#captain’s own #dumb bitch hours #personal logs #long story short my boss moved up two of my kids even though they were not ready #and I spent all last week miserable trying to figure out if I could convince her to put them back with us #but I think really I just need to give up and move on #they’re not doing too badly they just seem a little sad and off #and that’s only when I see them so they might just miss me #but it’s like #it fucking sucks dude #I love these kids so much #and Holly (my boss) doesn’t understand she doesn’t know them #she doesn’t know I pushed off my break so I could tell Reagan stories to put her to sleep for nap #she doesn’t know how much time I’ve spent holding Wyatt when he’s been sick #I spent a year and a half with those kids between three of their classes and Holly didn’t even think to talk to me about it #okay I just need to get this off my chest

[lesbianrobin]

i'd be the prom queen (if crying was a contest)

3,561 words

robin & steve: an alternate meeting

“Your 1985 Prom King is, drumroll please..!”

Kids pound their legs and any nearby tables, some stomping wildly in place and others simply screaming until the noise bouncing around inside the gym seems to make her bones rattle. Robin halfheartedly pats her thighs along to the horrendously out of sync drumroll, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. It’s going to be him. It’s going to be him, and she’s going to lose what’s left of her sanity, and then since he’s single now he’ll take Tammy home and they’ll have gross sex and he’ll definitely suck at it and Robin could totally do better even though she’s never kissed anyone before. She’d just be better by default because Steve sucks.

“Steeeeve Harrington!”

The room erupts in a cacophonous mix of cheers and taunts. Robin drains the last of her punch as they lower the crown over his stupid hair, and for what certainly won’t be the last time tonight, she wishes that it had occurred to her to sneak in alcohol before she’d already arrived and gotten a peek at Christina Brown’s “hidden” flask.

“Woo!”

“Yeah, Stevie-boy!”

“Aw, fuck off!”

“Homo!”

“Go Steve!”

It doesn’t escape Robin’s notice that the more encouraging remarks tend to be from female voices, while all of the jeers are male. At least one guy is whistling in support from the back of the room. Steve soaks it all up, the adoration and envy alike, with perfect, shining hair and a pageant smile.The student council president whose old lady name she can never remember shushes everybody so she can announce who won Queen as Steve waves to his adoring fans. Robin doesn’t know most of the nominees. They’re upperclassmen, cheerleaders and high achievers who’ve never given her a second glance.

“Heather Holloway!”

The pretty brunette in a nice pink dress gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth like she’s just won the lottery. People cheer just as loudly as they did for Steve, though nobody heckles her. Steve claps, whoops like he’s not onstage and still way too close to the microphone, and it makes her sick. Heather accepts her crown and sash gracefully before being whisked offstage by some muscular asshole who must be her boyfriend, and the DJ starts up “Time After Time.” Steve takes the stairs down, and Robin forces herself not to follow his path through the crowd. The shitty finger foods on her paper plate are far more interesting than Steve Harrington.

Robin likes Cyndi Lauper alright, but this song just… sucks. It just sucks. It sucks almost as badly as the stale crackers left on her plate now that she’s eaten all the grapes and cheese. God, what did she really expect, getting dropped off at prom by her parents to meet up with a bunch of friends? They ditched her to dance as soon as they got inside, and sure, maybe she could get up and join them, but it just… it just sucks. None of these stupid couples will last after high school, and the ones that do will end up miserable together, but there’s still a jealous pang in her chest whenever Robin looks up to see some girl’s nicely manicured hands laced behind some guy’s neck, the way their ties and dresses match and they lean in close to whisper right into each other’s ears.

“Wanna dance?”

She looks up. The first thing she sees is a glint of light.

“With you?” Robin immediately pinches her own leg through the layers of polyester and tulle that her mother’s forced her into for the occasion. Shit, it stung. It actually stung.

Steve Harrington glances around like he might’ve missed somebody else in the conversation, light glinting off his crown, before shooting her a winning smile. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“No,” she says instinctively.

He frowns, and of course he does because the asshole could never even imagine somebody not wanting to be with him, but his eyes go a little dull, a little tired, a lot sad, and something seizes in her chest, and this is why Robin doesn’t always do well in social situations, because panic seizes her throat and stimulates her vocal cords without her permission.

“No, I meant I don’t mind! So I do. Want to dance.”

The sadness dissipates with an airy Steve Harrington laugh. The winning smile returns as he raises an eyebrow. “With me?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” she says easily, shoving down the anxiety swirling in her gut and raising a hand because she’s read this script before. She must’ve delivered her line right, because Steve takes it, pulling her lightly to her feet and leading her out onto the dance floor. Her heart pounds faster as they weave their way to the center of the floor. So many people are looking at them already. There’s not a familiar face in sight, which should be statistically impossible for a school this size, but Robin doesn’t know any of these people as more than faces in the hall, and she really should have stuck to her instincts. Why did she take back the “no?” That was the smartest “no” in the history of the world, and she went and screwed it up like she always does.

Steve taps someone on the shoulder, and tugs her through a wall of people, and suddenly they’re right by the stage. Nestled between the speakers it’s almost… intimate. The music is loud, but the people aren’t so much. It’s better. Steve smiles softly as he arranges her arms, taking one hand gently in his own and placing the other on his shoulder. He moves his own hand slowly to her waist, like he’s waiting for her to stop him, and she can’t help but snort.

He makes a face at her and grips her waist properly. “Alright, alright.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, I said I’d dance, right?”

“Jeez, I can’t be polite?”

There he is. Steve “the Hair” Harrington, asshole extraordinaire. She knew he’d come out sooner rather than later.

“...Why me?” Robin asks, “Steve Harrington couldn’t get a date to the prom?”

She almost regrets her harsh tone when he averts his gaze, pretending to be interested in whatever’s going on over in the little photo studio in the corner of the room. Steve sighs.

“Well, I saw you admiring me all night,” he says with a wry grin, neck craned just a bit, eyes fixed in the corner. Robin’s stomach fills with lead. He’s gonna Carrie her. This is a Carrie somehow. It has to be.

His eyes flick back towards her as he chuckles, then they flick away, still focused on something over her shoulder. It feels cruel, nothing like the laugh she heard earlier, and the hand on her waist is hot like a brand, and he must feel how sweaty her hand is, and this is when he’ll tighten his grip and—

“Kidding. Uh, I don’t know. You looked about as miserable as I am, I guess.”

“What?”

Steve swallows. He finally meets her eyes with a weak grin. “Didn’t want to bring someone down with my shitty mood, but I have to dance. So I figured maybe you wouldn’t mind taking a spin and helping me out. Can’t be worse than just sitting around, right?”

“That’s a pretty big assumption.”

He blinks at her. He smiles, really smiles, and tugs her closer so that they might be able to rest their heads on each other’s shoulders, if they wanted to. She doesn’t.

“What’s your name?” he asks conversationally, like she can’t feel his breath on her shoulder and his hand in hers.

“Robin,” she says, and it sounds so raspy, he probably thinks she’s, like, into this or something, which is pretty much as far from the truth as humanly possible. How did this even happen? She’s been facing the stage most of the time, but Steve has been rotating them as he slowly sways, and now she can see some faces out in the crowd. A few are familiar. A lot are looking at her.

“I’m Steve.”

“No shit,” she bites out, fighting the urge to dig her fingers into his shoulder in the hope of bruising it.

“Okay, yeah,” Steve says placatingly, “Obviously you know that. Uh, you look familiar.”

“Click’s class. You sat, like, right in front of me.”

“Oh. Really?” Steve sounds genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, really.”

“Shit,” he whispers, and she probably wasn’t supposed to hear it, the music as loud as it is, but his mouth is, like, right next to her ear, and it’s not her fault that Harrington doesn’t understand how sound works.

She scoffs. “Relax. I didn’t really expect you to remember me. You never really even looked at me.”

“No, it’s not — ” Steve sighs, and she feels more than sees it when he shakes his head. All she can see is the crowd. There’s Catherine, and Ally, and Jeremy and David and Rachel, all looking at her. He’s stopped rotating them now, sticking to the slow sway, so she’s stuck unless she wants to force him, and instinct tells her that Steve Harrington isn’t someone who lets people force him to do anything.

“ ... just don’t remember a lot of shit, now.”

Her attention snaps back to Steve, to his hand on her waist and face nearly buried in her shoulder. “What?”

“Forget it.”

“Why the shitty mood?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

Tammy Thompson’s wearing blue. Her dress is… awful, honestly, it’s horrendous, like a big blue garbage bag, but she wears it well, like with a smile and a toss of her hair she could make an actual garbage bag look even better.

“Alright,” she finds herself saying. “Then ask.”

“...Okay. So, Robin,” he says, deftly maneuvering the clammy hand he’s cupped in his own so that their fingers are entwined, “Why the shitty mood?”

Tammy’s dancing with Sam Reynolds. They’re just friends, Robin’s pretty sure, or at least they’re nothing serious, but it hurts all the same. She’s absolutely glowing.

“Well, as you can see, I came alone.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time,” Steve counters. “There’s music, and food, and you look absolutely gorgeous.”

Robin can’t help how her face scrunches in disgust. Steve must feel her tense up, because he huffs out a laugh.

“Calm down, I’m not, like, coming on to you. But I can see, you know.”

Tammy looks away from Sam.

Their eyes meet.

Robin freezes, or she tries to, but Steve loosens his grip on her hand and it’s enough to jolt her back into reality. She squeezes both his hand and his shoulder, probably a little too tight, but if it bothers him he doesn’t say anything. Tammy is still looking.

“I didn’t come with the person I wanted to,” she says. It’s the truth, but it leaves the same sharp, sick aftertaste as a lie. An opening. Asking to get caught.

“Guess I don’t have to give you my answer now,” Steve says lightly.

“Yeah?” she asks.

Tammy’s lipstick is just on the tasteful side of pink. Just a bit brighter, just a bit more eye makeup, and it would be garish, but of course it isn’t, because it’s Tammy. She licks her lips, so quickly Robin can barely even see. What does her lipstick taste like? Is it bitter? Or is it decent enough that she can wet her lips whenever she’d like without worrying about washing the taste out of her mouth later? She’ll wear it away, then, and Robin can’t help picturing it, Tammy leaning in close to the mirror to reapply, and what if they ran into each other in the ladies’ room, and Tammy asked if she could be a doll and help her out?

“Well, no point in repeating ourselves.” Steve takes a harsh breath, and it’s weird, being so close to another person that she can feel his chest expanding just a bit more than it has been. They’re so close, and she should be uncomfortable, and she is, technically, in the sense that her shoes are pinching and her dress is hot and the whole room smells like sweat, but Steve’s hand in hers isn’t too bad. Pathetically enough, it’s almost nice. She’s so desperate and lonely that even Steve “the Hair” Harrington holding her hand is a comfort.

Tammy hasn’t broken eye contact yet. There’s something in her gaze, though, something Robin’s never seen directed at herself before. Tammy frowns at her, pulls Sam in close, and shuts her eyes as she continues to dance.

No point in repeating themselves. She might be hopeless, but Steve Harrington didn’t get the girl, either.

“That’s really it? You just won Prom King, and you can’t get over whatever girl turned you down this week?”

“You know, you’re kinda harsh, Robin.”

Robin might be hopeless, but she also has a mean streak. She shrugs, and Steve’s hand moves from her waist to rest on her back, like he might pull her into a hug at any minute, and it feels better. Less performative.

He continues, “I don’t think that’s really it for you either.”

“It’s not.”

“Well, there’s your answer.”

Robin shakes her head. “You know, you can’t just keep dodging questions with other questions forever.”

“Who said anything about forever? The song’s at least halfway over.”

She hums like she’s disappointed. “One and done, huh?”

It’s the third time Steve’s laughed since they first started talking, and this one makes Robin smile too. He shoves his forehead against her shoulder for a second, shaking, before he lifts his head again and says, “We really never talked in Click’s class?”

“Uh, not unless you count that time I dropped my paper and you said, hey, is this yours, and I said yeah, and you handed it back to me. That was pretty much it.”

“What a waste,” Steve says.

He says it like he means it. Like he really regrets not talking to her. She kind of believes him.

“What’s the other reason, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I came alone and I’m going straight home afterwards because I’m failing pre-calc and I have remedial work to do. These shoes barely fit. I can’t sleep, I can’t remember most of last semester, and I can’t go anywhere near the picture line without feeling like I’m gonna throw up. And I’m pretty sure half the basketball team just campaigned for me because they knew all the girls up for Queen already had boyfriends and I didn’t have a date. It’s funny for them, you know? Makes me look like even more of a loser.”

There’s… a lot there, but he rushed through the stuff in the middle, and something tells her that he sandwiched those things for a reason. What’s his problem with pictures? Does he mean he can’t sleep like he’s up all night tossing and turning, or like he’s torn awake by night terrors? Did he forget most of what he learned last semester, or like, most of what happened over those few months? It’s just… a lot, too much, and none of it really makes sense.

So Robin rolls her eyes. “You know, dancing with me isn’t really gonna help you with looking like a loser.”

“Jesus, shut up. Like you’re not cooler than all the girls in here. You know this is all stupid. This shit is who I am, but it’s not who you are. So why do you care so much?”

Steve Harrington is just as irritating as ever when he’s being nice. Maybe even moreso.

“Oh, you know who I am?”

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

She wants to challenge him. Tell me, she’d say, go on, I’m listening. I want to hear what you think. What do you see when you look at me, huh? What do you hear when I talk to you? Do you know what I want? What I’m afraid of? Who I want to be, and what I’m terrified of becoming? Do you hear it when I cry every night? Tell me, Steve, where does the weight of the world sit on you? Is it crushing your chest, too? Or does it sit nice and high up on your shoulders? Go on, tell me. Who does the great Steve Harrington think I am?

But some questions don’t need to be answered. Besides, those questions are meant for the great Steve Harrington, and this guy is… something else. Something sadder.

“... It’s not really about them,” she tries. “Or it… it won’t be. It is, right now. But it’ll be about someone else eventually.”

“That’s… good, right?”

“No,” she says plainly. “It’s gonna be the same way then, too.”

“What makes you think that?”

Robin tries to laugh. It feels like more of a sob. “Call it instinct.”

“Time After Time” fades into something energetic and upbeat. It’s probably big right now, based on how everyone reacts by immediately breaking away from their partners to form big dance groups with their friends, but Robin must be listening to her Walkman too much, because she swears she’s never heard it before in her life.

“Well,” Steve says, not letting go, continuing to sway, “I think your instincts are bullshit.”

“Don’t,” she chokes, “Please.”

Steve unwinds their fingers, and it almost hurts, but then he pulls her into a hug, one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. She reciprocates without thinking, pressing her face against the fine material of his suit jacket. He’ll probably have to wipe her makeup off later.

“Look,” he says, and his voice wavers, just for a moment. “I know… Hawkins sucks. It really fucking sucks, more than anyone realizes. But you don’t. It’s not… we just met, basically, but I know that whatever it is, you’re not the problem. Okay? It’s just… other people.”

He doesn’t know. He can’t. He can’t, or he wouldn’t be holding her like this, and saying these words, and treating her like...

“Other people suck,” she says.

Steve’s shoulders slump forward, and she realizes that he’s been tense all night. Their hug feels different, now. More like the hugs that her mom used to give her when she was little and she couldn’t sleep. The music is a blanket of noise around them, her eyes shut and face tilted down into Steve’s shoulder, and Robin could almost forget they were in the same gym where she plays dodgeball on Thursdays. Fifty feet away from the locker room with the tiles she’s memorized, with the forty-six holes in the drain on the floor and the small remnant of somebody’s old gum stuck in the grout. They’re standing in warmth, and sound, and maybe it’s a veil of denial or ignorance but Robin can’t really bring herself to care when it lets her believe that maybe someone understands.

“Get a room!”

“Fuck off,” Steve lifts his head to shout at whoever said it, and Robin flinches.

She opens her eyes. She lifts her head. She takes a step back.

“Robin?”

“Hm?”

“Are you alright?” Steve leans in to speak clearly over the music.

Shaking out her shoulders and forcing herself to smile, she says, “Yeah. I think I ruined your suit, though.”

He frowns, glances at his shoulder, and laughs at the perfect imprint of Robin’s face loud enough that some nearby dancers turn their heads for a moment. It’s a nice sound. It makes Robin want to laugh, too.

“You want to get out of here?”

Fuck.

“I’m not…” she says, glancing back toward the table Steve had approached her at. None of her friends have since sat down.

He runs a hand through his hair, dislodging the crown and then fumbling awkwardly to save it before it falls onto the floor. He settles it at a crooked angle on his head and Robin snorts.

“Not like that, geez. I’m not even looking for anything —” He cuts himself off.

Steve takes a breath and continues. “ I just… we could get burgers, or something. You’re paying, obviously,” Steve says as he gestures to the makeup stain, but his fidgeting hands betray his confident tone.

There’s no way this doesn’t end badly. No way that Steve Harrington doesn’t try to make a move on her, or somehow figure out she’s a raging lesbian, or drive her out to an old abandoned farmhouse and turn her skin into a suit.

Robin hasn’t felt this good all night. She’s on the brink of tears, but she hasn’t felt this good in weeks, maybe fucking years, and if there’s just the slightest chance that she might actually just go and get burgers with a friend and make her junior prom a night to actually remember… well, she’s willing to take that chance.

“I’ll pay my half, obviously.”

Steve grins. “Then come on, my Queen. Or, uh, princess, or whatever a king’s, like, friend —”

“Are you trying to say my chariot awaits?”

Steve presses his lips together. “...No?”

Robin rolls her eyes as she holds out her arm, and Steve takes it. “Come on, Your Highness. Our totally platonic chariot awaits.”

This time, they laugh together, and Robin doesn’t bother to think about whether it was the fourth time or the fifth. She’ll hear it way too many times to count.

#robin buckley #steve harrington #stranger things fic #lesbianrobin.fic #stobin #genuinely platonic soulmates #stranger things #em talks

[dewedup]

Hi dear friend 💙

How about..."if you could only see yourself the way I do, you wouldn't feel this way" with my sweet sweet Rulti boys.

Besos!😘

sorry this ended up taking me a little mac, i love how your brain works and i hope i did it justice 🖤

please enjoy 1k of sad, angsty rain and swiss breaking through the pain 🥰

Rain’s hands travel the skin of his neck exploratorily, fingers brushing over the slightly protruding gills on either side of his neck. They are a light-blue colour and stand out compared to the greyish-blue tone of his skin like a sore thumb. He knows that logically, Dew used to have the very same identifying features of a water ghoul. That you can still see the shiny, silvery scars if you look hard enough. 

Sometimes he even catches Dew being slightly oversensitive to the area still, releasing a soft gasp when they’re touched the right way, flinching when he’s grabbed a little too roughly around the neck. Rain sympathizes, and knows the feeling well himself. It’s an interesting flaw in the design of water ghouls, having such a vulnerable area highlighted like a bullseye for all predators to see. To be totally at someone’s mercy if they touch them just right.

That’s not the part that really bothers Rain though, just something he thinks of once in a while. If he one day had an audience with Lucifer, he’d probably bring it up. Workshop some ideas with the Unholy One. 

No, what bothers Rain is that he’s the only ghoul with these outward markings. Air ghouls get to walk a little lighter. Their hair floats perfectly around them, like they’re perpetually on a cloud. Quintessences have captivating purple irises that seem to glow in the dark. Dew’s eyes hold a similar power, coupled with the fact that he always runs hotter than any other being Rain has had the pleasure of getting close to. Even Mountain grows cute little flowers on his body, for fucksakes. Don’t even get him started on multi ghouls. They’re heartbreakingly gorgeous, taking every positive aspect of their mixed elements and crafting perfection. He’s almost positive that if he looked at Swiss too long, he’d go blind. 

And here’s Rain, with these stupid fucking gills. 

The ones that decorate his ribcage are fine, easily hidden and if that’s the only place he had them he wouldn’t complain too badly. But the neck? Impossible to casually hide. It’s the only thing he sees in the mirror when he’s brave enough to look, the bright tone catching his eyes immediately. He feels like a lesser ghoul, unevolved, unrefined in a way. 

When he’s feeling particularly hideous, he’ll exert enough effort to glamour the area. Coincidentally, it’s more work to disguise just one part of his body instead of a full glamour. But he’s stubborn, will spend the whole day on edge and fall into bed exhausted after trying to conceal the ugliest part of him from view. 

He’s still standing in front of his vanity, hands to his neck, when the door to his room is thrown open.

“Rain! Dew and Phantom challenged us to a…” Swiss’ voice trails off as he watches Rain grip his neck self-consciously. It’s too much, the beautiful golden eyes of the multi ghoul staring right at his most vulnerable area, his gaze calculating as he takes in the scene before him. Rain’s hackles rise. The surprise mixing with the self-hatred he’s been soaking in creates an explosive reaction inside him.

“Did no one fucking teach you how to knock?” Rain spits, venom lacing his tone as he drops his hands, quickly pushing a glamour out to cover his gills. Swiss flinches visibly at the words, his eyes narrowing as his gaze still lingers on Rain’s neck. Silence eats at him, unshed tears pushing their way to his eyes. No, he cannot cry right now. He’s just angry, he just needs Swiss to leave. 

“Rain,” Swiss ventures, taking slow steps towards him. He lifts his hands, palms raised towards the water ghoul like he would a wounded animal. Rain stumbles backwards, bracing his hands on the vanity behind him. 

“Get the fuck out Swiss,” Rain’s voice cracks on the multi ghoul’s name, the anger evaporating as quickly as it comes. A single tear trails its way down his cheek. Swiss is unfazed by the quickly shifting moods, taking the last few steps to close the distance between them. Rain stiffens as he’s pulled close by a hand wrapping around his waist, leaving the comfort of the sturdy vanity behind him. Swiss reaches up with his other hand, his thumb brushing against Rain’s cheek to catch the stray tear. 

Rain’s entire body slumps, the last few lingering impulses to fight dissipating. 

“Show me, love.” Swiss whispers and Rain feels completely exposed under the golden gaze burning into him. He knows exactly what Swiss wants, debates playing dumb, but Swiss’ face is earnest, affection carved into every faint line or wrinkle. With a heavy sigh, he drops the glamour, his eyes sliding shut as he tries to hide from his own wicked thoughts. 

He doesn’t see Swiss move closer, only letting out a soft gasp as his lips press light kisses along the gills on the right side of his neck. Never pushing too hard. If Rain wasn’t hyperaware of every single thing happening currently, he might even miss the soft caresses on his sensitive skin. Swiss switches to the other side, supplying the same gentle affection to the neglected gills. 

“You’re absolutely gorgeous Rainbow,” Swiss pulls back, waiting for Rain to open his eyes before he speaks next. It’s a battle, the water ghoul fighting back tears as he cracks his eyes to peek at Swiss. The love and adoration displayed blatantly on his face punches a soft sob out of Rain’s mouth. 

Swiss coos and shushes him, pulling Rain tight to his chest, guiding his head to nuzzle in the crook of his neck. His warm hands rub comforting circles into Rain’s back as he shudders, tears falling to stain Swiss’ white t-shirt. It’s a few minutes before Rain’s breath evens out, eyes sore from crying, body exhausted, using every bit of strength Swiss offers to hold him up. 

“If you could only see yourself the way I do,” Swiss whispers, pressing soft kisses to the side of Rain’s head as he squeezes the water ghoul a little tighter. “You wouldn’t feel this way.” 

And Rain thinks, for Swiss, maybe he could try. 

#rulti #angst #hurt/comfort #sad rain #loving swiss #rain ghoul #swiss ghoul #the band ghost ficlet #fic request #thank you mac for the beautiful idea to build off of 🖤 #gloom answers #mac #gloom writes

[jeannereames]

Your top 5 Alexander the Great moments?

Top Five Alexander Moments

One issue with answering this is to figure out what events actually happened, especially when it comes to anecdotes! Here are four I find either significant to understanding his charisma and/or which explain how he functioned and why he was successful, plus one I like just because I’m a horse girl.

1) To my mind, the event that best illustrates why his men followed him to the edge of their known world occurred in the Gedrosian Desert. While I’m a bit dubious that this trek was as bad as it’s made out to be (reasons exist for exaggerating), it was still baaaad. One story relates that some of his men found some brackish water in a sad little excuse for a spring, gathered it in a helm, and brought it to him. Given his poor physical condition after the Malian siege wound, he no doubt needed it badly. He thanked them (most sincerely), then carried it out where all (or at least a lot) of his men could see, raised it overhead, and announced that until all of them could drink, he wouldn’t. Then he poured it onto the rocky ground.

That gesture exemplified his charisma. And it absolutely is not something the likes of a Donald tRump could even imagine doing—nor most dictators, tbh. They’d be blaming everybody else and calling for heads while drinking Diet Coke, not suffering alongside their people.

This wasn’t an isolated event of that type. While he almost certainly didn’t have time to engage along with his soldiers in every project, we’re told he would drop in from time-to-time, to inspire them and to offer a little friendly competition.

He also dressed like his men for everyday activities, especially early in the campaign. As time went on, some sources say he inserted more distance—probably necessary as his duties exploded—but he still seems to have found time to “just hang out” with his Macedonians on occasion. The claims that he was too high and mighty to do so appears to have been exaggeration (as such accusations often are) in order to forward a narrative that he was “going Asian.” Troop resentment over court changes was very genuine—I don’t want to underplay it (especially as I’ve written about it in a few chapters in this), but it tended to boil up during certain periods/events, then die back again. Alexander was trying to walk a very fine line of incorporating the conquered while not ticking off his own people.

2) Reportedly, he once threw a man out of line because he hadn’t bothered to secure the chin strap on his helm. I pick this one because it tells me a whole lot about how he saw himself as a commander, and what he expected of his men (and why he tended to consistently win).

On the surface, his reaction seems almost petty. It’s precisely the sort of mistake students whine about when professors ding them for it. It’s just a chin strap! I’d have tightened it before I went into battle! (It’s just a few typos; you knew what I meant! Or, Why does everything in the bibliography have to be exactly matching in style? Who cares? What a stupid thing to obsess about!) These objections are all of a piece. First, they’re lazy, and second, they indicate a disconcern with details. In battle, such disconcern can get a person killed. And on a larger scale, for a general, such disconcern loses battles.

One of the striking aspects of Alexander’s military operations was just how well his logistics worked. Consistently. We hear little about them precisely because they rarely fail. Food and water was there when they needed it, as were arrow replacements, wood to repair the spears, wool and leather for clothes and shoes, canvas for tents, etc., etc. All those little niggling (boring) details. If these are missing, soldiers become upset (and don’t fight well). Starting with Philip, the Macedonian military was a well-oiled machine. That’s WHY Gedrosia was such a shock: the logistics collapsed. Contra some historians, he did not do it to “punish” his men, nor to best Cyrus.* He had a sound reason—to scout a trade route.

Alexander understood that details matter. It starts with a loose chinstrap. (Or an unplanned-for storm and rebellion in his rear.) Everything else can unravel from that.

3) Alexander sends Hephaistion a little dish of small fish (probably smelts). He also helps an officer secure the lady of his dreams. And writes another on assignment (away from the army) that a mutual friend is recovering from an illness. While technically three “moments,” these are all of a piece. Alexander knows his men, and is concerned not only for their physical well-being, but also their mental state: that they’re happy. Granted, these are all elite officers, but it suggests he’s paying attention to people. I’ve always assumed he sent Hephaistion the fish because they were his friend’s favorite, and/or they were a special treat and he wanted to share. That he didn’t punish an officer for going AWOL to chase the mistress he wanted but offered advice, and even assistance, on how to court and secure her suggests the same care.

I don’t want to take away from what appears to be his serious anger management problems(!), but little details like those above strike me as the likeable side of Alexander—why his men were so devoted to him.

4) Then we have the encounter with Timokleia after the siege of Thebes. While probably a bit too precious to have occurred exactly as related, I think it may still hold a kernel of truth.

Alexander had a reputation of chivalry towards his (highborn) female captives. If some of that was likely either propaganda from his own time or philhellenic whitewashing later by Second Sophistic authors such as Plutarch (and Arrian), poor treatment of women is not something we hear attributed to him.

Ergo, while the meeting was probably doctored for a moral tail, he may well have freed Timokleia as an act of clemency to put a better face on a shocking destruction he knew wouldn’t sit well with the rest of Greece—who he both wanted to cow yet earn support from. (A difficult balancing act.) Also, if Timokleia hadn’t been high-born, she’d probably have been hauled off to one of the prisoner cages with little fanfare.

Nonetheless, I find his actions surprising given the casual misogyny of his era. If we can take the bare bones of the story as true, and it’s not all invented, Timokleia was raped as a matter of course during the sacking of Thebes, then managed to trick her rapist and kill him by pushing him down a well and dropping rocks on him. I assume this happened when his men weren’t there, but they found out soon enough and hauled her in front of Alexander to be punished for killing an officer. To the surprise of all, Alexander decided the man had earned it and freed Timokleia. One might be inclined to call this overly sentimental, but….

There’s a similar story that occurred much later in the Levant, when two of Parmenion’s men seduced/(raped?) the mistresses/wives of some mercenaries. Alexander instructed Parmenion to kill the Macedonians if they were found to be guilty.

In both cases, we have an affront against (respectable) women. In the latter case, Alexander was (no doubt) working to avoid conflict between hired soldiers and his own men, who—in typical Greek fashion—would have looked down on mercenaries as a matter of course. Some sort of conflict between Macedonians and Greek mercenaries up in Thrace had almost got Alexander’s father killed. Alexander saved him. No doubt that was on Alexander’s mind here.

Yet what both events illuminate is a willingness on Alexander’s part to punish his own men for affronts to honor/timē that involved women. Yes, this is clearly about discipline. But it also shows an unusual sensitivity to sex crimes in warfare: actions that would normally fall under the excuse of “boys will be boys” (especially when their blood is up).

I doubt he’d have felt the same about slaves or prostitutes; he was still a product of his time. Yet without overlooking his violence—sometimes extreme (the genocide of the Branchidai, for instance)—I find his reaction in these cases to be evidence of an atypical sympathy for women that I’d like to think isn’t wholly an invention of later Roman authors. And just might show the influence of his mother and sisters.

5) Last… the Boukephalas story…because who doesn’t love a good “a boy and his horse” tale? Obviously the Plutarchian version is tweaked to reflect that author’s later concern to contrast the Macedonian “barbarian” Philip with the properly Hellenized Alexander. Ignore the editorializing remarks, especially the “find a kingdom big enough for you” nonsense.

But the bare bones of the story seem likely: unmanageable horse, cocky kid, bet with dad, gotcha moment. You can imagine this was an anecdote Alexander retold a time or three, or twenty.

——

* His attempts to copy Cyrus may be imposition by later writers. In his own day, he may have cared more about the first Darius, for reasons Jenn Finn is going to explain in a forthcoming, very good article on the burning of Thebes and Persepolis.

#asks #Top Five Alexander the Great moments #Alexander the Great #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Timoclea #Timoklea #Boukephalas #Bucephalas #Gedrosian Desert #ancient military logistics #Macedonian army #Alexander's logistics #Classics #ancient history #campaigns of Alexander the Great #tagamemnon

[outro-jo]

study buddies (pt. 2)

pairing: lee felix x (gn) reader

type: imagine

warnings: non-idol au, college au, mutual pining, idk

not taking requests at this time

masterlist | info

part 1

———————————

minho was slumped against the building, engrossed in his twitter feed but occasionally looking up to make sure he didn’t miss his friend and roommate. he saw you exit the building though he didn’t say anything since you already had your headphones in. soon after, felix left the building, walking over to his friend with slumped shoulders and sadly kicking the rocks on the ground. minho grunted at the impact of the younger pouting on his shoulder.

“am i supposed to ask why you’re sad?”

“i mean, you could. friends normally do that.” felix sighed.

minho shoved him off playfully, “just tell me already.”

the two headed for the student cafe on campus since minho’s class had gotten cancelled.

“i chickened out again.” felix shrugged.

minho stopped, throwing his head back in an exaggerated display of annoyance.

“lee felix, if you don’t tell them how you feel!”

felix winced at his sudden loud scolding.

“look, i couldn’t do it! they’re so pretty and they were looking at me with those eyes and god, their hair! and their smile.” felix swooned with a love struck, dumb grin on his face.

minho was so tired of hearing the same thing about you over and over again when felix did nothing about it. he suddenly lunged at him, trapping him in a headlock and shaking him a bit before letting him go. while felix fixed his hair back to a normal state, minho was back on his phone.

“you seeing them later?” he asked, giving felix a quick glance.

“yeah, they’re coming over for pizza and studying.”

minho rolled his eyes and scoffed, bringing the phone up to his ear.

“eynah, i need you to pick some things up for me. yongbok needs our help.” resting a hand on felix’s shoulder, he led them back to their shared apartment.

you plopped down in the seat with a loud sigh. the dark haired boy next to you eyed you with a glimmer of amusement in his irises. he smirked into a laugh, shaking his head, having been here many times before.

“pizza and studying, huh?”

“i don’t know how many more times i can do this!” you confessed. “i adore felix and i want to stay friends but i don’t know if i can with these feelings. it’s brutal…”

“yeah, but if you distance yourself it’ll hurt him,” he pointed his pen at you threateningly, “and i’ll have to kill you.”

you rolled your eyes playfully. hyunjin is nothing if not dramatic but so we’re you, letting out an exasperated groan and collapsing face first into the table in front of you.

hyunjin felt conflicted. on the one hand, he’s known you since high school and the two of you have been close for ages now. on the other hand, felix is his roommate and the closest thing to a brother he’s ever had. he couldn’t betray his confidence.

bubbling in his chest were the words felix had told him years ago when you and he first met. the words he kept repeating as he fell on to hyunjin’s bed, in agony that he can’t seem to say to you. he wanted to badly to give you just a little hope to hold out on felix and that he feels the same way, but he can’t betray felix like that, not when he’s been so good to him.

“look, the right person is out there for you. i promise.” hyunjin encouraged you with a squeeze to your hand and a wink.

at this point you weren’t too convinced, flipping your head back down on your arms.

seungmin and minho stood back to inspect their work, looking for any imperfections. felix was in the kitchen where he was putting on oven mitts to take his famous brownies out of the oven. the mouth watering scent filling the apartment, enticing han jisung to investigate the source of the smell.

“oooh! brownies!”

“they aren’t for you.” minho scowled at him, making the younger cower and pout.

“felix is finally gonna tell y/n how he feels so we have to get out soon.” seungmin walked up beside minho and explained.

felix checked his phone and his eyes suddenly went wide. “they’re on their way!”

everyone quickly shuffled through the apartment, preparing to leave. amidst the commotion, chan and changbin walked through the front door, standing stunned in the door way.

“is it christmas?” changbin asked about the decorations.

“no! they’re for felix! now go! y/n’s on their way!” minho fussed and shooed the confused boys out with seungmin, jisung, and jeongin in tow.

“good luck!” jeongin waved just before the door closed.

felix smiled and let out a hard exhale, squaring his shoulders to prepare for possibly the biggest moment of his life. he looked around the decorated room, nodding and humming in approval at his roommates work. the minutes felt like lifetimes as he went over in his head what he would say to you repeatedly. there weren’t words to express how he felt for you, so he struggled quite a bit to figure out what he’d say. his thoughts were soon interrupted by the door opening and your and hyunjin’s soft laughter entering the room.

“hey, why are the guys in the lob—?“ you stopped short at the door frame, pizza tucked into your hip as you looked around the room. “felix…”

by now he was trembling and hoping to god that you couldn’t see as he let out a shaky breath and walked towards you. hyunjin grabbed the pizza box from your hand and pushed you in further before he ran from the apartment, closing the door behind him. you tripped into felix’s strong embrace, looking up to find you were just a breath from each other.

“felix, what’s going on?” you asked softly.

“i— um—“ he visibly gulped.

looking around the room, you noticed a few things besides the twinkling lights and the blanket fort on the sofa.

“my favorite movie!” you walked over to the tv, staring at the opening title credit then back at felix with a wide grin. in the corner a bouquet of flowers caught your eye. “are those peonies?” next was the bowl of candy on the coffee table and a few bags of chips around it. “wait… those are my favorite, too. felix, what is all of this?”

bracing himself with a steadying breath, he walked over to you, “i just wanted to do something special for you.”

“i can’t believe you remembered all my favorite things.” you gawked in disbelief.

“all these years of studying together,” he paused, taking your chin to make you look at him. “and you were my favorite subject.”

in that moment you could have melted into the floor. there was no way this was happening right now… was felix confessing?

as if he could read your thoughts, felix leaned in, closing his eyes to kiss you softly. it turns out he didn’t really need words to finally make you his.

#kpop #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #kpop scenarios #kpop reactions #stray kids #skz #straykids #stray kids reactions #stray kids imagine #stray kids x reader #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids fanfiction #stray kids fanfic #stray kids drabbles #lee felix #felix lee #lee yongbok #felix stray kids #felix x reader #felix imagine #felix imagines #stray kids felix #skz felix #felix scenarios #felix reactions #felix fanfic #felix fic #felix fanfiction

[thatmooncake]

What is your opinion on the books hinting that Moon shouldn't have existed but the Faz-pads most expensive menu items is moon themed? And the posters, plushies, and the infamous sphere? I loved your other 'rant' (for lack of a better term in my sleep deprived mind) and it got me thinking...

I’m guessing you mean the Moon that appears in The Bobbiedots who was originally built to be the “dark side” of Sun and once worked as a theatre animatronic?

Okay spoilers for The Bobbiedots, Somniphobia and Security Breach and some rambling thoughts ahead:

In short, I think the books’ canon (even from one book to another like say Bobbiedots and Somniphobia) and the games’ canon are more like AUs of each other than anything else, so basically different explanations will be given in different stories to fit that book or game in particular. So, Bobbiedots Moon wasn’t meant to exist in the daycare, but it looks like Security Breach Moon was. That said, I LOVE exploring the different versions of Moon and how he’s used in different stories, so if anyone wants to take the long scenic route with me, here we go!

Bobbiedots Moon

Theatre kid extraordinaire. A little too committed to the bit. Bobbiedots Moon doesn’t fit in his world - not in the daycare anyway. In The Bobbiedots, they’re busy dealing with an evil apartment. They don’t have time for poor Moon, no matter how badly he wants them to sleep.

Bobbiedots Moon feels like a bit of a throwback to the animatronics in Sister Location who had all these “interesting” design choices, like a stomach hatch for storing children (which totally wasn’t going to be used for evil, come on guys …).

In Moon’s case, he’s so good at being a pantomime villain (which is what he was made for from what we can tell - who bets he got booed because the kids wanted the sun to come back up and when the lights went out they’d fake snore and he’d go hunting down the naughty ones who couldn’t help but laugh?) that he’s no good in the daycare (personally I think the staff just weren’t imaginative enough in that universe to do naptime, or to appreciate the charm of a weird clown telling off wobbling toys for not sleeping when his recognition sensors inevitably failed him because they couldn’t be bothered to fix their broken animatronics). And he’s easy to exploit because he’s so committed to his role.

I don’t think Moon was evil by default when he worked at the theatre - at least not beyond his villainous role. He had an audience of probably more people than he could grab, and I’m guessing Freddy’s wanted repeat performances so their customers would keep coming back. Did he kidnap a child or two when the lights went out and everyone was confused? Maybe, if he was virus-riddled enough. Did he become a lot more unstable when he and Sun were moved to the daycare? Probably, but it’s not his fault he was an afterthought in a cheapo organisation that seems to think using precariously-placed backup generators is a better solution to their problems.

Security Breach Moon

Meanwhile, the Security Breach version of Moon has a TON of merch, a dish at the restaurant (Masa-Moondrop curry, yum! 💖 By the way, I totally recommend checking out this recipe ), and even his own little candy adverts. He’s on a statue, balloons, plushies, and even on the daycare pass right next to Sun. It would take a LOT of accidental advertising to put Moon all over the place if he wasn’t supposed to exist in Security Breach.

I think that, unlike the Bobbiedots Moon, Security Breach Moon was supposed to exist. Like you said, he’s got merch everywhere. It’s a big deal. And Moon’s merch matches all of Sun’s merch, so to me it makes sense that in the backstory of the game’s universe they both had a friendly role to play (I can’t imagine why they’d make a Moon plush with no one to hug him. The thought makes me sad. It also seems like a bad business move on their part so I’m opting to believe he was originally meant to be a friend to the kids).

But it looks like things took a turn at some point (as they so often do in the FNAF universe), as Security Breach also has the cheapo lighting in place, and Sun is pretty adamant that we don’t wake up Moon. And in this case it’s pretty clear that Moon has been infected by the Afton virus. He sounds like a bot with just one thing on his mind: putting you to bed at all costs.

Moon is a major player as far as the evil Afton operation goes in the game too. They picked a perfect bot to do their dirty work. He’s super strong - he knocked out Freddy and dragged him away with no problems. He’s also super agile - he can navigate all the tight twists and turns in the Daycare with relative ease (I pointedly ignore the version in my game while I make this statement as he seemed to spend most of his time getting stuck in the tunnels and slides kekeke). And he always seems to know where you are - the Glamrocks wander until they have you in their sights, but Moon makes a beeline for you the moment he can get his hands on you even if you’re inside Freddy’s stomach compartment. He works in the dark when no one can see him coming. He’s basically the perfect replacement for the night staff and makes it a million times easier to capture wayward kids.

There are also a lot of hints in the game that suggest that Security Breach Moon might have actually been reprogrammed to respond this way, and/or that he was used to reprogram the others.

The back areas with the endos are FULL of Moon merch, advertising, and so on. There are also a lot of posters teaching the animatronic endos how to behave, as well as a little room that looks a LOT like a little replica of the daycare play area. I’m pretty sure that this is where the animatronics (or at least the virus-riddled endos) were reprogrammed to capture children - maybe including Moon.

(There are a million things I could say about this poster and how it bears a strong resemblance to a bunch of things from earlier games but that’s for another time and another ramble …)

Somniphobia Moon

Meanwhile, over in Somniphobia, we have Moondrop’s dream sphere, where Moon ponders his orb, or perhaps his new friends who are now trapped inside it forever since it seems like he’s been stealing more than a few souls over there.

The dream sphere is not mentioned in The Bobbiedots or seen in Security Breach as far as I can tell. Whether it exists or not in those universes is open to interpretation, but it serves a clever purpose in Somniphobia. In this book, our favourite uncanny night jester spends his time luring unsuspecting victims into the dreamscape slowly without them realising. The protagonist actually has a few opportunities to escape the pull of the orb, but he just can’t put the dream sphere down because it takes him back to his favourite memories with his (now dead) father, and it makes their time together feel so real.

The dream sphere is advertised as a study guide, and it’s popular with older kids and teens. (Moon has the range). Our regular chase-you-down-and-force-you-to-sleep Moon is nowhere to be found in Somniphobia (whether he exists at the plex in the daycare or anywhere else in that universe is anybody’s guess) and instead we have sweet little Moondrop from the dream sphere who doesn’t speak but will let you see your wildest dreams. At the cost of your mind, which is now going to live in a sphere I guess or be harvested.

Can you befriend the little Moondrop from the dream sphere? Does he know he’s part of a creepy soul-stealing operation? The book doesn’t really say, but if he’s anything like most of the other animatronic/AI characters in the FNAF universe, I’d be willing to wager he’s just doing his job (showing people what they want to see) and being used as a prop for more nefarious soul-snatching schemes. (Curse you Fazbear Entertainment for giving us this funny little guy in a magic snowglobe and making him steal our souls along with our hearts!)

Conclusion

Essentially, I think Moon is being used in basically all the universes he appears in because he’s so perfectly built for capturing and retrieving wayward souls, but the way he’s being used differs a little between universes. In some universes it’s just not as convenient to have him showing up in front of a large audience thanks to his programming, but when the lights inevitably go out he has a tendency to show up nonetheless!

#fableasks #fnaf #moondrop #fnaf security breach #fnaf daycare attendant #long post #fablespeaks #somniphobia spoilers #bobbiedots spoilers #thanks so much for the ask! #this was a really roundabout way of saying that I think they’re all made for different universes #so essentially Moon comes in different flavours #fablethoughts

[bruce-wayne-simp]

Continuation of this fic

Who left the stove on?

Rating: G

Word count: 706

Tags: Dreamling, fluff, Orpheus (mentioned), human au

-> Ao3 Link <-

Hob stands in the doorway, grocery bags in hand, surveying the damage to his kitchen.

It looks like a battleground, containers of ingredients all over, a light dusting of flour and cocoa powder covering the counter. Whisks and spoons and mixing bowls are all cluttered in the sink.

Dream is standing in front of him, clad in a grey t-shirt and jeans, a pan of something next to him. He’s fidgeting a little, nervously plucking at the small spill of chocolate chips on the counter, popping one into his mouth whenever he thinks Hob isn't looking.

“What's all this, love?” He sets the bags down, stepping closer.

Dream flushes a little, eyes fluttering. Hob wants to kiss him badly, so he does. Dream sighs into his mouth, arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

Hob looks down at the pan, and stops in his tracks. He thinks they’re supposed to be brownies, but they look a little… sad.

Dream follows his gaze, “I made brownies for you. I don’t know what happened, they didn't rise like yours do.”

“They look amazing, love. Thank you.” Hob grabs the knife next to the pan and slices into it, picking up a piece and taking a bite.

Oh.

It makes a bit of an awful crunch sound as he bites in. They taste a bit burnt, and not very sweet, save for the chocolate chips.

They're not great. You honestly couldn't pay him to eat the rest of these.

But Dream’s eyes look so cautiously hopeful that it tugs at Hob’s heartstrings. So he swallows his bite mostly whole and says, “It tastes great, love!”

He doesn’t sell the act well enough. Dream narrows his eyes at him.

“I knew there was something wrong with them.” He reaches over as if to grab the pan, but Hob stops him.

“They could use some work,” Hob allows, ”but they’re really not that bad.”

Dream narrows his eyes, cutting one out. He takes a bite, eyes widening as the taste hits him. He immediately rushes over to the sink to spit it out.

Hob can't help it, he starts chuckling, covering his mouth to muffle it. Dream, still spitting into the sink, starts laughing too, his horrible, quiet laugh emanating through the kitchen. Dream balls up a dish towel and chucks it at Hob, who laughs harder.

“It's not funny!” Dream scolds.

Hob takes a couple deep sighing breaths, “It kind of is, duck.”

“Why do they taste like that?” Dream surveys the kitchen, spotting the recipe on the counter, walking over and grabbing it. “I followed the directions.”

Hob takes it from him. The paper is lightly dusted with cocoa powder, but not incomprehensibly so. He looks between it and the ingredients laid out, checking them off one by one. Flour? Yes, of course. Vanilla? Check. Salt? Impressively enough, yes.

He gets to ‘sugar’ when he has a horrible revelation. He looks around the kitchen somewhat helplessly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sugar container.

“Dream?”

“Yes?”

“Did you forget sugar, by any chance?”

Dream’s brows furrow. “I added powdered sugar.”

Yes, the recipe says powdered sugar as well as granulated, he'll give him that.

“Did you add the other kind of sugar?” Hob feels like he's going crazy.

“It seemed like a lot.”

It takes everything in Hob not to place his forehead directly onto the counter. This ridiculous man he's proud to call his.

“Is that why they turned out bad?” Dream looks so hopelessly confused, Hob just wants to wrap him up in a blanket.

“Yes, love. The sugar helps it rise and taste, y’know, sweet.”

Dream’s shoulders slump, eyes cast down. Hob grabs the knife and cuts another piece, popping it into his mouth. Dream looks up in surprise.

“Hob, you don't have to–”

“Hush, they're not inedible. You did a good job, darling. C’mere.” Dream moves forward, and Hob takes him into his arms, pressing a kiss onto his temple.

“This weekend, we will make brownies together. Orpheus will love them.”

He can almost physically feel Dream’s mood improve at those words, his body relaxing in his hold.

“Are you sure?” His voice is muffled into Hob’s shoulder.

“Absolutely. I'll make the list.”

#dreamling #the sandman #dream of the endless #hob gadling

[vanoincidence]

Breaking & Entering || Van & Mateo

TIMING: current. LOCATION: downtown. PARTIES: @fearhims3lf & @vanoincidence SUMMARY: mateo helps get van the book she needs with a friendly bit of breaking and entering. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

Van pulled her hood up over her ears, bracing herself against the wind as it tunneled down the alley that she was taking a shortcut through to get to the comic shop. There were a couple of graphic novels she was interested in, and she had enough to even get Nora a gift.

“It is,” Van hummed out, “so cold!” She tried the door once arriving at the shop, devastated to be met with the large CLOSED sign. Pulling out her phone, she checked the hours, and sure enough, she had mistaken the day. “Are you serious?” A low pitched whine left her as she tilted her head back. The urge to stomp her foot won, and Van’s tantrum began. Not so powerful that anything happened, but it clearly caught an onlooker’s attention. Their voice sprung forth and Van was turning around, surprised by the company. In response, an overhead street light fizzled out. She wasn’t sure if that was her, or because this town refused to check its lights. She’d pretend it was the former. “They’re closed.” The sadness in her tone was apparent as she peeled herself away from the door, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Mateo drummed his fingers on the armrest of the bench, talking up a man, a stranger he was hoping to get a meal from. Her daydreaming had a nice taste, but he was looking for something bigger than a snack. The man was picking up what Mateo was putting down, nearly enough to constitute an appropriate touch to the shoulder. Another minute or two, and it would go unnoticed, but the mare wasn’t going to get that chance.

A noise interrupted the conversation, a young woman throwing what seemed to be a tantrum by a store that had all signs of being closed. Mateo chuckled, barking out an amused tease as he hopped over the back of the bench, only to stop in his tracks for a beat when the light sparked and shattered. That was when the man he was flirting with booked it, leaving the mare hungry and irritated enough to offer anything but a helpful hand. 

“There is a lack of lights, and I think the door is locked, so yeah, closed.” He nodded, biting his lip to restrain a laugh at the defeat dripping from the girl’s voice. He wanted to see how good the laugh could really be, because, come on. You don’t just ruin a meal, even if you don’t know someone’s eating.“The shop is always closed this day. Ain’t that what google is for or something? You know, checking the hours before you head out?”

Van’s brows furrowed as she ticked off the days on her right hand. “I forgot what day it was. I know how to use google… among other things.” She tightened her jacket around her frame and peered inside, willing the lights to turn on and for the clerk to open the door, but that didn’t happen, because of course it didn’t. 

“There are a lot of hours that a lot of stores have, and sometimes I forget them all. I’m not like, some filer of store hours or whatever.” Van knew that she could have easily googled to avoid all of this, but it wasn’t that big of a deal– she wouldn’t let it be that big of a deal. The old Van might have a meltdown over her self-imposed stupidity, but this Van with the magical powers and whose best friend was a bear? She wouldn’t do that! She refused! 

She took a deep, steadying breath before fully looking over her company. “Your tattoos are cool.” Van could make out a few of the ones that ran up his neck. “How badly did that hurt?” She touched the spot on her navel where she’d been stabbed by Debbie. “Is it like being stabbed or something? Or just a ton of little stabs?” 

Okay, the girl talked a little too much, and while it wasn’t horrible to be asked questions about himself, Mateo was still a little annoyed about missing out on a meal. Tapping his foot on the concrete, the mare contemplated whether or not to answer. He decided to anyway. “Uh…” He arched a brow and pocketed his hands into his vest. “None of them really hurt. Ever been scratched by a cat?” He shrugged, “Kinda like that, but over and over again.” But the throat tattoo definitely hurt more than the others, and Mateo’s stomach one did too. He’d never shook during a session before, and it was hopefully that last time he did. 

“Wait.” Mateo shook the distracting thoughts away, and refocused on the fact that the store was closed. Could cause a little chaos and break in, he supposed, but it was also a locally owned store, so breaking anything was out of the question for him. If it was a big brand, sure, Mateo loved destroying shit, but small businesses needed to stay around and be taken care of. “Hm…” Tapping his chin, he looked at the perimeter and assessed what they could do. Most businesses had alarms, but Mateo figured if he could jump in without being seen by Ms. Talks Too Much, he could get them both in, leave money, and take whatever the girl wanted. 

“You got cash on you? ‘Cause, uh…we could go in. You just gotta know how to work around a lock or two.”

“I’ve never had a pet, and I’ve only like, picked up one cat, but it didn’t scratch me.” She’d been hurt by other things, but never an animal– not that she could remember, at least. She tried to imagine what that might feel like, but fell short. Van narrowed her eyes at him, getting a better look at the tattoos that extended over the entirety of his upper body. They did look cool. Maybe she should go antagonize a cat to see if she could withstand it, and then finally go get that tattoo with Cass. 

“You want to break in?” Van’s eyes grew wide and she glanced towards the door before shaking her head. “I don’t– I don’t think that’s like, a great idea.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her coat tightly in on herself.

“I think that’s a really bad idea, ‘cause what happens if we get caught? Do I look like I’m built for jail?” It wouldn’t have been the worst thing she’d ever done– she’d killed at least three people, and one of those bodies was rotting not too far from here. “Do you like, break into places a lot?” She didn’t want to assume anything about anyone, but he was offering to help her get inside. “Or do you like, secretly work here and you want to see if I’d do it just so you could get me into trouble?” Van’s imagination was running wild now as she stood across from him. 

“Yeah, I wanna break in.” Mateo shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. While breaking into places was against the law, it wasn’t as if the two were going to trash the place, or steal. They were just shopping after hours. “Look, you’re just annoying enough to get beat up only two times. You’ll be fine though because I’m not gonna get caught.” Emphasis on him. There was no way he’d go down with someone he hardly knew. Although, the idea of teabagging a cop, even for someone annoying, seemed like a lot of fun. He chuckled, patting his vest pockets until he found what he was looking for. 

“It’s simple—and yes, I break into places a lot, but your prank idea does seem like fun.” Ignoring any further protests, the mare turned to the door and began to work. “I’ll have to try that at my shop.” With a snicker, Mateo took out his lockpicking kit and finagled with it until he found the proper pick, inserting it and jiggling the handle until the lock turned. “See? Simple. Now get your damn cash ready and look for your shit while I check for an alarm. For all we know, it’s silent.” He walked as he spoke, making a beeline for a device on a wall in hopes that it was a security system. It was a bust as soon as he saw it was a thermostat. Ugh. He kept looking. 

“What kinda comics or graphic novels are you looking for anyway?”

“Only two times?!” Van pointed at herself with her thumb, an incredulous expression peeling over her features. “I was bullied like, a lot in school, okay? I’m almost positive it’d be more than just twice.” It was a made up scenario, obviously, and she wasn’t sure why she was putting that much thought into it. It seemed silly, all things considered– if she hadn’t been caught for her crimes up until now, what was the chance of her getting caught breaking into a store? Her anxiety numbed her tongue and she pressed it against the roof of her mouth, surveying their surroundings. 

She wasn’t sure what was fun about lying to somebody. She’d broken into places before, but mostly places that deserved it. Van didn’t think that small businesses really deserved to have their locks picked, or windows smashed. Her eyes grew wide as he began to work on the lock and she shot a glance over her shoulder, rushing to hover over his shoulder as if to block him from view of anybody who might pass by. “Dude–” The door sprang open and Van froze, gaze swiveling over the inventory inside. She saw exactly what she needed– it was a copy of Nimona that she’d wanted to get for Nora, since she reminded her of her friend. “Hey!” Before she could yank him back, he was walking into the building. “What about cameras?!” Van hissed, pausing in the door for a moment before she finally found an ounce of courage to pass the threshold. 

“That.” She pointed towards the graphic novel on the display labeled monsters. She didn’t think Nimona was a monster. It was obvious that the shopkeeper had totally misunderstood the story. “It’s for a friend,” Van mumbled under her breath as she walked up to the display, running her fingers over the cover before grabbing it. “Are you sure there aren’t like, cameras and stuff? The last time I broke in anywhere–” She paused, eyebrows furrowing, “forget I said that.” It wasn’t like he’d judge her– just look at him, he was a pro! “Um, but if like, this ever gets investigated, please don’t rat me out. I don’t really think I have a lot to live for, but like, not being in a jail cell sounds suuu-per cool to me, you know?” She unfurled a few bills to cover the cost of the tip, as well as a wad of apology ones for breaking in. There went her red bull and slim jim fund. 

“Okay, I’ve got it– can we just like, leave?!”

Curiosity arched Mateo’s brows and his interest was piqued when he caught sight of the art style on the cover. “Ni…mona?” There was another copy where Van pulled from, and he quickly snatched it up to read the summary in the back. Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! It made Mateo chuckle, and feel something he hadn’t felt in a while. Not since he was a teenager looking at similar graphic novels and comics in a store not unlike the one the two were rummaging through. The part about proving the bad guys are actually portraying themselves to be heroes at the Institute of Law Enforcement wasn’t a bad concept either. Pretty punk if you asked him.

“Huh…?” Right. Cameras. In all the excitement, Mateo forgot to consider those in their tiny heist. He’d get to those momentarily. After he’d found a pen, a piece of paper, and his wallet. “I’ll get to that in a sec. Getting one of these for myself. This book don’t seem bad at all.” Still looking at the cover, Mateo went to the cash register and sifted around the shelves until he found what he was looking for. With a smile, he circled back around to the tidbit Van wanted him to forget as he wrote down what they were taking. 

“So this ain’t your first rodeo, huh? Dope shit, fam. Even if it’s not as funny now. People panicking is hilarious—wait, what?” Mateo halted his scribbling quickly on the paper, and he tutted with a grimace at the idea of being a snitch. “Nah, chica. Even if we did get caught and they tried to turn us on each other, I don’t rat. Not even on strangers.” Finishing the last title on the list, Mateo slapped the pen and some money down onto the counter. “‘Cause fuck cops, man. That’s what this book is about, yeah?” He tapped on the title, Nimona, with a smile, excited to get home and read it. 

All they had to do was snag any video coverage and vamoose, but, of course, there had to be a problem. Before Mateo could open a door to a back room, he heard the all too familiar click of a flashlight and the words, “Put your hands up!”

Well, at least something good could’ve come out of this! Van had gotten another person to read Nimona! She waited impatiently by his side, book pressed against her chest as she looked around them. “What do you mean you’ll get to it?” She was acting fairly distraught for somebody who’d broken into places before and killed somebody inside one of them. Then again, this was different; this was a place she respected, and there were no dangers. At least, not that she could see. 

Suddenly feeling self conscious about the entire situation for reasons that didn’t quite make sense, Van cleared her throat. “Um, thank you. I don’t rat either. Narcs are losers, and like, I might be a loser in other senses of the word, I’m definitely not a narc or whatever.” Her voice softened as she relaxed. This was strange– to break in somewhere with somebody she didn’t know, all for the sake of obtaining graphic novels. She still felt a little bad, but they were leaving money behind, weren’t they? That wasn’t bad! They were paying their dues. It was their fault for closing early, Van rationalized. 

Van’s expression brightened slightly at his words, “yeah! I mean, yeah, it’s about a lot of other things, too– and there’s a show which is also really good! But it’s a little different, but still definitely good.” She gave him a smile that, if he really looked at her, he would notice how nauseous she looked. 

Everything fell apart though, as it always did. The sound of footsteps, a flashlight glaring angrily at her feet, creating distorted silhouettes out of the two of them against the shadow-y backdrop of the room they were moving toward. Van whirled around, Nimona falling to her feet as she raised her hands above her head. She couldn’t see their face due to the bright light, but figured that it was probably a cop, or best case– a mall cop. 

“Um! We left– there is money on the counter!” Van was a leaky faucet of anxiety as she stared wide-eyed at the man behind the flashlight. That anxiety, of course, transformed into something else. The ground beneath his feet melted, sending him falling onto his ass. The flashlight rolled away from him and Van dipped down to grab the book before heading towards her accomplice. “We have to go,” Van hissed. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the man got to his feet, and they needed to be gone before that. “Ah– wait– the cameras!” 

“A show?” He made a mental note to look it up once he was home. Nimona’s story sounded like it followed a punk little guy that Mateo would enjoy reading about, and if they made a whole show about it, it had to be good. For a moment, he wondered if it went live action or animated, his thoughts circling back to Xóchitl and her desire to find new animated things to watch. Something about a friend that enjoyed the colors and such. He shrugged, dropping that train of thought to refocus on the lone cop interrupting their rather victimless heist. They didn’t even break the door! 

Eh…whatever. Mateo wasn’t worried. At least, not at first. “Did his…what the fuck just melted?” What used to be solid ground became a large puddle that sent the cop careening to the ground. Not even the shock from both being caught and seeing what looked to be a puddle appear could keep Mateo from laughing, though. Was she different, too? Had she caused that? Whatever the case, it was amazing and hilarious, and it also meant that he didn’t have to worry about disappearing at the blink of an eye. What an amazing night. Mateo wasn’t so mad at losing out on a meal now.

“This is great shit.” He chortled for a few beats, and the cop grumbled as he continued to fumble around like he was on a slip ‘n slide. Mateo laughed more, almost crying at the entertainment. He was only able to catch what Van said once the urgency of the situation caught up to him again, and even then, he was snickering as he shooed Van away. 

“Go on, get!” He commanded with his most playful southern accent, blipping away to the back room he had his eye before they were interrupted. From there, all that could be heard was a muffled, “I got everything covered!” While Mateo found the computer with coverage of the whole store on the monitor. He hoped Van actually listened and beat it, but there wasn’t much he could do while he was preoccupied pausing the cameras, and deleting the last few minutes from the cloud. 

Her accomplice was amused, not scared by the way things had gone. That was new. This was a little bit like Nora, Van thought. Was he a bugbear, too? She tried to imagine the bear form he might have, but her mind snapped back to the present as she turned back to look at him– only he was gone? How was that possible? He’d been standing right in front of her a moment ago, and now he was… 

The cop was still struggling to get to his feet and Van wasted no time in skirting around the puddle she’d created, craning her neck so that she could turn her face away from him. God forbid he have photographic memory or whatever. 

She wasn’t sure where her company had gone, but something told her to get the hell out of there before this guy’s backup showed up. She could hear his radio crackle as she pushed through the door, taking off down the street, Nimona pressed to her chest. This was one hell of a gift for Nora. 

#para: breaking & entering #para: mateo #wickedswriting

[peacefulwriting]

LOST HOPE - PT 4.

Jake Seresin x Reader

Summary: You finish your pregnancy and give birth to beautiful baby girls.

TWINS.

You could not believe you were having twins – and - to top that off, you were having twin girls. You and Jake wanted to know so badly you did a blood test to confirm it, and shortly after that you found out with an ultrasound.

You and Jake told everyone finally and you made sure to keep it subtle since everyone was going to make a big deal anyways.

You ordered a onesie that said, “Netflix and Chill went a little too far. We’re expecting, not one, but two.”

Bradley: WHAT? WAIT?

Phoenix: So cool! I want to be the cool aunt.

Bob: Can’t wait to show them the planes!

You and Jake watched the texts explode with excitement. It was so heartwarming seeing how happy everyone was and how excited they were for the both of you.

You and Jake both decided that Bradley was going to be the godfather. Bradley had always been there, through thick and thin. Him and Jake were best friends now and it was only right to make Bradley the godfather.

You all made plans to go get dinner one night and that’s when you’re going to tell him.

“Bradley,” you and Jake looked at each other with grins, “we have some news for you.”

You, Jake, Bradley, and his girlfriend were all enjoying Italian. Bradley has his mouth half full of pasta when he looked up at the both of you. He raised one eyebrow and you laughed, covering your mouth with your hand while the other rested on your stomach.

“What is it?” Bradley said, swallowing his food.

“Well,” Jake reached for you hand, “Jake and I have decided we want you to the be the god father to our babies.”

Bradley’s eyes went wide. His girlfriend giggled, wrapping her arms around him. You and Jake laughed as well.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really.”

Jake and Bradley got up and bro hugged while his girlfriend and you giggled, watching them become even more closer than ever.

The next few months went by so quick. You and Jake prepared for everything, redecorating the nursery, throwing your baby shower, and seeing your family and friends before the arrival of the twins. You had names picked out, but you wanted to meet them first before you assigned their names.

It wasn’t until you were almost due when Jake dropped that he had another deployment.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! The babies are going to be here any day now.”

You were bummed. How were you going to be able to support yourself and your two little ones without the help of Jake around if they come before he arrives home?

“How long?”

“I don’t know.”

You sighed, looking down at your stomach which seemed to have grown overnight. You walked to the living room and sat down. You placed a hand on your stomach, rubbing it in circles. You couldn’t be mad, this was his career after all, but you couldn’t help but feel sad.

“What if they’re born before you come home?”

“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Jake came and sat by your side, setting a hand on your leg. You blinked back the tears that were growing. This pregnancy was easy, but it was still hard waking up every day, knowing that your husband has a dangerous job.

You sighed again, resting your head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer into him.

“I leave tomorrow.”

You couldn’t contain it anymore. You busted out crying and Jake soothed you.

Later that night, he made sure to run you a bath and get you your favorite food. You ended up just laying together in your bed watching a few movies before the both of you passed out holding each other.

The morning came faster than you both anticipated.

It never got any easier watching him leave, especially now, since you were expecting any minute.

“I will be back before you know it.” He said, placing one hand on your stomach and pressing his lips against yours. “I promise.”

“I just hope you’re back before they’re born.” You whispered, cupping his face in your hands.

“As do I.”

He finished getting ready and made sure to give you a kiss, your stomach a kiss, whispering that he loved them, and a hug and off he went – yet again. You sighed, watching him drive off in his truck. You turned on your heel and climbed back up the stairs to go back to bed.

What you feared what was going to happened, was happening.

As the days passed, your contractions kept getting worse. They were much closer and much longer. You made sure to track them on a piece of paper per instructions by your OBGYN. Once they got to be a minute apart, you knew it was time to go in – and you were almost there.

You breathed through your contraction, grabbing your phone and pulling it out to call Penny.

“Penny, I think I’m in labor.”

“Don’t panic, just breath through them. I’m on my way.”

You heard the door slam behind her through the phone. You held your stomach feeling more contractions come on. You drew in a sharp breath, rocking back and forth on your feet. You just wanted that damn epidural.

It was only moments later when she arrived, Amelia beside her, running through the door. She ran straight up to you while she instructed Amelia to go find your hospital bag. She grabbed your waist and shoulder and led you out the door – but before you even stepped foot outside, you water had completely broke.

“Here we go.”

You groaned from pain again as she led you to her car and helping you in the passenger side. Amelia ran out your door, shutting it behind her, and ran straight to the car and jumped in the back. Penny tried to buckle you up but you were in so much pain you told her no.

“I knew this was going to happen,” you drew a sharp breath in, “Jake is going to miss it.”

“We’ll record a video or we can facetime him.”

“Not,” you breathed in again, feeling the pain from your stomach erupt, “the same.”

She sped up when she saw how much pain you were in and arrived at the hospital in a little under 10 minutes. She ran to your side, helping you out and into the hospital. The triage team helped you in a wheelchair and took you straight to the OBGYN floor and got you hooked up to all the monitors and started an IV.

You grabbed your phone from your bag and pulled up Jake’s contact and pressed call.

“Hey darling, how’s your day?”

“Eventful, considering my water broke and I’m in labor.”

You heard a gasp come from the other end. You giggled, slightly, but still felt sad that he wasn’t here with you. You just wanted him here to witness the birth of your miracle babies.

“Are you serious?”

“A full-on puddle in our living room currently, yeah.”

He laughed; you heard some voices in the background. You were confused but you just shrugged it off. You could hear him shuffling around, probably the nerves of almost becoming a father.

“I wish you were here.”

You heard the door began to open and you were about to tell him that the nurse or doctor was coming in and you had to go and would call him after, but that was only until his face appeared from around the door with a giant smile.

“I am here.”

You dropped the phone from your face and lit up like a light bulb. He shut the door from behind him and ran up to your side, pressing a kiss to your lips. He was dressed in his flight-suit and smelled like he just got done with a flight.

“Jake Seresin, did you steal a plane to come be here with me?”

“No.” He smirked. “Maverick did.”

And that’s when Maverick came through the door with Penny. You laughed, knowing all the crazy things he did to make sure everyone was taken care of. He was smiling extremely big and came up to your and gave your hand a squeeze.

“You ready for this, kiddo?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you said, looking at Jake. “I think we both are.”

Everyone sat around you and supported you. Jake helped you through your contractions until you were able to get your epidural. Everyone but Jake had to leave the room when they were going to get the procedure done. And once your epidural was inserted, you didn’t feel a thing again and not long after that you were completely dilated and ready to push.

“Here we go, baby. You ready?”

You shook your head and they medical team got you all propped up and ready.

“Okay, on the count of 3, I’m going to have you push.”

You nodded, following her instructions. And on 3, you pushed for the time of 10 seconds – multiple times.

After what seemed like an eternity, you got tired and wanted to take a break.

“I can’t push anymore,” you said, throwing your head against the bed. Jake ran his hands through your hair and pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“You’re doing so good, you’re almost there.” He smiled at you. “Let’s meet our babies.”

You sat up, taking another deep beath in and began to push again. Jake held your hand and you kept squeezing it when you felt like you wanted to stop. He kept encouraging you and making sure to tell how good you were doing.

And 1 hour later, you gave birth to your first beautiful baby girl.

The nurses grabbed her while the other was helping you with your gown so that you were bare chested. The handed off your baby to the nurse, setting her on your chest and you busted out crying, holding her close to your body. Jake set his hands on her, tears slipping out of his eyes. You knew you still had to keep pushing, so the nurses hurried, making sure to clamp the cord and had Jake cut.

You began to push again, and it wasn’t even 15 minutes later when the second girl came. The nurses performed the same routine, placing her on your chest and having Jake cut the cord.

Harper Jean was born at 7:36pm.

Hayden Grace was born at 7:49pm.

And a family of four was formed.

#jake hangman x reader #jake imagines #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin fic #top gun #top gun maverick #top gun hangman #hangman top gun #top gun fanfiction #top gun fic

[yand3r3-everything]

Your Pain, Their Gain

Yandere sun and moon x reader

Warnings: is a fic involving reader having periods and period pain

Self-indulgent cuz holy FUCK it hurts this time:

"Hrng. Fuuuck why now!?" You mentally complain as another spike stabs you through your organs. Usually, they're tolerable, even moreso if a pain reliever and caffeine are used. However, this time not even any of that helped.

It stabs yet again aggressively enough to make you hunch yourself on the chair behind the daycare desk. Your breath is forced slowly out to not wake the sleeping kids.

You've managed to act normal enough through the day so as not to worry Sun and Moon. It was hard, and all you wanted to do the whole time was put pressure on your lower stomach.

Since arriving for your shift, the day is almost over. The kids will just be picked up and then it will be time to end the shift as well.

Sadly, you were a bit too unobservant of Moon, who noticed your sudden hunching. He quickly comes over, rather concerned (not that he’d ever openly admit it). “What’s wrong?” He asks, lowering the volume of his voice.

“It’s fi-” You clench your fists tight enough for them to shake. “Fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Sure doesn’t seem just fine," he quips, already knowing what it might be.

"Shut it," you snap, not liking his tone. "You can't do anything anyways. It's just a girl thing."

"A period?" He replies, ignoring your unusually snappy act.

You look at him questioningly. "You guys know what it is?" You honestly doubted it before since the kids around aren't usually in the normal age range.

"It was programmed after Sun freaked out on a 9-year-old before. Embarrassed her so badly she never wanted to come back.

You instantly felt bad for the girl. "Fine. There's still nothing you can do to help."

Moon knows an idea that he and Sun will agree on. And they've already agreed on making you stay the night to help, even if the light has to be turned off for Moon to get you.

He comes up behind your chair, wrapping an arm at your lower stomach, faintly squeezing to add pressure. He then heats up the arm. A function made more for kids who fall asleep on them.

The relief is almost immediate. You let out a quiet sigh.

Moon can feel Sun's excitement through their mind. A bit of guilt too for planning to use your pain for their benefit. Moon has no guilt whatsoever about it.

"Have Sun take care of sending off the kids. We can't have you snapping at a nuisance of a parent now, do we?"

You're too tired to really care, and just nodded to his question. It's probably true. You can't even count how many times a kid almost made you yell. A problematic parent would be a final straw.

----------------------

It didn't take long for Sun to send off most of the kids. Luckily, there was only one parent Sun had a little trouble with, but security was called to deal with it.  

The final kid leaves and Sun immediately turbs towards you, who is standing to seem more presentable to the parents. “Alright, time to clock out, head home, and bury myself with the heating pad and blankets.” Just imagining the comfort makes it so much more enticing to leave immediately.

Sun opens his arms wide. "Come here, starlight! Let us help your pain again!"

Eh, you’d rather not. Earlier felt great, though it was a bit weird. “Sorry Sun, but I’d really rather just go home. Maybe some other time.”

Neither attendant liked that answer.

You’d have to pass him to leave the daycare.

Sun crosses his arms instead. He’s sad about it, and doesn’t have the willpower to force you to stay, but Moon sure does. The lights are supposed to shut off in just a few minutes, he just has to stall a bit!

“But why not!? It’s not fair Moon got to hug you for a bit earlier!”

You pinch the bridge of your nose. It wasn’t a fully willing thing earlier. “Again, some other time. I’ll be fine until getting home.”

Sun shakes his head. “Fine! But at least a hug before you go? Just to make it somewhat fair?”  

Fine. If it will get him to stop. You trudge over, stopping for a second as yet another spike decides to make its presence known.

Yeah, you’re staying. They agree even more on now.

Sun walks up to you instead, wrapping his arms around you.

After a second, you try to let go and push out of the embrace. Sun won’t let go.

… The lights go out, having Moon come out.

They made sure not to let go of you during transforming.

Moon comes out and looms over you.

“Alright, you can let me go now. I gotta go home before Vanessa loses her head at me.”

He pretends to think. “Mmm. no.” He summons the wire to hook onto him, lifting you both into the tower.

“Moon! Bring me back down!”

He turns you around, pulling your back to his front, starting the heat again, slightly higher than before. They’re more than willing to slightly overheat if it comes down to it for you. “No.”  He brings you over to a pile of pillows and blankets, forcing you to lay down with him. Your squirming and struggling completely fruitless. Even trying to hit him does nothing.

He tightens his grip on your lower stomach, making you stop. “Hush, time to sleep.”

They absolutely love the feeling of you against them. They’ll definitely have to force this again sometime.

The pressure and heat is too comfortable… Fuck. Ugh, might as well enjoy it since they’re not going to let you anywhere anytime soon.

-----------------------------------------------------

I am so torn between them both calling you starlight, or sunflower/moonflower. It will probably hop between the two ways a lot.

#yandere sun x reader #yandere moon x reader #yandere x reader #yandere security breach #yandere security breach x reader #x reader #short oneshot

[goldkirk]

Legend Has It - Chapter 1

[ Read on ao3 ]

Prologue

He’s alone when it happens.

Small bare feet hit sun-warmed cobblestone as Tim runs down one of the garden paths behind his house, running alone, running just for the feel of the moving air, and he smiles with closed eyes and toes that dig into the crevices between old stones with every step. 

He looks around again, hangs a left past a peony bush, and almost tumbles to a halt. 

There’s a bird, on the ground. A tiny one. One of its wings is at a wrong angle, he can tell, and maybe a leg, too, and--it looks like its eyes are closed, is it--

Tim’s on his knees and reaching one small hand out to touch it, brushing its soft feathers with the lightest touch he can manage. There’s no response. The small body is still, cold, and stiff under his fingers, no matter what he does to try to coax it awake. He slumps down where he sits, hands falling to rest against the cobblestone, pressing down, and all he can think is It’s not fair.

It’s not fair that such a tiny bird has to die all alone in a garden. What was it doing? Does it have a family? Is it just a kid bird, still growing up? Was it on a long journey? Why did it have to--

Tim takes a breath. It doesn’t feel right, leaving the delicate little bird to rest in the middle of the path to be stepped on or dragged off by an opportunistic predator. It deserves a burial. He can manage that, at least--he knows how, he buried his goldfish from the school carnival last year, out behind the tool shed. 

Tim leans forward and scoops the bird up in his two small hands, cradling it with care. He looks down, for a moment, feeling a surge of sadness and affection and a small wish that he could have helped, could have found the bird sooner. 

A wing twitches. 

Tim almost drops the bird right then and there. But he catches his reaction just in time, and as he lifts his cupped hands up to eye level, staring, staring, staring, the little bird drags its wings in, opens its eyes, and gathers itself up to stand on his left palm, lifts its beak up to look him in the face. 

It blinks once, and greets him with a beautiful, high chirp. 

Tim wheezes.

The bird stares for another long moment, twitters something fast and happy and loud, and then launches off his hands into the air and wings it toward the trees. He loses sight of it in seconds. 

Tim kneels on the warm cobblestone until his knees have divots that will take ages to smooth out, staring down at his hands with a combination of disbelief and horror and a very little bit of joy. 

The bird was dead. 

He knows it. He knows it. There’s no other explanation, Tim checked, he’s seen dead birds before, it was distinctly not alive.

The bird...is now alive. 

Unless Tim hallucinated the whole thing, the bird definitely flew off. From his own hands. It woke up in his hands. 

Does this make him a necromancer? Tim shudders. Necromancers are--they’re supposed to be evil, they raise the dead and usually use them for nefarious purposes in stories. He’s never heard of them being real before, or magic being real, which is--a problem. But he did just resurrect an entire bird, somehow, so Tim’s fairly willing to suspend his usual disbelief for today. 

Necromancers are--they’re a bad kind of magic, forbidden and dark and evil. But what just happened...whatever Tim did, somehow...it didn’t feel evil. 

It didn’t feel like much of anything, actually. Maybe it wasn’t him at all? Maybe...maybe he got it wrong. He hasn’t seen a lot of dead birds, after all, maybe he just--missed it, and the bird wasn’t hurt as badly as it had seemed. It was possible. 

Tim scrambled to his feet, trying to push the incident out of his mind for now. He could ask his parents, maybe, when they came home from their trip in a few weeks. They tended to know almost everything. This kind of thing probably happened all the time. 

It was probably not him at all. Just a coincidence. That was all. 

Two weeks and eighteen resurrected insects, one resurrected squirrel, and one dog in a hit-and-run brought back from death that Tim had witnessed for sure, and it...it’s definitely Tim. He can’t deny it anymore. His own small hands are mysteries now, his days full of wondering what he’ll accidentally resurrect next--a rose bush? A person? He certainly doesn’t know. 

He doesn’t think people would be happy to know about his new ability, either. He’s been reading about it, when he can. Googling everything he can find about necromancy and resurrections and cheating death. It’s not very good. 

Tim doesn’t mean to. It just happens . He doesn’t know how to stop.

So he’s going to have to hide. Seven years old, he digs out a notebook and comes up with a plan. 

Look before touching anything when other people are around. 

Don’t offer to clean up dead bugs at school anymore.

Don’t tell Mrs. Mac.

No pets. Can’t risk it. 

Just avoid anything dead.

Stop eating meat. There’s no way it’s worth the risk.  (He doesn’t think he can reanimate a chicken from a nightly dinner, or some McNuggets, but...a couple weeks ago, he didn’t think he could reanimate anything at all. So he’s not very inclined to leave it to chance, right now.)

Don’t tell Mother or Father when they return.

No going to cemeteries--that just sounds like a terrible idea.

Start wearing boots and long socks when in the woods, so any accidental carcass-brushing doesn’t...resurrect a fox or squirrel or rabbit that wants to bite him, or something.

Find someone who has answers. 

Tim puts the marker down after scribbling number ten, and stares at it for a minute. That sounds like a tall order. But he does live in Gotham, and you never know what shops you’ll find or people you’ll meet in this city, if you don’t stick to the most well-trodden sidewalks. He’s good at slipping away sometimes, when his parents are distracted.

He’ll work on it. He’s got time, probably. As long as this doesn’t get...worse. 

And meanwhile, he’s got parents coming home, and a spelling test tomorrow, and if his nose is correct, Mrs. Mac’s homemade brownies fresh out of the oven. The list and his newfound necromancy can wait. 

He’ll figure it out, eventually. He will.

He has to.

#tim drake #magic tim drake #dc #katie writes stuff #haunted houses

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LUNATIC PARADE ;; Normal Ending

–> This ending is the same across all twelve different routes. You can unlock it by failing to select the right choices in the individual chapters. 

ー The scene starts in the treasure room of Bernstein Castle

Yui: ( Even though Count Walter had us dancing to his tune down till very end... )

( I’m truly glad we were able to safely get my heart back. )

( However, I guess this also marks the end of the Parade. Honestly, it makes me a little sad... )

Carla: ...Oi, you.

Yui: ...Y-Yes!

Carla: How long are you going to be standing by the door? Come here. 

Yui: But...Are you sure we can just enter the Count’s treasure room without permission? 

( After a series of events, the whole group eventually gathered together. )

( But I never thought they’d bring me here... )

( Everyone’s looking around at the treasures of their liking but won’t we get in trouble for doing this? )

Carla: Heh...There is nothing to be worried about. It appears that man is currently absent after all. 

Ayato: He played with us this whole damn time. 

So he better let us have our fun in the end!

Yui: You too, Ayato-kun...

Ayato: Anyway, Chichinashi. Try this on. 

*Rustle rustle*

Yui: Eh!?

( It’s a swimsuit made entirely out of red gemstones...!? )

Kou: Ehー? Where’s the appeal in that? You have zero fashion sense, Ayato-kun!

Ayato: Haah!? Say that again!? 

Kou: Personally, I think these pearl earrings would look great on you!

Hey, wouldn’t you agree with me, Carla-kun? 

Ayato: Nah, it gotta be this one! I’m sure understand where I’m comin’ from, right? 

Carla: ...

*WOOSH*

Ayato & Kou: ーー !? 

Yui: ( He used his magic to instantly make the items in their hands disappear...! )

Carla: I do not need some lowlife Vampires asking for my opinion. 

ー Carla walks away 

Yui: Ah, Carla-san...!

ー Reiji and Ruki run up to them 

Ruki: ...It appears that we were just too late. Tsukinami Carla, how could you...!? 

Reiji: Kuh...I cannot believe he reduced such historically valuable items to ashes...! 

Kou: Eh? Were those that big of a deal? 

Ayato: They’re just a bunch of toys, no? I’m sure you could find them in one of the shops downtown. 

Reiji: I have no words for your lack of knowledge... 

Ruki: Exactly. This treasure room is filled with nothing but high quality goods which are unavailable for purchase...

Yui: ( I had no idea this place was so impressive... )

Kou: Ah! I’ll go look for something even more amazing then!

Like the perfect tiara or necklace for M-neko-chan~!

Ayato: Hehe, what are you saying? She’d obviously look way better in something which shows a little more skin. 

ー Ayato and Kou run off again

Ruki: Oi! Stop running rampant!

Reiji: You two! Halt!

ー Reiji and Ruki chase after them

Yui: ( Reiji-san and Ruki-kun seem to be having a hard time. I wonder if they’ll be okay...? )

Kanato: ーー I’ve had enough!! What is place!? 

Yui: ーー !? 

( Was that Kanato-kun just now? It came from the back... )

( I’ll go check up on him. )

ー Yui walks towards the back of the room

Yuma: Oh, you arrived right on cue. 

Shuu: Haah...I guess you’ll have to do. Please take care of this guy. 

Yui: Are you talking about Kanato-kun...? 

Yuma: Yeah. He’s been completely out of control ever since this vintage candy he wanted oh-so badly got crushed. 

Yui: ( Antique...? Would it even still be edible then? )

Kanato: It’s very low of you to get her involved, Yuma...

Yuma: For the millionth time! It’s this fuckin’ NEET over here who ruined it and not me!

Shuu: How many times do I have to tell you I have no clue what you’re talking about...? 

Yuma: You crushed it underneath yer weight when rollin’ over in yer sleep! I saw it with my very own eyes!

Shuu: ...I remember no such thing.

Yuma: Aah!? Hold up...!

Kanato: Shut up! I honestly don’t care who is behind it at this point!

Just fix it! Just when...I finally found it...!

Yui: K-Kanato-kun, calm down. 

Um...Ah, look! There might still be a second one somewhere.

So let’s all look together, okay? 

Shuu: What a pain. If you want to look for it so badly, be my guest I guess? 

Yuma: Yeah, sounds good! We’re countin’ on ya!

ー Shuu and Yuma leave. 

Yui: Eh? But...

Kanato: ...

Yui: ( Guess I should probably start looking before Kanato-kun bursts out again... )

O-Okay! I’ll get going, okay? 

ー Yui walks away in search of the candy

Yui: ( That being said, this place is enormous, where do I even start loo... )

ー She bumps into something

*Thud* 

Yui: ーー Uu, owow...

( Uu...I fell down after bumping into something. )

Shin: Hehe, what are you doing? 

Azusa: Eve...Are you alright? 

Yui: Shin-kun, Azusa-kun... 

Laito: Bitch-chan~? I’m here too, see? 

Yui: What are you guys up to? It’s strange to see the three of you together. 

Laito: Nfu~ Well, we happened to having some ‘fun’ with the coffin you bumped into.

Yui: Eh? This one...? 

Azusa: Yeah...Subaru-san is inside...that rare coffin. 

Shin: He got all grumpy after we provoked him and retreated inside of there. 

So we decided it’d be fun to mess with him a little. 

Yui: I-I see...

Laito: Just watch? Look, like this...~

*Thud thud*

Laito: Suーbaーruーkuーn. Comeーoutーwhereverーyouーareー 

*Thud thud*

Azusa: Subaru-san...Are you still alive? 

*Thud thud* 

Yui: ( I-I feel like this’ll only make him less likely to come out... )

Shin: Haah...You guys are lacking vigor. You gotta go all out with this sorta stuff. ...Like thisーー Here!

*THUD*

*Thud*

Subaru: ーー Shut up already!

Azusa: Ah...Subaru-san.

Subaru: ...What is your problem!? All I want is to see how comfortable this coffin is but you jerks keep on gettin’ in my way...

Oh...It’s you. When did you get here...?

Yui: Ah, um...It’s a long story...

Laito: So, what’s your verdict~? How would you rate the coffin’s coziness? 

Subaru: The absolute worst, duh. 

Yui: R-Right...

Reiji: ...Good grief, what is this ruckus? Can you all not be a little more quiet? 

Subaru: Che...What do you want? 

Yui: Ah, Reiji-san...And the others as well...

Kanato: I came looking for you because you were taking an awfully long time. What have you been up to? 

Shin: Hm? Nii-san, that thing in your hand...

Carla: Ah, this? 

Yui: ( What could it be? It’s a tiny, but beautiful box... )

Ruki: It’s said to be a very valuable treasure, but only a woman is capable of opening it. 

Ayato: In other words...It’s your time to shine!

Yui: M-Me...?

Yuma: Heeh. Sounds interestin’. 

Kou: Right? Come on! Try opening it!

Shuu: Haah...What if it explodes in her face? 

Yui: E-Explode...!? 

Shin: Hehe...Wouldn’t that be kinda funny as well? 

Carla: Oi, woman. How long are you going to keep us waiting? 

Yui: ...Okay! Well then, I’ll open it...

*Clunk*

*Twinkle twinkle* 

Yui: ーー This is...

( Little sparkles of light have filled the entire room...!? )

Shin: Ah, it didn’t explode. 

Subaru: ...No way he’d have somethin’ so dangerous layin’ ‘round, right? 

Azusa: It’s very pretty, don’t you think...?

Reiji: Yes. I assume that the Parade has moved onto the final act as well. 

Ruki: If I recall correctly, it’s a custom to send lanterns off into the sky. 

Kanato: Heeh...I’m sure that’d make for quite a nice scenery as well...

Kou: Yeah, yeah! I’m sure it must be pretty...

Yuma: But ya know...I like this sight quite a bit too. 

Shuu: Agreed. I suppose this isn’t bad every once in a while. 

Carla: For once, I share your opinion. 

Ayato: Nice goin’, Chichinashi!

Yui: Yeah...Thanks!

( In the end, we never made it back to the Parade’s venue but... )

( I guess spending the finale together like this isn’t half bad either. )

ーー THE END ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #lunatic parade #diabolik lovers translation #lpnormalending

[trippin-over-my-fandoms]

* slams my paws down on the counter * TELL ME ABOUT YOUR ETHAN AND MIA HEADCANONS! I wanna know so bad about literally anything you got going on in that brain of yours with them!

THEYRE EVERYTHING TO MEEEE

I love them literally so much you got it fr

Aight so to start off with Mia wasn’t part of the connections or even looking to get into that specific kind of work when she first met Ethan. They were just two kids in college barely out of high school. They had the same friend group and everything, as average as average could get.

After college Mia ends up being scouted for their little group- probably something along the lines of how a MLM/pyramid scheme works where someone sought her out and twisted what their company was about so she’d join. Most likely making it seem like they were doing good so when she found out what they were truly doing it didn’t matter anymore to her.

The whole “trading company” thing is from them too. They’ve got an entire cover that all of documents and insurance is under and all that fancy stuff so Ethan never suspects it and they get married with Ethan being none the wiser.

Not that she wants to lie to him but she believes it’s for the greater good anyway. She can keep it a secret. She’s always been good at that.

And Ethan? Well, he knows something is off just doesn’t know what and doesn’t want to question it for fear of losing her. He’s so in love with her that he doesn’t really care. She isn’t cheating on him which is enough for him.

So when she dies he can’t help but think it’s his fault in a way. He blames himself. If he had just been closer to her and made her open up or confronted her about whatever it was she was hiding then maybe she wouldn’t have accepted the job abroad and maybe she wouldn’t have died trying to get home.

His life is damn near over when Mia is gone. Ethan is so heartbroken he loses his job because he doesn’t go in to work, staying at home and falling into a deep dark depression soon after losing her- she was his entire world.

He only stays like that for a few months at most. He’s got a friend in California who’s job is hiring and convinces Ethan to move out there. Other friends of his reminded him that Mia wouldn’t have wanted that sadness for him, that she’d want him to be happy- she loved him so much it would break her heart to see him in so much pain. It doesn’t really help much at the time but he does leave Texas and moves out to california.

He never stops looking for her though. Once Ethan gets settled in at his new place and new job- he keeps an eye on missing persons articles and anything that could be Mia. Her body was never recovered so surely she’s still out there somewhere. He spends a lot of time obsessing over it, he’s incredibly stubborn.

He’s just about given up on it when he gets her Email.

Mia on the flip side spends those three years at the Bakers fighting for her damned sanity. It’s the memory of Ethan and her love for him that will often bring her back to reality when Eveline has gotten her claws in her.

She spends ages avoiding the Bakers and learning the estate like the back of her hand just trying to get out, to get back to Ethan.

And that persistent thought of him is what draws Evie to Ethan in the first place. She wants Mia to be her mommy so badly and for Mia to be happy with her but she knows Mia won’t be happy until she has Ethan back.

After Dulvey they’re horribly dysfunctional.

Mia is damned near manic and she’s incredibly paranoid.

Ethan doesn’t feel the same and he chalks it up to trauma often (and I also headcanon Ethan as autistic which he doesn’t know he is- he’s known he’s different since he was a kid but it seems to come and go. And with the presence of the mutamycete in his system he’s all over the place poor guy). He still can’t fathom how all of what happened… happened. He tries so hard not to look at all his scars because it makes it even harder to grasp.

They’re both snippy and get into fights, enough they’ve had the cops called on them. But they can’t bear to be apart, it only makes it worse. It’s this awful flip of going from being the perfect couple to no longer working. And it’s hard for them with how much they had loved each other before hand to just all of a sudden not work out?

The only reason they even stay together as long as they do is because they still love each other but what happened, Mia’s lies, the horrors that are so very real in the world, it all makes it hard.

It’s only when Mia ends up pregnant that things are kinda put into perspective for them. That’s when they move out to Romania. They want to get as far way as possible. Running away had worked for Ethan so maybe it could work for them too. They could have a life far away from all the bad and terror that they’ve faced. Rose was like a new leaf for them.

They’re new identities were in being parents. They threw all of themselves into it. Whereas before they found themselves in each other they now found it in their daughter.

And they still didn’t communicate well which is why when Mia started acting strange those few days before the village incident Ethan didn’t say a damn thing. He gives her space, maybe too much, maybe he should have asked more questions.

Also one of my top songs for them- especially for the beginning of 7 is Wait for Me from HadesTown. Like that’s so them. And then for the part between 7 and 8 I like to listen to My Fault by Imagine Dragons n sob thinking about their dysfunction. And we can’t forget Run to You by CJ Starnes.

Ty Mish <3 I love rambling about these two.

#resident evil #re8 #re7 #Ethan winters #Mia winters #ask request

[lavenoon]

Lovely Luce, I am here to invade once more! <3

I have a little question about AU! Nothing very plot-related (that I know of) but! Something I thought of. Since the switch is still light-based, does that mean Sun hasn’t properly seen the full night sky or vice versa? I’d imagine they might get the tail end (like when the moon is visible in the early mornings or how Moon was still able to be active right before sunrise) but maybe not the full view of the sky.

Because if they haven’t been able to or maybe find that it’d mess up their schedules too badly to stay up so late/early… I think it would be sweet if they could share memories of the pretty skies with each other OR even for Robin to take pictures for them! It might not be something they think about too often - too busy and with too many things to do - but I think the sky can be absolutely breathtaking sometimes, and while some well-taken pictures might not be the real thing… I think it would be a sweet gesture to try and allow them something they’re not otherwise allowed to experience.

-🌻 Daye

Hehe, this is very sweet and just so happens to not apply! fdghsj

I thought about the switch - it just seemed a bit too lucky if they're one power outage or flashlight away from being found out, and it's rather impractical for them on the job, too, to switch the entire time. Like, Moon could hardly enter HQ when it's always lit, no paperwork at all for him, and Sun's undercover work may lead him to dimly lit rooms often enough, too.

So, with creative freedom and it being an AU and all that, they get a timer - 12 hours each, for fairness. (I was also admittedly sad that Moon is kind of at a disadvantage with the light, with how people usually aim to be able to see and thus even in the dark keep lights on). Tentatively think it'd be a 6-6 cycle, because I like that it's perfectly centered around midnight and noon. It gives them a bit more control over their schedule and plans, and the opportunity to observe sunsets and sunrises (though they have to wait for the right season)!

They have the option to force a switch outside of their schedule, but it resets the timer and throws them off the rhythm (imagine being woken up early to immediately cover being a functional person for someone else - no thank you), so they don't really do that - sometimes it's handy for alibis, though they also need a change of clothes for that, so they try to just handle things on their own.

This turned into a little worldbuilding/ character building ramble despite the sweet thought sparking your ask, sorry fghdjs

But while sunsets can be scenic anywhere, both of them rarely spend time outside of the city (or a city, sometimes there are missions further away, but rarely in rural areas), so if Y/N took them out of town to see the real night sky? Without all the smog and light pollution? They wouldn't really think of it on their own, so used to the sky they know, so any gesture from Y/N with the goal of showing them something new, something they didn't get to marvel at before? Well, it won't be the only thing they marvel at <3

#answer let luce #Daye asks #accidentally undercover #the one time logic forced itself into my au and it had to change one of their characterizing gimmicks gfhdsj #it means they get jetlag though. like their own version of it but I'll call it jetlag #they forget to adapt the timer and switch in the middle of the day like 'ahw man we forgot *again*' #while Robin tries very hard not to laugh and just tells them to switch *back* #they can fix their schedule after the mission #but thats for post reveal shenanigans <3 #hehe

[larathia]

TBHK Analysis: Chapter 90

Let’s start with “wow, I suck at predicting where this story will go, but AidaIro makes me not mind that at all.”

Okay. On with the analysis:

Firstly, yay I was right about one thing - they’re not dead yet. 

Now, from there...there’s two stories playing out here, side by side; SIx’s, and Kou’s. So I’m going to treat them separately, and start with the shorter one: Six’s.

From what Six says here, it seems clear enough that he did care greatly for Sumire - and may not realize she’s been with him this whole entire time, because from what both of them have said they haven’t seen each other or spoken to each other since their deaths. Sumire didn’t have the option. Six...I think didn’t have the curiosity. His entire existence was predicated on receiving commands, and from what everyone’s said in the story up to now, Six got the job of BEING ‘Six’ and then just...focused on that? Completely, to the exclusion of all else, which is why the other wonders know very little about him. And why he’d not know Sumire was in the heart of his domain this entire time - that would require a degree of self-knowledge he clearly just hasn’t got.

And that he regrets not having. 

Six does prove able to think for himself and to feel - he doesn’t hurt children, doesn’t WANT to hurt children. That’s a want, which for him is damn near unique. But he comes off in this chapter as very old, very tired, and very sad. 

I don’t know that I would call him dead at the end of this chapter, though, any more than I was willing to call Kou dead before. Hanako took several heavy strikes from that exact sword and is still around. Six is strong and Kou is not. There’s wiggle room in the narrative for either outcome.

Now, let’s talk about Kou.

The lid comes off the pressure cooker that is Kou in this chapter, and we get to see just how wound up he’s gotten, for how long, and why. He thinks of himself as weak (which is reinforced by Teru, Hanako, and now Six) and unworthy of anyone’s trust (which is...not entirely without merit, but I’d say it’s more that he lacks knowledge than power most of the time. Can’t blame him for thinking otherwise, though). 

We see, from his perspective, a terrified Mitsuba breaking up into doritos, which pretty much tells us where Kou was during the severance and what he experienced.  We see, from Kou’s perspective, Hanako cradling the unconscious Yashiro as he explains that Yashiro will die soon. These are not new pressures. They’ve been weighing on him for a while now (though, admittedly, seeing Mitsuba dorito out could only have been days ago in the story’s timeline, he’s been trying to help Mitsuba for longer, and seeing Mitsuba go out like that had to be another knife in the gut). We see Teru defeating Kou easily, and telling him he’s weak. That he’s playing the hero.

Now, what Kou says to Six is scattered over all the panels showing all this, so let me recopy it here into one paragraph because it’s worth taking what he says here and giving it serious consideration.

I’m weak and stupid, so nobody ever depends on me. Nobody ever needs me, either. But who cares about that! I’m gonna beat your ass! I’ll defeat you, and take back Akane-senpai. I’ll save my brother, who’s been badly injured, and Aoi-senpai too. If I ruin the ceremony, the boundaries will be reopened. All of the supernaturals that disappeared will return, and I’ll get [Mitsuba] to come back too. With your ability to control both life and death, I might even be able to do something about [Yashiro’s] lifespan. If I can just do that, then everyone’ll - It’s not about their expectations, or their hopes! I’m gonna make everybody happy. 

Just...read that. Read that in one go. And remember what Kou knows:

1) You can be a living supernatural. You have to eat a supernatural to do it.

2) Eating the heart of a Wonder can let you claim the Wonder’s power - and their seat.

“With your ability to control both life and death” is the most explicit he gets, but that entire speech is predicated on not just ‘defeating’ Six, but taking Six’s place. He wants Six’s power - would need it, to do any of the things he lists here. 

This is where I reiterate that we do not know that Six is defeated at the end of this chapter. But by goddamn I actually really hope he is, because honestly? Watching Kou take such a serious step, all on his own, disastrous though it might prove to be, would be a major character moment for Kou. He’s spent this entire manga playing second or even third fiddle to everyone, wanting to help but almost never having the power or the means to do anything meaningful. HANDING him that power, like this? Would REALLY shake the setting up and it could lead to some great future moments. What would Teru do, for example, if Kou saves Teru’s life by becoming the new Six? What would Akane do? How will Hanako react?

And Six’s final thoughts reiterate that Kou taking such a step would be a major shaking-up of the status quo. Happiness is something he never asked for, nor was ever asked for. It’s never been part of Six. But if Kou does what he strongly implies he’s about to do, the whole world’s going to feel it.

I for one really hope it happens. I am back to rubbing my hands gleefully for the next chapter.

#toilet bound hanako kun #tbhk analysis #tbhk chapter 90

[foxymoxynoona]

This new update made me feel really sad for Sasha. I feel like this Jungkook doesn’t care about her at all. It all seems to be about what he wants and needs and he is constantly invalidating her feelings. I honestly don’t know why they’re together right now. He sees her in such a negative light and has unrealistic expectations of her being this cool girlfriend that it’s so unfair to her. He just seems very selfish, immature, and like a douche tbh. He lets people speak to her in such rude ways and doesn’t seem to be in her corner at all. Idk I just feel like he has a lot of growing up to do and I think she deserves a lot better. I feel like she gives in to him way too easily and he does seem to still be punishing her for things that he claims he’s gotten over. Idk the whole thing just makes me feel really icky about him and it bugs me that no one just tells him straight up that he’s being a bad boyfriend. They all seem to baby him too much and I think she’d be better off without him. Last time they broke up because she wasnt doing well, but maybe this time they should break up because he needs time to learn more about himself and take the time to be selfish without it being at her dispense.

Hmmmm we shall see we shall see 😎

But you are definitely not wrong that he seems to have ricocheted back to where he was during their breakup in some ways, except she's along for the ride this time. There are developmental reasons for this as he's growing and learning and figuring out his own identity (especially in a relationship he clearly feels safe enough to relax in, maybe a little TOO much?), but it's a painful process to witness, and it's extra hard when loved ones are being hurt. It's hard to navigate boundaries, which is certainly what Sasha is struggling with now: how do I demosntrate loving support and also not let myself be treated badly? Whereas she made the choice to protect him before and ended it before it got to a situation like this, although it still caused its own pain.

You take away something I hope everyone at least thinks of, regardless of how the story itself continues: sometimes people aren't in the right place or time for a relationship, sometimes we need to work on ourselves and make sure we aren't hurting the people who love us in the process, and also that it's ok to love someone and realize that a situation/relationship isn't good for you. Those are such important things to realize!

And, alas, things that Jungkook and Sasha both have a hard time with because they both had such interrupted adolescence and social/identity development.

#asks #anonymous #my matryoshka